A large class of four-dimensional supersymmetric ground states of closed superstrings with a non-zero mass gap are constructed. For such ground states we turn on chromo-magnetic fields as well as curvature. The exact spectrum as function of the chromo-magnetic fields and curvature is derived. We examine the behavior of the spectrum, and find that there is a maximal value for the magnetic field ...

The subject of the 5th challenge proposed by the French Society of Operations Research and Decision Analysis (ROADEF) consists in scheduling technicians and interventions for telecommunications (see http://www.g-scop.inpg.fr/ChallengeROADEF2007/ or http://www.roadef.org/). The aim of this problem is to assign interventions to teams of technicians. Each intervention has a given priority and the ...

A new explicit sequentially coupled technique for chemo-thermo-poromechanical problems in shale formations is developed. Simultaneously solving the flow and geomechanics equations a single step computationally expensive with consequent limitations on computations involving well or reservoir-scale geometries. The newly developed solution sequence involves temperature field within porous system. ...

The ground state of La1−xCaxMnO3 changes from a ferromagnetic metallic to an antiferromagnetic charge-ordered state as a function of Ca concentration at x ∼ 0.50. We present evidence from transport measurements on a sample with x = 0.50 that the two phases can coexist, in agreement with other observations of phase separation in these materials. We also observe that, by applying and then removin...

Shape representation is accomplished by a series of cortical stages in which cells in the first stage (V1) have local receptive fields tuned to contrast at a particular scale and orientation, each well modeled as a Gabor filter. In succeeding stages, the representation becomes largely invariant to Gabor coding (Kobatake & Tanaka, 1994). Because of the non-Gabor tuning in these later stages, whi...

The purpose of the study was to examine the time course of neuromuscular fatigue components during a low-frequency electrostimulation (ES) session. Three bouts of 17 trains of stimulation at 30 HZ (4 s on, 6 s off) were used to electrically induce fatigue in the plantar flexor muscles. Before and after every 17-train bout, torque, electromyographic activity [expressed as root mean square (RMS) ...

Examining degenerative sensory and reflexive activity among people with peripheral neuropathy (PN) is important for clinical examinations and understanding relevant neural impairments. However, other than the test of presynaptic inhibition, the reliability of other related tests is largely unknown. The purpose of this project was to examine the test-retest reliability of lower extremity sensory...

Retinal image of surrounding objects varies tremendously due to the changes in position, size, pose, illumination condition, background context, occlusion, noise, and nonrigid deformations. But despite these huge variations, our visual system is able to invariantly recognize any object in just a fraction of a second. To date, various computational models have been proposed to mimic the hierarch...

Studying illusions provides insight into the way the brain processes information. The Müller-Lyer Illusion (MLI) is a classical geometrical illusion of size, in which perceived line length is decreased by arrowheads and increased by arrowtails. Many theories have been put forward to explain the MLI, such as misapplied size constancy scaling, the statistics of image-source relationships and the ...

In this study, we examined the efficacy of human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (hUCB-MCs), genetically modified with the VEGF and GDNF genes using adenoviral vectors, on posttraumatic regeneration after transplantation into the site of spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats. Thirty days after SCI, followed by transplantation of nontransduced hUCB-MCs, we observed an improvement in H (latency...