Towers of recollement and bases for diagram algebras: planar diagrams and a little beyond

The recollement approach to the representation theory of sequences of algebras is extended to pass basis information directly through the globalisation functor. The method is hence adapted to treat sequences that are not necessarily towers by inclusion, such as symplectic blob algebras (diagram algebra quotients of the type-\hati{C} Hecke algebras). By carefully reviewing the diagram algebra construction, we find a new set of functors interrelating module categories of ordinary blob algebras (diagram algebra quotients of the type-${B}$ Hecke algebras) at {\em different} values of the algebra parameters. We show that these functors generalise to determine the structure of symplectic blob algebras, and hence of certain two-boundary Temperley-Lieb algebras arising in Statistical Mechanics. We identify the diagram basis with a cellular basis for each symplectic blob algebra, and prove that these algebras are quasihereditary over a field for almost all parameter choices, and generically semisimple. (That is, we give bases for all cell and standard modules.)Comment: 61 page

Farmers and Social Security Reform

Agricultural Finance,

A randomised controlled study of high intensity exercise as a dishabituating stimulus to improve hypoglycaemia awareness in people with type 1 diabetes:a proof of concept study

Aims/hypothesis Approximately 25% of people with type 1 diabetes have suppressed counterregulatory hormonal and symptomatic responses to insulin-induced hypoglycaemia, which renders them at increased risk of severe, disabling hypoglycaemia. This is called impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia (IAH), the cause of which is unknown. We recently proposed that IAH develops through habituation, a form of adaptive memory to preceding hypoglycaemia. Consistent with this hypothesis, we demonstrated restoration of defective counterregulatory hormonal responses to hypoglycaemia (referred to as dishabituation) in a rodent model of IAH following introduction of a novel stress stimulus (high intensity training [HIT]). In this proof-of-concept study we sought to further test this hypothesis by examining whether a single episode of HIT would amplify counterregulatory responses to subsequent hypoglycaemia in people with type 1 diabetes who had IAH (assessed by Gold score ≥4, modified Clarke score ≥4 or Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating (DAFNE) hypoglycaemia awareness rating 2 or 3). The primary outcome was the difference in adrenaline response to hypoglycaemia following both a single episode of HIT and rest. Methods In this randomised, crossover study 12 participants aged between 18 and 55 years with type 1 diabetes for ≥5 years and an HbA1c < 75 mmol/mol (9%) were recruited. Individuals were randomised using computer generated block randomisation to start with one episode of HIT (4 × 30 s cycle sprints [2 min recovery] at 150% of maximum wattage achieved during V˙O2peak assessment) or rest (control). The following day they underwent a 90 min hyperinsulinaemic–hypoglycaemic clamp study at 2.5 mmol/l with measurement of hormonal counterregulatory response, symptom scores and cognitive testing (four-choice reaction time and digit symbol substitution test). Each intervention and subsequent clamp study was separated by at least 2 weeks. The participants and investigators were not blinded to the intervention or measurements during the study. The investigators were blinded to the primary outcome and blood analysis results. Results All participants (six male and six female, age 19–54 years, median [IQR] duration of type 1 diabetes 24.5 [17.3–29.0] years, mean [SEM] HbA1c 56 [3.67] mmol/mol; 7.3% [0.34%]) completed the study (both interventions and two clamps). In comparison with the rest study, a single episode of HIT led to a 29% increase in the adrenaline (epinephrine) response (mean [SEM]) (2286.5 [343.1] vs 2953.8 [384.9] pmol/l); a significant increase in total symptom scores (Edinburgh Hypoglycaemia Symptom Scale: 24.25 [2.960 vs 27.5 [3.9]; p < 0.05), and a significant prolongation of four-choice reaction time (591.8 [22.5] vs 659.9 [39.86] ms; p < 0.01] during equivalent hypoglycaemia induced the following day. Conclusions/interpretation These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that IAH develops in people with type 1 diabetes as a habituated response and that introduction of a novel stressor can restore, at least partially, the adapted counterregulatory hormonal, symptomatic and cognitive responses to hypoglycaemia.Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Onlin

Crop expansion and conservation priorities in tropical countries

Expansion of cropland in tropical countries is one of the principal causes of biodiversity loss, and threatens to undermine progress towards meeting the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. To understand this threat better, we analysed data on crop distribution and expansion in 128 tropical countries, assessed changes in area of the main crops and mapped overlaps between conservation priorities and cultivation potential. Rice was the single crop grown over the largest area, especially in tropical forest biomes. Cropland in tropical countries expanded by c. 48,000 km2 per year from 1999–2008. The countries which added the greatest area of new cropland were Nigeria, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Brazil. Soybeans and maize are the crops which expanded most in absolute area. Other crops with large increases included rice, sorghum, oil palm, beans, sugar cane, cow peas, wheat and cassava. Areas of high cultivation potential—while bearing in mind that political and socio-economic conditions can be as influential as biophysical ones—may be vulnerable to conversion in the future. These include some priority areas for biodiversity conservation in tropical countries (e.g., Frontier Forests and High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas), which have previously been identified as having ‘low vulnerability’, in particular in central Africa and northern Australia. There are also many other smaller areas which are important for biodiversity and which have high cultivation potential (e.g., in the fringes of the Amazon basin, in the Paraguayan Chaco, and in the savanna woodlands of the Sahel and East Africa). We highlight the urgent need for more effective sustainability standards and policies addressing both production and consumption of tropical commodities, including robust land-use planning in agricultural frontiers, establishment of new protected areas or REDD+ projects in places agriculture has not yet reached, and reduction or elimination of incentives for land-demanding bioenergy feedstock

Calnexin Is Necessary for T Cell Transmigration into the Central Nervous System

In multiple sclerosis (MS), a demyelinating inflammatory disease of the CNS, and its animal model (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis; EAE), circulating immune cells gain access to the CNS across the blood-brain barrier to cause inflammation, myelin destruction, and neuronal damage. Here, we discovered that calnexin, an ER chaperone, is highly abundant in human brain endothelial cells of MS patients. Conversely, mice lacking calnexin exhibited resistance to EAE induction, no evidence of immune cell infiltration into the CNS, and no induction of inflammation markers within the CNS. Furthermore, calnexin deficiency in mice did not alter the development or function of the immune system. Instead, the loss of calnexin led to a defect in brain endothelial cell function that resulted in reduced T cell trafficking across the blood-brain barrier. These findings identify calnexin in brain endothelial cells as a potentially novel target for developing strategies aimed at managing or preventing the pathogenic cascade that drives neuroinflammation and destruction of the myelin sheath in MS

Social patterning of obesity in Spain: A systematic review of the relationship between education and obesity

Introduction: In high-income countries around the world, there appears to be an inverse association between educational attainment and obesity. However, the literature about this association in Spain remains disorganized and disparate. Material and Methods: We systematically reviewed peer-reviewed English- or Spanish language studies of this association in Spain from 10 databases from all periods of time available. Results: Our search identified twenty-four studies. In both nationally representative and subnational studies, women with less education had higher odds of obesity than their more educated counterparts. Men, despite exhibiting greater variability in the education-body weight relationship, also demonstrated a similar social patterning of body weight in many studies, with those at lower levels of educational attainment having higher odds of obesity relative to their more-educated counterparts. These associations in men and women were fairly consistent across time and place, though some regional variations did exist. Discussion and conclusions: We encourage future researchers to move towards more meaningful, unbiased estimates of the association between educational attainment and obesity by measuring height and weight with physical exams, controlling for a more robust set of possible confounders, and exploring potential modifying factors of the association. Additionally, when possible, we encourage researchers to employ prospective study designs that facilitate causal inference with respect to this association

Pharmacist-led management of chronic pain in primary care:results from a randomised controlled exploratory trial

To compare the effectiveness of pharmacist medication review, with or without pharmacist prescribing, with standard care, for patients with chronic pain

Galaxies Probing Galaxies at High Resolution: Co-Rotating Gas Associated with a Milky Way Analog at z=0.4

We present results on gas flows in the halo of a Milky Way-like galaxy at z=0.413 based on high-resolution spectroscopy of a background galaxy. This is the first study of circumgalactic gas at high spectral resolution towards an extended background source (i.e., a galaxy rather than a quasar). Using longslit spectroscopy of the foreground galaxy, we observe spatially extended H alpha emission with circular rotation velocity v=270 km/s. Using echelle spectroscopy of the background galaxy, we detect Mg II and Fe II absorption lines at impact parameter rho=27 kpc that are blueshifted from systemic in the sense of the foreground galaxy's rotation. The strongest absorber EW(2796) = 0.90 A has an estimated column density (N_H>10^19 cm-2) and line-of-sight velocity dispersion (sigma=17 km/s) that are consistent with the observed properties of extended H I disks in the local universe. Our analysis of the rotation curve also suggests that this r=30 kpc gaseous disk is warped with respect to the stellar disk. In addition, we detect two weak Mg II absorbers in the halo with small velocity dispersions (sigma<10 km/s). While the exact geometry is unclear, one component is consistent with an extraplanar gas cloud near the disk-halo interface that is co-rotating with the disk, and the other is consistent with a tidal feature similar to the Magellanic Stream. We can place lower limits on the cloud sizes (l>0.4 kpc) for these absorbers given the extended nature of the background source. We discuss the implications of these results for models of the geometry and kinematics of gas in the circumgalactic medium.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, submitted to ApJ, comments welcom

The Dynamics of Molecular Material Within 15 pcs of the Galactic Center

We report the results of a 5-field mosaic of the central 15pc of the Galaxy in the (1,1) and (2,2) lines of NH3. Two narrow filaments or streamers are seen running parallel to the Galactic plane. The southern streamer appears to carry gas directly toward the nuclear region from the 20 km/s cloud. The eastern streamer, which we will denote the molecular ridge, appears to be the denser part of the 50 km/s cloud which lies immediately east of the Sgr A East complex and extends in the south towards the 20 km/s cloud. This ridge of gas carries the kinematical signatures of interactions with Sgr A East as well as a SNR which lies south of the Galactic center. The bulk motion of the gas, the enhanced line widths, and the heating of the molecular material all suggest an active evolutionary phase for the gas immediately adjacent to the nucleus.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, to appear in The Astrophysical Journa