Moduli spaces of arrangements of 10 projective lines with quadruple points

We classify moduli spaces of arrangements of 10 lines with quadruple points. We show that moduli spaces of arrangements of 10 lines with quadruple points may consist of more than 2 disconnected components, namely 3 or 4 distinct points. We also present defining equations to those arrangements whose moduli spaces are still reducible after taking quotients of complex conjugations.     

Interactions between block copolymers and single-walled carbon nanotubes in aqueous solutions: a small-angle neutron scattering study

The amphiphilic copolymers of the Pluronic family are known to be excellent dispersants for single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) in water, especially F108 and F127, which have rather long end-blocks of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). In this study, the structure of the CNT/polymer hybrid formed in water is evaluated by measurements of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) with contrast variation, as supported by cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) imaging. The homogeneous, stable, inklike dispersions exhibited very small isolated bundles of carbon nanotubes in cryo-TEM images. SANS experiments were conducted at different D(2)O/H(2)O content of the dispersing solvent. The data for both systems showed surprisingly minimal intensity values at 70% D(2)O solvent composition, which is much higher than the expected value of 17% D(2)O that is based on the scattering length density (SLD) of PEO. At this near match point, the data exhibited a q(-1) power law relation of intensity to the scattering vector (q), indicating rodlike entities. Two models are evaluated, as extensions to Pederson's block copolymer micelles models. One is loosely adsorbed polymer chains on a rodlike CNT bundle. In the other, the hydrophobic block is considered to form a continuous hydrated shell on the CNT surface, whereas the hydrophilic blocks emanate into the solvent. Both models were found to fit the experimental data reasonably well. The model fit required special considerations of the tight association of water molecules around PEO chains and slight isotopic selectivity.     

Cognitive‐Performance Recovery of Alzheimer's Disease Model Mice by Modulation of Early Soluble Amyloidal Assemblies

A rationally designed oligomerization inhibitor interacts with early intermediate assemblies of amyloid‐β polypeptide (Aβ) through the aromatic elements and inhibits their assembly into the toxic oligomers that cause Alzheimer's disease by a unique C^α‐methylation β‐breakage strategy. The electrostatic potential of the low‐energy conformation of the dipeptide inhibitor bound to Aβ is shown.

     

Properties that Four-Dimensional Objects Cannot Have

The paper argues that four-dimensionalism is incompatible with the existence of “additively cumulative” properties, including mass, volume, and electrical charge. These properties add up over disjoint objects: for example, the mass of a whole composed of two disjoint objects is a sum of the individual masses of the objects. The difficulty with such properties for four-dimensionalism stems from the way this theory makes persistence depend on the existence of disjoint objects at disjoint times. I consider various possible responses to this difficulty and conclude that they all fail.     

On the Degeneration, Regeneration and Braid Monodromy of T×T

This paper is the first in a series of three papers concerning the surface T×T. Here we study the degeneration of T×T and the regeneration of its degenerated object. We also study the braid monodromy and its regeneration.     

Fundamental groups of tangent conic-line arrangements with singularities up to order 6

We list all the possible fundamental groups of the complements of real conic-line arrangements with two conics which are tangent to each other at two points, with up to two additional lines. For the computations we use the topological local braid monodromies and the techniques of Moishezon–Teicher and van-Kampen. We also include some conjectures concerning the connection between the presentation of the fundamental group of the complements and the geometry of an interesting family of conic-line arrangements. M. Amram was partially supported by the Minerva Foundation of Germany, the DAAD fellowship (Germany), EAGER (EU Network, HPRN-CT-2009-00099) and the Golda Meir postdoctoral fellowship. D. Garber was partially supported by Lady Davis and Golda Meir postdoctoral fellowships