Complex Ashtekar variables and reality conditions for Holst's action

From the Holst action in terms of complex valued Ashtekar variables additional reality conditions mimicking the linear simplicity constraints of spin foam gravity are found. In quantum theory with the results of You and Rovelli we are able to implement these constraints weakly, that is in the sense of Gupta and Bleuler. The resulting kinematical Hilbert space matches the original one of loop quantum gravity, that is for real valued Ashtekar connection. Our result perfectly fit with recent developments of Rovelli and Speziale concerning Lorentz covariance within spin-form gravity.Comment: 24 pages, 2 picture

Macro-financial linkages and bank behaviour: evidence from the second-round effects of the global financial crisis on East Asia

This paper studies the link between macro-financial variability and bank behaviour, which justifies the second-round effects of the global financial crisis on East Asia. Following Gallego et al. (The impact of the global economic and financial crisis on Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe (CESEE) and Latin America, 2010), the second round effects are defined as the adverse feedback loop from the slumps in economic activities and sharp financial market deterioration, which may influence the financial performance of bank, inter alia via deteriorating credit quality, declining profitability and increasing problems in retaining necessary capitalization. Differentiating itself from other research, this study stresses adjustments in four dimensions of bank performance and behaviour: asset quality, profitability, capital adequacy, and lending behaviour, assuming that any change in a bank-specific characteristic is induced by endogenous adjustments of the others. The empirical results based on partial adjustment models and two-step system GMM estimation show that bank’s adjustment behaviour is subject to the variation in the macro-financial environment and the stress condition in the global financial market. There is no convincing evidence to support the effectiveness of policy rate cut to boots bank lending and to avoid a financial accelerator effect

Estimating Dengue Transmission Intensity from Case-Notification Data from Multiple Countries

Despite being the most widely distributed mosquito-borne viral infection, estimates of dengue transmission intensity and associated burden remain ambiguous. With advances in the development of novel control measures, obtaining robust estimates of average dengue transmission intensity is key for assessing the burden of disease and the likely impact of interventions.We estimated the force of infection (λ) and corresponding basic reproduction numbers (R0) by fitting catalytic models to age-stratified incidence data identified from the literature. We compared estimates derived from incidence and seroprevalence data and assessed the level of under-reporting of dengue disease. In addition, we estimated the relative contribution of primary to quaternary infections to the observed burden of dengue disease incidence. The majority of R0 estimates ranged from one to five and the force of infection estimates from incidence data were consistent with those previously estimated from seroprevalence data. The baseline reporting rate (or the probability of detecting a secondary infection) was generally low (<25%) and varied within and between countries.As expected, estimates varied widely across and within countries, highlighting the spatio-temporally heterogeneous nature of dengue transmission. Although seroprevalence data provide the maximum information, the incidence models presented in this paper provide a method for estimating dengue transmission intensity from age-stratified incidence data, which will be an important consideration in areas where seroprevalence data are not available

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

The accessible chromatin landscape of the human genome

DNaseI hypersensitive sites (DHSs) are markers of regulatory DNA and have underpinned the discovery of all classes of cis-regulatory elements including enhancers, promoters, insulators, silencers, and locus control regions. Here we present the first extensive map of human DHSs identified through genome-wide profiling in 125 diverse cell and tissue types. We identify ~2.9 million DHSs that encompass virtually all known experimentally-validated cis-regulatory sequences and expose a vast trove of novel elements, most with highly cell-selective regulation. Annotating these elements using ENCODE data reveals novel relationships between chromatin accessibility, transcription, DNA methylation, and regulatory factor occupancy patterns. We connect ~580,000 distal DHSs with their target promoters, revealing systematic pairing of different classes of distal DHSs and specific promoter types. Patterning of chromatin accessibility at many regulatory regions is choreographed with dozens to hundreds of co-activated elements, and the trans-cellular DNaseI sensitivity pattern at a given region can predict cell type-specific functional behaviors. The DHS landscape shows signatures of recent functional evolutionary constraint. However, the DHS compartment in pluripotent and immortalized cells exhibits higher mutation rates than that in highly differentiated cells, exposing an unexpected link between chromatin accessibility, proliferative potential and patterns of human variation

The twistorial structure of loop-gravity transition amplitudes

The spin foam formalism provides transition amplitudes for loop quantum gravity. Important aspects of the dynamics are understood, but many open questions are pressing on. In this paper we address some of them using a twistorial description, which brings new light on both classical and quantum aspects of the theory. At the classical level, we clarify the covariant properties of the discrete geometries involved, and the role of the simplicity constraints in leading to SU(2) Ashtekar-Barbero variables. We identify areas and Lorentzian dihedral angles in twistor space, and show that they form a canonical pair. The primary simplicity constraints are solved by simple twistors, parametrized by SU(2) spinors and the dihedral angles. We construct an SU(2) holonomy and prove it to correspond to the (lattice version of the) Ashtekar-Barbero connection. We argue that the role of secondary constraints is to provide a non trivial embedding of the cotangent bundle of SU(2) in the space of simple twistors. At the quantum level, a Schroedinger representation leads to a spinorial version of simple projected spin networks, where the argument of the wave functions is a spinor instead of a group element. We rewrite the Liouville measure on the cotangent bundle of SL(2,C) as an integral in twistor space. Using these tools, we show that the Engle-Pereira-Rovelli-Livine transition amplitudes can be derived from a path integral in twistor space. We construct a curvature tensor, show that it carries torsion off-shell, and that its Riemann part is of Petrov type D. Finally, we make contact between the semiclassical asymptotic behaviour of the model and our construction, clarifying the relation of the Regge geometries with the original phase space.Comment: 40 pages, 3 figures. v2: minor improvements, references adde

Up-Regulation of Annexin-A1 and Lipoxin A4 in Individuals with Ulcerative Colitis May Promote Mucosal Homeostasis

PubMed ID: 22723974This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Deployment and Evaluation of a System for Ground-Based Measurement of Cloud Liquid Water Turbulent Fluxes

Direct interception of windblown cloud water by forests has been dubbed “occult deposition” because it represents a hydrological input that is hidden from rain gauges. Eddy correlation studies of this phenomenon have estimated cloud water fluxes to vegetation yet have lacked estimates of error bounds. This paper presents an evaluation of instrumental and methodological errors for cloud liquid water fluxes to put such eddy correlation measurements in context. Procedures for data acquisition, processing (including correction factors), and calibration testing of the particulate volume monitor (PVM) and forward-scattering spectrometer probe (FSSP) are detailed. Nearly 200 h of in-cloud data are analyzed for intercomparison of these instruments. Three methods of coordinate system rotation are investigated; the flux shows little sensitivity to the method used, and the difference between fluxes at different stations is even less sensitive to this choice. Side-by-side intercomparison of two PVMs and one FSSP leads to error bounds of 0.01–0.035 g m⁻³ on half-hour mean cloud liquid water content (relative to typical values of 0.35 g m⁻³) and 2–3.5 mg m⁻² s⁻¹ on the surface-normal liquid water flux (typical magnitude of 7 mg m⁻² s⁻¹ for these data), depending on which instruments are compared