1,389 research outputs found
Imaging memory in temporal lobe epilepsy: predicting the effects of temporal lobe resection
Functional magnetic resonance imaging can demonstrate the functional anatomy of cognitive processes. In patients with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy, evaluation of preoperative verbal and visual memory function is important as anterior temporal lobe resections may result in material specific memory impairment, typically verbal memory decline following left and visual memory decline after right anterior temporal lobe resection. This study aimed to investigate reorganization of memory functions in temporal lobe epilepsy and to determine whether preoperative memory functional magnetic resonance imaging may predict memory changes following anterior temporal lobe resection. We studied 72 patients with unilateral medial temporal lobe epilepsy (41 left) and 20 healthy controls. A functional magnetic resonance imaging memory encoding paradigm for pictures, words and faces was used testing verbal and visual memory in a single scanning session on a 3T magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Fifty-four patients subsequently underwent left (29) or right (25) anterior temporal lobe resection. Verbal and design learning were assessed before and 4 months after surgery. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis revealed that in left temporal lobe epilepsy, greater left hippocampal activation for word encoding correlated with better verbal memory. In right temporal lobe epilepsy, greater right hippocampal activation for face encoding correlated with better visual memory. In left temporal lobe epilepsy, greater left than right anterior hippocampal activation on word encoding correlated with greater verbal memory decline after left anterior temporal lobe resection, while greater left than right posterior hippocampal activation correlated with better postoperative verbal memory outcome. In right temporal lobe epilepsy, greater right than left anterior hippocampal functional magnetic resonance imaging activation on face encoding predicted greater visual memory decline after right anterior temporal lobe resection, while greater right than left posterior hippocampal activation correlated with better visual memory outcome. Stepwise linear regression identified asymmetry of activation for encoding words and faces in the ipsilateral anterior medial temporal lobe as strongest predictors for postoperative verbal and visual memory decline. Activation asymmetry, language lateralization and performance on preoperative neuropsychological tests predicted clinically significant verbal memory decline in all patients who underwent left anterior temporal lobe resection, but were less able to predict visual memory decline after right anterior temporal lobe resection. Preoperative memory functional magnetic resonance imaging was the strongest predictor of verbal and visual memory decline following anterior temporal lobe resection. Preoperatively, verbal and visual memory function utilized the damaged, ipsilateral hippocampus and also the contralateral hippocampus. Memory function in the ipsilateral posterior hippocampus may contribute to better preservation of memory after surgery
N=2 SYM RG Scale as Modulus for WDVV Equations
We derive a new set of WDVV equations for N=2 SYM in which the
renormalization scale is identified with the distinguished modulus
which naturally arises in topological field theories.Comment: 6 pages, LaTe
New data concerning the butterfly fauna (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea) of Veglia - Devero Natural Park and its surroundings (northwestern Italian Alps)
Low Energy Effective Action in N=2 Yang-Mills as an Integrated Anomaly
Based on chiral ring relations and anomalies, as described by Cachazo,
Douglas, Seiberg and Witten, we argue that the holomorphic effective action in
N=2 Yang-Mills theory can be understood as an integrated U(1) anomaly from a
purely field theory point of view. In particular, we show that the periods of
the Riemann surface arising from the generalized Konishi anomaly can be given a
physical interpretation without referring to special geometry. We also discuss
consequences for the multi-instanton calculus in N=2 Yang-Mills theory.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures ; v2: reference adde
Nonperturbative Relations in N=2 SUSY Yang-Mills and WDVV equation
We find the nonperturbative relation between , the prepotential and the
vevs in supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories with
gauge group . Nonlinear differential equations for including
the Witten -- Dijkgraaf -- Verlinde -- Verlinde equation are obtained. This
indicates that SYM theories are essentially topological field theories
and that should be seen as low-energy limit of some topological string theory.
Furthermore, we construct relevant modular invariant quantities, derive
canonical relations between the periods and investigate the structure of the
beta function by giving its explicit form in the moduli coordinates. In doing
this we discuss the uniformization problem for the quantum moduli space. The
method we propose can be generalized to supersymmetric Yang-Mills
theories with higher rank gauge groups.Comment: 12 pages, LaTex. Expanded version. New results, corrections,
references and acknowledgements adde
Effect of rearing system on body traits and fillet quality of meagre (Argyrosomus regius, Asso 1801) chilled for a short time
The purpose of this study was to evaluate qualitative traits of meagre (Argyrosomus regius) from two different rearing systems (land-based tank filled with geothermal water vs offshore sea cage) and after short-term storage at chilling temperature (1, 2, or 3 days). Fish originated from the same batch were fed the same diet. Morpho-biometric traits, L*, a*, and b* colour parameters, texture, free water, proximate composition, total lipids, fatty acids, iron, and selenium contents were analyzed in the fillets. Most parameters were affected by rearing system. Compared to tank-reared fish, caged fish were shorter, poorer in visceral fat, and had higher incidence in cavity content and liver, lower incidence in gonads and head. Caged fish also had softer fillets in the epaxial site, which showed a higher tendency towards greenish colour. Caged fish also showed higher lipid content but lower Fe and Se content. Tank-reared fish fillets were more abundant in PUFAn-3, mainly due to DHA (18.54 vs 12.95%; P<0.001) and consequently showed the best healthiness indexes. Minimal changes, mostly involving colour and texture, were detected during the first three days of refrigerated storage. During storage, no significant modification of the parameters investigated could be ascribed to the rearing system
Development of an innovative film‑forming cleaning system for the removal of corrosion products from copper alloy artifacts
RG Flow Irreversibility, C-Theorem and Topological Nature of 4D N=2 SYM
We determine the exact beta function and a RG flow Lyapunov function for N=2
SYM with gauge group SU(n). It turns out that the classical discriminants of
the Seiberg-Witten curves determine the RG potential. The radial
irreversibility of the RG flow in the SU(2) case and the non-perturbative
identity relating the -modulus and the superconformal anomaly, indicate the
existence of a four dimensional analogue of the c-theorem for N=2 SYM which we
formulate for the full SU(n) theory. Our investigation provides further
evidence of the essentially topological nature of the theory.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX file. Discussion on WDVV and integrability. References
added. Version published in PR
The stringy instanton partition function
We perform an exact computation of the gauged linear sigma model associated to a D1-D5 brane system on a resolved A 1 singularity. This is accomplished via supersymmetric localization on the blown-up two-sphere. We show that in the blow-down limit the partition function reduces to the Nekrasov partition function evaluating the equivariant volume of the instanton moduli space. For finite radius we obtain a tower of world-sheet instanton corrections, that we identify with the equivariant Gromov-Witten invariants of the ADHM moduli space. We show that these corrections can be encoded in a deformation of the Seiberg-Witten prepotential. From the mathematical viewpoint, the D1-D5 system under study displays a twofold nature: the D1-branes viewpoint captures the equivariant quantum cohomology of the ADHM instanton moduli space in the Givental formalism, and the D5-branes viewpoint is related to higher rank equivariant Donaldson-Thomas invariants
G2 Hitchin functionals at one loop
We consider the quantization of the effective target space description of
topological M-theory in terms of the Hitchin functional whose critical points
describe seven-manifolds with G2 structure. The one-loop partition function for
this theory is calculated and an extended version of it, that is related to
generalized G2 geometry, is compared with the topological G2 string. We relate
the reduction of the effective action for the extended G2 theory to the Hitchin
functional description of the topological string in six dimensions. The
dependence of the partition functions on the choice of background G2 metric is
also determined.Comment: 58 pages, LaTeX; v2: Acknowledgments adde
- âŠ