The importance in Mathematical Physics of the Bessel functions, whose order is half an odd integer, suggests that the corresponding Mathieu functions may be worthy of a closer attention than they have yet received. At the very least it is expedient to pave the way for their computation. In the second paper bearing the above title, asymptotic developments of the characteristic numbers which correspond to these functions were given; it is here proposed, in the first place, to take the more direct line of approach.

1. The view is confirmed that the zona pellucida is not an essential factor in the formation of the fertilisation membrane (pp. 96–100).

2. Partial activation of the eggs of Asterias rubens is described with the formation of Seifriz's “protoplasmic papillæ” (pp. 100, 101).

3. Artificial activation of the eggs of Asterias rubens by isotonic solutions of NaCl, KCl, CaCl2, and MgCl2 is described. It was found that decrease in surface tension is not a necessary factor in causing artificial membrane formation (pp. 102–104).

4. The influence of the hydrogen ion concentration of the medium on the degree of extrusion of the fertilisation membrane of Echinus miliaris has been examined, and indicates that osmotic pressure due to the presence of a protein within the membrane is responsible for the extrusion (pp. 105–109).

5. From a study of the influence of salt concentration on the extrusion of the fertilisation membrane of Echinus miliaris, it is concluded that the fertilisation membrane is, from the moment of its formation, completely permeable to salts (pp. 109–112).

6. The origin of the fertilisation membrane has been examined, but in the absence of critical evidence it is concluded that the question cannot be regarded as settled (pp. 112–114).

Experiments have been performed, using purely optical methods, to verify and extend the theory of Gabor's diffraction microscope. An elementary theory of the process is first given, from which certain generalizations are provisionally drawn. In particular, a focal length is attributed to any Fresnel diffraction pattern and the hologram derived from it by photography. The variation of this focal length with wavelength and scale factor is postulated by analogy with a zone-plate, and the power-rate for a hologram is denned. These deductions are then verified by experiment, and a summary is given at the end of § 10. Various other confirmatory experiments are then described.

Adequate information is given about apparatus and technique to enable new entrants into this field to obtain satisfactory results with the minimum of preliminary trial.

We present a simple probability approach for establishing a gradient estimate for a solution of an elliptic equation on a compact Riemannian manifold with convex boundary, or on a noncompact complete manifold. Our method can also be applied to derive a similar gradient estimate for a nonlinear parabolic equation, and an abstract gradient estimate for a Markov semigroup.

Let Ω be an open subset of Rn. It is well known that, given a suitable real-valued function f on Ω × Rk and a Rk -valued Borel measure µ on Ω, then one can define a real-valued measurefµ on Ω. The object of this note is to define the Ψ-strict convergence of the Rk-valued Borel measures µj to the Rk-valued Borel measure µ, where Ψ: Ω × Rk → [0, + ∞] is a continuous function which is positively homogeneous and convex in the Rk-variable, and to investigate the lower semicontinuity and continuity of the map µ → fμ with respect to the Ψ-strict convergence; here f is positively homogeneous in the Rk-variable and satisfies one suitable convexity condition (related to Ψ).

An asymptotic theory is developed for linear differential equations of odd order. The theory is applied to the evaluation of the deficiency indices N+ and N− associated with symmetric differential expressions of odd order. General conditions on the coefficients are given under which all possible values of N+ and N subject to | N+ − N | ≦ 1 are realized.

The main objects of study are the homotopically stratified metric spaces introduced by Quinn. Closed unions of strata are shown to be stratified forward tame. Stratified fibrations between spaces with stratifications are introduced. Paths that lie in a single stratum, except possibly at their initial points, form a space with a natural stratification, and the evaluation map from that space of paths is shown to be a stratified fibration. Applications to mapping cylinders and to the geometry of manifold stratified spaces are expected in future papers.

We consider a class of inhomogeneous systems of reaction-diffusion equations that includes a model for cavity dynamics in the semiconductor Fabry–Pérot interferometer. By adapting topological and geometrical methods, we prove that a standing pulse solution to this system is stable in a certain parameter regime, under the simplification of homogeneous illumination. Moreover, we explain two bifurcation mechanisms which can cause a loss of stability, yielding travelling and standing pulses, respectively. We compute conditions for these bifurcations to persist when inhomogeneity is restored through a certain general perturbation. Under certain of these conditions, a Hopf bifurcation results, producing periodic solutions called edge oscillations. These inhomogeneous bifurcation mechanisms represent new means for the generation of solutions displaying edge oscillations in a reaction-diffusion system. The oscillations produced by each inhomogeneous bifurcation are expected to depend qualitatively on the properties of the corresponding homogeneous bifurcation.

We introduce a new concept of convergence for bounded sequences of functions in L2(Ω), called θ – 2 convergence, where Ω is an open set of ℝn and θ a C2 diffeomorphism of ℝn. This tool enables us to deal with homogenisation problems in some nonperiodic perforated domains. In particular, it provides a simple proof, and extensions, of a recent result of M. Briane.

In this paper we study an ordinary second-order integro-differential equation (IDE) on a finite closed interval. We demonstrate the equivalence of this equation to a certain integral equation, and deduce that the homogeneous IDE may have either 2 or 3 linearly independent solutions, depending on the value of a parameter λ. We study a Cauchy problem for the IDE, both by this integral equation approach and by an independent approach, based on the perturbation theory for linear operators. We give necessary and sufficient conditions for the Cauchy problem to be solvable for arbitrary right-hand sides—these conditions again depend on λ—and specify the behaviour of the IDE when these conditions are not satisfied. At the end of the paper some examples are given of the type of behaviour described.

Some attributes of a new method of defining the convolution and multiplication of generalised functions, too singular to be encompassed by earlier theories, are developed and its extension to the case of several variables is described.

We seek non-trivial solutions (u,λ)∈C1([0,1])×[0,∞ with u(x)≧0 for all x ∈[0,1], of the nonlinear eigenvalue problem –u″(x)=λf(u(x)) for x ∈ (0,1) and u(0)=u(1)=0,where f:[0,∞)→[0,∞) is such that f(p) = 0, for p ∈ [0,1), and f(p) = K(p), for p ∈ (1,∞), and K: [1, ∞)→(0, ∞) is assumed to be twice continuously differentiable. (The value ƒ(1) is only required to be positive.)

Existence and multiplicity theorems are given in the cases where ƒ is asymptotically sub-linear and ƒ is asymptotically super-linear. Moreover if strengthened assumptions are made on the growth of the non-linear term ƒ we obtain the precise number of non-trivial solutions for given values of λ ∈ [0, ∞).

We prove several results concerning the relative position of points in the postsingular set P(f) of a meromorphic map f and the boundary of a Baker domain or the successive iterates of a wandering component. For Baker domains we answer a question of Mihaljević-Brandt and Rempe-Gillen. For wandering domains we show that if the iterates Un of such a domain have uniformly bounded diameter, then there exists a sequence of postsingular values pn such that ${\rm dist} (p_n, U_n)\to 0$ as $n\to \infty $. We also prove that if $U_n \cap P(f)=\emptyset $ and the postsingular set of f lies at a positive distance from the Julia set (in ℂ), then the sequence of iterates of any wandering domain must contain arbitrarily large disks. This allows to exclude the existence of wandering domains for some meromorphic maps with infinitely many poles and unbounded set of singular values.

We prove the existence of a positive solution for the Schrödinger-type equation on RN,−Δu + V(x)u = f(u) for u ∈ H1(RN), provided that The result is obtained in two cases. (a) lim|x|→ ∞V(x) = V (∞) ∈ (0,∞), f is subcritical and supt>0 2F(t)t−2 < V (∞). (b) There exist V > 0 and R* > 0 such that f(t)t−1 < V ∞ ≤ V (x) for all t > 0 and |x| ≥ R*.

We consider the equation−Δu = |u|4/(N−2)u + εf(x) under zero Dirichlet boundary conditions in a bounded domain Ω in RN exhibiting certain symmetries, with f ≥ 0, f ≠ 0. In particular, we find that the number of sign-changing solutions goes to infinity for radially symmetric f, as ε → 0 if Ω is a ball. The same is true for the number of negative solutions if Ω is an annulus and the support of f is compact in Ω.

We explain the basic ideas behind the concept of diffusive wavelets on spheres in the language of representation theory of Lie groups and within the framework of the group Fourier transform given by the Peter-Weyl decomposition of L2() for a compact Lie group . After developing a general concept for compact groups and their homogeneous spaces, we give concrete examples for tori, which reflect the situation on ℝn, and for 2 and 3 spheres.

The paper studies large time behaviour of solutions to the Keller–Segel system with quadratic degradation in a liquid environment, as given by

under Neumann boundary conditions in a bounded domain Ω ⊂ ℝn, where n ≥ 1 is arbitrary. It is shown that whenever U : Ω × (0,∞) → ℝn is a bounded and sufficiently regular solenoidal vector field any non-trivial global bounded solution of (⋆) approaches the trivial equilibrium at a rate that, with respect to the norm in either of the spaces L1(Ω) and L∞(Ω), can be controlled from above and below by appropriate multiples of 1/(t + 1). This underlines that, even up to this quantitative level of accuracy, the large time behaviour in (⋆) is essentially independent not only of the particular fluid flow, but also of any effect originating from chemotactic cross-diffusion. The latter is in contrast to the corresponding Cauchy problem, for which known results show that in the n = 2 case the presence of chemotaxis can significantly enhance biomixing by reducing the respective spatial L1 norms of solutions.

No district of Great Britain is so rich in genera and species of Carboniferous Dipnoi and Ganoidei as that of Fife and the Lothians, and in the frequency of entire specimens of these fishes it is only approached by North Staffordshire.

Another feature of the greatest geological interest is the abundance of fish remains in estuarine strata below the horizon of the Millstone grit, whereby a means of comparing the Ganoid fish faunæ of the Upper and Lower divisions of the Carboniferous formation is afforded.

We consider degenerate parabolic problems in domains with noncompact boundary and infinite volume, in any spatial dimension. The equation is of doubly nonlinear type. On the boundary we prescribe a homogeneous Neumann condition. The spatial domain is narrowing at infinity. We prove uniform convergence to 0 of solutions as time approaches ∞. To this end, due to the geometry of the domain, the requirement that the initial datum have finite mass is not enough, and we have to stipulate the further assumption that a certain moment of the initial datum (connected with the geometry of the domain) is finite. We prove optimal asymptotic estimates of the solution. Moreover, we apply our method to the investigation of blow-up problems in narrowing domains, obtaining a sharp condition, in integral form, for the existence of solutions defined for all positive times.

M. G. Krein's method of directing functional is generalized in a straight-forward way to symmetric linear relations. Applications to Stieltjes differential boundary problems are indicated.