Displacement convexity of entropy and related inequalities on graphs

We introduce the notion of an interpolating path on the set of probability measures on finite graphs. Using this notion, we first prove a displacement convexity property of entropy along such a path and derive Prékopa-Leindler type inequalities, a Talagrand transport-entropy inequality, certain HWI type as well as log-Sobolev type inequalities in discrete settings. To illustrate through examples, we apply our results to the complete graph and to the hypercube for which our results are optimal—by passing to the limit, we recover the classical log-Sobolev inequality for the standard Gaussian measure with the optimal constant.     

Assessing calves as carriers of Cryptosporidium and Giardia with zoonotic potential on dairy and beef farms within a water catchment area by mutation scanning

In the present study, we undertook a molecular epidemiological survey of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in calves on three dairy and two beef farms within an open drinking water catchment area (Melbourne, Australia). Faecal samples (n = 474) were collected from calves at two time points (5 months apart) and tested using a PCR‐based mutation scanning‐targeted sequencing phylogenetic approach, employing regions within the genes of small subunit (SSU) of ribosomal RNA (designated partial SSU), 60 kDa glycoprotein (pgp60) and triose phosphate isomerase (ptpi) as genetic markers. Using partial SSU, the C. bovis, C. parvum, C. ryanae and a new genotype of Cryptosporidium were characterised from totals of 74 (15.6%), 35 (7.3%), 37 (7.8%) and 9 (1.9%) samples, respectively. Using pgp60, C. parvum genotype IIa subgenotype A18G3R1 was detected in 29 samples. Using ptpi, G. duodenalis assemblages A and E were detected in totals of 10 (2.1%) and 130 (27.4%) samples, respectively. The present study showed that a considerable proportion of dairy and beef calves in this open water catchment region excreted Cryptosporidium (i.e. subgenotype IIaA18G3R1) and Giardia (e.g. assemblage A) that are consistent with those infecting humans, inferring that they are of zoonotic importance. Future work should focus on exploring, in a temporal and spatial way, whether these parasites occur in the environment and water of the catchment reservoir.     

Regioregular poly(3‐alkanoylthiophene): Synthesis and electrochemical,photophysical, charge transport,and photovoltaic properties

Head‐to‐tail regioregular poly(3‐heptanoylthiophene) (PHOT) was synthesized by Ni‐catalyzed polycondensation of the 2,2‐dimethyl‐1,3‐propanediol‐protected Grignard monomer followed by deprotection. Cyclic voltammetric (CV) study demonstrates that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of PHOT are 0.5 eV lower in energy than those of the head‐to‐tail poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (HT‐P3HT). Their optical band gaps are essentially the same. Incomplete photoluminescence (PL) quenching was observed in thin films of the 1:1 blend of PHOT and HT‐P3HT. PHOT displayed a glass transition at ～269 °C and decomposed at ～300 °C according to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) study showed that PHOT exists in a not highly ordered state in solid films especially in the π‐stacking direction. Only p‐channel activity was observed in field‐effect transistors (FETs) for PHOT. The hole mobility was on the order of 10^?4 cm² V^?1 s^?1. Photovoltaic devices with an active layer of 1:1 blend of PHOT and PC₇₁BM had a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of ～0.5%. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Flow of Newtonian Fluid in Non-Uniform Tubes with Application to Renal Flow: A Numerical Study

In this paper, a numerical method employing a finite difference technique is used for an investigation of viscous, incompressible fluid flow in a tube with absorbing wall and slowly varying cross-section. The effect of fluid absorption through permeable wall is accounted by prescribing flux as a function of axial distance. The method is not restricted by the parameters in the problem such as wave number, permeability parameter, amplitude ratio and Reynolds number. The effects of these parameters on the radial velocity and mean pressure drop are studied and the results are presented graphically. Comparison is also made between the results obtained by perturbation method of solution and present approach.     

Integrating over Higgs Branches

We develop some useful techniques for integrating over Higgs branches in supersymmetric theories with 4 and 8 supercharges. In particular, we define a regularized volume for hyperk?hler quotients. We evaluate this volume for certain ALE and ALF spaces in terms of the hyperk?hler periods. We also reduce these volumes for a large class of hyperk?hler quotients to simpler integrals. These quotients include complex coadjoint orbits, instanton moduli spaces on ℝ⁴ and ALE manifolds, Hitchin spaces, and moduli spaces of (parabolic) Higgs bundles on Riemann surfaces. In the case of Hitchin spaces the evaluation of the volume reduces to a summation over solutions of Bethe Ansatz equations for the non-linear Schr?dinger system. We discuss some applications of our results. Received: 2 May 1999/ Accepted: 16 July 1999     

Subjective Aspects of the Art of Decision Analysis: Exploring the Role of Decision Analysis in Decision Structuring,Decision Support and Policy Dialogue

The paper argues that, until very recently, decision analysts have devoted relatively little attention to the processes of problem formulation and subjective judgement in handling ill-structured strategic decision problems. Therefore, following a brief review of existing varieties of decision analysis, a modified policy dialogue' model of decision analysis is presented which integrates decision analysis with decision aids and decision support technology. This model is developed using as an illustration strategic problems drawn from the insurance industry. The paper concludes with some suggestions for the successful application and implementation of decision analysis.     

The bitwisted Cartesian model for the free loop fibration

Using the notion of truncating twisting function from a simplicial set to a cubical set a special, bitwisted, Cartesian product of these sets is defined. For the universal truncating twisting function, the (co)chain complex of the corresponding bitwisted Cartesian product agrees with the standard Cartier (Hochschild) chain complex of the simplicial (co)chains. The modelling polytopes Fn are constructed. An explicit diagonal on Fn is defined and a multiplicative model for the free loop fibration ΩY→ΛY→Y is obtained. As an application we establish an algebra isomorphism H^∗(ΛY;Z)≈S(U)⊗Λ(s−1U) for the polynomial cohomology algebra H^∗(Y;Z)=S(U).     

Hydrogen Bond Cooperativity and the Three‐Dimensional Structures of Water Nonamers and Decamers

Broadband rotational spectroscopy of water clusters produced in a pulsed molecular jet expansion has been used to determine the oxygen atom geometry in three isomers of the nonamer and two isomers of the decamer. The isomers for each cluster size have the same nominal geometry but differ in the arrangement of their hydrogen bond networks. The nearest neighbor O? O distances show a characteristic pattern for each hydrogen bond network isomer that is caused by three‐body effects that produce cooperative hydrogen bonding. The observed structures are the lowest energy cluster geometries identified by quantum chemistry and the experimental and theoretical O? O distances are in good agreement. The cooperativity effects revealed by the hydrogen bond O? O distance variations are shown to be consistent with a simple model for hydrogen bonding in water that takes into account the cooperative and anticooperative bonding effects of nearby water molecules.