Critical points and resonance of hyperplane arrangements

If F is a master function corresponding to a hyperplane arrangement A and a collection of weights y, we investigate the relationship between the critical set of F, the variety defined by the vanishing of the one-form w = d log F, and the resonance of y. For arrangements satisfying certain conditions, we show that if y is resonant in dimension p, then the critical set of F has codimension at most p. These include all free arrangements and all rank 3 arrangements.Comment: revised version, Canadian Journal of Mathematics, to appea

Alpha-particle-induced complex chromosome exchanges transmitted through extra-thymic lymphopoiesis in vitro show evidence of emerging genomic instability

Human exposure to high-linear energy transfer α-particles includes environmental (e.g. radon gas and its decay progeny), medical (e.g. radiopharmaceuticals) and occupational (nuclear industry) sources. The associated health risks of α-particle exposure for lung cancer are well documented however the risk estimates for leukaemia remain uncertain. To further our understanding of α-particle effects in target cells for leukaemogenesis and also to seek general markers of individual exposure to α-particles, this study assessed the transmission of chromosomal damage initially-induced in human haemopoietic stem and progenitor cells after exposure to high-LET α-particles. Cells surviving exposure were differentiated into mature T-cells by extra-thymic T-cell differentiation in vitro. Multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridisation (M-FISH) analysis of naïve T-cell populations showed the occurrence of stable (clonal) complex chromosome aberrations consistent with those that are characteristically induced in spherical cells by the traversal of a single α-particle track. Additionally, complex chromosome exchanges were observed in the progeny of irradiated mature T-cell populations. In addition to this, newly arising de novo chromosome aberrations were detected in cells which possessed clonal markers of α-particle exposure and also in cells which did not show any evidence of previous exposure, suggesting ongoing genomic instability in these populations. Our findings support the usefulness and reliability of employing complex chromosome exchanges as indicators of past or ongoing exposure to high-LET radiation and demonstrate the potential applicability to evaluate health risks associated with α-particle exposure.This work was supported by the Department of Health, UK. Contract RRX95 (RMA NSDTG)

Antimicrobials: a global alliance for optimizing their rational use in intra-abdominal infections (AGORA)

Intra-abdominal infections (IAI) are an important cause of morbidity and are frequently associated with poor prognosis, particularly in high-risk patients. The cornerstones in the management of complicated IAIs are timely effective source control with appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Empiric antimicrobial therapy is important in the management of intra-abdominal infections and must be broad enough to cover all likely organisms because inappropriate initial antimicrobial therapy is associated with poor patient outcomes and the development of bacterial resistance. The overuse of antimicrobials is widely accepted as a major driver of some emerging infections (such as C. difficile), the selection of resistant pathogens in individual patients, and for the continued development of antimicrobial resistance globally. The growing emergence of multi-drug resistant organisms and the limited development of new agents available to counteract them have caused an impending crisis with alarming implications, especially with regards to Gram-negative bacteria. An international task force from 79 different countries has joined this project by sharing a document on the rational use of antimicrobials for patients with IAIs. The project has been termed AGORA (Antimicrobials: A Global Alliance for Optimizing their Rational Use in Intra-Abdominal Infections). The authors hope that AGORA, involving many of the world's leading experts, can actively raise awareness in health workers and can improve prescribing behavior in treating IAIs

Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13  TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV

Some New/Old Approaches to QCD

This is a talk delivered at the Meeting on Integrable Quantum Field Theories, Villa Olmo and at STRINGS 1992, Rome, September 1992. I discuss some recent attempts to revive two old ideas regarding an analytic approach to QCD-the development of a string representation of the theory and the large N limit of QCD.Comment: 20 page

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i little, demanding, does not know it is but a reflection; it soon sees you another, as some one to praise or to blame

Art as a laboratory – Guy Ben-Ary’s work

Szykowna Sylwia, Art as a laboratory – Guy Ben-Ary’s work. “Images” vol. XXV, no. 34. Poznań 2019. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. Pp. 115–124. ISSN 1731-450X. DOI 10.14746/i.2019.34.07. The present paper deals with the work of an Israeli artist, Guy Ben-Ary. His work is a prime example of artistic practice in the field of bio art. Bio art provokes critical thinking about the place and role of people in today’s world. The main purpose of the article is to describe changes in contemporary artistic practices within the framework of art as a laboratory, the aim of which is to study reality.  Szykowna Sylwia, Art as a laboratory – Guy Ben-Ary’s work. “Images” vol. XXV, no. 34. Poznań 2019. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. Pp. 115–124. ISSN 1731-450X. DOI 10.14746/i.2019.34.07. The present paper deals with the work of an Israeli artist, Guy Ben-Ary. His work is a prime example of artistic practice in the field of bio art. Bio art provokes critical thinking about the place and role of people in today’s world. The main purpose of the article is to describe changes in contemporary artistic practices within the framework of art as a laboratory, the aim of which is to study reality

Dark memories in the provincial words of Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander and Federico Fellini's Amarcord

Dark memories in the provincial words of Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander and Federico Fellini's AmarcordThis article about Federico Fellini’s Amarcord (1973) and Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander (1982) concerns one aspect of the directors’ childhood memories, namely how authoritarian institutions are used to disrupt otherwise fairly idyllic and nostalgic lives and worlds. The films blend detailed memories with playful fantasies, combine experiences of the directors’ alter egos, Titta and Alexander, with rituals of family and larger communities in the provincial cities of Rimini and Uppsala. In each film, bitter memories are given a central role. This article explores the similarities of these bitter memories, as they are imagined in the mature auteurs’ last exceptionally successful films

A Study of the Film Adaptations of Marek Hłasko's Prose by the Students of the Film School in Łódź

A Study of the Film Adaptations of Marek Hłasko's Prose by the Students of the Film School in ŁódźThe works of Marek Hłasko have proved a reliable source of content and inspiration in Polish culture from the time of their writing to the current day, and this is demonstrated by the number of film adaptations of his literature. This article will look at Hłasko’s short stories that were written while the author lived in Poland and are collected in the book The First Step in the Clouds published in 1956. It will consider the subject matter and themes of the text, overview some examples of adaptations made by the students of the celebrated Łódź Film School, reflect as to how these have remained faithful or deviated from Hłasko’s original works, before concluding as to the reasons why the students may have been drawn to this particular source