Drinfeld second realization of the quantum affine superalgebras of D(1)(2,1;x)D^{(1)}(2,1;x) via the Weyl groupoid

We obtain Drinfeld second realization of the quantum affine superalgebras associated with the affine Lie superalgebra $D^{(1)}(2,1;x)$. Our results are analogous to those obtained by Beck for the quantum affine algebras. Beck's analysis uses heavily the (extended) affine Weyl groups of the affine Lie algebras. In our approach the structures are based on a Weyl groupoid.Comment: 40 pages, 1 figure. close to the final version to appear in RIMS Kokyuroku Bessatsu (Besstsu) B8 (2008) 171-21

JPL field measurements at the Finney County, Kansas, test site, October 1976: Ground-based microwave radiometric measurements

Microwave brightness temperature measurements were made as part of the Joint Soil Moisture Experiment. These measurements are reported with a description of the JPL microwave radiometry van facility. The data will be used with ground truth data from the test site and microwave data from aircraft overflights to investigate the potential of microwave radiometry for soil moisture remote sensing under field conditions

Pressure-induced phase transition and bi-polaronic sliding in a hole-doped Cu_2O_3 ladder system

We study a hole-doped two-leg ladder system including metal ions, oxygen, and electron-lattice interaction, as a model for Sr_{14-x}Ca_xCu_{24}O_{41-\delta}. Single- and bi-polaronic states at 1/4-hole doping are modeled as functions of pressure by applying an unrestricted Hartree-Fock approximation to a multiband Peierls-Hubbard Hamiltonian. We find evidence for a pressure-induced phase transition between single-polaron and bi-polaron states. The electronic and phononic excitations in those states, including distinctive local lattice vibrational modes, are calculated by means of a direct-space Random Phase approximation. Finally, as a function of pressure, we identify a transition between site- and bond-centered bi-polarons, accompanied by a soft mode and a low-energy charge-sliding mode. We suggest comparisons with available experimented data

The table mountain 8-mm-wavelength interferometer

The system components, performance, and calibration of two element radio interferometer operating at 8.33 mm wavelength are discussed. The interferometer employs a 5.5 m and a 3 m diameter antenna on an east-west baseline of 60 or 120 m, yielding fringe spacings at transit of 28 or 14 in. respectively. The broad intermediate frequency bandpass of 100 to 350 MHz and the system noise temperature of 500 K provide high sensitivity for the measurement of continuum sources. The interferometer has been used for high resolution studies of the planets and the Sun, and it is currently being adapted to study solar flare emissions at high spatial and time resolution

Microtubule assembly and in vitro development of bovine oocytes with increased intracellular glutathione level prior to vitrification and in vitro fertilization

Although vitrification is a useful technique for preservation of bovine oocytes, the yield of blastocysts derived from the vitrified oocytes is still low. We have recently reported a new type of cryoinjury, multiple aster formation, by which pronuclear migration and development of vitrified–warmed and in vitro-fertilized bovine oocytes are impaired. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of glutathione (GSH) content of vitrified bovine oocytes on multiple aster formation and subsequent in vitro development. Treatment of bovine cumulus–oocyte complexes with β-mercaptoethanol (βME) and l-cysteine (Cys) during in vitro maturation resulted in 2.5-fold higher GSH content not only in fresh control but also in vitrified–warmed oocytes. The percentage of normally fertilized zygotes exhibiting sperm aster(s) was >95% in all four groups (with or without βME/Cys × fresh control or vitrified). The frequency of multiple aster formation in vitrified oocytes (three-fold higher than that in fresh control oocytes) was not affected by the increased level of intracellular GSH with βME/Cys. Consequently, the migration and development of pronuclei as well as the yield of blastocysts from vitrified–warmed oocytes (17 versus 41%) were not improved. In addition, there was no effect of increased GSH level on the yield of blastocysts in fresh control groups.ArticleZYGOTE. 22(4):476-482 (2014)journal articl

Vascular hyperpermeability in severe influenza

Multiorgan failure with vascular hyperpermeability is the final outcome in the progression of seasonal influenza virus pneumonia and influenza-associated encephalopathy, and it is also common in infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus. However, the precise molecular mechanism by which influenza virus infection causes vascular endothelial cell hyperpermeability remains poorly defined. We investigated the mechanisms of hyperpermeability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells infected with influenza A virus (IAV)/Puerto Rico/8/34 (PR8) (H1N1). The levels of β-catenin, a key regulatory component of the vascular endothelial-cadherin cell adhesion complex, were markedly decreased during infection for 28 h, with increments of vascular hyperpermeability measured by transendothelial electrical resistance. Lactacystin (at 2 μM), a proteasome inhibitor, inhibited the decrease in β-catenin levels. Since the N-terminal phosphorylation of β-catenin by glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β is the initiation step of proteasome-dependent degradation, we examined the effects of GSK-3β suppression by RNA interference in endothelial cells. IAV-infection-induced β-catenin degradation was significantly inhibited in GSK-3β-knockdown cells, and transfection of cells with recombinant β-catenin significantly suppressed IAV-induced hyperpermeability. These findings suggest that IAV infection induces GSK-3β-mediated β-catenin degradation in the adherens junctional complexes and induces vascular hyperpermeability. The in vitro findings of β-catenin degradation and activation of GSK-3β after IAV infection were confirmed in lungs of mice infected with IAV PR8 during the course of infection from day 0 to day 6. These results suggest that GSK-3β-mediated β-catenin degradation in adherens junctions is one of the key mechanisms of vascular hyperpermeability in severe influenza

Jacobson generators of the quantum superalgebra Uq[sl(n+1∣m)]U_q[sl(n+1|m)] and Fock representations

As an alternative to Chevalley generators, we introduce Jacobson generators for the quantum superalgebra $U_q[sl(n+1|m)]$. The expressions of all Cartan-Weyl elements of $U_q[sl(n+1|m)]$ in terms of these Jacobson generators become very simple. We determine and prove certain triple relations between the Jacobson generators, necessary for a complete set of supercommutation relations between the Cartan-Weyl elements. Fock representations are defined, and a substantial part of this paper is devoted to the computation of the action of Jacobson generators on basis vectors of these Fock spaces. It is also determined when these Fock representations are unitary. Finally, Dyson and Holstein-Primakoff realizations are given, not only for the Jacobson generators, but for all Cartan-Weyl elements of $U_q[sl(n+1|m)]$.Comment: 27 pages, LaTeX; to be published in J. Math. Phy

Finite-dimensional representations of the quantum superalgebra Uq[gl(n/m)]U_q[gl(n/m)] and related q-identities

Explicit expressions for the generators of the quantum superalgebra $U_q[gl(n/m)]$ acting on a class of irreducible representations are given. The class under consideration consists of all essentially typical representations: for these a Gel'fand-Zetlin basis is known. The verification of the quantum superalgebra relations to be satisfied is shown to reduce to a set of $q$-number identities.Comment: 12 page