When string/M-theory is compactified to lower dimensions, the U -duality symmetry predicts socalled exotic branes whose higher dimensional origin cannot be explained by the standard string/Mtheory branes. We argue that exotic branes can be understood in higher dimensions as non-geometric backgrounds or U -folds, and that they are important for the physics of systems which originally contain no ...

In arid and semiarid ecosystems, the potential threats of exotic invasive species are enhanced due to increasing human activities. Biological soil crusts (BSCs), acting as arid ecosystem engineers, may play an important role in preventing the establishment of exotic invasive plants. Our goal was to examine whether BSCs could inhibit the establishment of probable exotic plant species originating...

DENSLOW M. W. (Department of Biology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608), M. W. PALMER (Department of Botany, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078), AND Z. E. MURRELL (Department of Biology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608). Patterns of native and exotic vascular plant richness along an elevational gradient from sea level to the summit of the Appalachian Mou...

The novel observation of an exotic strangeness S = +1 baryon state at 1.54 GeV will trigger an intensified search for this and other baryons with exotic quantum numbers. This state was predicted long ago in topological soliton models. We use this approach together with the new datum in order to investigate its implications for the baryon spectrum. In particular we estimate the positions of othe...