A toral diffeomorphism with a non-polygonal rotation set

We construct a diffeomorphism of the two-dimensional torus which is isotopic to the identity and whose rotation set is not a polygon

Bottom-Up versus Top-Down Induction of Sleep by Zolpidem Acting on Histaminergic and Neocortex Neurons

Zolpidem, a GABAA receptor-positive modulator, is the gold-standard drug for treating insomnia. Zolpidem prolongs IPSCs to decrease sleep latency and increase sleep time, effects that depend on α2 and/or α3 subunit-containing receptors. Compared with natural NREM sleep, zolpidem also decreases the EEG power, an effect that depends on α1 subunit-containing receptors, and which may make zolpidem-induced sleep less optimal. In this paper, we investigate whether zolpidem needs to potentiate only particular GABAergic pathways to induce sleep without reducing EEG power. Mice with a knock-in F77I mutation in the GABAA receptor γ2 subunit gene are zolpidem-insensitive. Using these mice, GABAA receptors in the frontal motor neocortex and hypothalamic (tuberomammillary nucleus) histaminergic-neurons of γ2I77 mice were made selectively sensitive to zolpidem by genetically swapping the γ2I77 subunits with γ2F77 subunits. When histamine neurons were made selectively zolpidem-sensitive, systemic administration of zolpidem shortened sleep latency and increased sleep time. But in contrast to the effect of zolpidem on wild-type mice, the power in the EEG spectra of NREM sleep was not decreased, suggesting that these EEG power-reducing effects of zolpidem do not depend on reduced histamine release. Selective potentiation of GABAA receptors in the frontal cortex by systemic zolpidem administration also reduced sleep latency, but less so than for histamine neurons. These results could help with the design of new sedatives that induce a more natural sleep

Necessity of integral formalism

To describe the physical reality, there are two ways of constructing the dynamical equation of field, differential formalism and integral formalism. The importance of this fact is firstly emphasized by Yang in case of gauge field [Phys. Rev. Lett. 33 (1974) 445], where the fact has given rise to a deeper understanding for Aharonov-Bohm phase and magnetic monopole [Phys. Rev. D. 12 (1975) 3845]. In this paper we shall point out that such a fact also holds in general wave function of matter, it may give rise to a deeper understanding for Berry phase. Most importantly, we shall prove a point that, for general wave function of matter, in the adiabatic limit, there is an intrinsic difference between its integral formalism and differential formalism. It is neglect of this difference that leads to an inconsistency of quantum adiabatic theorem pointed out by Marzlin and Sanders [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 (2004) 160408]. It has been widely accepted that there is no physical difference of using differential operator or integral operator to construct the dynamical equation of field. Nevertheless, our study shows that the Schrodinger differential equation (i.e., differential formalism for wave function) shall lead to vanishing Berry phase and that the Schrodinger integral equation (i.e., integral formalism for wave function), in the adiabatic limit, can satisfactorily give the Berry phase. Therefore, we reach a conclusion: There are two ways of describing physical reality, differential formalism and integral formalism; but the integral formalism is a unique way of complete description.Comment: 13Page; Schrodinger differential equation shall lead to vanishing Berry phas

Aperiodic invariant continua for surface homeomorphisms

We prove that if a homeomorphism of a closed orientable surface S has no wandering points and leaves invariant a compact, connected set K which contains no periodic points, then either K=S and S is a torus, or $K$ is the intersection of a decreasing sequence of annuli. A version for non-orientable surfaces is given.Comment: 8 pages, to appear in Mathematische Zeitschrif

Spatiotemporal Controls on Observed Daytime Ozone Deposition Velocity over Northeastern U.S. Forests During Summer

Spatiotemporal variability in ozone dry deposition is often overlooked despite its implications for interpreting and modeling tropospheric ozone concentrations accurately. Understanding the influences of stomatal versus nonstomatal deposition processes on ozone deposition velocity is important for attributing observed changes in the ozone depositional sink and associated damage to ecosystems. Here, we aim to identify the stomatal versus nonstomatal deposition processes driving observed variability in ozone deposition velocity over the northeastern United States during June–September. We use ozone eddy covariance measurements from Harvard Forest in Massachusetts, which span a decade, and from Kane Experimental Forest in Pennsylvania and Sand Flats State Forest in New York, which span one growing season each, along with observation‐driven modeling. Using a cumulative precipitation indicator of soil wetness, we infer that high soil uptake during dry years and low soil uptake during wet years may contribute to the twofold interannual variability in ozone deposition velocity at Harvard Forest. We link stomatal deposition and humidity to variability in ozone deposition velocity on daily timescales. The humidity dependence may reflect higher uptake by leaf cuticles under humid conditions, noted in previous work. Previous work also suggests that uptake by leaf cuticles may be enhanced after rain, but we find that increases in ozone deposition velocity on rainy days are instead mostly associated with increases in stomatal conductance. Our analysis highlights a need for constraints on subseasonal variability in ozone dry deposition to soil and fast in‐canopy chemistry during ecosystem stress

On two-dimensional surface attractors and repellers on 3-manifolds

We show that if $f: M^3\to M^3$ is an $A$-diffeomorphism with a surface two-dimensional attractor or repeller $\mathcal B$ and $M^2_ \mathcal B$ is a supporting surface for $\mathcal B$, then $\mathcal B = M^2_{\mathcal B}$ and there is $k\geq 1$ such that: 1) $M^2_{\mathcal B}$ is a union $M^2_1\cup...\cup M^2_k$ of disjoint tame surfaces such that every $M^2_i$ is homeomorphic to the 2-torus $T^2$. 2) the restriction of $f^k$ to $M^2_i$ $(i\in\{1,...,k\})$ is conjugate to Anosov automorphism of $T^2$

Patients' confidence in treatment decisions for early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

BACKGROUND: In early-stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients, little is known about how to measure patient participation in Shared-Decision Making (SDM). We examined the psychometric properties and clinical acceptability of the Decision Self-Efficacy scale (DSE) in a cohort of patients undergoing to Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) or Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) to capture patient involvement in treatment decisions. METHODS: In the context of a prospective longitudinal study (Life after Lung Cancer-LiLAC) involving 244 patients with early-stage NSCLC, 158 (64.7%) patients completed the DSE either on paper or electronically online prior to treatment with SABR or VATS pulmonary resection. DSE psychometric properties were examined using: principal components analysis of item properties and internal structure, and internal construct validity; we also performed a sensitivity analysis according to Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS), gender, age and treatment received (VATS or SABR) difference. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis using polychoric correlations substantiated that the 11 item DSE is one scale accounting for 81% of the variance. We calculated a value of 0.96 for Cronbach's alpha for the total DSE score. DSE scores did not differ by gender (p = 0.37), between the two treatment groups (p = 0.09) and between younger and older patients (p = 0.4). However, patients with an ECOG PS > 1 have a DSE mean of 73.8 (SD 26) compared to patients with a PS 0-1 who have a DSE mean of 85.8 (SD 20.3 p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Findings provide preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of the DSE questionnaire in this population. However, future studies are warranted to identify the most appropriate SDM tool for clinical practice in the lung cancer treatment field

The random case of Conley's theorem: III. Random semiflow case and Morse decomposition

In the first part of this paper, we generalize the results of the author \cite{Liu,Liu2} from the random flow case to the random semiflow case, i.e. we obtain Conley decomposition theorem for infinite dimensional random dynamical systems. In the second part, by introducing the backward orbit for random semiflow, we are able to decompose invariant random compact set (e.g. global random attractor) into random Morse sets and connecting orbits between them, which generalizes the Morse decomposition of invariant sets originated from Conley \cite{Con} to the random semiflow setting and gives the positive answer to an open problem put forward by Caraballo and Langa \cite{CL}.Comment: 21 pages, no figur

New structural insights into densely assembled reduced graphene oxide membranes

Densely assembled graphene-based membranes have attracted substantial interest for their widespread applications, such as compact capacitive energy storage, ion/molecular separation, gas barrier films, and flexible electronics. However, the multiscale structure of densely packed graphene membranes remains ambiguously understood. This article combines X-ray and light scattering techniques as well as dynamic electrosorption analysis to uncover the stacking structure of the densely stacked reduced graphene oxide (rGO) membranes. The membranes are produced by reducing graphene oxide (GO) membranes with hydrazine, during which the colloidal interactions between GO sheets are modulated by the electrolyte solution. In contrast to the common notion that direct reduction of densely assembled GO sheets in parallel tends to result in significant “graphitization”, this article unexpectedly discovers that the resultant densely packed rGO membrane can still retain the interconnected network nanochannels and show good capacitive performances. This inspires the development of a hierarchical structural model to describe the densely packed rGO membranes. This article further shows that the nanochannel network can be fine-tuned at the sub-nanometer level by tailoring the salt concentration and the reduction temperature to render exceptional volumetric capacitance and good rate performance for rGO membranes even with increased packing density