Dual topological nonlinear sigma models of QED\text{QED} theory by dimensional reduction and monopole operators

Nonlinear $\sigma$ models (NLSM) with topological terms, i.e., Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) terms, or topological NLSM, are potent descriptions of many critical points and phases beyond the Landau paradigm. These critical systems include the deconfined quantum critical points (DQCP) between the Neel order and valance bond solid, and the Dirac spin liquid, in which the topological NLSMs are dual descriptions of the corresponding fermionic models or $\text{QED}$ theory. In this paper, we propose a dimensional reduction scheme to derive the $\text{U}(1)$ gauged topological NLSM in $n$-dimensional spacetime on a general target space represented by a Hermitian matrix from the dual QED theory. Compared with the famous Abanov-Wiegmann (AW) mechanism, which generally requires the fermions to be Dirac fermions in the infrared (IR), our method is also applicable to non-relativistic fermions in IR, which can have quadratic dispersion or even a Fermi surface. As concrete examples, we construct several two dimensional lattice models, whose IR theories are all the $N_f=4$ $\text{QED}_3$ with fermions of quadratic dispersion and show that its topological NLSM dual description has level-2 WZW terms on the Grassmannian manifold $\frac{\text{U(4)}}{\text{U(2)}\times \text{U(2)}}$ coupled with a dynamical $\text{U(1)}$ gauge field. We also study 't Hooft anomaly matching and the same effect of defects in both theories, such as interface, gauge monopoles and skyrmions, which further support our duality. Finally, we discuss how the macroscopic symmetries act on the $\text{U(1)}$ monopole operators and the corresponding quantum number.Comment: 27 pages, 3 figures; Minor improvements of the presentatio

Method of fabricating thallium-containing ceramic superconductors

An improved technique for the fabrication of thallium-based superconducting oxides, and particularly Tl:Ba:Ca:Cu:O 2223 oxides, is described which allows production of very pure superconductors (\u3e95% 2223 phase) having excellent structural characteristics. The method of the invention involves first forming a self-sustaining body of starting oxides and subjecting this body to a sintering technique wherein the temperature of the body is gradually raised to a maximum level of about 850°-930° C, followed by maintaining the body at this temperature for a period of about 48 hours. The body is then slowly cooled to avoid distortion and loss of superconducting character. Most preferably, the sintering is a two-stage operation, where the body is first heated at a relatively low rate (e.g., 1°-10° C/min.) to a temperature of about 650°-750° C, followed by faster heating at a higher rate to achieve the maximum sintering temperature. Cooling is likewise staged, involving slow cooling at a rate of about 0.1°-5° C/min. until a temperature of about 600°-650° C is reached. The body is maintained at this temperature for about 5-20 hours. Final cooling is allowed to occur naturally down to ambient temperature

A Novel Algorithm for Finding Interspersed Repeat Regions

The analysis of repeats in the DNA sequences is an important subject in bioinformatics. In this paper, we propose a novel projection-assemble algorithm to find unknown interspersed repeats in DNA sequences. The algorithm employs random projection algorithm to obtain a candidate fragment set, and exhaustive search algorithm to search each pair of fragments from the candidate fragment set to find potential linkage, and then assemble them together. The complexity of our projection-assemble algorithm is nearly linear to the length of the genome sequence, and its memory usage is limited by the hardware. We tested our algorithm with both simulated data and real biology data, and the results show that our projection-assemble algorithm is efficient. By means of this algorithm, we found an un-labeled repeat region that occurs five times in Escherichia coli genome, with its length more than 5,000bp, and a mismatch probability less than 4%

How Social Experience Encourages Donation Intention to Charitable Crowdfunding Projects on Social Media: Empathy and Personal Impulsiveness

Embedding charitable crowdfunding into social media is a new practice that encourages prosocial behaviors. The rich social experience in charitable crowdfunding on social media distinguishes this context from other conventional contexts like charity fundraising websites. Specifically, this study incorporates social experience, empathy and personal impulsiveness to investigate donation intention in this new context. By analyzing survey data collected in China, this study finds that empathy mediates the effects of interaction with fundraiser and perceived proximity with donatee on a user’s donation intention. Social influence on social media platform is found to have positive influences on empathy and on donation intention. This study also investigates how empathy’s influence on donation intention varies by personal impulsiveness. It contributes to extant literature by highlighting the mediating role of empathy and the moderating role of personal impulsiveness. It also provides practical insights to encourage pro-social behaviors

What drives people to purchase virtual gifts in live streaming? The mediating role of flow

Live streaming, a new form of social media, is growing explosively due to its real-time interaction and new monetization model. Considering its popularity and unique features, it is important to gain a theoretical understanding of live streaming. Yet limited attention has been paid to it. This research investigates what factors may affect people’s consumption intention of virtual gifts in live streaming from contextual and personal dimensions. Based on flow theory, this study also explores the mediating role of flow and the moderating role of gender. The theoretical framework is tested using Structural Equation Modeling based on survey data collected in China. The study contributes to flow theory by highlighting the importance of flow in mediating the effects of interactivity, social presence, curiosity and social media dependence on consumption intention of virtual gifts. It also reveals gender differences in the influence of flow on consumption intention of virtual gifts

What Encourages Purchase of Virtual Gifts in Live Streaming: Cognitive Absorption, Social Experience and Technological Environment

Live streaming has become extraordinarily popular worldwide. As a new form of social media, live streaming enables two levels of real-time interactions (i.e., between viewers and the streamer, and among viewers) and is monetized in a new way-viewers’ purchase of virtual gifts. The new monetization model has achieved a great success, yet there is a lack of understanding about what encourages viewers to purchase virtual gifts in live streaming. To explain such purchase behavior, this study develops a model which investigates the roles of viewers’ holistic experience with the system (i.e., cognitive absorption) and their social experiences (i.e., para-social interaction and virtual crowd experience), as well as how these experiences are developed within the technological environment of live streaming (i.e., interactivity, deep profiling and design aesthetics). The model was validated by using survey data collected from China. We also discuss implications for research and practice emerging out of this study

Energy‐Efficient Oil–Water Separation of Biomimetic Copper Membrane with Multiscale Hierarchical Dendritic Structures

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138424/1/smll201701121-sup-0001-S1.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138424/2/smll201701121_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138424/3/smll201701121.pd

Evaluating online review helpfulness based on Elaboration Likelihood Model: the moderating role of readability

It is important to understand factors affecting the perceived online review helpfulness as it helps solve the problem of information overload in online shopping. Moreover, it is also crucial to explore the factors’ relative importance in predicting review helpfulness in order to effectively detect potential helpful reviews before they exert influences. Applying Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), this study first investigates the effects of central cues (review subjectivity and elaborateness) and peripheral cues (reviewer rank) on review helpfulness with readability as a moderator. Second, it also explores their relative predicting power using the machine learning technique. ELM is tested in online context and the results are compared between experience and search goods. Our results provide evidence that for both types of products review subjectivity can play a more significant role when the content readability is high. Furthermore, this study reveals that the dominant predictor is varied for different product types

Importance of Community Influence and Meter Message on Brand Value Co-creation: a Study In Social Commerce Research - in - Progress

Social commerce which emphasizes the importance of customer social networks has attracted increasing research attention. However, most previous studies in this area have focused on purchase decisions, and neglected that other customer behaviors can also benefit firms such as brand value co-creation. Despite that the marketing literature has recognized the important role of customers in brand value co-creation, little research has investigated what factors can contribute to customers’ brand value co-creation in social commerce. As social commerce facilitates the social interactions among customers and between customers and marketers, this research tries to explore customers’ brand value co-creation in social commerce from two dimensions: other customers and the marketer. It extends our understanding on social commerce by showing how community influences and marketers’ message framing can impact customers’ intention to co-create brand value in social commerce

Case studies emphasising the difficulties in the diagnosis and management of alveolar echinococcosis in rural China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Human alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is caused by the accidental ingestion of the eggs of the fox tapeworm <it>Echinococcus multilocularis</it>. AE occurs frequently in rural western China due to the poor levels of hygiene, the close contact of people with dogs, and the lack of appropriate facilities for the correct and rapid diagnosis of the disease.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>We describe a case of a patient with hepatic AE, and AE metastases of the brain. She was mistakenly diagnosed with suspected undifferentiated metastatic cancer of the liver and brain, and with a pulmonary bacterial infection, but was subsequently correctly diagnosed during a follow-up field survey for echinococcosis. The diagnosis of brain AE was confirmed by pathological examination of tissue biopsies removed during neurosurgery. We also briefly describe other symptomatic and asymptomatic AE cases, identified by chance, likely due to the inadequate facilities available in rural communities in China for AE diagnosis and management, since the rapid and accurate diagnosis of metastatic AE requires a high level of expertise in the appropriate diagnostic procedures.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This report highlights the necessity for an upgrade in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control of AE in rural China.</p