On the Manin-Mumford and Mordell-Lang conjectures in positive characteristic

We prove that in positive characteristic, the Manin-Mumford conjecture implies the Mordell-Lang conjecture, in the situation where the ambient variety is an abelian variety defined over the function field of a smooth curve over a finite field and the relevant group is a finitely generated group. In particular, in the setting of the last sentence, we provide a proof of the Mordell-Lang conjecture, which does not depend on tools coming from model theory.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1103.262

Peroxisomal regulation of redox homeostasis and adipocyte metabolism

Peroxisomes are ubiquitous cellular organelles required for specific pathways of fatty acid oxidation and lipid synthesis, and until recently their functions in adipocytes have not been well appreciated. Importantly, peroxisomes host many oxygen-consumption reactions and play a major role in generation and detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), influencing whole cell redox status. Here, we review recent progress in peroxisomal functions in lipid metabolism as related to ROS/RNS metabolism and discuss the roles of peroxisomal redox homeostasis in adipogenesis and adipocyte metabolism. We provide a framework for understanding redox regulation of peroxisomal functions in adipocytes together with testable hypotheses for developing therapies for obesity and the related metabolic diseases

Understanding plastic deformation in thermal glasses from single-soft-spot dynamics

By considering the low-frequency vibrational modes of amorphous solids, Manning and Liu [Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 108302 (2011)] showed that a population of "soft spots" can be identified that are intimately related to plasticity at zero temperature under quasistatic shear. In this work we track individual soft spots with time in a two-dimensional sheared thermal Lennard Jones glass at temperatures ranging from deep in the glassy regime to above the glass transition temperature. We show that the lifetimes of individual soft spots are correlated with the timescale for structural relaxation. We additionally calculate the number of rearrangements required to destroy soft spots, and show that most soft spots can survive many rearrangements. Finally, we show that soft spots are robust predictors of rearrangements at temperatures well into the super-cooled regime. Altogether, these results pave the way for mesoscopic theories of plasticity of amorphous solids based on dynamical behavior of individual soft spots.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

My Son, Listen to the Instruction of Your Father : An Analysis of How the Father’s Rhetoric in Proverbs 1-7 Continues and Climaxes in Proverbs 8-9

Liu, Hsiao-Yung (Samuel) My Son, Listen to the Instruction of Your Father: An Analysis of How the Father Rhetoric in Proverbs 1-7 Continues and Climaxes in Proverbs 8-9. Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2007. 200 pp. This dissertation proposes the thesis that the father\u27s rhetoric in Prov 1-7 continues and climaxes in Prov 8-9, thus supporting the unity of Prov 1-9. Although diverse voices and genres make the reading of Prov 1-9 difficult, there still exists the unifying perspective of the implied speaker in the text, which is the father\u27s rhetoric, Therefore, assuming that one single author or editor completed the current text in Prov 1- 9, this investigation proposes that the Sitz im Leben of the text is family and the speaker is a father, whose rhetoric is the key to a unified reading of Proverbs 1-9. That is, the same person who says directly in the fatherly discourses, My son, listen to the instruction of your father (Prov 1:8; see also 2:1; 3:1; 3:21; 4:10, 20; 5:1; 6:1; 6:20; 7:1) is also the one using the wisdom poems of Proverbs 8-9 to communicate indirectly. In other words, this speaking father uses the figure of personified Wisdom in Prov 8-9 as the rhetorical/imagery device to continue and to climax what he has said in the previous discourses (Prov 1-7) so that the speaker obtains a stronger rhetorical/ persuasive effect upon the listener (the listening son) and makes him listen/obey. In order to find a unity in the text, scholars try to fill the gap made by the difference/ discontinuity of the father\u27s voice (Prov 1-7) and wisdom\u27s voice (Prov 8-9), providing different interpretations in the structure and reading of the text. To explain how the continuity and climax are set up, this study examines the work of both form-redactional critics and feminist critics on Proverbs 1-9. While both offer interesting insights, neither deals adequately with the challenges of the text, particularly in the area of discontinuity ( e.g., the discontinuity existing between the fatherly discourses [Prov 1-7] and the wisdom poems [Prov 8-9]). Responding to the discontinuity and dialoguing with these two methods, this study employs rhetorical criticism to demonstrate how the father\u27s rhetoric in Prov 1-7 continues and climaxes in Prov 8-9, thus creating a unity within the nine chapters. In the content of the dissertation, this study will argue the thesis step by step. Chapter 1 provides a general introduction concerning the setting, assumption, rationale, demarcation and outlines of this dissertation. Chapter 2 gives an overview of the secondary literature regarding form-redactional and feminist criticism, showing how these studies are able to explain the text and structure but are inadequate to approach Prov 1-7 and 8-9 holistically. Chapter 3 is the introduction to the methodology that this study follows. This study uses rhetorical criticism to help prove its thesis. Chapter 4 demonstrates the rhetorical strategies concerning how this study develops the rationale in this thesis. Chapter 5 investigates the structure and content arrangement of the father\u27s rhetoric in the compositional dimension, in which symmetry and repetition are the two principles used to investigate the inclusio, center, chiasmus, contrast, and climax of the text. Chapter 6 deals with the persuasive dimension, particularly with the stylistic elements, the speaker\u27s ethos, the listener\u27s pathos and imagery devices. Chapter 7 presents the conclusions of this study based on all that has gone before. The thesis that the father\u27s rhetoric in Prov 1-7 continues and climaxes in Prov 8-9 will be confirmed