307 research outputs found
QUANTUM ASPECTS OF 2+1 GRAVITY
We review and systematize recent attempts to canonically quantize general
relativity in 2+1 dimensions, defined on space-times , where
is a compact Riemann surface of genus . The emphasis is on
quantizations of the classical connection formulation, which use Wilson loops
as their basic observables, but also results from the ADM formulation are
summarized. We evaluate the progress and discuss the possible quantum
(in)equivalence of the various approaches.Comment: 24 pages, TeX, Mar 95; contribution to the JMP special issue on
"Quantum geometry and diffeomorphism invariant quantum field theory
Rab14 regulates the maturation of macrophage phagosomes containing the fungal pathogen Candida albicans and the outcome of the host-pathogen interaction
Date of Acceptance: 02/02/2015 Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Optimizing Lumber Production through Improved Accuracy of Side Clearance of Bandsaw Teeth and Quality Control Measures
As log costs increases as a result of increasing demand for wood products with a
corresponding poor management of forest resource it has become more critical to obtain the
maximum yield of useful product from each tree in order to sustain the wood industry. This
work looks at the effect of the accuracy of side clearance of band saw teeth on the surface
quality of sawn lumber as well as the level of adherence to quality standards when sawing
Triplochiton scleroxylon (Wawa). The results obtained from the relationship between the
accuracy of side clearance of band saw teeth and surface quality of sawn lumber indicates
that there is a strong linear relationship between the two parameters. That is as the standard deviation of the side clearance of the band saw teeth decreases the surface quality of the sawn lumber becomes better. The correlation coefficient and coefficient of determination values for the two variables, that is, the accuracy of side clearance of the band saw teeth and the surface quality of the sawn lumber were -0.9042 and 0.8176 respectively. These values show that about 82% of the variations of the surface quality of the sawn lumber is influenced by the standard deviation of the side clearance of the band saw teeth. A graph of the relationship between the surface quality of the sawn lumber and standard deviation shows that on the average when the standard deviation of the side clearance of the band saw teeth is 0.225mm or low the surface quality of the sawn lumber produced could be qualitatively classified as good, very good or excellent. The result also indicated that the surface quality of the sawn lumber was excellent when the standard deviation of the side clearance of the band saw teeth was 0.07mm or low and was poor or very poor when the standard deviation of the side clearance was 0.252mm or more. A statistical control chart of sampled boards from the production process of the mill used for the study indicated that the mean thickness of the sawn boards was 42.42mm. The upper and lower control limits at 1.65 standard deviation were 44.08mm and 40.76mm respectively. The result indicates that about 15% of the total boards sampled were outside the control limits of the chart. The mean thickness of the sawn lumber at the mill for the study was 42.42mm as against nominal thickness of 41.00mm. This will result in a loss of about 3.46% timber for every board sawn and a subsequent loss of about 3.46m3 for every 100m3 of sawn lumber produced. African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Vol. 5 2007: pp. 1-
Independent Loop Invariants for 2+1 Gravity
We identify an explicit set of complete and independent Wilson loop
invariants for 2+1 gravity on a three-manifold , with
a compact oriented Riemann surface of arbitrary genus . In the
derivation we make use of a global cross section of the -principal
bundle over Teichm\"uller space given in terms of Fenchel-Nielsen coordinates.Comment: 11pp, 2 figures (postscript, compressed and uu-encoded), TeX,
Pennsylvania State University, CGPG-94/7-
Candida albicans Hypha Formation and Mannan Masking of ÎČ-Glucan Inhibit Macrophage Phagosome Maturation
Received 28 August 2014 Accepted 28 October 2014 Published 2 December 2014 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Janet Willment, Aberdeen Fungal Group, University of Aberdeen, for kindly providing the soluble Dectin-1-Fc reporter. All microscopy was performed with the assistance of the University of Aberdeen Core Microscopy & Histology Facility, and we thank the IFCC for their assistance with flow cytometry. We thank the Wellcome Trust for funding (080088, 086827, 075470, 099215, 097377, and 101873). E.R.B. and A.J.P.B. are funded by the European Research Council (ERC-2009-AdG-249793), and J.L. is funded by a Medical Research Council Clinical Training Fellowship.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Effects of Menopause in Women With Multiple Sclerosis: An Evidence-Based Review
Over two thirds of all individuals who develop multiple sclerosis (MS) will be women prior to the age of menopause. Further, an estimated 30% of the current MS population consists of peri- or postmenopausal women. The presence of MS does not appear to influence age of menopausal onset. In clinical practice, symptoms of MS and menopause can frequently overlap, including disturbances in cognition, mood, sleep, and bladder function, which can create challenges in ascertaining the likely cause of symptoms to be treated. A holistic and comprehensive approach to address these common physical and psychological changes is often suggested to patients during menopause. Although some studies have suggested that women with MS experience reduced relapse rates and increased disability progression post menopause, the data are not consistent enough for firm conclusions to be drawn. Mechanisms through which postmenopausal women with MS may experience disability progression include neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration from age-associated phenomena such as immunosenescence and inflammaging. Additional effects are likely to result from reduced levels of estrogen, which affects MS disease course. Following early retrospective studies of women with MS receiving steroid hormones, more recent interventional trials of exogenous hormone use, albeit as oral contraceptive, have provided some indications of potential benefit on MS outcomes. This review summarizes current research on the effects of menopause in women with MS, including the psychological impact and symptoms of menopause on disease worsening, and the treatment options. Finally, we highlight the need for more inclusion of MS patients from underrepresented racial and geographic groups in clinical trials, including among menopausal women
Isolation of a novel thermostable dehydrochlorinase (LinA) from a soil metagenome
Hexachlorocyclohexane dehydrochlorinase (LinA) mediates first step of aerobic degradation of a chlorinated insecticide γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH). In this study, we describe characterization of a novel variant (LinA-type2) that is distinct from reported LinAs and is substantially more thermostable than archetypal LinA-UT26. LinA-type2 remains active even after 8 h of incubation at 45 °C, when nearly 50% activity of LinA-UT26 is lost after incubation for 60 min at the same temperature. Circular dichroism analysis revealed that secondary structures of LinA-UT26 and LinA-type2 are similar, but their Tm was 45 and 65 °C, respectively. Thermostability of LinA-type2 makes it suitable for bioreactors where allowance for higher temperatures can be of advantage
Levinson's Theorem for Non-local Interactions in Two Dimensions
In the light of the Sturm-Liouville theorem, the Levinson theorem for the
Schr\"{o}dinger equation with both local and non-local cylindrically symmetric
potentials is studied. It is proved that the two-dimensional Levinson theorem
holds for the case with both local and non-local cylindrically symmetric cutoff
potentials, which is not necessarily separable. In addition, the problems
related to the positive-energy bound states and the physically redundant state
are also discussed in this paper.Comment: Latex 11 pages, no figure, submitted to J. Phys. A Email:
[email protected], [email protected]
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