From 2D conformal to 4D self-dual theories: quaternionic analyticity

It is shown that self-dual theories generalize to four dimensions both the conformal and analytic aspects of two-dimensional conformal field theories. In the harmonic space language there appear several ways to extend complex analyticity (natural in two dimensions) to quaternionic analyticity (natural in four dimensions). To be analytic, conformal transformations should be realized on $CP^3$, which appears as the coset of the complexified conformal group modulo its maximal parabolic subgroup. In this language one visualizes the twistor correspondence of Penrose and Ward and consistently formulates the analyticity of Fueter.Comment: 24 pages, LaTe

Nuclear Receptor Coactivator ACTR Is a Novel Histone Acetyltransferase and Forms a Multimeric Activation Complex with P/CAF and CBP/p300

AbstractWe report here the identification of a novel cofactor, ACTR, that directly binds nuclear receptors and stimulates their transcriptional activities in a hormone- dependent fashion. ACTR also recruits two other nuclear factors, CBP and P/CAF, and thus plays a central role in creating a multisubunit coactivator complex. In addition, and unexpectedly, we show that purified ACTR is a potent histone acetyltransferase and appears to define a distinct evolutionary branch to this recently described family. Thus, hormonal activation by nuclear receptors involves the mutual recruitment of at least three classes of histone acetyltransferases that may act cooperatively as an enzymatic unit to reverse the effects of histone deacetylase shown to be part of the nuclear receptor corepressor complex

What makes you not a Buddhist? : a preliminary mapping of values

This study sets out to establish which Buddhist values contrasted with or were shared by adolescents from a non-Buddhist population. A survey of attitude toward a variety of Buddhist values was fielded in a sample of 352 non-Buddhist schoolchildren aged between 13 and 15 in London. Buddhist values where attitudes were least positive concerned the worth of being a monk/nun or meditating, offering candles & incense on the Buddhist shrine, friendship on Sangha Day, avoiding drinking alcohol, seeing the world as empty or impermanent and Nirvana as the ultimate peace. Buddhist values most closely shared by non-Buddhists concerned the Law of Karma, calming the mind, respecting those deserving of respect, subjectivity of happiness, welfare work, looking after parents in old age and compassion to cuddly animals. Further significant differences of attitude toward Buddhism were found in partial correlations with the independent variables of sex, age and religious affiliation. Correlation patterns paralleled those previously described in theistic religions. Findings are applied to spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and for the teaching of religious to pupils of no faith adherence. The study recommends that quantitative psychometrics employed to conceptualize Buddhist values by discriminant validity in this study could be extended usefully to other aspects of the study of Buddhism, particularly in quest of validity in the conceptualization of Buddhist identity within specifically Buddhist populations

Pion interaction with the trinucleon up to the eta production threshold

Pion elastic, charge exchange scattering and induced eta production on the trinucleon systems are investigated in a coupled-channels approach in momentum space with Fadeev wave functions. The channel $\pi N \rightarrow \eta N$ is included using an isobar model with S-, P-, and D-wave resonances. While the coherent reactions like $^3$He($\pi,\pi)^3$He can be reasonably well reproduced up to $T_{\pi}$=500 MeV, large discrepancies appear for the incoherent processes, $^3$He($\pi^-,\pi^0)^3$H and $^3$He($\pi^-,\eta)^3$H at backward angles and energies above $\Delta$-resonance. In the forward direction the $(\pi,\eta)$ calculations underestimate the experimental measurements very close to threshold but agreement with the data improves with increasing pion energy. Predictions are made for the asymmetries of the various reactions on polarized $^3$He.Comment: 40 pages, 12 figures (available from the authors), Mainz preprint MKPH-T-92-1

To what extent can headteachers be held to account in the practice of social justice leadership?

Internationally, leadership for social justice is gaining prominence as a global travelling theme. This article draws from the Scottish contribution to the International School Leadership Development Network (ISLDN) social justice strand and presents a case study of a relatively small education system similar in size to that of New Zealand, to explore one system's policy expectations and the practice realities of headteachers (principals) seeking to address issues around social justice. Scottish policy rhetoric places responsibility with headteachers to ensure socially just practices within their schools. However, those headteachers are working in schools located within unjust local, national and international contexts. The article explores briefly the emerging theoretical analyses of social justice and leadership. It then identifies the policy expectations, including those within the revised professional standards for headteachers in Scotland. The main focus is on the headteachers' perspectives of factors that help and hinder their practice of leadership for social justice. Macro systems-level data is used to contextualize equity and outcomes issues that headteachers are working to address. In the analysis of the dislocation between policy and reality, the article asks, 'to what extent can headteachers be held to account in the practice of social justice leadership?

First Kepler results on compact pulsators VIII: Mode identifications via period spacings in g−g-mode pulsating Subdwarf B stars

We investigate the possibility of nearly-equally spaced periods in 13 hot subdwarf B (sdB) stars observed with the Kepler spacecraft and one observed with CoRoT. Asymptotic limits for gravity (g-)mode pulsations provide relationships between equal period spacings of modes with differing degrees and relationships between periods of the same radial order but differing degrees. Period transforms, Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, and linear least-squares fits have been used to detect and determine the significance of equal period spacings. We have also used Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the likelihood that the detected spacings could be produced randomly. Period transforms for nine of the Kepler stars indicate ell=1 period spacings, with five also showing peaks for ell=2 modes. 12 stars indicate ell=1 modes using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test while another shows solely ell=2 modes. Monte Carlo results indicate that equal period spacings are significant in 10 stars above 99% confidence and 13 of the 14 are above 94% confidence. For 12 stars, the various methods find consistent regular period spacing values to within the errors, two others show some inconsistencies, likely caused by binarity, and the last has significant detections but the mode assignment disagrees between methods. We find a common ell=1 period spacing spanning a range from 231 to 272 s allowing us to correlate pulsation modes with 222 periodicities and that the ell=2 period spacings are related to the ell=1 spacings by the asymptotic relationship $1/\sqrt{3}$. We briefly discuss the impact of equal period spacings which indicate low-degree modes with a lack of significant mode trappings.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures, 17 tables. Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ

Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 11 (2018) (2018)

Contents ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS xvii SUMMARY 1 1 INTRODUCTION 17 Previous Veterans and Agent Orange Reports, 18 Charge to the Committee, 19 Information Gathering, 20 Organization of the Report, 21 2 BACKGROUND 25 The Current Population of Vietnam Veterans,25 Military Use of Herbicides in Vietnam, 27 Exposure of Different Groups of Vietnam Veterans, 30 Characterizing Exposure, 38 Determining Increased Risk in Vietnam Veterans, 4

Efficient and Robust NK-Cell Transduction With Baboon Envelope Pseudotyped Lentivector

NK-cell resistance to transduction is a major technical hurdle for developing NK-cell immunotherapy. By using Baboon envelope pseudotyped lentiviral vectors (BaEV-LVs) encoding eGFP, we obtained a transduction rate of 23.0 ± 6.6% (mean ± SD) in freshly-isolated human NK-cells (FI-NK) and 83.4 ± 10.1% (mean ± SD) in NK-cells obtained from the NK-cell Activation and Expansion System (NKAES), with a sustained transgene expression for at least 21 days. BaEV-LVs outperformed Vesicular Stomatitis Virus type-G (VSV-G)-, RD114- and Measles Virus (MV)- pseudotyped LVs (p < 0.0001). mRNA expression of both BaEV receptors, ASCT1 and ASCT2, was detected in FI-NK and NKAES, with higher expression in NKAES. Transduction with BaEV-LVs encoding for CAR-CD22 resulted in robust CAR-expression on 38.3 ± 23.8% (mean ± SD) of NKAES cells, leading to specific killing of NK-resistant pre-B-ALL-RS4;11 cell line. Using a larger vector encoding a dual CD19/CD22-CAR, we were able to transduce and re-expand dual-CAR-expressing NKAES, even with lower viral titer. These dual-CAR-NK efficiently killed both CD19KO- and CD22KO-RS4;11 cells. Our results suggest that BaEV-LVs may efficiently enable NK-cell biological studies and translation of NK-cell-based immunotherapy to the clinic

The skeletal phenotype of chondroadherin deficient mice

Chondroadherin, a leucine rich repeat extracellular matrix protein with functions in cell to matrix interactions, binds cells via their a2b1 integrin as well as via cell surface proteoglycans, providing for different sets of signals to the cell. Additionally, the protein acts as an anchor to the matrix by binding tightly to collagens type I and II as well as type VI. We generated mice with inactivated chondroadherin gene to provide integrated studies of the role of the protein. The null mice presented distinct phenotypes with affected cartilage as well as bone. At 3–6 weeks of age the epiphyseal growth plate was widened most pronounced in the proliferative zone. The proteome of the femoral head articular cartilage at 4 months of age showed some distinct differences, with increased deposition of cartilage intermediate layer protein 1 and fibronectin in the chondroadherin deficient mice, more pronounced in the female. Other proteins show decreased levels in the deficient mice, particularly pronounced for matrilin-1, thrombospondin-1 and notably the members of the a1-antitrypsin family of proteinase inhibitors as well as for a member of the bone morphogenetic protein growth factor family. Thus, cartilage homeostasis is distinctly altered. The bone phenotype was expressed in several ways. The number of bone sialoprotein mRNA expressing cells in the proximal tibial metaphysic was decreased and the osteoid surface was increased possibly indicating a change in mineral metabolism. Micro-CT revealed lower cortical thickness and increased structure model index, i.e. the amount of plates and rods composing the bone trabeculas. The structural changes were paralleled by loss of function, where the null mice showed lower femoral neck failure load and tibial strength during mechanical testing at 4 months of age. The skeletal phenotype points at a role for chondroadherin in both bone and cartilage homeostasis, however, without leading to altered longitudinal growth