Combinatorial Formulae for Vassiliev Invariants from Chern-Simons Gauge Theory

We analyse the perturbative series expansion of the vacuum expectation value of a Wilson loop in Chern-Simons gauge theory in the temporal gauge. From the analysis emerges the notion of the kernel of a Vassiliev invariant. The kernel of a Vassiliev invariant of order n is not a knot invariant, since it depends on the regular knot projection chosen, but it differs from a Vassiliev invariant by terms that vanish on knots with n singular crossings. We conjecture that Vassiliev invariants can be reconstructed from their kernels. We present the general form of the kernel of a Vassiliev invariant and we describe the reconstruction of the full primitive Vassiliev invariants at orders two, three and four. At orders two and three we recover known combinatorial expressions for these invariants. At order four we present new combinatorial expressions for the two primitive Vassiliev invariants present at this order.Comment: 73 pages, latex, epsf, 18 figures, 2 table

Power, Composition, and Decision Making: The Behavioral Consequences of Institutional Reform on Brazil's Supremo Tribunal Federal

How does a court's policy-making authority shape the nature of judicial behavior? We argue that judicial systems that limit policy-making authority also discourage the politicization of courts, encouraging judges to think narrowly about the interests of litigating parties. In contrast, granting a court high policy-making authority—affecting potentially thousands of cases and other branches of government—naturally encourages judges to consider broader ideological principles. Typically, unraveling cause and effect would be difficult, as judicial behavior and institutions are usually stable and endogenous. But an especially stark sequence of political and institutional changes in Brazil affords analytic leverage to explore these questions. A series of judicial reforms greatly expanded the Brazilian Supreme Court's authority, and our analysis of judicial decisions shows the emergence of a political cleavage on the court after these reforms. (JEL C140, K39, K49

Методические особенности управления туристскими потоками в регионе (на примере Автономной Республики Крым)

Экономическая жизнь, начиная от простых жителей сел и городов, до экономики полуострова в целом зависит от количества туристов, приехавших в Крым на отдых и лечениеЕкономічне життя, починаючи від простих мешканців сіл і міст, до економіки півострова в цілому залежить від кількості туристів, що приїхали до Криму на відпочинок і лікуванн

Large time wellposdness to the 3-D Capillary-Gravity Waves in the long wave regime

In the regime of weakly transverse long waves, given long-wave initial data, we prove that the nondimensionalized water wave system in an infinite strip under influence of gravity and surface tension on the upper free interface has a unique solution on [0,{T}/\eps] for some \eps independent of constant $T.$ We shall prove in the subsequent paper \cite{MZZ2} that on the same time interval, these solutions can be accurately approximated by sums of solutions of two decoupled Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (KP) equations.Comment: Split the original paper(The long wave approximation to the 3-D capillary-gravity waves) into two parts, this is the first on

Compressed sensing imaging techniques for radio interferometry

Radio interferometry probes astrophysical signals through incomplete and noisy Fourier measurements. The theory of compressed sensing demonstrates that such measurements may actually suffice for accurate reconstruction of sparse or compressible signals. We propose new generic imaging techniques based on convex optimization for global minimization problems defined in this context. The versatility of the framework notably allows introduction of specific prior information on the signals, which offers the possibility of significant improvements of reconstruction relative to the standard local matching pursuit algorithm CLEAN used in radio astronomy. We illustrate the potential of the approach by studying reconstruction performances on simulations of two different kinds of signals observed with very generic interferometric configurations. The first kind is an intensity field of compact astrophysical objects. The second kind is the imprint of cosmic strings in the temperature field of the cosmic microwave background radiation, of particular interest for cosmology.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure. Version 2 matches version accepted for publication in MNRAS. Changes includes: writing corrections, clarifications of arguments, figure update, and a new subsection 4.1 commenting on the exact compliance of radio interferometric measurements with compressed sensin

A splitting approach for the fully nonlinear and weakly dispersive Green-Naghdi model

The fully nonlinear and weakly dispersive Green-Naghdi model for shallow water waves of large amplitude is studied. The original model is first recast under a new formulation more suitable for numerical resolution. An hybrid finite volume and finite difference splitting approach is then proposed. The hyperbolic part of the equations is handled with a high-order finite volume scheme allowing for breaking waves and dry areas. The dispersive part is treated with a classical finite difference approach. Extensive numerical validations are then performed in one horizontal dimension, relying both on analytical solutions and experimental data. The results show that our approach gives a good account of all the processes of wave transformation in coastal areas: shoaling, wave breaking and run-up

Asymptotic models for the generation of internal waves by a moving ship, and the dead-water phenomenon

This paper deals with the dead-water phenomenon, which occurs when a ship sails in a stratified fluid, and experiences an important drag due to waves below the surface. More generally, we study the generation of internal waves by a disturbance moving at constant speed on top of two layers of fluids of different densities. Starting from the full Euler equations, we present several nonlinear asymptotic models, in the long wave regime. These models are rigorously justified by consistency or convergence results. A careful theoretical and numerical analysis is then provided, in order to predict the behavior of the flow and in which situations the dead-water effect appears.Comment: To appear in Nonlinearit

Simple blood fibrosis tests reduce unnecessary referrals for specialized evaluations of liver fibrosis in NAFLD and ALD patients

BACKGROUND: Liver fibrosis evaluation is mandatory in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcoholic liver disease (ALD) to decide the patient management. Patients with these diseases are usually under the care of non-liver specialists who refer them to specialized centers where the most accurate fibrosis tests are available. We aimed to evaluate whether simple blood fibrosis tests available to all physicians help to reduce the rate of unnecessary referral of NAFLD and ALD patients without advanced fibrosis. METHODS: NAFLD and/or ALD patients newly referred to our center for a non-invasive evaluation of liver fibrosis were retrospectively included. The FibroMeter (FM, combination of blood markers and Fibroscan results) was defined as the reference test for specialized evaluation of liver fibrosis. A FM result <0.384 indicated the absence of advanced fibrosis and thus an "unnecessary referral". RESULTS: 558 patients were included (NAFLD: 283, ALD: 156, mixed NAFLD+ALD: 119). FM was <0.384 (unnecessary referral) in 58.8% of patients. FIB4 was <1.30 in 45.2% and eLIFT <8 in 47.7% of the patients. 84.9% of patients with FIB4 <1.30 and 85.3% of patients with eLIFT <8 had also FM <0.384. Therefore, using FIB4 or eLIFT as first-line evaluation of liver fibrosis decreased by three-fold the rate of unnecessary referral. The negative predictive value of FIB4 and eLIFT was >80% whatever the underlying cause of chronic liver disease. CONCLUSION: The use of eLIFT by non-liver specialists for NAFLD and ALD patients can improve the relevance of referrals for specialized evaluation of liver fibrosis

Polimorfismos nucleotidicos de genes envolvidos nas características químicas do grão de café. Complementaridade das estratégias in silico e in vivo.

A compreensão das bases genéticas da composição química do grão de café é indispensável para a gestão dos programas de melhoramento que têm como objetivo a qualidade da bebida. O desenvolvimento da genômica permite hoje a identificação de genes candidatos que são potencialmente envolvidos nessas características. Entretanto, a utilização destas novas ferramentas para o melhoramento depende da capacidade de identificar dentro de todos esses candidatos,, os que controlam a variabilidade das características entre genótipos. Essa identificação envolve o teste das relações entre os polimorfismos dos genes e a variabilidade fenotípica. A avaliação da diversidade nucleotídica pode ser feita de duas maneiras: usando as informações disponíveis nos bancos de dados EST (estratégia in silico) ou por seqüênciamento direto de genótipos de interesse (estratégia in vivo). O objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar o potencial da estratégia de analise de polimorfismos in silico para o café baseado nos bancos de dados disponíveis. Foram estudadas as vias da biossíntese da sacarose e dos diterpenos, compostos com efeitos na qualidade da bebida e na saúde humana, respectivamente. Essa busca permitiu a identificação de 1.1 polimorfismos para cada 100 bp para os 14 genes estudados. Uma avaliação da diversidade nucleotídica in vivo para alguns desses genes (via da biossíntese da sacarose) permitiu comparar essas duas estratégias. A estratégia in silico é complementar à estratégia in vivo permitindo uma avaliação geral dos níveis de polimorfismos dos genes numa larga escala em todo o genoma com um baixo custo