Influencing the world of practice: CCPR in Scotland

Interview with Philip Schlesinger conducted by and with an introduction and commentary by Jan Strycharz

Geometry of the locus of polynomials of degree 4 with iterative roots

We study polynomial iterative roots of polynomials and describe the locus of complex polynomials of degree 4 admitting a polynomial iterative square root.Comment: 7 pages, accepted by Central European Journal of Mathematic

Polygenic Resistance In The Highly DDT-resistant 91-r Strain Of Drosophila Melanogaster Involves Decreased Penetration, Increased Metabolism And Direct Excretion Of Ddt

Resistance to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in the 91-R strain of Drosophila melanogaster is extremely high compared to the susceptible Canton-S strain (\u3e1500 times). Oxidative detoxification is involved in resistance but is not the only mechanism. Rates of DDT penetration, metabolism, and excretion were determined radiometrically between resistant 91-R and susceptible Canton-S strains. Contact penetration was ~1.5-times slower with 91-R flies compared to Canton-S flies. The 91-R strain had 13-fold more cuticular hydrocarbons, possibly resulting in penetration differences. DDT was metabolized ~33-fold more extensively by 91-R than Canton-S resulting in dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD), two unidentified metabolites and polar conjugates being formed in significantly greater amounts. 91-R also excreted ~5.0 times more DDT and metabolites than Canton-S. Verapamil pretreatment reduced the LD50 value for 91-R flies topically dosed with DDT by a factor of 10-fold. Thus, it is likely that the increased excretion by 91-R flies is due to the increased expression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter genes, including MDR50 (CG8525) that had a 36% higher transcript level by quantitative real time PCR than Canton-S flies. In summary, DDT resistance in 91-R is polyfactorial and includes reduced penetration, increased detoxification and direct excretion

A New Wessex: The Influence on Shakespeare on Genre in the Novels of Thomas Hardy

Shakespeare’s influence on the writings of Victorian novelist and poet Thomas Hardy is the topic of much of Hardy scholarship. Hardy’s numerous, overt references to Shakespearean tragedy in particular tend to cast him as a primarily tragic writer, most notably in novels such as The Mayor of Casterbridge and Jude the Obscure. This thesis presents a different view, examining Hardy’s heavy reliance on Shakespearean comedy and romance, rather than tragedy, throughout his career as a novelist. In doing so, this paper questions the accuracy of Hardy scholarship that confines him to the genre of tragedy, and instead poses an analysis of his novels that accounts for his explorations in genre

Remarks on the Nagata Conjecture

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 14C20, 14E25, 14J26.The famous Nagata Conjecture predicts the lowest degree of a plane curve passing with prescribed multiplicities through given points in general position. We explain how this conjecture extends naturally via multiple point Seshadri constants to ample line bundles on arbitrary surfaces. We show that if there exist curves of unpredictable low degree, then they must have equal multiplicities in all but possibly one of the given points. We use this restriction in order to obtain lower bounds on multiple point Seshadri constants on a surface. We discuss also briefly a seemingly new point of view on the Nagata Conjecture via the bigness of the involved linear series

Diminished Fermat-type arrangements and unexpected curves

The purpose of this note is to present and study a new series of the so-called unexpected curves. They enjoy a surprising property to the effect that their degree grows to infinity, whereas the multiplicity at a general fat point remains constant, equal $3$, which is the least possible number appearing as the multiplicity of an unexpected curve at its singular point. We show that additionally the BMSS dual curves inherits the same pattern of behaviour.Comment: 7 page