The solvable Lie group N_{6, 28}: an example of an almost C_0(\mathcal{K})-C*-algebra

Motivated by the description of the C*-algebra of the affine automorphism group N6,28 of the Siegel upper half-plane of degree 2 as an algebra of operator fields defined over the unitary dual View the MathML source of the group, we introduce a family of C*-algebras, which we call almost C0(K), and we show that the C*-algebra of the group N6,28 belongs to this class.

A class of almost C_0(K)-C*-algebras

We consider in this paper the family of exponential Lie groups Gn,µ, whose Lie algebra is an extension of the Heisenberg Lie algebra by the reals and whose quotient group by the centre of the Heisenberg group is an ax + b-like group. The C*-algebras of the groups Gn,µ give new examples of almost C0(K)-C*-algebras.

Almost nothing, almost anywhere: the metal shed in Ireland

This paper argues that the modern barn in Ireland is a complex social and architectural phenomena that is without, or has yet to find, a satisfactory discourse. Emerging in the middle third of the twentieth century, the modern barn – replete with corrugated iron and I-sections – continues to represent a presence in the Irish landscape whose ubiquity is as emphatic as its flexibility. It is, however, its universal properties that begin to suggest connections with wider narratives. The modernising aspects of the barn that appear in the 1920s and 30s begin to conflate with a rhetoric of architectural modernism which was simultaneously appearing across Europe. But while the relationship between high modernism’s critique of what it divined as the inspirational qualities of utilitarian buildings – Walter Gropius on grain silos, Le Corbusier on aircraft hangers etc. – has been well-documented, in Ireland this relationship perhaps contains another layer of complexity.
The barn’s consolidation as a modern type coincided with the search for a nation’s cultural identity after centuries of colonial rule. This tended to be an introspective vision that prioritised rural space over urban space, agriculture over industry, and imagined the small farm as a central tenet in the construction of a new State. This paper suggests that the twentieth-century barn – as a product of the mechanisation of agriculture promoted by the new administrations – is an iconic structure, emblematic of attempts to reconcile the contradictory forces and imagery of modernity with the mores of a traditional society. Moreover, given a cultural purview that was often ambivalent or even hostile to the ideologies and forms of modernity, the barn in Ireland is, perhaps, not so much the inspiration but the realisation of an architectural modernism in that country at its most pervasive, enduring and unself-conscious.

Convergence of products from Povarov and von Miller reactions: approaches to helquinoline

Yttrium triflate or triflic acid catalysed Povarov reaction of methyl anthranilate with ethyl vinyl ether, both as aldehyde surrogate and as alkene, gave the desired 2-methyl-4-ethoxytetrahydroquinoline diastereoisomers as the major products along with four component coupling von Miller adducts. A proton NMR-study, using yttrium triflate as catalyst, revealed that the cis-diastereoisomers were the initial major products in both the Povarov and von Miller reactions but that these isomerised to the trans-diastereoisomers under the reaction conditions. Two distinct pathways for forming von Miller adducts were uncovered with the initial Povarov products being converted to von Miller adducts under the reaction conditions. Replacement of the 4-ethoxy with a 4-methoxy group under acidic conditions gave predominantly the trans-diastereoisomer, which was subsequently converted to a cis/trans mixture of the tetrahydroquinoline antibiotic helquinoline. It was also possible to convert the von Miller products to Povarov products under acidic conditions

Urban/rural variation in the influence of widowhood on mortality risk: a cohort study of almost 300,000 couples

Death of a spouse is associated with increased mortality risk for the surviving partner (the widowhood effect). We investigated whether the effect magnitude varied between urban, rural and intermediate areas, assembling death records (2001-2009) for a prospective cohort of 296,125 married couples in Northern Ireland. The effect was greatest during the first six months of widowhood in all areas and for both sexes. Subsequently, the effect was attenuated among men in rural and intermediate areas but persisted in urban areas (HRs and 95% CIs: rural 1.09 [0.99, 1.21]; urban 1.35 [1.26, 1.44]). Among women the effect was attenuated in all areas (rural 1.06 [0.96, 1.17]; urban 1.09 [1.01, 1.17]). The impacts of spousal bereavement varied between urban and more rural areas, possibly due to variation in social support provided by the wider community. We identify men in urban areas as being in greatest need of such support and a possible target for health interventions.