The Schwinger Representation of a Group: Concept and Applications

The concept of the Schwinger Representation of a finite or compact simple Lie group is set up as a multiplicity-free direct sum of all the unitary irreducible representations of the group. This is abstracted from the properties of the Schwinger oscillator construction for SU(2), and its relevance in several quantum mechanical contexts is highlighted. The Schwinger representations for $SU(2), SO(3)$ and SU(n) for all $n$ are constructed via specific carrier spaces and group actions. In the SU(2) case connections to the oscillator construction and to Majorana's theorem on pure states for any spin are worked out. The role of the Schwinger Representation in setting up the Wigner-Weyl isomorphism for quantum mechanics on a compact simple Lie group is brought out.Comment: Latex, 17 page

Turning gender inside out: delivering higher education in women’s carceral spaces

This article is a critical reflection of the role of gender in the delivery of a higher education course based on the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Programme. Related concepts such as hegemonic masculinity, heteronormativity, and intersectionality are discussed within the prison education setting. This reflection primarily draws on critical incidents from the experiences of the first three authors facilitating a higher education course in a women’s prison in England. One major reflection is that learning in a group of ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ students, all self-identified women, who vary along the dimensions of age, class, ethnicity, nationality and sexual expression, presented unique dynamics. This included working with both collectiveness and difference, gender-aligned expectations about behaviour, and experiences of control, criminal justice and higher education. Additionally, all four authors' experiences of delivering various higher education courses under different prison-education partnership models in both men and women’s prisons allows for comparison and reflection on the institutional reproduction of gender norms. These reflections point to the conclusion that, despite the strong presence of intersectional divisions, gender can become a uniting force when working with an all-women student group, fostering critical thinking and engagement with challenging structural issues. However further reflection considers that being gender-conscious in the classroom should not be limited to all-women student cohorts, as this is exactly what may enable facilitators to tackle some of the issues produced by hegemonic masculinity in a mixed prison classroom

Criminological and Medico-legal Aspects in Homicidal and Suicidal Sharp Force Fatalities

The interpretation of sharp force fatality dynamics may be difficult in some cases, but a contribution to analysis of the phenomenon may be provided by case studies. Therefore, the purpose of our study is focused on identifying, in observed sharp force fatalities, reliable parameters that can differentiate a homicidal and suicidal manner of death, with particular reference to criminological parameters. Data derived from sharp force fatality cases in Padua and Venice from 1997 to 2019, anonymized and collected in Excel, included personal, circumstantial, clinical, and psychopathological\u2013criminological data, as well as crime scene investigation, necroscopic, and toxicological data. Statistical analyses were performed using chi-square and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Possible predictors of homicide were analyzed by logistic regression. Six parameters (bloodstains distant from the body, clothing lacerations, hesitation/defense wounds, number of injuries, and potential motives) were significantly different in the two groups (p\ua0<\ua00.05). An independent statistical association between potential motives explaining the crime (p\ua0<\ua00.001; OR 27.533) and homicide on multiple logistic regression analysis was highlighted. The absence of clothing lacerations was inversely related to homicide (p\ua0=\ua00.002, OR 0.092). To the best of our knowledge, this is one of very few Italian studies concerning the differential diagnosis between homicidal and suicidal sharp force fatalities. The dynamics of the event is established in most cases by the integrated evaluation of data from crime scene investigation and the autopsy. Nevertheless, in an atypical scenario, a psychopathological\u2013criminological analysis may provide essential elements, and particular attention should be given to the identification of potential explanatory motives

Mental retardation in mucopolysaccharidoses correlates with high molecular weight urinary heparan sulphate derived glucosamine

none11noMucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) are characterized by mental retardation constantly present in the severe forms of Hurler (MPS I), Hunter (MPS II) and Sanfilippo (MPS III) diseases. On the contrary, mental retardation is absent in Morquio (MPS IV) and Maroteaux-Lamy (MPS VI) diseases and absent or only minimal in the attenuated forms of MPS I, II and III. Considering that MPS patients affected by mental disease accumulate heparan sulfate (HS) due to specific enzymatic defects, we hypothesized a possible correlation between urinary HS-derived glucosamine (GlcN) accumulated in tissues and excreted in biological fluids and mental retardation. 83 healthy subjects were found to excrete HS in the form of fragments due to the activity of catabolic enzymes that are absent or impaired in MPS patients. On the contrary, urinary HS in 44 patients was observed to be composed of high molecular weight polymer and fragments of various lengths depending on MPS types. On this basis we correlated mental retardation with GlcN belonging to high and low molecular weight HS. We demonstrate a positive relationship between the accumulation of high molecular weight HS and mental retardation in MPS severe compared to attenuated forms. This is also supported by the consideration that accumulation of other GAGs different from HS, as in MPS IV and MPS VI, and low molecular weight HS fragments do not impact on central nervous system disease.Coppa, G.V; Gabrielli, O.; Zampini, L.; Maccari, F.; Mantovani, V.; Galeazzi, T.; Santoro, L.; Padella, L.; Marchesiello, R.L.; Galeotti, F.; Volpi, N.Coppa, Giovanni Valentino; Gabrielli, Orazio; Zampini, Lucia; Maccari, F.; Mantovani, V.; Galeazzi, Tiziana; Santoro, Lucia; Padella, Lucia; Marchesiello, R. L.; Galeotti, F.; Volpi, N

Antimicrobial activity of Argentinean propolis against Staphylococcus isolated of canine otitis

Increasing resistance toward the available antibiotics by various microbial diseases pushed veterinarian to think about alternative therapies. Propolis is a natural compound well known since ancient times for its therapeutic effects and has been employed in traditional veterinary medicine. The aim of this study was to analyze the chemical composition of 12 propolis ethanolic extracts (PEEs) from different provinces of Northern Argentina and evaluate their antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus strains isolated from canine otitis. Thirteen compounds (eight flavonoids, two chalcones and three phenolic acids) were identified by TLC, spectrophotometric methods and HPLC-DAD. PEEs were effective against Staphylococcus strains. The highest antibacterial activities were found in samples from Tucuman province. All propolis samples were considered bacteriostatic and the selection of resistant phenotypes did not occur in presence of Argentinean-PEE. Results of the present study indicate that propolis extracts might be an effective alternative against canine otitis-causing S. aureus strains in vivo.Fil: Salas, Ana Lilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán. Instituto de Quimica del Noroeste; ArgentinaFil: Ordóñez, Roxana Mabel. Universidad Nacional de Tucuman. Facultad de Cs.naturales E Instituto Miguel Lillo. Catedra de Quimica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán. Instituto de Quimica del Noroeste; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Silva, C.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán. Instituto de Quimica del Noroeste; ArgentinaFil: Maldonado, L.. Universidad Nacional de Tucuman. Facultad de Bioquimica, Quimica y Farmacia. Instituto de Estudios Vegetales. Catedra de Fitoquimica; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucumán-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; ArgentinaFil: Bedascarrasbure, E.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucumán-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; ArgentinaFil: Isla, Maria Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán. Instituto de Quimica del Noroeste; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Zampini, Iris Catiana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán. Instituto de Quimica del Noroeste; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia; Argentin

Leptin receptor expression and in vitro leptin actions on prostaglandin release and nitric oxide synthase activity in the rabbit oviduct

In this study, we have examined the presence and the distribution of receptors for leptin (Ob-R) in the oviduct of rabbits, and the effects of leptin on the release of prostaglandin (PG) F2alpha and PGE2 and on the activity of nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS) by oviducts cultured in vitro. Rabbits were killed during the follicular phase and the oviducts were incubated in vitro with leptin, PGF2alpha, PGE2, NO donor and inhibitors of NOS and cyclo-oxigenase (COX). Using immunohistochemistry, Ob-R-like positive reaction was observed only in the cytoplasm of secretory cells, having stronger intensity in the infundibulum and ampulla tracts than in the isthmus. Both leptin and NO donor inhibited PGE2 release, whereas they enhanced PGF2alpha release; NOS inhibitor alone or with leptin increased PGE2 and decreased PGF2alpha production; NOS activity was enhanced by leptin, while PGs did not affect this enzyme. This study suggests that the oviduct could be a potential target for endocrine regulation by leptin, whose circulating levels may act as a metabolic signal modulating oviductal PG release through mediation of the NOS/NO system

Isogeometric BDDC Preconditioning with Deluxe Scaling

A balancing domain decomposition by constraints (BDDC) preconditioner with a novel scaling, introduced by Dohrmann for problems with more than one variable coefficient and here denoted as deluxe scaling, is extended to isogeometric analysis of scalar elliptic problems. This new scaling turns out to be more powerful than the standard ?- and stiffness scalings considered in a previous isogeometric BDDC study. Our h-analysis shows that the condition number of the resulting deluxe BDDC preconditioner is scalable with a quasi-optimal polylogarithmic bound which is also independent of coefficient discontinuities across subdomain interfaces. Extensive numerical experiments support the theory and show that the deluxe scaling yields a remarkable improvement over the older scalings, in particular for large isogeometric polynomial degree and high regularity

Leptin receptor expression and in vitro leptin actions on prostaglandin release and nitric oxide synthase activity in the rabbit oviduct

In this study, we have examined the presence and the distribution of receptors for leptin (Ob-R) in the oviduct of rabbits, and the effects of leptin on the release of prostaglandin (PG) F2alpha and PGE2 and on the activity of nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS) by oviducts cultured in vitro. Rabbits were killed during the follicular phase and the oviducts were incubated in vitro with leptin, PGF2alpha, PGE2, NO donor and inhibitors of NOS and cyclo-oxigenase (COX). Using immunohistochemistry, Ob-R-like positive reaction was observed only in the cytoplasm of secretory cells, having stronger intensity in the infundibulum and ampulla tracts than in the isthmus. Both leptin and NO donor inhibited PGE2 release, whereas they enhanced PGF2alpha release; NOS inhibitor alone or with leptin increased PGE2 and decreased PGF2alpha production; NOS activity was enhanced by leptin, while PGs did not affect this enzyme. This study suggests that the oviduct could be a potential target for endocrine regulation by leptin, whose circulating levels may act as a metabolic signal modulating oviductal PG release through mediation of the NOS/NO system