Refined geometric transition and qqqq-characters

We show the refinement of the prescription for the geometric transition in the refined topological string theory and, as its application, discuss a possibility to describe $qq$-characters from the string theory point of view. Though the suggested way to operate the refined geometric transition has passed through several checks, it is additionally found in this paper that the presence of the preferred direction brings a nontrivial effect. We provide the modified formula involving this point. We then apply our prescription of the refined geometric transition to proposing the stringy description of doubly quantized Seiberg--Witten curves called $qq$-characters in certain cases.Comment: 44 pages, 11 figures; v2: references corrected, text corrected, published in JHE

Olmesartan and temocapril prevented the development of hyperglycemia and the deterioration of pancreatic islet morphology in Otsuka-long-evans-Tokushima Fatty rats

We investigated the impact of olmesartan and temocapril on pancreatic islet beta-cells during the development of diabetes mellitus using Otsuka-Long-Evans-Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats. Four-week-old male OLETF rats were fed standard chow (untreated:n5), or chow containing either 0.005% olmesartan(n5) or 0.01% temocapril (n5) until being sacrificed at 35 weeks of age. Pancreas sections were double-stained with anti-insulin and anti-glucagon antibodies. The percent areas of beta-cells, alpha-cells and non-alpha-non-beta-cells were compared among groups. In untreated OLETF rats, the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level was elevated at the 18th week and remained elevated until the 35th week. On the other hand, no significant elevation in FPG levels was observed in olmesartan- or temocapril-treated rats. Pancreatic islets from olmesartan-treated rats were significantly smaller in size as compared with those from untreated OLETF rats. Furthermore, the average area occupied by beta-cells as a fraction of the total area of an individual islet was significantly higher in olmesartan- or temocapril-treated rats than that in untreated OLETF rats. Olmesartan and temocapril both prevented the development of hyperglycemia, possibly through the prevention of islet beta-cell loss in spontaneously diabetic OLETF rats.</p

Long-Term Outcome after Bone Marrow Transplantation for Aplastic Anemia Using Cyclophosphamide and Total Lymphoid Irradiation as Conditioning Regimen

AbstractWe retrospectively studied 49 patients in a single institute to evaluate the long-term outcome of total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) conditioning for allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) to treat aplastic anemia (AA). Most of the patients had received transfusions and had undergone previous treatment, with 33 receiving related transplants and 16 receiving unrelated transplants. Conditioning consisted of cyclophosphamide (Cy; 200 mg/kg) plus TLI (750 cGy) for related transplantation and Cy plus total body irradiation (TBI; 500 cGy) and TLI (500 cGy) for unrelated transplantation. Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) was added for 6 of the unrelated transplantations. Graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) prophylaxis consisted mainly of cyclosporine (CSA) and methotrexate (MTX). Graft failure developed in 2 patients (4.1%). With a median follow-up of 7 years, overall survival (OS) was 81% and was not statistically significantly different between the patients receiving related transplants and those receiving unrelated transplants. In multivariate analyses, a history of previous treatment with ATG was the sole factor associated with a worse survival rate, and the interval from diagnosis to treatment was not prognostic. The incidence of acute (grade II to IV) GVHD (aGVHD) was 23%, and that of chronic GVHD (cGVHD) was 29%. Female-to-male transplantation was the sole factor associated with chronic GVHD. B cell lymphoproliferative disorder developed only after the ATG-containing conditioning. No other secondary malignancies developed after long-term follow-up. Our findings suggest that TLI conditioning is feasible and effective for patients with AA

Observation of the Pharynx to the Cervical Esophagus Using Transnasal Endoscopy with Blue Laser Imaging

Background In 2014, the new transnasal endoscopy with Blue laser Imaging (BLI) has been developed. Aim We present the usefulness of the observation of from the pharynx to the cervical esophagus using transnasal endoscopy with BLI. Patients and Methods This study was conducted between June 2014 and October 2014. During this period, 70 consecutive patients (60 men, 10 women; mean age 67.9 years old) with esophageal or head and neck cancer underwent endoscopic screening at the oropharynx and hypopharynx by transnasal endoscopy with BLI system We performed this endoscopic observation from oral cavity to pharynx before inserting into the cervical esophagus.The visibility of subsites of the hypopharynx and the orifice of the esophagus was evaluated. The extent of the view of hypopharyngeal opening was classified into 3 categories (excellent, good, poor). Then, the diagnostic accuracy of transnasal endoscopy with BLI system was estimated. Our screening is as follows. First, the patient is asked to bow their head deeply in the left lateral position. We put a hand on the back of the patient’s head and push it forward. The patient is then asked to lift the chin as far as possible. In order to inspect the oral cavity, we insert an endoscope without a mouthpiece. After observation of the oral cavity, the endoscope was inserted through the nose. When the tip of the endoscope reached caudal to the uvula, the patient opened his mouth wide, stuck his tongue forward as much as possible and made a vocal sound like “ayyy”. The endoscopist caused the endoscope to U-turn and observed the oropharynx, in particular the radix linguae (Intra-oropharyngeal U-turn method). For examination of the hypopharynx and the orifice of the esophagus, the patient is asked to blow hard and puff their cheeks while the mouth remains closed (Trumpet maneuver). Results 8 elderly cases were excluded because they could not perform the adequate ballooning. Finally, 62 cases were investigated. The ballooning the pyriform sinus and posterior wall not only allows accurate assessment of the stretched pharyngeal mucosa but also gives a view of postcricoid subsite and the orifice of the esophagus. The wide endoscopic view of the pharynx was obtained in a series of the procedures (excellent=53/62, 85.4%; good=7/52, 4.5%; and poor=2/62, 7.6%). Among 70 patients, 6 superficial lesions (8.6%) at the oropharynx(n=1) and hypopharynx (n=5) were discovered with BLI system. Mucosal redness, a pale thickened mucosa, white deposits or loss of a normal vascular pattern, well demarcated areas covered with scattered dots are important characteristics to diagnose superficial carcinoma. Conclusion The more progress achieved in transnasal endoscopy rapidly in the last few years, it can improve for observing the blind area using trans-oral endoscopy, therefore the trans-nasal endoscope will be a standard tool for the screening of the upper gastrointestinal tract in the near future

Quantum mirror curve of periodic chain geometry

Abstract The mirror curves enable us to study B-model topological strings on noncompact toric Calabi-Yau threefolds. One of the method to obtain the mirror curves is to calculate the partition function of the topological string with a single brane. In this paper, we discuss two types of geometries: one is the chain of N ℙ1’s which we call “N-chain geometry,” the other is the chain of N ℙ1’s with a compactification which we call “periodic N-chain geometry.” We calculate the partition functions of the open topological strings on these geometries, and obtain the mirror curves and their quantization, which is characterized by (elliptic) hypergeometric difference operator. We also find a relation between the periodic chain and ∞-chain geometries, which implies a possible connection between 5d and 6d gauge theories in the larte N limit

Topological Vertex/anti-Vertex and Supergroup Gauge Theory

International audienceWe propose a new vertex formalism, called anti-refined topological vertex (anti-vertex for short), to compute the generalized topological string amplitude, which gives rise to the supergroup gauge theory partition function. We show the one-to-many correspondence between the gauge theory and the Calabi-Yau geometry, which is peculiar to the supergroup theory, and the relation between the ordinary vertex formalism and the vertex/anti-vertex formalism through the analytic continuation

Estimatioin of Origin of White-tailed Eagles that Collide with Wind Turbines During the Wintering Period in Hokkaido, Japan

Approximately 500–1000 White-tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) each year winter in Japan. These include both residents breeding in northern Japan and migrants from regions farther north, such as the far-east of Russia. Collision with wind turbines has recently emerged as the primary cause of death for White-tailed Eagles in Japan and the negative impact of this increased mortality on the population is a matter of concern. Most collisions occurred during the wintering period in Hokkaido, the northernmost part of Japan, but the origin of the dead birds is currently unknown. Japanese resident population may be genetically different from the population in far east Russia, and an evaluation of the impact of mortalities from collisions on each subpopulation is required. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the genetic differences among the regional breeding populations of White-tailed Eagles in Hokkaido and far east Russia, and to estimate the origins of dead eagles found at wind farms in Hokkaido based on genetic analyses. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes of the dead eagles were compared with the haplotype datasets from breeding populations in Hokkaido and in the four regions of far east Russia. Multilocus genotypes from nuclear DNA were also analyzed using assignment methods. The results of these analysis suggested that three different haplogroups existed within the mtDNA haplotype datasets and it was likely that the majority of eagles died in turbine collisions in Hokkaido originated from the Hokkaido breeding population

Branes, quivers and wave-functions

International audienceWe consider a large class of branes in toric strip geometries, both non-periodic and periodic ones. For a fixed background geometry we show that partition functions for such branes can be reinterpreted, on one hand, as quiver generating series, and on the other hand as wave-functions in various polarizations. We determine operations on quivers, as well as $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ transformations, which correspond to changing positions of these branes. Our results prove integrality of BPS multiplicities associated to this class of branes, reveal how they transform under changes of polarization, and imply all other properties of brane amplitudes that follow from the relation to quivers