The Projective Unitary Irreducible Representations of the Poincar\'e Group in 1+2 Dimensions

We give a complete analysis of the projective unitary irreducible representations of the Poincar\'e group in 1+2 dimensions applying Mackey theorem and using an explicit formula for the universal covering group of the Lorentz group in 1+2 dimensions. We provide explicit formulae for all representations.Comment: 22 pages, PLAIN-TE

Mathematical modeling of irrigation canal systems. Part I - Presentation of the "Mistral-Simutra" software package; Part II - Application of "Mistral - Simutra" to the Kalankuttiya branch canal (Mahaweli System H) Sri Lanka

Mathematical models / Computer software / Canal construction / Simulation models / Sri Lanka / Mahaweli Project / Kalankuttiya

Innovative approaches to agricultural water use for improving food security in Sub- Saharan Africa

Irrigated farming / Water use / Food security / Water resources / Water supply / Rain / Water harvesting / Wetlands / Food production / Groundwater management / Urbanization / Recycling / Effluents / Waste waters / Water reuse / Water demand / Crop production

Good product expansions for tame elements of reductive p-adic groups

We show that, under fairly general conditions, many elements of a p-adic group can be well approximated by a product whose factors have properties that are helpful in performing explicit character computations.Comment: 88 pages; minor errors corrected; results renumbered to match published versio

Milk whey protein concentration and mRNA associated with β-lactoglobulin phenotype

Two common genetic variants of β-lactoglobulin (β-lg), A and B, exist as co- dominant alleles in dairy cattle (Aschaffenburg, 1968). Numerous studies have shown that cows homozygous for β-lg A have more β-lg and less α-lactalbumin (α-la) and casein in their milk than cows expressing only the B variant of β-lg (Ng-Kwai-Hang et al. 1987; Graml et al. 1989; Hill, 1993; Hill et al. 1995, 1997). These differences have a significant impact on the processing characteristics of the milk. For instance, the moisture-adjusted yield of Cheddar cheese is up to 10% higher using milk from cows of the β-lg BB phenotype compared with milk from cows expressing only the A variant (Hill et al. 1997). All these studies, however, describe compositional differences associated with β-lg phenotype in established lactation only. No information is available on the first few weeks of lactation, when there are marked changes in the concentrations of β-lg and α-la (Pérez et al. 1990)

Positron detection in silica monoliths for miniaturised quality control of PET radiotracers

We demonstrate the use of the miniaturised Medipix positron sensor for detection of the clinical PET radiotracer, [⁶⁸Ga]gallium-citrate, on a silica-based monolith, towards microfluidic quality control. The system achieved a far superior signal-to-noise ratio compared to conventional sodium iodide-based radio-HPLC detection and allowed real-time visualisation of positrons in the monolith

Motor Timing Intraindividual Variability in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Cognitively Intact Elders at Genetic Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease

Introduction: Intraindividual variability (IIV) in motor performance has been shown to predict future cognitive decline. The apolipoprotein E-epsilon 4 (APOE-ε4) allele is also a well-established risk factor for memory decline. Here, we present novel findings examining the influence of the APOE-ε4 allele on the performance of asymptomatic healthy elders in comparison to individuals with amnestic MCI (aMCI) on a fine motor synchronization, paced finger-tapping task (PFTT). Method: Two Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk groups, individuals with aMCI (n = 24) and cognitively intact APOE-ε4 carriers (n = 41), and a control group consisting of cognitively intact APOE-ε4 noncarriers (n = 65) completed the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and the PFTT, which requires index finger tapping in synchrony with a visual stimulus (interstimulus interval = 333 ms). Results: Motor timing IIV, as reflected by the standard deviation of the intertap interval (ITI), was greater in the aMCI group than in the two groups of cognitively intact elders; in contrast, all three groups had statistically equivalent mean ITI. No significant IIV differences were observed between the asymptomatic APOE-ε4 carriers and noncarriers. Poorer episodic memory performance was associated with greater IIV, particularly in the aMCI group. Conclusions: Results suggest that increased IIV on a fine motor synchronization task is apparent in aMCI. This IIV measure was not sensitive in discriminating older asymptomatic individuals at genetic risk for AD from those without such a genetic risk. In contrast, episodic memory performance, a well-established predictor of cognitive decline in preclinical AD, was able to distinguish between the two cognitively intact groups based on genetic risk

Regionalisation of population growth projections in coastal exposure analysis

Large-area coastal exposure and impact analysis has focussed on using sea-level rise (SLR) scenarios and has placed little emphasis on ocioeconomic scenarios, while neglecting spatial variations of population dynamics. We use the Dynamic Interactive Vulnerability Assessment (DIVA) Framework to assess the population exposed to 1 in 100-year coastal flood events under different population scenarios, that are onsistent with the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs); and different SLR scenarios, derived from the representative concentration pathways (RCPs); and analyse the effect of accounting for regionalised population dynamics on population exposure until 2100. In a reference approach, we use homogeneous population growth on national level. In the regionalisation approaches, we test existing spatially explicit projections that also account for urbanisation, coastal migration and urban sprawl. Our results show that projected global exposure in 2100 ranges from 100 million to 260 million, depending on the combination of SLR and population scenarios and method used for regionalising the population projections. The assessed exposure based on the regionalised approaches is higher than that derived from the reference approach by up to 60 million people (39%). Accounting for urbanisation and coastal migration leads to an increase in exposure, whereas considering urban sprawl leads to lower exposure. Differences between the reference and the regionalised approaches increase with higher SLR. The regionalised approaches show highest exposure under SSP5 over most of the twenty-first century, although total population in SP5 is the second lowest overall. All methods project the largest absolute growth in exposure for Asia and relative growth for Africa

Exercise induced skeletal muscle metabolic stress is reduced after pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD

SummaryIn COPD, skeletal muscle ATP resynthesis may be insufficient to meet demand during exercise due to excessive anaerobic and reduced oxidative (mitochondrial) energy production, leading to metabolic stress. We investigated the effect of outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) on the metabolic response (measured by exercise-induced accumulation of plasma ammonia) and determined whether this response predicted functional improvement following PR.25 subjects with stable COPD [mean (SD) age 67 (8)years and FEV1 47 (18)% predicted] performed maximal cycling ergometry before and after PR. Plasma ammonia was measured at rest, during exercise and 2 min post-exercise.Following PR, there were significant increases in peak cycle WR and ISWT performance (Mean (SEM) changes 13.1 (2.0) W and 93 (15) m respectively, p < 0.001). Mean (SEM) rise in plasma ammonia was reduced at peak (Pre vs Post-PR: 29.0 (4.5) vs 20.2 (2.5) μmol/l, p < 0.05) and isotime (Pre vs Post-PR: 29.0 (4.5) vs 10.6 (1.7) μmol/l, p < 0.001) exercise. Improvements in exercise performance after PR were similar among subgroups who did versus those who did not show a rise in ammonia at baseline.The results suggest that muscle cellular energy production was better matched to the demands of exercise following PR. We conclude that a pragmatic outpatient PR programme involving high intensity walking exercise results in significant adaptation of the skeletal muscle metabolic response with a reduction in exercise-related metabolic stress. However, the outcome of PR could not be predicted from baseline metabolic response