Giving New Zealand: Philanthropic Funding 2006

This report provides measurement of New Zealanders' philanthropic funding for the 2005/2006 year and what these funds supported

Property (T)(T) and strong Property (T)(T) for unital C∗C^*-algebras

In this paper, we will give a thorough study of the notion of Property $(T)$ for $C^*$-algebras (as introduced by M.B. Bekka in \cite{Bek-T}) as well as a slight stronger version of it, called "strong property $(T)$" (which is also an analogue of the corresponding concept in the case of discrete groups and type $\rm II_1$-factors). More precisely, we will give some interesting equivalent formulations as well as some permanence properties for both property $(T)$ and strong property $(T)$. We will also relate them to certain $(T)$-type properties of the unitary group of the underlying $C^*$-algebra

Regional Atmospheric Dynamics of Water on Mars

The investigation of water on Mars continues to be a quintessential objective in planetary exploration since water represents a critical link to Mars’ past and present climate, geology, and its potential for habitability. Direct observations of water at the regional scale is limited, and the distribution and behavior of water in the planetary boundary layer remains an outstanding question. The research in this dissertation investigates the radiative and dynamical processes governing the regional water cycle on Mars. Using global and mesoscale atmospheric models, simulations of the regional water circulation revealed a highly non-homogeneous local distribution of water that is strongly modulated by diurnal transport. Terrain-following air parcels forced along the slopes of the Tharsis volcanoes and the steep canyon walls of Valles Marineris significantly impact the local water concentration and the associated conditions for cloud formation in these regions. An investigation of water ice fogs inside Valles Marineris showed significant variability between the local atmospheric environment inside versus outside the canyon. Formation of water ice clouds is possible in Valles Marineris, but their formation is highly influenced by radiative feedbacks forced by the thermal properties of the underlying surface. An evaluation of the potential influences of the atmosphere on recurring slope lineae (RSL) activity revealed an upper limit of ~1 µm per sol for the quantity of water that can be extracted from the atmosphere through deliquescence. Ongoing efforts to understand how regional atmospheric dynamics govern the distribution of water in the planetary boundary layer represent a significant step towards a comprehensive understanding of the water cycle on Mars.Release after 03/15/202

Fourier analysis on domains in compact groups

AbstractLet Ω be a measurable subset of a compact group G of positive Haar measure. Let μ:π↦μπ be a non-negative function defined on the dual space Gˆ and let L2(μ) be the corresponding Hilbert space which consists of elements (ξπ)π∈suppμ satisfying ∑μπTr(ξπξπ∗)<∞, where ξπ is a linear operator on the representation space of π, and is equipped with the inner product: ((ξπ),(ηπ))=∑μπTr(ξπηπ∗). We show that the Fourier transform gives an isometric isomorphism from L2(Ω) onto L2(μ) if and only if the restrictions to Ω of all matrix coordinate functions μππij, π∈suppμ, constitute an orthonormal basis for L2(Ω). Finally compact connected Lie groups case is studied

Some studies on mast cell heterogeneity in man and other species.

The development of methods for the enzymic dispersion and isolation of free mast cells from a number of target tissues has yielded valuable information conceming the phenomenon of mast cell heterogeneity. Now, a rapidly increasing body of evidence firmly indicates that mast cells from different species and from different tissues within a given animal may exhibit marked variations in their pharmacological, histochemical and morphological properties. In the present study, the functional characteristics of mast cells isolated from a range of animals including man are compared. Next, heterogeneity within a single species is investigated both in rat and human mast cells, and finally, a study on human colonic mucosal mast cells from patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is reported. Rat serosal mast cells were most responsive to the histamine releasing action of polybasic compounds and neuropeptides. Hamster and mouse peritoneal mast cells showed lower reactivity, while tissue mast cells from the pig, guinea pig and man were essentially refractory to these agents. This pattern of differential responsiveness was also observed for the anti-allergic chromones disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) and nedocromil sodium. Rat mast cells from different anatomical locations responded in a heterogeneous fashion to the actions of histamine liberators and anti-allergic compounds. In general, cells from the peritoneum released the greatest percentage of their total cellular histamine in response to secretagogues of both immunological and non-immunological nature and were also the most sensitive towards agents that inhibited histamine release. In contrast, tissue mast cells were less responsive than their peritoneal counterparts. The order of reactivity was typically: mesentery >lung >intestine. This apparent heterogeneity, however, was less clearly defined in human mast cells. Indeed, apart from some subtle histochemical and functional differences, mast cells from the lung parenchyma, colonic mucosa, colonic submucosa/muscle, stomach mucosa and uterine myometrium were, in many respects, similar to each other. Finally, an increase in mast cell numbers was observed in the colonic mucosa of patients suffering from Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. However, this apparent increase was not associated with an enhancement of their reactivity

A Study of Evidential Particles in Cantonese: the case of wo3 & wo5

The study of evidentiality, which has become an indispensable part of linguistic studies, has had a rapid development in the past few decades. However, studies of evidentiality in Cantonese, one of the major dialects spoken by some 70 million people in Hong Kong, Macau and most of the Guangdong province of China, are relatively few. This paper will firstly introduce evidentiality and its derived concept, mirativity, and subjectivity. Then the features of the Cantonese evidential particles wo3 (mid-level tone), which indicates unexpectedness and noteworthiness, and wo5 (low rising tone), which expresses hearsay information, will be analyzed, and a discussion on how a speaker expresses his or her understanding of the objective world through language will be given