Government alternation and proximity voting: how policy change opportunities shape electoral behaviour

A landmark finding in recent research on electoral behaviour is that voters anticipate the postelection bargaining process among potential members of the governing coalition, and that these anticipated policy agreements inform their vote choice. In this article, this finding is qualified by arguing, and then showing empirically, that when the expected policy change after the elections is marginal or non-existent, ceteris paribus, ‘simple’ proximity voting should prevail. The argument is tested by using two different but complementary research strategies applied to an individual-level data set constructed from electoral surveys in 28 countries over a 20-year period, and two recent national surveys in which respondents were directly asked to predict the potential coalition government after the elections. Both strategies provide support for the hypothesis and have important implications for the understanding of the consequences of government alternation on voting behaviour and political representation more broadly

Consistent anomalies of the induced W gravities

The BRST anomaly which may be present in the induced $W_n$ gravity quantized on the light-cone is evaluated in the geometrical framework of Zucchini. The cocycles linked by the cohomology of the BRST operator to the anomaly are straightforwardly calculated thanks to the analogy between this formulation and the Yang-Mills theory. We give also a conformally covariant formulation of these quantities including the anomaly, which is valid on arbitrary Riemann surfaces. The example of the $W_3$ theory is discussed and a comparison with other candidates for the anomaly available in the literature is presented.Comment: Latex, no figures, 12 pages (To appear on Physics Letters B.

AKSZ construction from reduction data

We discuss a general procedure to encode the reduction of the target space geometry into AKSZ sigma models. This is done by considering the AKSZ construction with target the BFV model for constrained graded symplectic manifolds. We investigate the relation between this sigma model and the one with the reduced structure. We also discuss several examples in dimension two and three when the symmetries come from Lie group actions and systematically recover models already proposed in the literature.Comment: 42 page

The Achievements of the RockStar Group (Perugia) on Astrophysical Modelling and Pallasite Geochemistry

In the present work we summarize the first achievements of the RockStar Group of the Department of Physics and Geology (at the University of Perugia, Italy), which is made of a strict collaboration between Physicists and Geologists on astrophysical and planetological studies. The RockStar Group acts on two research lines: (i) astrophysical modeling and (ii) mineralogical and geochemical studies of meteorites. In the first part of the article we review the recent results concerning the development of theoretical modeling of nucleosynthesis and mixing process in asymptotic giant branch. In the second part we report (1) the catalog of the Meteorite collection of University of Perugia and (2) major and trace elements mapping, performed through EPMA and LA-ICP-MS, of the Mineo pallasite, a unique sample hosted by the collection. The new data constrain the Mineo meteorite among the Main Group Pallasites and support the hypothesis of the "early giant impact" formation

Poisson sigma model on the sphere

We evaluate the path integral of the Poisson sigma model on sphere and study the correlators of quantum observables. We argue that for the path integral to be well-defined the corresponding Poisson structure should be unimodular. The construction of the finite dimensional BV theory is presented and we argue that it is responsible for the leading semiclassical contribution. For a (twisted) generalized Kahler manifold we discuss the gauge fixed action for the Poisson sigma model. Using the localization we prove that for the holomorphic Poisson structure the semiclassical result for the correlators is indeed the full quantum result.Comment: 38 page

Finite dimensional AKSZ-BV theories

We describe a canonical reduction of AKSZ-BV theories to the cohomology of the source manifold. We get a finite dimensional BV theory that describes the contribution of the zero modes to the full QFT. Integration can be defined and correlators can be computed. As an illustration of the general construction we consider two dimensional Poisson sigma model and three dimensional Courant sigma model. When the source manifold is compact, the reduced theory is a generalization of the AKSZ construction where we take as source the cohomology ring. We present the possible generalizations of the AKSZ theory.Comment: 33 page

Hippocampal FGF-2 and BDNF overexpression attenuates epileptogenesis-associated neuroinflammation and reduces spontaneous recurrent seizures

Under certain experimental conditions, neurotrophic factors may reduce epileptogenesis. We have previously reported that local, intrahippocampal supplementation of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) increases neurogenesis, reduces neuronal loss, and reduces the occurrence of spontaneous seizures in a model of damage-associated epilepsy. Here, we asked if these possibly anti-epileptogenic effects might involve anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Thus, we used a Herpes-based vector to supplement FGF-2 and BDNF in rat hippocampus after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus that established an epileptogenic lesion. This model causes intense neuroinflammation, especially in the phase that precedes the occurrence of spontaneous seizures. The supplementation of FGF-2 and BDNF attenuated various parameters of inflammation, including astrocytosis, microcytosis and IL-1β expression. The effect appeared to be most prominent on IL-1β, whose expression was almost completely prevented. Further studies will be needed to elucidate the molecular mechanism(s) for these effects, and for that on IL-1β in particular. Nonetheless, the concept that neurotrophic factors affect neuroinflammation in vivo may be highly relevant for the understanding of the epileptogenic process

Effect of the Nano-Ca(OH)2 addition on the Portland clinker cooking efficiency

A new technology was tested to improve the cooking efficiency of the raw mixture for Portland clinker production by the use of nano-Ca(OH)2. A decrease in the free lime concentration after the firing of approximately 35% and 55% in the nano-added clinkers burned at 1350 °C and 1450 °C, respectively, with respect to the standard Portland clinkers was observed. Moreover, in the nano-added clinkers, a slight decrease in alite (C3S), of approximately 2-4 wt%, and increase in belite (C2S), of approximately 5-6 wt%, were observed. Despite these variations, the C2S and C3S abundance lies within the ranges for standard Portland clinkers. The results showed that the nano-addition leads to an increase of the raw mixtures' cooking efficiency. The relatively low energy required for the clinker firing could be used to increase the plant productivity and decrease the CO2 emissions during clinker burning. The decrease of the work index of the clinkers produced by the use of the nano-Ca(OH)2 also contributes to the energy saving during clinker grinding. Differences were also found in the pore size distribution among nano-added clinkers and the standard Portland clinker. The smallest porosities with the modal volume lying in the class of 3 × 10-6 mm3 were found to increase by the use of nano-Ca(OH)2. However, the pore volumes higher than 2.0 × 10-5 mm3 decreased in the nano-added clinkers. © 2019 by the authors

A geometrical approach to super W-induced gravities in two dimensions

A geometrical study of supergravity defined on (1|1) complex superspace is presented. This approach is based on the introduction of generalized superprojective structures extending the notions of super Riemann geometry to a kind of super W-Riemann surfaces. On these surfaces a connection is constructed. The zero curvature condition leads to the super Ward identities of the underlying supergravity. This is accomplished through the symplectic form linked to the (super)symplectic manifold of all super gauge connections. The BRST algebra is also derived from the knowledge of the super W-symmetries which are the gauge transformations of the vector bundle canonically associated to the generalized superprojective structures. We obtain the possible consistent BRST (super)anomalies and their cocycles related by the descent equations. Finally we apply our considerations to the case of supergravity.Comment: 29 pages, latex, no figures, to appear in Nucl. Phys.

Ketoacidosis at diagnosis in childhood-onset diabetes and the risk of retinopathy 20years later

Aims To investigate on the relationship between severity of ketoacidosis, an important risk factor for C-peptide preservation, and long-term microvascular complications in childhood-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Methods 230 childhood-onset diabetic patients (177 pre-pubertal), aged 7.0 \ub1 3.8 years followed for at least 15 years after their diagnosis, were enrolled. Clinical and laboratory data at diagnosis, and C-peptide levels in a subset of patients, were compared with the severity of retinopathy and nephropathy, after a mean of 19.6 \ub1 3.8 years of disease. Digital retinal photographs were taken in all patients, and centrally graded. Repeated measurements of HbA1c and microalbuminuria for the whole duration of diabetes were collected in over half of the cases. Results Out of 230 patients, those with the lowest age at diagnosis had the most severe DKA and clinical conditions (p < 0.05), and lower C-peptide levels (p < 0.0001) at diagnosis. There was a significant relationship between pH and clinical severity (r = - 0.783, p < 0.0001), and between pH and C-peptide levels (r = 0.278, p < 0.05). The severity of ketoacidosis had no relationship with subsequent lifetime HbA1c values and long-term microvascular complications. In logistic regression analysis, the only variables that independently influenced severity of retinopathy were lifetime HbA1c (B = 0.838, p < 0.001), duration of disease (B = 0.208, p < 0.005) and age at diagnosis (B = 0.116, p < 0.05). Conclusions The degree of metabolic derangement at diagnosis is not associated with retinopathy and nephropathy in childhood-onset T1DM. Age at diagnosis seems to be an important variable to be considered when evaluating the long-term effects of residual beta-cell function