On unitarity of a linearized Yang-Mills formulation for massless and massive gravity with propagating torsion

A perturbative regime based on contortion as a dynamical variable and metric as a (classical) fixed background, is performed in the context of a pure Yang-Mills formulation for gravity in a $2+1$ dimensional space-time. In the massless case we show that the theory contains three degrees of freedom and only one is a non-unitary mode. Next, we introduce quadratical terms dependent on torsion, which preserve parity and general covariance. The linearized version reproduces an analogue Hilbert-Einstein-Fierz-Pauli unitary massive theory plus three massless modes, two of them represents non-unitary ones. Finally we confirm the existence of a family of unitary Yang-Mills-extended theories which are classically consistent with Einstein's solutions coming from non massive and topologically massive gravity. The unitarity of these YM-extended theories is shown in a perturbative regime. A possible way to perform a non-perturbative study is remarked.Comment: To appear in International Journal of Modern Physics

Planetary circulations in the presence of transient and self-induced heating

The research program focuses on large-scale circulations and their interaction with the global convective pattern. An 11-year record of global cloud imagery and contemporaneous fields of motion and temperature have been used to investigate organized convection and coherent variability of the tropical circulation operating on intraseasonal time scales. This study provides a detailed portrait of tropical variability associated with the so-called Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). It reveals the nature, geographical distribution, and seasonality of discrete convective signal, which is a measure of feedback between the circulation and the convective pattern. That discrete spectral behavior has been evaluated in light of natural variability of the ITCZ associated with climatological convection. A composite signature of the MJO, based on cross-covariance statistics of cloud cover, motion, and temperature, has been constructed to characterize the lifecycle of the disturbance in terms of these properties. The composite behavior has also been used to investigate the influence the MJO exerts on the zonal-mean circulation and the involvement of the MJO in transfers of momentum between the atmosphere and the solid Earth. The aforementioned observational studies have led to the production of two animations. One reveals the convective signal in band-pass filtered OLR and compares it to climatological convection. The other is a 3-dimensional visualization of the composite lifecycle of the MJO. With a clear picture of the MJO in hand, feedback between the circulation and the convective pattern can be diagnosed meaningfully in numerical simulations. This process is being explored in calculations with the linearized primitive equations on the sphere in the presence of realistic stability and shear. The numerical framework represents climatological convection as a space-time stochastic process and wave-induced convection in terms of the vertically-integrated moisture flux convergence. In these calculations, frictional convergence near the equator emerges as a key to feedback between the circulation and the convective pattern. At low latitudes, nearly geostrophic balance in the boundary layer gives way to frictional balance. This shifts the wave-induced convection into phase with the temperature anomaly and allows the attending heating to feed back positively onto the circulation. The calculations successfully reproduce the salient features of the MJO. They are being used to understand the growth and decay phases of the composite lifecycle and the conditions that favor amplification of the MJO

Self-reinoculation with fecal flora changes microbiota density and composition leading to an altered bile-acid profile in the mouse small intestine

Background: The upper gastrointestinal tract plays a prominent role in human physiology as the primary site for enzymatic digestion and nutrient absorption, immune sampling, and drug uptake. Alterations to the small intestine microbiome have been implicated in various human diseases, such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and inflammatory bowel conditions. Yet, the physiological and functional roles of the small intestine microbiota in humans remain poorly characterized because of the complexities associated with its sampling. Rodent models are used extensively in microbiome research and enable the spatial, temporal, compositional, and functional interrogation of the gastrointestinal microbiota and its effects on the host physiology and disease phenotype. Classical, culture-based studies have documented that fecal microbial self-reinoculation (via coprophagy) affects the composition and abundance of microbes in the murine proximal gastrointestinal tract. This pervasive self-reinoculation behavior could be a particularly relevant study factor when investigating small intestine microbiota. Modern microbiome studies either do not take self-reinoculation into account, or assume that approaches such as single housing mice or housing on wire mesh floors eliminate it. These assumptions have not been rigorously tested with modern tools. Here, we used quantitative 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, quantitative microbial functional gene content inference, and metabolomic analyses of bile acids to evaluate the effects of self-reinoculation on microbial loads, composition, and function in the murine upper gastrointestinal tract. Results: In coprophagic mice, continuous self-exposure to the fecal flora had substantial quantitative and qualitative effects on the upper gastrointestinal microbiome. These differences in microbial abundance and community composition were associated with an altered profile of the small intestine bile acid pool, and, importantly, could not be inferred from analyzing large intestine or stool samples. Overall, the patterns observed in the small intestine of non-coprophagic mice (reduced total microbial load, low abundance of anaerobic microbiota, and bile acids predominantly in the conjugated form) resemble those typically seen in the human small intestine. Conclusions: Future studies need to take self-reinoculation into account when using mouse models to evaluate gastrointestinal microbial colonization and function in relation to xenobiotic transformation and pharmacokinetics or in the context of physiological states and diseases linked to small intestine microbiome and to small intestine dysbiosis

Kinerja Pemerintah Desa dalam Pelayanan Administrasi Kependudukan di Desa Poopo Barat Kecamatan Ranoyapo Kabupaten Minahasa Selatan

Sebagaimana dalam Undang-Undang Nomor 6 Tahun 2014 ini berusaha mengembalikankonsep, dan bentuk Desa seperti asal-usulnya, Desa atau disebut dengan nama lain, adalahkesatuan masyarakat hukum yang memilik kewenangan untuk mengatur dan menguruskepentingan masyarakat setempat berdasarkan asal-usul dan adat-istiadat setempat yang diakuidalam sistem pemerintahan nasional dan berada di Daerah Kabupaten. Desa dapat dibentuk,dihapus, dan/atau digabung dengan memperhatikan asal-usulnya atas prakarsa masyarakatdengan persetujuan Pemerintah Kabupaten dan DPRD. Secara substantif Undang-Undang Desaini menyiratkan adanya upaya pemberdayaan aparatur pemerintah desa dan juga masyarakatdesa. Pemerintahan Desa atau dalam bentuk nama lain seperti halnya Pemerintahan Marga,keberadaannya adalah berhadapan langsung dengan masyarakat, sebagai ujung tombakpemerintahan yang terdepan. Pelaksanaan otonomisasi desa yang bercirikan pelayanan yangbaik dapat memberikan kepuasan bagi masyarakat yang memerlukan karena cepat, mudah, tepatdan dengan biaya yang terjangkau, oleh karena itu pelaksanaan di lapangan harus didukungoleh faktor-faktor yang terlibat dalam implementasi kebijakan tentang Desa tersebut. Persepsiaparat mengenai pekerjaannya tergantung pada tingkat outcomes intrinsik maupun ekstrinsikdan bagaimana pekerja/pegawai memandang outcome tersebut dan mencerminkan sikap padapekerjaanya. Sikap mental merupakan kondisi mental yang mendorong seseorang untukberusaha mencapai potensi kerja secara maksimal. Kinerja Pemerintah desa Poopo belumcukup baik dalam Produktivitas, kulitas pelayanan dan akuntabilitas pelayanan hal ini dilihatdari aspek sikap mental dan perilaku aparat desa dalam pengurusan surat-surat keteranganterhadap masyarakat

Dampak Yuridis dalam Pranata Sistem Pertanggungjawaban Pidana di Indonesia

Tujuan dilakukan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui bagaimana konsep pertanggungjawaban pidana menurut ilmu pengetahuan hokum dan bagaimana dampak yuridis dalam pranata sistem pertanggungjawaban pidana di Indonesia. Metode penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah menggunakan metode penelitian yuridis normatif sehingga dapat disimpulkan: 1. Hukum pidana Indonesia pada dasarnya menganut “asas kesalahan” sebagai asas yang fundamental dalam mempertanggungjawabkan seseorang yang melakukan tindak pidana. Namun dalam perjalanan sejarah dengan berkembangnya ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi, yang berdampak pula pada perkembangan kejahatan itu sendiri, asas kesalahan itu tidak lagi dapat digunakan sebagai asas satu-satunya dalam pertanggungjawaban pidana. Untuk mengantisipasi kemajuan tersebut, timbul pemikiran untuk menerapkan “asas ketiadaan kesalahan” sebagai penyimpangan atau pengecualian terhadap asas kesalahan. 2. Ada empat tolok ukur untuk menilai apakah relevan untuk diterapkan di Indonesia dalam rangka pembaharuan hukum pidana nasional. Ke empat tolok ukur tersebut adalah relevansi teoritis, relevansi yuridis, relevansi sosiologis, relevansi filosofis. Ke empat tolok ukur ini sangat mendukung di dalam penerimaan penyimpangan asas kesalahan dalam pertanggungjawaban pidana, sehingga sudah merupakan suatu kelaziman apabila hukum pidana Indonesia menerima penyimpangan asas kesalahan itu

Desafíos educativos, tecnología y productividad

El propósito de este artículo es presentar la visión y experiencias del Ministerio de Educación de El Salvador en relación al desarrollo educativo del país y, en especial, en el campo de la tecnología y la productividad. En forma muy resumida se presentarán: por un lado, los esfuerzos realizados para proporcionar a nuestros jóvenes y adultos una educación de calidad y equidad; por otro, las reformas y políticas educativas utilizadas para potenciar la educación técnica y tecnológica en nuestros centros de estudio