Sullivan constructions for transitive Lie algebroids - smooth case

Let M be a smooth manifold, smoothly triangulated by a simplicial complex K, and A a transitive Lie algebroid on M. A piecewise smooth form on A is a family of smooth forms, each one defined on the restriction of A to a simplex of K, satisfying the compatibility condition concerning the restrictions of the simplex to the faces of that simplex. The set of all piecewise smooth forms on A is a cochain algebra. One has a natural morphism from the cochain algebra of smooth forms on A to the cochain algebra of piecewise smooth forms on A given by restriction of a smooth form defined on A to a smooth form defined on the restriction of A to each simplex of K. In this paper, we prove that, for triangulated compact manifolds, the cohomology of this construction is isomorphic to the Lie algebroid cohomology of A, in which the isomorphism is induced by the restriction mapping.MICINN, Grant MTM2014-56950-Pinfo:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersio

Whitney-Sullivan constructions for transitive lie algebroids - smooth case

Let M be a smooth manifold, smoothly triangulated by a simplicial complex K, and A a transitive Lie algebroid on M. A piecewise smooth form on A is a family ω=(ωΔ)Δ∈K such that ωΔ is a smooth form on the Lie algebroid restriction of A to Δ, satisfying the compatibility condition concerning the restrictions of ωΔ to the faces of Δ, that is, if Δ′ is a face of Δ, the restriction of the form ωΔ to the simplex Δ′ coincides with the form ωΔ′. The set Ω∗(A;K) of all piecewise smooth forms on A is a cochain algebra. There exists a natural morphism Ω∗(A;M)→Ω∗(A;K) of cochain algebras given by restriction of a smooth form defined on A to a smooth form defined on the Lie algebroid restriction of A to the simplex Δ, for all simplices Δ of K. In this paper, we prove that, for triangulated compact manifolds, the cohomology of this construction is isomorphic to the Lie algebroid cohomology of A, in which that isomorphism is induced by the restriction mapping.(undefined

Women's refolution at work

The renowned Age of Revolution encompasses the period between the American Revolution (1776) and the so-called Spring of Nations in 1848, this being the height of the revolutionary movements in Europe in the 19th century, though it may be considered just the tip of the iceberg as far as civil rights movements for people from all walks of life are concerned. The changes that occurred throughout this timespan intended to move from feudal and absolutist systems, considered old-fashioned and ill-suited, to constitutionalist states and republics that would be able to heed the new values, e.g. liberalism, nationalism and socialism, as well as the demands of the working classes, enduring the harmful effects of industrialisation. Working people had been flowing into large industrial cities for over a century since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, leaving behind their home places and settling in overcrowded, rundown dwellings in appalling living conditions. The shift from working at home to working in factories brought along a number of issues that would be the motivation for setting up trade unions, namely the long working hours (between 12 and 14 hours per day), the low wages, the cruel discipline and the fierce system of fines that was applied, and the numerous accidents and health issues that ensued. Despite the overall negative conditions, women and children were among those who suffered the most, especially because the former’s wages were regarded as secondary earnings and thus less important than men’s. Consequently, from 1850s onwards, trade unions began to fight for better paid workers and women were initially excluded from these structures be it as members or leaders, being supported by social reformers instead. As a case in point, it is worth mentioning Clementina Black who, in 1888, set forth a demand for equal pay between men and women in the UK and the Bryant and May match factory strike which was held in the same year. Bearing in mind this social and historical context, our aim with this paper is two-fold: not only do we seek to focus on unionist movements in the last half of the 19th century in the European context as a means to fight against conservative and slavery-like practices in the workplace but we also wish to emphasise the place and importance of working-class women in this general workers’ assertion, particularly in their attempt to gain equal pay, a true refolution that would be the motivational beacon for 20th century movements, such as that of the suffragettes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A multi-wavelength census of stellar contents in the young cluster NGC 1624

We present a comprehensive multi-wavelength analysis of the young cluster NGC 1624 associated with the H II region Sh2-212 using optical UBVRI photometry, optical spectroscopy and GMRT radio continuum mapping along with the near-infrared (NIR) JHK archival data. Reddening E(B-V) and distance to the cluster are estimated to be 0.76 - 1.00 mag and 6.0 +/- 0.8 kpc, respectively. Present analysis yields a spectral class of O6.5V for the main ionizing source of the region. The distribution of YSOs in (J-H)/ (H-K) NIR colour-colour diagram shows that a majority of them have A_V $\le$ 4 mag. Based on the NIR excess characteristics, we identified 120 probable candidate YSOs in this region which yield a disk frequency of ~ 20%. These YSOs are found to have an age spread of ~ 5 Myr with a median age of ~ 2-3 Myr and a mass range of ~ 0.1 - 3.0 $M_\odot$. A significant number of YSOs are located close to the cluster centre and we detect an enhanced density of reddened YSOs located/projected close to the molecular clumps at the periphery of NGC 1624. This indicates that the YSOs located within the cluster core are relatively older in comparison to those located/projected near the clumps. From the radio continuum flux, spectral class of the ionizing source of the ultra-compact H II region at the periphery of Sh2-212 is estimated to be ~ B0.5V. From optical data, slope of the mass function (MF) $\Gamma$, in the mass range $1.2 \le M/M_{\odot}<27$ can be represented by a single power law with a slope -1.18 +/- 0.10, whereas the NIR data in the mass range $0.65 \le M/M_{\odot}<27$ yields $\Gamma$ = -1.31 +/- 0.15. The slope of the K-band luminosity function (KLF) for the cluster is found to be 0.30 +/- 0.06 which is in agreement with the values obtained for other young clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Apolipoprotein E polymorphism influences orthotopic liver transplantation outcomes in patients with hepatitis C virus-induced liver cirrhosis

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is responsible for a chronic liver inflammation, which may cause end-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma. Apolipoprotein E (protein: ApoE, gene: APOE), a key player in cholesterol metabolism, is mainly synthesized in the liver and APOE polymorphisms may influence HCV-induced liver damage. AIM: To determine whether APOE alleles affect outcomes in HCV-infected patients with liver cirrhosis following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). METHODS: This was a cohort study in which 179 patients, both genders and aged 34-70 years, were included before or after (up to 10 years follow-up) OLT. Liver injury severity was assessed using different criteria, including METAVIR and models for end-stage liver disease. APOE polymorphisms were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The APOE3 allele was the most common (67.3%). In inflammation severity of biopsies from 89 OLT explants and 2 patients in pre-transplant, the degree of severe inflammation (A3F4, 0.0%) was significantly less frequent than in patients with minimal and moderate degree of inflammation (≤ A2F4, 16.2%) P = 0.048, in patients carrying the APOE4 allele when compared to non-APOE4. In addition, a significant difference was also found (≤ A2F4, 64.4% vs A3F4, 0.0%; P = 0.043) and (A1F4, 57.4% vs A3F4, 0.0%; P = 0.024) in APOE4 patients when compared to APOE3 carriers. The fibrosis degree of the liver graft in 8 of 91 patients and the lack of the E4 allele was associated with more moderate fibrosis (F2) (P = 0.006). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the E4 allele protects against progression of liver fibrosis and degree of inflammation in HCV-infected patients

Structural studies of a lipid-binding peptide from tunicate hemocytes with anti-biofilm activity

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Clavanins is a class of peptides (23aa) histidine-rich, free of post-translational modifications. Clavanins have been studied largely for their ability to disrupt bacterial membranes. In the present study, the interaction of clavanin A with membranes was assessed by dynamic light scattering, zeta potential and permeabilization assays. We observed through those assays that clavanin A lysis bacterial cells at concentrations corresponding to its MIC. Further, the structure and function of clavanin A was investigated. To better understand how clavanin interacted with bacteria, its NMR structure was elucidated. The solution state NMR structure of clavanin A in the presence of TFE-d3 indicated an α-helical conformation. Secondary structures, based on circular dichroism measurements in anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and TFE (2,2,2-trifluorethanol), in silico lipid-peptide docking and molecular simulations with lipids DPPC and DOPC revealed that clavanin A can adopt a variety of folds, possibly influencing its different functions. Microcalorimetry assays revealed that clavanin A was capable of discriminating between different lipids. Finally, clavanin A was found to eradicate bacterial biofilms representing a previously unrecognized function.We would like to thank CNPq, CAPES (Ciências sem Fronteiras), FAPDF and FUNDECT. D.G. acknowledges Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia - Ministério da Educação e Ciência (FCT-MEC, Portugal) for fellowship SFRH/BPD/73500/2010 and A.S.V. for funding within the FCT Investigator Programme (IF/00803/2012).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Tiered Approach to Resilience Assessment

Regulatory agencies have long adopted a three-tier framework for risk assessment. We build on this structure to propose a tiered approach for resilience assessment that can be integrated into the existing regulatory processes. Comprehensive approaches to assessing resilience at appropriate and operational scales, reconciling analytical complexity as needed with stakeholder needs and resources available, and ultimately creating actionable recommendations to enhance resilience are still lacking. Our proposed framework consists of tiers by which analysts can select resilience assessment and decision support tools to inform associated management actions relative to the scope and urgency of the risk and the capacity of resource managers to improve system resilience. The resilience management framework proposed is not intended to supplant either risk management or the many existing efforts of resilience quantification method development, but instead provide a guide to selecting tools that are appropriate for the given analytic need. The goal of this tiered approach is to intentionally parallel the tiered approach used in regulatory contexts so that resilience assessment might be more easily and quickly integrated into existing structures and with existing policies

Goal-directed fluid management based on pulse pressure variation monitoring during high-risk surgery: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Abstract\ud \ud \ud \ud Introduction\ud \ud Several studies have shown that maximizing stroke volume (or increasing it until a plateau is reached) by volume loading during high-risk surgery may improve post-operative outcome. This goal could be achieved simply by minimizing the variation in arterial pulse pressure (ΔPP) induced by mechanical ventilation. We tested this hypothesis in a prospective, randomized, single-centre study. The primary endpoint was the length of postoperative stay in hospital.\ud \ud \ud \ud Methods\ud \ud Thirty-three patients undergoing high-risk surgery were randomized either to a control group (group C, n = 16) or to an intervention group (group I, n = 17). In group I, ΔPP was continuously monitored during surgery by a multiparameter bedside monitor and minimized to 10% or less by volume loading.\ud \ud \ud \ud Results\ud \ud Both groups were comparable in terms of demographic data, American Society of Anesthesiology score, type, and duration of surgery. During surgery, group I received more fluid than group C (4,618 ± 1,557 versus 1,694 ± 705 ml (mean ± SD), P < 0.0001), and ΔPP decreased from 22 ± 75 to 9 ± 1% (P < 0.05) in group I. The median duration of postoperative stay in hospital (7 versus 17 days, P < 0.01) was lower in group I than in group C. The number of postoperative complications per patient (1.4 ± 2.1 versus 3.9 ± 2.8, P < 0.05), as well as the median duration of mechanical ventilation (1 versus 5 days, P < 0.05) and stay in the intensive care unit (3 versus 9 days, P < 0.01) was also lower in group I.\ud \ud \ud \ud Conclusion\ud \ud Monitoring and minimizing ΔPP by volume loading during high-risk surgery improves postoperative outcome and decreases the length of stay in hospital.\ud \ud \ud \ud Trial registration\ud \ud NCT00479011The authors thank Maria De Amorim (Paris, France) and Julia Fukushima (São Paulo, SP, Brazil) for help in data analysis, Dr Julia Wendon (London, UK) for reviewing the manuscript, and Dixtal (Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil) for providing the software for the automatic calculation of ?PP.The authors thank Maria De Amorim (Paris, France) and Julia Fukushima (São Paulo, SP, Brazil) for help in data analysis, Dr Julia Wendon (London, UK) for reviewing the manuscript, and Dixtal (Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil) for providing the software for the automatic calculation of ?PP