Half-hypers and quivers

We study systematically the BPS spectra of N = 2 SYM coupled to half - hypermultiplets, the basic example being E7 SYM coupled to a half-hyper in the 56 irrepr. In order to do this, we determine the BPS quivers with superpotential of such N = 2 models using a new technique we introduce. The computation of the BPS spectra in the various chambers is then reduced to the Representation Theory of the resulting quivers. We use the quiver description to study the BPS spectrum at both strong and weak coupling. The following models are discussed in detail: SU(6) SYM coupled to a 1/2 20, SO(12) SYM coupled to a 1/2 32, and E7 SYM coupled to a 1/2 56. For models with gauge group SU(2) × SO(2n) and matter in the 1/2 (2, 2n) we find strongly coupled chambers with a BPS spectrum consisting of just finitely many hypermultiplets. © SISSA 2012

Assessment of Natural Resources Use for Sustainable Development - DPSIR Framework for Case Studies in Portsmouth and Thames Gateway, U.K.

This chapter reports on the uses of the DPSIR framework to assess the sustainability of the intertidal environments within the two UK case study areas, Portsmouth and Thames Gateway. It focuses on statutory conservation areas dominated by intertidal habitats. Two are located in Portsmouth (Portsmouth and Langstone Harbours) and four in the Thames Gateway (Benfleet Marshes, South Thames Estuary, Medway Estuary and the Swale in the Thames Gateway). Based on the reduction of a number of pressures and impacts observed in recent decades and the improvement of overall environmental quality, all six SSSIs are considered to be sustainable in the short and medium term. In the future, it is possible that the impacts of climate change, especially sea-level rise, might result in further reduction in the area and/or quality of intertidal habitats. Further integration between conservation and planning objectives (both for urban development and management of flood risk) at local level is needed to support the long-term sustainability of intertidal habitats

A new vista on the heterotic moduli space from six and three dimensions

We settle a longstanding question about the hypermultiplet moduli spaces of the heterotic strings on asymptotically locally Euclidean singularities. These heterotic backgrounds are specified by the singularity type, an instanton number, and a (nontrivial) flat connection at infinity. Building on their interpretation as six-dimensional theories, we determine a class of three-dimensional N=4 quiver gauge theories whose quantum corrected Coulomb branch coincides with the exact heterotic hypermultiplet moduli space

Dissociating object familiarity from linguistic properties in mirror word reading

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is known that the orthographic properties of linguistic stimuli are processed within the left occipitotemporal cortex at about 150–200 ms. We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) to words in standard or mirror orientation to investigate the role of visual word form in reading. Word inversion was performed to determine whether rotated words lose their linguistic properties.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>About 1300 Italian words and legal pseudo-words were presented to 18 right-handed Italian students engaged in a letter detection task. EEG was recorded from 128 scalp sites.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>ERPs showed an early effect of word orientation at ~150 ms, with larger N1 amplitudes to rotated than to standard words. Low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) revealed an increase in N1 to rotated words primarily in the right occipital lobe (BA 18), which may indicate an effect of stimulus familiarity. N1 was greater to target than to non-target letters at left lateral occipital sites, thus reflecting the first stage of orthographic processing. LORETA revealed a strong focus of activation for this effect in the left fusiform gyrus (BA 37), which is consistent with the so-called visual word form area (VWFA). Standard words (compared to pseudowords) elicited an enhancement of left occipito/temporal negativity at about 250–350 ms, followed by a larger anterior P3, a reduced frontal N400 and a huge late positivity. Lexical effects for rotated strings were delayed by about 100 ms at occipito/temporal sites, and were totally absent at later processing stages. This suggests the presence of implicit reading processes, which were pre-attentive and of perceptual nature for mirror strings.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The contrast between inverted and standard words did not lead to the identification of a purely linguistic brain region. This finding suggests some caveats in the interpretation of the inversion effect in subtractive paradigms.</p

Biological surface properties in extracellular vesicles and their effect on cargo proteins

Ultracentrifugationon sucrose density gradientappears to be the best purification protocol for extracellular vesicle (EVs) purification. After this step, to reduce disulfide bridges linking exogenous proteins to the vesicles, the collected samples are routinely washed and treated with dithiothreitol (DTT). Such incubations are performed at temperatures ranging from room temperature up to 95\u2009\ub0C, with either Tris or PBS as buffers. We re-investigated these steps on both exosomes and microvesicles purified from blood (serum) and urine by electrophoretic separation, silver staining and western blots analysis. Data confirm that an extra centrifugation on a sucrose cushion can effectively eliminate contaminants. Tris buffer (50 Mm) and \u3b2-mercaptoethanol as a reducing agent at room temperature dramatically improved either sample cleaning. By contrast, especially for exosomes PBS buffer and DTT, above 37\u2009\ub0C, caused massive protein aggregations, yielding blurred SDS-PAGE gels in both samples. Immuno-blot analyses demonstrated that in PBS-DTT contamination with albumin (in serum) or with uromodulin (in urine) occurs. DTT, likely due to its two-SH groups, might form scrambled SS-bonds promoting EVs interaction with environmental macromolecules via disulphide bridges. Therefore, to obtain maximum vesicle purity for biomarker investigations and to maximize both presence of EVs proteins and their accessibility, use of DTT is not recommended

Islet adaptive changes to fructose-induced insulin resistance: β-cell mass, glucokinase, glucose metabolism, and insulin secretion

β-Cell mass, hexokinase/glucokinase (HK/GK) activity, glucose metabolism and insulin secretion were studied in the islets of rats with fructose-induced insulin resistance (IR). Normal male Wistar rats were fed a standard commercial diet and water without (control, C) or with 10% fructose-rich diet (FRD) for 3 weeks. Blood glucose (strips), triglyceride (commercial kit), and insulin (RIA) levels were measured at the time of death. Glucose-induced insulin release, glucose metabolism (14CO2 and 3H2O production from D-[U-14C]- and D-[5-3H]-glucose) and HK/GK activity (G-6-P production), transcription (RTPCR), protein expression (Western blot), and cellular compartmentalization were measured in isolated islets (collagenase digestion). FRD rats presented normoglycemia but impaired glucose tolerance, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperinsulinemia, and increased HOMA-IR index. In these rats, β-cell mass decreased significantly by 33%, with a 44% increase in the percentage of apoptotic cells. Glucose-induced insulin release and islet glucose metabolism were higher in FRD rats. While GK activity (total and cytosolic fraction) and protein expression were significantly higher in FRD islets, HK showed no change in any of these parameters. Our results demonstrate that the changes induced by dietary-induced IR upon β-cell function and mass are strongly conditional on the nutrient model used. In our model (intact animals with impaired glucose tolerance), GK activity increases through mechanisms previously shown only in vitro or under highly hyperglycemic conditions. Such an increase plays a pivotal role in the adaptive increased release of insulin in response to IR, even in the presence of marked β-cell mass reduction.Centro de Endocrinología Experimental y Aplicad

Infinitely many N=2 SCFT with ADE flavor symmetry

We present evidence that for each ADE Lie group G there is an infinite tower of 4D N = 2 SCFTs, which we label as D(G, s) with s 08 \u2115, having (at least) flavor symmetry G. For G = SU(2), D(SU(2),s) coincides with the Argyres-Douglas model of type D8+1, while for larger flavor groups the models are new (but for a few previously known examples). When its flavor symmetry G is gauged, D(G,s) contributes to the Yang-Mills beta-function as 8/2(+1) adjoint hypermultiplets. The argument is based on a combination of Type IIB geometric engineering and the categorical deconstruction of arXiv: 1203.6743. One first engineers a class of N = 2 models which, trough the analysis of their category of quiver representations, are identified as asymptotically-free gauge theories with gauge group G coupled to some conformal matter system. Taking the limit gYM \u2192 0 one isolates the matter SCFT which is our D(G, s). \ua9 SISSA 2013