cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mathematical Constants II

Famous mathematical constants include the ratio of circular circumference to diameter, π = 3.14 …, and the natural logarithm base, e = 2.718 …. Students and professionals can often name a few others, but there are many more buried in the literature and awaiting discovery. How do such constants arise, and why are they important? Here the author renews the search he began in his book Mathematical Constants, adding another 133 essays that broaden the landscape. Topics include the minimality of soap film surfaces, prime numbers, elliptic curves and modular forms, Poisson–Voronoi tessellations, random triangles, Brownian motion, uncertainty inequalities, Prandtl–Blasius flow (from fluid dynamics), Lyapunov exponents, knots and tangles, continued fractions, Galton–Watson trees, electrical capacitance (from potential theory), Zermelo's navigation problem, and the optimal control of a pendulum. Unsolved problems appear virtually everywhere as well. This volume continues an outstanding scholarly attempt to bring together all significant mathematical constants in one place.
Marx and Cieszkowski

It is generally agreed that Hegel and his younger and somewhat leftist followers contributed to shaping the philosophical and economic views of Marx. Not so generally recognized is the impact of a Polish writer, August von Ciezkowski, whose influence is the subject of our query. This note is not intended to be an original contribution on the subject but a brief restatement of an interesting proposition concerning Marx's intellectual origins by a German professor of philosophy, Reinhard Lauth. To the best of my knowledge Professor Lauth's proposition has not been discussed as yet on this side of the Atlantic. The eleventh thesis of Marx on Feuerbach, appended to his Deutsche Ideologie (1845-46) reads: Die Philosophen haben die Welt nur verschieden interpretiert; es kommt darauf an, sie zu verandern. Its meaning is well known and the alteration from interpretation to change, from theoretical to practical philosophy, has been stressed sufficiently.
A 12-Year Phenological Record of Fruiting: Implications for Frugivore Populations and Indicators of Climate Change

Answering the fundamental ecological question of what determines animal abundance has become critical with the accelerating need for informed management plans for endangered species. A major difficulty in testing general hypotheses to account for variation in abundance is that periods of food scarcity, which may be responsible for limiting population size, occur on a superannual basis. Research on folivorous primates suggests that periods of food scarcity are critical in determining regional biomass; however, studies of frugivores have found no single fallback food generally used by all species. In this study we quantify fruit availability during a 12-year period in Kibale National Park, Uganda to determine patterns of fruit scarcity. Over these 12 years, temporal variability in fruit availability was high; the proportion of trees per month with ripe fruit varied from 0.14 to 15.93%. In addition, there was dramatic interannual variation in fruit availability: in 1990, on average only 1.09% of trees bore ripe fruit each month, while in 1999 an average of 6.67% of trees bore fruit each month. Over the past 12 years, fruit has become more available, fruit-scarce months have declined in frequency, and the duration of periods of fruit scarcity has decreased. If figs (Ficus spp.) served as a fallback food resource over these 12 years, they would have had to be available during months when few trees were fruiting. Over this 149-month period, there were 34 months when less than 1% of monitored trees fruited. Figs were not fruiting in 17 of these months, and, in only 11 of the 34 months were more than 1% of the fig trees fruiting. Rainfall data collected since 1903 indicates that the region is becoming moister, and droughts are less frequent. There has also been a significant increase in the maximum mean monthly temperature and a decrease in the minimum mean monthly temperature since we started recording these data in 1990.
Course of major depressive disorder and labor market outcome disruption.

Background Major depressive disorder (MDD) has been found to be negatively associated with labor market outcomes. However, MDD has many different courses that are chronic or persistent, relapsing and remitting, or limited to a single lifetime episode. Such heterogeneity has been ignored in most past analyses. Aims of the study We examine the impact of heterogeneity in course of MDD on labor market outcomes. Methods Wave I (2001-2002) respondents of the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions - a nationally representative panel survey - were interviewed on average 3 years later (2004-2005). We categorized changes in MDD before and after wave I and before wave II into six courses: incident, recent remission, persistent remission, relapse, persistent depression, and no history of MDD. Odds ratios (ORs) and marginal effects of MDD transitions in multivariable multinomial regressions of labor market outcomes (being out of the labor force, being unemployed, working part-time, and working full-time -- the reference outcome) are reported. Results Men and women who exhibited persistent remission (2 to 3 years) were equally likely to be in the labor force, employed, and working full-time, compared to those with no history of MDD (reference group). For men, recently remitted MDD (less than 1 year), compared to the reference group, increased the likelihood of being unemployed (3.2% higher probability of being unemployed conditional on being in the labor force; OR = 1.97, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.13--3.44) and working part-time (5.8% higher probability of working part-time conditional on being employed; OR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.10-2.80). For women, no statistically significant effect for recent remission was found. The negative effects of incident onset, relapse, and persistence of MDD were found on some labor market outcomes for men and, to a lesser extent, for women. Discussion Clinical treatment for depression should be coordinated and/or integrated with work-related interventions that help individuals who are recovering from depression to maintain their jobs. Such coordination will add to the value of clinical treatment for depression. Implications for health policies The impact of MDD on labor market outcomes varies by course of illness. Past studies may have underestimated lost earnings due to mental illness because they did not distinguish between recent and persistent remission and thus did not account for lost earnings due to recent remission. Implications for further research Further research is needed to understand why there are differential impacts for men and women and to make causal inferences on the relationships between MDD and labor market outcomes.
Middle Bronze Age

The region known in the literary tradition as Canaan comprises the southern end of the ecological macrozone commonly known as the Fertile Crescent. And while northern and highland regions derive their water supply from wells, much of Canaan lies at the margins of less fertile land, and subsistence can be precarious as even minor climatic shifts can have a significant impact. The broader region can be divided into 10 ecological subzones: the upper Galilee, lower Galilee, Huleh Valley, Jordan Valley, Jezreel Valley, Samaria, Judean Foothills, northern coastal plain, southern coastal plain, and the northern Negev.
Health Protection: Military Concepts Applied to the Civilian World.

The article discusses health protection in the U.S., focusing upon how military concepts can be applied to the "civilian world." Particular focus is given to how military medicine has advanced trauma and emergency care in the U.S. Additional topics discussed include disease prevention during the American Civil War, the clear evidence that healthy populations are more productive and prosperous than those who are not, and how public health can be improved in the US. by holding leaders accountable.
Incompatibility of the circadian protein BMAL1 and HNF4α in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha (HNF4α) is a master regulator of liver-specific gene expression with potent tumor suppressor activity, yet many liver tumors express HNF4α. This study reveals that P1-HNF4α, the predominant isoform expressed in the adult liver, inhibits expression of tumor promoting genes in a circadian manner. In contrast, an additional isoform of HNF4α, driven by an alternative promoter (P2-HNF4α), is induced in HNF4α-positive human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). P2-HNF4α represses the circadian clock gene ARNTL (BMAL1), which is robustly expressed in healthy hepatocytes, and causes nuclear to cytoplasmic re-localization of P1-HNF4α. We reveal mechanisms underlying the incompatibility of BMAL1 and P2-HNF4α in HCC, and demonstrate that forced expression of BMAL1 in HNF4α-positive HCC prevents the growth of tumors in vivo. These data suggest that manipulation of the circadian clock in HNF4α-positive HCC could be a tractable strategy to inhibit tumor growth and progression in the liver.
The Role of Exploration in Firm Survival in the Worldwide Optical Library Market, 1990-1998

We investigate how a firm’s involvement in exploration and exploitation activities affects its survival chances. We predict that while the main effect of exploration on organizational longevity is ...
Comparing chaotic and random dynamical systems

This is a slightly expanded version of the plenary lecture the author gave at the International Congress on Mathematical Physics 2018 in Montreal, Canada. Reported are some work of the author and collaborators as well as related results of others on two kinds of dynamical systems: the first kind is deterministic (in the sense that nothing is left to chance) but is chaotic and unpredictable, and the second kind has a stochastic component in addition to a purely deterministic one. These two kinds of dynamical systems are compared and contrasted. The main points are that time series of observations from chaotic deterministic systems obey some of the same probabilistic limit laws as genuinely random stochastic processes, but random dynamical systems enjoy nicer properties and are technically more tractable.
Book review: Shakya, M. 2018: Death of an Industry: The Cultural Politics of Garment Manufacturing During the Maoist Revolution in Nepal:

Shakya, M. 2018: Death of an Industry: The Cultural Politics of Garment Manufacturing During the Maoist Revolution in Nepal. New Delhi, India: Cambridge University Press. xv + 157 pp. £67.50 cloth,...
Drought early warning—definitions, challenges, and opportunities

Abstract This chapter provides an overview of the different definitions of drought. Droughts are slow-onset disasters that always involve a shortage of water. While they are an extremely common disaster, droughts can be hard to identify and predict, in part because they can impact people, ecosystems, and economies in many different ways. Here, we briefly discuss how drought may be defined in terms of water supply and demand, magnitude (intensity, duration, and extent), and various types of sectoral impacts.
Understanding Rapport over Multiple Sessions with a Social, Teachable Robot

Social robots have been shown to be effective educational tools. Rapport, or interpersonal closeness, can lead to better human-robot interactions and positive learning outcomes. Prior research has investigated the effects of social robots on student rapport and learning in a single session, but little is known about how individuals build rapport with a robot over multiple sessions. We reported on a case study in which 7 middle school students explained mathematics concepts to an intelligent teachable robot named Emma for five sessions. We modeled learners’ rapport-building linguistic strategies to understand whether the ways middle school students build rapport with the robot over time follow the same trends as human conversation, and how individual differences might mediate the rapport between human and robot.
Human mitochondrial transcription and translation

Abstract The maintenance and expression of the mammalian mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) is a fundamental aspect of mitochondrial biogenesis. The mtDNA is transcribed as precursor polycistronic transcripts containing 11 mRNAs, 2 rRNAs, punctuated by 22 tRNAs. They require to be processed to engage in the assembly of unique mitochondrial ribosomes (the rRNAs), or mRNA translation into 13 proteins, all components of the OXPHOS enzymes, essential for aerobic cellular energy production. Through evolution, most genes of the ancestral bacterial endosymbiont have been transferred to the nucleus. Therefore the regulation of all fundamental aspects of mitochondrial gene expression relies on proteins that are encoded by the nuclear genome, translated by cytosolic ribosomes, and imported into the mitochondria. In this chapter, we describe the mechanisms underlying mammalian mitochondrial transcription, and translation and the characteristics and function of the factors involved.
The Life Course of Female Homicide Offenders: The Context of Turning Points

Although research on female offending has grown in the past few decades, the criminal justice system has remained inadequate in addressing the needs of women. Available research shows some experiences play a significant role in the lives of women that differ from men. To elaborate, this study sought to incorporate life course perspective and the individual’s perspective to show that context is fundamental to life course research. This study identified life events and turning points specific to female homicide offenders and validated the necessary incorporation of perception and attribution to future research with life course perspective.
Discounting environmental policy: The effects of psychological distance over time and space

Abstract Many environmental policies are characterized by long time horizons (e.g., multiple generations) and high geographic dispersion (e.g., multiple countries). In this study, we use theories of psychological distance and the method of conjoint experimentation to disentangle the extent to which different dimensions of the perceived distance associated with a policy's impacts may undermine support for environmental policy and help explain the lack of urgency typically associated with such policies. We find that temporal distance in decades has a roughly linear effect on support over 50 years, where the further into the future benefits are expected, the lower support is. By contrast we find that spatial distance appears to have a shift where support is stronger when benefits fall within one's country as compared to beyond, but are not better for one's local region as compared to one's country. Comparing the magnitude of effects of spatial and temporal distance, we find that, compared to benefits in the here and now, benefits that arrive 30–40 years into the future are discounted about as much as policies that only benefit people outside of one's country now. Controlling for the effects of temporal and spatial distance, we still find that policies that aim to help the environment receive less support. However, this is not true of policies that address more concrete environmental problems (e.g. natural disasters). Given a richer understanding of the relationship between psychological distance and environmental policy support, we discuss ways one may address this elusive problem.
Abstract 1751: Decoding the immune system response to leptomeningeal metastasis

For decades, the central nervous system was considered to be an immune privileged organ with limited access to systemic immunity. However, the leptomeninges, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-filled anatomical structure that protects the brain and spinal cord, represent a relatively immune-rich environment. Despite the presence of immune cells, complications in the CSF, such as infectious meningitis and a neurological development of cancer known as leptomeningeal metastasis, are difficult to treat and are frequently fatal. We show that immune cells entering the CSF are held in an ‘idle9 state that limits their cytotoxic arsenal and antigen presentation machinery. To understand this underappreciated neuroanatomic niche, we used unique mouse models and rare patient samples to characterize its cellular composition and critical signaling events in health and disease at a single-cell resolution. Revealing the mediators of CSF immune response will allow us to re-evaluate current therapeutic protocols and employ rational combinations with immunotherapies, therefore turning the patient9s own immune system into an active weapon against pathogens and cancer. Citation Format: Jan Remsik, Xinran Tong, Ugur Sener, Min Jun Li, Jessica Wilcox, Danielle Isakov, Camille Derderian, Kiana Chabot, Andrea Schietinger, Adrienne Boire. Decoding the immune system response to leptomeningeal metastasis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 1751.
All solutions of the Yang–Baxter-like matrix equation for rank-one matrices

Abstract Let A = p q T , where p and q are two nonzero n -dimensional complex vectors. We solve the quadratic matrix equation A X A = X A X to find all the solutions.
Temperature tracking SPICE macro-model for laser and LED driven opto-coupler assemblies

Temperature tracking models for opto-coupler assemblies constructed from discrete components were developed. These opto-couplers used a photon source consisting of either a laser diode or a light emitting diode (LED) coupled to an AlGaAs photodiode through a lens. These assemblies are different from most of their integrated circuit counterparts because a photodiode is used for a detector rather than a phototransistor. Although, in the intended use, these assemblies couple digital-like pulse trains, they are analog devices capable of operating over wider ranges of voltage than most digital devices. Robust models which accurately simulate over these voltage ranges were desired. The model was needed to help assess the design margins of a large and complex circuit in which the couplers are used. This process requires a large number of long simulation runs, so simplicity was given a high priority. The simple SPICE model for an opto-coupler assembly constructed can be used to accurately simulate the operation of assemblies made up of different types of discrete devices over a temperature range of -55 to 75 degrees C using a single set of parameters and a TEMP statement available within SPICE. Measurements taken from one of each type of device were used for the extraction of the nominal values for the model parameters. The simulation results agree well with the measured data for both assemblies. >
Cortical Barrels: Maps and Plasticity

The somatosensory cortex of rodents contains clusters of neurons called ‘barrels’ that are related in a one-to-one manner to individual mystacial vibrissae on the contralateral face. Signals from the sensory periphery influence the establishment of the system's distinctive anatomical organization during development and regulate the functional properties of cortical neurons throughout the animal's life. Keywords: somatosensory; vibrissae; topography; tactile; neuronal circuits
Further characterization of the scab resistance of ‘Frontana’ spring wheat and the relationships between resistance mechanisms

With 2 figures and 2 tables Abstract ‘Frontana’ spring wheat exhibits resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB), but it is not clear which genes confer resistance to initial infection or spread. This study assessed the FHB resistance of reciprocal backcross monosomic (RBCM) lines previously developed using Frontana and ‘Chris’. Six RBCM lines differing for Frontana and Chris disomic chromosomes 3A, 6A and 4D were evaluated to determine which chromosome prevents disease establishment or spread after either spray or single floret inoculation (SFI). Data were collected for FHB incidence, severity and spread. The RBCM line with Frontana chromosome 3A expressed the lowest FHB severity and incidence after spray inoculation and the lowest disease spread after SFI. This confirms a major role of Frontana chromosome 3A in resistance to FHB establishment and spread. Frontana chromosomes 6A and 4D also influence resistance but have less of an impact compared with 3A. Significant correlations between disease incidence and severity and between severity and visually Fusarium damaged kernels (VFDK) suggest that type I and type II resistant mechanisms do not function independently in Frontana. Therefore, the metrics used to quantify resistance are interrelated.
Supported Decision-Making: A Viable Alternative to Guardianship?

The law has traditionally responded to cognitive disability by authorizing surrogate decision-makers to make decisions on behalf of disabled individuals. However, supported decision-making, an alternative paradigm for addressing cognitive disability, is rapidly gaining political support. According to its proponents, supported decision-making empowers individuals with cognitive challenges by ensuring that they are the ultimate decision-maker but are provided support from one or more others, giving them the assistance they need to make decisions for themselves. This article describes supported decision-making and its normative appeal. It then provides a descriptive account of how supported decision-making works based on the empirical literature on supported decision-making as well as that on shared decision-making, a related model used in medical contexts. The article shows how employing supported decision-making in lieu of guardianship, or integrating it into the guardianship system, has the potential to promote the self-determination of persons with intellectual and cognitive disabilities consistent with international and national legal norms. However, we find that, despite much rhetoric touting its advantages, little is known about how supported decision-making processes operate or about the outcomes of those processes. Further research is necessary to design and develop effective supported decision-making systems. We therefore propose a series of research questions to help inform policy choices surrounding supported decision-making.
Ecological opportunity and the origin of adaptive radiations

Ecological opportunity – through entry into a new environment, the origin of a key innovation or extinction of antagonists – is widely thought to link ecological population dynamics to evolutionary diversification. The population-level processes arising from ecological opportunity are well documented under the concept of ecological release. However, there is little consensus as to how these processes promote phenotypic diversification, rapid speciation and adaptive radiation. We propose that ecological opportunity could promote adaptive radiation by generating specific changes to the selective regimes acting on natural populations, both by relaxing effective stabilizing selection and by creating conditions that ultimately generate diversifying selection. We assess theoretical and empirical evidence for these effects of ecological opportunity and review emerging phylogenetic approaches that attempt to detect the signature of ecological opportunity across geological time. Finally, we evaluate the evidence for the evolutionary effects of ecological opportunity in the diversification of Caribbean Anolis lizards. Some of the processes that could link ecological opportunity to adaptive radiation are well documented, but others remain unsupported. We suggest that more study is required to characterize the form of natural selection acting on natural populations and to better describe the relationship between ecological opportunity and speciation rates.
Methodological Advances in Political Gaming: The One-Person, Computer Interactive, Quasi-Rigid Rule Game.

Abstract : The one-person, computer interactive, quasi-rigid rule game represents a significant advance in the methodological state of the gaming art. Hopefully it is the precursor of stronger, more scientific interest and activity in gaming for education purposes.
Turbo-detected coded continuous-phase modulation for military UHF satellite communications

The joint iterative demodulation and decoding of coded continuous-phase modulation (CPM) has been shown to offer near-optimal performance for constant envelope signalling in additive white Gaussian noise. An in-depth trade study of the parameters for such a system is used to derive the optimal waveform parameters for a variety of channels. In particular, the optimal parameters are selected for the military 25-kHz UHF follow-on (UFO) satellite communications (SATCOM) channel. A set of four waveforms are defined for that application that provide a range of power-efficient and bandwidth-efficient solutions, with data rates from 56 kbps to 80 kbps. Each operates within the typical link margins available for UHF SATCOM and meets typical (MIL-STD-188-181B) adjacent channel interference specifications. The implementation of a prototype modem using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware is described.
Nash Dynamics in Constant Player and Bounded Jump Congestion Games

We study the convergence time of Nash dynamics in two classes of congestion games --- constant player congestion games and bounded jump congestion games. It was shown by Ackermann and Skopalik [2] that even 3-player congestion games are PLS-complete. We design an FPTAS for congestion games with constant number of players. In particular, for any *** > 0, we establish a stronger result, namely, any sequence of (1 + *** )-greedy improvement steps converges to a (1 + *** )-approximate equilibrium in a number of steps that is polynomial in *** *** 1 and the size of the input. As the number of strategies of a player can be exponential in the size of the input, our FPTAS result assumes that a (1 + *** )-greedy improvement step, if it exists, can be computed in polynomial time. This assumption holds in previously studied models of congestion games, including network congestion games [9] and restricted network congestion games [2]. For bounded jump games, where jumps in the delay functions of resources are bounded by β , we show that there exists a game with an exponentially long sequence of *** -greedy best response steps that does not converge to an *** -approximate equilibrium, for all *** ≤ β o (n /logn ), where n is the number of players and the size of the game is O (n ). So in the worst case, Nash dynamics may fail to converge in polynomial time to such an approximate equilibrium. We also prove the same result for bounded jump network congestion games. In contrast, we observe that it is easy to show that a β 2n -approximate equilibrium is reached in at most n best response steps.
Abstract 18908: Transcutaneous Aortic Valve Replacement - 30 Day and 1 Year Outcomes Using Conscious Sedation in Patients Stratified by STS Risk Score

Introduction: Transcutaneous Aortic Valve Replacement [TAVR] is usually performed under general anesthesia [GA]. We sought to examine the feasibility and safety of monitored conscious sedation [CS] as opposed to GA . METHODS: 196 patients [116 self expanding and 80 balloons expandable] underwent TAVR from December 2010 to August 2012 at our institution. 1 month follow up was completed on all patients and 1 year follow up was available on 105 patients. 39 patients [20%] underwent CS. Only one patient crossed over from CS to GA. We divided the patients into 3 groups [STS RESULTS: Though the study did not meet statistical significance due to low number of patients, there was a trend towards improved mortality with CS. Also, there was no statically significant difference with regards to procedural complications including periprocedural MI, major bleeding, emergency CABG or major vascular complications. All 5 patients with periprocedural stroke had GA. The CS patients had a shorter length of stay [5 +2.87 days] as compared to GA patients [8 days+7.86 days] CONCLUSION: Use of CS suggested an improved mortality trend in higher risk patients [STS≥ 12]. This is of great importance as complications of GA, most importantly respiratory complications, are higher in the elderly TAVR patients and these can be avoided with CS . Also CS enables us to monitor neurological status during the procedure which is of vital importance given the high rates of stroke with TAVR
Particle dynamics in the rising plume at Piccard Hydrothermal Field, Mid‐Cayman Rise

Processes active in rising hydrothermal plumes, such as precipitation, particle aggregation, and biological growth, affect particle size distributions and can exert important influences on the biogeochemical impact of submarine venting of iron to the oceans and their sediments. However, observations to date of particle size distribution within these systems are both limited and conflicting. In a novel buoyant hydrothermal plume study at the recently discovered high-temperature (398°C) Piccard Hydrothermal Field, Mid-Cayman Rise, we report optical measurements of particle size distributions (PSDs). We describe the plume PSD in terms of a simple, power-law model commonly used in studies of upper and coastal ocean particle dynamics. Observed PSD slopes, derived from spectral beam attenuation and laser diffraction measurements, are among the highest found to date anywhere in the ocean and ranged from 2.9 to 8.5. Beam attenuation at 650 nm ranged from near zero to a rarely observed maximum of 192 m−1 at 3.5 m above the vent. We did not find large (>100 μm) particles that would settle rapidly to the sediments. Instead, beam attenuation was well-correlated to total iron, suggesting the first-order importance of particle dilution, rather than precipitation or dissolution, in the rising plume at Piccard. Our observations at Piccard caution against the assumption of rapid deposition of hydrothermal, particulate metal fluxes, and illustrate the need for more particle size and composition measurements across a broader range of sites, globally.
The effect of dynamic singularities on robotic control and design

This paper presents the definition of a new type of dynamic singularity for robotic manipulators. It is applicable to all underactuated robotic systems that can be described by Lagrange's equations where the Lagrangian is the kinetic minus potential energy. The approach is to decompose the velocity at every point in the configuration space into velocity directions that can be directly controlled and those that are uncontrolled and orthogonal to the directly controlled directions. These uncontrolled directions are controlled only through the dynamic coupling with the controlled directions and the measure of a dynamic singularity is then a measure of this degree of coupling. When this coupling is zero, the mechanism is said to be at a dynamic singularity. The practical implication is that, at such points, the dynamics are decoupled and control over the uncontrolled directions is very weak in that the mechanism will have to move away from the singularity before the inputs can affect the uncontrolled velocity directions. An example that is realistically complicated is presented and simulations show the effect on control inputs when the system is operating near a dynamic singularity.
The Anisotropic Temperature Spectrum in Isotropic Turbulence with a Constant Temperature Gradient

The anisotropic temperature spectrum is numerically determined within the eddy-damped quasi-normal Markovian approximation for the case that a constant temperature gradient is imposed on isotropic and incompressible turbulence with the Kolmogorov velocity spectrum. The temperature spectrum is conveniently expanded in terms of Legendre polynominals. The isotropic part of the spectrum is calculated as k -1.701 , very close to the Kolmogorov spectrum, while the anisotropic spectrum which corresponds to the coefficient of a second Legendre function is shown to be k -3 . A model is examined which exhibits a crossover of the anisotropic spectrum from coupling-constant-dependent scaling to the independent scaling k -3 .
Expanding Democracy - Transferring the Crown Prerogative to Parliament

In early times, the English legal system accorded to the sovereign many prerogatives (privileges). This was usually to enhance his status, to reflect his pre-eminence. Or it was to provide funds for him, to pay for matters under his control - such as his courts, army and navy. Over time, many of these Crown prerogatives have become uncertain, confused and obsolete. The purpose of this article is consider a number of these prerogatives and to argue either for their abolition or their transfer to Parliament.In respect of Crown prerogatives relating to the courts it is asserted that prerogatives to: (a) establish common law courts; (b) sit as a judge; (c) withdraw any matter of State from the cognisance of a court; (d) request any judge to delay giving judgment; (e) sue in whatever court the sovereign pleases; (f) be exempt from court costs; (g) possess immunity from criminal prosecution - should be abolished. Also, that the civil immunity of the sovereign should be lifted, in part.In respect of Crown prerogatives relating to the military it is asserted that prerogatives to make - and declare -war and peace should pass to Parliament. And that prerogatives to: (i) impress subjects for the navy; (ii)issue letters of reprisal and marque; (iii) issue letters of safe conduct; (iv)prohibit subjects from leaving the realm; (v) order subjects to return to the realm; (vi) dig for saltpetre (for gunpowder); (vii) impose martial law; (viii)prohibit subjects from building castles (or enter the land of other subjects to erect fortifications for the defence of the realm in war time) - should be abolished. Also, that any Crown prerogative to erect fortifications should be replaced by legislation, where required.In respect of Crown prerogatives relating to public functions, it is asserted that the Crown prerogative to compel a person to accept a public office should be abolished. And that any residual functions of the Crown to act as parens patriae should be transferred to Parliament.In respect of the Crown prerogative to make legislation in the form of issuing proclamations, it is asserted they should be replaced by Statutory Instruments, in order for Parliament to have control over the matter.
The performance of schottky diodes as far-infrared modulators

We analyze the performance as a terahertz-frequency, reflective modulator of a small-area Schottky diode mounted in a corner-cube antenna. The analysis includes the effects of carrier inertia and dielectric relaxation (1), and of the vanishing of the depletion region above the flat-band potential, (2,3). Our baseline calculation refers to a 1.4 μm diameter diode operated at a carrier frequency of 2.52 THz and a modulation frequency of 8 GHz, as was used in our experiments (4,5). Our conclusions are: A) For all realistic diode parameters, the phase modulation completely dominates the amplitude modulation. B) Performance is degraded well below the plasma frequency in the undepleted epilayer due to the presence of a second resonance, caused by the interaction of the barrier capacitance and the effective inductance due to carrier inertia, C) The effects of varying the antenna impedance, temperature, diode substrate size, and Schottky barrier height over realistic ranges are small. D) An improvement in single-sideband conversion efficiency of approximately 20 db may be obtained by increasing the epilayer doping and simultaneously reducing the diode radius. Agreement between the calculated and measured conversion efficiencies at 2.52 THz is very good.
Diffusion tensor imaging and neurocognition in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia are at risk for neurocognitive impairment, though little information is available on its association with brain integrity, particularly for survivors treated without cranial radiation therapy. This study compares neurocognitive function and brain morphology in long-term adult survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia treated with chemotherapy alone (n = 36) to those treated with cranial radiation therapy (n = 39) and to healthy control subjects (n = 23). Mean (standard deviation) age at evaluation was 24.9 (3.6) years for the chemotherapy group and 26.7 (3.4) years for the cranial radiation therapy group, while time since diagnosis was 15.0 (1.7) and 23.9 (3.1) years, respectively. Brain grey and white matter volume and diffusion tensor imaging was compared between survivor groups and to 23 healthy controls with a mean (standard deviation) age of 23.1 (2.6) years. Survivors treated with chemotherapy alone had higher fractional anisotropy in fibre tracts within the left (P < 0.05), but not in the right, hemisphere when compared to controls. Survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, regardless of treatment, had a lower ratio of white matter to intracranial volume in frontal and temporal lobes (P < 0.05) compared with control subjects. Survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia treated with chemotherapy alone performed worse in processing speed (P < 0.001), verbal selective reminding (P = 0.01), and academics (P < 0.05) compared to population norms and performed better than survivors treated with cranial radiation therapy on verbal selective reminding (P = 0.02), processing speed (P = 0.05) and memory span (P = 0.009). There were significant associations between neurocognitive performance and brain imaging, particularly for frontal and temporal white and grey matter volume. Survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia treated with chemotherapy alone demonstrated significant long-term differences in neurocognitive function and altered neuroanatomical integrity. These results suggest substantial region-specific white matter alterations in survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia possibly resulting in restricted radial diffusion due to the compaction of neuronal fibres.
Evaluating the New “Investment Tax Credit/Depreciable Basis” Options

Abstract The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 stipulates that taxpayers must apply one of two options to property which qualifies for the investment tax credit and is purchased after December 31, 1982. These options, according to the author's terminology, are: R, reduce the investment tax credit applied by 2% (e.g., from 10% to 8%); or U, leave the credit unreduced but subtract half the investment tax credit in determining the asset's depreciable basis. In this study the author examines the circumstances under which a particular option is advantageous to the taxpayer.
Stem-spermatogonial survival and incidence of reciprocal translocations in the gamma-irradiated boar

To assess the effects of gamma-radiation on stem-cell survival and incidence of reciprocal translocations, boar testes were irradiated with 100, 200, or 400 rad. Stem-cell survival was markedly affected by 100 rad (51% of control) and reduced to 34% of control by 400 rad. Production of differentiating spermatogonia was all but completely interrupted by 200 rad and spermatogonial renewal was incomplete at 12 weeks. From the state of the seminiferous epithelium at 12 weeks, estimates of the percentage of permanent impairment of sperm-producing capacity ranged from 20 +/- 6 (100 rad) to 67 +/- 10 (400 rad). Incidence of translocations peaked at 200 rad and the number occurring at 100 and 400 rad was similar. Kinetics of porcine spermatogonial renewal differs considerably from those of the rodent and, relative to the rodent, this may account for the boar's higher sensitivity to stem-cell killing and lower sensitivity to translocations.
Effects of tillage systems and landscape on soil

Abstract The rolling nature of much of the glaciated western cornbelt results in poorly- and well-drained soils being managed in a similar manner. The effects of four tillage systems (moldboard plow, chisel plow, ridge-till and no-till) and two cropping systems (continuous corn and corn/soybean rotation) on soil properties was studied across well drained Beadle (fine-loamy, montmorillonitic, mesic Typic Argiustoll) and poorly drained Worthing (fine, montmorillonitic, mesic Typic Argiaquoll) soils. Worthing surface soil had a lower hydraulic conductivity, higher volumetric moisture, pH, and available thing surface soil had a lower hydraulic conductivity, higher volumetric moisture, pH, and available P and K than the Beadle soil. Ridge-till and no-till treatments resulted in higher surface volumetric water and bulk density, and lower soil temperature than the moldboard plow plots in the Beadle soil. Saturated hydraulic conductivity increased over time for the ridge-till and no-till treatments on the Beadle soil. Water use (evapotranspiration) was similar among tillage treatments in either soil. Surface aggregate stability was influenced only within the corn/soybean rotation, in which stability was higher in no-till than the moldboard or chisel plow treatments in the Beadle soil. Few differences in chemical properties attributable to tillage systems were found in these soils. High residue tillage systems resulted in greater differences in soil properties on the well-drained member of the soil catena. The beneficial effects of the soil property changes on the well-drained Beadle soil appear to outweigh the effects of high residue tillage on the Worthing soil.
Lateral diffusion and percolation in membranes.

An algorithm based on Voronoi tessellation and percolation theory is presented to study the diffusion of model membrane components (solutes) in the plasma membrane. The membrane is modeled as a two-dimensional space with integral membrane proteins as static obstacles. The Voronoi diagram consists of vertices, which are equidistant from three matrix obstacles, joined by edges. An edge between two vertices is said to be connected if solute particles can pass directly between the two regions. The percolation threshold, ${p}_{c}$, determined using this passage criterion is ${p}_{c}\ensuremath{\approx}0.53$. This is smaller than if the connectivity of edges were assigned randomly, in which case the percolation threshold ${p}_{r}=2/3$, where $p$ is the fraction of connected edges. Molecular dynamics simulations show that diffusion is determined by percolation of clusters of edges.
Phase contrast imaging using a micro focus x-ray source

Phase contrast x-ray imaging, a new technique to increase the imaging contrast for the tissues with close attenuation coefficients, has been studied since mid 1990s. This technique reveals the possibility to show the clear details of the soft tissues and tumors in small scale resolution. A compact and low cost phase contrast imaging system using a conventional x-ray source is described in this paper. Using the conventional x-ray source is of great importance, because it provides the possibility to use the method in hospitals and clinical offices. Simple materials and components are used in the setup to keep the cost in a reasonable and affordable range.Tungsten Kα1 line with the photon energy 59.3 keV was used for imaging. Some of the system design details are discussed. The method that was used to stabilize the system is introduced. A chicken thigh bone tissue sample was used for imaging followed by the image quality, image acquisition time and the potential clinical application discussion. High energy x-ray beam can be used in phase contrast imaging. Therefore the radiation dose to the patients can be greatly decreased compared to the traditional x-ray radiography.
Plasmonic concentrators for enhanced light absorption in ultra-thin film organic solar cells

A plasmonic concentrator consisting of a quasi-periodic array of shallow sub-wavelength holes is considered for use in ultra-thin film organic solar cells. The level of absorption enhancement in the active layer will be studied as functions of array symmetry and planar hole density.
Visualization of RecA protein and its association with DNA: A priming effect of single-strand-binding protein

Abstract A stoichiometric interaction of RecA protein with single-stranded DNA promotes homologous pairing of the single strand with duplex DNA and subsequent polar formation of a heteroduplex joint. Escherichia coli single-strand-binding (SSB) protein augments these reactions. Electron microscopic observations suggest structural bases for these interactions. Without triphosphates or DNA, RecA protein forms short linear filaments. With added circular single-stranded DNA, it forms extended circular filaments as well as collapsed and aggregated complexes of protein and DNA. The extended circular filaments are stiff and regular in appearance, contrasting with the convoluted structure formed by SSB protein and single-stranded DNA. Together, these two proteins form mixed filaments, which mostly resemble the extended structures containing RecA protein; moreover, SSB protein accelerates formation of extended filaments more than 50-fold, increasing the yield of these structures at the expense of heterogeneous aggregates. Other observations further define the interactions of RecA protein with partially single-stranded DNA, and the effects of ATPyS on the tendency of RecA protein to form polymeric structures even in the absence of DNA.
A Perspective on the Proposed Amendments to the Drug Distribution Guideline

This Commentary provides a perspective on the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s proposed amendment to the drug distribution guideline. The proposed amendment has the potential to substantially affect federal sentencing and incarceration because of the sheer volume of advisory sentencing ranges that are calculated through the drug distribution guideline. Although the proposed almost-across-the-board offense level reduction is laudable, the Commission should go further in its amendment of the drug distribution guideline. First, the proposed amendment reduces most of the offense levels in the Drug Quantity Table by two levels, but it does not alter the offense levels for distributions of the smallest and largest drug quantities. The amendment would be more internally consistent if the Commission simply reduced the offense levels applicable to the entire Drug Quantity Table by two levels. Second, the amendment continues to base the offense levels in the Drug Quantity Table on the mandatory minimums in the drug trafficking statute. The Commission should delink the Drug Quantity Table from the mandatory minimums. An increasing number of drug defendants escape the operation of otherwise-applicable mandatory minimum sentences, particularly in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Alleyne v. United States and the Attorney General’s directive to federal prosecutors to structure indictments to avoid mandatory minimums for certain low-level, non-violent drug offenders. Fairness dictates that these offenders receive a advisory sentencing range that reflects the Commission’s research and expertise rather than one that is bound to inapplicable statutory mandatory minimums.