Non-supersymmetric D-branes with Vanishing Cylinder Amplitudes in Asymmetric Orbifolds

We study the type II string vacua with chiral space-time SUSY constructed as asymmetric orbifolds of torus and $K3$ compactifications. Despite the fact that all the D-branes are non-BPS in any chiral SUSY vacua, we show that the relevant non-geometric vacua of asymmetric orbifolds allow rather generally configurations of D-branes which lead to vanishing cylinder amplitudes, implying the bose-fermi cancellation at each mass level of the open string spectrum. After working on simple models of toroidal asymmetric orbifolds, we focus on the asymmetric orbifolds of $T^2 \times {\cal M}$, where ${\cal M}$ is described by a general ${\cal N} =4$ SCFT with $c=6$ defined by the Gepner construction for $K3$. Even when the modular invariant partition functions in the bulk remain unchanged, the spectra of such non-BPS D-branes with the bose-fermi cancellation can vary significantly according to the choice of orbifolding.Comment: 32 pages, no figures; (v2) comments and discussion added on properties of D-brane

Left–Right Reversal Recurrently Evolved Regardless of Diaphanous-Related Formin Gene Duplication or Loss in Snails

Bilateria exhibit whole-body handedness in internal structure. This left–right polarity is evolutionarily conserved with virtually no reversed extant lineage, except in molluscan Gastropoda. Phylogenetically independent snail groups contain both clockwise-coiled (dextral) and counterclockwise-coiled (sinistral) taxa that are reversed from each other in bilateral handedness as well as in coiling direction. Within freshwater Hygrophila, Lymnaea with derived dextrality have diaphanous related formin (diaph) gene duplicates, while basal sinistral groups possess one diaph gene. In terrestrial Stylommatophora, dextral Bradybaena also have diaph duplicates. Defective maternal expression of one of those duplicates gives rise to sinistral hatchlings in Lymnaea and handedness-mixed broods in Bradybaena, through polarity change in spiral cleavage of embryos. These findings led to the hypothesis that diaph duplication was crucial for the evolution of dextrality by reversal. The present study discovered that diaph duplication independently occurred four times and its duplicate became lost twice in gastropods. The dextrality of Bradybaena represents the ancestral handedness conserved across gastropods, unlike the derived dextrality of Lymnaea. Sinistral lineages recurrently evolved by reversal regardless of whether diaph had been duplicated. Amongst the seven formin gene subfamilies, diaph has most thoroughly been conserved across eukaryotes of the 14 metazoan phyla and choanoflagellate. Severe embryonic mortalities resulting from insufficient expression of the duplicate in both of Bradybaena and Lymnaea also support that diaph duplicates bare general roles for cytoskeletal dynamics other than controlling spiralian handedness. Our study rules out the possibility that diaph duplication or loss played a primary role for reversal evolution.journal articl

A Case of Hypocalcaemia Due to Vitamin D Deficiency in ‘Hikikomori’ Syndrome

Objective: To describe hypocalcaemia due to vitamin D deficiency in ‘hikikomori’ syndrome. Materials and methods: A 37-year-old man with ‘hikikomori’ syndrome for a year was admitted with hypocalcaemia (serum ionic calcium 1.17 mmol/l). Serum 1,25(OH)2-vitamin D3 determined by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was depressed at 12.1 pg/ml (29.0 pmol/l) and plasma intact PTH elevated at 324 ng/l. Administration of 1 μg/day 1α(OH)-vitamin D3 and 1 g/day calcium lactate for 1 week normalized calcium and PTH, and raised 1,25(OH)2-vitamin D3 to low normal levels. Conclusion: This is the first report of hypocalcaemia due to vitamin D deficiency in a patient with ‘hikikomori’ syndrome

Effects of dissolved oxygen and pH on nitrous oxide production rates in autotrophic partial nitrification granules

The effects of dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH on nitrous oxide (N2O) production rates and pathways in autotrophic partial nitrification (PN) granules were investigated at the granular level. N2O was primarily produced by betaproteobacterial ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, mainly Nitrosomonas europaea, in the oxic surface layer (<200 μm) of the autotrophic PN granules. N2O production increased with increasing bulk DO concentration owing to activation of the ammonia (i.e., hydroxylamine) oxidation in this layer. The highest N2O emissions were observed at pH 7.5, although the ammonia oxidation rate was unchanged between pH 6.5 and 8.5. Overall, the results of this study suggest that in situ analyses of PN granules are essential to gaining insight into N2O emission mechanisms in a granule

Non-supersymmetric D-branes with vanishing cylinder amplitudes in asymmetric orbifolds

We study the type II string vacua with chiral space-time SUSY constructed as asymmetric orbifolds of torus and K3 compactifications. Despite the fact that all the D-branes are non-BPS in any chiral SUSY vacua, we show that the relevant non-geometric vacua of asymmetric orbifolds allow rather generally configurations of D-branes which lead to vanishing cylinder amplitudes, implying the bose-fermi cancellation at each mass level of the open string spectrum. After working on simple models of toroidal asymmetric orbifolds, we focus on the asymmetric orbifolds of T2 × ℳ, where ℳ is described by a general N = 4 SCFT with c = 6 defined by the Gepner construction for K3. Even when the modular invariant partition functions in the bulk remain unchanged, the spectra of such non-BPS D-branes with the bose-fermi cancellation can vary significantly according to the choice of orbifolding

Computed tomography findings of intersigmoid hernia

Purpose: To evaluate the computed tomography findings of intersigmoid hernias. Material and methods: Between April 2010 and March 2018, 7 patients who were surgically diagnosed with intersigmoid hernia in 3 institutions were enrolled in this study. Two radiologists evaluated imaging findings for the herniated small bowel, the distance between the occlusion point and bifurcation of the left common iliac artery, and the anatomic relationship with adjacent organs. Results: All patients were male, and their mean age (standard deviation, range) was 61.0 (13.5, 36-85) years. The mean size of the bowel loops was 5.2 (1.3, 4.0-8.3) cm in the caudal direction, 3.6 (0.8, 2.5-5.1) cm in the lateral, and 3.4 (0.6, 2.5-4.7) cm in the anterior-posterior direction. The volume was 37.9 (27.8, 15.6-103.0) cm3 approximated by an ellipse, and 24.0 (17.7, 9.9-65.6) cm3 approximated by a truncated cone. The obstruction point was located 3.6 (0.6, 2.8-4.7) cm inferior to the bifurcation of the left common iliac artery. In all cases, the small bowel ran under the point at which the inferior mesenteric vessels bifurcated to the superior rectal vessels and the sigmoid vessels and formed a sac-like appearance between the left psoas muscle and the sigmoid colon. The ureter ran dorsal to the point of the bowel stenosis, and the left gonadal vein ran outside the small bowel loops. Conclusions: All cases showed common imaging findings, which may be characteristic of men's intersigmoid hernia. In addition, the fossa's position was lower, and the size was larger than in the previous study, which may be a risk factor

Two-photon excited microscale colour centre patterns in Ag-activated phosphate glass written using a focused proton beam

金沢大学人間社会研究域学校教育系We report a demonstration of microscale patterns in Ag-activated phosphate glass fabricated using a focused proton beam with an energy range of 1-3 MeV. Various microscale patterns are based on blue and orange radiophotoluminescent (RPL) centres. Two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) microstructures are visualised by combining two-photon confocal microscopy with femtosecond (fs) laser pulses generated from a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser operating at 700 nm. The reconstructed images are analytically evaluated using lateral/axial dose mapping and RPL spectra. In addition, the advantages of two-photon excitation applied to Ag-activated phosphate glass are discussed, and this method is compared with single-photon excitation. © 2018 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.Embargo Period 12 month

In-air microparticle induced X-ray emission analysis of particles in interstitial pneumonia lung tissue obtained by transbronchial biopsy

Interstitial pneumonia develops in association with inhaled particles. In-air microparticle induced X-ray emission (in-air micro) analysis was previously employed to assess the spatial distribution and content of particles in surgical lung biopsy specimens. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of in-air micro-analysis for transbronchial lung biopsy specimens in patients with or without occupational exposure. The elements composing lung particles and their locations could be identified by in-air micro-analysis. Silicon was the major component of particles. Quantitative analysis revealed that the elements composing lung particles varied between patients. In a patient with suspected nickel exposure, aluminium, vanadium, and calcium were detected, but was not detected. In a patient without a work history (housewife), various elements were detected. In-air micro-analysis was useful for assessing the spatial distribution and content of particles in specimens from patients. Occupational exposure was not necessarily associated with deposition of particles in the lungs. Therefore, in the diagnosis of, elemental analysis of specimens by in-air micro-analysis could be useful for assessing exposure to particles objectively

Generation of third-harmonic spin oscillation from strong spin precession induced by terahertz magnetic near fields

The ability to drive a spin system to state far from the equilibrium is indispensable for investigating spin structures of antiferromagnets and their functional nonlinearities for spintronics. While optical methods have been considered for spin excitation, terahertz (THz) pulses appear to be a more convenient means of direct spin excitation without requiring coupling between spins and orbitals or phonons. However, room-temperature responses are usually limited to small deviations from the equilibrium state because of the relatively weak THz magnetic fields in common approaches. Here, we studied the magnetization dynamics in a HoFeO3 crystal at room temperature. A custom-made spiral-shaped microstructure was used to locally generate a strong multicycle THz magnetic near field perpendicular to the crystal surface; the maximum magnetic field amplitude of about 2 T was achieved. The observed time-resolved change in the Faraday ellipticity clearly showed second- and third-order harmonics of the magnetization oscillation and an asymmetric oscillation behaviour. Not only the ferromagnetic vector M but also the antiferromagnetic vector L plays an important role in the nonlinear dynamics of spin systems far from equilibrium