Scales, Couplings Revisited and Low Energy Phenomenology in M-theory on S1/Z2S^1/Z_2

We revisit the eleven dimension Planck scale, the physical scale of the eleventh dimension, the physical scale of Calabi-Yau manifold and coupling in hidden sector in M-theory on $S^1/Z_2$. And we discuss the reasonable bound on them. Considering F-term of dilaton and moduli SUSY breaking and choosing two repersentative points which correspond to scalar quasi-massless scenario and dilaton dominant SUSY breaking scenario respectively, we analyze experimental constraints to the parameter space. The sparticle spectrum and some phenomenological predictions are also given.Comment: 35 pages and 8 eps files. One error on fig1b is correcte

Mixture Selection, Mechanism Design, and Signaling

We pose and study a fundamental algorithmic problem which we term mixture selection, arising as a building block in a number of game-theoretic applications: Given a function $g$ from the $n$-dimensional hypercube to the bounded interval $[-1,1]$, and an $n \times m$ matrix $A$ with bounded entries, maximize $g(Ax)$ over $x$ in the $m$-dimensional simplex. This problem arises naturally when one seeks to design a lottery over items for sale in an auction, or craft the posterior beliefs for agents in a Bayesian game through the provision of information (a.k.a. signaling). We present an approximation algorithm for this problem when $g$ simultaneously satisfies two smoothness properties: Lipschitz continuity with respect to the $L^\infty$ norm, and noise stability. The latter notion, which we define and cater to our setting, controls the degree to which low-probability errors in the inputs of $g$ can impact its output. When $g$ is both $O(1)$-Lipschitz continuous and $O(1)$-stable, we obtain an (additive) PTAS for mixture selection. We also show that neither assumption suffices by itself for an additive PTAS, and both assumptions together do not suffice for an additive FPTAS. We apply our algorithm to different game-theoretic applications from mechanism design and optimal signaling. We make progress on a number of open problems suggested in prior work by easily reducing them to mixture selection: we resolve an important special case of the small-menu lottery design problem posed by Dughmi, Han, and Nisan; we resolve the problem of revenue-maximizing signaling in Bayesian second-price auctions posed by Emek et al. and Miltersen and Sheffet; we design a quasipolynomial-time approximation scheme for the optimal signaling problem in normal form games suggested by Dughmi; and we design an approximation algorithm for the optimal signaling problem in the voting model of Alonso and C\^{a}mara

Expressive paragraph text-to-speech synthesis with multi-step variational autoencoder

Neural networks have been able to generate high-quality single-sentence speech with substantial expressiveness. However, it remains a challenge concerning paragraph-level speech synthesis due to the need for coherent acoustic features while delivering fluctuating speech styles. Meanwhile, training these models directly on over-length speech leads to a deterioration in the quality of synthesis speech. To address these problems, we propose a high-quality and expressive paragraph speech synthesis system with a multi-step variational autoencoder. Specifically, we employ multi-step latent variables to capture speech information at different grammatical levels before utilizing these features in parallel to generate speech waveform. We also propose a three-step training method to improve the decoupling ability. Our model was trained on a single-speaker French audiobook corpus released at Blizzard Challenge 2023. Experimental results underscore the significant superiority of our system over baseline models.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, 2 table

Generalization of Friedberg-Lee Symmetry

We study the possible origin of Friedberg-Lee symmetry. First, we propose the generalized Friedberg-Lee symmetry in the potential by including the scalar fields in the field transformations, which can be broken down to the FL symmetry spontaneously. We show that the generalized Friedberg-Lee symmetry allows a typical form of Yukawa couplings, and the realistic neutrino masses and mixings can be generated via see-saw mechanism. If the right-handed neutrinos transform non-trivially under the generalized Friedberg-Lee symmetry, we can have the testable TeV scale see-saw mechanism. Second, we present two models with the $SO(3)\times U(1)$ global flavour symmetry in the lepton sector. After the flavour symmetry breaking, we can obtain the charged lepton masses, and explain the neutrino masses and mixings via see-saw mechanism. Interestingly, the complete neutrino mass matrices are similar to those of the above models with generalized Friedberg-Lee symmetry. So the Friedberg-Lee symmetry is the residual symmetry in the neutrino mass matrix after the $SO(3)\times U(1)$ flavour symmetry breaking.Comment: 16 pages, no figure, version published in PR

Comparison Of Viral Trajectories In Aids Studies By Using Nonparametric Mixed-Effects Models

The efficacy of antiretroviral therapies for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection can be assessed by studying the trajectory of the changing viral load with treatment time, but estimation of viral trajectory parameters by using the implicit function form of linear and nonlinear parametric models can be problematic. Using longitudinal viral load data from a clinical study of HIV-infected patients in Taiwan, we described the viral trajectories by applying a nonparametric mixed-effects model. We were then able to compare the efficacies of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and conventional therapy by using Young and Bowman’s (1995) test

Effect of Rat Medicated Serum Containing Zuo Gui Wan and/or You Gui Wan on the Differentiation of Stem Cells Derived from Human First Trimester Umbilical Cord into Oocyte-Like Cells In Vitro

Zuo Gui Wan (ZGW) and You Gui Wan (YGW) are two classic formulas used in clinical treatment of infertility in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, the actions of the formulas remain to be proven at the cellular and molecular levels. In this study, we investigate whether the two formulas have any effect on germ cell formation and differentiation by culturing rat medicated serums containing YGW or ZGW with stem cells derived from human first trimester umbilical cord. Our results showed that while the normal rat serums had no significant effects, the rat medicated serums had significant effects on the differentiation of the stem cells into oocyte-like cells (OLCs) based on (1) cell morphological changes that resembled purative cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs); (2) expressions of specific markers that were indicative of germ cell formation and oocyte development; and (3) estradiol production by the COC-like cells. Furthermore, ZGW medicated serums exhibited more obvious effects on specific gene expressions of germ cells, whereas YGW medicated serums showed stronger effects on estradiol production. Accordingly, our study provides evidence demonstrating for the first time that one of molecular and cellular actions of YGW or ZGW in treating human reproductive dysfunctions may be through an enhancement of neooogenesis

2-(Hydrazonomethyl)phenol

The conformation of the title compound, C7H8N2O, is stabilized by an intra­molecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bond. The crystal structure shows inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds