Basic Functional Analysis Puzzles of Spectral Flow

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Booss-Bavnbek, Bernhelm

2011-01-01

We explain an array of basic functional analysis puzzles on the way to general spectral flow formulae and indicate a direction of future topological research for dealing with these puzzles.......We explain an array of basic functional analysis puzzles on the way to general spectral flow formulae and indicate a direction of future topological research for dealing with these puzzles....

Astroparticle physics: puzzles and discoveries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berezinsky, V

2008-01-01

Puzzles often give birth to the great discoveries, the false discoveries sometimes stimulate the exiting ideas in theoretical physics. The historical examples of both are described in Introduction and in section 'Cosmological Puzzles'. From existing puzzles most attention is given to Ultra High Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR) puzzle and to cosmological constant problem. The 40-years old UHECR problem consisted in absence of the sharp steepening in spectrum of extragalactic cosmic rays caused by interaction with CMB radiation. This steepening is known as Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) cutoff. It is demonstrated here that the features of interaction of cosmic ray protons with CMB are seen now in the spectrum in the form of the dip and beginning of the GZK cutoff. The most serious cosmological problem is caused by large vacuum energy of the known elementary-particle fields which exceeds at least by 45 orders of magnitude the cosmological vacuum energy. The various ideas put forward to solve this problem during last 40 years, have weaknesses and cannot be accepted as the final solution of this puzzle. The anthropic approach is discussed

Current puzzles in nuclear physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-01-01

A meeting on ''Current puzzles in nuclear physics'' was held at Research Center for Nuclear Physics, Osaka University, on June 27 - 28, 1984. The meeting put emphasis on several puzzles which have not been solved for a long time in nuclear physics, and also on the puzzles. This collective report is composed of following eleven papers presented at the meeting. Almost all the papers are witten in English : (1) M1, GT excitations and configuration mixing (in Japanese). (2) Hadronic excitation of pionic states. (3) Microscopic analyses of 28 Si(α,α') 28 Si scattering and single particle strength in A = 29 nuclei. (4) Few-body physics and its incentives to nuclear physics. (5) Is it necessary to introduce three body interactions ? (in Japanese). (6) Puzzles in the neutron-deuteron elastic scattering. (7) Puzzles in NN, NΔ, πN and Nanti N interactions. (8) Problems in Hadron-Nucleus interaction. (9) Unified approach to the meson- and quark- theory of nuclear forces and currents. (10) Pion photoproduction in two Chiral bag models. (11) The dynamic bag model : The electromagnetic properties of nucleon. (Aoki, K.)

The Anatomy Puzzle Book.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacob, Willis H.; Carter, Robert, III

This document features review questions, crossword puzzles, and word search puzzles on human anatomy. Topics include: (1) Anatomical Terminology; (2) The Skeletal System and Joints; (3) The Muscular System; (4) The Nervous System; (5) The Eye and Ear; (6) The Circulatory System and Blood; (7) The Respiratory System; (8) The Urinary System; (9) The…

Tangrams: Puzzles of Art

Science.gov (United States)

Fee, Brenda

2009-01-01

Challenging one's brain is the beginning of making great art. Tangrams are a great way to keep students thinking about their latest art project long after leaving the classroom. A tangram is a Chinese puzzle. The earliest known reference to tangrams appears in a Chinese book dated 1813, but the puzzles existed long before that date. The puzzle…

Puzzles of large scale structure and gravitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sidharth, B.G.

2006-01-01

We consider the puzzle of cosmic voids bounded by two-dimensional structures of galactic clusters as also a puzzle pointed out by Weinberg: How can the mass of a typical elementary particle depend on a cosmic parameter like the Hubble constant? An answer to the first puzzle is proposed in terms of 'Scaled' Quantum Mechanical like behaviour which appears at large scales. The second puzzle can be answered by showing that the gravitational mass of an elementary particle has a Machian character (see Ahmed N. Cantorian small worked, Mach's principle and the universal mass network. Chaos, Solitons and Fractals 2004;21(4))

Growth of two-dimensional Ge crystal by annealing of heteroepitaxial Ag/Ge(111) under N2 ambient

Science.gov (United States)

Ito, Koichi; Ohta, Akio; Kurosawa, Masashi; Araidai, Masaaki; Ikeda, Mitsuhisa; Makihara, Katsunori; Miyazaki, Seiichi

2018-06-01

The growth of a two-dimensional crystal of Ge atoms on an atomically flat Ag(111) surface has been demonstrated by the thermal annealing of a heteroepitaxial Ag/Ge structure in N2 ambient at atmospheric pressure. The surface morphology and chemical bonding features of heteroepitaxial Ag(111) grown on wet-cleaned Ge(111) after annealing at different temperatures and for various times have been systematically investigated to control the surface segregation of Ge atoms and the planarization of the heteroepitaxial Ag(111) surface.

Sleep for Kids: Games and Puzzles

Science.gov (United States)

... and puzzles can help you learn more about sleep! Learn about sleep with this fun crossword puzzle! Test your memory and learn how to get better sleep! Find the hidden sleep words! Avoid things that ...

Phthalate Puzzle

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. The most common plasticizer, phthalates, are facing stricterregulations due to their omnipresence and possible effects onhuman health, and environment. But high cost, lack of applicationrange, and unknown long-term effects of non-phthalatealternatives make the scenario puzzling.

Musings on the puzzle piece.

Science.gov (United States)

Goin-Kochel, Robin P

2016-02-01

Following is a brief musing on Roy Grinker's discussion of what the puzzle piece symbolizes for autism during his presentation at the 2015 International Meeting for Autism Research. In his words, "The puzzle piece is ubiquitous." It likely holds a different meaning for each of us, and this is how one autism researcher sees it. © The Author(s) 2015.

Imaginary Cubes and Their Puzzles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hideki Tsuiki

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Imaginary cubes are three dimensional objects which have square silhouette projections in three orthogonal ways just as a cube has. In this paper, we study imaginary cubes and present assembly puzzles based on them. We show that there are 16 equivalence classes of minimal convex imaginary cubes, among whose representatives are a hexagonal bipyramid imaginary cube and a triangular antiprism imaginary cube. Our main puzzle is to put three of the former and six of the latter pieces into a cube-box with an edge length of twice the size of the original cube. Solutions of this puzzle are based on remarkable properties of these two imaginary cubes, in particular, the possibility of tiling 3D Euclidean space.

Hadronic decay puzzle in charmonium physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu Yifan

1996-01-01

Recent experimental results obtained at Beijing Electron-proton Collider sensitivity level the crisply defined nature of the hadronic decay puzzle in charmonium physics. Discovery of new anomalous decay modes breaks with the previously established pattern of the puzzle, and poses new challenges for its theoretical understanding

PSQP: Puzzle Solving by Quadratic Programming.

Science.gov (United States)

Andalo, Fernanda A; Taubin, Gabriel; Goldenstein, Siome

2017-02-01

In this article we present the first effective method based on global optimization for the reconstruction of image puzzles comprising rectangle pieces-Puzzle Solving by Quadratic Programming (PSQP). The proposed novel mathematical formulation reduces the problem to the maximization of a constrained quadratic function, which is solved via a gradient ascent approach. The proposed method is deterministic and can deal with arbitrary identical rectangular pieces. We provide experimental results showing its effectiveness when compared to state-of-the-art approaches. Although the method was developed to solve image puzzles, we also show how to apply it to the reconstruction of simulated strip-shredded documents, broadening its applicability.

The Magnets Puzzle is NP-Complete

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kölker, Jonas

2012-01-01

In a Magnets puzzle, one must pack magnets in a box subjet to polarity and numeric constraints. We show that solvability of Magnets instances is NP-complete.......In a Magnets puzzle, one must pack magnets in a box subjet to polarity and numeric constraints. We show that solvability of Magnets instances is NP-complete....

Blood Type Puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Janet

1997-01-01

Presents a blood type puzzle that provides a visual, hands-on mechanism by which students can examine blood group reactions. Offers students an opportunity to construct their own knowledge about blood types. (JRH)

Early puzzle play: a predictor of preschoolers' spatial transformation skill.

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, Susan C; Ratliff, Kristin R; Huttenlocher, Janellen; Cannon, Joanna

2012-03-01

Individual differences in spatial skill emerge prior to kindergarten entry. However, little is known about the early experiences that may contribute to these differences. The current study examined the relation between children's early puzzle play and their spatial skill. Children and parents (n = 53) were observed at home for 90 min every 4 months (6 times) between 2 and 4 years of age (26 to 46 months). When children were 4 years 6 months old, they completed a spatial task involving mental transformations of 2-dimensional shapes. Children who were observed playing with puzzles performed better on this task than those who did not, controlling for parent education, income, and overall parent word types. Moreover, among those children who played with puzzles, frequency of puzzle play predicted performance on the spatial transformation task. Although the frequency of puzzle play did not differ for boys and girls, the quality of puzzle play (a composite of puzzle difficulty, parent engagement, and parent spatial language) was higher for boys than for girls. In addition, variation in puzzle play quality predicted performance on the spatial transformation task for girls but not for boys. Implications of these findings as well as future directions for research on the role of puzzle play in the development of spatial skill are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Early Puzzle Play: A predictor of preschoolers’ spatial transformation skill

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, S.C.; Ratliff, K.R.; Huttenlocher, J.; Cannon, J.

2011-01-01

Individual differences in spatial skill emerge prior to kindergarten entry. However, little is known about the early experiences that may contribute to these differences. The current study examines the relation between children’s early puzzle play and their spatial skill. Children and parents (n = 53) were observed at home for 90 minutes every four months (six times) between 2 and 4 years of age (26 to 46 months). When children were 4 years 6 months old, they completed a spatial task involving mental transformations of 2D shapes. Children who were observed playing with puzzles performed better on this task than those who did not, controlling for parent education, income, and overall parent word types. Moreover, among those children who played with puzzles, frequency of puzzle play predicted performance on the spatial transformation task. Although the frequency of puzzle play did not differ for boys and girls, the quality of puzzle play (a composite of puzzle difficulty, parent engagement, and parent spatial language) was higher for boys than girls. In addition, variation in puzzle play quality predicted performance on the spatial transformation task for girls but not boys. Implications of these findings as well as future directions for research on the role of the role of puzzle play in the development of spatial skill are discussed. PMID:22040312

Deductive Puzzling

Science.gov (United States)

Wanko, Jeffrey J.

2010-01-01

To help fifth- through eighth-grade students develop their deductive reasoning skills, the author used a ten-week supplementary curriculum so that students could answer logic questions. The curriculum, a series of lessons built around language-independent logic puzzles, has been used in classrooms of fifth through eighth grades. In most cases,…

Puzzle Pedagogy: A Use of Riddles in Mathematics Education

Science.gov (United States)

Farnell, Elin

2017-01-01

In this article, I present a collection of puzzles appropriate for use in a variety of undergraduate courses, along with suggestions for relevant discussion. Logic puzzles and riddles have long been sources of amusement for mathematicians and the general public alike. I describe the use of puzzles in a classroom setting, and argue for their use as…

Famous puzzles of great mathematicians

CERN Document Server

Petković, Miodrag S

2009-01-01

This entertaining book presents a collection of 180 famous mathematical puzzles and intriguing elementary problems that great mathematicians have posed, discussed, and/or solved. The selected problems do not require advanced mathematics, making this book accessible to a variety of readers. Mathematical recreations offer a rich playground for both amateur and professional mathematicians. Believing that creative stimuli and aesthetic considerations are closely related, great mathematicians from ancient times to the present have always taken an interest in puzzles and diversions. The goal of this

Difficult Sudoku Puzzles Created by Replica Exchange Monte Carlo Method

OpenAIRE

Watanabe, Hiroshi

2013-01-01

An algorithm to create difficult Sudoku puzzles is proposed. An Ising spin-glass like Hamiltonian describing difficulty of puzzles is defined, and difficult puzzles are created by minimizing the energy of the Hamiltonian. We adopt the replica exchange Monte Carlo method with simultaneous temperature adjustments to search lower energy states efficiently, and we succeed in creating a puzzle which is the world hardest ever created in our definition, to our best knowledge. (Added on Mar. 11, the ...

CROSSWORD PUZZLE INCREASE ATTENTION OF CHILDREN WITH ADHD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ah. Yusuf

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Attention deficit is one of three main problems of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD. Children experience difficulty of paying attention and concentrating to one or more things or objects. As a results these children cannot perform the task well. Crossword puzzle is one of games that may increase attention and concentration. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of crossword puzzle to increase attention of children with ADHD. Method: Pre-experimental design was employed in this study. The population was ADHD students in Cakra Autisme Therapy. Seven students were recruited by means of purposive sampling. The independent variable was crossword puzzle and the dependent variable was the increase of attention. Data were collected using observation sheet and analyzed using Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test with level of significance of α≤ 0.05. Result: Result showed that crossword puzzle could increase attention. Respondent’s attention improved from less to good attention, particularly in playing activities (p=0.014. Analysis: This finding suggests that there was differences of attention between pre and post-test. It can be concluded that crossword puzzle can increase attention of the students with ADHD. Discussion: It is recommended for teachers and parents of ADHD children to give them crossword puzzle game everyday at school or at home. Further studies should involve larger sample size and employs another game not only to increase attention, but also reduce hyperactivity and impulsivity of ADHD child.

Evaluation of the three-nucleon analyzing power puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tornow, W.; Witala, H.

1998-01-01

The current status of the three-nucleon analyzing power puzzle is reviewed. Applying tight constraints on the allowed deviations between calculated predictions and accepted values for relevant nucleon-nucleon observables reveals that energy independent correction factors applied to the 3 P j nucleon-nucleon interactions can not solve the puzzle. Furthermore, using the same constraints, charge-independence breaking in the 3 P j nucleon-nucleon interactions can be ruled out as a possible tool to improve the agreement between three-nucleon calculations and data. The study of the energy dependence of the three-nucleon analyzing power puzzle gives clear evidence that the 3 P j nucleon-nucleon interaction obtained from phase-shift analyses and used in potential models are correct above about 25 MeV, i.e., the 3 P j nucleon-nucleon interactions have to be modified only at lower energies in order to solve the three-nucleon analyzing power puzzle, unless new three-nucleon forces can be found that account for the three-nucleon analyzing power puzzle without destroying the beautiful agreement between rigorous three-nucleon calculations and a large body of accurate three-nucleon data. (orig.)

Evaluation of the three-nucleon analyzing power puzzle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tornow, W. [Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States). Dept. of Physics]|[Triangle Univ. Nuclear Lab., Durham, NC (United States); Witala, H. [Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, Cracow (Poland). Inst. Fizyki

1998-07-20

The current status of the three-nucleon analyzing power puzzle is reviewed. Applying tight constraints on the allowed deviations between calculated predictions and accepted values for relevant nucleon-nucleon observables reveals that energy independent correction factors applied to the {sup 3}P{sub j} nucleon-nucleon interactions can not solve the puzzle. Furthermore, using the same constraints, charge-independence breaking in the {sup 3}P{sub j} nucleon-nucleon interactions can be ruled out as a possible tool to improve the agreement between three-nucleon calculations and data. The study of the energy dependence of the three-nucleon analyzing power puzzle gives clear evidence that the {sup 3}P{sub j} nucleon-nucleon interaction obtained from phase-shift analyses and used in potential models are correct above about 25 MeV, i.e., the {sup 3}P{sub j} nucleon-nucleon interactions have to be modified only at lower energies in order to solve the three-nucleon analyzing power puzzle, unless new three-nucleon forces can be found that account for the three-nucleon analyzing power puzzle without destroying the beautiful agreement between rigorous three-nucleon calculations and a large body of accurate three-nucleon data. (orig.) 18 refs.

A Resolution of the Purchasing Power Parity Puzzle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frydman, Roman; Goldberg, Michael D.; Johansen, Søren

Asset prices undergo long swings that revolve around benchmark levels. In currency markets, fluctuations involve real exchange rates that are highly persistent and that move in near-parallel fashion with nominal rates. The inability to explain these two regularities with one model has been called...... the "Purchasing Power Parity puzzle". In this paper, we trace the puzzle to exchange rate modelers' use of the "Rational Expectations Hypothesis". We show that once imperfect knowledge is recognized, a monetary model is able to account for the puzzle, as well as other salient features of the data, including...

Algorithmic Puzzles: History, Taxonomies, and Applications in Human Problem Solving

Science.gov (United States)

Levitin, Anany

2017-01-01

The paper concerns an important but underappreciated genre of algorithmic puzzles, explaining what these puzzles are, reviewing milestones in their long history, and giving two different ways to classify them. Also covered are major applications of algorithmic puzzles in cognitive science research, with an emphasis on insight problem solving, and…

Idiosyncratic Volatility Puzzle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aslanidis, Nektarios; Christiansen, Charlotte; Lambertides, Neophytos

from a large pool of macroeconomic and Önancial variables. Cleaning for macro-Önance e§ects reverses the puzzling negative relation between returns and idiosyncratic volatility documented previously. Portfolio analysis shows that the e§ects from macro-Önance factors are economically strong...

Teaching the Blue-Eyed Islanders Puzzle in a Liberal Arts Mathematics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Shea, Stephen

2012-01-01

The blue-eyed islanders puzzle is an old and challenging logic puzzle. This is a narrative of an experience introducing a variation of this puzzle on the first day of classes in a liberal arts mathematics course for non-majors. I describe an exercise that was used to facilitate the class's understanding of the puzzle.

Sampling Random Bioinformatics Puzzles using Adaptive Probability Distributions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Have, Christian Theil; Appel, Emil Vincent; Bork-Jensen, Jette

2016-01-01

We present a probabilistic logic program to generate an educational puzzle that introduces the basic principles of next generation sequencing, gene finding and the translation of genes to proteins following the central dogma in biology. In the puzzle, a secret "protein word" must be found by asse...

Incomplete Puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

2006-01-01

15 April 2006 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a mid-summer view of a portion of the south polar residual cap of Mars. The large, relatively flat-lying, puzzle-like pieces in this scene are mesas composed largely of solid carbon dioxide. Location near: 85.5oS, 76.8oW Image width: 3 km (1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Summer

Three Modes of Hydrogeophysical Investigation: Puzzles, Mysteries, and Conundrums

Science.gov (United States)

Ferre, P. A.

2011-12-01

In an article in the New Yorker in 2007, Malcolm Gladwell discussed the distinction that national security expert Gregory Treverton has made between puzzles and mysteries. Specifically, puzzles are problems that we understand and that will eventually be solved when we amass enough information. (Think crossword puzzles.) Mysteries are problems for which we have the necessary information, but it is often overwhelmed by irrelevant or misleading input. To solve a mystery, we require improved analysis. (Think find-a-word.) Gladwell goes on to explain that, in the national security realm, the Cold War was a puzzle while the current national security condition is a mystery. I will discuss the past, current, and future trajectories of hydrogeophysics in terms of puzzles and mysteries. I will also add a third class of problem: conundrums - those for which we lack sufficient information about their structure to know how to solve them. A conundrum is a mystery with an unexpected twist. I hope to make the case that the future growth of hydrogeophysics lies in our ability to address this more challenging and more interesting class of problem.

Real exchange rate persistence and the excess return puzzle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juselius, Katarina; Assenmacher, Katrin

2017-01-01

The PPP puzzle refers to the wide swings of nominal exchange rates around their long-run equilibrium values whereas the excess return puzzle represents the persistent deviation of the domestic-foreign interest rate differential from the expected change in the nominal exchange rate. Using the I(2......) cointegrated VAR model, much of the excess return puzzle disappears when an uncertainty premium in the foreign exchange market, proxied by the persistent PPP gap, is introduced. Self-reinforcing feedback mechanisms seem to cause the persistence in the Swiss-US parity conditions. These results support imperfect...

A Puzzle Used to Teach the Cardiac Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Marcondes, Fernanda K.; Moura, Maria J. C. S.; Sanches, Andrea; Costa, Rafaela; Oliveira de Lima, Patricia; Groppo, Francisco Carlos; Amaral, Maria E. C.; Zeni, Paula; Gaviao, Kelly Cristina; Montrezor, Luís H.

2015-01-01

The aim of the present article is to describe a puzzle developed for use in teaching cardiac physiology classes. The puzzle presents figures of phases of the cardiac cycle and a table with five columns: phases of cardiac cycle, atrial state, ventricular state, state of atrioventricular valves, and pulmonary and aortic valves. Chips are provided…

The B→πK puzzle and supersymmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imbeault, Maxime; Baek, Seungwon; London, David

2008-01-01

At present, there are discrepancies between the measurements of several observables in B→πK decays and the predictions of the Standard Model (the 'B→πK puzzle'). Although the effect is not yet statistically significant-it is at the level of ≥3σ-it does hint at the presence of new physics. In this Letter, we explore whether supersymmetry (SUSY) can explain the B→πK puzzle. In particular, we consider the SUSY model of Grossman, Neubert and Kagan (GNK). We find that it is extremely unlikely that GNK explains the B→πK data. We also find a similar conclusion in many other models of SUSY. And there are serious criticisms of the two SUSY models that do reproduce the B→πK data. If the B→πK puzzle remains, it could pose a problem for SUSY models

The Entrepreneurial Earnings Puzzle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, Jing; Åstebro, Thomas

2014-01-01

A review of recent evidence on relative earnings from entrepreneurship versus wage work presents a puzzle: why do individuals become entrepreneurs when entrepreneurs on average apparently earn less than employees? After considering several potential explanations, we empirically analyze one: income...

Decoding Codewords: Statistical Analysis of a Newspaper Puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Meacock, Susan; Meacock, Geoff

2012-01-01

In recent years English newspapers have started featuring a number of puzzles other than the ubiquitous crossword. Many of the puzzles are of Japanese origin such as Sudoku, Kakuro or Hidato. However, one recent one is very English and is called variously Cross-code, Alphapuzzle or some other name. In this article, it will be known as Codeword.…

Bringing together evolution on serpentine and polyploidy: spatiotemporal history of the diploid-tetraploid complex of Knautia arvensis (Dipsacaceae.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filip Kolář

Full Text Available Polyploidization is one of the leading forces in the evolution of land plants, providing opportunities for instant speciation and rapid gain of evolutionary novelties. Highly selective conditions of serpentine environments act as an important evolutionary trigger that can be involved in various speciation processes. Whereas the significance of both edaphic speciation on serpentine and polyploidy is widely acknowledged in plant evolution, the links between polyploid evolution and serpentine differentiation have not yet been examined. To fill this gap, we investigated the evolutionary history of the perennial herb Knautia arvensis (Dipsacaceae, a diploid-tetraploid complex that exhibits an intriguing pattern of eco-geographic differentiation. Using plastid DNA sequencing and AFLP genotyping of 336 previously cytotyped individuals from 40 populations from central Europe, we unravelled the patterns of genetic variation among the cytotypes and the edaphic types. Diploids showed the highest levels of genetic differentiation, likely as a result of long term persistence of several lineages in ecologically distinct refugia and/or independent immigration. Recurrent polyploidization, recorded in one serpentine island, seems to have opened new possibilities for the local serpentine genotype. Unlike diploids, the serpentine tetraploids were able to escape from the serpentine refugium and spread further; this was also attributable to hybridization with the neighbouring non-serpentine tetraploid lineages. The spatiotemporal history of K. arvensis allows tracing the interplay of polyploid evolution and ecological divergence on serpentine, resulting in a complex evolutionary pattern. Isolated serpentine outcrops can act as evolutionary capacitors, preserving distinct karyological and genetic diversity. The serpentine lineages, however, may not represent evolutionary 'dead-ends' but rather dynamic systems with a potential to further influence the surrounding

Making Peer-Assisted Content Distribution Robust to Collusion Using Bandwidth Puzzles

Science.gov (United States)

Reiter, Michael K.; Sekar, Vyas; Spensky, Chad; Zhang, Zhenghao

Many peer-assisted content-distribution systems reward a peer based on the amount of data that this peer serves to others. However, validating that a peer did so is, to our knowledge, an open problem; e.g., a group of colluding attackers can earn rewards by claiming to have served content to one another, when they have not. We propose a puzzle mechanism to make contribution-aware peer-assisted content distribution robust to such collusion. Our construction ties solving the puzzle to possession of specific content and, by issuing puzzle challenges simultaneously to all parties claiming to have that content, our mechanism prevents one content-holder from solving many others' puzzles. We prove (in the random oracle model) the security of our scheme, describe our integration of bandwidth puzzles into a media streaming system, and demonstrate the resulting attack resilience via simulations.

Current puzzles and future possibilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagamiya, S.

1982-02-01

Four current puzzles and several future experimental possibilities in high-energy nuclear collision research are discussed. These puzzles are (1) entropy, (2) hydrodynamic flow, (3) anomalon, and (4) particle emission at backward angles in proton-nucleus collisions. The last one seems not to be directly related to the subject of the present school. But it is, because particle emission into the region far beyond the nucleon-nucleon kinematical limit is an interesting subject common for both proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions, and the basic mechanism involved is strongly related in these two cases. Future experimental possibilities are described which include: (1) possibilities of studying multibaryonic excited states, (2) applications of neutron-rich isotopes, and (3) other needed experimental tasks. 72 references

Crossword Puzzles as Learning Tools in Introductory Soil Science

Science.gov (United States)

Barbarick, K. A.

2010-01-01

Students in introductory courses generally respond favorably to novel approaches to learning. To this end, I developed and used three crossword puzzles in spring and fall 2009 semesters in Introductory Soil Science Laboratory at Colorado State University. The first hypothesis was that crossword puzzles would improve introductory soil science…

Teaching Proofs and Algorithms in Discrete Mathematics with Online Visual Logic Puzzles

Science.gov (United States)

Cigas, John; Hsin, Wen-Jung

2005-01-01

Visual logic puzzles provide a fertile environment for teaching multiple topics in discrete mathematics. Many puzzles can be solved by the repeated application of a small, finite set of strategies. Explicitly reasoning from a strategy to a new puzzle state illustrates theorems, proofs, and logic principles. These provide valuable, concrete…

Puzzles in B physics

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics; Volume 67; Issue 5. Puzzles in physics. Hsiang-Nan Li ... Author Affiliations. Hsiang-Nan Li1 2. Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 115, Republic of China; Department of Physics, National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan 701, Republic of China ...

La Francophonie. Puzzle Corner.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrews, Ian A.

2000-01-01

Discusses the organization La Francophonie, which is an international community of people who speak French and convene to address issues. Presents a crossword puzzle that introduces readers to some of the nations involved in La Francophonie. Provides the across and down clues, a word list, and answer key. (CMK)

Puzzling through General Chemistry: A Light-Hearted Approach to Engaging Students with Chemistry Content

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, Susan L.

2007-01-01

Several puzzles are designed to be used by chemistry students as learning tools and teach them basic chemical concepts. The topics of the puzzles are based on the chapters from Chemistry, The Central Science used in general chemistry course and the puzzles are in various forms like crosswords, word searches, number searches, puzzles based on…

The Clock Is Ticking: Library Orientation as Puzzle Room

Science.gov (United States)

Reade, Tripp

2017-01-01

Tripp Reade is the school librarian at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. This article describes how he redesigned his school's library orientation program after learning about escape rooms and a variant known as puzzle rooms. Puzzle rooms present players with a set of challenges to solve; they require "teamwork,…

Puzzle-Based Learning in Engineering Mathematics: Students' Attitudes

Science.gov (United States)

Klymchuk, Sergiy

2017-01-01

The article reports on the results of two case studies on the impact of the regular use of puzzles as a pedagogical strategy in the teaching and learning of engineering mathematics. The intention of using puzzles is to engage students' emotions, creativity and curiosity and also to enhance their generic thinking skills and lateral thinking…

On IBM's Millennial Puzzle

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 5; Issue 10. On IBM's Millennial Puzzle. A Sarangarajan. Classroom Volume 5 Issue 10 October 2000 pp 81-89. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link: https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/005/10/0081-0089. Author Affiliations.

Robust Sex Differences in Jigsaw Puzzle Solving-Are Boys Really Better in Most Visuospatial Tasks?

Science.gov (United States)

Kocijan, Vid; Horvat, Marina; Majdic, Gregor

2017-01-01

Sex differences are consistently reported in different visuospatial tasks with men usually performing better in mental rotation tests while women are better on tests for memory of object locations. In the present study, we investigated sex differences in solving jigsaw puzzles in children. In total 22 boys and 24 girls were tested using custom build tablet application representing a jigsaw puzzle consisting of 25 pieces and featuring three different pictures. Girls outperformed boys in solving jigsaw puzzles regardless of the picture. Girls were faster than boys in solving the puzzle, made less incorrect moves with the pieces of the puzzle, and spent less time moving the pieces around the tablet. It appears that the strategy of solving the jigsaw puzzle was the main factor affecting differences in success, as girls tend to solve the puzzle more systematically while boys performed more trial and error attempts, thus having more incorrect moves with the puzzle pieces. Results of this study suggest a very robust sex difference in solving the jigsaw puzzle with girls outperforming boys by a large margin.

Robust Sex Differences in Jigsaw Puzzle Solving—Are Boys Really Better in Most Visuospatial Tasks?

Science.gov (United States)

Kocijan, Vid; Horvat, Marina; Majdic, Gregor

2017-01-01

Sex differences are consistently reported in different visuospatial tasks with men usually performing better in mental rotation tests while women are better on tests for memory of object locations. In the present study, we investigated sex differences in solving jigsaw puzzles in children. In total 22 boys and 24 girls were tested using custom build tablet application representing a jigsaw puzzle consisting of 25 pieces and featuring three different pictures. Girls outperformed boys in solving jigsaw puzzles regardless of the picture. Girls were faster than boys in solving the puzzle, made less incorrect moves with the pieces of the puzzle, and spent less time moving the pieces around the tablet. It appears that the strategy of solving the jigsaw puzzle was the main factor affecting differences in success, as girls tend to solve the puzzle more systematically while boys performed more trial and error attempts, thus having more incorrect moves with the puzzle pieces. Results of this study suggest a very robust sex difference in solving the jigsaw puzzle with girls outperforming boys by a large margin. PMID:29109682

What do we learn from the ρ-π puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Xueqian

2010-01-01

The experimental observation indicates that the branching ratio of ψ' →ρπ is very small while the ρ-π channel is a main one in J/ψ decays. To understand the puzzle, various interpretations have been proposed. Meanwhile according to the hadronic helicity selection rule, this decay mode should be suppressed. Numerical calculations are needed to determine how it is suppressed.We calculate the branching ratios of J/ψ→ρπ and ππ in the framework of QCD. The results show that the branching ratios are proportional to [(m u +m d )/(M J/ψ )] 2 for the ρπ mode and [(m u -m d )/(m J/ψ )] 2 for the ππ mode which is isospin violated. The theoretical prediction of the ratio of J/ψ → ρπ is smaller than data, but not too small to invoke a completely new mechanism. Thus the puzzle is still standing even though we learn much knowledge towards the puzzle and this will help to finally interpret the puzzle and then gain a deeper insight to the heavy quarkonia. (author)

Lepton mixing and the ''solar neutrino puzzle''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilenky, S.M.; Pontecorvo, B.

1977-01-01

The results of the well known solar neutrino experiment of Davis et al. are discussed, in which the Cl-Ar method is used. The result of the experiment, a too small neutrino signal (the so-called ''solar neutrino puzzle'), has been tentatively accounted for in a number of quite exotic explanations. It appears that the explanation in terms of lepton mixing and neutrino sterility is quite attractive from the point of view of present day elementary particle physics and is much more natural than the other explanations of the ''puzzle''

International trade network: fractal properties and globalization puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Karpiarz, Mariusz; Fronczak, Piotr; Fronczak, Agata

2014-12-12

Globalization is one of the central concepts of our age. The common perception of the process is that, due to declining communication and transport costs, distance becomes less and less important. However, the distance coefficient in the gravity model of trade, which grows in time, indicates that the role of distance increases rather than decreases. This, in essence, captures the notion of the globalization puzzle. Here, we show that the fractality of the international trade system (ITS) provides a simple solution for the puzzle. We argue that the distance coefficient corresponds to the fractal dimension of ITS. We provide two independent methods, the box counting method and spatial choice model, which confirm this statement. Our results allow us to conclude that the previous approaches to solving the puzzle misinterpreted the meaning of the distance coefficient in the gravity model of trade.

Distress risk and leverage puzzles: Evidence from Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kung-Cheng Ho

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Financial distress has been invoked in the asset pricing literature to explain the anomalous patterns in the cross-section of stock returns. The risk of financial distress can be measured using indexes. George and Hwang (2010 suggest that leverage can explain the distress risk puzzle and that firms with high costs choose low leverage to reduce distress intensities and earn high returns. This study investigates whether this relationship exists in the Taiwan market. When examined separately, distress intensity is found to be negatively related to stock returns, but leverage is found to not be significantly related to stock returns. The results are the same when distress intensity and leverage are examined simultaneously. After assessing the robustness by using O-scores, distress risk puzzle is found to exist in the Taiwan market, but the leverage puzzle is not

Stateless Puzzles for Real Time Online Fraud Preemption

OpenAIRE

Rahman, Mizanur; Recabarren, Ruben; Carbunar, Bogdan; Lee, Dongwon

2017-01-01

The profitability of fraud in online systems such as app markets and social networks marks the failure of existing defense mechanisms. In this paper, we propose FraudSys, a real-time fraud preemption approach that imposes Bitcoin-inspired computational puzzles on the devices that post online system activities, such as reviews and likes. We introduce and leverage several novel concepts that include (i) stateless, verifiable computational puzzles, that impose minimal performance overhead, but e...

Studying the proton 'radius' puzzle with μp elastic scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilman, R.

2013-01-01

The disagreement between the proton radius determined from muonic hydrogen and from electronic measurements is called the proton radius puzzle. The resolution of the puzzle remains unclear and appears to require new experimental results. An experiment to measure muon-proton elastic scattering is presented here

The Effect of Monetary Policy on Exchange Rates : How to Solve the Puzzles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kumah, F.Y.

1996-01-01

Recent empirical research on the effects of monetary policy shocks on exchange rate fluctuations have encountered the exchange rate puzzle and th e forward discount bias puzzle.The exchange rate puzzle is the tendency of the domestic currency (of non-US G-7 countries) to depreciate against the US

THE EQUITY PREMIUM PUZZLE AND EMOTIONAL ASSET PRICING

OpenAIRE

MARC GÜRTLER; NORA HARTMANN

2007-01-01

"Since the equity premium as well as the risk-free rate puzzle question the concepts central to financial and economic modeling, we apply behavioral decision theory to asset pricing in view of solving these puzzles. U.S. stock market data for the period 1960-2003 and German stock market data for the period 1977-2003 show that emotional investors who act in accordance to Bell's (1985) disappointment theory -a special case of prospect theory- and additionally administer mental accounts demand a...

The π+-emission puzzle in 4ΛHe decay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibson, B.F.; Timmermans, R.G.E.

1998-01-01

We re-examine the puzzling π + emission from the weak decay of 4 Λ He and propose an explanation in terms of a three-body decay of the virtual Σ + . Such a resolution of the π + decay puzzle is consistent with the calculated Σ + probability in light Λ hypernuclei as well as the experimentally observed π + energy spectrum and s-wave angular distribution. (orig.)

METODE BERMAIN PUZZLE BERPENGARUH PADA PERKEMBANGAN MOTORIK HALUS ANAK USIA PRASEKOLAH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lilis Maghfuroh

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Pre-school is a period to increase fine motor development of children. This research aims to determine the increasing of fine motor development using the puzzle for preschoolers. his research is using one-group pre-post test design without control and procedures for statistical analysis through Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test with a confidence level of 95% and α: 5%. The subjects of this study were 40 children. The results of the analysis showed that there was effect of the intervention method by playing puzzle through the development of fine motor skills at pre-school children in mind that the value of Z sign p = 0.001 where significant value of p <0.05. Puzzle play method can improve child language development. The results of this research can be used as the basic for doing the puzzles therapy in children because it can improve fine motor skills development of children. Masa prasekolah merupakan masa peningkatan perkembangan motorik halus. Motorik halus adalah gerakan yang dilakukan oleh sekelompok otot-otot kecil seperti jari-jemari. Pada survey awal hampir sebagian anak mengalami perkembangan motorik suspek. Penelitian ini untuk mengetahui pengaruh metode puzzle terhadap perkembangan motorik halus anak pra sekolah. Penelitian ini menggunakan one-group pra-post test design tanpa control dan analisis statistik menggunakan Uji Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test dengan tingkat  kepercayaan 95% dan α : 5%. Populasi penelitian 50 anak dan sample 40 anak dengan tehnik Simple Random Sampling. Setelah data terkumpul dengan menggunakan DDST selanjutnya dianalisa. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan ada pengaruh metode bermain puzzle terhadap perkembangan motorik halus diketahui p sign = 0,001 dimana nilai signifikan p < 0,05. Hasil penelitian ini dapat dijadikan dasar untuk melakukan terapi puzzle pada anak untuk meningkatkan perkembangan motorik halus anak.

Association of Crossword Puzzle Participation with Memory Decline in Persons Who Develop Dementia

Science.gov (United States)

Pillai, Jagan A.; Hall, Charles B.; Dickson, Dennis W.; Buschke, Herman; Lipton, Richard B.; Verghese, Joe

2013-01-01

Participation in cognitively stimulating leisure activities such as crossword puzzles may delay onset of the memory decline in the preclinical stages of dementia, possibly via its effect on improving cognitive reserve. We followed 488 initially cognitively intact community residing individuals with clinical and cognitive assessments every 12–18 months in the Bronx Aging Study. We assessed the influence of crossword puzzle participation on the onset of accelerated memory decline as measured by the Buschke Selective Reminding Test in 101 individuals who developed incident dementia using a change point model. Crossword puzzle participation at baseline delayed onset of accelerated memory decline by 2.54 years. Inclusion of education or participation in other cognitively stimulating activities did not significantly add to the fit of the model beyond the effect of puzzles. Our findings show that late life crossword puzzle participation, independent of education, was associated with delayed onset of memory decline in persons who developed dementia. Given the wide availability and accessibility of crossword puzzles, their role in preventing cognitive decline should be validated in future clinical trials. PMID:22040899

Nature's Greatest Puzzles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quigg, Chris

2005-01-01

It is a pleasure to be part of the SLAC Summer Institute again, not simply because it is one of the great traditions in our field, but because this is a moment of great promise for particle physics. I look forward to exploring many opportunities with you over the course of our two weeks together. My first task in talking about Nature's Greatest Puzzles, the title of this year's Summer Institute, is to deconstruct the premise a little bit

Construction-Paper Puzzle Masterpieces

Science.gov (United States)

Vance, Shelly

2010-01-01

Creating an appreciation of art history in her junior-high students has always been one of the author's greatest challenges as an art teacher. In this article, the author describes how her eighth-grade students re-created a famous work of art--piece by piece, like a puzzle or a stained-glass window--out of construction paper. (Contains 1 resource.)

The Ay puzzle and the nuclear force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hueber, D.

1999-01-01

The nucleon-deuteron analyzing power A y in elastic nucleon-deuteron scattering poses a longstanding puzzle. At energies E lab below approximately 30 MeV, A y cannot be described by any realistic NN force. The inclusion of existing three-nucleon forces does not improve the situation. Because of recent questions about the 3 P J NN phases, we examine whether reasonable changes in the NN force can resolve the puzzle. In order to do this, we investigate the effect on the 3 P J waves produced by changes in different parts of the potential (viz., the central force, tensor force, etc.), as well as on the 2-body observables and on A y . We find that it is not possible with reasonable changes in the NN potential to increase the 3-body A y , and at the same time to keep the 2-body observables unchanged. We therefore conclude that the A y puzzle is likely to be solved by new three-nucleon forces, such as those of spin-orbit type, which have not yet been taken into account. Refs. 7, tab. 1 (author)

The Ay puzzle and the nuclear force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hueber, D.; Friar, J.L.

1998-01-01

The nucleon-deuteron analyzing power A y in elastic nucleon-deuteron scattering poses a longstanding puzzle. At energies E lab below approximately 30 MeV A y cannot be described by any realistic nucleon-nucleon (NN) force. The inclusion of existing three-nucleon forces does not improve the situation. Because of recent questions about the 3 P J NN phases, we examine whether reasonable changes in the NN force can resolve the puzzle. In order to do this we investigate the effect on the 3 P J waves produced by changes in different parts of the potential (viz., the central force, tensor force, etc.), as well as on the two-body observables and on A y . We find that it is not possible with reasonable changes in the NN potential to increase the three-body A y and at the same time to keep the two-body observables unchanged. We therefore conclude that the A y puzzle is likely to be solved by new three-nucleon forces, such as those of the spin-orbit type, which have not yet been taken into account. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

An Alternative Evaluation: Online Puzzle as a Course-End Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Genç, Zülfü; Aydemir, Emrah

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine whether the use of online puzzles in the instructional process has an effect on student achievement and learning retention. This study examined students ' perception and experiences on use of puzzle as an alternative evaluation tool. To achieve this aim, the following hypotheses were tested: using…

Teaching Inductive Reasoning with Puzzles

Science.gov (United States)

Wanko, Jeffrey J.

2017-01-01

Working with language-independent logic structures can help students develop both inductive and deductive reasoning skills. The Japanese publisher Nikoli (with resources available both in print and online) produces a treasure trove of language-independent logic puzzles. The Nikoli print resources are mostly in Japanese, creating the extra…

NICHD Research Networks Help Piece Together the Puzzle of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Science.gov (United States)

... Print NICHD research networks help piece together the puzzle of polycystic ovary syndrome Many people think that ... more like putting together a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle. Except that you can’t check the cover ...

On Non-Parallelizable Deterministic Client Puzzle Scheme with Batch Verification Modes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tang, Qiang; Jeckmans, Arjan

A (computational) client puzzle scheme enables a client to prove to a server that a certain amount of computing resources (CPU cycles and/or Memory look-ups) has been dedicated to solve a puzzle. Researchers have identified a number of potential applications, such as constructing timed cryptography,

Lepton mixing and the 'solar neutrino puzzle'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilenky, S.M.; Pontecorvo, B.

1977-01-01

The results of the well-known solar neutrino experiments in which the Cl-Ar method was employed are discussed; the results of this experiment gave a too-small neutrino signal and were referred to as the 'solar neutrino puzzle'. A number of explanations have been offered to account for the results, but it is stated that the explanation in terms of lepton mixing and neutrino sterility is attractive in terms of present day elementary particle physics and much more natural than the other explanations offered. Headings are as follows: neutrino oscillations and lepton charge, oscillations and solar neutrino experiments, lepton mixing according to old and present ideas, neutrino oscillations and the 'solar neutrino puzzle'. (U.K.)

The impact of memory load and perceptual cues on puzzle learning by 24-month olds.

Science.gov (United States)

Barr, Rachel; Moser, Alecia; Rusnak, Sylvia; Zimmermann, Laura; Dickerson, Kelly; Lee, Herietta; Gerhardstein, Peter

2016-11-01

Early childhood is characterized by memory capacity limitations and rapid perceptual and motor development [Rovee-Collier (1996). Infant Behavior & Development, 19, 385-400]. The present study examined 2-year olds' reproduction of a sliding action to complete an abstract fish puzzle under different levels of memory load and perceptual feature support. Experimental groups were compared to baseline controls to assess spontaneous rates of production of the target actions; baseline production was low across all experiments. Memory load was manipulated in Exp. 1 by adding pieces to the puzzle, increasing sequence length from 2 to 3 items, and to 3 items plus a distractor. Although memory load did not influence how toddlers learned to manipulate the puzzle pieces, it did influence toddlers' achievement of the goal-constructing the fish. Overall, girls were better at constructing the puzzle than boys. In Exp. 2, the perceptual features of the puzzle were altered by changing shape boundaries to create a two-piece horizontally cut puzzle (displaying bilateral symmetry), and by adding a semantically supportive context to the vertically cut puzzle (iconic). Toddlers were able to achieve the goal of building the fish equally well across the 2-item puzzle types (bilateral symmetry, vertical, iconic), but how they learned to manipulate the puzzle pieces varied as a function of the perceptual features. Here, as in Exp. 1, girls showed a different pattern of performance from the boys. This study demonstrates that changes in memory capacity and perceptual processing influence both goal-directed imitation learning and motoric performance. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

New data and an old puzzle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lee, S Hong; Byrne, Enda M; Hultman, Christina M

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: A long-standing epidemiological puzzle is the reduced rate of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in those with schizophrenia (SZ) and vice versa. Traditional epidemiological approaches to determine if this negative association is underpinned by genetic factors would test for reduced rates of one...

Manifestations of strain–relaxation in the structure of nano-sized Co-2 × 2 islands grown on Ag/Ge(111)-√3 × √3 surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Xiao-Lan; Tomaszewska, Agnieszka; Lin, Chun-Liang; Tsay, Sung-Lin; Chou, Chi-Hao; Fu, Tsu-Yi

2012-01-01

We have examined strain–relaxation of Co-2 × 2 islands grown on the Ag/Ge(111)-√3 × √3 surface by analyzing scanning tunneling microscopy images. We have found that the Co-2 × 2 islands commonly adopt a more compact arrangement as compared to that of the Ge(111) substrate, however they differ in a degree of an atomic compactness. We have not found a distinct relation between strain–relaxation and the island height. Three groups of islands have been identified upon analyzing a correspondence between strain–relaxation and the island size: (i) small islands (not bigger than 80 nm 2 ) with a high atomic compactness, displaying fixed inter-row distances, (ii) small islands with unfixed distances between atomic rows, and (iii) big islands (bigger than 80 nm 2 ) with fixed inter-row distances, but with a less compact atomic arrangement compared to that of the first two groups. We propose a model to account for the relation between the relaxation and the island size. - Highlights: ► We examine strain–relaxation of Co-2 × 2 islands grown on Ag/Ge(111)-√3 × √3 surface. ► The Co-2 × 2 islands are more compact as compared to the substrate. ► No relation between the relaxation and the island height. ► Atomic compactness and atomic order as manifestations of strain–relaxation.

Europe vs. the U.S. A New Look at the Syndicated Loan Pricing Puzzle

OpenAIRE

Burietz, Aurore; Oosterlinck, Kim; Szafarz, Ariane

2017-01-01

According to the syndicated loan pricing puzzle (Carey and Nini, Journal of Finance, 2007) interest rates charged to corporate borrowers are lower in Europe than in the U.S. Our investigation suggests that controlling for region-specific credit ratings makes the Europe-U.S. gap insignificant, and solves the puzzle. We speculate that the puzzle originates from the lack of uniformity of accounting standards.

Puzzle Imaging: Using Large-Scale Dimensionality Reduction Algorithms for Localization.

Science.gov (United States)

Glaser, Joshua I; Zamft, Bradley M; Church, George M; Kording, Konrad P

2015-01-01

Current high-resolution imaging techniques require an intact sample that preserves spatial relationships. We here present a novel approach, "puzzle imaging," that allows imaging a spatially scrambled sample. This technique takes many spatially disordered samples, and then pieces them back together using local properties embedded within the sample. We show that puzzle imaging can efficiently produce high-resolution images using dimensionality reduction algorithms. We demonstrate the theoretical capabilities of puzzle imaging in three biological scenarios, showing that (1) relatively precise 3-dimensional brain imaging is possible; (2) the physical structure of a neural network can often be recovered based only on the neural connectivity matrix; and (3) a chemical map could be reproduced using bacteria with chemosensitive DNA and conjugative transfer. The ability to reconstruct scrambled images promises to enable imaging based on DNA sequencing of homogenized tissue samples.

Puzzles in studies of quantum chaos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Gongou

1994-01-01

Puzzles in studies of quantum chaos are discussed. From the view of global properties of quantum states, it is clarified that quantum chaos originates from the break-down of invariant properties of quantum canonical transformations. There exist precise correspondences between quantum and classical chaos

The Closed-End Funds Puzzle: A Survey Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta Charrón

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The main objective of this paper is to explore the most salient research aimed at explaining the closed-end fund puzzle from both the traditional and behavioral finance perspectives. It provides a better understanding of closed-end fund behavior and motivates further research of closed-end funds, market efficiency, asset pricing and the traditional and behavioral finance paradigms. So far, none of the possible explanations from either traditional finance or behavioral finance have been able to fully account for the occurrence of the puzzle. It continues to be an important issue in the long standing debate between traditional finance and behavioral finance.

Puzzle based teaching versus traditional instruction in electrocardiogram interpretation for medical students--a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubinstein, Jack; Dhoble, Abhijeet; Ferenchick, Gary

2009-01-13

Most medical professionals are expected to possess basic electrocardiogram (EKG) interpretation skills. But, published data suggests that residents' and physicians' EKG interpretation skills are suboptimal. Learning styles differ among medical students; individualization of teaching methods has been shown to be viable and may result in improved learning. Puzzles have been shown to facilitate learning in a relaxed environment. The objective of this study was to assess efficacy of teaching puzzle in EKG interpretation skills among medical students. This is a reader blinded crossover trial. Third year medical students from College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University participated in this study. Two groups (n = 9) received two traditional EKG interpretation skills lectures followed by a standardized exam and two extra sessions with the teaching puzzle and a different exam. Two other groups (n = 6) received identical courses and exams with the puzzle session first followed by the traditional teaching. EKG interpretation scores on final test were used as main outcome measure. The average score after only traditional teaching was 4.07 +/- 2.08 while after only the puzzle session was 4.04 +/- 2.36 (p = 0.97). The average improvement after the traditional session was followed up with a puzzle session was 2.53 +/- 1.94 while the average improvement after the puzzle session was followed with the traditional session was 2.08 +/- 1.73 (p = 0.67). The final EKG exam score for this cohort (n = 15) was 84.1 compared to 86.6 (p = 0.22) for a comparable sample of medical students (n = 15) at a different campus. Teaching EKG interpretation with puzzles is comparable to traditional teaching and may be particularly useful for certain subgroups of students. Puzzle session are more interactive and relaxing, and warrant further investigations on larger scale.

JIGSAW PUZZLE IMPROVE FINE MOTOR ABILITIES OF UPPER EXTREMITIES IN POST-STROKE ISCHEMIC CLIENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kusnanto Kusnanto

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Ischemic stroke is a disease caused by focal cerebral ischemia, where is a decline in blood flow that needed for neuronal metabolism, leading to neurologic deficit include motor deficit such as fine motor skills impairment. Therapy of fine motor skills disorders is to improve motor function, prevent contractures and complications. These study aimed to identify the effect of playing Jigsaw Puzzle on muscle strength, extensive motion, and upper extremity fine motor skills in patients with ischemic stroke at Dr. Moewardi Hospital, Surakarta. Methods: Experimental Quasi pre-posttest one group control. The number of samples were 34 respondents selected using purposive sampling technique. The samples were divided into intervention and control groups. The intervention group was 17 respondents who were given standard treatment hospital and played Jigsaw Puzzle 2 times a day for six days. Control group is one respondent given by hospital standard therapy without given additional Jigsaw Puzzle game. Evaluation of these research is done on the first and seventh day for those groups. Result: The results showed that muscle strength, the range of joint motion and fine motor skills of upper extremities increased (p = 0.001 significantly after being given the Jigsaw Puzzle games. These means playing Jigsaw Puzzle increase muscle strength, the range of joint motion and upper extremity fine motor skill of ischemic stroke patients. Discussion and conclusion: Jigsaw puzzle game administration as additional rehabilitation therapy in upper extremity fine motor to minimize the occurrence of contractures and motor disorders in patients with ischemic stroke. Jigsaw puzzle game therapy capable of creating repetitive motion as a key of neurological rehabilitation in Ischemic Stroke. This study recommends using jigsaw puzzle game as one of intervention in the nursing care of Ischemic Stroke patients.

Puzzles in modern biology. I. Male sterility, failure reveals design [version 1; referees: 2 approved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven A. Frank

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Many human males produce dysfunctional sperm. Various plants frequently abort pollen. Hybrid matings often produce sterile males. Widespread male sterility is puzzling. Natural selection prunes reproductive failure. Puzzling failure implies something that we do not understand about how organisms are designed. Solving the puzzle reveals the hidden processes of design.

A puzzling aspect of the effect of advance notice on unemployment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Addision, John; Blackburn, McKinley L.

1995-01-01

Displaced male workers with generous periods of advance notice tend to move directly into reemployment faster than their non-notified counterparts but once unemployed tend to escape from unemployment much more slowly. We examine three potential explanations for this puzzle associated with unemplo......Displaced male workers with generous periods of advance notice tend to move directly into reemployment faster than their non-notified counterparts but once unemployed tend to escape from unemployment much more slowly. We examine three potential explanations for this puzzle associated...... with unemployment insurance, the endogeneity of notice, and differential search intensity. Of these alternatives, the evidence suggests that it is the additional but less productive search time during the notice interval that creates the appearance of a puzzle....

The infinity puzzle

CERN Document Server

Close, Frank

2011-01-01

We are living in a Golden Age of Physics. Forty or so years ago, three brilliant, yet little-known scientists - an American, a Dutchman, and an Englishman - made breakthroughs which later inspired the construction of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva: a 27 kilometer-long machine which has already costs ten billion dollars, taken twenty years to build, and now promises to reveal how the universe itself came to be. The Infinity Puzzle is the inside story of those forty years of research, breakthrough, and endeavour. Peter Higgs, Gerard 't Hooft and James Bjorken, were the three scienti

Bullet-Block Science Video Puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Shakur, Asif

2015-01-01

A science video blog, which has gone viral, shows a wooden block shot by a vertically aimed rifle. The video shows that the block hit dead center goes exactly as high as the one shot off-center. (Fig. 1). The puzzle is that the block shot off-center carries rotational kinetic energy in addition to the gravitational potential energy. This leads a…

The Puzzle of the Scandinavian Welfare State and Social Trust

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Gunnar Lind Haase; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

2015-01-01

The Scandinavian welfare model is a puzzle to economists: It works economically, even though free-riding should prevail with its explosive cocktail of high taxation and high social benefits. One overlooked solution to the puzzle could be the unique stock of social trust present in Scandinavia. Here......, the four Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland) form the top three with scores above 60 percent social trust on a ranking that covers 94 countries from all over the world....

Crossword Puzzle Makes It Fun: Introduce Green Manufacturing in Wood Technology Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Iley, John L.; Hague, Doug

2012-01-01

Sustainable, or "green," manufacturing and its practices are becoming more and more a part of today's industry, including wood product manufacturing. This article provides introductory information on green manufacturing in wood technology and a crossword puzzle based on green manufacturing terms. The authors use the puzzle at the college level to…

What Puzzles Teachers in Rio de janeiro, and What Keeps Them Going?

Science.gov (United States)

Lyra, Isolina; Fish, Solange; Braga, Walewska Gomes

2003-01-01

Focuses on the key mechanism of "puzzling" in Exploratory Practice (EP), a form of practitioner research, and the critical issue of sustainability in the context of volunteer teacher development work in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Investigated puzzles (concerns) of language teachers and grouped them into six categories; motivation, anxiety,…

Penyelesaian Masalah 8-Puzzle dengan Algoritma Steepest-Ascent Hill Climbing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Abraham

2016-03-01

Full Text Available 8 puzzle merupakan salah satu implementasi dari Artificial Intelegence. Dalam proses penyelesaiannya banyak terdapat algoritma-algoritma pencarian yang dapat diterapkan. Solusi 8 puzzle akan lebih cepat diperoleh jika digunakan prinsip array dengan variasi algoritma Steepest-Ascent Hill Climbing (Hill Climbing dengan memilih kemiringan yang paling tajam / curam dengan parameter heuristik posisi yang benar dan heuristik jarak serta dikombinasikan dengan LogList sebagai penyimpanan state state yang pernah dilalui untuk menanggulangi permasalah pada algoritma hill climbing itu sendiri dan terhindar dari looping state yang pernah dilalui. Metode-metode yang termasuk ke dalam teknik pencarian yang berdasarkan pada fungsi heuristik salah satu diantaranya adalah Hill Climbing, Best First Search, A* (A Bintang. Loglist merupakan tempat penyimpanan setiap kunjungan dari state-state puzzle yang telah dilakukan untuk menghindari looping atau pengulangan terhadap state yang pernah dilalui. Untuk menanggulangi permasalahan pada SteepestAscent Hill Climbing.

A Resolution of the Purchasing Power Parity Puzzle: Imperfect Knowledge and Long Swings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frydman, Roman; Goldberg, Michael D.; Johansen, Søren

2009-01-01

Asset prices undergo long swings that revolve around benchmark levels. In currency markets, fluctuations involve real exchange rates that are highly persistent and that move in near-parallel fashion with nominal rates. The inability to explain these two regularities with one model has been called...... the "purchasing power parity puzzle." In this paper, we trace the puzzle to exchange rate modelers' use of the "Rational Expectations Hypothesis." We show that once imperfect knowledge is recognized, a monetary model is able to account for the puzzle, as well as other salient features of the data, including...

Peelle's pertinent puzzle: Way of solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pronyaev, V.G.

2003-01-01

The effect of evident bias of evaluated data below the majority of experimental data observed in general least-squares model fitting of these data is called as Peelle's Pertinent Puzzle (PPP). Since the transformation of the central values is trivial, the solution by transformation of covariance matrices is deducted

An Empirical Evaluation of Puzzle-Based Learning as an Interest Approach for Teaching Introductory Computer Science

Science.gov (United States)

Merrick, K. E.

2010-01-01

This correspondence describes an adaptation of puzzle-based learning to teaching an introductory computer programming course. Students from two offerings of the course--with and without the puzzle-based learning--were surveyed over a two-year period. Empirical results show that the synthesis of puzzle-based learning concepts with existing course…

Supersymmetry, the flavour puzzle and rare B decays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Straub, David Michael

2010-01-01

The gauge hierarchy problem and the flavour puzzle belong to the most pressing open questions in the Standard Model of particle physics. Supersymmetry is arguably the most popular framework of physics beyond the Standard Model and provides an elegant solution to the gauge hierarchy problem; however, it aggravates the flavour puzzle. In the first part of this thesis, I discuss several approaches to address the flavour puzzle in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model and experimental tests thereof: supersymmetric grand unified theories with a unification of Yukawa couplings at high energies, theories with minimal flavour violation and additional sources of CP violation and theories with gauge mediation of supersymmetry breaking and a large ratio of Higgs vacuum expectation values. In the second part of the thesis, I discuss the phenomenology of two rare B meson decay modes which are promising probes of physics beyond the Standard Model: The exclusive B → K * l + l - decay, whose angular decay distribution will be studied at LHC and gives access to a large number of observables and the b→sνanti ν decays, which are in the focus of planned high-luminosity Super B factories. I discuss the predictions for these observables in the Standard Model and their sensitivity to New Physics. (orig.)

An overview of heavy quark energy loss puzzle at RHIC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Djordjevic, Magdalena

2006-01-01

We give a theoretical overview of the heavy quark tomography puzzle posed by recent non-photonic single electron data from central Au+Au collisions at √s = 200A GeV. We show that radiative energy loss mechanisms alone are not able to explain large single electron suppression data, as long as realistic parameter values are assumed. We argue that a combined collisional and radiative pQCD approach can solve a substantial part of the non-photonic single electron puzzle

Dissolving the Puzzle of Resultant Moral Luck.

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, Neil

The puzzle of resultant moral luck arises when we are disposed to think that an agent who caused a harm deserves to be blamed more than an otherwise identical agent who did not. One popular (but controversial) perspective on resultant moral luck explains our dispositions to produce different judgments with regard to the agents who feature in these cases as a product not of what they genuinely deserve but of our epistemic situation. On this account, there is no genuine resultant moral luck; there is only luck in what evidence becomes available to observers. In this paper, I develop an evolutionary account of our inclination to take the results of actions as evidence for the mental states of agents, thereby explaining why the resulting intuitions are recalcitrant to correction. The account explains why the puzzle of resultant moral luck arises: because our disposition to take the harms agents cause as evidence of their mental states can produce intuitions which conflict with those that arise when we examine agents' mental states without reference to the results of their actions. The account also helps to solve the puzzle of resultant moral luck, by providing a strong reason to ignore the intuitions caused by our disposition to regard actual harms as evidence of mental states. Since these intuitions arise using an unreliable proxy for agents' mental states, they ought to be trumped by more reliable evidence.

Jigsaw Puzzles As Cognitive Enrichment (PACE) - the effect of solving jigsaw puzzles on global visuospatial cognition in adults 50 years of age and older: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Fissler, Patrick; Küster, Olivia C; Loy, Laura S; Laptinskaya, Daria; Rosenfelder, Martin J; von Arnim, Christine A F; Kolassa, Iris-Tatjana

2017-09-06

Neurocognitive disorders are an important societal challenge and the need for early prevention is increasingly recognized. Meta-analyses show beneficial effects of cognitive activities on cognition. However, high financial costs, low intrinsic motivation, logistic challenges of group-based activities, or the need to operate digital devices prevent their widespread application in clinical practice. Solving jigsaw puzzles is a cognitive activity without these hindering characteristics, but cognitive effects have not been investigated yet. With this study, we aim to evaluate the effect of solving jigsaw puzzles on visuospatial cognition, daily functioning, and psychological outcomes. The pre-posttest, assessor-blinded study will include 100 cognitively healthy adults 50 years of age or older, who will be randomly assigned to a jigsaw puzzle group or a cognitive health counseling group. Within the 5-week intervention period, participants in the jigsaw puzzle group will engage in 30 days of solving jigsaw puzzles for at least 1 h per day and additionally receive cognitive health counseling. The cognitive health counseling group will receive the same counseling intervention but no jigsaw puzzles. The primary outcome, global visuospatial cognition, will depict the average of the z-standardized performance scores in visuospatial tests of perception, constructional praxis, mental rotation, processing speed, flexibility, working memory, reasoning, and episodic memory. As secondary outcomes, we will assess the eight cognitive abilities, objective and subjective visuospatial daily functioning, psychological well-being, general self-efficacy, and perceived stress. The primary data analysis will be based on mixed-effects models in an intention-to-treat approach. Solving jigsaw puzzles is a low-cost, intrinsically motivating, cognitive leisure activity, which can be executed alone or with others and without the need to operate a digital device. In the case of positive results

Effect of a puzzle on the process of students' learning about cardiac physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardozo, Lais Tono; Miranda, Aline Soares; Moura, Maria José Costa Sampaio; Marcondes, Fernanda Klein

2016-09-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of using a puzzle to learn about cardiac physiology. Students were divided into control and game groups. In class 1, the control group had a 2-h theoretical class about cardiac physiology, including a detailed description of the phases of the cardiac cycle, whereas the game group had a 50-min theoretical class without the description of the cardiac cycle. In class 2, the control group did an assessment exercise before an activity with the cardiac puzzle and the game group answered questions after the above-mentioned activity. While solving the puzzle, the students had to describe the cardiac cycle by relating the concepts of heart morphology and physiology. To evaluate short-term learning, the number of wrong answers and grades in the assessment exercise were compared between the control and game groups. To evaluate medium-term learning, we compared the grades obtained by students of the control and game groups in questions about cardiac physiology that formed part of the academic exam. In the assessment exercise, the game group presented a lower number of errors and higher score compared with the control group. In the academic exam, applied after both groups had used the puzzle, there was no difference in the scores obtained by the control and game groups in questions about cardiac physiology. These results showed a positive effect of the puzzle on students' learning about cardiac physiology compared with those not using the puzzle. Copyright © 2016 The American Physiological Society.

Puzzle based teaching versus traditional instruction in electrocardiogram interpretation for medical students – a pilot study

Science.gov (United States)

Rubinstein, Jack; Dhoble, Abhijeet; Ferenchick, Gary

2009-01-01

Background Most medical professionals are expected to possess basic electrocardiogram (EKG) interpretation skills. But, published data suggests that residents' and physicians' EKG interpretation skills are suboptimal. Learning styles differ among medical students; individualization of teaching methods has been shown to be viable and may result in improved learning. Puzzles have been shown to facilitate learning in a relaxed environment. The objective of this study was to assess efficacy of teaching puzzle in EKG interpretation skills among medical students. Methods This is a reader blinded crossover trial. Third year medical students from College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University participated in this study. Two groups (n = 9) received two traditional EKG interpretation skills lectures followed by a standardized exam and two extra sessions with the teaching puzzle and a different exam. Two other groups (n = 6) received identical courses and exams with the puzzle session first followed by the traditional teaching. EKG interpretation scores on final test were used as main outcome measure. Results The average score after only traditional teaching was 4.07 ± 2.08 while after only the puzzle session was 4.04 ± 2.36 (p = 0.97). The average improvement after the traditional session was followed up with a puzzle session was 2.53 ± 1.94 while the average improvement after the puzzle session was followed with the traditional session was 2.08 ± 1.73 (p = 0.67). The final EKG exam score for this cohort (n = 15) was 84.1 compared to 86.6 (p = 0.22) for a comparable sample of medical students (n = 15) at a different campus. Conclusion Teaching EKG interpretation with puzzles is comparable to traditional teaching and may be particularly useful for certain subgroups of students. Puzzle session are more interactive and relaxing, and warrant further investigations on larger scale. PMID:19144134

Puzzle based teaching versus traditional instruction in electrocardiogram interpretation for medical students – a pilot study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dhoble Abhijeet

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Most medical professionals are expected to possess basic electrocardiogram (EKG interpretation skills. But, published data suggests that residents' and physicians' EKG interpretation skills are suboptimal. Learning styles differ among medical students; individualization of teaching methods has been shown to be viable and may result in improved learning. Puzzles have been shown to facilitate learning in a relaxed environment. The objective of this study was to assess efficacy of teaching puzzle in EKG interpretation skills among medical students. Methods This is a reader blinded crossover trial. Third year medical students from College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University participated in this study. Two groups (n = 9 received two traditional EKG interpretation skills lectures followed by a standardized exam and two extra sessions with the teaching puzzle and a different exam. Two other groups (n = 6 received identical courses and exams with the puzzle session first followed by the traditional teaching. EKG interpretation scores on final test were used as main outcome measure. Results The average score after only traditional teaching was 4.07 ± 2.08 while after only the puzzle session was 4.04 ± 2.36 (p = 0.97. The average improvement after the traditional session was followed up with a puzzle session was 2.53 ± 1.94 while the average improvement after the puzzle session was followed with the traditional session was 2.08 ± 1.73 (p = 0.67. The final EKG exam score for this cohort (n = 15 was 84.1 compared to 86.6 (p = 0.22 for a comparable sample of medical students (n = 15 at a different campus. Conclusion Teaching EKG interpretation with puzzles is comparable to traditional teaching and may be particularly useful for certain subgroups of students. Puzzle session are more interactive and relaxing, and warrant further investigations on larger scale.

Solving jigsaw puzzles using image features

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Ture R.; Drewsen, Peter; Hansen, Klaus

2008-01-01

In this article, we describe a method for automatic solving of the jigsaw puzzle problem based on using image features instead of the shape of the pieces. The image features are used for obtaining an accurate measure for edge similarity to be used in a new edge matching algorithm. The algorithm i...

A generalization of the Pasadena puzzle

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peterson, M.B.

2013-01-01

By generalizing the Pasadena puzzle introduced by Nover and Hájek (2004) we show that the sum total of value produced by an act can be made to converge to any real number by applying the Riemann rearrangement theorem, even if the scenario faced by the decision maker is non-probabilistic and fully

PuzzleArt Therapy: Connecting the Pieces in Search of Answers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer Fortuna

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Alli Berman, a New York based artist, provided the cover art for the Fall 2016 issue of The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT. “Sunlight Underwater” is a 12 piece PuzzleArt painting made from acrylic on American maple that measures 22x30. The PuzzleArt concept began as a simple exercise that evolved into a therapeutic modality. When a sudden stroke impacted Berman’s well-being and quality of life, it was art that helped her to make connections during recovery.

Free-style puzzle flap: the concept of recycling a perforator flap.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Kuan-Ming; Hsieh, Ching-Hua; Jeng, Seng-Feng

2013-02-01

Theoretically, a flap can be supplied by any perforator based on the angiosome theory. In this study, the technique of free-style perforator flap dissection was used to harvest a pedicled or free skin flap from a previous free flap for a second difficult reconstruction. The authors call this a free-style puzzle flap. For the past 3 years, the authors treated 13 patients in whom 12 pedicled free-style puzzle flaps were harvested from previous redundant free flaps and recycled to reconstruct soft-tissue defects at various anatomical locations. One free-style free puzzle flap was harvested from a previous anterolateral thigh flap for buccal cancer to reconstruct a foot defect. Total flap survival was attained in 12 of 13 flaps. One transferred flap failed completely. This patient had received postoperative radiotherapy after the initial cancer ablation and free anterolateral thigh flap reconstruction. Another free flap was used to close and reconstruct the wound. All the donor sites could be closed primarily. The free-style puzzle flap, harvested from a previous redundant free flap and used as a perforator flap to reconstruct a new defect, has proven to be versatile and reliable. When indicated, it is an alternative donor site for further reconstruction of soft-tissue defects.

Family caregivers of palliative cancer patients at home: the puzzle of pain management.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Anita; Cohen, S Robin; Carnevale, Franco A; Ezer, Hélène; Ducharme, Francine

2010-01-01

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand the processes used by family caregivers to manage the pain of cancer patients at home. A total of 24 family caregivers participated. They were recruited using purposeful then theoretical sampling. The data sources were taped, transcribed (semi-structured) interviews and field notes. Data analysis was based on Strauss and Corbin's (1998) requirements for open, axial, and selective coding. The result was an explanatory model titled "the puzzle of pain management," which includes four main processes: "drawing on past experiences"; "strategizing a game plan"; "striving to respond to pain"; and "gauging the best fit," a decision-making process that joins the puzzle pieces. Understanding how family caregivers assemble their puzzle pieces can help health care professionals make decisions related to the care plans they create for pain control and help them to recognize the importance of providing information as part of resolving the puzzle of pain management.

The 20th anniversary of the three-nucleon analyzing power puzzle - a personal recollection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tornow, W. . Author

2008-01-01

The history of the three-nucleon analyzing power puzzle is described by an experimentalist who has been collaborating with few-body theoreticians in trying to unravel the physics of this long-standing phenomenon. Although surprising effects have been discovered along the way, the puzzle is still unexplained. Hopefully, some of the long-range three-nucleon force terms predicted by chiral effective field theory in N 3 LO will eventually solve the puzzle. Presented at the 20th Few-Body Conference, Pisa, Italy, 10-14 September 2007. (author)

Neutron star news and puzzles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prakash, Madappa

2014-01-01

Gerry Brown has had the most influence on my career in Physics, and my life after graduate studies. This article gives a brief account of some of the many ways in which Gerry shaped my research. Focus is placed on the significant strides on neutron star research made by the group at Stony Brook, which Gerry built from scratch. Selected puzzles about neutron stars that remain to be solved are noted

3D satellite puzzles for young and old kids

Science.gov (United States)

Biondi, Riccardo; Galoforo, Germana

2017-04-01

The Italian Space Agency (ASI) is active in outreach willing to increase the interest of young generations and general public toward the space activities. ASI proposes educational programmes for supporting and encouraging the development of European society based on knowledge, inspiring and motivating the young generations. One of the initiatives promoted by ASI on this regards is the 3D satellite puzzles. The idea was born in 2007 from the will to conceive an educational product for promoting and explaining to students the small all-Italian mission AGILE (Astrorivelatore Gamma ad Immagini ultra Leggero) thought as a tool for students aged 8-13. Working with this slot of students is very productive in terms of the imprints left on the kids, in fact it is useful to produce things they can use, touch and play with, with an active approach instead of a passive one. Therefore it was decided to produce something that kids could build and use at home with their parents or friends, or all together at school with teachers and mates. Other puzzles followed AGILE, one about the COSMO-SkyMED satellites about Earth Observation and also a broader one of the International Space Station. During these 10 years the puzzles were mostly used as outreach tools for school children, but they surprisingly received a great success also within older generations. So far the 3D puzzles have been printed in more than 10 thousand copies and distributed for free to students of hundreds of schools in Italy, and to the general public through science associations, planetaria and museums. Recently they have been used also during special events such as the international Geoscience Communication School (as best practice outreach tool), the EXPO 2015 and the European Researcheŕs Night at the Parlamentarium in Brussels 2016. While the students are building the puzzles, the tutor explains them the different components that they are assembling, what the importance of the satellite is and how it works

A Puzzle Guide to Gödel

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 6; Issue 7. Forever Undecided: A Puzzle Guide to Gödel. R Ramanujam. Book Review Volume 6 Issue 7 July 2001 pp 97-98. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link: https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/006/07/0097-0098 ...

The Forward-Bias Puzzle: A Solution Based on Covered Interest Parity

OpenAIRE

Pippenger, John

2009-01-01

The forward-bias puzzle is probably the most important puzzle in international macroeconomics. After more than 20 years, there is no accepted solution. My solution is based on covered interest parity (CIP). CIP implies: (1) Forward rates are not rational expectations of future spot rates. Those expectations depend on future spot rates and interest rate differentials. (2) The forward bias is the result of a specification error, replacing future forward exchange rates with current forward ...

The Meissner effect puzzle and the quantum force in superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikulov, A.V.

2012-01-01

The puzzle of the acceleration of the mobile charge carriers and the ions in the superconductor in direction opposite to the electromagnetic force revealed formerly in the Meissner effect is considered in the case of the transition of a narrow ring from normal to superconducting state. It is elucidated that the azimuthal quantum force was deduced eleven years ago from the experimental evidence of this acceleration but it cannot solve this puzzle. This quantum force explains other paradoxical phenomena connected with reiterated switching of the ring between normal and superconducting states.

Isotope puzzle in sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Liping

1998-01-01

Mechanisms affecting multicomponent material sputtering are complex. Isotope sputtering is the simplest in the multicomponent materials sputtering. Although only mass effect plays a dominant role in the isotope sputtering, there is still an isotope puzzle in sputtering by ion bombardment. The major arguments are as follows: (1) At the zero fluence, is the isotope enrichment ejection-angle-independent or ejection-angle-dependent? (2) Is the isotope angular effect the primary or the secondary sputter effect? (3) How to understand the action of momentum asymmetry in collision cascade on the isotope sputtering?

Supersymmetry, the flavour puzzle and rare B decays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Straub, David Michael

2010-07-14

The gauge hierarchy problem and the flavour puzzle belong to the most pressing open questions in the Standard Model of particle physics. Supersymmetry is arguably the most popular framework of physics beyond the Standard Model and provides an elegant solution to the gauge hierarchy problem; however, it aggravates the flavour puzzle. In the first part of this thesis, I discuss several approaches to address the flavour puzzle in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model and experimental tests thereof: supersymmetric grand unified theories with a unification of Yukawa couplings at high energies, theories with minimal flavour violation and additional sources of CP violation and theories with gauge mediation of supersymmetry breaking and a large ratio of Higgs vacuum expectation values. In the second part of the thesis, I discuss the phenomenology of two rare B meson decay modes which are promising probes of physics beyond the Standard Model: The exclusive B {yields} K{sup *}l{sup +}l{sup -} decay, whose angular decay distribution will be studied at LHC and gives access to a large number of observables and the b{yields}s{nu}anti {nu} decays, which are in the focus of planned high-luminosity Super B factories. I discuss the predictions for these observables in the Standard Model and their sensitivity to New Physics. (orig.)

KEEFEKTIFAN MODEL PEMBELAJARAN WORD SQUARE BERBANTU MEDIA PUZZLE PADA MATA PELAJARAN IPS SD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

IBNATUL IZZATI

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract                The problems of this research was: how the effectiveness of Word Square learning model supported by Puzzle media to improve learning outcome of Social subject of third grade at Public Elementary School of Wonopringgo 01 (SDN 01 Wonopringgo? The type of this research was True Experiment Design with type of pretest-posttest control group design one kind of treatment. The samples were taken from students of the third grade of A SDN 01 Wonopringgo in the academic year 2016/2017. The data in this study was obtained through tests and documentation. Experimental research on the third grade of A which was given Word Square learning model supported by Puzzle media and the third grade of B was not given Word Square learning model supported by Puzzle media. Posttest results showed that the percentage of posttest grade of the experimental class was 95% of students expressed thoroughly, while the control class is 70%, and based on t test one-party analysis obtained ttest > ttable = 3,100816112> 1.72. Thus, it could be concluded that the learning with Word Square model supported by Puzzle media was effective against student learning outcomes in Social subjects (IPS the third grade at SDN 01 Wonopringgo Pekalongan. Keywords : effectiveness, word square, puzzle

A Hierarchical Interface Design of a Puzzle Game for Elementary Education

OpenAIRE

Eun-Young Park; Young-Ho Park

2010-01-01

A basic instinct of humans for perfect completion usually drives us happy. Basically, humans purchase a certain complete match for scattered facts. The satisfaction of completing the scattered pieces gives us great pleasure. Thus many people put in their time and effort in the puzzle, and they gain strong satisfaction. The paper solves the importance of the general effects of a puzzle in building the edu-game design. Legacy online education has following problems. First, educational effects b...

AggNet: Deep Learning From Crowds for Mitosis Detection in Breast Cancer Histology Images.

Science.gov (United States)

Albarqouni, Shadi; Baur, Christoph; Achilles, Felix; Belagiannis, Vasileios; Demirci, Stefanie; Navab, Nassir

2016-05-01

The lack of publicly available ground-truth data has been identified as the major challenge for transferring recent developments in deep learning to the biomedical imaging domain. Though crowdsourcing has enabled annotation of large scale databases for real world images, its application for biomedical purposes requires a deeper understanding and hence, more precise definition of the actual annotation task. The fact that expert tasks are being outsourced to non-expert users may lead to noisy annotations introducing disagreement between users. Despite being a valuable resource for learning annotation models from crowdsourcing, conventional machine-learning methods may have difficulties dealing with noisy annotations during training. In this manuscript, we present a new concept for learning from crowds that handle data aggregation directly as part of the learning process of the convolutional neural network (CNN) via additional crowdsourcing layer (AggNet). Besides, we present an experimental study on learning from crowds designed to answer the following questions. 1) Can deep CNN be trained with data collected from crowdsourcing? 2) How to adapt the CNN to train on multiple types of annotation datasets (ground truth and crowd-based)? 3) How does the choice of annotation and aggregation affect the accuracy? Our experimental setup involved Annot8, a self-implemented web-platform based on Crowdflower API realizing image annotation tasks for a publicly available biomedical image database. Our results give valuable insights into the functionality of deep CNN learning from crowd annotations and prove the necessity of data aggregation integration.

A solution to B→ππ puzzle and B→KK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baek, Seungwon

2008-01-01

The large ratio of color-suppressed tree amplitude to color-allowed one in B→ππ decays is difficult to understand within the Standard Model, which is known as the 'B→ππ puzzle'. The two tree diagrams contain the up- and charm-quark component of penguin amplitude, P uc , which cannot be separated by measuring B→ππ decays alone. We show that the measurements of the branching ratio and direct CP asymmetry of B + →K + K 0 -bar decay enable one to disentangle the P uc with two-fold ambiguity. One of the two degenerate solutions of the P uc can solve the B→ππ puzzle by giving |C/T|∼0.3 which is consistent with the expectation in the Standard Model. We also show that the two solutions can be discriminated by the measurement of the indirect CP asymmetry of B 0 →K 0 K 0 -bar. We point out that the corresponding puzzle in B→πK decays is not solved in this way

Precedents, Patterns and Puzzles: Feminist Reflections on the First Women Lawyers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary Jane Mossman

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This paper initially examines the historical precedents established by some of the first women who entered the “gentleman’s profession” of law in different jurisdictions, as well as the biographical patterns that shaped some women’s ambitions to enter the legal professions. The paper then uses feminist methods and theories to interpret “puzzles that remain unsolved” about early women lawyers, focusing especially on two issues. One puzzle is the repeated claims on the part of many of these early women lawyers that they were “lawyers”, and not “women lawyers”, even as they experienced exclusionary practices and discrimination on the part of male lawyers and judges—a puzzle that suggests how professional culture required women lawyers to conform to existing patterns in order to succeed. A second puzzle relates to the public voices of early women lawyers, which tended to suppress disappointments, difficulties and discriminatory practices. In this context, feminist theories suggest a need to be attentive to the “silences” in women’s stories, including the stories of the lives of early women lawyers. Moreover, these insights may have continuing relevance for contemporary women lawyers because it is at least arguable that, while there have been changes in women’s experiences, there has been very little transformation in their work status in relation to men.

Formative Assessment Probes: Mountaintop Fossil: A Puzzling Phenomenon

Science.gov (United States)

Keeley, Page

2015-01-01

This column focuses on promoting learning through assessment. This month's issue describes using formative assessment probes to uncover several ways of thinking about the puzzling discovery of a marine fossil on top of a mountain.

The DS86 neutron dosimetry enigma: Some missing pieces to the puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gold, R.

1994-01-01

International programs have been conducted over the last four decades to quantify the exposure of atom bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Unfortunately, the quest for accurate gamma-ray and neutron exposure doses of atom bomb survivors has proven illusive. Efforts in the most recent of these programs, designated as Dosimetry System 1986 (DS86), have revealed a serious and persistent discrepancy between neutron transport calculations and thermal neutron activation measurements at the Hiroshima site, which will be called the DS86 neutron dosimetry enigma. It is established that this enigma is a complex puzzle that precludes simple solutions. This conclusion is deduced through the identification of a number of missing pieces to the puzzle. Implications and conclusions that can be inferred from these missing puzzle pieces are advanced

Piecing It Together: The Effect of Background Music on Children's Puzzle Assembly.

Science.gov (United States)

Koolidge, Louis; Holmes, Robyn M

2018-04-01

This study explored the effects of background music on cognitive (puzzle assembly) task performance in young children. Participants were 87 primarily European-American children (38 boys, 49 girls; mean age = 4.77 years) enrolled in early childhood classes in the northeastern United States. Children were given one minute to complete a 12-piece puzzle task in one of three background music conditions: music with lyrics, music without lyrics, and no music. The music selection was "You're Welcome" from the Disney movie "Moana." Results revealed that children who heard the music without lyrics completed more puzzle pieces than children in either the music with lyrics or no music condition. Background music without distracting lyrics may be beneficial and superior to background music with lyrics for young children's cognitive performance even when they are engaged independently in a nonverbal task.

Experimental status of the E/ι puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lanaro, A.

1996-11-01

Despite the prolonged experimental effort devoted to the spectroscopy of the E/ι mesons, and the intense theoretical debate around this subject, many puzzling issues still prevent from a full understanding of the true scenario. The advent of new and more precise experimental measurements motivates a review on this topic

Nature's Greatest Puzzles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Quigg, Chris; /Fermilab

2005-02-01

It is a pleasure to be part of the SLAC Summer Institute again, not simply because it is one of the great traditions in our field, but because this is a moment of great promise for particle physics. I look forward to exploring many opportunities with you over the course of our two weeks together. My first task in talking about Nature's Greatest Puzzles, the title of this year's Summer Institute, is to deconstruct the premise a little bit.

The Incomplete Glutathione Puzzle: Just Guessing at Numbers and Figures?

Science.gov (United States)

Deponte, Marcel

2017-11-20

Glutathione metabolism is comparable to a jigsaw puzzle with too many pieces. It is supposed to comprise (i) the reduction of disulfides, hydroperoxides, sulfenic acids, and nitrosothiols, (ii) the detoxification of aldehydes, xenobiotics, and heavy metals, and (iii) the synthesis of eicosanoids, steroids, and iron-sulfur clusters. In addition, glutathione affects oxidative protein folding and redox signaling. Here, I try to provide an overview on the relevance of glutathione-dependent pathways with an emphasis on quantitative data. Recent Advances: Intracellular redox measurements reveal that the cytosol, the nucleus, and mitochondria contain very little glutathione disulfide and that oxidative challenges are rapidly counterbalanced. Genetic approaches suggest that iron metabolism is the centerpiece of the glutathione puzzle in yeast. Furthermore, recent biochemical studies provide novel insights on glutathione transport processes and uncoupling mechanisms. Which parts of the glutathione puzzle are most relevant? Does this explain the high intracellular concentrations of reduced glutathione? How can iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis, oxidative protein folding, or redox signaling occur at high glutathione concentrations? Answers to these questions not only seem to depend on the organism, cell type, and subcellular compartment but also on different ideologies among researchers. A rational approach to compare the relevance of glutathione-dependent pathways is to combine genetic and quantitative kinetic data. However, there are still many missing pieces and too little is known about the compartment-specific repertoire and concentration of numerous metabolites, substrates, enzymes, and transporters as well as rate constants and enzyme kinetic patterns. Gathering this information might require the development of novel tools but is crucial to address potential kinetic competitions and to decipher uncoupling mechanisms to solve the glutathione puzzle. Antioxid. Redox Signal

PUZZLES – A CREATIVE WAY OF DEVELOPMENT OF LOGICAL THINKING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milková, Eva

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Logical thinking of students should be enhanced at all levels of their studies. There are many possibilities how to achieve it. In the paper one possible way within the subjects “Discrete Mathematics” and “Discrete Methods and Optimization” dealing with graph theory and combinatorial optimization will be presented. These mathematical disciplines are powerful tools for teachers allowing them to develop logical thinking of students, increase their imagination and make them familiar with solutions to various problems. Thanks the knowledge gained within the subjects students should be able to describe various practical situations with the aid of graphs, solve the given problem expressed by the graph, and translate the solution back into the initial situation. Student engagement is crucial for successful education. Practical tasks and puzzles attract students to know more about the explained subject matter and to apply gained knowledge. There are an endless number of enjoyable tasks, puzzles and logic problems in books like “Mathematics is Fun”, in riddles magazines and on the Internet. In the paper, as an inspiration, four puzzles developing logical thinking appropriate to be solved using graph theory and combinatorial optimization will be introduced. On these puzzles of different level of difficulty the students’ ability to find out the appropriate graph-representation of the given task and solve it will be discussed as well. The author of the paper has been prepared with her students various multimedia applications dealing with objects appropriate to subject matter for more than 15 years. In the paper we also discuss a benefit of multimedia applications used as a support of subjects “Discrete Mathematics” and “Discrete Methods and Optimization”.

The puzzle of the ultra-high energy cosmic rays

CERN Document Server

Tkachev, I I

2003-01-01

In early years the cosmic ray studies were ahead of accelerator research, starting from the discovery of positrons, through muons, to that of pions and strange particles. Today we are facing the situation that the puzzling saga of cosmic rays of the highest energies may again unfold in the discovery of new physics, now beyond the Standard Model; or it may bring to life an "extreme" astrophysics. After a short review of the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin puzzle, I discuss different models which were suggested for its resolution. Are there any hints pointing to the correct model? I argue that the small-scale clustering of arrival directions of cosmic rays gives a clue, and BL Lacs are the probable sources of the observed events. (58 refs).

Food puzzles for cats: Feeding for physical and emotional wellbeing.

Science.gov (United States)

Dantas, Leticia Ms; Delgado, Mikel M; Johnson, Ingrid; Buffington, Ca Tony

2016-09-01

Many pet cats are kept indoors for a variety of reasons (eg, safety, health, avoidance of wildlife predation) in conditions that are perhaps the least natural to them. Indoor housing has been associated with health issues, such as chronic lower urinary tract signs, and development of problem behaviors, which can cause weakening of the human-animal bond and lead to euthanasia of the cat. Environmental enrichment may mitigate the effects of these problems and one approach is to take advantage of cats' natural instinct to work for their food. In this article we aim to equip veterinary professionals with the tools to assist clients in the use of food puzzles for their cats as a way to support feline physical health and emotional wellbeing. We outline different types of food puzzles, and explain how to introduce them to cats and how to troubleshoot challenges with their use. The effect of food puzzles on cats is a relatively new area of study, so as well as reviewing the existing empirical evidence, we provide case studies from our veterinary and behavioral practices showing health and behavioral benefits resulting from their use. © The Author(s) 2016.

The Crossword Puzzle as a Teaching Tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Crossman, Edward K.

1983-01-01

In courses such as the history of psychology, it is necessary to learn a variety of relationships, events, and sequences, in addition to the task of having to pair certain key concepts with related names, e.g., phrenology--Hall. One tool useful in this type of learning is the crossword puzzle. (RM)

PENERAPAN JIGSAW PUZZLE COMPETITION DALAM PEMBELAJARAN KONTEKSTUAL UNTUK MENINGKATKAN MINAT DAN HASIL BELAJAR FISIKA SISWA SMP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Yulianti

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Untuk mengatasi kurangnya minat dan hasil belajar fisika siswa dilakukan penelitian melalui kegiatan pembelajaran fisikakontekstual berbantuan jigsaw puzzle competititon. Subjek penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas VII H SMP Negeri 18 Semarang.Penelitian ini telah dilakukan pembelajaran dengan pendekatan kontekstual berbantuan jigsaw puzzle competition. Hasilpenelitian menunjukkan bahwa pembelajaran kontekstual berbantuan jigsaw puzzle competition mampu meningkatan minat danhasil belajar siswa kelas VII H SMPNegeri 18 Semarang tahun pelajaran 2008/2009 secara signifikan. Agar lebih efektif sebaiknyadikembangkan pembelajaran kontekstual dengan metode lain agar diperoleh peningkatan minat dan hasil belajar Model ini perludiaplikasikan dalam pembelajaran fisika untuk materi yang lain. To overcome the problem of lack of students' interest as well as their achievements a Jigsaw Puzzle Competition in physicscontextual learning process was done. The students from VIIHclass of Junior High School 18 Semarang academic year 2008/2009were chosen as the subjects. The result of this research shows that contextual teaching and learning using Jigsaw PuzzleCompetition approach was not only increase the students' interest but also improve their achievements. In order to get moreeffective result, it is necessary to develop contextual teaching and learning by combining them with other method. Because of thegreat benefit of this model, it is necessary to apply this model to other physics learning concepts.Keywords: Jigsaw Puzzle Competition, contextual, interest;

Meson spectroscopy experiment at KEK - E/iota puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuru, Tsuneaki

1985-01-01

Physics interests at the KEK (National Laboratory for High Energy Physics) are (1) search for exotic mesons such as glueballs (gg), meiktons (q anti q g) and multiquark states (q sup(2 - )q 2 ), (2) search for missing ordinary mesons (q anti q) and confirmation of unestablished mesons, and (3) new informations of quark contents of mesons, mixing angles of SU(3) singlet-octet and tests of conservations law. Special interest is in search for exotics such as glueballs and meiktons. (2) is a so-called meson spectroscopy experiment. This is important not only in itself but also in identifying newly discovered states as exotics because exotics have often same quantum numbers as ordinary mesons. Contents are the following: glueballs and E/iota puzzles, spectrometer system, experiments, performance of the spectrometer, physics outputs, E/iota puzzles and πI experiment, future plans. (Mori, K.)

The King and Prisoner Puzzle: A Way of Introducing the Components of Logical Structures

Science.gov (United States)

Roh, Kyeong Hah; Lee, Yong Hah; Tanner, Austin

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to provide issues related to student understanding of logical components that arise when solving word problems. We designed a logic problem called the King and Prisoner Puzzle--a linguistically simple, yet logically challenging problem. In this paper, we describe various student solutions to the puzzle and discuss the…

On puzzles and non-puzzles in B→ππ,πK decays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fleischer, R.; Recksiegel, S.; Schwab, F.

2007-01-01

Recently, we have seen interesting progress in the exploration of CP violation in B d 0 →π + π - : the measurements of mixing-induced CP violation by the BaBar and Belle collaborations are now in good agreement with each other, whereas the picture of direct CP violation is still unclear. Using the branching ratio and direct CP asymmetry of B d 0 →π - K + , this situation can be clarified. We predict A CP dir (B d →π + π - )=-0.24±0.04, which favours the BaBar result, and we extract γ=(70.0 -4.3 +3.8 ) , which agrees with the unitarity triangle fits. Extending our analysis to other B→πK modes and B s 0 →K + K - with the help of the SU(3) flavour symmetry and plausible dynamical assumptions, we find that all observables with colour-suppressed electroweak penguin contributions are measured to be in excellent agreement with the standard model. As far as the ratios R c,n of the charged and neutral B→πK branching ratios are concerned, which are sizeably affected by electroweak penguin contributions, our standard-model predictions have almost unchanged central values but significantly reduced errors. Since the new data have moved quite a bit towards these results, the ''B→πK puzzle'' for the CP conserving quantities has been significantly reduced. However, the mixing-induced CP violation of B d 0 →π 0 K S does look puzzling; if confirmed by future measurements, this effect could be accommodated through a modified electroweak penguin sector with a large CP violating new-physics phase. Finally, we point out that the established difference between the direct CP asymmetries of B ± →π 0 K ± and B d →π -+ K ± appears to be generated by hadronic and not by new physics. (orig.)

Decodoku: Quantum error rorrection as a simple puzzle game

Science.gov (United States)

Wootton, James

To build quantum computers, we need to detect and manage any noise that occurs. This will be done using quantum error correction. At the hardware level, QEC is a multipartite system that stores information non-locally. Certain measurements are made which do not disturb the stored information, but which do allow signatures of errors to be detected. Then there is a software problem. How to take these measurement outcomes and determine: a) The errors that caused them, and (b) how to remove their effects. For qubit error correction, the algorithms required to do this are well known. For qudits, however, current methods are far from optimal. We consider the error correction problem of qubit surface codes. At the most basic level, this is a problem that can be expressed in terms of a grid of numbers. Using this fact, we take the inherent problem at the heart of quantum error correction, remove it from its quantum context, and presented in terms of simple grid based puzzle games. We have developed three versions of these puzzle games, focussing on different aspects of the required algorithms. These have been presented and iOS and Android apps, allowing the public to try their hand at developing good algorithms to solve the puzzles. For more information, see www.decodoku.com. Funding from the NCCR QSIT.

A puzzle form of a non-verbal intelligence test gives significantly higher performance measures in children with severe intellectual disability.

Science.gov (United States)

Bello, Katrina D; Goharpey, Nahal; Crewther, Sheila G; Crewther, David P

2008-08-01

Assessment of 'potential intellectual ability' of children with severe intellectual disability (ID) is limited, as current tests designed for normal children do not maintain their interest. Thus a manual puzzle version of the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) was devised to appeal to the attentional and sensory preferences and language limitations of children with ID. It was hypothesized that performance on the book and manual puzzle forms would not differ for typically developing children but that children with ID would perform better on the puzzle form. The first study assessed the validity of this puzzle form of the RCPM for 76 typically developing children in a test-retest crossover design, with a 3 week interval between tests. A second study tested performance and completion rate for the puzzle form compared to the book form in a sample of 164 children with ID. In the first study, no significant difference was found between performance on the puzzle and book forms in typically developing children, irrespective of the order of completion. The second study demonstrated a significantly higher performance and completion rate for the puzzle form compared to the book form in the ID population. Similar performance on book and puzzle forms of the RCPM by typically developing children suggests that both forms measure the same construct. These findings suggest that the puzzle form does not require greater cognitive ability but demands sensory-motor attention and limits distraction in children with severe ID. Thus, we suggest the puzzle form of the RCPM is a more reliable measure of the non-verbal mentation of children with severe ID than the book form.

Towards a security model for computational puzzle schemes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tang, Qiang; Jeckmans, Arjan

2011-01-01

In the literature, computational puzzle schemes have been considered as a useful tool for a number of applications, such as constructing timed cryptography, fighting junk emails, and protecting critical infrastructure from denial-of-service attacks. However, there is a lack of a general security

Mathematical History: Activities, Puzzles, Stories, and Games.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Merle

Based on the history of mathematics, these materials have been planned to enrich the teaching of mathematics in grades four, five, and six. Puzzles and games are based on stories about topics such as famous mathematicians, numerals of ancient peoples, and numerology. The sheets are arranged by grade level and are designed for easy duplication.…

(Mis)perception of sleep in insomnia: a puzzle and a resolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Allison G; Tang, Nicole K Y

2012-01-01

Insomnia is prevalent, causing severe distress and impairment. This review focuses on illuminating the puzzling finding that many insomnia patients misperceive their sleep. They overestimate their sleep onset latency (SOL) and underestimate their total sleep time (TST), relative to objective measures. This tendency is ubiquitous (although not universal). Resolving this puzzle has clinical, theoretical, and public health importance. There are implications for assessment, definition, and treatment. Moreover, solving the puzzle creates an opportunity for real-world applications of theories from clinical, perceptual, and social psychology as well as neuroscience. Herein we evaluate 13 possible resolutions to the puzzle. Specifically, we consider the possible contribution, to misperception, of (1) features inherent to the context of sleep (e.g., darkness); (2) the definition of sleep onset, which may lack sensitivity for insomnia patients; (3) insomnia being an exaggerated sleep complaint; (4) psychological distress causing magnification; (5) a deficit in time estimation ability; (6) sleep being misperceived as wake; (7) worry and selective attention toward sleep-related threats; (8) a memory bias influenced by current symptoms and emotions, a confirmation bias/belief bias, or a recall bias linked to the intensity/recency of symptoms; (9) heightened physiological arousal; (10) elevated cortical arousal; (11) the presence of brief awakenings; (12) a fault in neuronal circuitry; and (13) there being 2 insomnia subtypes (one with and one without misperception). The best supported resolutions were misperception of sleep as wake, worry, and brief awakenings. A deficit in time estimation ability was not supported. We conclude by proposing several integrative solutions.

Spectroscopy of muonic atoms and the proton radius puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Antognini, Aldo

2017-09-01

We have measured several 2 S -2 P transitions in muonic hydrogen (μp), muonic deuterium (μd) and muonic helium ions (μ3He, μ4He). From muonic hydrogen we extracted a proton charge radius 20 times more precise than obtained from electron-proton scattering and hydrogen high-precision laser spectroscopy but at a variance of 7 σ from these values. This discrepancy is nowadays referred to as the proton radius puzzle. New insight has been recently provided by the first determination of the deuteron charge radius from laser spectroscopy of μd. The status of the proton charge radius puzzle including the new insights obtained by μd spectroscopy will be discussed. Work supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation SNF-200021-165854 and the ERC CoG. #725039.

The Monotonicity Puzzle: An Experimental Investigation of Incentive Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeannette Brosig

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Non-monotone incentive structures, which - according to theory - are able to induce optimal behavior, are often regarded as empirically less relevant for labor relationships. We compare the performance of a theoretically optimal non-monotone contract with a monotone one under controlled laboratory conditions. Implementing some features relevant to real-world employment relationships, our paper demonstrates that, in fact, the frequency of income-maximizing decisions made by agents is higher under the monotone contract. Although this observed behavior does not change the superiority of the non-monotone contract for principals, they do not choose this contract type in a significant way. This is what we call the monotonicity puzzle. Detailed investigations of decisions provide a clue for solving the puzzle and a possible explanation for the popularity of monotone contracts.

Geoscience Data Puzzles: Developing Students' Ability to Make Meaning from Data

Science.gov (United States)

Kastens, K. A.; Turrin, M.

2010-12-01

One of the most fundamental aspects of geoscience expertise is the ability to extract insights from observational earth data. Where an expert might see trends, patterns, processes, and candidate causal relationships, a novice could look at the same data representation and see dots, wiggles and blotches of color. The problem is compounded when the student was not personally involved in collecting the data or samples and thus has no experiential knowledge of the Earth setting that the data represent. In other words, the problem is especially severe when students tap into the vast archives of professionally-collected data that the geoscience community has worked so hard to make available for instructional use over the internet. Moreover, most high school and middle school teachers did not themselves learn Earth Science through analyzing data, and they may lack skills and/or confidence needed to scaffold students through the process of learning to interpret realistically-complex data sets. We have developed “Geoscience Data Puzzles” with the paired goals of (a) helping students learn about the earth from data, and (b) helping teachers learn to teach with data. Geoscience Data Puzzles are data-using activities that purposefully present a low barrier-to-entry for teachers and a high ratio of insight-to-effort for students. Each Puzzle uses authentic geoscience data, but the data are carefully pre-selected in order to illuminate a fundamental Earth process within tractable snippets of data. Every Puzzle offers "Aha" moments, when the connection between data and process comes clear in a rewarding burst of insight. Every Puzzle is accompanied by a Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) guide, which explicates the chain of reasoning by which the puzzle-solver can use the evidence provided by the data to construct scientific claims. Four types of reasoning are stressed: spatial reasoning, in which students make inferences from observations about location, orientation, shape

The puzzle of neutron lifetime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paul, Stephan

2009-01-01

In this paper we review the role of the neutron lifetime and discuss the present status of measurements. In view of the large discrepancy observed by the two most precise individual measurements so far we describe the different techniques and point out the principle strengths and weaknesses. In particular we discuss the estimation of systematic uncertainties and its correlation to the statistical ones. In order to solve the present puzzle, many new experiments are either ongoing or being proposed. An overview on their possible contribution to this field will be given.

Pedagogy Corner: The Architect's Puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Lovitt, Charles

2017-01-01

Some years back, the author found the following problem in a spatial puzzle book: how many ways can you put four blocks together, face to face (with no vertical rotation symmetry)? He gave each student just four blocks and they collectively tried combinations to eventually agree on the answer of 15. He used to think it was a halfway decent task,…

Using the Tower of Hanoi Puzzle to Infuse Your Mathematics Classroom with Computer Science Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Marzocchi, Alison S.

2016-01-01

This article suggests that logic puzzles, such as the well-known Tower of Hanoi puzzle, can be used to introduce computer science concepts to mathematics students of all ages. Mathematics teachers introduce their students to computer science concepts that are enacted spontaneously and subconsciously throughout the solution to the Tower of Hanoi…

Box-Cox transformation for resolving the Peelle's Pertinent Puzzle in a curve fitting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, S. Y.; Seo, C. G.

2004-01-01

Incorporating the Box-Cox transformation into a curve fitting is presented as one of methods for resolving an anomaly known as the Peelle's Pertinent Puzzle in the nuclear data community. The Box-Cox transformation is a strategy to make non-normal distribution data resemble normal distribution data. The proposed method consists of the following steps: transform the raw data to be fitted with the optimized Box-Cox transformation parameter, fit the transformed data using a conventional curve fitting tool, the least-squares method in this study, then inverse-transform the fitted results to the final estimates. Covariance matrices are correspondingly transformed and inverse-transformed with the aid of the law of error propagation. In addition to a sensible answer to the Puzzle, the proposed method resulted in reasonable estimates for a test evaluation with pseudo-experimental 6 Li(n, t) cross sections in several to 800 keV energy region, while the GMA code resulted in systematic underestimates that characterize the Puzzle. Meanwhile, it is observed that the present method and the Chiba-Smith method yield almost the same estimates for the test evaluation on 6 Li(n, t). Conceptually, however, two methods are very different from each other and further discussions are needed for a consensus on the issue of how to resolve the Puzzle. (authors)

A possible explanation of the 'exchange rate disconnect puzzle': A common solution to three major macroeconomic puzzles?

OpenAIRE

Horioka, Charles Yuji; Ford, Nicholas

2016-01-01

Meese and Rogoff (1983) and subsequent studies find that economic fundamentals are apparently not able to explain exchange rate movements, but we argue that this so-called "Exchange Rate Disconnect Puzzle" arose because researchers such as Meese and Rogoff (1983) did not use the right fundamentals and because they did not allow for the forward-looking nature of exchange rate determination. Further, because they apparently were not aware that financial markets by themselves could not equalise ...

Learning structural bioinformatics and evolution with a snake puzzle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gonzalo S. Nido

2016-12-01

Full Text Available We propose here a working unit for teaching basic concepts of structural bioinformatics and evolution through the example of a wooden snake puzzle, strikingly similar to toy models widely used in the literature of protein folding. In our experience, developed at a Master’s course at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain, the concreteness of this example helps to overcome difficulties caused by the interdisciplinary nature of this field and its high level of abstraction, in particular for students coming from traditional disciplines. The puzzle will allow us discussing a simple algorithm for finding folded solutions, through which we will introduce the concept of the configuration space and the contact matrix representation. This is a central tool for comparing protein structures, for studying simple models of protein energetics, and even for a qualitative discussion of folding kinetics, through the concept of the Contact Order. It also allows a simple representation of misfolded conformations and their free energy. These concepts will motivate evolutionary questions, which we will address by simulating a structurally constrained model of protein evolution, again modelled on the snake puzzle. In this way, we can discuss the analogy between evolutionary concepts and statistical mechanics that facilitates the understanding of both concepts. The proposed examples and literature are accessible, and we provide supplementary material (see ‘Data Availability’ to reproduce the numerical experiments. We also suggest possible directions to expand the unit. We hope that this work will further stimulate the adoption of games in teaching practice.

The height of Tennessee convicts: another piece of the "antebellum puzzle".

Science.gov (United States)

Sunder, Marco

2004-03-01

Average height of the free population in the United States born in the mid-1830s began to decline despite growing per capita incomes. Explanations for this "antebellum puzzle" revolve around a possibly deteriorating disease environment promoted by urban agglomeration and increases in the relative price of protein-rich foods. However, several groups were immune to the effect, including members of the middle class, whose income was high enough, and increased enough to overcome the adverse developments and maintain their nutritional status. Although at the opposite end of the social spectrum, the height of male slaves also increased, as it was in their owners' interest to raise their slaves' food allotments. The height of Tennessee convicts, analyzed in this article, also increased in the late-1830s, being the third exception to the "antebellum puzzle." Mid-19th century Tennessee was integrated into interstate commerce in cotton and tobacco and experienced considerable movement of people who would have brought with them diseases from elsewhere, hence, it would have been integrated into the US disease pool, and the fact that heights did not decline in the 1830s is therefore an indication that the antebellum puzzle cannot be explained exclusively by the spread of diseases. Yet, Tennessee's economy was quite different to that of the rest of the country. Although it did export live swine to the South, these exports did not increase during the antebellum decades. Hence, Tennessee remained self-sufficient in pork, and consumption of pork did not decline. Thus, the evidence presented here is consistent with the economic interpretation of the "antebellum puzzle": self-sufficiency in protein production protected even the members of the lower-classes of Tennessee from the negative externalities associated with the onset of industrialization.

Jigsaw puzzle metasurface for multiple functions: polarization conversion, anomalous reflection and diffusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yi; Cao, Xiangyu; Gao, Jun; Liu, Xiao; Li, Sijia

2016-05-16

We demonstrate a simple reconfigurable metasurface with multiple functions. Anisotropic tiles are investigated and manufactured as fundamental elements. Then, the tiles are combined in a certain sequence to construct a metasurface. Each of the tiles can be adjusted independently which is like a jigsaw puzzle and the whole metasurface can achieve diverse functions by different layouts. For demonstration purposes, we realize polarization conversion, anomalous reflection and diffusion by a jigsaw puzzle metasurface with 6 × 6 pieces of anisotropic tile. Simulated and measured results prove that our method offers a simple and effective strategy for metasurface design.

High-mass twins & resolution of the reconfinement, masquerade and hyperon puzzles of compact star interiors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blaschke, David; Alvarez-Castillo, David E.

2016-01-01

We aim at contributing to the resolution of three of the fundamental puzzles related to the still unsolved problem of the structure of the dense core of compact stars (CS): (i) the hyperon puzzle: how to reconcile pulsar masses of 2 M ⊙ with the hyperon softening of the equation of state (EoS); (ii) the masquerade problem: modern EoS for cold, high density hadronic and quark matter are almost identical; and (iii) the reconfinement puzzle: what to do when after a deconfinement transition the hadronic EoS becomes favorable again? We show that taking into account the compositeness of baryons (by excluded volume and/or quark Pauli blocking) on the hadronic side and confining and stiffening effects on the quark matter side results in an early phase transition to quark matter with sufficient stiffening at high densities which removes all three present-day puzzles of CS interiors. Moreover, in this new class of EoS for hybrid CS falls the interesting case of a strong first order phase transition which results in the observable high mass twin star phenomenon, an astrophysical observation of a critical endpoint in the QCD phase diagram

Asset pricing puzzles explained by incomplete Brownian equilibria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Peter Ove; Larsen, Kasper

We examine a class of Brownian based models which produce tractable incomplete equilibria. The models are based on finitely many investors with heterogeneous exponential utilities over intermediate consumption who receive partially unspanned income. The investors can trade continuously on a finit...... markets. Consequently, our model can simultaneously help explaining the risk-free rate and equity premium puzzles....

Yet another possible explanation of the solar-neutrino puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolb, E.W.; Turner, M.S.; Walker, T.P.

1986-01-01

Mikheyev and Smirnov have shown that the interactions of neutrinos with matter can result in the conversion of electron neutrinos produced in the center of the sun to muon neutrinos. Bethe has exploited this and has pointed out that the solar-neutrino puzzle can be resolved if the mass difference squared of the two neutrinos is m 2 2 -m 2 1 approx.=6x10 -5 eV 2 , and the mixing angle satisfies sin THETAsub(v)>0.0065. We discuss a qualitatively different solution to the solar-neutrino puzzle which requires 1.0x10 -8 2 2 -m 2 1 )(sin 2 2THETAsub(v)/cos2THETAsub(v)) -8 eV 2 . Our solutions result in a much smaller flux of neutrinos from the p-p process than predicted by standard solar models, while Bethe's solution results in a flux of neutrinos from the p-p process that is about the same as standard solar models. (orig.)

May heavy neutrinos solve underground and cosmic-ray puzzles?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belotsky, K. M.; Fargion, D.; Khlopov, M. Yu.; Konoplich, R. V.

2008-01-01

Primordial heavy neutrinos of the fourth generation might explain different astrophysical puzzles. The simplest fourth-neutrino scenario is consistent with known fourth-neutrino physics, cosmic ray antimatter, cosmic gamma fluxes, and positive signals in underground detectors for a very narrow neutrino mass window (46–47 GeV). However, accounting for the constraint of underground experiment CDMS prohibits solution of cosmic-ray puzzles in this scenario. We have analyzed extended heavy-neutrino models related to the clumpiness of neutrino density, new interactions in heavy-neutrino annihilation, neutrino asymmetry, and neutrino decay. We found that, in these models, the cosmic-ray imprint may fit the positive underground signals in DAMA/Nal experiment in the entire mass range 46–70 GeV allowed from uncertainties of electroweak parameters, while satisfaction of the CDMS constraint reduces the mass range to around 50 GeV, where all data can come to consent in the framework of the considered hypothesis.

Status of particle physics solutions to the UHECR puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kachelrieb, M.

2004-01-01

The status of solutions to the ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) puzzle that involve particle physics beyond the standard model is reviewed. Signatures and experimental constraints are discussed for most proposals such as the Z burst model and topological defects (both allowed only as sub-dominant contributions), supermassive dark matter (no positive evidence from its key signatures galactic anisotropy and photon dominance), strongly interacting neutrinos or new primaries (no viable models known), and violation of Lorentz invariance (viable). Lorentz invariance violation should be considered seriously as an explanation for the UHECR puzzle, if there is not a considerable fraction of photon primaries at the highest energies, correlations with sources at cosmological distance can be established, and the spectrum extends well beyond the GZK (Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin) cutoff. If only the two first conditions are found to be true, and the UHECR spectrum is close to the one measured in the HiRes experiment, then bottom-up scenarios are a sufficient explanation for the data

May heavy neutrinos solve underground and cosmic-ray puzzles?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belotsky, K. M.; Fargion, D.; Khlopov, M. Yu.; Konoplich, R. V.

2008-01-01

Primordial heavy neutrinos of the fourth generation might explain different astrophysical puzzles. The simplest fourth-neutrino scenario is consistent with known fourth-neutrino physics, cosmic ray antimatter, cosmic gamma fluxes, and positive signals in underground detectors for a very narrow neutrino mass window (46-47 GeV). However, accounting for the constraint of underground experiment CDMS prohibits solution of cosmic-ray puzzles in this scenario. We have analyzed extended heavy-neutrino models related to the clumpiness of neutrino density, new interactions in heavy-neutrino annihilation, neutrino asymmetry, and neutrino decay. We found that, in these models, the cosmic-ray imprint may fit the positive underground signals in DAMA/Nal experiment in the entire mass range 46-70 GeV allowed from uncertainties of electroweak parameters, while satisfaction of the CDMS constraint reduces the mass range to around 50 GeV, where all data can come to consent in the framework of the considered hypothesis

Yet another possible explanation of the solar-neutrino puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolb, E.W.; Turner, M.S.; Walker, T.P.

1986-04-01

Mikheyev and Smirnov have shown that the interactions of neutrinos with matter can result in the conversion of electron neutrinos produced in the center of the sun to muon neutrinos. Bethe has exploited this and has pointed out that the solar-neutrino puzzle can be resolved if the mass difference squared of the two neutrinos is m 2 2 - m 1 2 approx. = 6 x 10 -5 eV 2 , and the mixing angle satisfies sin theta/sub v/ > 0.0065. We discuss a qualitatively different solution to the solar-neutrino puzzle which requires 1.0 x 10 -8 2 2 - m 1 2 ) (sin 2 2theta/sub v//cos 2theta/sub v/) -8 eV 2 . Our solutions result in a much smaller flux of neutrinos from the p - p process than predicted by standard solar models, while Bethe's solution results in a flux of neutrinos from the p - process that is about the same as standard solar models

An Easy & Fun Way to Teach about How Science "Works": Popularizing Haack's Crossword-Puzzle Analogy

Science.gov (United States)

Pavlova, Iglika V.; Lewis, Kayla C.

2013-01-01

Science is a complex process, and we must not teach our students overly simplified versions of "the" scientific method. We propose that students can uncover the complex realities of scientific thinking by exploring the similarities and differences between solving the familiar crossword puzzles and scientific "puzzles."…

Cryptographic Puzzles and Game Theory against DoS and DDoS attacks in Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikalas, Antonis; Komninos, Nikos; Prasad, Neeli R.

2008-01-01

In this chapter, we present techniques to defeat Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. In the _rst part, we describe client puzzle techniques that are based on the idea of computationally exhausting a malicious user when he attempts to launch an attack. In the ......In this chapter, we present techniques to defeat Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. In the _rst part, we describe client puzzle techniques that are based on the idea of computationally exhausting a malicious user when he attempts to launch an attack....... In the second part we are introducing some basic principles of game theory and we discuss how game theoretical frameworks can protect computer networks. Finally, we show techniques that combine client puzzles with game theory in order to provide DoS and DDoS resilience....

Padrão dos fluxos de capitais: teoria, evidência e puzzle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aderbal Oliveira Damasceno

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Este trabalho desenvolve uma análise teórica e empírica sobre o padrão de longo prazo dos fluxos de capitais. Com uma amostra de 105 países e dados para o período 1980-2004, a metodologia econométrica abrange modelos para cross-section e para dados em painel. Os resultados apresentados sugerem: i incoerência entre as previsões do modelo neoclássico e o padrão observado dos fluxos de capitais, o que caracteriza o puzzle ; ii no âmbito da abordagem convencional, as explicações para o puzzle são diferenças de fundamentos entre países e imperfeições no mercado financeiro; iii não há evidências de que diferenças entre os países relativas ao ambiente institucional, estoque de capital humano, integração financeira, política macroeconòmica e desenvolvimento financeiro expliquem o puzzle. Considerando os resultados apresentados, esboça-se uma explicação alternativa de inspiração heterodoxa para o padrão dos fluxos de capitais.

A puzzle assembly strategy for fabrication of large engineered cartilage tissue constructs.

Science.gov (United States)

Nover, Adam B; Jones, Brian K; Yu, William T; Donovan, Daniel S; Podolnick, Jeremy D; Cook, James L; Ateshian, Gerard A; Hung, Clark T

2016-03-21

Engineering of large articular cartilage tissue constructs remains a challenge as tissue growth is limited by nutrient diffusion. Here, a novel strategy is investigated, generating large constructs through the assembly of individually cultured, interlocking, smaller puzzle-shaped subunits. These constructs can be engineered consistently with more desirable mechanical and biochemical properties than larger constructs (~4-fold greater Young׳s modulus). A failure testing technique was developed to evaluate the physiologic functionality of constructs, which were cultured as individual subunits for 28 days, then assembled and cultured for an additional 21-35 days. Assembled puzzle constructs withstood large deformations (40-50% compressive strain) prior to failure. Their ability to withstand physiologic loads may be enhanced by increases in subunit strength and assembled culture time. A nude mouse model was utilized to show biocompatibility and fusion of assembled puzzle pieces in vivo. Overall, the technique offers a novel, effective approach to scaling up engineered tissues and may be combined with other techniques and/or applied to the engineering of other tissues. Future studies will aim to optimize this system in an effort to engineer and integrate robust subunits to fill large defects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Crossword Puzzles as a Learning Tool for Vocabulary Development

Science.gov (United States)

Orawiwatnakul, Wiwat

2013-01-01

Introduction: Since vocabulary is a key basis on which reading achievement depends, various vocabulary acquisition techniques have become pivotal. Among the many teaching approaches, traditional or otherwise, the use of crossword puzzles seems to offer potential and a solution for the problem of learning vocabulary. Method: This study was…

Action and puzzle video games prime different speed/accuracy tradeoffs.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Rolf A; Strachan, Ian

2009-01-01

To understand the way in which video-game play affects subsequent perception and cognitive strategy, two experiments were performed in which participants played either a fast-action game or a puzzle-solving game. Before and after video-game play, participants performed a task in which both speed and accuracy were emphasized. In experiment 1 participants engaged in a location task in which they clicked a mouse on the spot where a target had appeared, and in experiment 2 they were asked to judge which of four shapes was most similar to a target shape. In both experiments, participants were much faster but less accurate after playing the action game, while they were slower but more accurate after playing the puzzle game. Results are discussed in terms of a taxonomy of video games by their cognitive and perceptual demands.

Children's Task Engagement during Challenging Puzzle Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Feihong; Algina, James; Snyder, Patricia; Cox, Martha

2017-01-01

We examined children's task engagement during a challenging puzzle task in the presence of their primary caregivers by using a representative sample of rural children from six high-poverty counties across two states. Weighted longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to identify a task engagement factor…

Mankiw's Puzzle on Consumer Durables: A Misspecification

OpenAIRE

Tam Bang Vu

2005-01-01

Mankiw (1982) shows that consumer durables expenditures should follow a linear ARMA(1,1) process, but the data analyzed supports an AR(1) process instead; thus, a puzzle. In this paper, we employ a more general utility function than Mankiw's quadratic one. Further, the disturbance and depreciation rate are respecified, respectively, as multiplicative and stochastic. The analytical consequence is a nonlinear ARMA(infinity,1) process, which implies that the linear ARMA(1,1) is a misspecificatio...

Social Security and the Equity Premium Puzzle

OpenAIRE

Olovsson, Conny

2004-01-01

This paper shows that social security may be an important factor in explaining the equity premium puzzle. In the absence of shortselling constraints, the young shortsell bonds to the middle-aged and buy equity. Social security reduces the bond demand of the middle-aged, thereby restricting the possibilities of the young to finance their equity purchases. Their equity demand increases as does the average return to equity. Social security also increases the covariance between future consumption...

The RPA Atomization Energy Puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruzsinszky, Adrienn; Perdew, John P; Csonka, Gábor I

2010-01-12

There is current interest in the random phase approximation (RPA), a "fifth-rung" density functional for the exchange-correlation energy. RPA has full exact exchange and constructs the correlation with the help of the unoccupied Kohn-Sham orbitals. In many cases (uniform electron gas, jellium surface, and free atom), the correction to RPA is a short-ranged effect that is captured by a local spin density approximation (LSDA) or a generalized gradient approximation (GGA). Nonempirical density functionals for the correction to RPA were constructed earlier at the LSDA and GGA levels (RPA+), but they are constructed here at the fully nonlocal level (RPA++), using the van der Waals density functional (vdW-DF) of Langreth, Lundqvist, and collaborators. While they make important and helpful corrections to RPA total and ionization energies of free atoms, they correct the RPA atomization energies of molecules by only about 1 kcal/mol. Thus, it is puzzling that RPA atomization energies are, on average, about 10 kcal/mol lower than those of accurate values from experiment. We find here that a hybrid of 50% Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof GGA with 50% RPA+ yields atomization energies much more accurate than either one does alone. This suggests a solution to the puzzle: While the proper correction to RPA is short-ranged in some systems, its contribution to the correlation hole can spread out in a molecule with multiple atomic centers, canceling part of the spread of the exact exchange hole (more so than in RPA or RPA+), making the true exchange-correlation hole more localized than in RPA or RPA+. This effect is not captured even by the vdW-DF nonlocality, but it requires the different kind of full nonlocality present in a hybrid functional.

Games and puzzles for English as a second language

CERN Document Server

Fremont, Victoria

2011-01-01

Students can hone their verbal and grammatical skills with this entertaining workbook. Search-a-words, crossword puzzles, anagrams, and other challenges build vocabulary and spelling skills. They also help students understand and identify idioms, irregular past tenses and participles, and other linguistic stumbling blocks. Perfect for individual study or as a course supplement.

Exfoliation syndrome: assembling the puzzle pieces.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasquale, Louis R; Borrás, Terete; Fingert, John H; Wiggs, Janey L; Ritch, Robert

2016-09-01

To summarize various topics and the cutting edge approaches to refine XFS pathogenesis that were discussed at the 21st annual Glaucoma Foundation Think Tank meeting in New York City, Sept. 19-20, 2014. The highlights of three categories of talks on cutting edge research in the field were summarized. Exfoliation syndrome (XFS) is a systemic disorder with a substantial ocular burden, including high rates of cataract, cataract surgery complications, glaucoma and retinal vein occlusion. New information about XFS is akin to puzzle pieces that do not quite join together to reveal a clear picture regarding how exfoliation material (XFM) forms. Meeting participants concluded that it is unclear how the mild homocysteinemia seen in XFS might contribute to the disarrayed extracellular aggregates characteristic of this syndrome. Lysyl oxidase-like 1 (LOXL1) variants are unequivocally genetic risk factors for XFS but exactly how these variants contribute to the assembly of exfoliation material (XFM) remains unclear. Variants in a new genomic region, CACNA1A associated with XFS, may alter calcium concentrations at the cell surface and facilitate XFM formation but much more work is needed before we can place this new finding in proper context. It is hoped that various animal model and ex vivo systems will emerge that will allow for proper assembly of the puzzle pieces into a coherent picture of XFS pathogenesis. A clear understanding of XFS pathogenesis may lead to 'upstream solutions' to reduce the ocular morbidity produced by XFS. © 2015 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Puzzling with potential : dynamic testing of analogical reasoning in children

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stevenson, Claire Elisabeth

2012-01-01

Assessment procedures are frequent in children's school careers; however, measuring potential for learning has remained a puzzle. Dynamic testing is a method to assess cognitive potential that includes training in the assessment process. The goal of this thesis project was to develop a new dynamic

The Simple Past Puzzle. A Study of Some Aspects of the Syntax and Semantics of Tense

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nino Gulli

2014-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper, I claim that the so-called present perfect puzzle is, in reality, a puzzle about the simple past. It is the latter, I argue, that shows a puzzling behavior, given that it can be used not only in definite contexts but also in seemingly indefinite ones. I employ the notions of time frame and specifiability to show how the obvious distinction between the two tenses in terms of temporal logic can be accounted for. I also propose that the past morpheme -ed be considered a kind of verb determiner which selects a temporal XP as a complement. Such complement can be (and usually is expressed either in the sentence or in the larger discourse; however, it can also remain implicit, or covert.

Simultaneous explanation of the RK and R (D (*)) puzzles

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharya, Bhubanjyoti; Datta, Alakabha; London, David; Shivashankara, Shanmuka

2015-03-01

At present, there are several hints of lepton flavor non-universality. The LHCb Collaboration has measured RK ≡ B (B+ →K+μ+μ-) / B (B+ →K+e+e-), and the BaBar Collaboration has measured R (D (*)) ≡ B (B bar →D (*) +τ-νbarτ) / B (B bar →D (*) +ℓ-νbarℓ) (ℓ = e , μ). In all cases, the experimental results differ from the standard model predictions by 2- 3 σ. Recently, an explanation of the RK puzzle was proposed in which new physics (NP) generates a neutral-current operator involving only third-generation particles. Now, assuming the scale of NP is much larger than the weak scale, this NP operator must be made invariant under the full SU (3)C × SU (2)L × U(1)Y gauge group. In this Letter, we note that, when this is done, a new charged-current operator can appear, and this can explain the R (D (*)) puzzle. A more precise measurement of the double ratio R (D) / R (D*) can rule out this model.

The puzzling unsolved mysteries of liquid water: Some recent progress

Science.gov (United States)

Stanley, H. E.; Kumar, P.; Xu, L.; Yan, Z.; Mazza, M. G.; Buldyrev, S. V.; Chen, S.-H.; Mallamace, F.

2007-12-01

Water is perhaps the most ubiquitous, and the most essential, of any molecule on earth. Indeed, it defies the imagination of even the most creative science fiction writer to picture what life would be like without water. Despite decades of research, however, water's puzzling properties are not understood and 63 anomalies that distinguish water from other liquids remain unsolved. We introduce some of these unsolved mysteries, and demonstrate recent progress in solving them. We present evidence from experiments and computer simulations supporting the hypothesis that water displays a special transition point (which is not unlike the “tipping point” immortalized by Malcolm Gladwell). The general idea is that when the liquid is near this “tipping point,” it suddenly separates into two distinct liquid phases. This concept of a new critical point is finding application to other liquids as well as water, such as silicon and silica. We also discuss related puzzles, such as the mysterious behavior of water near a protein.

Hybrid Charmonium and the p-n Puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kisslinger, L.S.; Parno, D.; Riordan, S.

2008-01-01

Using the method of QCD sum rules, we estimate the energy of the lowest hybrid charmonium state, and find it to be at the energy of the Ψ (2S) state, about 600 MeV above the J/Ψ(1S) state. Since our solution is not consistent with a pure hybrid at this energy, we conclude that the Ψ (2S) state is probably an admixed cc - and hybrid cc - g state. From this conjecture, we find a possible explanation of the famous ρ-p puzzle.

Tiny bubbles challenge giant turbines: Three Gorges puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shengcai

2015-10-06

Since the birth of the first prototype of the modern reaction turbine, cavitation as conjectured by Euler in 1754 always presents as a challenge. Following his theory, the evolution of modern reaction (Francis and Kaplan) turbines has been completed by adding the final piece of the element 'draft-tube' that enables turbines to explore water energy at efficiencies of almost 100%. However, during the last two and a half centuries, with increasing unit capacity and specific speed, the problem of cavitation has been manifested and complicated by the draft-tube surges rather than being solved. Particularly, during the last 20 years, the fierce competition in the international market for extremely large turbines with compact design has encouraged the development of giant Francis turbines of 700-1000 MW. The first group (24 units) of such giant turbines of 700 MW each was installed in the Three Gorges project. Immediately after commission, a strange erosion phenomenon appeared on the guide vane of the machines that has puzzled professionals. From a multi-disciplinary analysis, this Three Gorges puzzle could reflect an unknown type of cavitation inception presumably triggered by turbulence production from the boundary-layer streak transitional process. It thus presents a fresh challenge not only to this old turbine industry, but also to the fundamental sciences.

Solving the BM Camelopardalis puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Teke, Mathias; Busby, Michael R.; Hall, Douglas S.

1989-01-01

BM Camelopardalis (=12 Cam) is a chromospherically active binary star with a relatively large orbital eccentricity. Systems with large eccentricities usually rotate pseudosynchronously. However, BM Cam has been a puzzle since its observed rotation rate is virtually equal to its orbital period indicating synchronization. All available photometry data for BM Cam have been collected and analyzed. Two models of modulated ellipticity effect are proposed, one based on equilibrium tidal deformation of the primary star and the other on a dynamical tidal effect. When the starspot variability is removed from the data, the dynamical tidal model was the better approximation to the real physical situation. The analysis indicates that BM Cam is not rotating pseudosynchronously but rotating in virtual synchronism after all.

Well-Defined Cyclic Triblock Terpolymers: A Missing Piece of the Morphology Puzzle

KAUST Repository

Polymeropoulos, George; Bilalis, Panayiotis; Hadjichristidis, Nikolaos

2016-01-01

Two well-defined cyclic triblock terpolymers, missing pieces of the terpolymer morphology puzzle, consisting of poly(isoprene), polystyrene, and poly(2-vinylpyridine), were synthesized by combining the Glaser coupling reaction with anionic

Understanding the Puzzling Risk-Return Relationship for Housing

OpenAIRE

Lu Han

2013-01-01

Standard theory predicts a positive relationship between risk and return, yet recent data show that housing returns vary positively with risk in some markets but negatively in others. This paper rationalizes these cross-market differences in the risk-return relationship for housing, and in so doing, explains the puzzling negative relationship. The paper shows that when the current house provides a hedge against the risk associated with the future housing consumption, households are willing to...

Solar Twins and the Barium Puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reddy, Arumalla B. S.; Lambert, David L.

2017-01-01

Several abundance analyses of Galactic open clusters (OCs) have shown a tendency for Ba but not for other heavy elements (La−Sm) to increase sharply with decreasing age such that Ba was claimed to reach [Ba/Fe] ≃ +0.6 in the youngest clusters (ages < 100 Myr) rising from [Ba/Fe] = 0.00 dex in solar-age clusters. Within the formulation of the s -process, the difficulty to replicate higher Ba abundance and normal La−Sm abundances in young clusters is known as the barium puzzle. Here, we investigate the barium puzzle using extremely high-resolution and high signal-to-noise spectra of 24 solar twins and measured the heavy elements Ba, La, Ce, Nd, and Sm with a precision of 0.03 dex. We demonstrate that the enhanced Ba ii relative to La−Sm seen among solar twins, stellar associations, and OCs at young ages (<100 Myr) is unrelated to aspects of stellar nucleosynthesis but has resulted from overestimation of Ba by standard methods of LTE abundance analysis in which the microturbulence derived from the Fe lines formed deep in the photosphere is insufficient to represent the true line broadening imposed on Ba ii lines by the upper photospheric layers from where the Ba ii lines emerge. Because the young stars have relatively active photospheres, Ba overabundances most likely result from the adoption of a too low value of microturbulence in the spectrum synthesis of the strong Ba ii lines but the change of microturbulence in the upper photosphere has only a minor affect on La−Sm abundances measured from the weak lines.

Solar Twins and the Barium Puzzle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reddy, Arumalla B. S.; Lambert, David L., E-mail: bala@astro.as.utexas.edu [W.J. McDonald Observatory and Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1205 (United States)

2017-08-20

Several abundance analyses of Galactic open clusters (OCs) have shown a tendency for Ba but not for other heavy elements (La−Sm) to increase sharply with decreasing age such that Ba was claimed to reach [Ba/Fe] ≃ +0.6 in the youngest clusters (ages < 100 Myr) rising from [Ba/Fe] = 0.00 dex in solar-age clusters. Within the formulation of the s -process, the difficulty to replicate higher Ba abundance and normal La−Sm abundances in young clusters is known as the barium puzzle. Here, we investigate the barium puzzle using extremely high-resolution and high signal-to-noise spectra of 24 solar twins and measured the heavy elements Ba, La, Ce, Nd, and Sm with a precision of 0.03 dex. We demonstrate that the enhanced Ba ii relative to La−Sm seen among solar twins, stellar associations, and OCs at young ages (<100 Myr) is unrelated to aspects of stellar nucleosynthesis but has resulted from overestimation of Ba by standard methods of LTE abundance analysis in which the microturbulence derived from the Fe lines formed deep in the photosphere is insufficient to represent the true line broadening imposed on Ba ii lines by the upper photospheric layers from where the Ba ii lines emerge. Because the young stars have relatively active photospheres, Ba overabundances most likely result from the adoption of a too low value of microturbulence in the spectrum synthesis of the strong Ba ii lines but the change of microturbulence in the upper photosphere has only a minor affect on La−Sm abundances measured from the weak lines.

The Potential of Crossword Puzzles in Aiding English Language Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Merkel, Warren

2016-01-01

In an academic environment, teachers utilize crossword puzzles to help students learn or remember terminology. Outside the classroom, typically in daily newspapers, crosswords aid in vocabulary development, used as a learning tool, a leisure activity, or both. However, both the content and the grid structure of the crosswords in these two…

Desain Pembelajaran Bangun Datar Menggunakan Fable “Dog Catches Cat” And Puzzle Tangram Di Kelas II SD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisnani Lisnani

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengembangkan kemampuan berpikir kreatif matematis siswa dalam pengenalan dan pengelompokkan bangun datar melalui fable “dog catches cat”, puzzle tangram, dan kreasi origami. Metode yang digunakan adalah design research terdiri dari tiga tahap, yaitu: preliminary, design experiment (pilot experiment dan teaching experiment, dan analysis retrospective.  Penelitian ini mengembangkan hasil pembelajaran tentang bangun datar melalui serangkaian aktivitas, prosedur, dan strategi bagi siswa dalam menemukan kemampuan berpikir kreatif melalui Pendekatan Pendidikan Matematika Realistik Indonesia (PMRI melalui konteks tangram melalui fable “dog catches cat”. Puzzle tangram, dan kreasi origami menjadi starting point materi pengenalan dan pengelompokkan bangun datar. Hasil dari penelitian ini berupa learning trajectory pada masing-masing aktivitas yaitu: 1 Aktivitas 1, siswa mengenal berbagai bentuk bangun datar melalui penggunaan fable. 2 Aktivitas 2, siswa mampu menyebutkan dan mengelompokkan berbagai bangun datar melalui puzzle tangram. 3 Aktivitas 3, membentuk dan mengelompokkan bangun datar dan terbentuk suatu kreasi baru berupa kucing, anjing, dan lainnya.The purpose of this research is to develop mathematical creative thinking abilities and grouping students in the introduction of a flat wake through the fable “dog catches paint " , tangram puzzles, and origami creations. The method used is the research design consists of three stages: preliminary, design of experiments (pilot experiments and teaching experiments, and a retrospective analysis. This study develops learning outcomes on a flat wake through a series of activities, procedures, and strategies for students in finding creative thinking abilities through Realistic Mathematics Education Approach Indonesia (PMRI through tangram context through fable “dog catches the paint “. Tangram puzzles, and origami creations become the starting point and the

Last piece of the puzzle for ATLAS

CERN Multimedia

Clare Ryan

At around 15.40 on Friday 29th February the ATLAS collaboration cracked open the champagne as the second of the small wheels was lowered into the cavern. Each of ATLAS' small wheels are 9.3 metres in diameter and weigh 100 tonnes including the massive shielding elements. They are the final parts of ATLAS' muon spectrometer. The first piece of ATLAS was installed in 2003 and since then many detector elements have journeyed down the 100 metre shaft into the ATLAS underground cavern. This last piece completes this gigantic puzzle.

A Play on Words: Using Cognitive Computing as a Basis for AI Solvers in Word Puzzles

Science.gov (United States)

Manzini, Thomas; Ellis, Simon; Hendler, James

2015-12-01

In this paper we offer a model, drawing inspiration from human cognition and based upon the pipeline developed for IBM's Watson, which solves clues in a type of word puzzle called syllacrostics. We briefly discuss its situation with respect to the greater field of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and how this process and model might be applied to other types of word puzzles. We present an overview of a system that has been developed to solve syllacrostics.

The Retrofit Puzzle Extended: Optimal Fleet Owner Behavior over Multiple Time Periods

Science.gov (United States)

2009-08-04

In "The Retrofit Puzzle: Optimal Fleet Owner Behavior in the Context of Diesel Retrofit Incentive Programs" (1) an integer program was developed to model profit-maximizing diesel fleet owner behavior when selecting pollution reduction retrofits. Flee...

The Hiroshima neutron dosimetry enigma: Missing puzzle piece No. 6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gold, Raymond

1999-01-01

More than a decade has elapsed since the serious nature of the discrepancy between neutron dosimetry experiments (E) and neutron transport calculations (C) for the Hiroshima site was identified. Since that time extensive efforts to resolve this Hiroshima neutron dosimetry enigma have not only failed, but now demonstrate that the magnitude of this discrepancy is much greater than initially estimated. The currently evaluated E/C ratio for thermal neutron fluence at the Hiroshima site increases rapidly with increasing slant range from the epicenter. In the slant range region beyond 1000 m, E/C exceeds unity by one to two orders of magnitude depending on the specific dosimetry data that are utilized. Principal features that characterize the Hiroshima neutron dosimetry enigma are summarized. Puzzle Piece No. 6: In-situ production and Prompt fallout of radionuclides from Little Boy is advanced as a possible contributory phenomenon to this enigma. (The atom bomb detonated over Hiroshima was called Little Boy.) Measurements of 60 Co and 152 Eu specific activity at the Hiroshima site are used to obtain order of magnitude numerical estimates that show this conjecture is plausible. Comparison of different 60 Co measurements at the Hiroshima site reveals that the variation of E/C with slant range depends on the method used to quantify 60 Co specific activity as well as the type of dosimetry samples that are employed. These 60 Co comparisons lend additional qualitative credence to this conjecture. Within the limits of presently available data, these assessments show that Puzzle Piece No. 6 qualitatively satisfies the principal features that characterize the Hiroshima neutron dosimetry enigma. Nevertheless, current lack of data prevent this conjecture from being conclusively confirmed or refuted. Consequently, specific recommendations are advanced to resolve the Hiroshima neutron dosimetry enigma with emphasis on experimental tests that can quantitatively evaluate Puzzle Piece

Unraveling "Braid": Puzzle Games and Storytelling in the Imperative Mood

Science.gov (United States)

Arnott, Luke

2012-01-01

"Unraveling Braid" analyzes how unconventional, non-linear narrative fiction can help explain the ways in which video games signify. Specifically, this essay looks at the links between the semiotic features of Jonathan Blow's 2008 puzzle-platform video game Braid and similar elements in Georges Perec's 1978 novel "Life A User's Manual," as well as…

A Hybrid alldifferent-Tabu Search Algorithm for Solving Sudoku Puzzles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo Soto

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The Sudoku problem is a well-known logic-based puzzle of combinatorial number-placement. It consists in filling a n2 × n2 grid, composed of n columns, n rows, and n subgrids, each one containing distinct integers from 1 to n2. Such a puzzle belongs to the NP-complete collection of problems, to which there exist diverse exact and approximate methods able to solve it. In this paper, we propose a new hybrid algorithm that smartly combines a classic tabu search procedure with the alldifferent global constraint from the constraint programming world. The alldifferent constraint is known to be efficient for domain filtering in the presence of constraints that must be pairwise different, which are exactly the kind of constraints that Sudokus own. This ability clearly alleviates the work of the tabu search, resulting in a faster and more robust approach for solving Sudokus. We illustrate interesting experimental results where our proposed algorithm outperforms the best results previously reported by hybrids and approximate methods.

(Mis)perception of Sleep in Insomnia: A Puzzle and a Resolution

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Allison G.; Tang, Nicole K. Y.

2012-01-01

Insomnia is prevalent, causing severe distress and impairment. This review focuses on illuminating the puzzling finding that many insomnia patients misperceive their sleep. They overestimate their sleep onset latency (SOL) and underestimate their total sleep time (TST), relative to objective measures. This tendency is ubiquitous (although not…

Adding a Piece to the Leaf Epidermal Cell Shape Puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

von Wangenheim, Daniel; Wells, Darren M; Bennett, Malcolm J

2017-11-06

The jigsaw puzzle-shaped pavement cells in the leaf epidermis collectively function as a load-bearing tissue that controls organ growth. In this issue of Developmental Cell, Majda et al. (2017) shed light on how the jigsaw shape can arise from localized variations in wall stiffness between adjacent epidermal cells. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gene and stress history interplay in emergence of PTSD-like features.

Science.gov (United States)

Chakraborty, Nabarun; Meyerhoff, James; Gautam, Aarti; Muhie, Seid; Jibitu, Meskerem; De Lima, Thereza C M; Hammamieh, Rasha; Jett, Marti

2015-10-01

Systematically distinguishing genetic liability from other contributing factors is critical for designing a preventive strategy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To address this issue, we investigated a murine model exposing C57BL/6j, DBA/2j and BALB/cj mice to repeated stress via exposure to conspecific aggressors (Agg-E). Naïve mice from each strain were subjected to the proximity of aggressor (Agg) mice for 6h using a 'cage-within-a-cage' paradigm, which was repeated for 5 or 10 days with intermittent and unpredictable direct contact with Agg mice. During the Agg-E stress, DBA/2j developed a different strategy to evade Agg mice, which potentially contributed to its phenotypic resilience to Agg-E stress. Although Agg mice inflicted C57BL/6j and BALB/cj with equivalent numbers of strikes, BALB/cj displayed a distinct behavioral phenotype with delayed exhibition of a number of PTSD-like features. By contrast, C57BL/6j mice displayed unique vulnerability to Agg-E stress induced myocardopathy, possibly attributable to their particular susceptibility to hypoxia. A group of genes (Bdnf, Ngf, Zwint, Cckbr, Slc6a4, Fkbp5) linked to PTSD and synaptic plasticity were significantly altered in C57BL/6j and BALB/cj Agg-E mice. Contributions of Agg-E stress history and genotypic heterogeneity emerged as the key mediators of PTSD-like features. Linking genetic components to specific phenotypic and pathological features could have potential clinical implications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Can the magnetic moment contribution explain the Ay puzzle?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoks, V.G.

1998-01-01

We evaluate the full one-photon-exchange Born amplitude for Nd scattering. We include the contributions due to the magnetic moment of the proton or neutron, and the magnetic moment and quadrupole moment of the deuteron. It is found that the inclusion of the magnetic-moment interaction in the theoretical description of the Nd scattering observables cannot resolve the long-standing A y puzzle. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

Nuclear clustering and the electron screening puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Bertulani, C. A.; Spitaleri, C.

2018-01-01

Electron screening changes appreciably the magnitude of astrophysical nuclear reactions within stars. This effect is also observed in laboratory experiments on Earth, where atomic electrons are present in the nuclear targets. Theoretical models were developed over the past 30 years and experimental measurements have been carried out to study electron screening in thermonuclear reactions. None of the theoretical models were able to explain the high values of the experimentally determined screening potentials. We explore the possibility that the "electron screening puzzle" is due to nuclear clusterization and polarization e_ects in the fusion reactions. We will discuss the supporting arguments for this scenario.

Application-Based Crossword Puzzles: Players’ Perception and Vocabulary Retention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dzulfikri Dzulfikri

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the perceptions of students towards Application-Based Crossword Puzzles and how playing this game can affect the development of vocabulary amongst students. Drawing on Vygostky’s Socio-Cultural Theory which states that the human mind is mediated by cultural artifacts, the nature of this game poses challenges and builds curiosity, allowing players to pay more attention to the words to fill in the boxes which subsequently enhances their retention of vocabulary. This game has very good potential to build positive perceptions and to develop cognition in the linguistic domain of players, i.e. the amount of their vocabulary. In this study, the researcher conducted interviews with eligible or selected student players to find out their perceptions toward this game and administered a vocabulary test to find out how this game had added to the retention in memory of new words acquired by the players from the game. The study findings showed that the participants perceive this game positively and it affects the players’ vocabulary retention positively as indicated by their test results. It is recommended that English teachers consider using Application-Based Crossword Puzzles to help students build their vocabularies especially as part of extracurricular activities.

Having Fun and Accepting Challenges Are Natural Instincts: Jigsaw Puzzles to Challenge Students and Test Their Abilities While Having Fun!

Science.gov (United States)

Rodenbaugh, Hanna R.; Lujan, Heidi L.; Rodenbaugh, David W.; DiCarlo, Stephen E.

2014-01-01

Because jigsaw puzzles are fun, and challenging, students will endure and discover that persistence and grit are rewarded. Importantly, play and fun have a biological place just like sleep and dreams. Students also feel a sense of accomplishment when they have completed a puzzle. Importantly, the reward of mastering a challenge builds confidence…

Identification, quantification, spatiotemporal distribution and genetic variation of major latex secondary metabolites in the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale agg.).

Science.gov (United States)

Huber, Meret; Triebwasser-Freese, Daniella; Reichelt, Michael; Heiling, Sven; Paetz, Christian; Chandran, Jima N; Bartram, Stefan; Schneider, Bernd; Gershenzon, Jonathan; Erb, Matthias

2015-07-01

The secondary metabolites in the roots, leaves and flowers of the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale agg.) have been studied in detail. However, little is known about the specific constituents of the plant's highly specialized laticifer cells. Using a combination of liquid and gas chromatography, mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, we identified and quantified the major secondary metabolites in the latex of different organs across different growth stages in three genotypes, and tested the activity of the metabolites against the generalist root herbivore Diabrotica balteata. We found that common dandelion latex is dominated by three classes of secondary metabolites: phenolic inositol esters (PIEs), triterpene acetates (TritAc) and the sesquiterpene lactone taraxinic acid β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (TA-G). Purification and absolute quantification revealed concentrations in the upper mgg(-1) range for all compound classes with up to 6% PIEs, 5% TritAc and 7% TA-G per gram latex fresh weight. Contrary to typical secondary metabolite patterns, concentrations of all three classes increased with plant age. The highest concentrations were measured in the main root. PIE profiles differed both quantitatively and qualitatively between plant genotypes, whereas TritAc and TA-G differed only quantitatively. Metabolite concentrations were positively correlated within and between the different compound classes, indicating tight biosynthetic co-regulation. Latex metabolite extracts strongly repelled D. balteata larvae, suggesting that the latex constituents are biologically active. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

General intelligence is an emerging property, not an evolutionary puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramus, Franck

2017-01-01

Burkart et al. contend that general intelligence poses a major evolutionary puzzle. This assertion presupposes a reification of general intelligence - that is, assuming that it is one "thing" that must have been selected as such. However, viewing general intelligence as an emerging property of multiple cognitive abilities (each with their own selective advantage) requires no additional evolutionary explanation.

Right frontal gamma and beta band enhancement while solving a spatial puzzle with insight.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosen, A; Reiner, M

2017-12-01

Solving a problem with an "a-ha" effect is known as insight. Unlike incremental problem solving, insight is sudden and unique, and the question about its distinct brain activity, intrigues many researchers. In this study, electroencephalogram signals were recorded from 12 right handed, human participants before (baseline) and while they solved a spatial puzzle known as the '10 coin puzzle' that could be solved incrementally or by insight. Participants responded as soon as they reached a solution and reported whether the process was incremental or by sudden insight. EEG activity was recorded from 19 scalp locations. We found significant differences between insight and incremental solvers in the Gamma and Beta 2 bands in frontal areas (F8) and in the alpha band in right temporal areas (T6). The right-frontal gamma indicates a process of restructuring which leads to an insight solution, in spatial problems, further suggesting a universal role of gamma in restructuring. These results further suggest that solving a spatial puzzle via insight requires exclusive brain areas and neurological-cognitive processes which may be important for meta-cognitive components of insight solutions, including attention and monitoring of the solution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Changes in food intake and abnormal behavior using a puzzle feeder in newly acquired sub-adult rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta): a short term study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jae-Il; Lee, Chi-Woo; Kwon, Hyouk-Sang; Kim, Young-Tae; Park, Chung-Gyu; Kim, Sang-Joon; Kang, Byeong-Cheol

2008-10-01

The majority of newly acquired nonhuman primates encounter serious problems adapting themselves to new environments or facilities. In particular, loss of appetite and abnormal behavior can occur in response to environmental stresses. These adaptation abnormalities can ultimately have an affect on the animal's growth and well-being. In this study, we evaluated the affects of a puzzle feeder on the food intake and abnormal behavior of newly acquired rhesus monkeys for a short period. The puzzle feeder was applied to 47- to 58-month-old animals that had never previously encountered one. We found that there was no difference in the change of food intake between the bucket condition and the puzzle feeder condition. In contrast, the time spent for consumption of food was three times longer in the puzzle feeder condition than in the bucket condition. Two monkeys initially exhibited stereotypic behavior. One showed a decreasing, and the other an increasing pattern of abnormal behavior after introduction of the puzzle feeder. In conclusion, this result suggests that over a short period, the puzzle feeder can only affect the time for food consumption since it failed to affect the food intake and did not consistently influence stereotypic behaviors in newly acquired rhesus monkeys.

Freestyle multiple propeller flap reconstruction (jigsaw puzzle approach) for complicated back defects.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sung Woo; Oh, Tae Suk; Eom, Jin Sup; Sun, Yoon Chi; Suh, Hyun Suk; Hong, Joon Pio

2015-05-01

The reconstruction of the posterior trunk remains to be a challenge as defects can be extensive, with deep dead space, and fixation devices exposed. Our goal was to achieve a tension-free closure for complex defects on the posterior trunk. From August 2006 to May 2013, 18 cases were reconstructed with multiple flaps combining perforator(s) and local skin flaps. The reconstructions were performed using freestyle approach. Starting with propeller flap(s) in single or multilobed design and sequentially in conjunction with adjacent random pattern flaps such as fitting puzzle. All defects achieved tensionless primary closure. The final appearance resembled a jigsaw puzzle-like appearance. The average size of defect was 139.6 cm(2) (range, 36-345 cm(2)). A total of 26 perforator flaps were used in addition to 19 random pattern flaps for 18 cases. In all cases, a single perforator was used for each propeller flap. The defect and the donor site all achieved tension-free closure. The reconstruction was 100% successful without flap loss. One case of late infection was noted at 12 months after surgery. Using multiple lobe designed propeller flaps in conjunction with random pattern flaps in a freestyle approach, resembling putting a jigsaw puzzle together, we can achieve a tension-free closure by distributing the tension to multiple flaps, supplying sufficient volume to obliterate dead space, and have reliable vascularity as the flaps do not need to be oversized. This can be a viable approach to reconstruct extensive defects on the posterior trunk. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

A new piece of the puzzle

CERN Multimedia

2005-01-01

The team responsible for the installation of the hadronic calorimeter's central barrel after completion of the assembly work. Assembly of the great ATLAS puzzle continues underground. On 10 December, the final module of the central barrel of the tile hadronic calorimeter was assembled. This piece of the tile calorimeter had already been assembled above ground during a "dress rehearsal" in 2003 (see Bulletin no 46/2003, 10 November 2003). The hadronic calorimeter's two other barrels, the so-called "extended barrels", remain to be assembled with this first central barrel, which now surrounds the electromagnetic calorimeter barrel that was lowered into the cavern at the end of October. At the end of November, the second of the eight barrel toroid coils was also installed.

The proton radius puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Bonesini, Maurizio

2017-12-01

The FAMU (Fisica degli Atomi Muonici) experiment has the goal to measure precisely the proton Zemach radius, thus contributing to the solution of the so-called proton radius "puzzle". To this aim, it makes use of a high-intensity pulsed muon beam at RIKEN-RAL impinging on a cryogenic hydrogen target with an high-Z gas admixture and a tunable mid-IR high power laser, to measure the hyperfine (HFS) splitting of the 1S state of the muonic hydrogen. From the value of the exciting laser frequency, the energy of the HFS transition may be derived with high precision ( 10-5) and thus, via QED calculations, the Zemach radius of the proton. The experimental apparatus includes a precise fiber-SiPMT beam hodoscope and a crown of eight LaBr3 crystals and a few HPGe detectors for detection of the emitted characteristic X-rays. Preliminary runs to optimize the gas target filling and its operating conditions have been taken in 2014 and 2015-2016. The final run, with the pump laser to drive the HFS transition, is expected in 2018.

Pengaruh Model Pembelajaran Kooperatif Tipe Time Token Berbantu Puzzle Terhadap Kemampuan Berpikir Kritis Peserta Didik Kelas X Pada Materi Gelombang

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sri Latifah

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose in this research is to know the influence of cooperative Learning Models Time Type Token with puzzle toward critical thought abilityof the students grade X on Wave material at MA Al Hikmah Bandar Lampung year2014/2015 This research is quantitative with quasi experiment. Reasearch design that used is Nonequivalent Control Group Design with the population of all the students in grade X semestre even at MA Al Hikmah, Bandar Lampung year 2014/2015. The Sample of this research are used 2 classes; experiment and control class, where as experiment class (XA used cooperative time type token model with puzzle and control class (XB used cooperative learning model with pictures as media. Data colecting is using test (pretest and posttest, observation and documentation. After the data test collected, then it is analyzed by using normality test of statistic analysis, homoginity test and test-t. According to the result, it can be concluded that time type token with puzzle application influence significantly ttoward the ability of critical thinking of the students on Wave material at MA Al Hikmah Bandar Lampung year 2014/2015. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh model pembelajaran kooperatif tipe time token berbantu puzzle terhadap kemampuan berpikir kritis peserta didik kelas X pada materi Gelombang di MA Al Hikmah Bandar Lampung Tahun Pelajaran 2014/2015 .Penelitian ini termasuk kedalam penelitian kuantitatif dengan jenis penelitian Quasi Eksperimen. Desain penelitian ini menggunakan Nonequivalent Control Group Design dengan populasi yaitu seluruh peserta didik kelas X semester genap di MA Al Hikmah Bandar Lampung T.P 2014/2015. Sampel penelitian ini menggunakan 2 kelas yaitu kelas eksperimen dan kontrol, dimana kelas eksperimen (XA menggunakan model kooperatif tipe time token berbantu puzzle dan kelas kontrol (XB menggunakan model pembelajaran kooperatif media gambar. Teknik pengambilan data menggunakan test (pretest dan

ysteries, Puzzles, and Paradoxes in Quantum Mechanics. Proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodolfo, B.

1999-01-01

These proceedings represent papers presented at the Mysteries, Puzzles, and Paradoxes in Quantum Mechanics Workshop held in Italy, in August 1998. The Workshop was devoted to recent experimental and theoretical advances such as new interference, effects, the quantum eraser, non-disturbing and Schroedinger-cat-like states, experiments, EPR correlations, teleportation, superluminal effects, quantum information and computing, locality and causality, decoherence and measurement theory. Tachyonic information transfer was also discussed. There were 45 papers presented at the conference,out of which 2 have been abstracted for the Energy, Science and Technology database

Can Equity Volatility Explain the Global Loan Pricing Puzzle?

OpenAIRE

Lewis Gaul; Pinar Uysal

2013-01-01

This paper examines whether unobservable differences in firm volatility are responsible for the global loan pricing puzzle, which is the observation that corporate loan interest rates appear to be lower in Europe than in the United States. We analyze whether equity volatility, an error prone measure of firm volatility, can explain this difference in loan spreads. We show that using equity volatility in OLS regressions will result in biased and inconsistent estimates of the difference in U.S. ...

Black-hole information puzzle: a generic string-inspired approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikolic, H.

2008-01-01

Given the insight stemming from string theory, the origin of the black-hole (BH) information puzzle is traced back to the assumption that it is physically meaningful to trace out the density matrix over negative-frequency Hawking particles. Instead, treating them as virtual particles necessarily absorbed by the BH in a manner consistent with the laws of BH thermodynamics, and tracing out the density matrix only over physical BH states, complete evaporation becomes compatible with unitarity. (orig.)

The Puzzle of a Marble in a Spinning Pipe

Science.gov (United States)

2015-05-01

MAY 2015 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2015 to 00-00-2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE The Puzzle of a Marble in a Spinning Pipe 5a. CONTRACT...Approved for public release; distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT What trajectory does a marble follow if it is held...298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 Physics Education 50 (3) 279 1. Problem statement A marble is placed one-third of the length along a

The Puzzle of Male Chronophilias.

Science.gov (United States)

Seto, Michael C

2017-01-01

In this article, I return to the idea that pedophilia, a sexual interest in prepubescent children, can be considered a sexual orientation for age, in conjunction with the much more widely acknowledged and discussed sexual orientation for gender. Here, I broaden the scope to consider other chronophilias, referring to paraphilias for age/maturity categories other than young sexually mature adults. The puzzle of chronophilias includes questions about etiology and course, how chronophilias are related to each other, and what they can tell us about how human (male) sexuality is organized. In this article, I briefly review research on nepiophilia (infant/toddlers), pedophilia (prepubescent children), hebephilia (pubescent children), ephebophilia (postpubescent, sexually maturing adolescents), teleiophilia (young sexually mature adults, typically 20s and 30s), mesophilia (middle-aged adults, typically 40s and 50s), and gerontophilia (elderly adults, typically 60s and older) in the context of a multidimensional sexual orientations framework. Relevant research, limitations, and testable hypotheses for future work are identified.

The Eco-Efficiency Premium Puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guenster, N.; Derwall, J.; Bauer, R.; Koedijk, K.

2004-09-01

Conventional investment theory suggests that socially responsible investing (SRI) leads to inferior, rather than superior, portfolio performance. Using Innovest's well-established corporate eco-efficiency scores, we provide evidence supporting the contrary. We compose two equity portfolios that differ in ecoefficiency characteristics and find that our high-ranked portfolio provided substantially higher average returns compared to its low-ranked counterpart over the period 1995-2003. Using a wide range of performance attribution techniques to address common methodological concerns, we show that this performance differential cannot be explained by differences in market sensitivity, investment style, or industry-specific components. We finally investigate whether this ecoefficiency premium puzzle withstands the inclusion of transaction costs scenarios, and evaluate how excess returns can be earned in a practical setting via a best-in-class stock selection strategy. The results remain significant under all levels of transactions costs, thus suggesting that the incremental benefits of SRI can be substantial

Effects of age and type of picture on visuospatial working memory assessed with a computerized jigsaw-puzzle task.

Science.gov (United States)

Toril, Pilar; Reales, José M; Mayas, Julia; Ballesteros, Soledad

2017-09-15

We investigated the effect of age and color in a computerized version of the jigsaw-puzzle task. In Experiment 1, young and older adults were presented with puzzles in color and black-and-white line drawings, varying in difficulty from 4 to 9 pieces. Older adults performed the task better with the black-and-white stimuli and younger adults performed better with the color ones. In Experiment 2, new older and young adults identified the same fragmented pictures as fast and accurately as possible. The older group identified the black-and-white stimuli faster than those presented in color, while the younger adults identified both similarly. In Experiment 3A, new older and young groups performed the puzzle task with the same color pictures and their monochrome versions. In Experiment 3B, participants performed a speeded identification task with the two sets. The findings of these experiments showed that older adults have a memory not a perceptual difficulty.

Precautionary Borrowing and the Credit Card Debt Puzzle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Druedahl, Jeppe; Jørgensen, Casper Nordal

2015-01-01

This paper addresses the credit card debt puzzle using a generalization of the buffer-stock consumption model with long-term revolving debt contracts. Closely resembling actual US credit card law, we assume that card issuers can always deny their cardholders access to new debt, but that they cannot...... to simultaneously hold positive gross debt and positive gross assets even though the interest rate on the debt is much higher than the return rate on the assets. Including a risk of being excluded from new borrowing which is positively correlated with unemployment, we are able to simultaneously explain...

The birth order puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Zajonc, R B; Markus, H; Markus, G B

1979-08-01

Studies relating intellectual performance to birth order report conflicting results, some finding intellectual scores to increase, others to decrease with birth order. In contrast, the relationship between intellectual performance and family size is stable and consistently replicable. Why do these two highly related variables generate such divergent results? This birth order puzzle is resolved by means of the confluence model that quantifies the influences upon intellectual growth arising within the family context. At the time of a new birth, two opposing influences act upon intellectual growth of the elder sibling: (a) his or her intellectual environment is "diluted" and (b) he or she loses the "last-born's handicap" and begins serving as an intellectual resource to the younger sibling. Since these opposite effects are not equal in magnitude, the differences in intellectual performance among birth ranks are shown to be age dependent. While elder children may surpass their younger siblings in intellectual performance at some ages, they may be overtaken by them at others. Thus when age is taken into consideration, the birth order literature loses its chaotic character and an orderly pattern of results emerges.

Does Intrinsic Habit Formation Actually Resolve the Equity Premium Puzzle?

OpenAIRE

David A. Chapman

2002-01-01

Constantinides (1990) describes a simple model of intrinsic habit formation that appears to resolve the "equity premium puzzle" of Mehra and Prescott (1985). This finding is particularly important, since it has motivated a broader consideration of the implications of habit formation preferences in dynamic equilibrium models. However, consumption growth actually behaves very differently pre- and post-1948, and the explanatory power of the habit formation model is driven by the pre-1948 data. U...

Puzzling with potential: dynamic testing of analogical reasoning in children

OpenAIRE

Stevenson, Claire Elisabeth

2012-01-01

Assessment procedures are frequent in children's school careers; however, measuring potential for learning has remained a puzzle. Dynamic testing is a method to assess cognitive potential that includes training in the assessment process. The goal of this thesis project was to develop a new dynamic test of analogical reasoning for school children. The main aims were to (1) investigate factors that influence children’s differences in performance and change during dynamic testing and (2) examine...

Puzzles, paradoxes, and problem solving an introduction to mathematical thinking

CERN Document Server

Reba, Marilyn A

2014-01-01

Graphs: Puzzles and Optimization Graphical Representation and Search Greedy Algorithms and Dynamic Programming Shortest Paths, DNA Sequences, and GPS Systems Routing Problems and Optimal Circuits Traveling Salesmen and Optimal Orderings Vertex Colorings and Edge Matchings Logic: Rational Inference and Computer Circuits Inductive and Deductive Arguments Deductive Arguments and Truth-Tables Deductive Arguments and Derivations Deductive Logic and Equivalence Modeling Using Deductive Logic Probability: Predictions and Expectations Probability and Counting Counting and Unordered Outcomes Independen

New Nuclear Magnetic Moment of 209Bi: Resolving the Bismuth Hyperfine Puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Skripnikov, Leonid V.; Schmidt, Stefan; Ullmann, Johannes; Geppert, Christopher; Kraus, Florian; Kresse, Benjamin; Nörtershäuser, Wilfried; Privalov, Alexei F.; Scheibe, Benjamin; Shabaev, Vladimir M.; Vogel, Michael; Volotka, Andrey V.

2018-03-01

A recent measurement of the hyperfine splitting in the ground state of Li-like 80+208Bi has established a "hyperfine puzzle"—the experimental result exhibits a 7 σ deviation from the theoretical prediction [J. Ullmann et al., Nat. Commun. 8, 15484 (2017), 10.1038/ncomms15484; J. P. Karr, Nat. Phys. 13, 533 (2017), 10.1038/nphys4159]. We provide evidence that the discrepancy is caused by an inaccurate value of the tabulated nuclear magnetic moment (μI) of 209Bi. We perform relativistic density functional theory and relativistic coupled cluster calculations of the shielding constant that should be used to extract the value of μI(209ipts>) and combine it with nuclear magnetic resonance measurements of Bi (NO3 )3 in nitric acid solutions and of the hexafluoridobismuthate(V) BiF6- ion in acetonitrile. The result clearly reveals that μI(209Bi) is much smaller than the tabulated value used previously. Applying the new magnetic moment shifts the theoretical prediction into agreement with experiment and resolves the hyperfine puzzle.

New Nuclear Magnetic Moment of ^{209}Bi: Resolving the Bismuth Hyperfine Puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Skripnikov, Leonid V; Schmidt, Stefan; Ullmann, Johannes; Geppert, Christopher; Kraus, Florian; Kresse, Benjamin; Nörtershäuser, Wilfried; Privalov, Alexei F; Scheibe, Benjamin; Shabaev, Vladimir M; Vogel, Michael; Volotka, Andrey V

2018-03-02

A recent measurement of the hyperfine splitting in the ground state of Li-like ^{208}Bi^{80+} has established a "hyperfine puzzle"-the experimental result exhibits a 7σ deviation from the theoretical prediction [J. Ullmann et al., Nat. Commun. 8, 15484 (2017)NCAOBW2041-172310.1038/ncomms15484; J. P. Karr, Nat. Phys. 13, 533 (2017)NPAHAX1745-247310.1038/nphys4159]. We provide evidence that the discrepancy is caused by an inaccurate value of the tabulated nuclear magnetic moment (μ_{I}) of ^{209}Bi. We perform relativistic density functional theory and relativistic coupled cluster calculations of the shielding constant that should be used to extract the value of μ_{I}(^{209}Bi) and combine it with nuclear magnetic resonance measurements of Bi(NO_{3})_{3} in nitric acid solutions and of the hexafluoridobismuthate(V) BiF_{6}^{-} ion in acetonitrile. The result clearly reveals that μ_{I}(^{209}Bi) is much smaller than the tabulated value used previously. Applying the new magnetic moment shifts the theoretical prediction into agreement with experiment and resolves the hyperfine puzzle.

The puzzle of the 6Li quadrupole moment: steps toward the solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blokhintsev, L.D.; Kukulin, V.I.; Pomerantsev, V.N.

2005-01-01

The problem of origin of the ground-state 6 Li quadrupole deformation has been investigated with account of the three-deuteron component of this nucleus wave function. two long-standing puzzles related to the tensor interaction in 6 Li are known. The first one lies in the anomalously small value of the 6 Li quadrupole moment which, being negative, is in absolute magnitude smaller by the factor of 5 than that of 6 Li. The second puzzle consists in the anomalous behavior of the tensor analyzing power T 2q in scattering of polarized 6 Li nuclei from various targets. It is shown that the large (in absolute magnitude) negative contribution to the 6 Li quadrupole moment resulting from the three-deuteron configuration cancels almost completely the direct positive contribution due to the folding αd-potential. As a result, the total quadrupole moment turns out to be close to zero and highly sensitive to fine details of the tensor NN interaction and of the 4 He wave function [ru

Chinese American and Caucasian American Family Interaction Patterns in Spatial Rotation Puzzle Solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hutsinger, Carol S.; Jose, Paul E.

1995-01-01

Examined sociocultural influences on mathematics achievement. First generation Chinese American and Caucasian American mother-father-daughter triads were audiotaped as the fifth- and sixth-grade girls solved a spatial puzzle. Chinese American triads were quieter, more respectful, more serious, and more orderly, whereas Caucasian American triads…

Review of Experimental and Theoretical Status of the Proton Radius Puzzle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hill, Richard J. [TRIUMF

2017-01-01

The discrepancy between the measured Lamb shift in muonic hydrogen and expectations from electron-proton scattering and regular hydrogen spectroscopy has become known as the proton radius puzzle, whose most “mundane” resolution requires a > 5σ shift in the value of the fundamental Rydberg constant. I briefly review the status of spectroscopic and scattering measurements, recent theoretical developments, and implications for fundamental physics.

Puzzle of magnetic moments of Ni clusters revisited using quantum Monte Carlo method.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hung-Wen; Chang, Chun-Ming; Hsing, Cheng-Rong

2017-02-28

The puzzle of the magnetic moments of small nickel clusters arises from the discrepancy between values predicted using density functional theory (DFT) and experimental measurements. Traditional DFT approaches underestimate the magnetic moments of nickel clusters. Two fundamental problems are associated with this puzzle, namely, calculating the exchange-correlation interaction accurately and determining the global minimum structures of the clusters. Theoretically, the two problems can be solved using quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) calculations and the ab initio random structure searching (AIRSS) method correspondingly. Therefore, we combined the fixed-moment AIRSS and QMC methods to investigate the magnetic properties of Ni n (n = 5-9) clusters. The spin moments of the diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) ground states are higher than those of the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof ground states and, in the case of Ni 8-9 , two new ground-state structures have been discovered using the DMC calculations. The predicted results are closer to the experimental findings, unlike the results predicted in previous standard DFT studies.

Heavy flavor puzzle at LHC: a serendipitous interplay of jet suppression and fragmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Djordjevic, Magdalena

2014-01-31

Both charged hadrons and D mesons are considered to be excellent probes of QCD matter created in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions. Surprisingly, recent experimental observations at LHC show the same jet suppression for these two probes, which--contrary to pQCD expectations--may suggest similar energy losses for light quarks and gluons in the QCD medium. We here use our recently developed energy loss formalism in a finite-size dynamical QCD medium to analyze this phenomenon that we denote as the "heavy flavor puzzle at LHC." We show that this puzzle is a consequence of an unusual combination of the suppression and fragmentation patterns and, in fact, does not require invoking the same energy loss for light partons. Furthermore, we show that this combination leads to a simple relationship between the suppressions of charged hadrons and D mesons and the corresponding bare quark suppressions. Consequently, a coincidental matching of jet suppression and fragmentation allows considerably simplifying the interpretation of the corresponding experimental data.

Genetic Virulence Profile of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Danish Children with Either Acute or Persistent Diarrhea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hebbelstrup Jensen, Betina; Poulsen, Anja; Hebbelstrup Rye Rasmussen, Stig

2017-01-01

targeting the genes sat, sepA, pic, sigA, pet, astA, aatA, aggR, aaiC, aap, agg3/4C, ORF3, aafA, aggA, agg3A, agg4A, and agg5A. Furthermore, the distribution of EAEC genes in strains collected from cases of bloody, mucoid, and watery diarrhea was investigated. The classification and regression tree analysis...... was associated with the combination of the genes aatA and astA (p = 0.03). Non-mucoid diarrhea was associated with strains lacking the aatA gene (p = 0.004). Acute diarrhea was associated with the genes aggR, aap, and aggA by individual odds ratios. Resistance toward gentamicin and ciprofloxacin was observed......-negative-to identify additional factors predisposing to disease. The duration of breastfeeding was positively correlated with the likelihood of belonging to the EAEC-negative group of children....

The Puzzle of Non-proliferation and Disarmament (Part II)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponga, J. de

2011-01-01

Since, in 1945, the World was aware of the devastating power of nuclear weapons there have been many initiatives at international level to avoid nuclear weapon proliferation: the foundation of the IAEA, the NPT, the Safeguards Agreements, the Nuclear Weapon Free Zones, the treaties banning nuclear tests or the export control regime of the NSG, among others. This article aims to offer a general picture of all of them as pieces of a puzzle the purpose of which is not to allow gaps to non pacific uses of nuclear energy. (Author)

"It's like a puzzle": Pregnant women's perceptions of professional support in midwifery care.

Science.gov (United States)

Bäckström, Caroline A; Mårtensson, Lena B; Golsäter, Marie H; Thorstensson, Stina A

2016-12-01

Pregnant women are not always satisfied with the professional support they receive during their midwifery care. More knowledge is needed to understand what professional support pregnant women need for childbirth and parenting. Childbearing and the transition to becoming a parent is a sensitive period in one's life during which one should have the opportunity to receive professional support. Professional support does not always correspond to pregnant women's needs. To understand pregnant women's needs for professional support within midwifery care, it is crucial to further illuminate women's experiences of this support. To explore pregnant women's perceptions of professional support in midwifery care. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. Fifteen women were interviewed during gestational weeks 36-38. Data was analysed using phenomenography. The women perceived professional support in midwifery care to be reassuring and emotional, to consist of reliable information, and to be mediated with pedagogical creativity. The professional support facilitated new social contacts, partner involvement and contributed to mental preparedness. The findings of the study were presented in six categories and the category Professional support contributes to mental preparedness was influenced by the five other categories. Pregnant women prepare for childbirth and parenting by using several different types of professional support in midwifery care: a strategy that could be described as piecing together a puzzle. When the women put the puzzle together, each type of professional support works as a valuable piece in the whole puzzle. Through this, professional support could contribute to women's mental preparedness for childbirth and parenting. Copyright © 2016 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A resolution of the inclusive flavor-breaking τ |Vus| puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Hudspith, Renwick J.; Lewis, Randy; Maltman, Kim; Zanotti, James

2018-06-01

We revisit the puzzle of |Vus | values obtained from the conventional implementation of hadronic-τ- decay-based flavor-breaking finite-energy sum rules lying > 3 σ below the expectations of three-family unitarity. Significant unphysical dependences of |Vus | on the choice of weight, w, and upper limit, s0, of the experimental spectral integrals entering the analysis are confirmed, and a breakdown of assumptions made in estimating higher dimension, D > 4, OPE contributions identified as the main source of these problems. A combination of continuum and lattice results is shown to suggest a new implementation of the flavor-breaking sum rule approach in which not only |Vus |, but also D > 4 effective condensates, are fit to data. Lattice results are also used to clarify how to reliably treat the slowly converging D = 2 OPE series. The new sum rule implementation is shown to cure the problems of the unphysical w- and s0-dependence of |Vus | and to produce results ∼0.0020 higher than those of the conventional implementation employing the same data. With B-factory input, and using, in addition, dispersively constrained results for the Kπ branching fractions, we find |Vus | = 0.2231(27)exp(4)th, in excellent agreement with the result from Kℓ3, and compatible within errors with the expectations of three-family unitarity, thus resolving the long-standing inclusive τ |Vus | puzzle.

An Analysis of Closed-end Fund Puzzle for Emerging Capital Markets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Dragota

2008-10-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the closed-end fund puzzle for an emerging capital market, respectively the Romanian one. Comparatively to more developed markets, as long as small markets are often very illiquid, it has to be used some specific valuation techniques in order to estimate the market values for closed-end funds. Also, one problem is this estimation can be made only in some (punctual moments.

SOLVING THE PUZZLE OF SUBHALO SPINS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Yang; Lin, Weipeng [Key Laboratory for Research in Galaxies and Cosmology, Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Shanghai 200030 (China); Pearce, Frazer R.; Lux, Hanni; Onions, Julian [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD (United Kingdom); Muldrew, Stuart I., E-mail: wangyang@shao.ac.cn, E-mail: linwp@shao.ac.cn [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH (United Kingdom)

2015-03-10

Investigating the spin parameter distribution of subhalos in two high-resolution isolated halo simulations, recent work by Onions et al. suggested that typical subhalo spins are consistently lower than the spin distribution found for field halos. To further examine this puzzle, we have analyzed simulations of a cosmological volume with sufficient resolution to resolve a significant subhalo population. We confirm the result of Onions et al. and show that the typical spin of a subhalo decreases with decreasing mass and increasing proximity to the host halo center. We interpret this as the growing influence of tidal stripping in removing the outer layers, and hence the higher angular momentum particles, of the subhalos as they move within the host potential. Investigating the redshift dependence of this effect, we find that the typical subhalo spin is smaller with decreasing redshift. This indicates a temporal evolution, as expected in the tidal stripping scenario.

Resolutions of Several Puzzles at Intermediate pT and Recent Developments in Correlation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwa, Rudolph C.

2006-01-01

Some of the puzzles on hadron production at intermediate p T found at RHIC are explained as natural consequences of parton recombination. In that framework for hadronization the correlation among hadrons produced in jets can be calculated. Some new results on both near-side and away-side jet structures are presented

Understanding the proton radius puzzle: Nuclear structure effects in light muonic atoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ji Chen

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We present calculations of nuclear structure effects to the Lamb shift in light muonic atoms. We adopt a modern ab-initio approach by combining state-of-the-art nuclear potentials with the hyperspherical harmonics method. Our calculations are instrumental to the determination of nuclear charge radii in the Lamb shift measurements, which will shed light on the proton radius puzzle.

Can the consumption-free nonexpected utility model solve the risk premium puzzle? An empirical study of the Japanese stock market

OpenAIRE

Kang, Myong-Il

2010-01-01

This paper investigates whether the consumption-free two-beta intertemporal capital asset-pricing model developed by Campbell and Vuolteenaho (2004) is able to solve the risk premium puzzle in the Japanese stock market over the period 1984-2002. Using the cash flow and discount rate betas as risk factors, the model is able to explain about half of the market returns by selection of suitable vector autoregression variables. On this basis, the model proposed solves the risk premium puzzle in Ja...

Clarifying some remaining questions in the anomaly puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Xing; Parker, Leonard

2011-01-01

We discuss several points that may help to clarify some questions that remain about the anomaly puzzle in supersymmetric theories. In particular, we consider a general N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. The anomaly puzzle concerns the question of whether there is a consistent way in the quantized theory to put the R-current and the stress tensor in a single supermultiplet called the supercurrent, even though in the classical theory they are in the same supermultiplet. It was proposed that the classically conserved supercurrent bifurcates into two supercurrents having different anomalies in the quantum regime. The most interesting result we obtain is an explicit expression for the lowest component of one of the two supercurrents in 4-dimensional spacetime, namely the supercurrent that has the energy-momentum tensor as one of its components. This expression for the lowest component is an energy-dependent linear combination of two chiral currents, which itself does not correspond to a classically conserved chiral current. The lowest component of the other supercurrent, namely, the R-current, satisfies the Adler-Bardeen theorem. The lowest component of the first supercurrent has an anomaly, which we show is consistent with the anomaly of the trace of the energy-momentum tensor. Therefore, we conclude that there is no consistent way to construct a single supercurrent multiplet that contains the R-current and the stress tensor in the straightforward way originally proposed. We also discuss and try to clarify some technical points in the derivations of the two supercurrents in the literature. These latter points concern the significance of infrared contributions to the NSVZ β-function and the role of the equations of motion in deriving the two supercurrents. (orig.)

Puzzling the Jesus of the Parables: A response to Ruben Zimmermann

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Llewellyn Howes

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This article responds to Ruben Zimmermann’s latest book, Puzzling the Parables of Jesus (2015. In particular, one aspect of his proposed method is challenged, namely, his conscious attempt to do away with considerations of the pre-Easter context when interpreting the parables. The article finishes by proposing a variant methodology of parable interpretation, featuring the parable of the Good Samaritan as a working example.

The orthopositronium lifetime puzzle and its final solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Feng; Wu Jianda; Zhan Liang; Ye Bangjiao

2004-01-01

The ortho-positronium (o-Ps), which consists of an electron and positron, is a pure lepton bound system. The o-Ps lifetime can be calculated accurately by quantum electrodynamics, but there is a long-standing discrepancy between the theoretical calculations and the experimental results. Theoretical and experimental physicists have worked hard for a long time to solve the problem, and recently finally solved this lifetime puzzle. The authors briefly outline the discrepancy between the theoretical calculations of the o-Ps annihilation decay rate and some of the experimental measurements, as well as recent developments of experimental techniques, and its final solution. In particular, the final results of the Tokyo and michigan groups are discussed

Gardner's Two Children Problems and Variations: Puzzles with Conditional Probability and Sample Spaces

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Wendy; Stacey, Kaye

2014-01-01

This article presents "The Two Children Problem," published by Martin Gardner, who wrote a famous and widely-read math puzzle column in the magazine "Scientific American," and a problem presented by puzzler Gary Foshee. This paper explains the paradox of Problems 2 and 3 and many other variations of the theme. Then the authors…

Matter-antimatter puzzle: LHCb improves resolution

CERN Multimedia

Antonella Del Rosso

2012-01-01

In 2010, Fermilab’s DØ experiment reported a one percent difference in the properties of matter and antimatter in decays of B mesons (that is, particles containing beauty quarks) to muons. Saturday, at the ICHEP Conference in Melbourne, the LHCb experiment at CERN presents new results, which do not confirm this anomaly and are consistent with the Standard Model predictions. The same experiment has also presented the first evidence of asymmetry arising in other decays of the same family of mesons. The image becomes clearer but the puzzle has not yet been solved.   Inside the LHCb detector. The matter-antimatter imbalance in the Universe is a very hot topic in physics. The conundrum arises from the fact that, although objects made of antimatter are not observed in the Universe, theory predicts that matter and antimatter be created equally in particle interactions and in the Big Bang. Only small deviations from this very symmetric behaviour are incorporated in the theory. E...

Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities

CERN Document Server

Brambilla, N; Heltsley, B K; Vogt, R; Bodwin, G T; Eichten, E; Frawley, A D; Meyer, A B; Mitchell, R E; Papadimitriou, V; Petreczky, P; Petrov, A A; Robbe, P; Vairo, A; Andronic, A; Arnaldi, R; Artoisenet, P; Bali, G; Bertolin, A; Bettoni, D; Brodzicka, J; Bruno, G E; Caldwell, A; Catmore, J; Chang, C H; Chao, K T; Chudakov, E; Cortese, P; Crochet, P; Drutskoy, A; Ellwanger, U; Faccioli, P; Gabareen Mokhtar, A; Garcia i Tormo, X; Hanhart, C; Harris, F A; Kaplan, D M; Klein, S R; Kowalski, H; Lansberg, J P; Levichev, E; Lombardo, V; Lourenco, C; Maltoni, F; Mocsy, A; Mussa, R; Navarra, F S; Negrini, M; Nielsen, M; Olsen, S L; Pakhlov, P; Pakhlova, G; Peters, K; Polosa, A D; Qian, W; Qiu, J W; Rong, G; Sanchis-Lozano, M A; Scomparin, E; Senger, P; Simon, F; Stracka, S; Sumino, Y; Voloshin, M; Weiss, C; Wohri, H K; Yuan, C Z

2011-01-01

A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in 2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the $B$-factories and CLEO-c flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA, JLab, and the Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality, precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for continuing ...

Lactococcus lactis Subsp. Lactis Suşlarında Yüksek Sıklıkta Konjugal Transfer Sistemlerinin Analizi

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Çağla Tükel

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Bu çalışmada L. lactis subsp. lactis suşlarında laktoz fermentasyonu özelliğini kodlayan altı farklı plazmidin yüksek sıklıkta konjugal aktarım yeteneği araştırıldı. Bu plazmidlerin konjugal transfer sıklıkları; iki seks faktörünün interaksiyonuna bağlı olarak (Clu ve Agg, Clu-/Agg-, Agg+ x Clu-/Agg+, Agg- ya da Clu+/Agg- x Clu-/Agg- konjugasyon eşleri için 1.5x10-5–1.0x10-7 ve Clu+/Agg- x Clu-/Agg+ konjugasyon eşleri için 7.1x10-2-2.7x10-3 oranlarında değişim gösterdi. Laktoz plazmidlerinin stabiliteleri ise; doğal suşlarda %82-96, MG1390 alıcı suşu için tanımlanan konjugantlarda %77-98 ve MCL8060 alıcı suşu için tanımlanan konjugantlarda ise %44-67 arasında saptandı.

The Quark Puzzle: A Novel Approach to Visualizing the Color Symmetries of Quarks

Science.gov (United States)

Gettrust, Eric

2010-01-01

This paper describes a simple hands-on and visual-method designed to introduce physics students of many age groups to the topic of quarks and their role in forming composite particles (baryons and mesons). A set of puzzle pieces representing individual quarks that fit together in ways consistent with known restrictions of flavor, color, and charge…

The Role of Inhibitory Control in Children's Cooperative Behaviors during a Structured Puzzle Task

Science.gov (United States)

Giannotta, Fabrizia; Burk, William J.; Ciairano, Silvia

2011-01-01

This study examined the role of inhibitory control (measured by Stroop interference) in children's cooperative behaviors during a structured puzzle task. The sample consisted of 250 8-, 10-, and 12-year-olds (117 girls and 133 boys) attending classrooms in three primary schools in Northern Italy. Children individually completed an elaborated…

The Puzzle of Democratic Monopolies: Single Party Dominance and Decline in India

OpenAIRE

Dasgupta, Aditya

2016-01-01

How to explain political monopolies in democratic institutional settings? Dominant parties in countries with robust formal democratic institutions are surprisingly frequent, yet poorly understood. Existing theories explain away the puzzle by characterizing dominant parties as `catch-all' parties that survive on the basis of historically imbued mass voter legitimacy. This dissertation develops a theory of how dominant parties in fact routinely win free and fair elections despite counter-majori...

The Equity Premium Puzzle: Analysis in Brazil after the Real Plan

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Fábio Augusto Reis Gomes

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Our paper investigates whether there is evidence of an Equity Premium Puzzle (EPP in Brazil, applying two different methodologies. The EPP was identified by Mehra and Prescott (1985 since the Consumption Capital Asset Pricing Model (CCAPM, when calibrated with reasonable preference parameters, could not explain high historical average risk premiums in the United States. In our first approach, we consider Mehra’s (2003 model and calibrate the coefficient of risk aversion, using 1995:2-2012:1 quarterly data. The Ibovespa index was used as a measure of the market return, whereas the risk-free rate was proxied by the Selic interbank rate and by the savings account rate. In our second approach, we propose a new method to test the puzzle. We jointly estimate, via generalized method of moments, the parameters of interest using a moment condition that has not been previously explored, as far as we are aware of. The two approaches produced a high risk aversion coefficient, however the second approach indicated that we cannot reject the hypothesis of the risk aversion coefficient being statistically equal to zero. A possible explanation for this result might be that in Brazil the equity premium is not statistically different from zero. Therefore there is no evidence of EPP in Brazil for the studied period.

Ambiguity aversion and household portfolio choice puzzles: Empirical evidence*

Science.gov (United States)

Dimmock, Stephen G.; Kouwenberg, Roy; Mitchell, Olivia S.; Peijnenburg, Kim

2017-01-01

We test the relation between ambiguity aversion and five household portfolio choice puzzles: nonparticipation in equities, low allocations to equity, home-bias, own-company stock ownership, and portfolio under-diversification. In a representative US household survey, we measure ambiguity preferences using custom-designed questions based on Ellsberg urns. As theory predicts, ambiguity aversion is negatively associated with stock market participation, the fraction of financial assets in stocks, and foreign stock ownership, but it is positively related to own-company stock ownership. Conditional on stock ownership, ambiguity aversion is related to portfolio under-diversification, and during the financial crisis, ambiguity-averse respondents were more likely to sell stocks. PMID:28458446

Ambiguity aversion and household portfolio choice puzzles: Empirical evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Dimmock, Stephen G; Kouwenberg, Roy; Mitchell, Olivia S; Peijnenburg, Kim

2016-03-01

We test the relation between ambiguity aversion and five household portfolio choice puzzles: nonparticipation in equities, low allocations to equity, home-bias, own-company stock ownership, and portfolio under-diversification. In a representative US household survey, we measure ambiguity preferences using custom-designed questions based on Ellsberg urns. As theory predicts, ambiguity aversion is negatively associated with stock market participation, the fraction of financial assets in stocks, and foreign stock ownership, but it is positively related to own-company stock ownership. Conditional on stock ownership, ambiguity aversion is related to portfolio under-diversification, and during the financial crisis, ambiguity-averse respondents were more likely to sell stocks.

Multiple sclerosis pathogenesis: missing pieces of an old puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahmanzadeh, Reza; Brück, Wolfgang; Minagar, Alireza; Sahraian, Mohammad Ali

2018-06-08

Traditionally, multiple sclerosis (MS) was considered to be a CD4 T cell-mediated CNS autoimmunity, compatible with experimental autoimmune encephalitis model, which can be characterized by focal lesions in the white matter. However, studies of recent decades revealed several missing pieces of MS puzzle and showed that MS pathogenesis is more complex than the traditional view and may include the following: a primary degenerative process (e.g. oligodendroglial pathology), generalized abnormality of normal-appearing brain tissue, pronounced gray matter pathology, involvement of innate immunity, and CD8 T cells and B cells. Here, we review these findings and discuss their implications in MS pathogenesis.

Gaia's view of the λ Boo star puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Simon J.; Paunzen, Ernst

2017-04-01

The evolutionary status of the chemically peculiar class of λ Boo stars has been intensely debated. It is now agreed that the λ Boo phenomenon affects A stars of all ages, from star formation to the terminal age main sequence, but the cause of the chemical peculiarity is still a puzzle. We revisit the debate of their ages and temperatures in order to shed light on the phenomenon, using the new parallaxes in Gaia Data Release 1 with existing Hipparcos parallaxes and multicolour photometry. We find that no single formation mechanism is able to explain all the observations, and suggest that there are multiple channels producing λ Boo spectra. The relative importance of these channels varies with age, temperature and environment.

The Loss Aversion / Narrow Framing Approach to the Equity Premium Puzzle

OpenAIRE

Nicholas Barberis; Ming Huang

2006-01-01

We review a recent approach to understanding the equity premium puzzle. The key elements of this approach are loss aversion and narrow framing, two well-known features of decision-making under risk in experimental settings. In equilibrium, models that incorporate these ideas can generate a large equity premium and a low and stable risk-free rate, even when consumption growth is smooth and only weakly correlated with the stock market. Moreover, they can do so for parameter values that correspo...

Puzzle-based versus traditional lecture: comparing the effects of pedagogy on academic performance in an undergraduate human anatomy and physiology II lab.

Science.gov (United States)

Stetzik, Lucas; Deeter, Anthony; Parker, Jamie; Yukech, Christine

2015-06-23

A traditional lecture-based pedagogy conveys information and content while lacking sufficient development of critical thinking skills and problem solving. A puzzle-based pedagogy creates a broader contextual framework, and fosters critical thinking as well as logical reasoning skills that can then be used to improve a student's performance on content specific assessments. This paper describes a pedagogical comparison of traditional lecture-based teaching and puzzle-based teaching in a Human Anatomy and Physiology II Lab. Using a single subject/cross-over design half of the students from seven sections of the course were taught using one type of pedagogy for the first half of the semester, and then taught with a different pedagogy for the second half of the semester. The other half of the students were taught the same material but with the order of the pedagogies reversed. Students' performance on quizzes and exams specific to the course, and in-class assignments specific to this study were assessed for: learning outcomes (the ability to form the correct conclusion or recall specific information), and authentic academic performance as described by (Am J Educ 104:280-312, 1996). Our findings suggest a significant improvement in students' performance on standard course specific assessments using a puzzle-based pedagogy versus a traditional lecture-based teaching style. Quiz and test scores for students improved by 2.1 and 0.4% respectively in the puzzle-based pedagogy, versus the traditional lecture-based teaching. Additionally, the assessments of authentic academic performance may only effectively measure a broader conceptual understanding in a limited set of contexts, and not in the context of a Human Anatomy and Physiology II Lab. In conclusion, a puzzle-based pedagogy, when compared to traditional lecture-based teaching, can effectively enhance the performance of students on standard course specific assessments, even when the assessments only test a limited

Abrus agglutinin promotes irreparable DNA damage by triggering ROS generation followed by ATM-p73 mediated apoptosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinha, Niharika; Panda, Prashanta K; Naik, Prajna P; Das, Durgesh N; Mukhopadhyay, Subhadip; Maiti, Tapas K; Shanmugam, Muthu K; Chinnathambi, Arunachalam; Zayed, M E; Alharbi, Sulaiman A; Sethi, Gautam; Agarwal, Rajesh; Bhutia, Sujit K

2017-11-01

Oral cancer, a type of head and neck cancer, is ranked as one of the top most malignancies in India. Herein, we evaluated the anticancer efficacy of Abrus agglutinin (AGG), a plant lectin, in oral squamous cell carcinoma. AGG selectively inhibited cell growth, and caused cell cycle arrest and mitochondrial apoptosis through a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated ATM-p73 dependent pathway in FaDu cells. AGG-induced ROS accumulation was identified as the major mechanism regulating apoptosis, DNA damage and DNA-damage response, which were significantly reversed by ROS scavenger N-acetylcysteine (NAC). Moreover, AGG was found to interact with mitochondrial manganese-dependent superoxide dismutase that might inhibit its activity and increase ROS in FaDu cells. In oral cancer p53 is mutated, thus we focused on p73; AGG resulted in p73 upregulation and knock down of p73 caused a decrease in AGG-induced apoptosis. Interestingly, AGG-dependent p73 expression was found to be regulated by ROS, which was reversed by NAC treatment. A reduction in the level of p73 in AGG-treated shATM cells was found to be associated with a decreased apoptosis. Moreover, administration of AGG (50 μg/kg body weight) significantly inhibited the growth of FaDu xenografts in athymic nude mice. In immunohistochemical analysis, the xenografts from AGG-treated mice displayed a decrease in PCNA expression and an increase in caspase-3 activation as compared to the controls. In conclusion, we established a connection among ROS, ATM and p73 in AGG-induced apoptosis, which might be useful in enhancing the therapeutic targeting of p53 deficient oral squamous cell carcinoma. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Ratio of hadronic decay rates of J/ψ and ψ(2S) and the ρπ puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu, Y. F.; Li, X. H.

2001-01-01

The so-called ρπ puzzle of J/ψ and ψ(2S) decays is examined using the experimental data available to date. Two different approaches were taken to estimate the ratio of J/ψ and ψ(2S) hadronic decay rates. While one of the estimates could not yield the exact ratio of ψ(2S) to J/ψ inclusive hadronic decay rates, the other, based on a computation of the inclusive ggg decay rate for ψ(2S)(J/ψ) by subtracting other decay rates from the total decay rate, differs by two standard deviations from the naive prediction of perturbative QCD, even though its central value is nearly twice as large as what was naively expected. A comparison between this ratio, upon making corrections for specific exclusive two-body decay modes, and the corresponding experimental data confirms the puzzles in J/ψ and ψ(2S) decays. We find from our analysis that the exclusively reconstructed hadronic decays of the ψ(2S) account for only a small fraction of its total decays, and a ratio exceeding the above estimate should be expected to occur for a considerable number of the remaining decay channels. We also show that the recent new results from the BES experiment provide crucial tests of various theoretical models proposed to explain the puzzle

Interference between a fast-paced spatial puzzle task and verbal memory demands.

Science.gov (United States)

Epling, Samantha L; Blakely, Megan J; Russell, Paul N; Helton, William S

2017-06-01

Research continues to provide evidence that people are poor multi-taskers. Cognitive resource theory is a common explanation for the inability to efficiently perform multiple tasks at the same time. This theory proposes that one's limited supply of cognitive resources can be utilized faster than it is replenished, which results in a performance decline, particularly when these limited resources must be allocated among multiple tasks. Researchers have proposed both domain-specific, for example, spatial versus verbal processing resources, and domain general cognitive resources. In the present research, we investigated whether a spatial puzzle task performed simultaneously with a verbal recall task would impair performance in either task or both tasks, compared to performance on the tasks individually. As hypothesized, a reduction in word recall was found when dual-tasking, though performance on the puzzle task did not significantly differ between the single- and dual-task conditions. This is consistent, in part, with both a general resource theory and a Multiple Resource Theory, but further work is required to better understand the cognitive processing system. The employment of the recall task in the dual-task paradigm with a variety of secondary tasks will help to continue mapping out the specificity (or lack thereof) of cognitive resources utilized in various mental and physical tasks.

Toward a solution to the RAA and v2 puzzle for heavy quarks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Santosh K. Das

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The heavy quarks constitute a unique probe of the quark–gluon plasma properties. A puzzling relation between the nuclear modification factor RAA(pT and the elliptic flow v2(pT has been observed both at RHIC and LHC energies. Predicting correctly both observables has been a challenge to all existing models, especially for D mesons. We discuss how the temperature dependence of the heavy quark drag coefficient is responsible for a large part of such a puzzle. In particular, we have considered four different models to evaluate the temperature dependence of drag and diffusion coefficients propagating through a quark gluon plasma (QGP. All the four different models are set to reproduce the same RAA(pT observed in experiments at RHIC and LHC energy. We point out that for the same RAA(pT one can generate 2–3 times more v2 depending on the temperature dependence of the heavy quark drag coefficient. A non-decreasing drag coefficient as T→Tc is a major ingredient for a simultaneous description of RAA(pT and v2(pT.

A Computational/Experimental Platform for Investigating Three-Dimensional Puzzle Solving of Comminuted Articular Fractures

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Thaddeus P.; Anderson, Donald D.; Willis, Andrew R.; Liu, Pengcheng; Frank, Matthew C.; Marsh, J. Lawrence; Brown, Thomas D.

2011-01-01

Reconstructing highly comminuted articular fractures poses a difficult surgical challenge, akin to solving a complicated three-dimensional (3D) puzzle. Pre-operative planning using CT is critically important, given the desirability of less invasive surgical approaches. The goal of this work is to advance 3D puzzle solving methods toward use as a pre-operative tool for reconstructing these complex fractures. Methodology for generating typical fragmentation/dispersal patterns was developed. Five identical replicas of human distal tibia anatomy, were machined from blocks of high-density polyetherurethane foam (bone fragmentation surrogate), and were fractured using an instrumented drop tower. Pre- and post-fracture geometries were obtained using laser scans and CT. A semi-automatic virtual reconstruction computer program aligned fragment native (non-fracture) surfaces to a pre-fracture template. The tibias were precisely reconstructed with alignment accuracies ranging from 0.03-0.4mm. This novel technology has potential to significantly enhance surgical techniques for reconstructing comminuted intra-articular fractures, as illustrated for a representative clinical case. PMID:20924863

The Puzzle of Simultaneous Anti-Dumping and Anti-Subsidy Measures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jørgen Ulff-Møller; Hansen, Jørgen Drud

be a surprise, as the same total level of protection may be obtained by using the anti-dumping procedure exclusively. When calculating the two duties in the EU the outcome depends on whether the subsidies are export subsidies or domestic subsidies and this may also cause surprise. This paper addresses...... these puzzles in a theoretical analysis based on a duopoly model for a horizontally differentiated product. We argue that the procedures of two investigations leading to a two-component duty may be rational because it provides an incentive for the offending country and companies to terminate their ‘unfair...

An Interactive 3D Virtual Anatomy Puzzle for Learning and Simulation - Initial Demonstration and Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Messier, Erik; Wilcox, Jascha; Dawson-Elli, Alexander; Diaz, Gabriel; Linte, Cristian A

2016-01-01

To inspire young students (grades 6-12) to become medical practitioners and biomedical engineers, it is necessary to expose them to key concepts of the field in a way that is both exciting and informative. Recent advances in medical image acquisition, manipulation, processing, visualization, and display have revolutionized the approach in which the human body and internal anatomy can be seen and studied. It is now possible to collect 3D, 4D, and 5D medical images of patient specific data, and display that data to the end user using consumer level 3D stereoscopic display technology. Despite such advancements, traditional 2D modes of content presentation such as textbooks and slides are still the standard didactic equipment used to teach young students anatomy. More sophisticated methods of display can help to elucidate the complex 3D relationships between structures that are so often missed when viewing only 2D media, and can instill in students an appreciation for the interconnection between medicine and technology. Here we describe the design, implementation, and preliminary evaluation of a 3D virtual anatomy puzzle dedicated to helping users learn the anatomy of various organs and systems by manipulating 3D virtual data. The puzzle currently comprises several components of the human anatomy and can be easily extended to include additional organs and systems. The 3D virtual anatomy puzzle game was implemented and piloted using three display paradigms - a traditional 2D monitor, a 3D TV with active shutter glass, and the DK2 version Oculus Rift, as well as two different user interaction devices - a space mouse and traditional keyboard controls.

The puzzling resilience of transnational organized criminal networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leuprecht, Christian; Aulthouse, Andrew; Walther, Olivier

2016-01-01

international organized crime syndicate based in Jamaica, whose resilience proves particularly puzzling. We were curious to know whether there is any evidence that international borders have an effect on the structure of illicit networks that cross them. It turns out that transnational drug distribution......Why is transnational organized crime so difficult to dismantle? While organized crime networks within states have received some attention, actual transnational operations have not. In this article, we study the transnational drug and gun trafficking operations of the Shower Posse, a violent...... networks such as the Shower Posse rely on a small number of brokers whose role is to connect otherwise distinct domestic markets. Due to the high transaction costs associated with developing and maintaining transnational movement, the role of such brokers appears particularly important in facilitating...

15C-15F Charge Symmetry and the 14C(n,γ)15C Reaction Puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Timofeyuk, N.K.; Thompson, I.J.; Baye, D.; Descouvemont, P.; Kamouni, R.

2006-01-01

The low-energy reaction 14 C(n,γ) 15 C provides a rare opportunity to test indirect methods for the determination of neutron capture cross sections by radioactive isotopes versus direct measurements. It is also important for various astrophysical scenarios. Currently, puzzling disagreements exist between the 14 C(n,γ) 15 C cross sections measured directly, determined indirectly, and calculated theoretically. To solve this puzzle, we offer a strong test based on a novel idea that the amplitudes for the virtual 15 C→ 14 C+n and the real 15 F→ 14 O+p decays are related. Our study of this relation, performed in a microscopic model, shows that existing direct and some indirect measurements strongly contradict charge symmetry in the 15 C and 15 F mirror pair. This brings into question the experimental determinations of the astrophysically important (n,γ) cross sections for short-lived radioactive targets

Enhancing the Understanding of Government and Nonprofit Accounting with THE PUZZLE GAME: A Pilot Study

Science.gov (United States)

Elson, Raymond J.; Ostapski, S. Andrew; O'Callaghan, Susanne; Walker, John P.

2012-01-01

Nontraditional teaching aids such as crossword puzzles have been successfully used in the classroom to enhance student learning. Government and nonprofit accounting is a confusing course for students since it has strange terminologies and contradicts the accounting concepts learned in other courses. As such, it is an ideal course for a…

Gamma-ray bursts, a puzzle being resolved

CERN Multimedia

Piran, T

1999-01-01

Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs), short and intense bursts of Gamma-Rays, have puzzled astrophysicists since their accidental discovery in the seventies. BATSE, launched in 1991, has established the cosmological origin of GRBs and has shown that they involve energies much higher than previously expected, corresponding to the most powerful explosions known in the Universe. The fireball model, which has been developed during the last ten years, explains most of the observed features of GRBs . According to this model, GRBs are produced in internal collisions of ejected matter flowing at ultra-relativistic energy. This ultra-relativistic motion reaches Lorentz factors of order 100 or more, higher than seen elsewhere in the Universe. The GRB afterglow was discovered in 1997. It was predicted by this model and it takes place when this relativistic flow is slowed down by the surrounding material. This model was confirmed recently with the discovery last January of the predicted prompt optical emission from GRB 990123. Unfort...

Instructional Media Production for Early Childhood Education: A. B. C. Jig-Saw Puzzle, a Model

Science.gov (United States)

Yusuf, Mudashiru Olalere; Olanrewaju, Olatayo Solomon; Soetan, Aderonke K.

2015-01-01

In this paper, a. b. c. jig-saw puzzle was produced for early childhood education using local materials. This study was a production based type of research, to serve as a supplemental or total learning resource. Its production followed four phases of development referred to as information, design, production and evaluation. The storyboard cards,…

The puzzle box as a simple and efficient behavioral test for exploring impairments of general cognition and executive functions in mouse models of schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ben Abdallah, Nada M-B; Fuss, Johannes; Trusel, Massimo; Galsworthy, Michael J; Bobsin, Kristin; Colacicco, Giovanni; Deacon, Robert M J; Riva, Marco A; Kellendonk, Christoph; Sprengel, Rolf; Lipp, Hans-Peter; Gass, Peter

2011-01-01

Deficits in executive functions are key features of schizophrenia. Rodent behavioral paradigms used so far to find animal correlates of such deficits require extensive effort and time. The puzzle box is a problem-solving test in which mice are required to complete escape tasks of increasing difficulty within a limited amount of time. Previous data have indicated that it is a quick but highly reliable test of higher-order cognitive functioning. We evaluated the use of the puzzle box to explore executive functioning in five different mouse models of schizophrenia: mice with prefrontal cortex and hippocampus lesions, mice treated sub-chronically with the NMDA-receptor antagonist MK-801, mice constitutively lacking the GluA1 subunit of AMPA-receptors, and mice over-expressing dopamine D2 receptors in the striatum. All mice displayed altered executive functions in the puzzle box, although the nature and extent of the deficits varied between the different models. Deficits were strongest in hippocampus-lesioned and GluA1 knockout mice, while more subtle deficits but specific to problem solving were found in the medial prefrontal-lesioned mice, MK-801-treated mice, and in mice with striatal overexpression of D2 receptors. Data from this study demonstrate the utility of the puzzle box as an effective screening tool for executive functions in general and for schizophrenia mouse models in particular. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Box-Cox transformation for resolving Peelle's Pertinent Puzzle in curve fitting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Soo-Youl

2003-01-01

Incorporating the Box-Cox transformation into a least-squares method is presented as one of resolutions of an anomaly known as Peelle's Pertinent Puzzle. The transformation is a strategy to make non-normal distribution data resemble normal data. A procedure is proposed: transform the measured raw data with an optimized Box-Cox transformation parameter, fit the transformed data using a usual curve fitting method, then inverse-transform the fitted results to final estimates. The generalized least-squares method utilized in GMA is adopted as the curve fitting tool for the test of proposed procedure. In the procedure, covariance matrices are correspondingly transformed and inverse-transformed with the aid of error propagation law. In addition to a sensible answer to the Peelle's problem itself, the procedure resulted in reasonable estimates of 6 Li(n,t) cross sections in several to 800 keV energy region. Meanwhile, comparisons of the present procedure with that of Chiba and Smith show that both procedures yield estimates so close each other for the sample evaluation on 6 Li(n,t) above as well as for the Peelle's problem. Two procedures, however, are conceptually very different and further discussions would be needed for a consensus on this issue of resolving the Puzzle. It is also pointed out that the transformation is applicable not only to a least-squares method but also to other parameter estimation method such as a usual Bayesian approach formulated with an assumption of normality of the probability density function. (author)

New floristic records in the Balkans: 16

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zarkos, G.; Christodoulou, V.; Tan, Kit

2011-01-01

), Berberidaceae (81), Boraginaceae (1–3, 82), Brassicaceae (4, 5, 26, 27), Campanulaceae (6, 28, 29, 83), Caprifoliaceae (30), Chenopodiaceae (7), Cistaceae (8), Cornaceae (31), Crassulaceae (32–34), Dipsacaceae (84), Euphorbiaceae (64), Fabaceae (9–13, 35, 36, 65, 74), Gentianaceae (37, 38), Geraniaceae (39, 72...

New floristic records in the Balkans: 10

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2009-01-01

-67, 92), Dipsacaceae (61), Dryopteridaceae (6, 51), Euphorbiaceae (40), Fabaceae (80, 81, 99, 100, 112, 113), Gentianaceae (82), Guttiferae (101, 114), Hypolepidaceae (7), Iridaceae (42), Isoetaceae (8), Lamiaceae (83, 84), Liliaceae s.l. (43, 44, 104), Onagraceae (7), (42), (8), (83, 84), s.l. (43, 44...

Editorial: First report of powdery mildew (Oidium sp.) on Pincushion flowers (Scabiosa columbaria) in New York

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jankovics, T.; Kiss, L.; Niks, R.E.; Daughtrey, M.L.

2009-01-01

Scabiosa columbaria (Dipsacaceae) is a popular perennial ornamental in the United States. It is native to Europe and was introduced to North America by nursery trade only recently. In the spring of 2006, symptoms of powdery mildew infection were observed on overwintered plants of S. columbaria cv.

Puzzling Two-Proton Decay of 67Kr

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, S. M.; Nazarewicz, W.

2018-05-01

Ground-state two-proton (2 p ) radioactivity is a rare decay mode found in a few very proton-rich isotopes. The 2 p decay lifetime and properties of emitted protons carry invaluable information on nuclear structure in the presence of a low-lying proton continuum. The recently measured 2 p decay of 67Kr turned out to be unexpectedly fast. Since 67Kr is expected to be a deformed system, we investigate the impact of deformation effects on the 2 p radioactivity. We apply the recently developed Gamow coupled-channel framework, which allows for a precise description of three-body systems in the presence of rotational and vibrational couplings. This is the first application of a three-body approach to a two-nucleon decay from a deformed nucleus. We show that deformation couplings significantly increase the 2 p decay width of 67Kr; this finding explains the puzzling experimental data. The calculated angular proton-proton correlations reflect a competition between 1 p and 2 p decay modes in this nucleus.

New floristic records in the Balkans: 12

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2009-01-01

), Crassulaceae (6, 76-78), Cucurbitaceae (87), Dipsacaceae (7), Ericaceae (64), Euphorbiaceae (22, 100), Fabaceae (46, 61, 65-68, 70, (87), (7), (64), (22, 100), (46, 61, 65-68, 70, 79, 88), Gentianaceae (62), Grossulariaceae (71), Iridaceae (72), Juncaceae (12, 91), Lamiaceae (80), Liliaceae s.l. (13, 33-35, 51...

Piecing together the puzzle: Improving event content coverage for real-time sub-event detection using adaptive microblog crawling.

Science.gov (United States)

Tokarchuk, Laurissa; Wang, Xinyue; Poslad, Stefan

2017-01-01

In an age when people are predisposed to report real-world events through their social media accounts, many researchers value the benefits of mining user generated content from social media. Compared with the traditional news media, social media services, such as Twitter, can provide more complete and timely information about the real-world events. However events are often like a puzzle and in order to solve the puzzle/understand the event, we must identify all the sub-events or pieces. Existing Twitter event monitoring systems for sub-event detection and summarization currently typically analyse events based on partial data as conventional data collection methodologies are unable to collect comprehensive event data. This results in existing systems often being unable to report sub-events in real-time and often in completely missing sub-events or pieces in the broader event puzzle. This paper proposes a Sub-event detection by real-TIme Microblog monitoring (STRIM) framework that leverages the temporal feature of an expanded set of news-worthy event content. In order to more comprehensively and accurately identify sub-events this framework first proposes the use of adaptive microblog crawling. Our adaptive microblog crawler is capable of increasing the coverage of events while minimizing the amount of non-relevant content. We then propose a stream division methodology that can be accomplished in real time so that the temporal features of the expanded event streams can be analysed by a burst detection algorithm. In the final steps of the framework, the content features are extracted from each divided stream and recombined to provide a final summarization of the sub-events. The proposed framework is evaluated against traditional event detection using event recall and event precision metrics. Results show that improving the quality and coverage of event contents contribute to better event detection by identifying additional valid sub-events. The novel combination of

Piecing together the puzzle: Improving event content coverage for real-time sub-event detection using adaptive microblog crawling.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurissa Tokarchuk

Full Text Available In an age when people are predisposed to report real-world events through their social media accounts, many researchers value the benefits of mining user generated content from social media. Compared with the traditional news media, social media services, such as Twitter, can provide more complete and timely information about the real-world events. However events are often like a puzzle and in order to solve the puzzle/understand the event, we must identify all the sub-events or pieces. Existing Twitter event monitoring systems for sub-event detection and summarization currently typically analyse events based on partial data as conventional data collection methodologies are unable to collect comprehensive event data. This results in existing systems often being unable to report sub-events in real-time and often in completely missing sub-events or pieces in the broader event puzzle. This paper proposes a Sub-event detection by real-TIme Microblog monitoring (STRIM framework that leverages the temporal feature of an expanded set of news-worthy event content. In order to more comprehensively and accurately identify sub-events this framework first proposes the use of adaptive microblog crawling. Our adaptive microblog crawler is capable of increasing the coverage of events while minimizing the amount of non-relevant content. We then propose a stream division methodology that can be accomplished in real time so that the temporal features of the expanded event streams can be analysed by a burst detection algorithm. In the final steps of the framework, the content features are extracted from each divided stream and recombined to provide a final summarization of the sub-events. The proposed framework is evaluated against traditional event detection using event recall and event precision metrics. Results show that improving the quality and coverage of event contents contribute to better event detection by identifying additional valid sub-events. The

Antinociceptive activity of Astragalus gummifer gum (gum tragacanth) through the adrenergic system: A in vivo study in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Bagheri, Seyyed Majid; Keyhani, Leila; Heydari, Mehrangiz; Dashti-R, Mohammad Hossein

2015-01-01

In Iranian traditional medicine, gum obtained from Astragalus gummifer and some other species of Astragalus was used as analgesic agent. In this study, we investigated the antinociceptive effect of several concentrations (125, 250, and 500 μg/kg body weight) of Astragalus gummifer gum (AGG) on thermal and acetic acid induced pain in mice. AGG was dissolved in distillated water and injected i.p to male mice 15 minute before the onset of experiment. Writhing and hot-plate tests were applied to study the analgesic effect of AGG and compared with that of diclofenac sodium (30 mg/kg, i.p.) or morphine (8 mg/kg, i.p). To investigate the mechanisms involved in antinociception, yohimbine, naloxone, glibenclamide, and theophylline were used in writhing test. These drugs were injected intraperitoneally 15 min before the administration of AGG. The number of writhes were counted in 30 minutes and analyzed. AGG exhibited a significant antinociceptive effect and the most effective dose of AGG was 500 μg/kg. The most maximum possible effect (%MPE) was observed (117.4%) 15 min after drug administration. The %inhibition of acetic acid-induced writhing in AGG 125, 250 and 500 was 47%, 50% and 54% vs %15 of control and 66.3% of diclofenac sodium group. The antinociceptive effect induced by this gum in the writhing test was reversed by the systemic administration of yohimbine (α2-adrenergic antagonist), but naloxone, glibenclamide, and theophylline did not reverse this effect. The findings of this study indicated that AGG induced its antinociceptive through the adrenergic system.

What cognitive strategies do orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) use to solve a trial-unique puzzle-tube task incorporating multiple obstacles?

Science.gov (United States)

Tecwyn, Emma C; Thorpe, Susannah K S; Chappell, Jackie

2012-01-01

Apparently sophisticated behaviour during problem-solving is often the product of simple underlying mechanisms, such as associative learning or the use of procedural rules. These and other more parsimonious explanations need to be eliminated before higher-level cognitive processes such as causal reasoning or planning can be inferred. We presented three Bornean orangutans with 64 trial-unique configurations of a puzzle-tube to investigate whether they were able to consider multiple obstacles in two alternative paths, and subsequently choose the correct direction in which to move a reward in order to retrieve it. We were particularly interested in how subjects attempted to solve the task, namely which behavioural strategies they could have been using, as this is how we may begin to elucidate the cognitive mechanisms underpinning their choices. To explore this, we simulated performance outcomes across the 64 trials for various procedural rules and rule combinations that subjects may have been using based on the configuration of different obstacles. Two of the three subjects solved the task, suggesting that they were able to consider at least some of the obstacles in the puzzle-tube before executing action to retrieve the reward. This is impressive compared with the past performances of great apes on similar, arguably less complex tasks. Successful subjects may have been using a heuristic rule combination based on what they deemed to be the most relevant cue (the configuration of the puzzle-tube ends), which may be a cognitively economical strategy.

Immature stages and phylogenetic importance of Astrapaeus, a rove beetle genus of puzzling systematic position (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylinini)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pietrykowska-Tudruj, E.; Staniec, B.; Wojas, T.; Alexey, A.

2014-01-01

For the first time eggs, larvae and pupae obtained by rearing are described for Astrapaeus, a monotypic West Palearctic rove beetle genus of a puzzling phylogenetic position within the megadiverse tribe Staphylinini. Morphology of the immature stages of Astrapaeus ulmi is compared to that of other

Visual Puzzles, Figure Weights, and Cancellation: Some Preliminary Hypotheses on the Functional and Neural Substrates of These Three New WAIS-IV Subtests

Science.gov (United States)

McCrea, Simon M.; Robinson, Thomas P.

2011-01-01

In this study, five consecutive patients with focal strokes and/or cortical excisions were examined with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and Wechsler Memory Scale—Fourth Editions along with a comprehensive battery of other neuropsychological tasks. All five of the lesions were large and typically involved frontal, temporal, and/or parietal lobes and were lateralized to one hemisphere. The clinical case method was used to determine the cognitive neuropsychological correlates of mental rotation (Visual Puzzles), Piagetian balance beam (Figure Weights), and visual search (Cancellation) tasks. The pattern of results on Visual Puzzles and Figure Weights suggested that both subtests involve predominately right frontoparietal networks involved in visual working memory. It appeared that Visual Puzzles could also critically rely on the integrity of the left temporoparietal junction. The left temporoparietal junction could be involved in temporal ordering and integration of local elements into a nonverbal gestalt. In contrast, the Figure Weights task appears to critically involve the right temporoparietal junction involved in numerical magnitude estimation. Cancellation was sensitive to left frontotemporal lesions and not right posterior parietal lesions typical of other visual search tasks. In addition, the Cancellation subtest was sensitive to verbal search strategies and perhaps object-based attention demands, thereby constituting a unique task in comparison with previous visual search tasks. PMID:22389807

Antinociceptive activity of Astragalus gummifer gum (gum tragacanth through the adrenergic system: A in vivo study in mice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyyed Majid Bagheri

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: In Iranian traditional medicine, gum obtained from Astragalus gummifer and some other species of Astragalus was used as analgesic agent. Objective: In this study, we investigated the antinociceptive effect of several concentrations (125, 250, and 500 μg/kg body weight of Astragalus gummifer gum (AGG on thermal and acetic acid induced pain in mice. Materials and Methods: AGG was dissolved in distillated water and injected i.p to male mice 15 minute before the onset of experiment. Writhing and hot-plate tests were applied to study the analgesic effect of AGG and compared with that of diclofenac sodium (30 mg/kg, i.p. or morphine (8 mg/kg, i.p. To investigate the mechanisms involved in antinociception, yohimbine, naloxone, glibenclamide, and theophylline were used in writhing test. These drugs were injected intraperitoneally 15 min before the administration of AGG. The number of writhes were counted in 30 minutes and analyzed. Results: AGG exhibited a significant antinociceptive effect and the most effective dose of AGG was 500 μg/kg. The most maximum possible effect (%MPE was observed (117.4% 15 min after drug administration. The %inhibition of acetic acid-induced writhing in AGG 125, 250 and 500 was 47%, 50% and 54% vs %15 of control and 66.3% of diclofenac sodium group. The antinociceptive effect induced by this gum in the writhing test was reversed by the systemic administration of yohimbine (α2 -adrenergic antagonist, but naloxone, glibenclamide, and theophylline did not reverse this effect. Conclusions: The findings of this study indicated that AGG induced its antinociceptive through the adrenergic system.

Solving the puzzle of pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte maturation: piece by piece.

Science.gov (United States)

Lundy, David J; Lee, Desy S; Hsieh, Patrick C H

2017-03-01

There is a growing need for in vitro models which can serve as platforms for drug screening and basic research. Human adult cardiomyocytes cannot be readily obtained or cultured, and so pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes appear to be an attractive option. Unfortunately, these cells are structurally and functionally immature-more comparable to foetal cardiomyocytes than adult. A recent study by Ruan et al ., provides new insights into accelerating the maturation process and takes us a step closer to solving the puzzle of pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte maturation.

New floristic records in the Balkans: 17

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zarkos, G.; Christodolou, V.; Tan, Kit

2011-01-01

(13, 87), Dipsacaceae (138), Fabaceae (1–3, 41, 81, 82, 98, 139), Iridaceae (64, 65, 88), Juncaceae (14, 15), Lamiaceae (8, 42–45, 99, 100), Liliaceae s.l. (66–69, 104, 105, 113, 142), Linaceae (9), Loranthaceae (46), Monotropaceae (83, 110), Moraceae (129), Onagraceae (47), Orchidaceae (89, 90, 106...

'Super' Japanese site gears up to sole neutrino puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Normile, D.

1995-01-01

Ever since Wolfgang Pauli proposed the existence of neutrinos in 1930 to explain some puzzling features of the radioactive decay of certain atoms, expermentalists have labored hard to detect enough of the elusive particles to determine their properties. It took 26 years to prove that Pauli's particle even exits-a feat for which Frederick Reines of the University of California (UC), Irvine, won the Nobel Prize last month. Soon, however, physicists will be capturing neutrinos in unprecedented numbers in a 50,000-metric-ton tank that will fill with water starting next month. Researchers hope that this colossal waterbath will yield an answer to one of the most pressing questions is cosmology and high-energy physics: Do neutrinos have mass?The $100 million experiment, called Super-Kamiokande, in located in a lead mine west of Tokyo. This article describes the work to be conducted

200 more puzzling physics problems with hints and solutions

CERN Document Server

Gnädig, Péter; Vigh, Máté

2016-01-01

Like its predecessor, 200 Puzzling Physics Problems, this book is aimed at strengthening students' grasp of the laws of physics by applying them to situations that are practical, and to problems that yield more easily to intuitive insight than to brute-force methods and complex mathematics. The problems are chosen almost exclusively from classical, non-quantum physics, but are no easier for that. They are intriguingly posed in accessible non-technical language, and require readers to select an appropriate analysis framework and decide which branches of physics are involved. The general level of sophistication needed is that of the exceptional school student, the good undergraduate, or the competent graduate student; some physics professors may find some of the more difficult questions challenging. By contrast, the mathematical demands are relatively minimal, and seldom go beyond elementary calculus. This further book of physics problems is not only instructive and challenging, but also enjoyable.

Lambda-nuclear interactions and hyperon puzzle in neutron stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haidenbauer, J. [Forschungszentrum Juelich, Institute for Advanced Simulation, Institut fuer Kernphysik and Juelich Center for Hadron Physics, Juelich (Germany); Universitaet Bonn, Helmholtz Institut fuer Strahlen- und Kernphysik and Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics, Bonn (Germany); Meissner, U.G. [Universitaet Bonn, Helmholtz Institut fuer Strahlen- und Kernphysik and Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics, Bonn (Germany); Forschungszentrum Juelich, Institute for Advanced Simulation, Institut fuer Kernphysik and Juelich Center for Hadron Physics, Juelich (Germany); Kaiser, N.; Weise, W. [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Physik Department, Garching (Germany)

2017-06-15

Brueckner theory is used to investigate the in-medium properties of a Λ-hyperon in nuclear and neutron matter, based on hyperon-nucleon interactions derived within SU(3) chiral effective field theory (EFT). It is shown that the resulting Λ single-particle potential U{sub Λ}(p{sub Λ} = 0, ρ) becomes strongly repulsive for densities ρ of two-to-three times that of normal nuclear matter. Adding a density-dependent effective ΛN-interaction constructed from chiral ΛNN three-body forces increases the repulsion further. Consequences of these findings for neutron stars are discussed. It is argued that for hyperon-nuclear interactions with properties such as those deduced from the SU(3) EFT potentials, the onset for hyperon formation in the core of neutron stars could be shifted to much higher density which, in turn, could pave the way for resolving the so-called hyperon puzzle. (orig.)

Interfacial depinning transitions in disordered media: revisiting an old puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moglia, Belén; Albano, Ezequiel V; Villegas, Pablo; Muñoz, Miguel A

2014-01-01

Interfaces advancing through random media represent a number of different problems in physics, biology and other disciplines. Here, we study the pinning/depinning transition of the prototypical non-equilibrium interfacial model, i.e. the Kardar–Parisi–Zhang equation, advancing in a disordered medium. We will separately analyze the cases of positive and negative non-linearity coefficients, which are believed to exhibit qualitatively different behavior: the positive case shows a continuous transition that can be related to directed-percolation-depinning, while in the negative case there is a discontinuous transition and faceted interfaces appear. Some studies have argued from different perspectives that both cases share the same universal behavior. By using a number of computational and scaling techniques we will shed light on this puzzling situation and conclude that the two cases are intrinsically different. (paper)

REVIEW: A GRAMMAR OF GUÌQIÓNG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesse P. Gates

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Jiāng Lì. 2015. A Grammar of Guìqióng: A Language of Sichuan. Leiden: Brill. xiv + 452 pp. ISBN 9789004292093 (hardback 213USD - E-ISBN 9789004293045 (electronic 217USD. Jiang Li's A Grammar of Guìqióng (henceforth, AGG is a revision of her PhD dissertation at the University of Berne under the supervision of George Van Driem. It is a most welcome contribution to our understanding of this under-described language. The primary dialects of Guiqiong described in AGG are spoken in Changma Village of Maibeng Township and Qianxi Village of Qianxi Township, both in Kangding County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China. Some praiseworthy aspects of AGG include a plethora of examples sentences; a total of about 1500 example sentences are in the book. Included in the list of abbreviations are the linguistic forms from Guiqiong. The inclusion of photographs of the Guiqiong people and their geographic setting adds interest and appeal to the book. Appendix 1 (321-347 contains six texts of "sayings, stories, and recollections." This review is divided into sections similar to the divisions that the chapters of AGG provide: Introduction to AGG, Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Errata, and Conclusion. Comments on AGG's chapter on pragmatics will be incorporated into the section on syntax since AGG's chapter on pragmatics is very short. Back-matter will also be briefly overviewed in the syntax section. ...

Global climate change and the equity-efficiency puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manne, Alan S.; Stephan, Gunter

2005-01-01

There is a broad consensus that the costs of abatement of global climate change can be reduced efficiently through the assignment of quota rights and through international trade in these rights. There is, however, no consensus on whether the initial assignment of emissions permits can affect the Pareto-optimal global level of abatement. This paper provides some insight into the equity-efficiency puzzle. Qualitative results are obtained from a small-scale model; then quantitative evidence of separability is obtained from MERGE, a multiregion integrated assessment model. It is shown that if all the costs of climate change can be expressed in terms of GDP losses, Pareto-efficient abatement strategies are independent of the initial allocation of emissions rights. This is the case sometimes described as 'market damages'. If, however, different regions assign different values to nonmarket damages such as species losses, different sharing rules may affect the Pareto-optimal level of greenhouse gas abatement. Separability may then be demonstrated only in specific cases (e.g. identical welfare functions or quasi-linearity of preferences or small shares of wealth devoted to abatement)

An Effective Method of Introducing the Periodic Table as a Crossword Puzzle at the High School Level

Science.gov (United States)

Joag, Sushama D.

2014-01-01

A simple method to introduce the modern periodic table of elements at the high school level as a game of solving a crossword puzzle is presented here. A survey to test the effectiveness of this new method relative to the conventional method, involving use of a wall-mounted chart of the periodic table, was conducted on a convenience sample. This…

Recoding method that removes inhibitory sequences and improves HIV gene expression

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rabadan, Raul; Krasnitz, Michael; Robins, Harlan; Witten, Daniela; Levine, Arnold

2016-08-23

The invention relates to inhibitory nucleotide signal sequences or "INS" sequences in the genomes of lentiviruses. In particular the invention relates to the AGG motif present in all viral genomes. The AGG motif may have an inhibitory effect on a virus, for example by reducing the levels of, or maintaining low steady-state levels of, viral RNAs in host cells, and inducing and/or maintaining in viral latency. In one aspect, the invention provides vaccines that contain, or are produced from, viral nucleic acids in which the AGG sequences have been mutated. In another aspect, the invention provides methods and compositions for affecting the function of the AGG motif, and methods for identifying other INS sequences in viral genomes.

International Evidence on the Role of Monetary Policy in the Uncovered Interest Rate Parity Puzzle

OpenAIRE

Alfred V Guender

2015-01-01

CPI inflation targeting necessitates a flexible exchange rate regime. This paper embeds an endogenous target rule into a simple open economy macro model to explain the UIP puzzle. The model predicts that the change in the exchange rate is inversely related to the lagged interest rate differential. Openness and aversion to inflation variability determine the strength of this linkage. Foreign inflation and the foreign interest rate also affect exchange rate changes. This hypothesis is tested on...

Estrogen, Angiogenesis, Immunity and Cell Metabolism: Solving the Puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Trenti, Annalisa; Tedesco, Serena; Boscaro, Carlotta; Trevisi, Lucia; Bolego, Chiara; Cignarella, Andrea

2018-03-15

Estrogen plays an important role in the regulation of cardiovascular physiology and the immune system by inducing direct effects on multiple cell types including immune and vascular cells. Sex steroid hormones are implicated in cardiovascular protection, including endothelial healing in case of arterial injury and collateral vessel formation in ischemic tissue. Estrogen can exert potent modulation effects at all levels of the innate and adaptive immune systems. Their action is mediated by interaction with classical estrogen receptors (ERs), ERα and ERβ, as well as the more recently identified G-protein coupled receptor 30/G-protein estrogen receptor 1 (GPER1), via both genomic and non-genomic mechanisms. Emerging data from the literature suggest that estrogen deficiency in menopause is associated with an increased potential for an unresolved inflammatory status. In this review, we provide an overview through the puzzle pieces of how 17β-estradiol can influence the cardiovascular and immune systems.

Induced Hyperon-Nucleon-Nucleon Interactions and the Hyperon Puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Wirth, Roland; Roth, Robert

2016-10-28

We present the first ab initio calculations for p-shell hypernuclei including hyperon-nucleon-nucleon (YNN) contributions induced by a similarity renormalization group transformation of the initial hyperon-nucleon interaction. The transformation including the YNN terms conserves the spectrum of the Hamiltonian while drastically improving model-space convergence of the importance-truncated no-core model, allowing a precise extraction of binding and excitation energies. Results using a hyperon-nucleon interaction at leading order in chiral effective field theory for lower- to mid-p-shell hypernuclei show a good reproduction of experimental excitation energies while hyperon separation energies are typically overestimated. The induced YNN contributions are strongly repulsive and we show that they are related to a decoupling of the Σ hyperons from the hypernuclear system, i.e., a suppression of the Λ-Σ conversion terms in the Hamiltonian. This is linked to the so-called hyperon puzzle in neutron-star physics and provides a basic mechanism for the explanation of strong ΛNN three-baryon forces.

Brodmann area 12: an historical puzzle relevant to FTLD.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawamura, M; Miller, M W; Ichikawa, H; Ishihara, K; Sugimoto, A

2011-05-03

Brodmann brain maps, assembled in 1909, are still in use, but understanding of their animal-human homology is uncertain. Furthermore, in 1909, Brodmann did not identify human area 12 (BA12), a location now important to understanding of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). We re-examined Brodmann's areas, both animal and human, in his 1909 monograph and other literature, both historical and contemporary, and projected BA12 onto the medial surface of a fixed human brain to show its location. We found Brodmann did identify human BA12 in later maps (1910 and 1914), but that his brain areas, contrary to his own aims as a comparative anatomist, are now used as physiologic loci in human brain. Because of its current link with frontotemporal dementia, BA12's transition from animal (1909) to human (1910 and 1914) is not only an historical puzzle. It impacts how Brodmann's areas, based on comparative animal-human cytoarchitecture, are widely used in current research as functional loci in human brain.

Induced hyperon-nucleon-nucleon interactions and the hyperon puzzle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wirth, Roland; Roth, Robert [Institut fuer Kernphysik, TU Darmstadt (Germany)

2016-07-01

There is a strong experimental and theoretical interest in determining the structure of hypernuclei and the effect of strangeness in strongly interacting many-body systems. Recently, we presented the first calculations of hypernuclei in the p shell from first principles. However, these calculations showed either slow convergence with respect to model-space size or, when the hyperon-nucleon potential is transformed via the Similarity Renormalization Group, strong induced three-body terms. By including these induced hyperon-nucleon-nucleon (YNN) terms explicitly, we get precise binding and excitation energies. We present first results for p-shell hypernuclei and discuss the origin of the YNN terms, which are mainly driven by the evolution of the Λ-Σ conversion terms. We find that they are tightly connected to the hyperon puzzle, a long-standing issue where the appearance of hyperons in models of neutron star matter lowers the predicted maximum neutron star mass below the bound set by the heaviest observed objects.

Gut gemeint ist nicht gleich gut gemacht! Meant Well is not the Same as Well Done!

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Lewalter

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Der Beitrag von Manfred Becker lässt sich wohlmeinend als Plädoyer für einen pragmatischen Umgang mit dem AGG lesen. Er möchte Personaler/-innen zeigen, wie die Vorgaben des AGG im Rahmen eines Human Resources Diversity Managements positiv umgesetzt werden können. In weiten Teilen überzeugen die Ausführungen des Autors aber nicht. Gerade die Darstellung der Inhalte des AGG ist stark von seiner skeptischen Grundhaltung gegenüber dessen Zielsetzung geprägt. Auch wenn die Ausführungen zu konkreten Betriebs- und Personalmaßnahmen gelungener sind, stellt dieser Beitrag insgesamt kein überzeugendes und lesenswertes Werk dar.With the best intention, the work by Manfred Becker can be read as a plea for a pragmatic approach to the AGG. He wishes to show personnel how the guidelines of the AGG can be put into practice within the framework of Human Resources Diversity Management. However, the author’s work is often unconvincing. In particular, the presentation of the contents of the AGG is strongly influenced by his skeptical attitude toward its goals. Even when his approach to concrete company and personnel measures is more successful, the book is neither convincing nor a worthwhile read.

Cles: Etes-vous bon detective?; Enigmes grammaticales; Problemes policiers; Kidnapping (Keys: Are You a Good Detective?; Grammatical Puzzles; Detective Mysteries; Kidnapping).

Science.gov (United States)

Debyser, Francis; And Others

1984-01-01

Four sets of French classroom activities are presented: a mystery whose clues include two postcard messages; three puzzles with grammar-related clues; a mystery contained in three comic strip frames; and the solving of a kidnapping mystery. (MSE)

Patient-specific puzzle implant preformed with 3D-printed rapid prototype model for combined orbital floor and medial wall fracture.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Young Chul; Min, Kyung Hyun; Choi, Jong Woo; Koh, Kyung S; Oh, Tae Suk; Jeong, Woo Shik

2018-04-01

The management of combined orbital floor and medial wall fractures involving the inferomedial strut is challenging due to absence of stable cornerstone. In this article, we proposed surgical strategies using customized 3D puzzle implant preformed with Rapid Prototype (RP) skull model. Retrospective review was done in 28 patients diagnosed with combined orbital floor and medial wall fracture. Using preoperative CT scans, original and mirror-imaged RP skull models for each patient were prepared and sterilized. In all patients, porous polyethylene-coated titanium mesh was premolded onto RP skull model in two ways; Customized 3D jigsaw puzzle technique was used in 15 patients with comminuted inferomedial strut, whereas individual 3D implant technique was used in each fracture for 13 patients with intact inferomedial strut. Outcomes including enophthalmos, visual acuity, and presence of diplopia were assessed and orbital volume was measured using OsiriX software preoperatively and postoperatively. Satisfactory results were achieved in both groups in terms of clinical improvements. Of 10 patients with preoperative diplopia, 9 improved in 6 months, except one with persistent symptom who underwent extraocular muscle rupture. 18 patients who had moderate to severe enophthalmos preoperatively improved, and one remained with mild degree. Orbital volume ratio, defined as volumetric ratio between affected and control orbit, decreased from 127.6% to 99.79% (p puzzle and individual reconstruction technique provide accurate restoration of combined orbital floor and medial wall fractures. Copyright © 2017 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Diagnosing the Cause of Scientific Standstill, Unravelling the Needham Puzzle

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

刘迎秋; 刘春江

2007-01-01

There are diverse opinions about how to solve the Needham Puzzle. Such opinions or schools of thought can be roughly classified into three theories of a) geographical conditions, b) empirical trial and error, and c) private property rights. Although each school of thought makes sense, they all fail to fully uncover the main reason why, in modern history, China lagged behind western countries in the development of science and technology. In our opinion, the correct solution is to draw on historical experiences, integrate all schools of thought, proceed with an emphasis on the definition and protection of property rights, boost government investment in basic scientific research, strengthen government service functionality, actively develop NGOs, and open more widely to the outside world, with a view of pushing forward China’s scientific and technological innovation and accelerating the pace of China’s modernization.

THE PUZZLE TECHNIQUE, COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGY TO IMPROVE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.ª José Mayorga Fernández

2012-04-01

Full Text Available This  article  presents  an  innovative  experience  carried  out  in  the  subject Pedagogical Bases of Special Education, a 4.5 credit core subject taught at the second year of the Degree in Physical Education Teacher Training (to be extinguish, based on the use of a methodological strategic in accordance with the new demands of the EEES. With the experience we pursue a double purpose: firstly, to present the technique of jigsaw or puzzle as a useful methodological strategy for university learning and, on the other hand, to show whether this strategy improves students results. Comparing the results with students previous year results shows that the performance of students who participated in the innovative experience has improved considerably, increasing their motivation and involvement towards the task.

Puzzle test: A tool for non-analytical clinical reasoning assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Monajemi, Alireza; Yaghmaei, Minoo

2016-01-01

Most contemporary clinical reasoning tests typically assess non-automatic thinking. Therefore, a test is needed to measure automatic reasoning or pattern recognition, which has been largely neglected in clinical reasoning tests. The Puzzle Test (PT) is dedicated to assess automatic clinical reasoning in routine situations. This test has been introduced first in 2009 by Monajemi et al in the Olympiad for Medical Sciences Students.PT is an item format that has gained acceptance in medical education, but no detailed guidelines exist for this test's format, construction and scoring. In this article, a format is described and the steps to prepare and administer valid and reliable PTs are presented. PT examines a specific clinical reasoning task: Pattern recognition. PT does not replace other clinical reasoning assessment tools. However, it complements them in strategies for assessing comprehensive clinical reasoning.

Exchange rate regimes, saving glut and the Feldstein Horioka puzzle: The East Asian experience

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Kaya-Bahçe, Seçil; Özmen, Erdal

2008-04-01

This paper investigates whether the recent experience of the emerging East Asian countries with current account surpluses is consistent with the “saving glut” hypothesis and the Feldstein and Horioka puzzle. The evidence suggests that the saving retention coefficients declined substantially in most of the countries after an endogenous break date coinciding with a major exchange rate regime change with the 1997-1998 crisis. Exchange rate flexibility appears to be enhancing financial integration. The results are consistent with an “investment slump” explanation rather than the “saving glut” postulation.

LEARNING VOCABULARY THROUGH COLOURFUL PUZZLE GAME

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Risca Dwiaryanti

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Vocabulary plays an important role because it links to the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Those aspects should be integrated in teaching and learning process of English. However, the students must be able to know the meaning of each word or vocabulary of English in order to master the four skills. It is as a mean to create a sentence in daily communication to show someone’s feeling, opinion, idea, desire, etc. So that, both speakers understand what the other speaker mean. However, English as a second language in Indonesia seems very hard for the students to master vocabulary of English. It makes them not easy to be understood directly and speak fluently. The students, sometimes, get difficulties in understanding, memorizing the meaning of the vocabulary, and getting confused in using the new words. There must be an effective strategy to attract students’ interest, break the boredom, and make the class more lively. Based on the writer experience, Colourful Puzzle Game is able to make the students learn vocabulary quickly. It needs teacher’s creativity to create the materials of this game based on the class condition. The teacher just need a game board made from colourful papers, write any command and prohibition words on it. A dice is a tool to decide where the player should stop based on the number. Some pins as counter as sign of each player.

The puzzle of new etiological agents in the Americas: Punta del Toro virus another piece?

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Salim Mattar V

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In a recent study of undifferentiated tropical fevers in an endemic area of Colombia, it was shown that not all acute fevers are caused by the dengue virus (1. The complex clinical-epidemiological panorama of tropical fevers has become a puzzle of difficult resolution due to the appearance of new etiological agents in the Americas such as Chikungunya and Zika. For the differential diagnosis Hantavirus, Arenavirus, Orupuche, tick thrombocytopenic virus, Heartland virus, leptospira and malaria should be considered.

The concepts of asymmetric and symmetric power can help resolve the puzzle of altruistic and cooperative behaviour.

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Phillips, Tim

2018-02-01

Evolutionary theory predicts competition in nature yet altruistic and cooperative behaviour appears to reduce the ability to compete in order to help others compete better. This evolutionary puzzle is usually explained by kin selection where close relatives perform altruistic and cooperative acts to help each other and by reciprocity theory (i.e. direct, indirect and generalized reciprocity) among non-kin. Here, it is proposed that the concepts of asymmetry and symmetry in power and dominance are critical if we are ever to resolve the puzzle of altruism and cooperation towards non-kin. Asymmetry in power and dominance is likely to emerge under competition in nature as individuals strive to gain greater access to the scarce resources needed to survive and reproduce successfully. Yet asymmetric power presents serious problems for reciprocity theory in that a dominant individual faces a temptation to cheat in interactions with subordinates that is likely to far outweigh any individual selective benefits gained through reciprocal mechanisms. Furthermore, action taken by subordinates to deter non-reciprocation by dominants is likely to prove prohibitively costly to their fitness, making successful enforcement of reciprocal mechanisms unlikely. It is also argued here that many apparently puzzling forms of cooperation observed in nature (e.g. cooperative breeding in which unrelated subordinates help dominants to breed) might be best explained by asymmetry in power and dominance. Once it is recognized that individuals in these cooperative interactions are subject to the constraints and opportunities imposed on them by asymmetric power then they can be seen as pursuing a 'least bad' strategy to promote individual fitness - one that is nevertheless consistent with evolutionary theory. The concept of symmetric power also provides important insights. It can inhibit reciprocal mechanisms in the sense that symmetric power makes it easier for a cheat to appropriate common

Brain Aggregates: An Effective In Vitro Cell Culture System Modeling Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, Misol; Kalume, Franck; Pitstick, Rose; Oehler, Abby; Carlson, George; DeArmond, Stephen J

2016-03-01

Drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases is particularly challenging because of the discrepancies in drug effects between in vitro and in vivo studies. These discrepancies occur in part because current cell culture systems used for drug screening have many limitations. First, few cell culture systems accurately model human aging or neurodegenerative diseases. Second, drug efficacy may differ between dividing and stationary cells, the latter resembling nondividing neurons in the CNS. Brain aggregates (BrnAggs) derived from embryonic day 15 gestation mouse embryos may represent neuropathogenic processes in prion disease and reflect in vivo drug efficacy. Here, we report a new method for the production of BrnAggs suitable for drug screening and suggest that BrnAggs can model additional neurological diseases such as tauopathies. We also report a functional assay with BrnAggs by measuring electrophysiological activities. Our data suggest that BrnAggs could serve as an effective in vitro cell culture system for drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases. © 2016 American Association of Neuropathologists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Investigation of Abnormal Grain Growth in a Friction Stir Welded and Spin-Formed Al-Li Alloy 2195 Crew Module

Science.gov (United States)

Tayon, Wesley A.; Domack, Marcia S.; Hoffman, Eric K.; Hales, Stephen J.

2013-01-01

In order to improve manufacturing efficiency and reduce structural mass and costs in the production of launch vehicle structures, NASA is pursuing a wide-range of innovative, near-net shape manufacturing technologies. A technology that combines friction stir welding (FSW) and spin-forming has been applied to manufacture a single-piece crew module using Aluminum-Lithium (AL-Li) Alloy 2195. Plate size limitations for Al-Li alloy 2195 require that two plates be FSW together to produce a spin-forming blank of sufficient size to form the crew module. Subsequent forming of the FSW results in abnormal grain growth (AGG) within the weld region upon solution heat treatment (SHT), which detrimentally impacts strength, ductility, and fracture toughness. The current study seeks to identify microstructural factors that contribute to the development of AGG. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was used to correlate driving forces for AGG, such as stored energy, texture, and grain size distributions, with the propensity for AGG. Additionally, developmental annealing treatments prior to SHT are examined to reduce or eliminate the occurrence of AGG by promoting continuous, or uniform, grain growth

Flaxion: a minimal extension to solve puzzles in the standard model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ema, Yohei [Department of Physics,The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 133-0033 (Japan); Hamaguchi, Koichi; Moroi, Takeo; Nakayama, Kazunori [Department of Physics,The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 133-0033 (Japan); Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU),University of Tokyo, Kashiwa 277-8583 (Japan)

2017-01-23

We propose a minimal extension of the standard model which includes only one additional complex scalar field, flavon, with flavor-dependent global U(1) symmetry. It not only explains the hierarchical flavor structure in the quark and lepton sector (including neutrino sector), but also solves the strong CP problem by identifying the CP-odd component of the flavon as the QCD axion, which we call flaxion. Furthermore, the flaxion model solves the cosmological puzzles in the standard model, i.e., origin of dark matter, baryon asymmetry of the universe, and inflation. We show that the radial component of the flavon can play the role of inflaton without isocurvature nor domain wall problems. The dark matter abundance can be explained by the flaxion coherent oscillation, while the baryon asymmetry of the universe is generated through leptogenesis.

Puzzle of the particles and the universe. The inner life of the elementary particles IX d

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geitner, Uwe W.

2013-01-01

The series The Inner Life of the Elementary Particles attempts to develop the elementary particles along of a genealogical tree, which begins before the ''big bang''. The simple presentation without mathematics opens also for the interested layman a plastic understanding. Volume IX discusses the known puzzles of particle physics and cosmology and offers for many of them explanation models. Explanation approaches are among others the ''DNA'' of the elementary particles and the interpretation of the quanta and the spin.

Effect of Deforming Temperature and Strain on Abnormal Grain Growth of Extruded FGH96 Superalloy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WANG Chaoyuan

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Based on the experiments of isothermal forging wedge-shaped samples, Deform-3D numerical simulation software was used to confirm the strain distribution in the wedge-shaped samples. The effect of deforming temperature and strain on abnormal grain growth(AGG in extruded FGH96 superalloy was examined. It is found that when the forging speed is 0.04 mm/s,the critical AGG occurring temperature is 1100℃,and the critical strain is 2%.AGG does not occur within 1000-1070℃,but still shows the feature of ‘critical strain’,and the region with strain of 5%-10% has the largest average grain size.AGG can be avoided and the uniform fine grains can be gained when the strain is not less than 15%.

Quantum top secret. The solution of the quantum puzzle. Metamorphosis of a picture of world

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wingert, M.

2008-01-01

Many physicists believe that because of unexplained causes, which must anyway be concerned with the quantum puzzle and the mysterious consciousness, it would be no more possible to understand the real structure of the reality - this subtle smiling of the nature, which irritates the physicists since 100 years and the disturbed the theoretical physics so much that they threw the towel. Since nature is considered as absurd, strange, and crazy - and quantum theory as very complicated. But in reality the basic experiments are of a touching simplicity, which seems only completely unintelligible in the picture of world of mechanics. For these experiments show that the concept of body of mechanics and the body conceptions of the thinking cannot at all match the structure of nature. If this is objectively taken notice of without doubting on the existence of a reality, the experiments show the real, unveiled face of the nature. Light and matter must then consist of fields, which can themselves divide by non-mechanical way, so with wholeness, comparable only with cell division and branching processes in biology. Either it is completely crazy - or the only logic interpretation, which hitherto only no physicist risked to think. For these experiments disprove the atom and elementary-particle hypothesis, the picture of world of mechanics, and also the quantum-mechanical interpretation - and indeed uniquely. This knowledge could break the Gordian knot, solve the quantum puzzle, and also give away the secret of the thinking spirit

William Wales and the 1769 transit of Venus: puzzle solving and the determination of the astronomical unit

Science.gov (United States)

Metz, Don

2009-05-01

According to Thomas Kuhn, a significant part of “normal science” is the fact gathering, empirical work which is intended to illustrate an existing paradigm. Some of this effort focuses on the determination of physical constants such as the astronomical unit (AU). For Kuhn, normal science is also what prepares students for membership in a particular scientific community and is embodied in some form in our science textbooks. However, neither Kuhn nor the textbook says much about the individuals who practice normal science, especially those who had been relegated to the “hack” duties of long and arduous measurement and calculation. In this paper, to provide a context for students of astronomy, I will outline the story of the determination of the AU and in particular the contribution of William Wales, an obscure British astronomer. Wales, toiling in the shadow of Halley (of Halley’s comet fame), Mason and Dixon (of Mason and Dixon line fame) and the infamous Captain Cook endured a brutal winter in northern Canada for a brief glimpse of the 1769 transit of Venus. In the end, Wales supplied one small piece of the puzzle in the determination of the AU and he exemplified the human spirit and persistence of a Kuhnian “puzzle solver”.

DNA is structured as a linear "jigsaw puzzle" in the genomes of Arabidopsis, rice, and budding yeast.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yun-Hua; Zhang, Meiping; Wu, Chengcang; Huang, James J; Zhang, Hong-Bin

2014-01-01

Knowledge of how a genome is structured and organized from its constituent elements is crucial to understanding its biology and evolution. Here, we report the genome structuring and organization pattern as revealed by systems analysis of the sequences of three model species, Arabidopsis, rice and yeast, at the whole-genome and chromosome levels. We found that all fundamental function elements (FFE) constituting the genomes, including genes (GEN), DNA transposable elements (DTE), retrotransposable elements (RTE), simple sequence repeats (SSR), and (or) low complexity repeats (LCR), are structured in a nonrandom and correlative manner, thus leading to a hypothesis that the DNA of the species is structured as a linear "jigsaw puzzle". Furthermore, we showed that different FFE differ in their importance in the formation and evolution of the DNA jigsaw puzzle structure between species. DTE and RTE play more important roles than GEN, LCR, and SSR in Arabidopsis, whereas GEN and RTE play more important roles than LCR, SSR, and DTE in rice. The genes having multiple recognized functions play more important roles than those having single functions. These results provide useful knowledge necessary for better understanding genome biology and evolution of the species and for effective molecular breeding of rice.

Why plants make puzzle cells, and how their shape emerges.

Science.gov (United States)

Sapala, Aleksandra; Runions, Adam; Routier-Kierzkowska, Anne-Lise; Das Gupta, Mainak; Hong, Lilan; Hofhuis, Hugo; Verger, Stéphane; Mosca, Gabriella; Li, Chun-Biu; Hay, Angela; Hamant, Olivier; Roeder, Adrienne Hk; Tsiantis, Miltos; Prusinkiewicz, Przemyslaw; Smith, Richard S

2018-02-27

The shape and function of plant cells are often highly interdependent. The puzzle-shaped cells that appear in the epidermis of many plants are a striking example of a complex cell shape, however their functional benefit has remained elusive. We propose that these intricate forms provide an effective strategy to reduce mechanical stress in the cell wall of the epidermis. When tissue-level growth is isotropic, we hypothesize that lobes emerge at the cellular level to prevent formation of large isodiametric cells that would bulge under the stress produced by turgor pressure. Data from various plant organs and species support the relationship between lobes and growth isotropy, which we test with mutants where growth direction is perturbed. Using simulation models we show that a mechanism actively regulating cellular stress plausibly reproduces the development of epidermal cell shape. Together, our results suggest that mechanical stress is a key driver of cell-shape morphogenesis. © 2018, Sapala et al.

Towards a solution of the puzzle posed by superconducting SrTiO3

Science.gov (United States)

Malik, G. P.

2015-09-01

Suitably doped SrTiO3 was found in 1964 to undergo a superconducting transition below 1 K with a dome-like Tc versus n (electron concentration) plot. The apex of the dome — a point of inflection — corresponds to the point (n≈9 ×1019cm-3, Tc≈0.30 K). On either side of it, Tc goes down to ≈0.1 K for the extreme values between which n was varied. A single value of Tc is thus observed for two different values of n. The puzzle for the theory has been to explain this result. Treating the problem in all its generality, we present here three equations: the μ1-incorporated BCS equation for Tc, the μ0-incorporated equation for the T = 0 gap Δ0, where μ1 and μ0 are the chemical potentials at T = Tc and T = 0 respectively, and an equation that relates the interaction parameters λ1 and λ0 at these temperatures. Because there are five unknowns in the problem, we tackle these equations via an approximation scheme that includes setting μ1 = μ0 and λ1 = λ0. The latter of these is factually a basic tenet of the BCS theory. Salient features of our findings are: (i) the solutions for Tc and Δ0 on the RHS (LHS) of the dome correspond to μ> kBθD(μ LHS the limits of the integrals in the equations need to be curtailed to obtain real solutions and (iii) the point μ = kBθD is a point of inflection in the Tc versus μ plot. Since the puzzle has remained unsolved for a long time, we also offer here a purely mathematical model for λ(μ) — sans physical justification — which leads to a Tc versus μ plot qualitatively in agreement with experiment.

Genetic Virulence Profile of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Danish Children with Either Acute or Persistent Diarrhea

Science.gov (United States)

Hebbelstrup Jensen, Betina; Poulsen, Anja; Hebbelstrup Rye Rasmussen, Stig; Struve, Carsten; Engberg, Jørgen H.; Friis-Møller, Alice; Boisen, Nadia; Jønsson, Rie; Petersen, Randi F.; Petersen, Andreas M.; Krogfelt, Karen A.

2017-01-01

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is frequently found in diarrheal stools worldwide. It has been associated with persistent diarrhea, weight loss, and failure to thrive in children living in developing countries. A number of important EAEC virulence genes are identified; however, their roles in acute and persistent diarrhea have not been previously investigated. The aim of this study was to identify specific EAEC virulence genes associated with duration and type of diarrhea in Danish children. We aimed to improve the current diagnostics of EAEC and enable targeting of strains with an expected severe disease course. Questionnaires answered by parents provided information regarding duration of diarrhea and presence of blood or mucus. A total of 295 EAEC strains were collected from children with acute (≤7 days) and persistent diarrhea (≥14 days) and were compared by using multiplex PCR targeting the genes sat, sepA, pic, sigA, pet, astA, aatA, aggR, aaiC, aap, agg3/4C, ORF3, aafA, aggA, agg3A, agg4A, and agg5A. Furthermore, the distribution of EAEC genes in strains collected from cases of bloody, mucoid, and watery diarrhea was investigated. The classification and regression tree analysis (CART) was applied to investigate the relationship between EAEC virulence genes and diarrheal duration and type. Persistent diarrhea was associated with strains lacking the pic gene (p = 0.002) and with the combination of the genes pic, sat, and absence of the aggA gene (p = 0.05). Prolonged diarrhea was associated with the combination of the genes aatA and astA (p = 0.03). Non-mucoid diarrhea was associated with strains lacking the aatA gene (p = 0.004). Acute diarrhea was associated with the genes aggR, aap, and aggA by individual odds ratios. Resistance toward gentamicin and ciprofloxacin was observed in 7.5 and 3% of strains, respectively. Multi-drug resistance was observed in 38% of strains. Genetic host factors have been associated with an increased risk of EAEC

Genetic Virulence Profile of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Danish Children with Either Acute or Persistent Diarrhea.

Science.gov (United States)

Hebbelstrup Jensen, Betina; Poulsen, Anja; Hebbelstrup Rye Rasmussen, Stig; Struve, Carsten; Engberg, Jørgen H; Friis-Møller, Alice; Boisen, Nadia; Jønsson, Rie; Petersen, Randi F; Petersen, Andreas M; Krogfelt, Karen A

2017-01-01

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is frequently found in diarrheal stools worldwide. It has been associated with persistent diarrhea, weight loss, and failure to thrive in children living in developing countries. A number of important EAEC virulence genes are identified; however, their roles in acute and persistent diarrhea have not been previously investigated. The aim of this study was to identify specific EAEC virulence genes associated with duration and type of diarrhea in Danish children. We aimed to improve the current diagnostics of EAEC and enable targeting of strains with an expected severe disease course. Questionnaires answered by parents provided information regarding duration of diarrhea and presence of blood or mucus. A total of 295 EAEC strains were collected from children with acute (≤7 days) and persistent diarrhea (≥14 days) and were compared by using multiplex PCR targeting the genes sat, sepA, pic, sigA, pet, astA, aatA, aggR, aaiC, aap, agg3/4C, ORF3, aafA, aggA, agg3A, agg4A , and agg5A . Furthermore, the distribution of EAEC genes in strains collected from cases of bloody, mucoid, and watery diarrhea was investigated. The classification and regression tree analysis (CART) was applied to investigate the relationship between EAEC virulence genes and diarrheal duration and type. Persistent diarrhea was associated with strains lacking the pic gene ( p = 0.002) and with the combination of the genes pic, sat , and absence of the aggA gene ( p = 0.05). Prolonged diarrhea was associated with the combination of the genes aatA and astA ( p = 0.03). Non-mucoid diarrhea was associated with strains lacking the aatA gene ( p = 0.004). Acute diarrhea was associated with the genes aggR, aap , and aggA by individual odds ratios. Resistance toward gentamicin and ciprofloxacin was observed in 7.5 and 3% of strains, respectively. Multi-drug resistance was observed in 38% of strains. Genetic host factors have been associated with an increased risk of

Genetic Virulence Profile of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Danish Children with Either Acute or Persistent Diarrhea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Betina Hebbelstrup Jensen

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC is frequently found in diarrheal stools worldwide. It has been associated with persistent diarrhea, weight loss, and failure to thrive in children living in developing countries. A number of important EAEC virulence genes are identified; however, their roles in acute and persistent diarrhea have not been previously investigated. The aim of this study was to identify specific EAEC virulence genes associated with duration and type of diarrhea in Danish children. We aimed to improve the current diagnostics of EAEC and enable targeting of strains with an expected severe disease course. Questionnaires answered by parents provided information regarding duration of diarrhea and presence of blood or mucus. A total of 295 EAEC strains were collected from children with acute (≤7 days and persistent diarrhea (≥14 days and were compared by using multiplex PCR targeting the genes sat, sepA, pic, sigA, pet, astA, aatA, aggR, aaiC, aap, agg3/4C, ORF3, aafA, aggA, agg3A, agg4A, and agg5A. Furthermore, the distribution of EAEC genes in strains collected from cases of bloody, mucoid, and watery diarrhea was investigated. The classification and regression tree analysis (CART was applied to investigate the relationship between EAEC virulence genes and diarrheal duration and type. Persistent diarrhea was associated with strains lacking the pic gene (p = 0.002 and with the combination of the genes pic, sat, and absence of the aggA gene (p = 0.05. Prolonged diarrhea was associated with the combination of the genes aatA and astA (p = 0.03. Non-mucoid diarrhea was associated with strains lacking the aatA gene (p = 0.004. Acute diarrhea was associated with the genes aggR, aap, and aggA by individual odds ratios. Resistance toward gentamicin and ciprofloxacin was observed in 7.5 and 3% of strains, respectively. Multi-drug resistance was observed in 38% of strains. Genetic host factors have been associated with an increased risk

Adjusting particle-size distributions to account for aggregation in tephra-deposit model forecasts

Science.gov (United States)

Mastin, Larry G.; Van Eaton, Alexa; Durant, A.J.

2016-01-01

Volcanic ash transport and dispersion (VATD) models are used to forecast tephra deposition during volcanic eruptions. Model accuracy is limited by the fact that fine-ash aggregates (clumps into clusters), thus altering patterns of deposition. In most models this is accounted for by ad hoc changes to model input, representing fine ash as aggregates with density ρagg, and a log-normal size distribution with median μagg and standard deviation σagg. Optimal values may vary between eruptions. To test the variance, we used the Ash3d tephra model to simulate four deposits: 18 May 1980 Mount St. Helens; 16–17 September 1992 Crater Peak (Mount Spurr); 17 June 1996 Ruapehu; and 23 March 2009 Mount Redoubt. In 192 simulations, we systematically varied μagg and σagg, holding ρagg constant at 600 kg m−3. We evaluated the fit using three indices that compare modeled versus measured (1) mass load at sample locations; (2) mass load versus distance along the dispersal axis; and (3) isomass area. For all deposits, under these inputs, the best-fit value of μagg ranged narrowly between  ∼  2.3 and 2.7φ (0.20–0.15 mm), despite large variations in erupted mass (0.25–50 Tg), plume height (8.5–25 km), mass fraction of fine ( discrete process that is insensitive to eruptive style or magnitude. This result offers the potential for a simple, computationally efficient parameterization scheme for use in operational model forecasts. Further research may indicate whether this narrow range also reflects physical constraints on processes in the evolving cloud.

Right anterior cingulate cortical thickness and bilateral striatal volume correlate with child behavior checklist aggressive behavior scores in healthy children.

Science.gov (United States)

Ducharme, Simon; Hudziak, James J; Botteron, Kelly N; Ganjavi, Hooman; Lepage, Claude; Collins, D Louis; Albaugh, Matthew D; Evans, Alan C; Karama, Sherif

2011-08-01

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and basal ganglia have been implicated in pathological aggression. This study aimed at identifying neuroanatomical correlates of impulsive aggression in healthy children. Data from 193 representative 6- to 18-year-old healthy children were obtained from the National Institutes of Health Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Normal Brain Development after a blinded quality control. Cortical thickness and subcortical volumes were obtained with automated software. Aggression levels were measured with the Aggressive Behavior scale (AGG) of the Child Behavior Checklist. AGG scores were regressed against cortical thickness and basal ganglia volumes using first- and second-order linear models while controlling for age, gender, scanner site, and total brain volume. Gender by AGG interactions were analyzed. There were positive associations between bilateral striatal volumes and AGG scores (right: r = .238, p = .001; left: r = .188, p = .01). A significant association was found with right ACC and subgenual ACC cortical thickness in a second-order linear model (p right ACC cortex. An AGG by gender interaction trend was found in bilateral OFC and ACC associations with AGG scores. This study shows the existence of relationships between impulsive aggression in healthy children and the structure of the striatum and right ACC. It also suggests the existence of gender-specific patterns of association in OFC/ACC gray matter. These results may guide research on oppositional-defiant and conduct disorders. Copyright © 2011 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The deuteron-radius puzzle is alive: A new analysis of nuclear structure uncertainties

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, O. J.; Ekström, A.; Nevo Dinur, N.; Ji, C.; Bacca, S.; Barnea, N.

2018-03-01

To shed light on the deuteron radius puzzle we analyze the theoretical uncertainties of the nuclear structure corrections to the Lamb shift in muonic deuterium. We find that the discrepancy between the calculated two-photon exchange correction and the corresponding experimentally inferred value by Pohl et al. [1] remain. The present result is consistent with our previous estimate, although the discrepancy is reduced from 2.6 σ to about 2 σ. The error analysis includes statistic as well as systematic uncertainties stemming from the use of nucleon-nucleon interactions derived from chiral effective field theory at various orders. We therefore conclude that nuclear theory uncertainty is more likely not the source of the discrepancy.

The evolution of the mitochondrial genetic code in arthropods revisited.

Science.gov (United States)

Abascal, Federico; Posada, David; Zardoya, Rafael

2012-04-01

A variant of the invertebrate mitochondrial genetic code was previously identified in arthropods (Abascal et al. 2006a, PLoS Biol 4:e127) in which, instead of translating the AGG codon as serine, as in other invertebrates, some arthropods translate AGG as lysine. Here, we revisit the evolution of the genetic code in arthropods taking into account that (1) the number of arthropod mitochondrial genomes sequenced has triplicated since the original findings were published; (2) the phylogeny of arthropods has been recently resolved with confidence for many groups; and (3) sophisticated probabilistic methods can be applied to analyze the evolution of the genetic code in arthropod mitochondria. According to our analyses, evolutionary shifts in the genetic code have been more common than previously inferred, with many taxonomic groups displaying two alternative codes. Ancestral character-state reconstruction using probabilistic methods confirmed that the arthropod ancestor most likely translated AGG as lysine. Point mutations at tRNA-Lys and tRNA-Ser correlated with the meaning of the AGG codon. In addition, we identified three variables (GC content, number of AGG codons, and taxonomic information) that best explain the use of each of the two alternative genetic codes.

anti B_d_,_s → D"*_d_,_sV and anti B"*_d_,_s → D_d_,_sV decays in QCD factorization and possible puzzles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Qin; Chen, Ling-Xin; Zhang, Yun-Yun; Sun, Jun-Feng; Yang, Yue-Ling

2016-01-01

Motivated by the rapid development of heavy-flavor experiments, phenomenological studies of nonleptonic anti B_d_,_s → D"*_d_,_sV and anti B"*_d_,_s → D_d_,_sV (V = ρ, K*) decays are performed within the framework of QCD factorization. Relative to the previous work, the QCD corrections to the transverse amplitudes are evaluated at next-to-leading order. The theoretical predictions of the observables are updated. For the measured anti B_d_,_s → D"*_d_,_sV decays, the tensions between theoretical results and experimental measurements, i.e. the ''R_d_s"V puzzle'' and ''D*V (or R_V_/_l _a_n_t_i _ν__l_) puzzle'', are presented after detailed analyses. For the anti B"*_d_,_s → D_d_,_sV decays, they have relatively large branching fractions of the order >or similar O(10"-"9) and are in the scope of Belle-II and LHCb experiments. Moreover, they also provide a way to crosscheck the possible puzzles mentioned above through the similar ratios R_d_s"'"V and R"'_V_/_l _a_n_t_i _ν__l_. More refined experimental measurements and theoretical efforts are required to confirm or refute such two anomalies. (orig.)

Gold-nanoparticle-mediated jigsaw-puzzle-like assembly of supersized plasmonic DNA origami.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Guangbao; Li, Jiang; Chao, Jie; Pei, Hao; Liu, Huajie; Zhao, Yun; Shi, Jiye; Huang, Qing; Wang, Lianhui; Huang, Wei; Fan, Chunhai

2015-03-02

DNA origami has rapidly emerged as a powerful and programmable method to construct functional nanostructures. However, the size limitation of approximately 100 nm in classic DNA origami hampers its plasmonic applications. Herein, we report a jigsaw-puzzle-like assembly strategy mediated by gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to break the size limitation of DNA origami. We demonstrated that oligonucleotide-functionalized AuNPs function as universal joint units for the one-pot assembly of parent DNA origami of triangular shape to form sub-microscale super-origami nanostructures. AuNPs anchored at predefined positions of the super-origami exhibited strong interparticle plasmonic coupling. This AuNP-mediated strategy offers new opportunities to drive macroscopic self-assembly and to fabricate well-defined nanophotonic materials and devices. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brambilla, N; Heltsley, B K; Vogt, R; Bodwin, G T; Eichten, E; Frawley, A D; Meyer, A B; Mitchell, R E; Papdimitriou, V; Petreczky, P; Petrov, A A; Robbe, P; Vairo, A; Andronic, A; Arnaldi, R; Artoisenet, P; Bali, G; Bertolin, A; Bettoni, D; Brodzicka, J; Bruno, G E; Caldwell, A; Catmore, J; Chang, C -H; Chao, K -T; Chudakov, E; Cortese, P; Crochet, P; Drutskoy, A; Ellwanger, U; Faccioli, P; Gabareen Mokhtar, A; Garcia i Tormo, X; Hanhart, C; Harris, F A; Kaplan, D M; Klein, S R; Kowalski, H; Lansberg, J -P; Levichev, E; Lombardo, V; Loureno, C; Maltoni, F; Mocsy, A; Mussa, R; Navarra, F S; Negrini, M; Nielsen, M; Olsen, S L; Pakhlov, P; Pakhlova, G; Peters, K; Polosa, A D; Qian, W; Qiu, J -W; Rong, G; Sanchis-Lozano, M A; Scomparin, E; Senger, P; Simon, F; Stracka, S; Sumino, Y; Voloshin, M; Weiss, C; Wohri, H K; Yuan, C -Z

2011-02-01

A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in 2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the $B$-factories and CLEO-c flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA, JLab, and the Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality, precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\\bar{c}, b\\bar{b}, and b\\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing directions for ongoing and future efforts.

Simon`s Puzzle: Heuristics in the Process of Making Political Choices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mateusz Wajzer

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In this article we analyse one of the most fascinating paradoxes of mass politics. Based on the data from the studies of neurobiologists, neurologists, social psychology, cognitive and evolution studies we answer the question specified in literature as the Simon’s puzzle: How is it possible that citizens have their opinions about politics, if they know so little about it? We began our analysis from the criticism of the economic rationality approach. To do this, we referred to the Allais paradox, cognitive dissonance theory, Ellsberg paradox, the concept of bounded rationality, conjunction fallacy and prospect theory. Next, we described the evolutionary processes shaping the minds of Homo sapiens and characterised cognitive mechanisms, thanks to which people can make political choices, especially in view of the shortage of time and information. The following heuristics are referred to herein: affect, recognition, judgment and imitation.

Refraining from terror: the puzzle of non violence in Western Sahara

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Porges

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In Western Sahara, the former Spanish colony occupied by Morocco since 1975, virtually no violent resistance has been mounted by the indigenous Sahrawi people since the end of the 1975-1991 war between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front. This absence of violence is puzzling in the light of several factors: the widespread public support for independence; the social and economic disparities between Moroccan and Sahrawi inhabitants of the territory; and Morocco’s brutal repression of Sahrawi culture, resistance, and expressions of proindependence feeling. This article examines the logic of violence (and its absence and of resistance, and draws lessons from Western Sahara. As well as advancing theoretical development, the article makes a methodological contribution to the study of resistance, and improves our understanding of the Western Sahara conflict through fieldwork, including around 60 interviews with Sahrawi activists conducted in the summer of 2014.

Hyperon puzzle of neutron stars with Skyrme force models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lim, Yeunhwan; Hyun, Chang Ho; Kwak, Kyujin; Lee, Chang-Hwan

2015-01-01

We consider the so-called hyperon puzzle of neutron star (NS). We employ Skyrme force models for the description of in-medium nucleon–nucleon (NN), nucleon–Lambda hyperon (NΛ) and Lambda–Lambda (ΛΛ) interactions. A phenomenological finite-range force (FRF) for the ΛΛ interaction is considered as well. Equation of state (EoS) of NS matter is obtained in the framework of density functional theory, and Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff (TOV) equations are solved to obtain the mass-radius relations of NSs. It has been generally known that the existence of hyperons in the NS matter is not well supported by the recent discovery of large-mass NSs (M ≃ 2M⊙) since hyperons make the EoS softer than the one without them. For the selected interaction models, NΛ interactions reduce the maximum mass of NS by about 30%, while ΛΛ interactions can give about 10% enhancement. Consequently, we find that some Skyrme force models predict the maximum mass of NS consistent with the observation of 2M ⊙ NSs, and at the same time satisfy observationally constrained mass-radius relations. (author)

Penerapan Model Aktive Learning dengan Metode Crossword Puzzle dalam Pembelajaran Ekonomi Kelas X pada Sman 10 Pontianak

OpenAIRE

Susiana, Elis

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the implementation of Active Learning model with Crossword Puzzle method in the learning of class X economics at SMAN 10 Pontianak. The method used in this research is the experimental method with the experimental quasi-experimental design with the design of time series research design. The subjects in this study are students of class XE SMAN 10 Pontianak with 39 students. Data collection techniques used are direct observation tec...

PENINGKATAN KEMAMPUAN MEMBACA PETA DUNIA MENGGUNAKAN MEDIA PUZZLE BAGI SISWA KELAS VI SDN PEDALANGAN 02 KOTA SEMARANG TAHUN PELAJARAN 2014/2015

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Turasmi Turasmi

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Action researchinthe classroomVI SDN Pedalangan 02 Semarang year 2014/2015 by using the media puzzle aimed to improve students' ability to read the world map. The way the data was collected through  observation, questionnaires, documentation of activities for students to learn and teachers through the use of game media, and students' work to determine student understanding through assessment/ evaluation. The results of prior research by the number of 38 students, who have reached the KKM (> 7 had 11 students (28.90%, while the remaining 27 (71.10% students are not yet Media puzzles, learning base map complete. Student activity in learning is also very low, with only 12 students indicated that attention well, 4 active child asks, while the other passive. Seeing this fact then do the research and show improved results in reading maps world blind. Evidenced by tests in cycle 1, indicating as many as 22 students (57.90% has reached mastery learning (> 7, while 16 students (42.10% was not finished. Increased student activity shown by 31 (81.60% students actively asked, 34 students are actively trying / learning media responds. With the results of tests on the first cycle has been no increase in yield, but not maximized. 2 Cycle to be done to improve the learning process in the first cycle and showed maximum improvement, from 38 students who have reached the KKM 35 students (92.1%, while the remaining try students (7.90% was not finished. All students (100% going to try to respond to the media or the media. Thus declared a class action meets the criteria expected in the second cycle. Suggested for educators in teaching and learning aids or media is very important, to planting concept on students. Media Puzzle is ideal to use in maps.

Novel Aggregative Adherence Fimbria Variant of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jønsson, Rie; Struve, Carsten; Boisen, Nadia

2015-01-01

the stools of Danish adults with traveler’s diarrhea. We evaluated the presence of the aggregative adherence fimbriae (AAFs) by a multiplex PCR, targeting the four known major subunit variants as well as their usher-encoding genes. Almost one-half (49/118) of the clinical isolates did not possess any known...... AAF major fimbrial subunit, despite the presence of other AggR-related loci. Further investigation revealed the presence of an AAF-related gene encoding a yet-uncharacterized adhesin, termed agg5A. The sequence of the agg5DCBA gene cluster shared fimbrial accessory genes (usher, chaperone, and minor...

Cohabitants' perspective on housing adaptations: a piece of the puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Granbom, Marianne; Taei, Afsaneh; Ekstam, Lisa

2017-12-01

As part of the Swedish state-funded healthcare system, housing adaptations are used to promote safe and independent living for disabled people in ordinary housing through the elimination of physical environmental barriers in the home. The aim of this study was to describe the cohabitants' expectations and experiences of how a housing adaptation, intended for the partner, would impact their everyday life. In-depth interviews were conducted with cohabitants of nine people applying for a housing adaptation, initially at the time of the application and then again 3 months after the housing adaptation was installed. A longitudinal analysis was performed including analysis procedures from Grounded Theory. The findings revealed the expectations and experiences in four categories: partners' activities and independence; cohabitants' everyday activities and caregiving; couples' shared recreational/leisure activities; and housing decisions. A core category putting the intervention into perspective was called 'Housing adaptations - A piece of the puzzle'. From the cohabitants' perspective, new insights on housing adaptations emerged, which are important to consider when planning and carrying out successful housing adaptations. © 2017 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Accelerating FRET between Near-Infrared Emitting Quantum Dots Using a Molecular J-Aggregate as an Exciton Bridge.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chen; Weiss, Emily A

2017-09-13

Fast energy transfer (EnT) among quantum dots (QDs) with near-infrared (NIR) emission is essential for fully exploiting their light harvesting and photon downconversion (multiexciton generation) abilities. This paper demonstrates a relayed EnT mechanism that accelerates the migration of NIR excitons between PbS QDs by a factor of 20 from that of one-step EnT through a polyelectrolyte and even a factor of ∼2 from that of one-step EnT between QDs in direct contact, by employing a J-aggregate (J-agg) of a cyanine dye as an exciton bridge. The donor QDs, acceptor QDs, and J-agg are electrostatically assembled into a sandwich structure with layer-by-layer deposition. Estimates of EnT rate and yield from transient and steady-state absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopies show that the rate-limiting step in the relay is EnT from the donor QD to the J-agg, while EnT from the J-agg to the acceptor QD occurs in J-agg with more intermolecular order. This work demonstrates the viability of relayed EnT through a molecular bridge as a strategy for accelerating long-distance exciton migration in assemblies of QDs, in particular in the near-infrared.

Shared Environment Estimates for Educational Attainment: A Puzzle and Possible Solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Freese, Jeremy; Jao, Yu-Han

2017-02-01

Classical behavioral genetics models for twin and other family designs decompose traits into heritability, shared environment, and nonshared environment components. Estimates of heritability of adult traits are pervasively observed to be far higher than those of shared environment, which has been used to make broad claims about the impotence of upbringing. However, the most commonly studied nondemographic variable in many areas of social science, educational attainment, exhibits robustly high estimates both for heritability and for shared environment. When previously noticed, the usual explanation has emphasized family resources, but evidence suggests this is unlikely to explain the anomalous high estimates for shared environment of educational attainment. We articulate eight potential complementary explanations and discuss evidence of their prospective contributions to resolving the puzzle. In so doing, we hope to further consideration of how behavioral genetics findings may advance studies of social stratification beyond the effort to articulate specific genetic influences. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Modular Extracellular Matrices: Solutions for the Puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Serban, Monica A.; Prestwich, Glenn D.

2008-01-01

The common technique of growing cells in two-dimensions (2-D) is gradually being replaced by culturing cells on matrices with more appropriate composition and stiffness, or by encapsulation of cells in three-dimensions (3-D). The universal acceptance of the new 3-D paradigm has been constrained by the absence of a commercially available, biocompatible material that offers ease of use, experimental flexibility, and a seamless transition from in vitro to in vivo applications. The challenge – the puzzle that needs a solution – is to replicate the complexity of the native extracellular matrix (ECM) environment with the minimum number of components necessary to allow cells to rebuild and replicate a given tissue. For use in drug discovery, toxicology, cell banking, and ultimately in reparative medicine, the ideal matrix would therefore need to be highly reproducible, manufacturable, approvable, and affordable. Herein we describe the development of a set of modular components that can be assembled into biomimetic materials that meet these requirements. These semi-synthetic ECMs, or sECMs, are based on hyaluronan derivatives that form covalently crosslinked, biodegradable hydrogels suitable for 3-D culture of primary and stem cells in vitro, and for tissue formation in vivo. The sECMs can be engineered to provide appropriate biological cues needed to recapitulate the complexity of a given ECM environment. Specific applications for different sECM compositions include stem cell expansion with control of differentiation, scar-free wound healing, growth factor delivery, cell delivery for osteochondral defect and liver repair, and development of vascularized tumor xenografts for personalized chemotherapy. PMID:18442709

A comparative study of the A* heuristic search algorithm used to solve efficiently a puzzle game

Science.gov (United States)

Iordan, A. E.

2018-01-01

The puzzle game presented in this paper consists in polyhedra (prisms, pyramids or pyramidal frustums) which can be moved using the free available spaces. The problem requires to be found the minimum number of movements in order the game reaches to a goal configuration starting from an initial configuration. Because the problem is enough complex, the principal difficulty in solving it is given by dimension of search space, that leads to necessity of a heuristic search. The improving of the search method consists into determination of a strong estimation by the heuristic function which will guide the search process to the most promising side of the search tree. The comparative study is realized among Manhattan heuristic and the Hamming heuristic using A* search algorithm implemented in Java. This paper also presents the necessary stages in object oriented development of a software used to solve efficiently this puzzle game. The modelling of the software is achieved through specific UML diagrams representing the phases of analysis, design and implementation, the system thus being described in a clear and practical manner. With the purpose to confirm the theoretical results which demonstrates that Manhattan heuristic is more efficient was used space complexity criterion. The space complexity was measured by the number of generated nodes from the search tree, by the number of the expanded nodes and by the effective branching factor. From the experimental results obtained by using the Manhattan heuristic, improvements were observed regarding space complexity of A* algorithm versus Hamming heuristic.

À chacun son puzzle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Noël Ferrié

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Le texte soutient que le « tournant naturaliste » que l’on nous invite à négocier ne donne aucun moyen supplémentaire pour parvenir à une description perspicace de ce que les gens font dans des circonstances précises, l’existence humaine pouvant être considérée comme une collection de circonstances précises. Sans doute le naturalisme nous permet-il de comprendre comment certaines actions humaines sont possibles, mais cela ne nous dit pas pourquoi et comment elles font sens pour tout un chacun. La méthodologie nécessaire pour éclaircir le premier point obscurcit généralement le second. Le mieux est donc de considérer que les deux approches ne vont pas de pair. Ce point de vue est soutenu à partir d’exemple tirés de l’anthropologie de la religion.To each one his puzzle. For a serene methodological pluralismThe text argues that the « naturalistic turn » that we are invited to negotiate does not give any additional means to achieve an insightful description of what people do in specific circumstances, and human existence can be considered as a collection of specific circumstances. Probably naturalism allows us to understand how some human actions are possible, but that does not tell us why and how they make sense for everyone. The methodology needed to clarify the first point usually obscures the second one. The best way is to consider that the two approaches do not go together. The text supports this view from an example drawn from the anthropology of religion.A cada uno su rompecabezas. En favor de un pluralismo metodológico serenoEl texto argumenta que la inflexión naturalista a la que se nos invita a participar no proporciona ningún medio suplementario que desemboque en una descripción perspicaz de lo que la gente hace en circunstancias concretas ya que la existencia humana puede ser considerada como una concatenación de circunstancias concretas. Sin duda el naturalismo nos permite comprender como son

Estimating the Reliability of Aggregated and Within-Person Centered Scores in Ecological Momentary Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Po-Hsien; Weng, Li-Jen

2012-01-01

A procedure for estimating the reliability of test scores in the context of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) was proposed to take into account the characteristics of EMA measures. Two commonly used test scores in EMA were considered: the aggregated score (AGGS) and the within-person centered score (WPCS). Conceptually, AGGS and WPCS represent…

Etiological Distinctions between Aggressive and Non-Aggressive Antisocial Behavior: Results from a Nuclear Twin Family Model

Science.gov (United States)

Burt, S. Alexandra; Klump, Kelly L.

2012-01-01

A recent meta-analysis of 103 studies Burt ("Clinical Psychology Review," 29:163-178, 2009a) highlighted the presence of etiological distinctions between aggressive (AGG) and non-aggressive rule-breaking (RB) dimensions of antisocial behavior, such that AGG was more heritable than was RB, whereas RB was more influenced by the shared…

Fanconi Anemia Proteins and Their Interacting Partners: A Molecular Puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Kaddar, Tagrid; Carreau, Madeleine

2012-01-01

In recent years, Fanconi anemia (FA) has been the subject of intense investigations, primarily in the DNA repair research field. Many discoveries have led to the notion of a canonical pathway, termed the FA pathway, where all FA proteins function sequentially in different protein complexes to repair DNA cross-link damages. Although a detailed architecture of this DNA cross-link repair pathway is emerging, the question of how a defective DNA cross-link repair process translates into the disease phenotype is unresolved. Other areas of research including oxidative metabolism, cell cycle progression, apoptosis, and transcriptional regulation have been studied in the context of FA, and some of these areas were investigated before the fervent enthusiasm in the DNA repair field. These other molecular mechanisms may also play an important role in the pathogenesis of this disease. In addition, several FA-interacting proteins have been identified with roles in these “other” nonrepair molecular functions. Thus, the goal of this paper is to revisit old ideas and to discuss protein-protein interactions related to other FA-related molecular functions to try to give the reader a wider perspective of the FA molecular puzzle. PMID:22737580

The π+-emission puzzle in 4 over Lambda He decay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibson, B.F.; Timmermans, R.

1997-10-01

The observed π + emission from the weak decay of 4 over Λ He has long been an intriguing puzzle. Experimentally, the π + to π - ratio for 4 over Λ He decay is about 5%. Because mesonic decay modes of the free Λ (→ p + π - , n + π 0 ) produce no π + s, more complicated mechanisms must be responsible for the π + decay of 4 over Λ He. Dalitz and von Hippel explored two-body decay processes of the type: (1) Λ → π 0 + n decay followed by a π 0 + p → π + + n charge-exchange reaction, and (2) Σ + → π + + n decay following a Λ + p → Σ + + n conversion. They concluded that neither process could account for even a 1% π + + n decay as a p-wave process ruled out the promising explanation coming from von Hippel's calculations, which had found that s-wave Σ + decay might yield a sufficiently high rate. Cieply and Gal re-examined the charge-exchange contribution and concluded that, although up-to-date input parameters yield a 1.2% branching ratio, the charge-exchange mechanism cannot account for the experimental value of about 5%

A Theoretical Model of Jigsaw-Puzzle Pattern Formation by Plant Leaf Epidermal Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Higaki, Takumi; Kutsuna, Natsumaro; Akita, Kae; Takigawa-Imamura, Hisako; Yoshimura, Kenji; Miura, Takashi

2016-04-01

Plant leaf epidermal cells exhibit a jigsaw puzzle-like pattern that is generated by interdigitation of the cell wall during leaf development. The contribution of two ROP GTPases, ROP2 and ROP6, to the cytoskeletal dynamics that regulate epidermal cell wall interdigitation has already been examined; however, how interactions between these molecules result in pattern formation remains to be elucidated. Here, we propose a simple interface equation model that incorporates both the cell wall remodeling activity of ROP GTPases and the diffusible signaling molecules by which they are regulated. This model successfully reproduces pattern formation observed in vivo, and explains the counterintuitive experimental results of decreased cellulose production and increased thickness. Our model also reproduces the dynamics of three-way cell wall junctions. Therefore, this model provides a possible mechanism for cell wall interdigitation formation in vivo.

Puzzle of the 6Li Quadrupole Moment: Steps toward Solving It

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blokhintsev, L.D.; Kukulin, V.I.; Pomerantsev, V.N.

2005-01-01

The problem of the origin of the quadrupole deformation in the 6 Li ground state is investigated with allowance for the three-deuteron component of the 6 Li wave function. Two long-standing puzzles related to the tensor interaction in the 6 Li nucleus are known: that of an anomalous smallness of the 6 Li quadrupole moment (being negative, it is smaller in magnitude than the 7 Li quadrupole moment by a factor of 5) and that of an anomalous behavior of the tensor analyzing power T 2q in the scattering of polarized 6 Li nuclei on various targets. It is shown that a large (in magnitude) negative exchange contribution to the 6 Li quadrupole moment from the three-deuteron configuration cancels almost completely the 'direct' positive contribution due to the αd folding potential. As a result, the total quadrupole moment proves to be close to zero and highly sensitive to fine details of the tensor nucleon-nucleon interaction in the 4 He nucleus and of its wave function

Gravity does not exist a puzzle for the 21st century

CERN Document Server

Icke, Vincent

2014-01-01

Every scientific fact begins as an opinion about the unknown—a theory—that becomes fact as evidence piles up to support it. But what if two theories exist that correspond perfectly to observed phenomena and they cannot be reconciled with each other? Can theory become fact? Such is the dilemma in contemporary physics. In seeking to understand the mechanisms of the universe, physicists have arrived at two conflicting theories: one explains the mystery of gravity through a precise model of space and time, and the other explains the mystery of matter via the behavior of quantum particles. Each theory reigns in its own domain. But 13.8 billion years ago, when the universe first came into being, gravity and matter belonged to a single realm. Can these theories be united, and if so, what facts will be revealed? This, contends Vincent Icke, is the central puzzle facing physics in our century. Combining Icke’s expertise with a robust argument and intellectual playfulness, Gravity Does Not Exist makes a notorious...

Well-Defined Cyclic Triblock Terpolymers: A Missing Piece of the Morphology Puzzle

KAUST Repository

Polymeropoulos, George

2016-10-27

Two well-defined cyclic triblock terpolymers, missing pieces of the terpolymer morphology puzzle, consisting of poly(isoprene), polystyrene, and poly(2-vinylpyridine), were synthesized by combining the Glaser coupling reaction with anionic polymerization. An α,ω-dihydroxy linear triblock terpolymer (OH-PI1,4-b-PS-b-P2VP-OH) was first synthesized followed by transformation of the OH to alkyne groups by esterification with pentynoic acid and cyclization by Glaser coupling. The size exclusion chromatography (SEC) trace of the linear terpolymer precursor was shifted to lower elution time after cyclization, indicating the successful synthesis of the cyclic terpolymer. Additionally, the SEC trace of the cyclic terpolymer produced, after cleavage of the ester groups, shifted again practically to the position corresponding to the linear precursor. The first exploratory results on morphology showed the tremendous influence of the cyclic structure on the morphology of terpolymers. © 2016 American Chemical Society.

The B→πK puzzle and its relation to rare B and K decays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buras, A.J.; Recksiegel, S.; Fleischer, R.; Schwab, F.

2003-01-01

The standard-model interpretation of the ratios of charged and neutral B→πK rates, R c and R n , respectively, points towards a puzzling picture. Since these observables are affected significantly by colour-allowed electroweak (EW) penguins, this ''B→πK puzzle'' could be a manifestation of new physics in the EW penguin sector. Performing the analysis in the R n - R c plane, which is very suitable for monitoring various effects, we demonstrate that we may, in fact, move straightforwardly to the experimental region in this plane through an enhancement of the relevant EW penguin parameter q. We derive analytical bounds for q in terms of a quantity L, which measures the violation of the Lipkin sum rule, and point out that strong phases around 90 circle are favoured by the data, in contrast to QCD factorisation. The B→πK modes imply a correlation between q and the angle γ that, in the limit of negligible rescattering effects and colour-suppressed EW penguins, depends only on the value of L. Concentrating on a minimal flavour-violating new-physics scenario with enhanced Z 0 penguins, we find that the current experimental values on B→X s μ + μ - require roughly L≤1.8. As the B→πK data give L = 5.7±2.4, L has either to move to smaller values once the B→πK data improve or new sources of flavour and CP violation are needed. In turn, the enhanced values of L seen in the B→πK data could be accompanied by enhanced branching ratios for the rare decays K + →π + νanti ν, K L →π 0 e + e - , B→X s νanti ν and B s,d →μ + μ - . Most interesting turns out to be the correlation between the B→πK modes and BR (K + →π + νanti ν), with the latter depending approximately on a single ''scaling'' variable anti L = L.(vertical stroke V ub /V cb vertical stroke /0.086) 2.3 . (orig.)

Is the proton radius puzzle evidence of extra dimensions?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dahia, F.; Lemos, A.S. [Universidade Federal da Paraiba, Department of Physics, Joao Pessoa, PB (Brazil)

2016-08-15

The proton charge radius inferred from muonic hydrogen spectroscopy is not compatible with the previous value given by CODATA-2010, which, on its turn, essentially relies on measurements of the electron-proton interaction. The proton's new size was extracted from the 2S-2P Lamb shift in the muonic hydrogen, which showed an energy excess of 0.3 meV in comparison to the theoretical prediction, evaluated with the CODATA radius. Higher-dimensional gravity is a candidate to explain this discrepancy, since the muon-proton gravitational interaction is stronger than the electron-proton interaction and, in the context of braneworld models, the gravitational potential can be hugely amplified in short distances when compared to the Newtonian potential. Motivated by these ideas, we study a muonic hydrogen confined in a thick brane. We show that the muon-proton gravitational interaction modified by extra dimensions can provide the additional separation of 0.3 meV between the 2S and 2P states. In this scenario, the gravitational energy depends on the higher-dimensional Planck mass and indirectly on the brane thickness. Studying the behavior of the gravitational energy with respect to the brane thickness in a realistic range, we find constraints for the fundamental Planck mass that solve the proton radius puzzle and are consistent with previous experimental bounds. (orig.)

Friction-Stir-Welded and Spin-Formed End Domes for Cryogenic Tanks

Science.gov (United States)

Hales, S. J.; Tayon, W. A.; Domack, M. S.

2012-01-01

Manufacturing of single-piece end domes for cryogenic tanks employing spin forming of tailored, friction-stir-welded blanks of Al-Li alloy 2195 plate offers cost and reliability benefits. The introduction of plastic deformation into a friction stir weld is a unique feature of the proposed manufacturing route. This investigation addressed abnormal grain growth [AGG] within the friction stir weldments during postfabrication processing of a prototype dome. The phenomenon of AGG was observed during the solution heat treatment [SHT] phase of T8 tempering and is a major concern for meeting specifications. Such abrupt microstructural transitions can be detrimental to notch-sensitive mechanical properties, such as ductility and/or fracture toughness. If the issue of AGG cannot be resolved, then the acceptance of this approach as a viable manufacturing route may be in jeopardy. The innovative approach adopted in this investigation was the insertion of a stand-alone, Intermediate Annealing Treatment [IAT] between the spin forming and T8 processing operations. A simple, recovery annealing step was deemed to be the most readily-scalable solution when fabricating thin-walled, ellipsoidal domes. The research effort culminated in the development of an effective IAT, which resulted in a significant decrease in AGG following SHT. The processing philosophy adopted in designing the IAT is outlined and the microstructural reasons for success are discussed. The analytical results presented are consistent with promoting continuous grain growth during the IAT, thereby suppressing AGG during the SHT.

Investigating genetic and environmental contributions to adolescent externalizing behavior in a collectivistic culture: a multi-informant twin study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, J; Yu, J; Zhang, J; Li, X; McGue, M

2015-07-01

Little is known about the etiology of adolescents' externalizing behavior (Ext) in collectivistic cultures. We aimed to fill this gap by investigating the genetic and environmental influences on Ext in Chinese adolescents. The etiological heterogeneity of aggression (AGG) and rule breaking (RB) was also examined. The study sample included 908 pairs of same-sex twins aged from 10 to 18 years (mean = 13.53 years, s.d. = 2.26). Adolescents' Ext were assessed with the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment including Child Behavior Checklist, Teacher Report Form, and Youth Self-Report. Univariate genetic analyses showed that genetic influences on all measures were moderate ranging from 34% to 50%, non-shared environmental effects ranged from 23% to 52%, and shared environmental effects were significant in parent- and teacher-reported measures ranging from 29% to 43%. Bivariate genetic analyses indicated that AGG and RB shared large genetic influences (r g = 0.64-0.79) but moderate non-shared environmental factors (r e = 0.34-0.52). Chinese adolescents' Ext was moderately influenced by genetic factors. AGG and RB had moderate independent genetic and non-shared environmental influences, and thus constitute etiologically distinct dimensions within Ext in Chinese adolescents. The heritability of AGG, in particular, was smaller in Chinese adolescents than suggested by previous data obtained on Western peers. This study suggests that the collectivistic cultural values and Confucianism philosophy may attenuate genetic potential in Ext, especially AGG.

From near to eternity: Spin-glass planting, tiling puzzles, and constraint-satisfaction problems

Science.gov (United States)

Hamze, Firas; Jacob, Darryl C.; Ochoa, Andrew J.; Perera, Dilina; Wang, Wenlong; Katzgraber, Helmut G.

2018-04-01

We present a methodology for generating Ising Hamiltonians of tunable complexity and with a priori known ground states based on a decomposition of the model graph into edge-disjoint subgraphs. The idea is illustrated with a spin-glass model defined on a cubic lattice, where subproblems, whose couplers are restricted to the two values {-1 ,+1 } , are specified on unit cubes and are parametrized by their local degeneracy. The construction is shown to be equivalent to a type of three-dimensional constraint-satisfaction problem known as the tiling puzzle. By varying the proportions of subproblem types, the Hamiltonian can span a dramatic range of typical computational complexity, from fairly easy to many orders of magnitude more difficult than prototypical bimodal and Gaussian spin glasses in three space dimensions. We corroborate this behavior via experiments with different algorithms and discuss generalizations and extensions to different types of graphs.

Electron-muon puzzle and the electromagnetic coupling constant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jehle, H.

1977-01-01

On the basis of a heuristic model we argued in an earlier paper (paper C of this series) electric field (and of course the magnetic field, too) of a lepton or of a quark may be formulated in terms of a closed loop of quantized magnetic flux whose alternative forms (''loopforms'') are superposed with probability amplitudes so as to represent the electromagnetic field of that lepton or quark. The Zitterbewegung of a single stationary (''elementary'') particle suggests a kind of quasiextension, which is assumed, in the present theory, to permit concepts of structuralization of the electromagnetic field even for leptons. Mesons and baryons may be represented by linked quantized flux loops, i.e., quark loops (as in paper B). The central problem now (in this paper D) is to formulate those probability-amplitude distributions in terms of wave functions to characterize the internal structure of the lepton or quark in question. As probability-amplitude functions one may choose bases of irreducible representations of the group with respect to which the model is to be invariant. It is seen that this implies the SO(4) group. As both the electron-muon mass ratio and the electromagnetic coupling constant depend, in this flux-quantization model, on the correct formulation of the structuralization of probability-amplitude distributions, we should expect to get an insight into both these puzzles from finding the right probability-amplitude wave functions. Furthermore, it is seen that this same structuralization of probability-amplitude distributions also permits one to estimate the rate of weak interactions, thus relating them to electromagnetic interactions

Collecting the Puzzle Pieces: Completing HST's UV+NIR Survey of the TRAPPIST-1 System ahead of JWST

Science.gov (United States)

de Wit, Julien

2017-08-01

Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, our team has discovered 7 Earth-sized planets around the nearby Ultra-cool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1. These planets are the first to be simultaneously Earth-sized, temperate, and amenable for in-depth atmospheric studies with space-based observatories (notably, JWST). TRAPPIST-1's system thus provides us with the first opportunity to probe the atmospheres of Earth-sized exoplanets and search for signs of habitability beyond our solar system, which will require spectral information from the UV to the IR to complete their atmospheric puzzles.We request 114 HST orbits to complete the UV+NIR survey of the 7 planets in preparation for their in-depth followup with JWST. The suggested low-density of the planets combined with their complex orbital resonance chain indicate that they migrated inward to their current positions and may harbor large water rich reservoir or leftover primordial H2 atmospheres. We have already ruled out the presence of clear H2 atmospheres for the 5 innermost planets using WFC3 and are requesting 16 WFC3 orbits to complete the TRAPPIST-1 NIR reconnaissance survey. Our primary request consists in 98 STIS orbits to complete the survey for extended H-exospheres around each of the planets. H-exospheres are the most accessible observables for volatile reservoirs, which have not been ruled out by our WFC3 observations. Exosphere detection is only amenable using HST unique capabilities in the UV and are pivotal to guide JWST's in-depth followup. The combined information from HST's UV and NIR observations will allow us put the first critical pieces of the atmospheric puzzle in place for these temperate earth-sized worlds.

The puzzling assembly of the Milky Way halo – contributions from dwarf Spheroidals and globular clusters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lépine S.

2012-02-01

Full Text Available While recent sky surveys have uncovered large numbers of ever fainter Milky Way satellites, their classification as star clusters, low-luminosity galaxies, or tidal overdensities remains often unclear. Likewise, their contributions to the build-up of the halo is yet debated. In this contribution we will discuss the current knowledge of the stellar populations and chemo-dynamics in these puzzling satellites, with a particular focus on dwarf spheroidal galaxies and the globular clusters in the outer Galactic halo. Also the question of whether some of the outermost halo objects are dynamically associated with the (Milky Way halo at all is addressed in terms of proper measurements in the remote Leo I and II dwarf galaxies.

African Journal of Biotechnology Vol

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Gaga E Tonukari

List of the random primers used, their nucleotide sequence and annealing temperatures. Primers. Sequence 5`- 3`. Annealing. Temperature. °C/time (s). 1. ATG ACG TTG A. 2. GGG CTA GGG T. 3. ACC GGG AAC G. 4. AGC AGG TGG A. 45/30. 5. AGG CCC CTG T. 6. ATG CCC CTG T. 7. AAA GCT GCG G. 8. ACC GCC GAA ...

Definition of a visuospatial dimension as a step forward in the diagnostic puzzle of nonverbal learning disability.

Science.gov (United States)

Poletti, Michele

2017-01-01

Although clinically recognized for almost 50 years, the categorical distinction of specific learning disabilities due to an impairment of the nonverbal domain (nonverbal learning disability [NLD]) is still debated and controversial. Unsolved issues involve theoretical models, diagnostic criteria, rehabilitative interventions, and moderator factors. These issues are briefly overviewed to sustain the need for a shift toward dimensional approaches, as suggested by research domain criteria, as a step forward in the diagnostic puzzle of NLD. With this aim, a visuospatial dimension, or spectrum, is proposed, and then clinical conditions that may fit with its impaired side are systemized, while specifying in which conditions a visuospatial impairment may be considered an NLD.

Orbital Wall Reconstruction with Two-Piece Puzzle 3D Printed Implants: Technical Note

Science.gov (United States)

Mommaerts, Maurice Y.; Büttner, Michael; Vercruysse, Herman; Wauters, Lauri; Beerens, Maikel

2015-01-01

The purpose of this article is to describe a technique for secondary reconstruction of traumatic orbital wall defects using titanium implants that act as three-dimensional (3D) puzzle pieces. We present three cases of large defect reconstruction using implants produced by Xilloc Medical B.V. (Maastricht, the Netherlands) with a 3D printer manufactured by LayerWise (3D Systems; Heverlee, Belgium), and designed using the biomedical engineering software programs ProPlan and 3-Matic (Materialise, Heverlee, Belgium). The smaller size of the implants allowed sequential implantation for the reconstruction of extensive two-wall defects via a limited transconjunctival incision. The precise fit of the implants with regard to the surrounding ledges and each other was confirmed by intraoperative 3D imaging (Mobile C-arm Systems B.V. Pulsera, Philips Medical Systems, Eindhoven, the Netherlands). The patients showed near-complete restoration of orbital volume and ocular motility. However, challenges remain, including traumatic fat atrophy and fibrosis. PMID:26889349

Natural killer cells: the journey from puzzles in biology to treatment of cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Bodduluru, Lakshmi Narendra; Kasala, Eshvendar Reddy; Madhana, Rajaram Mohan Rao; Sriram, Chandra Shaker

2015-02-28

Natural Killer (NK) cells are innate immune effectors that are primarily involved in immunosurveillance to spontaneously eliminate malignantly transformed and virally infected cells without prior sensitization. NK cells trigger targeted attack through release of cytotoxic granules, and secrete various cytokines and chemokines to promote subsequent adaptive immune responses. NK cells selectively attack target cells with diminished major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I expression. This "Missing-self" recognition by NK cells at first puzzled researchers in the early 1990s, and the mystery was solved with the discovery of germ line encoded killer immunoglobulin receptors that recognize MHC-I molecules. This review summarizes the biology of NK cells detailing the phenotypes, receptors and functions; interactions of NK cells with dendritic cells (DCs), macrophages and T cells. Further we discuss the various strategies to modulate NK cell activity and the practice of NK cells in cancer immunotherapy employing NK cell lines, autologous, allogeneic and genetically engineered cell populations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Low-voltage puzzle-like fractal microelectromechanial system variable capacitor suppressing pull-in

KAUST Repository

Elshurafa, Amro M.

2012-10-01

This Letter introduces an electrostatically actuated fractal MEMS variable capacitor that, by utilising the substrate, extends the tuning range (TR) beyond the theoretical limit of 1.5 as dictated by the pull-in phenomenon. The backbone concept behind the fractal varactor is to create a suspended movable plate possessing a specific fractal geometry, and to simultaneously create a bottom fixed plate complementary in shape to the top plate. Thus, when the top plate is actuated, it moves towards the bottom plate and fills the void present within the bottom plate without touching it akin to how puzzle pieces are assembled. Further, a reasonable horizontal separation is maintained between both the plates to avoid shorting. The electrostatic forces come from the capacitance formed between the top plate and bottom plate, and from the capacitance formed between the top plate and the doped substrate. The variable capacitor was fabricated in the PolyMUMPS process and provided a TR of 4.1 at 6 V, and its resonant frequency was in excess of 40 GHz.

Low-voltage puzzle-like fractal microelectromechanial system variable capacitor suppressing pull-in

KAUST Repository

Elshurafa, Amro M.; Ho, P.H.; Ouda, Mahmoud H.; Radwan, Ahmed Gomaa; Salama, Khaled N.

2012-01-01

This Letter introduces an electrostatically actuated fractal MEMS variable capacitor that, by utilising the substrate, extends the tuning range (TR) beyond the theoretical limit of 1.5 as dictated by the pull-in phenomenon. The backbone concept behind the fractal varactor is to create a suspended movable plate possessing a specific fractal geometry, and to simultaneously create a bottom fixed plate complementary in shape to the top plate. Thus, when the top plate is actuated, it moves towards the bottom plate and fills the void present within the bottom plate without touching it akin to how puzzle pieces are assembled. Further, a reasonable horizontal separation is maintained between both the plates to avoid shorting. The electrostatic forces come from the capacitance formed between the top plate and bottom plate, and from the capacitance formed between the top plate and the doped substrate. The variable capacitor was fabricated in the PolyMUMPS process and provided a TR of 4.1 at 6 V, and its resonant frequency was in excess of 40 GHz.

The Puzzle of Visual Development: Behavior and Neural Limits.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiorpes, Lynne

2016-11-09

The development of visual function takes place over many months or years in primate infants. Visual sensitivity is very poor near birth and improves over different times courses for different visual functions. The neural mechanisms that underlie these processes are not well understood despite many decades of research. The puzzle arises because research into the factors that limit visual function in infants has found surprisingly mature neural organization and adult-like receptive field properties in very young infants. The high degree of visual plasticity that has been documented during the sensitive period in young children and animals leaves the brain vulnerable to abnormal visual experience. Abnormal visual experience during the sensitive period can lead to amblyopia, a developmental disorder of vision affecting ∼3% of children. This review provides a historical perspective on research into visual development and the disorder amblyopia. The mismatch between the status of the primary visual cortex and visual behavior, both during visual development and in amblyopia, is discussed, and several potential resolutions are considered. It seems likely that extrastriate visual areas further along the visual pathways may set important limits on visual function and show greater vulnerability to abnormal visual experience. Analyses based on multiunit, population activity may provide useful representations of the information being fed forward from primary visual cortex to extrastriate processing areas and to the motor output. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/3611384-10$15.00/0.

Arabidopsis N-MYC DOWNREGULATED-LIKE1, a positive regulator of auxin transport in a G protein-mediated pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Mudgil, Yashwanti; Uhrig, Joachm F; Zhou, Jiping; Temple, Brenda; Jiang, Kun; Jones, Alan M

2009-11-01

Root architecture results from coordinated cell division and expansion in spatially distinct cells of the root and is established and maintained by gradients of auxin and nutrients such as sugars. Auxin is transported acropetally through the root within the central stele and then, upon reaching the root apex, auxin is transported basipetally through the outer cortical and epidermal cells. The two Gbetagamma dimers of the Arabidopsis thaliana heterotrimeric G protein complex are differentially localized to the central and cortical tissues of the Arabidopsis roots. A null mutation in either the single beta (AGB1) or the two gamma (AGG1 and AGG2) subunits confers phenotypes that disrupt the proper architecture of Arabidopsis roots and are consistent with altered auxin transport. Here, we describe an evolutionarily conserved interaction between AGB1/AGG dimers and a protein designated N-MYC DOWNREGULATED-LIKE1 (NDL1). The Arabidopsis genome encodes two homologs of NDL1 (NDL2 and NDL3), which also interact with AGB1/AGG1 and AGB1/AGG2 dimers. We show that NDL proteins act in a signaling pathway that modulates root auxin transport and auxin gradients in part by affecting the levels of at least two auxin transport facilitators. Reduction of NDL family gene expression and overexpression of NDL1 alter root architecture, auxin transport, and auxin maxima. AGB1, auxin, and sugars are required for NDL1 protein stability in regions of the root where auxin gradients are established; thus, the signaling mechanism contains feedback loops.

Arabidopsis N-MYC DOWNREGULATED-LIKE1, a Positive Regulator of Auxin Transport in a G Protein–Mediated Pathway[W

Science.gov (United States)

Mudgil, Yashwanti; Uhrig, Joachm F.; Zhou, Jiping; Temple, Brenda; Jiang, Kun; Jones, Alan M.

2009-01-01

Root architecture results from coordinated cell division and expansion in spatially distinct cells of the root and is established and maintained by gradients of auxin and nutrients such as sugars. Auxin is transported acropetally through the root within the central stele and then, upon reaching the root apex, auxin is transported basipetally through the outer cortical and epidermal cells. The two Gβγ dimers of the Arabidopsis thaliana heterotrimeric G protein complex are differentially localized to the central and cortical tissues of the Arabidopsis roots. A null mutation in either the single β (AGB1) or the two γ (AGG1 and AGG2) subunits confers phenotypes that disrupt the proper architecture of Arabidopsis roots and are consistent with altered auxin transport. Here, we describe an evolutionarily conserved interaction between AGB1/AGG dimers and a protein designated N-MYC DOWNREGULATED-LIKE1 (NDL1). The Arabidopsis genome encodes two homologs of NDL1 (NDL2 and NDL3), which also interact with AGB1/AGG1 and AGB1/AGG2 dimers. We show that NDL proteins act in a signaling pathway that modulates root auxin transport and auxin gradients in part by affecting the levels of at least two auxin transport facilitators. Reduction of NDL family gene expression and overexpression of NDL1 alter root architecture, auxin transport, and auxin maxima. AGB1, auxin, and sugars are required for NDL1 protein stability in regions of the root where auxin gradients are established; thus, the signaling mechanism contains feedback loops. PMID:19948787

Mitigating Abnormal Grain Growth for Friction Stir Welded Al-Li 2195 Spun Formed Domes

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Po-Shou; Russell, Carolyn

2012-01-01

Formability and abnormal grain growth (AGG) are the two major issues that have been encountered for Al alloy spun formed dome development using friction stir welded blanks. Material properties that have significant influence on the formability include forming range and strain hardening exponent. In this study, tensile tests were performed for two 2195 friction stir weld parameter sets at 400 F to study the effects of post weld anneal on the forming range and strain hardening exponent. It was found that the formability can be enhanced by applying a newly developed post weld anneal to heat treat the friction stir welded panels. This new post weld anneal leads to a higher forming range and much improved strain hardening exponent. AGG in the weld nugget is known to cause a significant reduction of ductility and fracture toughness. This study also investigated how AGG may be influenced by the heating rate to the solution heat treatment temperature. After post-weld annealing, friction stir welds were strained to 15% and 39% by compression at 400 F before they were subjected to SHT at 950 F for 1 hour. Salt bath SHT is very effective in reducing the grain size as it helps arrest the onset of AGG and promote normal recrystallization and grain growth. However, heat treating a 18 ft dome using a salt bath is not practical. Efforts are continuing at Marshall Space Flight Center to identify the welding parameters and heat treating parameters that can help mitigate the AGG in the friction stir welds.

HvDep1 Is a Positive Regulator of Culm Elongation and Grain Size in Barley and Impacts Yield in an Environment-Dependent Manner.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toni Wendt

Full Text Available Heterotrimeric G proteins are intracellular membrane-attached signal transducers involved in various cellular processes in both plants and animals. They consist of three subunits denoted as α, β and γ. The γ-subunits of the so-called AGG3 type, which comprise a transmembrane domain, are exclusively found in plants. In model species, these proteins have been shown to participate in the control of plant height, branching and seed size and could therefore impact the harvestable yield of various crop plants. Whether AGG3-type γ-subunits influence yield in temperate cereals like barley and wheat remains unknown. Using a transgenic complementation approach, we show here that the Scottish malting barley cultivar (cv. Golden Promise carries a loss-of-function mutation in HvDep1, an AGG3-type subunit encoding gene that positively regulates culm elongation and seed size in barley. Somewhat intriguingly, agronomic field data collected over a 12-year period reveals that the HvDep1 loss-of-function mutation in cv. Golden Promise has the potential to confer either a significant increase or decrease in harvestable yield depending on the environment. Our results confirm the role of AGG3-type subunit-encoding genes in shaping plant architecture, but interestingly also indicate that the impact HvDep1 has on yield in barley is both genotypically and environmentally sensitive. This may explain why widespread exploitation of variation in AGG3-type subunit-encoding genes has not occurred in temperate cereals while in rice the DEP1 locus is widely exploited to improve harvestable yield.

Large-scale grain growth in the solid-state process: From "Abnormal" to "Normal"

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Minhong; Han, Shengnan; Zhang, Jingwei; Song, Jiageng; Hao, Chongyan; Deng, Manjiao; Ge, Lingjing; Gu, Zhengfei; Liu, Xinyu

2018-02-01

Abnormal grain growth (AGG) has been a common phenomenon during the ceramic or metallurgy processing since prehistoric times. However, usually it had been very difficult to grow big single crystal (centimeter scale over) by using the AGG method due to its so-called occasionality. Based on the AGG, a solid-state crystal growth (SSCG) method was developed. The greatest advantages of the SSCG technology are the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of the technique. But the traditional SSCG technology is still uncontrollable. This article first summarizes the history and current status of AGG, and then reports recent technical developments from AGG to SSCG, and further introduces a new seed-free, solid-state crystal growth (SFSSCG) technology. This SFSSCG method allows us to repeatedly and controllably fabricate large-scale single crystals with appreciable high quality and relatively stable chemical composition at a relatively low temperature, at least in (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3(KNN) and Cu-Al-Mn systems. In this sense, the exaggerated grain growth is no longer 'Abnormal' but 'Normal' since it is able to be artificially controllable and repeated now. This article also provides a crystal growth model to qualitatively explain the mechanism of SFSSCG for KNN system. Compared with the traditional melt and high temperature solution growth methods, the SFSSCG method has the advantages of low energy consumption, low investment, simple technique, composition homogeneity overcoming the issues with incongruent melting and high volatility. This SFSSCG could be helpful for improving the mechanical and physical properties of single crystals, which should be promising for industrial applications.

A data-driven weighting scheme for multivariate phenotypic endpoints recapitulates zebrafish developmental cascades

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Guozhu, E-mail: gzhang6@ncsu.edu [Bioinformatics Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (United States); Roell, Kyle R., E-mail: krroell@ncsu.edu [Bioinformatics Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (United States); Truong, Lisa, E-mail: lisa.truong@oregonstate.edu [Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Sinnhuber Aquatic Research Laboratory, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR (United States); Tanguay, Robert L., E-mail: robert.tanguay@oregonstate.edu [Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Sinnhuber Aquatic Research Laboratory, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR (United States); Reif, David M., E-mail: dmreif@ncsu.edu [Bioinformatics Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (United States); Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Human Health and the Environment, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (United States)

2017-01-01

Zebrafish have become a key alternative model for studying health effects of environmental stressors, partly due to their genetic similarity to humans, fast generation time, and the efficiency of generating high-dimensional systematic data. Studies aiming to characterize adverse health effects in zebrafish typically include several phenotypic measurements (endpoints). While there is a solid biomedical basis for capturing a comprehensive set of endpoints, making summary judgments regarding health effects requires thoughtful integration across endpoints. Here, we introduce a Bayesian method to quantify the informativeness of 17 distinct zebrafish endpoints as a data-driven weighting scheme for a multi-endpoint summary measure, called weighted Aggregate Entropy (wAggE). We implement wAggE using high-throughput screening (HTS) data from zebrafish exposed to five concentrations of all 1060 ToxCast chemicals. Our results show that our empirical weighting scheme provides better performance in terms of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve for identifying significant morphological effects and improves robustness over traditional curve-fitting approaches. From a biological perspective, our results suggest that developmental cascade effects triggered by chemical exposure can be recapitulated by analyzing the relationships among endpoints. Thus, wAggE offers a powerful approach for analysis of multivariate phenotypes that can reveal underlying etiological processes. - Highlights: • Introduced a data-driven weighting scheme for multiple phenotypic endpoints. • Weighted Aggregate Entropy (wAggE) implies differential importance of endpoints. • Endpoint relationships reveal developmental cascade effects triggered by exposure. • wAggE is generalizable to multi-endpoint data of different shapes and scales.

Analysis of chitosan/tripolyphosphate micro- and nanogel yields is key to understanding their protein uptake performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Yuhang; Lapitsky, Yakov

2017-05-15

Chitosan/tripolyphosphate (TPP) micro- and nanogels are widely explored as vehicles for protein drug and vaccine delivery. Yet, aside from the consensus that protein uptake into these particles is enhanced by stronger protein/particle binding, factors that control their uptake performance, such as differences in the chitosan, TPP and protein concentrations, remain poorly understood. Here, we show that many of the differences in the reported association efficiencies (AE-values) for protein uptake likely reflect the largely-ignored variability in the particle yield (X Agg ), which is the fraction of the added chitosan that self-assembles into particles and (like the AE) varies with the chitosan, TPP and protein concentrations. Factors affecting X Agg are first systematically explored. The AE is then shown to scale almost linearly with the X Agg (which increases with the TPP and protein-to-chitosan ratios) until all chitosan aggregates into particles. Remarkably, the data collected at variable TPP and protein concentrations collapses onto a single AE∝X Agg curve for each protein type. Further analysis of protein/particle binding reveals this rise in AE with X Agg to reflect: (1) an increase in binding sites within the particles; and (2) a decrease in soluble (non-particulate) chitosan molecules, which form soluble protein/chitosan complexes and compete with the chitosan/TPP particles for the unassociated protein. These findings highlight the need to carefully analyze the effects of formulation parameters on chitosan/TPP particle yields and can likely be extended to other ionically crosslinked colloidal drug carriers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Desiccation tolerance of Sphagnum revisited: a puzzle resolved.

Science.gov (United States)

Hájek, T; Vicherová, E

2014-07-01

As ecosystem engineers, Sphagnum mosses control their surroundings through water retention, acidification and peat accumulation. Because water retention avoids desiccation, sphagna are generally intolerant to drought; however, the literature on Sphagnum desiccation tolerance (DT) provides puzzling results, indicating the inducible nature of their DT. To test this, various Sphagnum species and other mesic bryophytes were hardened to drought by (i) slow drying; (ii) ABA application and (iii) chilling or frost. DT tolerance was assessed as recovery of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters after severe desiccation. We monitored the seasonal course of DT in bog bryophytes. Under laboratory conditions, following initial de-hardening, untreated Sphagnum shoots lacked DT; however, DT was induced by all hardening treatments except chilling, notably by slow drying, and in Sphagnum species of the section Cuspidata. In the field, sphagna in hollows and lawns developed DT several times during the growing season, responding to reduced precipitation and a lowered water table. Hummock and aquatic species developed DT only in late autumn, probably as a response to frost. Sphagnum protonemata failed to develop DT; hence, desiccation may limit Sphagnum establishment in drier habitats with suitable substrate chemistry. Desiccation avoiders among sphagna form compact hummocks or live submerged; thus, they do not develop DT in the field, lacking the initial desiccation experience, which is frequent in hollow and lawn habitats. We confirmed the morpho-physiological trade-off: in contrast to typical hollow sphagna, hummock species invest more resources in water retention (desiccation avoidance), while they have a lower ability to develop physiological DT. © 2013 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

Characterization of anthropogenic influence on the soil cover on selected localities of Prague

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Žigová, Anna; Šťastný, Martin; Krejčová, J.; Hájek, Pavel

2007-01-01

Roč. 4, č. 3 (2007), s. 39-49 ISSN 1214-9705 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA300130504 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516; CEZ:AV0Z30460519 Keywords : soil development * clay mineralogy * anthropogenically affected areas of Prague * loess * hot-water extractable carbon Subject RIV: DF - Soil Science http://www.irsm.cas.cz/abstracts/AGG/AGG3_147/5_Zigova.pdf

A solution to the rho-π puzzle: Spontaneously broken symmetries of the quark model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caldi, D.G.; Pagels, H.

1976-01-01

This article proposes a solution to the long-standing rho-π puzzle: How can the rho and π be members of a quark model U(6) 36 and the π be a Nambu-Goldstone boson satisfying partial conservation of the axial-vector current (PCAC) Our solution to the puzzle requires a revision of conventional concepts regarding the vector mesons rho, ω, K*, and phi. Just as the π is a Goldstone state, a collective excitation of the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio type, transforming as a member of the (3, 3) + (3, 3) representation of the chiral SU(3) x SU(3) group, so also the rho transforms like (3, 3) + (3, 3) and is also a collective state, a ''dormant'' Goldstone boson that is a true Goldstone boson in the static chiral U(6) x U(6) limit. The static chiral U(6) x U(6) is to be spontaneously broken to static U(6) in the vacuum. Relativisitc effects provide for U(6) breaking and a massive rho. This viewpoint has many consequences. Vector-meson dominance is a consequence of spontaneously broken chiral symmetry: the mechanism that couples the axial-vector current to the π couples the vector current to the rho. The transition rate is calculated as γ/sub rho/ -1 = f/sub pi//m/sub rho/ in rough agreement with experiment. This picture requires soft rho's to decouple. The chiral partner of the rho is not the A 1 but the B (1235). The experimental absence of the A 1 is no longer a theoretical embarrassment in this scheme. As the analog of PCAC for the pion we establish a tensor-field identity for the rho meson in which the rho is interpreted as a dormant Goldstone state. The decays delta → eta + π, B → ω + π, epsilon → 2π are estimated and are found to be in agreement with the observed rates. A static U(6) x U(6) generalization of the Σ model is presented with the π, rho, sigma, B in the (6, 6) + (6, 6) representation. The rho emerges as a dormant Goldstone boson in this model

Two approaches towards the flavour puzzle. Dynamical minimal flavour violation and warped extra dimensions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albrecht, Michaela E.

2010-08-16

The minimal-flavour-violating (MFV) hypothesis considers the Standard Model (SM) Yukawa matrices as the only source of flavour violation. In this work, we promote their entries to dynamical scalar spurion fields, using an effective field theory approach, such that the maximal flavour symmetry (FS) of the SM gauge sector is formally restored at high energy scales. The non-vanishing vacuum expectation values of the spurions induce a sequence of FS breaking and generate the observed hierarchy in the SM quark masses and mixings. The fact that there exists no explanation for it in the SM is known as the flavour puzzle. Gauging the non-abelian subgroup of the spontaneously broken FS, we interpret the associated Goldstone bosons as the longitudinal degrees of freedom of the corresponding massive gauge bosons. Integrating out the heavy Higgs modes in the Yukawa spurions leads directly to flavour-changing neutral currents (FCNCs) at tree level. The coefficients of the effective four-quark operators, resulting from the exchange of heavy flavoured gauge bosons, strictly follow the MFV principle. On the other hand, the Goldstone bosons associated with the global abelian symmetry group behave as weakly coupled axions which can be used to solve the strong CP problem within a modified Peccei-Quinn formalism. Models with a warped fifth dimension contain five-dimensional (5D) fermion bulk mass matrices in addition to their 5D Yukawa matrices, which thus represent an additional source of flavour violation beyond MFV. They can address the flavour puzzle since their eigenvalues allow for a different localisation of the fermion zero mode profiles along the extra dimension which leads to a hierarchy in the effective four-dimensional (4D) Yukawa matrices. At the same time, the fermion splitting introduces non-universal fermion couplings to Kaluza-Klein (KK) gauge boson modes, inducing tree-level FCNCs. Within a Randall-Sundrum model with custodial protection (RSc model) we carefully work

Two approaches towards the flavour puzzle. Dynamical minimal flavour violation and warped extra dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albrecht, Michaela E.

2010-01-01

The minimal-flavour-violating (MFV) hypothesis considers the Standard Model (SM) Yukawa matrices as the only source of flavour violation. In this work, we promote their entries to dynamical scalar spurion fields, using an effective field theory approach, such that the maximal flavour symmetry (FS) of the SM gauge sector is formally restored at high energy scales. The non-vanishing vacuum expectation values of the spurions induce a sequence of FS breaking and generate the observed hierarchy in the SM quark masses and mixings. The fact that there exists no explanation for it in the SM is known as the flavour puzzle. Gauging the non-abelian subgroup of the spontaneously broken FS, we interpret the associated Goldstone bosons as the longitudinal degrees of freedom of the corresponding massive gauge bosons. Integrating out the heavy Higgs modes in the Yukawa spurions leads directly to flavour-changing neutral currents (FCNCs) at tree level. The coefficients of the effective four-quark operators, resulting from the exchange of heavy flavoured gauge bosons, strictly follow the MFV principle. On the other hand, the Goldstone bosons associated with the global abelian symmetry group behave as weakly coupled axions which can be used to solve the strong CP problem within a modified Peccei-Quinn formalism. Models with a warped fifth dimension contain five-dimensional (5D) fermion bulk mass matrices in addition to their 5D Yukawa matrices, which thus represent an additional source of flavour violation beyond MFV. They can address the flavour puzzle since their eigenvalues allow for a different localisation of the fermion zero mode profiles along the extra dimension which leads to a hierarchy in the effective four-dimensional (4D) Yukawa matrices. At the same time, the fermion splitting introduces non-universal fermion couplings to Kaluza-Klein (KK) gauge boson modes, inducing tree-level FCNCs. Within a Randall-Sundrum model with custodial protection (RSc model) we carefully work

The role of helioseismology in the knowledge of the solar interior dynamics and in the solar neutrino puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Couvidat, Sebastien

2002-01-01

This dissertation focuses on the solar interior dynamics and the neutrino puzzle, using helioseismology and more specifically the SoHO/GOLF data as a tool to probe the radiative interior of the Sun. We show how helioseismology gives us a direct access to the deep-layer dynamics through the solar rotation profile. Our data favor a decrease of the rotation velocity near the nuclear core. This can be used to constrain the angular momentum distribution processes, and to set an upper bound on the intensity of the magnetic field in this part of the Sun. The search for gravity modes with an original method is another topic of this dissertation. Several candidates are detected that need now to be confirmed. Gravity modes will give us a precious insight into the solar core structure and dynamics. We also use the stellar evolution code CESAM. By combining seismic data and solar modelling, we produce solar seismic models. The neutrino flux predictions from these models are partly derived on an observational basis. The comparison of these fluxes with the SNO results gives the solution to the solar neutrino puzzle: neutrinos have masses and they oscillate between different lepton flavors. This explains the deficit of detections observed since the sixties. We also work on the internal magnetic fields that take part to the dynamic processes. In particular, we start to study the impact of these fields on the neutrino production and transport. Finally, we reach the limits of the 1D stellar codes: they cannot take into account the dynamic processes efficiently. This justifies the current development of 2D or 3D codes. (author) [fr

New Measurement of the 1 S -3 S Transition Frequency of Hydrogen: Contribution to the Proton Charge Radius Puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Fleurbaey, Hélène; Galtier, Sandrine; Thomas, Simon; Bonnaud, Marie; Julien, Lucile; Biraben, François; Nez, François; Abgrall, Michel; Guéna, Jocelyne

2018-05-01

We present a new measurement of the 1 S -3 S two-photon transition frequency of hydrogen, realized with a continuous-wave excitation laser at 205 nm on a room-temperature atomic beam, with a relative uncertainty of 9 ×10-13. The proton charge radius deduced from this measurement, rp=0.877 (13 ) fm , is in very good agreement with the current CODATA-recommended value. This result contributes to the ongoing search to solve the proton charge radius puzzle, which arose from a discrepancy between the CODATA value and a more precise determination of rp from muonic hydrogen spectroscopy.

Microsatellite association with seed protein content and flowering ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

use

2011-12-12

Dec 12, 2011 ... 5'-ATA AAG GAG GGC ATA GGG AGG TAT-3'. VM19. 5'-TAT TCA TGC GCC GTG ACA CTA-3'. (AC).(AC). 241. 5'-TCG TGG CAC CCC CTA TC-3'. VM 31. 5'-CGC TCT TCG TTG ATG GTT ATG-3'. (CT). 200. 5'-GTG TTC TAG AGG GTG TGA TGG TA-3'. VM 35. 5'-GGT CAA TAG AAT AAT GGA AAG TGT-3'.

HIV in Japan: Epidemiologic puzzles and ethnographic explanations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony S. DiStefano

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Japan is widely perceived to have a low level of HIV occurrence; however, its HIV epidemics also have been the subject of considerable misunderstanding globally. I used a ground truthing conceptual framework to meet two aims: first, to determine how accurately official surveillance data represented Japan's two largest epidemics (urban Kansai and Tokyo as understood and experienced on the ground; and second, to identify explanations for why the HIV epidemics were unfolding as officially reported. I used primarily ethnographic methods while drawing upon epidemiology, and compared government surveillance data to observations at community and institutional sites (459 pages of field notes; 175 persons observed, qualitative interviews with stakeholders in local HIV epidemics (n = 32, and document research (n = 116. This revealed seven epidemiologic puzzles involving officially reported trends and conspicuously missing information. Ethnographically grounded explanations are presented for each. These included factors driving the epidemics, which ranged from waning government and public attention to HIV, to gaps in sex education and disruptive leadership changes in public institutions approximately every two years. Factors constraining the epidemics also contributed to explanations. These ranged from subsidized medical treatment for most people living with HIV, to strong partnerships between government and a well-developed, non-governmental sector of HIV interventionists, and protective norms and built environments in the sex industry. Local and regional HIV epidemics were experienced and understood as worse than government reports indicated, and ground-level data often contradicted official knowledge. Results thus call into question epidemiologic trends, including recent stabilization of the national epidemic, and suggest the need for revisions to the surveillance system and strategies that address factors driving and constraining the epidemics. Based

Aggregation behavior of gemini pyrrolidine-based ionic liquids 1,1'-(butane-1,4-diyl)bis(1-alkylpyrrolidinium) bromide ([C(n)py-4-C(n)py][Br2]) in aqueous solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shaohua; Yan, Han; Zhao, Mingwei; Zheng, Liqiang

2012-04-15

Three gemini pyrrolidine-based ionic liquids, 1,1'-(butane-1,4-diyl)bis(1-alkylpyrrolidinium) bromide ([C(n)py-4-C(n)py][Br(2)], n=10, 12, 14), were synthesized. Their aggregation behavior in aqueous solution was systematically investigated by surface tension, electrical conductivity, and steady-state fluorescence. Compared with their corresponding monomers, N-alkyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bromide (C(n)MPB), [C(n)py-4-C(n)py][Br(2)], have higher surface activity. The special structure of [C(n)py-4-C(n)py][Br(2)] that has a spacer in their hydrophilic head groups results in a lower surface excess concentration (Γ(max)) and a larger molecular cross-sectional area (A(min)). Electrical conductivity studies show a lower degree of counter-ion binding to the aggregates. A smaller aggregation number (N(agg)) is observed by the pyrene fluorescence quenching method. A series of thermodynamic parameters (ΔG(agg)(0),ΔH(agg)(0),-TΔS(agg)(0)) of aggregation derived from electrical conductivity indicate that the aggregation of [C(n)py-4-C(n)py][Br(2)] is enthalpy-driven, while aggregation of C(n)MPB is entropy-driven at low temperatures but enthalpy-driven at high temperatures. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Geneva University - Measurement of the Lamb shift in muonic hydrogen: the proton radius puzzle

CERN Multimedia

2010-01-01

GENEVA UNIVERSITY École de physique Département de physique nucléaire et corspusculaire 24, quai Ernest-Ansermet 1211 GENEVA 4 Tel: (022) 379 62 73 Fax: (022) 379 69 92 Wednesday 12 May 2010 PARTICLE PHYSICS SEMINAR at 17.00 hrs – Stückelberg Auditorium Measurement of the Lamb shift in muonic hydrogen: the proton radius puzzle Dr Aldo Antogninia , CREMA Collaboration, Max Planck Institute, Germany At the Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland, we have measured several 2S-2P transition frequencies in muonic hydrogen (µp) and deuterium (µd) by means of laser spectroscopy. This results in an order of magnitude improvement on the rms charge radius values of the proton and the deuteron. Additionally the Zemach radii and the deuteron polarizability are also inferred. The new proton radius value is deduced with a relative accuracy of 0.1% but strongly disagrees from CODATA. The origin of this discrepancy is not yet known. It may come from theo...

The grand unified link between the Peccei-Quinn mechanism and the generation puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davidson, A.; Wali, K.C.

1982-03-01

The essential ingredients of the Peccei-Quinn mechanism are shown to be dictated by a proper choice of a grand unification scheme. The presence of U(1)sub(PQ) gives rise to the possibility that the same physics which resolves the strong CP-violation problem may decode the generation puzzle with no extra cost. Multigenerational signatures of the invisible axion scenario, such as the canonical fermion mass matrix, are discussed. The uniqueness and the special values of the quantized PQ-assignments, namely 1,-3,5-7,... for successive generations, acquire an automatic explanation once the idea of ''horizontal compositeness'' is invoked. A characteristic feature then is that the muon appears to have a less complicated structure than the electron. Furthermore, U(1)sub(PQ) chooses SO(10) to be its only tenable gauge symmetry partner, and at the same time crucially restricts the associated Higgs system. All this finally results in a consistent fermion mass hierarchy with log m, to the crudest estimation, varying linearly with respect to the generation index. (author)

Exosome-Mediated Genetic Information Transfer, a Missing Piece of Osteoblast-Osteoclast Communication Puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Pengbin; Lv, Houchen; Li, Yi; Deng, Yuan; Zhang, Licheng; Tang, Peifu

2017-01-01

The skeletal system functions and maintains itself based on communication between cells of diverse origins, especially between osteoblasts (OBs) and osteoclasts (OCs), accounting for bone formation and resorption, respectively. Previously, protein-level information exchange has been the research focus, and this has been discussed in detail. The regulative effects of microRNAs (miRNAs) on OB and OC ignite the question as to whether genetic information could be transferred between bone cells. Exosomes, extracellular membrane vesicles 30-100 nm in diameter, have recently been demonstrated to transfer functional proteins, mRNAs, and miRNAs, and serve as mediators of intercellular communication. By reviewing the distinguishing features of exosomes, a hypothesis was formulated and evaluated in this article that exosome-mediated genetic information transfer may represent a novel strategy for OB-OC communication. The exosomes may coordinately regulate these two cells under certain physiological conditions by transferring genetic information. Further research in exosome-shuttered miRNAs in OB-OC communication may add a missing piece to the bone cells communication "puzzle."

The Compatibility Between Biomphalaria glabrata Snails and Schistosoma mansoni: An Increasingly Complex Puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitta, G; Gourbal, B; Grunau, C; Knight, M; Bridger, J M; Théron, A

2017-01-01

This review reexamines the results obtained in recent decades regarding the compatibility polymorphism between the snail, Biomphalaria glabrata, and the pathogen, Schistosoma mansoni, which is one of the agents responsible for human schistosomiasis. Some results point to the snail's resistance as explaining the incompatibility, while others support a "matching hypothesis" between the snail's immune receptors and the schistosome's antigens. We propose here that the two hypotheses are not exclusive, and that the compatible/incompatible status of a particular host/parasite couple probably reflects the balance of multiple molecular determinants that support one hypothesis or the other. Because these genes are involved in a coevolutionary arms race, we also propose that the underlying mechanisms can vary. Finally, some recent results show that environmental factors could influence compatibility. Together, these results make the compatibility between B. glabrata and S. mansoni an increasingly complex puzzle. We need to develop more integrative approaches in order to find targets that could potentially be manipulated to control the transmission of schistosomiasis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

anti B{sub d,s} → D{sup *}{sub d,s}V and anti B{sup *}{sub d,s} → D{sub d,s}V decays in QCD factorization and possible puzzles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Qin [Henan Normal University, Institute of Particle and Nuclear Physics, Henan (China); Central China Normal University, Institute of Particle Physics, Wuhan (China); Chen, Ling-Xin; Zhang, Yun-Yun; Sun, Jun-Feng; Yang, Yue-Ling [Henan Normal University, Institute of Particle and Nuclear Physics, Henan (China)

2016-10-15

Motivated by the rapid development of heavy-flavor experiments, phenomenological studies of nonleptonic anti B{sub d,s} → D{sup *}{sub d,s}V and anti B{sup *}{sub d,s} → D{sub d,s}V (V = ρ, K*) decays are performed within the framework of QCD factorization. Relative to the previous work, the QCD corrections to the transverse amplitudes are evaluated at next-to-leading order. The theoretical predictions of the observables are updated. For the measured anti B{sub d,s} → D{sup *}{sub d,s}V decays, the tensions between theoretical results and experimental measurements, i.e. the ''R{sub ds}{sup V} puzzle'' and ''D*V (or R{sub V/l} {sub anti} {sub ν{sub l)}} puzzle'', are presented after detailed analyses. For the anti B{sup *}{sub d,s} → D{sub d,s}V decays, they have relatively large branching fractions of the order >or similar O(10{sup -9}) and are in the scope of Belle-II and LHCb experiments. Moreover, they also provide a way to crosscheck the possible puzzles mentioned above through the similar ratios R{sub ds}{sup 'V} and R{sup '}{sub V/l} {sub anti} {sub ν{sub l.}} More refined experimental measurements and theoretical efforts are required to confirm or refute such two anomalies. (orig.)

Emergence of Life on Earth: A Physicochemical Jigsaw Puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Spitzer, Jan

2017-01-01

We review physicochemical factors and processes that describe how cellular life can emerge from prebiotic chemical matter; they are: (1) prebiotic Earth is a multicomponent and multiphase reservoir of chemical compounds, to which (2) Earth-Moon rotations deliver two kinds of regular cycling energies: diurnal electromagnetic radiation and seawater tides. (3) Emerging colloidal phases cyclically nucleate and agglomerate in seawater and consolidate as geochemical sediments in tidal zones, creating a matrix of microspaces. (4) Some microspaces persist and retain memory from past cycles, and others re-dissolve and re-disperse back into the Earth's chemical reservoir. (5) Proto-metabolites and proto-biopolymers coevolve with and within persisting microspaces, where (6) Macromolecular crowding and other non-covalent molecular forces govern the evolution of hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and charged molecular surfaces. (7) The matrices of microspaces evolve into proto-biofilms of progenotes with rudimentary but evolving replication, transcription, and translation, enclosed in unstable cell envelopes. (8) Stabilization of cell envelopes 'crystallizes' bacteria-like genetics and metabolism with low horizontal gene transfer-life 'as we know it.' These factors and processes constitute the 'working pieces' of the jigsaw puzzle of life's emergence. They extend the concept of progenotes as the first proto-cellular life, connected backward in time to the cycling chemistries of the Earth-Moon planetary system, and forward to the ancient cell cycle of first bacteria-like organisms. Supra-macromolecular models of 'compartments first' are preferred: they facilitate macromolecular crowding-a key abiotic/biotic transition toward living states. Evolutionary models of metabolism or genetics 'first' could not have evolved in unconfined and uncrowded environments because of the diffusional drift to disorder mandated by the second law of thermodynamics.

Development of n- and p-type Doped Perovskite Single Crystals Using Solid-State Single Crystal Growth (SSCG) Technique

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-09

for AGG should be minimal. For this purpose, the seeds for AGG may also be provided externally. This process is called the solid-state single...bonding process . Figure 31 shows (a) the growth of one large single crystal from one small single crystal seed as well as (b) the growth of one...one bi-crystal seed : One large bi-crystal can be grown from one small bi-crystal by SSCG process . Fig. 32. Diffusion bonding process for

Future strategy and puzzles of heavy ion beam mediated technique in genetic improvement of biological bodies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Qunce

2007-01-01

The 7 research puzzles in the genetic improvement of biological bodies made by ion beam mediated technique, are worth noticed. The technical ideas, including one mediated technique in physics, 2 significant subjects, 3 effective changes, the mediated evidences of 4 aspects and 5 biological characteristics, were particularly put forward according to the existing states in the field. The 2 significant subjects consist of the mechanics of the allogenetic materials entering into the acceptor and they being to be recombined. The 3 effective changes include from studying morphology to genetic laws, from researching M1 generation to the next generations, from determining the single character to the synthetic traits. The mediated evidences of 4 aspects come from morphology, physiology and biochemistry, molecule biology. The 5 biological characteristics are mainly reproduction, development, photosynthesis, bad condition-resistant and quality. (authors)

A New Iridoid Glycoside from the Roots of Dipsacus asper

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhonglin Yang

2012-02-01

Full Text Available A new iridoid glycoside, named loganic acid ethyl ester (1, together with five known compounds: chlorogenic acid (2, caffeic acid (3, loganin (4, cantleyoside (5 and syringaresinol-4′,4′′-O-bis-β-D-glucoside (6 were isolated from the roots of Dipsacus asper. The structure of compound 1 was elucidated on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analyses. Lignan is isolated from Dipsacaceae species for the first time. Compounds 1, 4 and 5 had moderate neuroprotective effects against the Aβ25–35 induced cell death in PC12 cells.

Study of Plant Species Composition of Grasslands in Mugla Village Region (Western Rhodopes, South Bulgaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Plamen S. Stoyanov

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The study presents data on the diversity of grass species in the region of the village of Mugla (the Western Rhodopes. One hundred forty-one species of higher plants belonging to 40families were registered. (Apiaceae, Aspleniaceae, Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Brassicaceae,Campanulaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Cistaceae, Cyperaceae, Dipsacaceae, Equisetaceae, Ericaceae,Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Gentianaceae, Geraniaceae, Gesneriaceae, Hypericaceae, Juncaceae,Lamiaceae, Lemnaceae, Liliaceae, Linaceae, Menyanthaceae, Oleacea, Onagraceae, Orchidaceae,Parnassiaceae, Plantaginaceae, Plumbaginaceae, Poaceae, Polygalaceae, Primulaceae,Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae, Rubiaceae, Saxifragaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Valerianaceae andViolaceae. Their conservation status was presented, as well as medicinal plants.

Learning and Memory Processes Following Cochlear Implantation: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Pisoni, David B; Kronenberger, William G; Chandramouli, Suyog H; Conway, Christopher M

2016-01-01

At the present time, there is no question that cochlear implants (CIs) work and often work very well in quiet listening conditions for many profoundly deaf children and adults. The speech and language outcomes data published over the last two decades document quite extensively the clinically significant benefits of CIs. Although there now is a large body of evidence supporting the "efficacy" of CIs as a medical intervention for profound hearing loss in both children and adults, there still remain a number of challenging unresolved clinical and theoretical issues that deal with the "effectiveness" of CIs in individual patients that have not yet been successfully resolved. In this paper, we review recent findings on learning and memory, two central topics in the field of cognition that have been seriously neglected in research on CIs. Our research findings on sequence learning, memory and organization processes, and retrieval strategies used in verbal learning and memory of categorized word lists suggests that basic domain-general learning abilities may be the missing piece of the puzzle in terms of understanding the cognitive factors that underlie the enormous individual differences and variability routinely observed in speech and language outcomes following cochlear implantation.

Genetics in arterial calcification: pieces of a puzzle and cogs in a wheel.

Science.gov (United States)

Rutsch, Frank; Nitschke, Yvonne; Terkeltaub, Robert

2011-08-19

Artery calcification reflects an admixture of factors such as ectopic osteochondral differentiation with primary host pathological conditions. We review how genetic factors, as identified by human genome-wide association studies, and incomplete correlations with various mouse studies, including knockout and strain analyses, fit into "pieces of the puzzle" in intimal calcification in human atherosclerosis, and artery tunica media calcification in aging, diabetes mellitus, and chronic kidney disease. We also describe in sharp contrast how ENPP1, CD73, and ABCC6 serve as "cogs in a wheel" of arterial calcification. Specifically, each is a minor component in the function of a much larger network of factors that exert balanced effects to promote and suppress arterial calcification. For the network to normally suppress spontaneous arterial calcification, the "cogs" ENPP1, CD73, and ABCC6 must be present and in working order. Monogenic ENPP1, CD73, and ABCC6 deficiencies each drive a molecular pathophysiology of closely related but phenotypically different diseases (generalized arterial calcification of infancy (GACI), pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) and arterial calcification caused by CD73 deficiency (ACDC)), in which premature onset arterial calcification is a prominent but not the sole feature.

The puzzle of immune phenotypes of childhood asthma.

Science.gov (United States)

Landgraf-Rauf, Katja; Anselm, Bettina; Schaub, Bianca

2016-12-01

new immunological molecules, the complex puzzle of childhood asthma is still far from being completed. Addressing the current challenges of distinct clinical asthma and wheeze phenotypes, including their stability and underlying endotypes, involves addressing the interplay of innate and adaptive immune regulatory mechanisms in large, interdisciplinary cohorts.

Hyperon puzzle, hadron-quark crossover and massive neutron stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Masuda, Kota [The University of Tokyo, Department of Physics, Tokyo (Japan); Nishina Center, RIKEN, Theoretical Research Division, Wako (Japan); Hatsuda, Tetsuo [Nishina Center, RIKEN, Theoretical Research Division, Wako (Japan); The University of Tokyo, Kavli IPMU (WPI), Chiba (Japan); Takatsuka, Tatsuyuki [Nishina Center, RIKEN, Theoretical Research Division, Wako (Japan)

2016-03-15

Bulk properties of cold and hot neutron stars are studied on the basis of the hadron-quark crossover picture where a smooth transition from the hadronic phase to the quark phase takes place at finite baryon density. By using a phenomenological equation of state (EOS) ''CRover'', which interpolates the two phases at around 3 times the nuclear matter density (ρ{sub 0}), it is found that the cold NSs with the gravitational mass larger than 2M {sub CircleDot} can be sustained. This is in sharp contrast to the case of the first-order hadron-quark transition. The radii of the cold NSs with the CRover EOS are in the narrow range (12.5 ± 0.5) km which is insensitive to the NS masses. Due to the stiffening of the EOS induced by the hadron-quark crossover, the central density of the NSs is at most 4 ρ{sub 0} and the hyperon-mixing barely occurs inside the NS core. This constitutes a solution of the long-standing hyperon puzzle. The effect of color superconductivity (CSC) on the NS structures is also examined with the hadron-quark crossover. For the typical strength of the diquark attraction, a slight softening of the EOS due to two-flavor CSC (2SC) takes place and the maximum mass is reduced by about 0.2M {sub CircleDot}. The CRover EOS is generalized to the supernova matter at finite temperature to describe the hot NSs at birth. The hadron-quark crossover is found to decrease the central temperature of the hot NSs under isentropic condition. The gravitational energy release and the spin-up rate during the contraction from the hot NS to the cold NS are also estimated. (orig.)

Hyperon puzzle, hadron-quark crossover and massive neutron stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masuda, Kota; Hatsuda, Tetsuo; Takatsuka, Tatsuyuki

2016-01-01

Bulk properties of cold and hot neutron stars are studied on the basis of the hadron-quark crossover picture where a smooth transition from the hadronic phase to the quark phase takes place at finite baryon density. By using a phenomenological equation of state (EOS) ''CRover'', which interpolates the two phases at around 3 times the nuclear matter density (ρ 0 ), it is found that the cold NSs with the gravitational mass larger than 2M CircleDot can be sustained. This is in sharp contrast to the case of the first-order hadron-quark transition. The radii of the cold NSs with the CRover EOS are in the narrow range (12.5 ± 0.5) km which is insensitive to the NS masses. Due to the stiffening of the EOS induced by the hadron-quark crossover, the central density of the NSs is at most 4 ρ 0 and the hyperon-mixing barely occurs inside the NS core. This constitutes a solution of the long-standing hyperon puzzle. The effect of color superconductivity (CSC) on the NS structures is also examined with the hadron-quark crossover. For the typical strength of the diquark attraction, a slight softening of the EOS due to two-flavor CSC (2SC) takes place and the maximum mass is reduced by about 0.2M CircleDot . The CRover EOS is generalized to the supernova matter at finite temperature to describe the hot NSs at birth. The hadron-quark crossover is found to decrease the central temperature of the hot NSs under isentropic condition. The gravitational energy release and the spin-up rate during the contraction from the hot NS to the cold NS are also estimated. (orig.)

A novel pAA virulence plasmid encoding toxins and two distinct variants of the fimbriae of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jønsson, Rie; Struve, Carsten; Boll, Erik J.

2017-01-01

phylogenetically distinct, strains harboring the major pilin subunits from both AAF/III and AAF/V. Whole-genome and plasmid sequencing revealed that in these six strains the agg3A and agg5A genes were located on a novel pAA plasmid variant. Moreover, the plasmid also encoded several other virulence genes including...... some not previously found on pAA plasmids. Thus, this plasmid endows the host strains with a remarkably high number of EAEC associated virulence genes hereby likely promoting strain pathogenicity....

A large family of antivirulence regulators modulates the effects of transcriptional activators in Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Araceli E Santiago

2014-05-01

Full Text Available We have reported that transcription of a hypothetical small open reading frame (orf60 in enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC strain 042 is impaired after mutation of aggR, which encodes a global virulence activator. We have also reported that the cryptic orf60 locus was linked to protection against EAEC diarrhea in two epidemiologic studies. Here, we report that the orf60 product acts as a negative regulator of aggR itself. The orf60 protein product lacks homology to known repressors, but displays 44-100% similarity to at least fifty previously undescribed small (<10 kDa hypothetical proteins found in many gram negative pathogen genomes. Expression of orf60 homologs from enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC repressed the expression of the AraC-transcriptional ETEC regulator CfaD/Rns and its regulon in ETEC strain H10407. Complementation in trans of EAEC 042orf60 by orf60 homologs from ETEC and the mouse pathogen Citrobacter rodentium resulted in dramatic suppression of aggR. A C. rodentium orf60 homolog mutant showed increased levels of activator RegA and increased colonization of the adult mouse. We propose the name Aar (AggR-activated regulator for the clinically and epidemiologically important orf60 product in EAEC, and postulate the existence of a large family of homologs among pathogenic Enterobacteriaceae and Pasteurellaceae. We propose the name ANR (AraC Negative Regulators for this family.

The mechanism of collagen cross-linking in diabetes: a puzzle nearing resolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Monnier, V M; Glomb, M; Elgawish, A; Sell, D R

1996-07-01

Considerable interest has been focused in recent years on the mechanism of collagen cross-linking by high glucose in vitro and in vivo. Experiments in both diabetic humans and in animals have shown that over time collagen becomes less soluble, less digestible by collagenase, more stable to heat-induced denaturation, and more glycated. In addition, collagen becomes more modified by advanced products of the Maillard reaction, i.e., immunoreactive advanced glycation end products and the glycoxidation markers carboxymethyllysine and pentosidine. Mechanistic studies have shown that collagen cross-linking in vitro can be uncoupled from glycation by the use of antioxidants and chelating agents. Experiments in the authors' laboratory revealed that approximately 50% of carboxymethyllysine formed in vitro originates from pathways other than oxidation of Amadori products, i.e., most likely the oxidation of Schiff base-linked glucose. In addition, the increase in thermal stability of rat tail tendons exposed to high glucose in vitro or in vivo was found to strongly depend on H2O2 formation. The final missing piece of the puzzle is that of the structure of the major cross-link. We speculate that it is a nonfluorescent nonultraviolet active cross-link between two lysine residues, which includes a fragmentation product of glucose linked in a nonreducible bond labile to both strong acids and bases.

Physics and financial economics (1776-2014): puzzles, Ising and agent-based models

Science.gov (United States)

Sornette, Didier

2014-06-01

This short review presents a selected history of the mutual fertilization between physics and economics—from Isaac Newton and Adam Smith to the present. The fundamentally different perspectives embraced in theories developed in financial economics compared with physics are dissected with the examples of the volatility smile and of the excess volatility puzzle. The role of the Ising model of phase transitions to model social and financial systems is reviewed, with the concepts of random utilities and the logit model as the analog of the Boltzmann factor in statistical physics. Recent extensions in terms of quantum decision theory are also covered. A wealth of models are discussed briefly that build on the Ising model and generalize it to account for the many stylized facts of financial markets. A summary of the relevance of the Ising model and its extensions is provided to account for financial bubbles and crashes. The review would be incomplete if it did not cover the dynamical field of agent-based models (ABMs), also known as computational economic models, of which the Ising-type models are just special ABM implementations. We formulate the ‘Emerging Intelligence Market Hypothesis’ to reconcile the pervasive presence of ‘noise traders’ with the near efficiency of financial markets. Finally, we note that evolutionary biology, more than physics, is now playing a growing role to inspire models of financial markets.

Physics and financial economics (1776-2014): puzzles, Ising and agent-based models.

Science.gov (United States)

Sornette, Didier

2014-06-01

This short review presents a selected history of the mutual fertilization between physics and economics--from Isaac Newton and Adam Smith to the present. The fundamentally different perspectives embraced in theories developed in financial economics compared with physics are dissected with the examples of the volatility smile and of the excess volatility puzzle. The role of the Ising model of phase transitions to model social and financial systems is reviewed, with the concepts of random utilities and the logit model as the analog of the Boltzmann factor in statistical physics. Recent extensions in terms of quantum decision theory are also covered. A wealth of models are discussed briefly that build on the Ising model and generalize it to account for the many stylized facts of financial markets. A summary of the relevance of the Ising model and its extensions is provided to account for financial bubbles and crashes. The review would be incomplete if it did not cover the dynamical field of agent-based models (ABMs), also known as computational economic models, of which the Ising-type models are just special ABM implementations. We formulate the 'Emerging Intelligence Market Hypothesis' to reconcile the pervasive presence of 'noise traders' with the near efficiency of financial markets. Finally, we note that evolutionary biology, more than physics, is now playing a growing role to inspire models of financial markets.

Learning and Memory Processes Following Cochlear Implantation: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Pisoni, David B.; Kronenberger, William G.; Chandramouli, Suyog H.; Conway, Christopher M.

2016-01-01

At the present time, there is no question that cochlear implants (CIs) work and often work very well in quiet listening conditions for many profoundly deaf children and adults. The speech and language outcomes data published over the last two decades document quite extensively the clinically significant benefits of CIs. Although there now is a large body of evidence supporting the “efficacy” of CIs as a medical intervention for profound hearing loss in both children and adults, there still remain a number of challenging unresolved clinical and theoretical issues that deal with the “effectiveness” of CIs in individual patients that have not yet been successfully resolved. In this paper, we review recent findings on learning and memory, two central topics in the field of cognition that have been seriously neglected in research on CIs. Our research findings on sequence learning, memory and organization processes, and retrieval strategies used in verbal learning and memory of categorized word lists suggests that basic domain-general learning abilities may be the missing piece of the puzzle in terms of understanding the cognitive factors that underlie the enormous individual differences and variability routinely observed in speech and language outcomes following cochlear implantation. PMID:27092098

Learning and Memory Processes Following Cochlear Implantation:The Missing Piece of the Puzzle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David B. Pisoni

2016-04-01

Full Text Available At the present time, there is no question that cochlear implants work and often work very well in quiet listening conditions for many profoundly deaf children and adults. The speech and language outcomes data published over the last two decades document quite extensively the clinically significant benefits of cochlear implants. Although there now is a large body of evidence supporting the efficacy of cochlear implants as a medical intervention for profound hearing loss in both children and adults, there still remain a number of challenging unresolved clinical and theoretical issues that deal with the effectiveness of cochlear implants in individual patients that have not yet been successfully resolved. In this paper, we review recent findings on learning and memory, two central topics in the field of cognition that have been seriously neglected in research on cochlear implants. Our research findings on sequence learning, memory and organization processes, and retrieval strategies used in verbal learning and memory of categorized word lists suggests that basic domain-general learning abilities may be the missing piece of the puzzle in terms of understanding the cognitive factors that underlie the enormous individual differences and variability routinely observed in speech and language outcomes following cochlear implantation.

A note on the puzzling spindown behavior of the Galactic center magnetar SGR J1745–2900

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tong, Hao

2015-01-01

SGR J1745–2900 is a magnetar near the Galactic center. X-ray observations of this source found a decreasing X-ray luminosity accompanied by an enhanced spindown rate. This negative correlation between X-ray luminosity and spindown rate is hard to understand. The wind braking model of magnetars is employed to explain this puzzling spindown behavior. During the release of magnetic energy of magnetars, a system of particles may be generated. Some of these particles remain trapped in the magnetosphere and may contribute to the X-ray luminosity. The rest of the particles can flow out and take away the rotational energy of the central neutron star. A smaller polar cap angle will cause the decrease of X-ray luminosity and enhanced spindown rate of SGR J1745–2900. This magnetar is shortly expected to have a maximum spindown rate. (paper)

The puzzling role of CXCR4 in human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Vicenzi, Elisa; Liò, Pietro; Poli, Guido

2013-01-01

The human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) is the etiological agent of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a disease highly lethal in the absence of combination antiretroviral therapy. HIV infects CD4(+) cells of the immune system (T cells, monocyte-macrophages and dendritic cells) via interaction with a universal primary receptor, the CD4 molecule, followed by a mandatory interaction with a second receptor (co-receptor) belonging to the chemokine receptor family. Apart from some rare cases, two chemokine receptors have been evolutionarily selected to accomplish this need for HIV-1: CCR5 and CXCR4. Yet, usage of these two receptors appears to be neither casual nor simply explained by their levels of cell surface expression. While CCR5 use is the universal rule at the start of every infection regardless of the transmission route (blood-related, sexual or mother to child), CXCR4 utilization emerges later in disease coinciding with the immunological deficient phase of infection. Moreover, in most instances CXCR4 use as viral entry co-receptor is associated with maintenance of CCR5 use. Since antiviral agents preventing CCR5 utilization by the virus are already in use, while others targeting either CCR5 or CXCR4 (or both) are under investigation, understanding the biological correlates of this "asymmetrical" utilization of HIV entry co-receptors bears relevance for the clinical choice of which therapeutics should be administered to infected individuals. We will here summarize the basic knowledge and the hypotheses underlying the puzzling and yet unequivocal role of CXCR4 in HIV-1 infection.

Double-Pionic Fusion of Nuclear Systems and the ''ABC'' Effect: Approaching a Puzzle by Exclusive and Kinematically Complete Measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bashkanov, M.; Clement, H.; Doroshkevich, E.; Khakimova, O.; Kren, F.; Meier, R.; Pricking, A.; Skorodko, T.; Wagner, G. J.; Bargholtz, C.; Geren, L.; Lindberg, K.; Tegner, P.-E.; Zartova, I.; Berlowski, M.; Stepaniak, J.; Bogoslawsky, D.; Ivanov, G.; Jiganov, E.; Morosov, B.

2009-01-01

The ABC effect--a puzzling low-mass enhancement in the ππ invariant mass spectrum, first observed by Abashian, Booth, and Crowe--is well known from inclusive measurements of two-pion production in nuclear fusion reactions. Here we report on the first exclusive and kinematically complete measurements of the most basic double-pionic fusion reaction pn→dπ 0 π 0 at beam energies of 1.03 and 1.35 GeV. The measurements, which have been carried out at CELSIUS-WASA, reveal the ABC effect to be a (ππ) I=L=0 channel phenomenon associated with both a resonancelike energy dependence in the integral cross section and the formation of a ΔΔ system in the intermediate state. A corresponding simple s-channel resonance ansatz provides a surprisingly good description of the data

The Infinity Puzzle - The story of the Higgs Boson:From QED to the LHC via Higgs and the Gang of Six

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2013-01-01

Rutherford and Bohr discovered the nuclear atom 100 years ago. Roughly 50 years ago a theory of this basic structure of matter was inspired by the work of Peter Higgs and others. In July 2012 the discovery "beyond reasonable doubt" of Higgs's boson, and the experimental proof of the theory, was announced and speculations about Nobel prizes mushroomed. The Economist said of Frank Close's book, The Infinity Puzzle (OUP,2012): "The Nobel Committee would be well advised to read Mr Close’s book before making their decision." This pedagogic talk reviews the ideas and the history, and assesses how the credits should be shared. The conclusions may not be what you anticipate

Rechtsmissbrauch durch „AGG-Hopping“ / Steffen Krieger

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Krieger, Steffen

2016-01-01

Euroopa Kohtu otsusest, mis puudutab töökohale kandideerija staatust eesmärgiga esitada kahju hüvitamise nõudeid kui teda ei valita tööle ja sellise teguviisi käsitlemist õiguse kuritarvitamisena. Vt. ka lk. 699-700

Development of DU-AGG (Depleted Uranium Aggregate)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lessing, P.A.

1995-09-01

Depleted uranium oxide (UO{sub 2} or U0{sub 3}) powder was mixed with fine mineral additives, pressed, and heated to about 1,250{degree}C. The additives were chemically constituted to result in an iron-enriched basalt (IEB). Melting and wetting of the IEB phase caused the urania powder compact to densify (sinter) via a liquid phase sintering mechanism. An inorganic lubricant was found to aid in green-forming of the body. Sintering was successful in oxidizing (air), inert (argon), or reducing (dry hydrogen containing) atmospheres. The use of ground U0{sub 3} powders (93 vol %) followed by sintering in a dry hydrogen-containing atmosphere significantly increased the density of samples (bulk density of 8.40 g/cm{sup 3} and apparent density of 9.48 g/cm{sup 3}, open porosity of 11.43%). An improvement in the microstructure (reduction in open porosity) was achieved when the vol % of U0{sub 3} was decreased to 80%. The bulk density increased to 8.59 g/cm{sup 3}, the apparent density decreased slightly to 8.82 g/cm{sup 3} (due to increase of low density IEB content), while the open porosity decreased to an excellent number of 2.78%. A representative sample derived from 80 vol % U0{sub 3} showed that most pores were closed pores and that, overall, the sample achieved the excellent relative density value of 94.1% of the estimated theoretical density (composite of U0{sub 2} and IEB). It is expected that ground powders of U0{sub 3} could be successfully used to mass produce lowcost aggregate using the green-forming technique of briquetting.

Quantum top secret. The solution of the quantum puzzle. Metamorphosis of a picture of world; Quantum top secret. Die Loesung des Quantenraetsels. Metamorphose eines Weltbildes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wingert, M.

2008-07-01

Many physicists believe that because of unexplained causes, which must anyway be concerned with the quantum puzzle and the mysterious consciousness, it would be no more possible to understand the real structure of the reality - this subtle smiling of the nature, which irritates the physicists since 100 years and the disturbed the theoretical physics so much that they threw the towel. Since nature is considered as absurd, strange, and crazy - and quantum theory as very complicated. But in reality the basic experiments are of a touching simplicity, which seems only completely unintelligible in the picture of world of mechanics. For these experiments show that the concept of body of mechanics and the body conceptions of the thinking cannot at all match the structure of nature. If this is objectively taken notice of without doubting on the existence of a reality, the experiments show the real, unveiled face of the nature. Light and matter must then consist of fields, which can themselves divide by non-mechanical way, so with wholeness, comparable only with cell division and branching processes in biology. Either it is completely crazy - or the only logic interpretation, which hitherto only no physicist risked to think. For these experiments disprove the atom and elementary-particle hypothesis, the picture of world of mechanics, and also the quantum-mechanical interpretation - and indeed uniquely. This knowledge could break the Gordian knot, solve the quantum puzzle, and also give away the secret of the thinking spirit.

Pathophysiological understanding of HFpEF: microRNAs as part of the puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Rech, Monika; Barandiarán Aizpurua, Arantxa; van Empel, Vanessa; van Bilsen, Marc; Schroen, Blanche

2018-05-01

Half of all heart failure patients have preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Comorbidities associated with and contributing to HFpEF include obesity, diabetes and hypertension. Still, the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of HFpEF are unknown. A preliminary consensus proposes that the multi-morbidity triggers a state of systemic, chronic low-grade inflammation, and microvascular dysfunction, causing reduced nitric oxide bioavailability to adjacent cardiomyocytes. As a result, the cardiomyocyte remodels its contractile elements and fails to relax properly, causing diastolic dysfunction, and eventually HFpEF. HFpEF is a complex syndrome for which currently no efficient therapies exist. This is notably due to the current one-size-fits-all therapy approach that ignores individual patient differences. MicroRNAs have been studied in relation to pathophysiological mechanisms and comorbidities underlying and contributing to HFpEF. As regulators of gene expression, microRNAs may contribute to the pathophysiology of HFpEF. In addition, secreted circulating microRNAs are potential biomarkers and as such, they could help stratify the HFpEF population and open new ways for individualized therapies. In this review, we provide an overview of the ever-expanding world of non-coding RNAs and their contribution to the molecular mechanisms underlying HFpEF. We propose prospects for microRNAs in stratifying the HFpEF population. MicroRNAs add a new level of complexity to the regulatory network controlling cardiac function and hence the understanding of gene regulation becomes a fundamental piece in solving the HFpEF puzzle.

Abnormal growth of faceted (WC) grains in a (Co) liquid matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Y.J.; Yoon, D.Y.

1996-01-01

If the grains dispersed in a liquid matrix are spherical, their surface atomic structure is expected to be rough (diffuse), and their coarsening has been observed to be controlled by diffusion in the matrix. They do not, furthermore, undergo abnormal growth. On the other hand, in some compound material systems, the grains in liquid matrices are faceted and often show abnormal coarsening behavior. Their faceted surface planes are expected to be singular (atomically flat) and therefore grow by a defect-assisted process and two-dimensional (2-D) nucleation. Contrary to the usual coarsening theories, their growth velocity is not linearly dependent on the driving force arising from the grain size difference. If the growth of the faceted grains occurs by 2-D nucleation, the rate is expected to increase abruptly at a critical supersaturation, as has been observed in crystal growth in melts and solutions. It is proposed that this growth mechanism leads to the abnormal grain coarsening. The 2-D nucleation theory predicts that there is a threshold initial grain size for the abnormal grain growth (AGG), and the propensity for AGG will increase with the heat-treatment temperature. The AGG behavior will also vary with the defects in the grains. These predictions are qualitatively confirmed in the sintered WC-Co alloy prepared from fine (0.85-microm) and coarse (5.48-microm) WC powders and their mixtures. The observed dependence of the AGG behavior on the sintering temperature and the milling of the WC powder is also qualitatively consistent with the predicted behavior

Physics and financial economics (1776–2014): puzzles, Ising and agent-based models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sornette, Didier

2014-01-01

This short review presents a selected history of the mutual fertilization between physics and economics—from Isaac Newton and Adam Smith to the present. The fundamentally different perspectives embraced in theories developed in financial economics compared with physics are dissected with the examples of the volatility smile and of the excess volatility puzzle. The role of the Ising model of phase transitions to model social and financial systems is reviewed, with the concepts of random utilities and the logit model as the analog of the Boltzmann factor in statistical physics. Recent extensions in terms of quantum decision theory are also covered. A wealth of models are discussed briefly that build on the Ising model and generalize it to account for the many stylized facts of financial markets. A summary of the relevance of the Ising model and its extensions is provided to account for financial bubbles and crashes. The review would be incomplete if it did not cover the dynamical field of agent-based models (ABMs), also known as computational economic models, of which the Ising-type models are just special ABM implementations. We formulate the ‘Emerging Intelligence Market Hypothesis’ to reconcile the pervasive presence of ‘noise traders’ with the near efficiency of financial markets. Finally, we note that evolutionary biology, more than physics, is now playing a growing role to inspire models of financial markets. (key issues reviews)

Infectious agents and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: another piece of the puzzle of motor neuron degeneration.

Science.gov (United States)

Castanedo-Vazquez, David; Bosque-Varela, Pilar; Sainz-Pelayo, Arancha; Riancho, Javier

2018-05-29

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most common neurodegenerative disease affecting motor neurons (MN). This fatal disease is characterized by progressive muscle wasting and lacks an effective treatment. ALS pathogenesis has not been elucidated yet. In a small proportion of ALS patients, the disease has a familial origin, related to mutations in specific genes, which directly result in MN degeneration. By contrast, the vast majority of cases are though to be sporadic, in which genes and environment interact leading to disease in genetically predisposed individuals. Lately, the role of the environment has gained relevance in this field and an extensive list of environmental conditions have been postulated to be involved in ALS. Among them, infectious agents, particularly viruses, have been suggested to play an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease. These agents could act by interacting with some crucial pathways in MN degeneration, such as gene processing, oxidative stress or neuroinflammation. In this article, we will review the main studies about the involvement of microorganisms in ALS, subsequently discussing their potential pathogenic effect and integrating them as another piece in the puzzle of ALS pathogenesis.

Antarctic Temperature Extremes from MODIS Land Surface Temperatures: New Processing Methods Reveal Data Quality Puzzles

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, G.; Gallaher, D. W.

2017-12-01

New methods for processing massive remotely sensed datasets are used to evaluate Antarctic land surface temperature (LST) extremes. Data from the MODIS/Terra sensor (Collection 6) provides a twice-daily look at Antarctic LSTs over a 17 year period, at a higher spatiotemporal resolution than past studies. Using a data condensation process that creates databases of anomalous values, our processes create statistical images of Antarctic LSTs. In general, the results find few significant trends in extremes; however, they do reveal a puzzling picture of inconsistent cloud detection and possible systemic errors, perhaps due to viewing geometry. Cloud discrimination shows a distinct jump in clear-sky detections starting in 2011, and LSTs around the South Pole exhibit a circular cooling pattern, which may also be related to cloud contamination. Possible root causes are discussed. Ongoing investigations seek to determine whether the results are a natural phenomenon or, as seems likely, the results of sensor degradation or processing artefacts. If the unusual LST patterns or cloud detection discontinuities are natural, they point to new, interesting processes on the Antarctic continent. If the data artefacts are artificial, MODIS LST users should be alerted to the potential issues.

The High-Density Lipoprotein Puzzle: Why Classic Epidemiology, Genetic Epidemiology, and Clinical Trials Conflict?

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenson, Robert S

2016-05-01

Classical epidemiology has established the incremental contribution of the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol measure in the assessment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk; yet, genetic epidemiology does not support a causal relationship between HDL cholesterol and the future risk of myocardial infarction. Therapeutic interventions directed toward cholesterol loading of the HDL particle have been based on epidemiological studies that have established HDL cholesterol as a biomarker of atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk. However, therapeutic interventions such as niacin, cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitors increase HDL cholesterol in patients treated with statins, but have repeatedly failed to reduce cardiovascular events. Statin therapy interferes with ATP-binding cassette transporter-mediated macrophage cholesterol efflux via miR33 and thus may diminish certain HDL functional properties. Unraveling the HDL puzzle will require continued technical advances in the characterization and quantification of multiple HDL subclasses and their functional properties. Key mechanistic criteria for clinical outcomes trials with HDL-based therapies include formation of HDL subclasses that improve the efficiency of macrophage cholesterol efflux and compositional changes in the proteome and lipidome of the HDL particle that are associated with improved antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. These measures require validation in genetic studies and clinical trials of HDL-based therapies on the background of statins. © 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

Lifetime of (e+e-) puzzle's composite particle: No valid limits yet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griffin, J.J.

1993-01-01

Several recent articles assert that the increasingly precise null results of Bhabha scattering imply ''model-independent'' increasing lower bounds upon the lifetime of any neutral particle whose decay is hypothesized to yield the sharp lines of the GSI ''(e + e-) puzzle.'' We discuss here reasons why such conclusions must be considered as artifacts of the assumptions made in the analysis, and not as valid scientific deductions from the data alone. Furthermore, we show that when such data are combined with additional assumptions sufficient to allow an inference about the lifetime, then the conclusion is inevitably dependent explicitly or implicitly upon the model assumed for the particle decay. In addition, we discuss why the limits asserted upon the lifetime of such a particle from the high precision agreement for g e -2 between experiment and theoretical quantum electrodynamics apply only to an elementary particle, but not to a composite particle, and especially not to a leptonic composite. In the end, no valid limits upon the composite particle lifetime seems to exist at present. We also consider, in the context of the general partial width data problem, the additional experimental data which could suffice to sustain a purely empirical limit upon the lifetime, and observe that all of the present data are consistent with a composite particle with a significant amplitude in the four lepton (e + e+e-e-) ''quadronium'' sector. Finally, it is shown that recent preliminary Bhabha inelastic (e + e+γ) data, if confirmed, would imply the crude but genuinely empirical upper bound upon the resonance lifetime of about τ max ∼2x10 -11 sec≥τ

Solving the "Personhood Jigsaw Puzzle" in Residential Care Homes for the Elderly in the Hong Kong Chinese Context.

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Sui-Ting; Fang, Christine Meng-Sang; Lou, Vivian W Q

2017-02-01

End-of-life care studies on the nature of personhood are bourgeoning; however, the practices utilized for achieving personhood in end-of-life care, particularly in a cultural context in which interdependent being and collectivism prevail, remain underexplored. This study seeks to examine and conceptualize good practices for achieving the personhood of the dying elderly in residential care homes in a Chinese context. Twelve interviews were conducted with both medical and social care practitioners in four care homes to collect narratives of practitioners' practices. Those narratives were utilized to develop an "end-of-life case graph." Constant comparative analysis led to an understanding of the practice processes, giving rise to a process model of "solving the personhood jigsaw puzzle" that includes "understanding the person-in-relationship and person-in-time," "identifying the personhood-inhibiting experiences," and "enabling personalized care for enhanced psychosocial outcomes." Findings show how the "relational personhood" of the elderly can be maintained when physical deterioration and even death are inevitable.

Improved proton-deuteron phase-shift analysis above the deuteron breakup threshold and the three-nucleon analyzing-power puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tornow, W.; Kievsky, A.; Witala, H.

2002-01-01

Using the existing high-accuracy data for proton-deuteron and deuteron-proton elastic scattering, a phase-shift analysis has been performed in the laboratory proton energy range from E p = 4 to 10 MeV The AV 18-based proton-deuteron phase shifts were used as starting values in the phase-shift search procedure. The low-partial wave phase shifts, especially the 4 P j phase shifts have been determined very precisely, thus providing valuable guidance for theoretical approaches to tackle the quest for a successful description of three-nucleon bound-state and continuum observables in a more efficient and consistent way. Furthermore, it was found that the 4 P 1/2 phase shift and the mixing parameter ε 3/2 - determined in the present analysis cannot be generated by 3 P j nucleon-nucleon interactions which are consistent with two-nucleon analyzing power data. Therefore, three-nucleon forces must play an essential role in resolving the long-standing three-nucleon analyzing-power puzzle. Refs. 44 (author)

Intraarterial 9-beta-methyl carbacyclin improves canine polytetrafluoroethylene graft patency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dacey, L.J.; Hees, P.S.; Cronenwett, J.L.

1988-01-01

This study examined the effect of 9-beta-methyl carbacyclin, a synthetic, stable prostacyclin analog, on canine polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft patency. Twenty-five dogs had 4 mm x 7 cm PTFE grafts implanted bilaterally into the femoral arteries. A subcutaneous infusion pump was used to deliver either saline solution (control) or 9-beta-methyl carbacyclin (Ciprostine) at 100 (CARB-100) or 200 ng/kg/min (CARB-200) through a femoral artery branch just proximal to one of the femoral grafts, with the contralateral graft serving as a noninfused control. Graft-platelet deposition (with 111 In-labeled platelets) was measured between the fifth and seventh days, with patency determined on the seventh day. Dogs were classified as aggregators (AGG [+]) if the preoperative epinephrine-enhanced sodium arachidonate platelet aggregation was greater than 20%. CARB-200 infusion significantly improved ipsilateral graft patency (80%) compared with noninfused grafts (50%, p less than 0.05), or grafts in control and CARB-100 dogs (43%, p less than 0.05). Anastomotic platelet deposition was decreased bilaterally in CARB-200 dogs by 45% to 59% compared with CARB-100 and control dogs (p less than 0.05). With the exception of grafts infused with CARB-200, AGG (+) dogs had significantly lower graft patency (26%) than nonaggregator AGG (-) dogs (71%, p less than 0.01). CARB-200 infusion significantly improved graft patency in AGG (+) dogs (71%), compared with control and CARB-100-infused grafts (19%, p less than 0.025). Intra-arterial 9-beta-methyl carbacyclin improved early PTFE graft patency and inhibited platelet deposition in a severe canine model, independent of baseline platelet aggregation status, which also had an important effect on graft patency

TGFβ1 polymorphisms and late clinical radiosensitivity in patients treated for gynecologic tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruyck, Kim de; Van Eijkeren, Marc; Claes, Kathleen; Bacher, Klaus; Vral, Anne; Neve, Wilfried de; Thierens, Hubert

2006-01-01

Purpose: To investigate the association between six transforming growth factor β1 gene (TGFβ1) polymorphisms (-1.552delAGG, -800G>A, -509C>T, Leu10Pro, Arg25Pro, Thr263Ile) and the occurrence of late normal tissue reactions after gynecologic radiotherapy (RT). Methods and Materials: Seventy-eight women with cervical or endometrial cancer and 140 control individuals were included in the study. According to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 3.0 (CTCAEv3.0) scale, 25 patients showed late adverse RT reactions (CTC2+), of whom 11 had severe complications (CTC3+). Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), single base extension and genotyping assays were performed to examine the polymorphic sites in TGFβ1. Results: Homozygous variant -1.552delAGG, -509TT, and 10Pro genotypes were associated with the risk of developing late severe RT reactions. Triple (variant) homozygous patients had a 3.6 times increased risk to develop severe RT reactions (p = 0.26). Neither the -800A allele, nor the 25Pro allele or the 263Ile allele were associated with clinical radiosensitivity. There was perfect linkage disequilibrium (LD) between the -1.552delAGG and the -509C>T polymorphisms, and tight LD between the -1.552/-509 and the Leu10Pro polymorphisms. Haplotype analysis revealed two major haplotypes but could not distinguish radiosensitive from nonradiosensitive patients. Conclusions: The present study shows that homozygous variant TGFβ1 -1.552delAGG, -509TT, and 10Pro genotypes may be associated with severe clinical radiosensitivity after gynecologic RT

Effects of lower cobalt binder concentrations in sintering of tungsten carbide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Tao; Li Qingfa; Fuh, J.Y.H.; Yu, P.C.; Wu, C.C.

2006-01-01

Cemented tungsten carbides have received much attention because of their superior characteristics. Traditional cemented tungsten carbides usually contain 3-30 wt% binder phase. In this paper, WC with low Co concentration less than 3 wt% is studied using traditional powder metallurgy. The binder phase has tremendous effect on sinterability of WC. High sinterability and high hardness can be achieved for the WC (0.7 μm) with 0.5 wt% Co. Abnormal grain growth (AGG) is often observed in sintering WC with small amount of Co. It seems that AGG is affected by the concentration of Co and a range of Co concentrations may exist for the large amount of AGG. To control the grain size, VC is added to inhibit the grain growth of WC. It is observed that the hardness is affected by the amount of addition of VC. Controlling the ratio of C/W less than unity at low Co concentrations will result in the production of W 2 C phase. The hardness of WC-Co is affected by the amount of W 2 C phase in the sample and W 2 C is stable during the normal cooling process

Nuclear and plastid haplotypes suggest rapid diploid and polyploid speciation in the N Hemisphere Achillea millefolium complex (Asteraceae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guo Yan-Ping

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Species complexes or aggregates consist of a set of closely related species often of different ploidy levels, whose relationships are difficult to reconstruct. The N Hemisphere Achillea millefolium aggregate exhibits complex morphological and genetic variation and a broad ecological amplitude. To understand its evolutionary history, we study sequence variation at two nuclear genes and three plastid loci across the natural distribution of this species complex and compare the patterns of such variations to the species tree inferred earlier from AFLP data. Results Among the diploid species of A. millefolium agg., gene trees of the two nuclear loci, ncpGS and SBP, and the combined plastid fragments are incongruent with each other and with the AFLP tree likely due to incomplete lineage sorting or secondary introgression. In spite of the large distributional range, no isolation by distance is found. Furthermore, there is evidence for intragenic recombination in the ncpGS gene. An analysis using a probabilistic model for population demographic history indicates large ancestral effective population sizes and short intervals between speciation events. Such a scenario explains the incongruence of the gene trees and species tree we observe. The relationships are particularly complex in the polyploid members of A. millefolium agg. Conclusions The present study indicates that the diploid members of A. millefolium agg. share a large part of their molecular genetic variation. The findings of little lineage sorting and lack of isolation by distance is likely due to short intervals between speciation events and close proximity of ancestral populations. While previous AFLP data provide species trees congruent with earlier morphological classification and phylogeographic considerations, the present sequence data are not suited to recover the relationships of diploid species in A. millefolium agg. For the polyploid taxa many hybrid links and

Recovering the Genetic Identity of an Extinct-in-the-Wild Species: The Puzzling Case of the Alagoas Curassow.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Mariellen C; Oliveira, Paulo R R; Davanço, Paulo V; Camargo, Crisley de; Laganaro, Natasha M; Azeredo, Roberto A; Simpson, James; Silveira, Luis F; Francisco, Mercival R

2017-01-01

The conservation of many endangered taxa relies on hybrid identification, and when hybrids become morphologically indistinguishable from the parental species, the use of molecular markers can assign individual admixture levels. Here, we present the puzzling case of the extinct in the wild Alagoas Curassow (Pauxi mitu), whose captive population descends from only three individuals. Hybridization with the Razor-billed Curassow (P. tuberosa) began more than eight generations ago, and admixture uncertainty affects the whole population. We applied an analysis framework that combined morphological diagnostic traits, Bayesian clustering analyses using 14 microsatellite loci, and mtDNA haplotypes to assess the ancestry of all individuals that were alive from 2008 to 2012. Simulated data revealed that our microsatellites could accurately assign an individual a hybrid origin until the second backcross generation, which permitted us to identify a pure group among the older, but still reproductive animals. No wild species has ever survived such a severe bottleneck, followed by hybridization, and studying the recovery capability of the selected pure Alagoas Curassow group might provide valuable insights into biological conservation theory.

Recovering the Genetic Identity of an Extinct-in-the-Wild Species: The Puzzling Case of the Alagoas Curassow.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariellen C Costa

Full Text Available The conservation of many endangered taxa relies on hybrid identification, and when hybrids become morphologically indistinguishable from the parental species, the use of molecular markers can assign individual admixture levels. Here, we present the puzzling case of the extinct in the wild Alagoas Curassow (Pauxi mitu, whose captive population descends from only three individuals. Hybridization with the Razor-billed Curassow (P. tuberosa began more than eight generations ago, and admixture uncertainty affects the whole population. We applied an analysis framework that combined morphological diagnostic traits, Bayesian clustering analyses using 14 microsatellite loci, and mtDNA haplotypes to assess the ancestry of all individuals that were alive from 2008 to 2012. Simulated data revealed that our microsatellites could accurately assign an individual a hybrid origin until the second backcross generation, which permitted us to identify a pure group among the older, but still reproductive animals. No wild species has ever survived such a severe bottleneck, followed by hybridization, and studying the recovery capability of the selected pure Alagoas Curassow group might provide valuable insights into biological conservation theory.

Regenerative Medicine and Restoration of Joint Function

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-01

hydrophilic anionic polymer (poly-2-sulfoethyl aspartamide, 200Å pore size, 5 µm diameter). Fractionation was performed using an Agilent 1100 HPLC ...AGT CCC AGT GT-3’ 3’-C TGT AGG ACC GGG ACT GTG-5’ Collagen III 5’-AAA TGG GTC CTG CTG GCA TT-3’ 3’- CG TCC ACT TGG GCC ATT CTT-5’ Collagen XII 5’-CAT...GTC AAG CTT CCG AGT GA-3’ 3’-GT TGG GAA AGG CTG TGT TGA-5’ Collagen XV 5’-AAC CTG GAC TTG ATG GAG CG -3’ 3’-GA CCG TTG TCT CCG AAT GGT-5’ 18S 5’-GTA

Abortive translation caused by peptidyl-tRNA drop-off at NGG codons in the early coding region of mRNA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gonzalez de Valdivia, Ernesto I; Isaksson, Leif A

2005-01-01

In Escherichia coli the codons CGG, AGG, UGG or GGG (NGG codons) but not GGN or GNG (where N is non-G) are associated with low expression of a reporter gene, if located at positions +2 to +5. Induction of a lacZ reporter gene with any one of the NGG codons at position +2 to +5 does not influence......-type or the mutant strain. The inhibitory effect on the pth mutant strain by NGG codons at location +5 was suppressed by overexpression of the Pth enzyme from a plasmid. However, the overexpression of cognate tRNAs for AGG or GGG did not rescue from the growth inhibition associated with these codons early...

Sessile oak (Quercus petraea agg. Ehrendorfer 1967) rare ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

STORAGESEVER

2009-09-01

Sep 1, 2009 ... African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 8 (17), pp. ... Liebl.), Balkan (Quercus dalechampii Ten.) and .... west Serbia; that is on the mountains Goč and Zlatibor. (Map 1 ... supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and.

Seismic structure and tectonics of the Alasehir--Gediz Graben, Western Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Turk, Sezer

The Aegean Extensional Province (AEP) in Western Anatolia includes three major graben systems that have formed as a result of N-S tectonic extension in the latest Cenozoic. The 6 to 30-km-wide Alasehir--Gediz Graben (AGG) in the north contains ˜3-km-thick Miocene and Plio-Quaternary, alluvial--fluvial and lacustrine sedimentary rocks. I have used seismic profiles, well-log data and the regional stratigraphy to identify the key stratigraphic units, their bounding surfaces and vertical thicknesses, and to document the subsurface structural architecture of the AGG. A north-dipping detachment fault exposed in the southern shoulder of the AGG basin occurs at 2--2.5 km at depth beneath the graben fill, and is dissected by ˜E--W--striking, synthetic to antithetic, high-angle normal faults. The graben system is crosscut by NNE-oriented cross faults, showing several km of recurrence interval and 10s of meters of vertical displacement. These faults divide the graben into several sub-basins and display positive and negative flower structures. The structural architecture in the sub-basins shows important variations in stratigraphic thicknesses, fault geometry-displacement and deformation patterns, indicating that cross faulting played a critical role in the evolution of the AAG.

Event-by-Event Hydrodynamics+Jet Energy Loss: A Solution to the R_{AA}⊗v_{2} Puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Noronha-Hostler, Jacquelyn; Betz, Barbara; Noronha, Jorge; Gyulassy, Miklos

2016-06-24

High p_{T}>10  GeV elliptic flow, which is experimentally measured via the correlation between soft and hard hadrons, receives competing contributions from event-by-event fluctuations of the low-p_{T} elliptic flow and event-plane angle fluctuations in the soft sector. In this Letter, a proper account of these event-by-event fluctuations in the soft sector, modeled via viscous hydrodynamics, is combined with a jet-energy-loss model to reveal that the positive contribution from low-p_{T} v_{2} fluctuations overwhelms the negative contributions from event-plane fluctuations. This leads to an enhancement of high-p_{T}>10  GeV elliptic flow in comparison to previous calculations and provides a natural solution to the decade-long high-p_{T} R_{AA}⊗v_{2} puzzle. We also present the first theoretical calculation of high-p_{T} v_{3}, which is shown to be compatible with current LHC data. Furthermore, we discuss how short-wavelength jet-medium physics can be deconvoluted from the physics of soft, bulk event-by-event flow observables using event-shape engineering techniques.

A novel edge based embedding in medical images based on unique key generated using sudoku puzzle design.

Science.gov (United States)

Santhi, B; Dheeptha, B

2016-01-01

The field of telemedicine has gained immense momentum, owing to the need for transmitting patients' information securely. This paper puts forth a unique method for embedding data in medical images. It is based on edge based embedding and XOR coding. The algorithm proposes a novel key generation technique by utilizing the design of a sudoku puzzle to enhance the security of the transmitted message. The edge blocks of the cover image alone, are utilized to embed the payloads. The least significant bit of the pixel values are changed by XOR coding depending on the data to be embedded and the key generated. Hence the distortion in the stego image is minimized and the information is retrieved accurately. Data is embedded in the RGB planes of the cover image, thus increasing its embedding capacity. Several measures including peak signal noise ratio (PSNR), mean square error (MSE), universal image quality index (UIQI) and correlation coefficient (R) are the image quality measures that have been used to analyze the quality of the stego image. It is evident from the results that the proposed technique outperforms the former methodologies.

Animal egg as evolutionary innovation: a solution to the "embryonic hourglass" puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, Stuart A

2011-11-15

mechanisms operate. Finally, I describe how this new perspective provides a resolution to the embryonic hourglass puzzle. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A dialog with a puzzled profile: Poetry of an old pedological discussion

Science.gov (United States)

Itkin, Danny

2017-04-01

Defining and classifying are fundamental needs in the everyday life of humans. Among quite a few relevant examples in pedology, stands the question of whether soils and some types of sediments should or can be distinct. This issue is as old as soil science itself and is possibly very much related to the never ending debate regarding "the definition of soil". As is the case in many fields, the necessity of humans to create and keep a uniform common language might collide with different cultural and/or scientific perspectives. Such is the case with the wide variety of soil classifications found throughout the world. One can easily note this diversity when reading publications that address two similar regolith profiles from different locations round the globe. In some cases it would be impossible to correlate two comparable profiles when using different classification systems. This contradictory situation is one of the most challenging topics in pedology. This whole background gave the inspiration for the following poem, titled "A dialog with a puzzled profile": Are you a soil or a sediment? Ask the oak, see if he knows. Ask him whether these are peds Or maybe a bedrock under his toes. And if you're a soil, what are you? It depends on the viewpoint, you see: Some define me with Soil Taxonomy, While others with WRB. For Hutton and Lyell I'm a weathered rock, Yet Hilgard and Dokuchaev dispute. If you ask me, well I'm a 'pedosediment', I couldn't care less for the suit. If it helps you I'll be whatever it takes,
Making sure that no one will lose. I know it depends very much on the platform Where experts are setting the rules.

Genome puzzle master (GPM): an integrated pipeline for building and editing pseudomolecules from fragmented sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jianwei; Kudrna, Dave; Mu, Ting; Li, Weiming; Copetti, Dario; Yu, Yeisoo; Goicoechea, Jose Luis; Lei, Yang; Wing, Rod A

2016-10-15

Next generation sequencing technologies have revolutionized our ability to rapidly and affordably generate vast quantities of sequence data. Once generated, raw sequences are assembled into contigs or scaffolds. However, these assemblies are mostly fragmented and inaccurate at the whole genome scale, largely due to the inability to integrate additional informative datasets (e.g. physical, optical and genetic maps). To address this problem, we developed a semi-automated software tool-Genome Puzzle Master (GPM)-that enables the integration of additional genomic signposts to edit and build 'new-gen-assemblies' that result in high-quality 'annotation-ready' pseudomolecules. With GPM, loaded datasets can be connected to each other via their logical relationships which accomplishes tasks to 'group,' 'merge,' 'order and orient' sequences in a draft assembly. Manual editing can also be performed with a user-friendly graphical interface. Final pseudomolecules reflect a user's total data package and are available for long-term project management. GPM is a web-based pipeline and an important part of a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) which can be easily deployed on local servers for any genome research laboratory. The GPM (with LIMS) package is available at https://github.com/Jianwei-Zhang/LIMS CONTACTS: jzhang@mail.hzau.edu.cn or rwing@mail.arizona.eduSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

The puzzle of the 1996 Bárdarbunga, Iceland, earthquake: no volumetric component in the source mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

Tkalcic, Hrvoje; Dreger, Douglas S.; Foulger, Gillian R.; Julian, Bruce R.

2009-01-01

A volcanic earthquake with Mw 5.6 occurred beneath the Bárdarbunga caldera in Iceland on 29 September 1996. This earthquake is one of a decade-long sequence of  events at Bárdarbunga with non-double-couple mechanisms in the Global Centroid Moment Tensor catalog. Fortunately, it was recorded well by the regional-scale Iceland Hotspot Project seismic experiment. We investigated the event with a complete moment tensor inversion method using regional long-period seismic waveforms and a composite structural model. The moment tensor inversion using data from stations of the Iceland Hotspot Project yields a non-double-couple solution with a 67% vertically oriented compensated linear vector dipole component, a 32% double-couple component, and a statistically insignificant (2%) volumetric (isotropic) contraction. This indicates the absence of a net volumetric component, which is puzzling in the case of a large volcanic earthquake that apparently is not explained by shear slip on a planar fault. A possible volcanic mechanism that can produce an earthquake without a volumetric component involves two offset sources with similar but opposite volume changes. We show that although such a model cannot be ruled out, the circumstances under which it could happen are rare.

Two-fluid limits on stellarator performance: Explanation of three stellarator puzzles and comparison to axisymmetric plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugiyama, L.E.; Strauss, H.R.; Park, W.; Fu, G.Y.; Breslau, J.A.; Chen, J.

2005-01-01

The basic two-fluid processes, those related to the nonlinearly self-consistent diamagnetic drifts of the electrons and ions, are shown to have fundamentally different effects on the steady state and beta limits of stellarator configurations, compared to MHD predictions. Nonlinear numerical simulation shows that the ideal MHD ballooning modes and the resistive MHD ballooning and interchange modes at relatively high mode numbers, that set the most severe theoretical limits on beta in stellarators with fixed boundary, are easily stabilized by two-fluid effects at realistic parameters, including finite Larmor radius effects related to the ion diamagnetic drift. Magnetic reconnection at low-order rational magnetic surfaces, on the other hand, is enhanced through the parallel component of the two-fluid electron pressure gradient in Ohm's law. The accelerated reconnection rates may impose the true intrinsic limit on beta in stellarators, as a 'soft' or confinement mediated limit in β e , due to steady confinement degradation in the presence of large magnetic islands. Study of the corresponding axisymmetric configurations shows that the helical component of the stellarator configuration provides an important amplifying factor for these effects. The two-fluid results may explain several previously puzzling experimental observations on stellarator behavior. (author)

Putting the Whole Grain Puzzle Together: Health Benefits Associated with Whole Grains—Summary of American Society for Nutrition 2010 Satellite Symposium123

Science.gov (United States)

Jonnalagadda, Satya S.; Harnack, Lisa; Hai Liu, Rui; McKeown, Nicola; Seal, Chris; Liu, Simin; Fahey, George C.

2011-01-01

The symposium “Putting the Whole Grain Puzzle Together: Health Benefits Associated with Whole Grains” sponsored by the ASN brought together researchers to review the evidence regarding the health benefits associated with whole grains. Current scientific evidence indicates that whole grains play an important role in lowering the risk of chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, and also contribute to body weight management and gastrointestinal health. The essential macro- and micronutrients, along with the phytonutrients present in whole grains, synergistically contribute to their beneficial effects. Current evidence lends credence to the recommendations to incorporate whole grain foods into a healthy diet and lifestyle program. The symposium also highlighted the need for further research to examine the role of whole grain foods in disease prevention and management to gain a better understanding of their mechanisms of action. PMID:21451131

ORF Alignment: NC_002929 [GENIUS II[Archive

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

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ORF Alignment: NC_002927 [GENIUS II[Archive

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available a ... bronchiseptica RB50] ... Length = 249 ... Query: 32 ... RPVRLIVPYGAGGAADVLARIMAEKLSAIWKQPVIVEN...KPGGVGTIGIMATVQAEPDGYT 91 ... +PVR++V + AGG ... DV+ARIMA++L+ ... Q ... +VENKPGG ... ... I ... +A PDGYT Sbjct: 1 ... KPVRIVVGFSAGGTTDVIARIMAKELTEALGQSFVVENKPGGGSNIATDYVARATPDGYT 60 ... Query: 152 KPGY

Puzzles in modern biology. IV. Neurodegeneration, localized origin and widespread decay [version 1; referees: 2 approved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven A. Frank

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The motor neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS typically begins with localized muscle weakness. Progressive, widespread paralysis often follows over a few years. Does the disease begin with local changes in a small piece of neural tissue and then spread? Or does neural decay happen independently across diverse spatial locations? The distinction matters, because local initiation may arise by local changes in a tissue microenvironment, by somatic mutation, or by various epigenetic or regulatory fluctuations in a few cells. A local trigger must be coupled with a mechanism for spread. By contrast, independent decay across spatial locations cannot begin by a local change, but must depend on some global predisposition or spatially distributed change that leads to approximately synchronous decay. This article outlines the conceptual frame by which one contrasts local triggers and spread versus parallel spatially distributed decay. Various neurodegenerative diseases differ in their mechanistic details, but all can usefully be understood as falling along a continuum of interacting local and global processes. Cancer provides an example of disease progression by local triggers and spatial spread, setting a conceptual basis for clarifying puzzles in neurodegeneration. Heart disease also has crucial interactions between global processes, such as circulating lipid levels, and local processes in the development of atherosclerotic plaques. The distinction between local and global processes helps to understand these various age-related diseases.

Abnormal grain growth in Eurofer-97 steel in the ferrite phase field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oliveira, V.B. [Lorena School of Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Lorena, SP, 12602-810 (Brazil); Sandim, H.R.Z., E-mail: hsandim@demar.eel.usp.br [Lorena School of Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Lorena, SP, 12602-810 (Brazil); Raabe, D. [Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung, Düsseldorf, D-40237 (Germany)

2017-03-15

Reduced-activation ferritic-martensitic (RAFM) Eurofer-97 steel is a candidate material for structural applications in future fusion reactors. Depending on the amount of prior cold rolling strain and annealing temperature, important solid-state softening reactions such as recovery, recrystallization, and grain growth occur. Eurofer-97 steel was cold rolled up to 70, 80 and 90% reductions in thickness and annealed in the ferrite phase field (below ≈ 800 °C). Changes in microstructure, micro-, and mesotexture were followed by orientation mappings provided by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). Eurofer-97 steel undergoes abnormal grain growth above 650 °C and this solid-state reaction seems to be closely related to the high mobility of a few special grain boundaries that overcome pinning effects caused by fine particles. This solid-state reaction promotes important changes in the microstructure and microtexture of this steel. Abnormal grain growth kinetics for each condition was determined by means of quantitative metallography. - Highlights: • Abnormal grain growth (AGG) occurs in Eurofer-97 steel deformed to several strains. • Kinetics of abnormal grain growth has been determined at 750 and 800 °C. • Significant changes in crystallographic texture take place during AGG. • Grain boundaries with misorientations above 45° may explain abnormal grain growth. • Local microstructural instabilities (coarsening of M23C6 carbides) also explain AGG.

Effect of gamma irradiation on rheological properties of polysaccharides exuded by A. fluccosus and A. gossypinus.

Science.gov (United States)

Alijani, Samira; Balaghi, Sima; Mohammadifar, Mohammad Amin

2011-11-01

In this study, Iranian gum tragacanth (GT) exudates from Astragalus fluccosus (AFG) and Astragalus gossypinus (AGG) were irradiated at 3, 7, 10 and 15 kGy. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) data showed that irradiation did not induce changes in the chemical structure of either type of gum. Although particle size distribution and both steady shear and dynamic rheological properties were considerably affected by the irradiation process, the magnitude of the effect of irradiation on each of the rheological and size variables was different for the hydrocolloids. For instance, for AGG, increasing the irradiation dose from 3 to 10 kGy, the d(0.5) and D[3,2] values were reduced by one-sixth to one-eighth fold. Colour measurement revealed that the radiation process led to an increase in the yellow index and b* values for both types of GT in powder form, but it was more pronounced for AGG samples. Irradiation led to an approximate 13-fold increase in redness in AFG. Surface and shape changes of the gum crystals were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a smoother surface for irradiated samples was detected. The notable changes in functional properties of each variety of irradiated gum should be taken into consideration before using the radiation technology as a commercial tool for sterilisation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Benefit-Cost Analysis of Integrated Paratransit Systems : Volume 6. Technical Appendices.

Science.gov (United States)

1979-09-01

This last volume, includes five technical appendices which document the methodologies used in the benefit-cost analysis. They are the following: Scenario analysis methodology; Impact estimation; Example of impact estimation; Sensitivity analysis; Agg...

New data and an old puzzle: the negative association between schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, S Hong; Byrne, Enda M; Hultman, Christina M; Kähler, Anna; Vinkhuyzen, Anna A E; Ripke, Stephan; Andreassen, Ole A; Frisell, Thomas; Gusev, Alexander; Hu, Xinli; Karlsson, Robert; Mantzioris, Vasilis X; McGrath, John J; Mehta, Divya; Stahl, Eli A; Zhao, Qiongyi; Kendler, Kenneth S; Sullivan, Patrick F; Price, Alkes L; O'Donovan, Michael; Okada, Yukinori; Mowry, Bryan J; Raychaudhuri, Soumya; Wray, Naomi R; Byerley, William; Cahn, Wiepke; Cantor, Rita M; Cichon, Sven; Cormican, Paul; Curtis, David; Djurovic, Srdjan; Escott-Price, Valentina; Gejman, Pablo V; Georgieva, Lyudmila; Giegling, Ina; Hansen, Thomas F; Ingason, Andrés; Kim, Yunjung; Konte, Bettina; Lee, Phil H; McIntosh, Andrew; McQuillin, Andrew; Morris, Derek W; Nöthen, Markus M; O'Dushlaine, Colm; Olincy, Ann; Olsen, Line; Pato, Carlos N; Pato, Michele T; Pickard, Benjamin S; Posthuma, Danielle; Rasmussen, Henrik B; Rietschel, Marcella; Rujescu, Dan; Schulze, Thomas G; Silverman, Jeremy M; Thirumalai, Srinivasa; Werge, Thomas; Agartz, Ingrid; Amin, Farooq; Azevedo, Maria H; Bass, Nicholas; Black, Donald W; Blackwood, Douglas H R; Bruggeman, Richard; Buccola, Nancy G; Choudhury, Khalid; Cloninger, Robert C; Corvin, Aiden; Craddock, Nicholas; Daly, Mark J; Datta, Susmita; Donohoe, Gary J; Duan, Jubao; Dudbridge, Frank; Fanous, Ayman; Freedman, Robert; Freimer, Nelson B; Friedl, Marion; Gill, Michael; Gurling, Hugh; De Haan, Lieuwe; Hamshere, Marian L; Hartmann, Annette M; Holmans, Peter A; Kahn, René S; Keller, Matthew C; Kenny, Elaine; Kirov, George K; Krabbendam, Lydia; Krasucki, Robert; Lawrence, Jacob; Lencz, Todd; Levinson, Douglas F; Lieberman, Jeffrey A; Lin, Dan-Yu; Linszen, Don H; Magnusson, Patrik K E; Maier, Wolfgang; Malhotra, Anil K; Mattheisen, Manuel; Mattingsdal, Morten; McCarroll, Steven A; Medeiros, Helena; Melle, Ingrid; Milanova, Vihra; Myin-Germeys, Inez; Neale, Benjamin M; Ophoff, Roel A; Owen, Michael J; Pimm, Jonathan; Purcell, Shaun M; Puri, Vinay; Quested, Digby J; Rossin, Lizzy; Ruderfer, Douglas; Sanders, Alan R; Shi, Jianxin; Sklar, Pamela; St Clair, David; Stroup, T Scott; Van Os, Jim; Visscher, Peter M; Wiersma, Durk; Zammit, Stanley; Bridges, S Louis; Choi, Hyon K; Coenen, Marieke J H; de Vries, Niek; Dieud, Philippe; Greenberg, Jeffrey D; Huizinga, Tom W J; Padyukov, Leonid; Siminovitch, Katherine A; Tak, Paul P; Worthington, Jane; De Jager, Philip L; Denny, Joshua C; Gregersen, Peter K; Klareskog, Lars; Mariette, Xavier; Plenge, Robert M; van Laar, Mart; van Riel, Piet

2015-10-01

A long-standing epidemiological puzzle is the reduced rate of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in those with schizophrenia (SZ) and vice versa. Traditional epidemiological approaches to determine if this negative association is underpinned by genetic factors would test for reduced rates of one disorder in relatives of the other, but sufficiently powered data sets are difficult to achieve. The genomics era presents an alternative paradigm for investigating the genetic relationship between two uncommon disorders. We use genome-wide common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from independently collected SZ and RA case-control cohorts to estimate the SNP correlation between the disorders. We test a genotype X environment (GxE) hypothesis for SZ with environment defined as winter- vs summer-born. We estimate a small but significant negative SNP-genetic correlation between SZ and RA (-0.046, s.e. 0.026, P = 0.036). The negative correlation was stronger for the SNP set attributed to coding or regulatory regions (-0.174, s.e. 0.071, P = 0.0075). Our analyses led us to hypothesize a gene-environment interaction for SZ in the form of immune challenge. We used month of birth as a proxy for environmental immune challenge and estimated the genetic correlation between winter-born and non-winter born SZ to be significantly less than 1 for coding/regulatory region SNPs (0.56, s.e. 0.14, P = 0.00090). Our results are consistent with epidemiological observations of a negative relationship between SZ and RA reflecting, at least in part, genetic factors. Results of the month of birth analysis are consistent with pleiotropic effects of genetic variants dependent on environmental context.

The puzzle of the ankle in the Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Ray Spectrum, and composition indicators

Science.gov (United States)

Farrar, Glennys

2015-08-01

The sharp change in slope of the ultra-high energy cosmic ray spectrum around 10^18.6 eV (the ankle), combined with evidence of a light but extragalactic component near and below the ankle and intermediate composition above, has proved exceedingly challenging to understand theoretically. In this talk I discuss two possible solutions to the puzzle and how they can be (in)validated.First, I present a new mechanism whereby photo-disintegration of ultra-high energy nuclei in the region surrounding a UHECR accelerator naturally accounts for the observed spectrum and inferred composition (using LHC-tuned models extrapolated to UHE) at Earth. We discuss the conditions required to reproduce the spectrum above 10^17.5 eV and the composition, which -- in our model -- consists below the ankle of extragalactic protons and the high energy tail of Galactic Cosmic Rays, and above the ankle of surviving nuclei from the extended source. Predictions for the spectrum and flavors of neutrinos resulting from this process will be presented, and also implications for candidate sources.The other possible explanation is that in actuality UHECRs are entirely or almost entirely protons, and the cross-section for p-Air scattering increases more rapidly above center-of-mass energy of 70 TeV (10 times the current LHC cm energy) than predicted in conventional models. This gives an equally good fit to the depth-of-shower maximum behavior obverved by Auger, while being an intriguing sign of new state in QCD at extremely high energy density.

The Use of the Puzzle Box as a Means of Assessing the Efficacy of Environmental Enrichment

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, Angela M.; Burton, Thomas J.; Leamey, Catherine A.; Sawatari, Atomu

2014-01-01

Environmental enrichment can dramatically influence the development and function of neural circuits. Further, enrichment has been shown to successfully delay the onset of symptoms in models of Huntington’s disease 1-4, suggesting environmental factors can evoke a neuroprotective effect against the progressive, cellular level damage observed in neurodegenerative disorders. The ways in which an animal can be environmentally enriched, however, can vary considerably. Further, there is no straightforward manner in which the effects of environmental enrichment can be assessed: most methods require either fairly complicated behavioral paradigms and/or postmortem anatomical/physiological analyses. This protocol describes the use of a simple and inexpensive behavioral assay, the Puzzle Box 5-7 as a robust means of determining the efficacy of increased social, sensory and motor stimulation on mice compared to cohorts raised in standard laboratory conditions. This simple problem solving task takes advantage of a rodent’s innate desire to avoid open enclosures by seeking shelter. Cognitive ability is assessed by adding increasingly complex impediments to the shelter’s entrance. The time a given subject takes to successfully remove the obstructions and enter the shelter serves as the primary metric for task performance. This method could provide a reliable means of rapidly assessing the efficacy of different enrichment protocols on cognitive function, thus paving the way for systematically determining the role specific environmental factors play in delaying the onset of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disease. PMID:25590345

Low level radioactive waste management in New York State all the pieces of the puzzle, but

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerber, C.A.

1995-01-01

Unlike many other states and compacts, New York not only has a volunteer community, but that community has over three thousand acres of state owned land that was intended for commercial nuclear use. A poll conducted by the Siting Commission indicates that the citizens of New York understand the need for a central monitored disposal facility for LLRW. Hundreds of widely dispersed storage sites are unacceptable to the majority of New Yorkers. New York State has a law requiring the siting and construction of a facility for the permanent disposal of LLRW. The regulations are in place and the Siting Commission has gone through the siting process forward, and should be about finished doing it backwards as the amended state law required. The State Health Department has authorized a $800,000 contract to the National Academy of Science to review the process. The representatives of the Cortland County opponents went on record and already stated that the NAS Study is unacceptable. After fifty million dollars the results are catastrophic. The generators in the state will be forced to store their waste because of the failure by the state to obey it's own law. According to the law, the facility was to be in operation no later than January 1, 1993. While New York State has all the pieces of the LLRW management puzzle on the table, there are many people with political and social agendas ready to knock the pieces onto the floor

Sc2C2@D3h(14246)-C74: A Missing Piece of the Clusterfullerene Puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yaofeng; Tang, Qiangqiang; Feng, Lai; Chen, Ning

2017-02-20

Clusterfullerenes with variable carbon cages have been extensively studied in recent years. However, despite all these efforts, C 74 cage-based clusterfullerene remains a missing piece of the puzzle. Herein, we show that single-crystal X-ray crystallographic analysis unambiguously assigns the previously reported dimetallofullerene Sc 2 @C 76 to a novel carbide clusterfullerene, Sc 2 C 2 @D 3h (14246)-C 74 , the first experimentally proven clusterfullerene with a C 74 cage. In addition, Sc 2 C 2 @D 3h (14246)-C 74 was charaterized by mass spectrometry, ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared absorption spectroscopy, 45 Sc nuclear magnetic resonance, and cyclic voltammetry. Comparative studies of the motion of the carbide cluster in Sc 2 C 2 @D 3h (14246)-C 74 and Sc 2 C 2 @C 2n (n = 40-44) revealed that a combination of factors, involving both the shape and size of the cage, is crucial in dictating the cluster motion. Moreover, structural studies of D 3h (14246)-C 74 revealed that it can be easily converted to C s (10528)-C 72 and T d (19151)-C 76 cages via C 2 desertion/insertion and Stone-Wales transformation. This suggests that D 3h (14246)-C 74 might play an important role in the growth pathway of clusterfullerenes.

Neutron-deuteron analyzing power data at En = 21 MeV and the energy dependence of the three-nucleon analyzing power puzzle

Science.gov (United States)

Weisel, G. J.; Tornow, W.; Esterline, J. H.

2015-08-01

We present measurements of n-d analyzing power, {A}y(θ ), at En = 21.0 MeV. The experiment produces neutrons via the 2H(d, n)3He reaction and uses a deuterated liquid-scintillator center detector and six pairs of liquid-scintillator neutron side detectors. Elastic neutron scattering events are identified by using time-of-flight techniques and by setting a gate in the center-detector pulse-height spectrum. Beam polarization is monitored by using a high-pressure helium gas scintillator. The n-d {A}y(θ ) data at 21.0 MeV show a significant discrepancy with the results of rigorous three-body calculations and are consistent with data taken previously by us at 19.0 and 22.5 MeV. We review the overall energy dependence of the three-nucleon analyzing power puzzle in neutron-deuteron elastic scattering, using the best data available. We find that the relative difference between calculations and data is nearly constant at 25% up to En = 22.5 MeV.

The Jigsaw Puzzle of mRNA Translation Initiation in Eukaryotes: A Decade of Structures Unraveling the Mechanics of the Process.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashem, Yaser; Frank, Joachim

2018-03-01

Translation initiation in eukaryotes is a highly regulated and rate-limiting process. It results in the assembly and disassembly of numerous transient and intermediate complexes involving over a dozen eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs). This process culminates in the accommodation of a start codon marking the beginning of an open reading frame at the appropriate ribosomal site. Although this process has been extensively studied by hundreds of groups for nearly half a century, it has been only recently, especially during the last decade, that we have gained deeper insight into the mechanics of the eukaryotic translation initiation process. This advance in knowledge is due in part to the contributions of structural biology, which have shed light on the molecular mechanics underlying the different functions of various eukaryotic initiation factors. In this review, we focus exclusively on the contribution of structural biology to the understanding of the eukaryotic initiation process, a long-standing jigsaw puzzle that is just starting to yield the bigger picture. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Biophysics Volume 47 is May 20, 2018. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

There and back again: Two views on the protein folding puzzle.

Science.gov (United States)

Finkelstein, Alexei V; Badretdin, Azat J; Galzitskaya, Oxana V; Ivankov, Dmitry N; Bogatyreva, Natalya S; Garbuzynskiy, Sergiy O

2017-07-01

The ability of protein chains to spontaneously form their spatial structures is a long-standing puzzle in molecular biology. Experimentally measured folding times of single-domain globular proteins range from microseconds to hours: the difference (10-11 orders of magnitude) is the same as that between the life span of a mosquito and the age of the universe. This review describes physical theories of rates of overcoming the free-energy barrier separating the natively folded (N) and unfolded (U) states of protein chains in both directions: "U-to-N" and "N-to-U". In the theory of protein folding rates a special role is played by the point of thermodynamic (and kinetic) equilibrium between the native and unfolded state of the chain; here, the theory obtains the simplest form. Paradoxically, a theoretical estimate of the folding time is easier to get from consideration of protein unfolding (the "N-to-U" transition) rather than folding, because it is easier to outline a good unfolding pathway of any structure than a good folding pathway that leads to the stable fold, which is yet unknown to the folding protein chain. And since the rates of direct and reverse reactions are equal at the equilibrium point (as follows from the physical "detailed balance" principle), the estimated folding time can be derived from the estimated unfolding time. Theoretical analysis of the "N-to-U" transition outlines the range of protein folding rates in a good agreement with experiment. Theoretical analysis of folding (the "U-to-N" transition), performed at the level of formation and assembly of protein secondary structures, outlines the upper limit of protein folding times (i.e., of the time of search for the most stable fold). Both theories come to essentially the same results; this is not a surprise, because they describe overcoming one and the same free-energy barrier, although the way to the top of this barrier from the side of the unfolded state is very different from the way from the

Proceedings of High Energy Physics Workshop ''Scalar Mesons: An Interesting Puzzle for QCD'' held at SUNY Institute of Technology, May 16-18, 2003 Published by the American Institute of Physics AIP Conference Proceedings 688 Editor: Amir H. Fariborz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fariborz, Amir H.

2003-01-01

The proceedings of the workshop: ''Scalar Mesons: An Interesting Puzzle for QCD'' contains papers that were presented at the workshop by a number of experts from around the world. It includes three main categories of Theoretical, Computational and Experimental works. The topics that are presented in this proceedings are of interest to senior and junior investigators in high energy physics, nuclear physics and computational physics, and provide most recent ideas, techniques, and directions for future research in these fields

On the reversibility of the Meissner effect and the angular momentum puzzle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirsch, J.E., E-mail: jhirsch@ucsd.edu

2016-10-15

suppress Foucault currents, charge has to flow in direction perpendicular to the phase boundary. • The charge carriers have to be holes. • This solves also the angular momentum puzzle associated with the Meissner effect.

On the reversibility of the Meissner effect and the angular momentum puzzle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirsch, J.E.

2016-01-01

suppress Foucault currents, charge has to flow in direction perpendicular to the phase boundary. • The charge carriers have to be holes. • This solves also the angular momentum puzzle associated with the Meissner effect.

Development of new test procedures for measuring fine and coarse aggregates specific gravity.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-09-01

The objective of the research is to develop and evaluate new test methods at determining the specific gravity and absorption of both fine and coarse aggregates. Current methods at determining the specific gravity and absorption of fine and coarse agg...

The Dysregulation Profile in middle childhood and adolescence across reporters: factor structure, measurement invariance, and links with self-harm and suicidal ideation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.H.F. Deutz (Marike); S.B. Geeraert (Sanne Barbara); A.L. Van Baar (Anneloes); M. Deković (Maja); P.J. Prinzie (Peter)

2016-01-01

textabstractRecently, a phenotype of severe dysregulation, the Dysregulation Profile (DP), has been identified. DP consists of elevated scores on the Anxious/Depressed (AD), Aggressive Behavior (AGG) and Attention Problems (AP) scales of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Teacher Report Form

Neural bases for basic processes in heuristic problem solving: Take solving Sudoku puzzles as an example.

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Yulin; Xiang, Jie; Wang, Rifeng; Zhou, Haiyan; Li, Kuncheng; Zhong, Ning

2012-12-01

Newell and Simon postulated that the basic steps in human problem-solving involve iteratively applying operators to transform the state of the problem to eventually achieve a goal. To check the neural basis of this framework, the present study focused on the basic processes in human heuristic problem-solving that the participants identified the current problem state and then recalled and applied the corresponding heuristic rules to change the problem state. A new paradigm, solving simplified Sudoku puzzles, was developed for an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in problem solving. Regions of interest (ROIs), including the left prefrontal cortex, the bilateral posterior parietal cortex, the anterior cingulated cortex, the bilateral caudate nuclei, the bilateral fusiform, as well as the bilateral frontal eye fields, were found to be involved in the task. To obtain convergent evidence, in addition to traditional statistical analysis, we used the multivariate voxel classification method to check the accuracy of the predictions for the condition of the task from the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response of the ROIs, using a new classifier developed in this study for fMRI data. To reveal the roles that the ROIs play in problem solving, we developed an ACT-R computational model of the information-processing processes in human problem solving, and tried to predict the BOLD response of the ROIs from the task. Advances in human problem-solving research after Newell and Simon are then briefly discussed. © 2012 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Genome to Phenome: A Systems Biology Approach to PTSD Using an Animal Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Chakraborty, Nabarun; Meyerhoff, James; Jett, Marti; Hammamieh, Rasha

2017-01-01

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating illness that imposes significant emotional and financial burdens on military families. The understanding of PTSD etiology remains elusive; nonetheless, it is clear that PTSD is manifested by a cluster of symptoms including hyperarousal, reexperiencing of traumatic events, and avoidance of trauma reminders. With these characteristics in mind, several rodent models have been developed eliciting PTSD-like features. Animal models with social dimensions are of particular interest, since the social context plays a major role in the development and manifestation of PTSD.For civilians, a core trauma that elicits PTSD might be characterized by a singular life-threatening event such as a car accident. In contrast, among war veterans, PTSD might be triggered by repeated threats and a cumulative psychological burden that coalesced in the combat zone. In capturing this fundamental difference, the aggressor-exposed social stress (Agg-E SS) model imposes highly threatening conspecific trauma on naïve mice repeatedly and randomly.There is abundant evidence that suggests the potential role of genetic contributions to risk factors for PTSD. Specific observations include putatively heritable attributes of the disorder, the cited cases of atypical brain morphology, and the observed neuroendocrine shifts away from normative. Taken together, these features underscore the importance of multi-omics investigations to develop a comprehensive picture. More daunting will be the task of downstream analysis with integration of these heterogeneous genotypic and phenotypic data types to deliver putative clinical biomarkers. Researchers are advocating for a systems biology approach, which has demonstrated an increasingly robust potential for integrating multidisciplinary data. By applying a systems biology approach here, we have connected the tissue-specific molecular perturbations to the behaviors displayed by mice subjected to Agg-E SS. A

Discovery of a cosmological, relativistic outburst via its rapidly fading optical emission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cenko, S. Bradley; Nugent, Peter E.; Miller, Adam A.; Bloom, Joshua S.; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Horesh, Assaf; Carpenter, John; Perley, Daniel A.; Groot, Paul J.; Hallinan, G.; Corsi, Alessandra; Fox, Derek B.; Frail, Dale A.; Gruber, D.; Rau, Arne; Gal-Yam, Avishay; Ofek, Eran O.; MacLeod, Chelsea L.; Kasliwal, Mansi M.

2013-01-01

We report the discovery by the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) of the transient source PTF11agg, which is distinguished by three primary characteristics: (1) bright (R peak = 18.3 mag), rapidly fading (ΔR = 4 mag in Δt = 2 days) optical transient emission; (2) a faint (R = 26.2 ± 0.2 mag), blue (g' – R = 0.17 ± 0.29 mag) quiescent optical counterpart; and (3) an associated year-long, scintillating radio transient. We argue that these observed properties are inconsistent with any known class of Galactic transients (flare stars, X-ray binaries, dwarf novae), and instead suggest a cosmological origin. The detection of incoherent radio emission at such distances implies a large emitting region, from which we infer the presence of relativistic ejecta. The observed properties are all consistent with the population of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), marking the first time such an outburst has been discovered in the distant universe independent of a high-energy trigger. We searched for possible high-energy counterparts to PTF11agg, but found no evidence for associated prompt emission. We therefore consider three possible scenarios to account for a GRB-like afterglow without a high-energy counterpart: an 'untriggered' GRB (lack of satellite coverage), an 'orphan' afterglow (viewing-angle effects), and a 'dirty fireball' (suppressed high-energy emission). The observed optical and radio light curves appear inconsistent with even the most basic predictions for off-axis afterglow models. The simplest explanation, then, is that PTF11agg is a normal, on-axis long-duration GRB for which the associated high-energy emission was simply missed. However, we have calculated the likelihood of such a serendipitous discovery by PTF and find that it is quite small (≈2.6%). While not definitive, we nonetheless speculate that PTF11agg may represent a new, more common (>4 times the on-axis GRB rate at 90% confidence) class of relativistic

Discovery of a cosmological, relativistic outburst via its rapidly fading optical emission

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cenko, S. Bradley; Nugent, Peter E.; Miller, Adam A.; Bloom, Joshua S.; Filippenko, Alexei V. [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States); Kulkarni, S. R.; Horesh, Assaf; Carpenter, John; Perley, Daniel A.; Groot, Paul J.; Hallinan, G. [Cahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Corsi, Alessandra [LIGO Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, MS 100-36, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Fox, Derek B. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Frail, Dale A. [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box O, Socorro, NM 87801 (United States); Gruber, D.; Rau, Arne [Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstrasse, Postfach 1312, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Gal-Yam, Avishay; Ofek, Eran O. [Benoziyo Center for Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot (Israel); MacLeod, Chelsea L. [Physics Department, United States Naval Academy, 572c Holloway Road, Annapolis, MD 21402 (United States); Kasliwal, Mansi M., E-mail: cenko@astro.berkeley.edu [Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara St., Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); and others

2013-06-01

We report the discovery by the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) of the transient source PTF11agg, which is distinguished by three primary characteristics: (1) bright (R {sub peak} = 18.3 mag), rapidly fading (ΔR = 4 mag in Δt = 2 days) optical transient emission; (2) a faint (R = 26.2 ± 0.2 mag), blue (g' – R = 0.17 ± 0.29 mag) quiescent optical counterpart; and (3) an associated year-long, scintillating radio transient. We argue that these observed properties are inconsistent with any known class of Galactic transients (flare stars, X-ray binaries, dwarf novae), and instead suggest a cosmological origin. The detection of incoherent radio emission at such distances implies a large emitting region, from which we infer the presence of relativistic ejecta. The observed properties are all consistent with the population of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), marking the first time such an outburst has been discovered in the distant universe independent of a high-energy trigger. We searched for possible high-energy counterparts to PTF11agg, but found no evidence for associated prompt emission. We therefore consider three possible scenarios to account for a GRB-like afterglow without a high-energy counterpart: an 'untriggered' GRB (lack of satellite coverage), an 'orphan' afterglow (viewing-angle effects), and a 'dirty fireball' (suppressed high-energy emission). The observed optical and radio light curves appear inconsistent with even the most basic predictions for off-axis afterglow models. The simplest explanation, then, is that PTF11agg is a normal, on-axis long-duration GRB for which the associated high-energy emission was simply missed. However, we have calculated the likelihood of such a serendipitous discovery by PTF and find that it is quite small (≈2.6%). While not definitive, we nonetheless speculate that PTF11agg may represent a new, more common (>4 times the on-axis GRB rate at 90% confidence) class of relativistic

Atomic force microscopy study on specificity and non-specificity of interaction forces between Enterococcus faecalis cells with and without aggregation substance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Waar, Karola; van der Mei, Henderina; Harmsen, Hermie JM; de Vries, Jacob; Atema-Smit, Jelly; Degener, John E; Busscher, Hendrik

Enterococcus faecalis is one of the leading causes of hospital-acquired infections, and indwelling medical devices are especially prone to infection. E faecalis expressing aggregation substance (Agg) adheres to biomaterial surfaces by means of positive cooperativity, i.e. the ability of one adhering

Latent class analysis shows strong heritability of the Child Behavior Checklist-Juvenile Bipolar Phenotype.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Althoff, R.; Rettew, D.C.; Faraone, S.V.; Boomsma, D.I.; Hudziak, J.

2006-01-01

Background: The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) has been used to provide a quantitative description of childhood bipolar disorder (BPAD). Many have reported that children in the clinical range on the Attention Problems (AP), Aggressive Behavior (AGG), and Anxious-Depressed (A/D) syndromes

The Dysregulation Profile in middle childhood and adolescence across reporters: factor structure, measurement invariance, and links with self-harm and suicidal ideation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deutz, Marike; Geeraerts, Sanne; van Baar, Anneloes; Dekovic, Maja; Prinzie, Peter

2016-01-01

Recently, a phenotype of severe dysregulation, the Dysregulation Profile (DP), has been identified. DP consists of elevated scores on the Anxious/Depressed (AD), Aggressive Behavior (AGG) and Attention Problems (AP) scales of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Teacher Report Form (TRF), or Youth

DQA2

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

mukesh

, GGT, CCC, TCT, GGC, CAG, TAC, ACC, CAG, GAA, TTT, GAT, GGA, GAC, GAG, ATG, TTT, TAT, GTG, GAC, CTG, GGG, AAG, AAG, GAG, ACT, GTC, TGG, AGG, CTG, CCT, ATG, TTT, AGC, CAG, TTT, GCA, GGT, TTT, GAC, CCA, CAG, GCT ...

Effects of selective serotonin antagonism on central neurotransmission

Science.gov (United States)

Serotonergic and dopaminergic mediation of aggression has been evidenced in numerous studies. However, these studies have met with varying and sometimes conflicting results. Here we test the hypothesis that hens with genetic propensity for high and low aggressiveness exhibit distinctly different agg...

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli O78:H10, the cause of an outbreak of urinary tract infection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olesen, Bente; Scheutz, Flemming; Andersen, Rebecca L

2012-01-01

to these traits and resistance profiles, are unknown. Accordingly, we extensively characterized 51 archived E. coli O78:H10 isolates (48 human isolates from seven countries, including 19 Copenhagen outbreak isolates, and 1 each of calf, avian, and unknown-source isolates), collected from 1956 through 2000. E...... by molecular methods as enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) (P 90% of outbreak isolates included fimH (type 1 fimbriae; ubiquitous in E. coli); fyuA, traT, and iutA (associated with extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli [ExPEC]); and sat, pic, aatA, aggR, aggA, ORF61, aaiC, aap, and ORF3......In 1991, multiresistant Escherichia coli O78:H10 strains caused an outbreak of urinary tract infections in Copenhagen, Denmark. The phylogenetic origin, clonal background, and virulence characteristics of the outbreak isolates, and their relationship to nonoutbreak O78:H10 strains according...

Millimeter and submillimeter wave spectroscopic investigations into the rotation-tunneling spectrum of gGg' ethylene glycol, HOCH 2CH 2OH

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Holger S. P.; Christen, Dines

2004-12-01

The rotation-tunneling spectrum of the second most stable gGg' conformer of ethylene glycol (1,2-ethanediol) in its ground vibrational state has been studied in selected regions between 77 and 579 GHz. Compared to the study of the more stable aGg' conformer, a much larger frequency range was studied, resulting in a much extended frequency list covering similar quantum numbers, J⩽55 and Ka⩽19. While the input data were reproduced within experimental uncertainties up to moderately high values of J and Ka larger residuals remain at higher quantum numbers. The severe mixing of the states caused by the Coriolis interaction between the two tunneling substates is suggested to provide a considerable part of the explanation. In addition, a Coriolis interaction of the gGg' ground vibrational state with an excited state of the aGg' conformer may also contribute. Relative intensities of closely spaced lines have been investigated to determine the signs of the Coriolis constants between the two tunneling substates relative to the dipole moment components and to estimate the magnitudes of the dipole moment components and the energy difference between the gGg' and the aGg' conformers. Results of ab initio calculations on the total dipole moment and the vibrational spectrum were needed for these estimates. The current analysis is limited to transitions with quantum numbers J⩽40 and Ka⩽6 plus those having J⩽22 and Ka⩽17 which could be reproduced within experimental uncertainties. The results are aimed at aiding radioastronomers to search for gGg' ethylene glycol in comets and in interstellar space.

Puzzling out the proton radius puzzle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihovilovič Miha

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The discrepancy between the proton charge radius extracted from the muonic hydrogen Lamb shift measurement and the best present value obtained from the elastic scattering experiments, remains unexplained and represents a burning problem of today’s nuclear physics: after more than 50 years of research the radius of a basic constituent of matter is still not understood. This paper presents a summary of the best existing proton radius measurements, followed by an overview of the possible explanations for the observed inconsistency between the hydrogen and the muonic-hydrogen data. In the last part the upcoming experiments, dedicated to remeasuring the proton radius, are described.

Puzzling out the proton radius puzzle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mihovilovič, M.; Merkel, H.; Weber, A. [Institut für Kernphysik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 45, 55128 Mainz (Germany)

2016-01-22

The discrepancy between the proton charge radius extracted from the muonic hydrogen Lamb shift measurement and the best present value obtained from the elastic scattering experiments, remains unexplained and represents a burning problem of today’s nuclear physics: after more than 50 years of research the radius of a basic constituent of matter is still not understood. This paper presents a summary of the best existing proton radius measurements, followed by an overview of the possible explanations for the observed inconsistency between the hydrogen and the muonic-hydrogen data. In the last part the upcoming experiments, dedicated to remeasuring the proton radius, are described.

The Annuity Puzzle Remains a Puzzle

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peijnenburg, J.M.J.; Werker, Bas; Nijman, Theo

We examine incomplete annuity menus and background risk as possible drivers of divergence from full annuitization. Contrary to what is often suggested in the literature, we find that full annuitization remains optimal if saving is possible after retirement. This holds irrespective of whether real or

(FTN-β) and SPAM1 promoters

African Journals Online (AJOL)

SERVER

2008-03-04

Mar 4, 2008 ... protein SPAM1, (or PH-20), located on both the plasma membrane ... binding to the egg plasma membrane. .... tct gct tct aca aac tga cag agg cac g. 72 ..... Eller CD, Regelson M, Merriman B, Nelson S, Horvath S, Marahrens Y.

The puzzle of Italian rice origin and evolution: determining genetic divergence and affinity of rice germplasm from Italy and Asia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xingxing Cai

Full Text Available The characterization of genetic divergence and relationships of a set of germplasm is essential for its efficient applications in crop breeding and understanding of the origin/evolution of crop varieties from a given geographical region. As the largest rice producing country in Europe, Italy holds rice germplasm with abundant genetic diversity. Although Italian rice varieties and the traditional ones in particular have played important roles in rice production and breeding, knowledge concerning the origin and evolution of Italian traditional varieties is still limited. To solve the puzzle of Italian rice origin, we characterized genetic divergence and relationships of 348 rice varieties from Italy and Asia based on the polymorphisms of microsatellite fingerprints. We also included common wild rice O. rufipogon as a reference in the characterization. Results indicated relatively rich genetic diversity (H(e = 0.63-0.65 in Italian rice varieties. Further analyses revealed a close genetic relationship of the Italian traditional varieties with those from northern China, which provides strong genetic evidence for tracing the possible origin of early established rice varieties in Italy. These findings have significant implications for the rice breeding programs, in which appropriate germplasm can be selected from a given region and utilized for transferring unique genetic traits based on its genetic diversity and evolutionary relationships.

Larvicidal efficacy of Scabiosa arenaria Forssk. (Dipsacaceae organs extracts against Culex pipiens L.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malek Besbes Hlila

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: To determine the larvicidal activity of sixteen extracts of Scabiosa arenaria Forssk. (S. arenaria against the third instar larvae of Culex pipiens L. (C. pipiens. Methods: Larvicidal activity of S. arenaria extracts was determined according to World Health Organization. Twenty third instars of the C. pipiens were exposed to different concentrations (15 µg/mL to 60 µg/mL of extracts. Mortality was recorded after 24 h of exposure. Results: The roots ethyl acetate fraction of S. arenaria had a significant toxic effect on larvae of C. pipiens, with high mortality percentage (100.0% ± 2.2% at 60 µg/mL, and 50% lethal concentration value of LC50 = (15.00 ± 0.09 µg/mL. Conclusions: Results show that roots ethyl acetate could be used for the production of natural bio-pesticides which could decrease our dependence on chemical pesticides.

The Untangler Project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhoeff, T.; Eggermont, C.E.J.

2009-01-01

We are fascinated by disentanglement puzzles. Why? Probably, at least in part, because, unlike put-together puzzles (pieces-in-box), take-apart puzzles (puzzle boxes), or interlocking solid puzzles (burrs), there seems to be little theory to support the design and solution of disentanglement

Juggling the life-puzzle with Geosciences: personal experience and strategies from a female leader

Science.gov (United States)

Arheimer, Berit

2017-04-01

recommendations from being a single-mother with scientific and international ambitions, working in an operational environment, on how to juggle the dynamic life puzzle.

Het geslacht Alchemilla in Nederland

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jaspars-Schrader, T.W.

1983-01-01

Fifty years ago Kloos (1933) described the species of the Alchemilla vulgaris i agg. for the Netherlands. He based his work on a publication by Lindberg (1908). Since then much more material of the genus was collected and several comprehensive treatments of it have appeared in neighbouring

The X-ray Telescope of CAST

CERN Document Server

Kuster, M.; Cebrian, S.; Davenport, M.; Elefteriadis, C.; Englhauser, J.; Fischer, H.; Franz, J.; Friedrich, P.; Hartmann, R.; Heinsius, F.H.; Hoffmann, D.H.H.; Hoffmeister, G.; Joux, J.N.; Kang, D.; Konigsmann, Kay; Kotthaus, R.; Papaevangelou, T.; Lasseur, C.; Lippitsch, A.; Lutz, G.; Morales, J.; Rodriguez, A.; Struder, L.; Vogel, J.; Zioutas, K.

2007-01-01

The Cern Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) is in operation and taking data since 2003. The main objective of the CAST experiment is to search for a hypothetical pseudoscalar boson, the axion, which might be produced in the core of the sun. The basic physics process CAST is based on is the time inverted Primakoff effect, by which an axion can be converted into a detectable photon in an external electromagnetic field. The resulting X-ray photons are expected to be thermally distributed between 1 and 7 keV. The most sensitive detector system of CAST is a pn-CCD detector combined with a Wolter I type X-ray mirror system. With the X-ray telescope of CAST a background reduction of more than 2 orders off magnitude is achieved, such that for the first time the axion photon coupling constant g_agg can be probed beyond the best astrophysical constraints g_agg < 1 x 10^-10 GeV^-1.

The prevalence and virulence characteristics of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli at an urgent-care clinic in the USA: a case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cennimo, David; Abbas, Atif; Huang, David B; Chiang, Tom

2009-04-01

This case-control study examined the prevalence of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC), its genes and elicited inflammatory response, and the stool characteristics of adult patients with and without acute diarrhoeal illness presenting to an urgent-care clinic in the USA. A total of 1004 individual stool specimens (253 from patients with acute diarrhoeal illness and 751 from patients without diarrhoeal illness) were collected between 1 June 2003 and 30 June 2008. EAEC was identified as the sole cause of acute diarrhoeal illness in 6 % (n=15) of patients and in 2 % (n=15) without diarrhoeal illness. Control patients (n=15) were similar to case patients (n=15) for age, gender and co-morbidities. The EAEC genes aggR, aap, aat, astA and/or set1A were identified more frequently in case patients compared with control patients (P clinic in the USA and suggest that aggR, aap, aatA, astA and set1A may be markers for virulence.

Comparative cytogenetic analysis of diploid and hexaploid Chenopodium album Agg

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bożena Kolano

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Two cytotypes of Chenopodium album, diploid (2n=2x=18 and hexaploid (2n=6x=54, were analysed using flow cytometry and a FISH experiment. The genome size was indicated as 1.795 pg for the diploid and 3.845 pg for the hexaploid plants which suggested genome downsizing in the evolution of hexaploid cytotype. Double FISH with 25S rDNA and 5S rDNA allowed three to five homologue chromosome pairs to be distinguished depending on the cytotype. The Variation in size and number of rDNA sites between the polyploid C. album and its putative diploid ancestor indicated that rDNA loci underwent rearrangements after polyploidization. Flow cytometry measurements of the relative nuclear DNA content in the somatic tissue of C. album revealed extensive endopolyploidization resulting in tissues comprising a mixture of cells with a different DNA content (from 2C to 32C in varying proportions. The pattern of endopolyploidy was characteristic for the developmental stage of the plant and for the individual organ. Polysomaty was not observed in the embryo tissues however endopolyploidization had taken place in most tested organs of seedlings. The endopolyploidy in diploid and hexaploid C. album was compared to find any relationship between the pattern of polysomaty and polyploidy level in this species. This revealed that polyploid plants showed a decline in the number of endocycles as well as in the frequency of endopolyploidy cells compared to diploid plants.

Nitrogen utilization, preweaning nutrient digestibility, and growth effects of Holstein dairy calves fed 2 amounts of a moderately high protein or conventional milk replacer.

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, C E; Hill, T M; Elder, D R; Erickson, P S

2017-01-01

Studies have shown that calves fed milk replacers (MR) with crude protein (CP) concentrations greater than 20%, as typically found in conventional MR, have higher dry matter intakes (DMI) and greater average daily gains (ADG) but consume less starter, which can lead to stress during weaning and reduced rumen development. The greater amount of CP being fed to preweaned calves may alter their nitrogen (N) balance, and excess N may be excreted in the urine. The objective of this study was to determine N utilization in preweaned calves fed diets varying in the amount of CP and MR fed. This study used 24 newborn dairy heifer calves blocked by birth and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: (1) 446g dry matter (DM) of a conventional MR (CON; 20% CP, 20% fat), (2) 669g DM of a moderately high protein MR (moderate; MOD; 26% CP, 18% fat), or (3) 892g DM of a moderately high protein MR (aggressive; AGG; 26% CP, 18% fat). All calves had ad libitum access to starter and water. Both MR and starter were medicated with decoquinate. During weaning (d 43-49), the morning MR feeding ceased. On d 50, all MR feedings ended; however, starter and water intakes were continuously recorded until d 56. At 5wk of age, urine was collected using urinary catheters for 3d and chromium oxide was administered by bolus at 2g/d for 7d to estimate N efficiency. Calves fed MOD and AGG had similar starter intakes, feed efficiencies, and ADG, with the combined treatments having reduced starter intakes (258 vs. 537g/d), greater ADG (674 vs. 422g/d), and improved feed efficiency (0.57 vs. 0.45 gain:feed) compared with CON calves preweaning. However, DMI and water intake were similar across all treatments. Results from the N utilization phase showed that MOD and AGG treatments had similar but lower N efficiency compared with CON calves (45.5 vs. 52.7%). This could be due to MOD- and AGG-fed calves having greater urine volume and thereby, greater combined urine N output compared with CON calves (17.6 vs

Localization of oestrogen hormone receptors in the reproductive ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Primers sequence used were the forward and reverse β oestrogen primer which was designed to detect the expression of the gene encoding oestrogen receptor in the reproductive tract of the giant African Land Snail (Archachatina marginata) were: Forward: 5'-GCT TCG AGC TCA GCC TG-3' Reverse: 5'-AGG ATC ATG ...

Composition of gypsum from the Koběřice quarry (Czech Republic)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Konečný, Pavel; Plevová, Eva; Vaculíková, Lenka; Kožušníková, Alena; Peterková, J.; Hundáková, M.

2011-01-01

Roč. 8, č. 2 (2011), s. 145-156 ISSN 1214-9705 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30860518 Keywords : gypsum * Kobeřice quarry * spectroscopy Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 0.530, year: 2011 http://www.irsm.cas.cz/abstracts/AGG/02_11/5_Konecny.pdf

Bridging Type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer's Disease: Assembling the Puzzle Pieces in the Quest for the Molecules With Therapeutic and Preventive Potential.

Science.gov (United States)

de Matos, Ana Marta; de Macedo, Maria Paula; Rauter, Amélia Pilar

2018-01-01

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are two age-related amyloid diseases that affect millions of people worldwide. Broadly supported by epidemiological data, the higher incidence of AD among type 2 diabetic patients led to the recognition of T2D as a tangible risk factor for the development of AD. Indeed, there is now growing evidence on brain structural and functional abnormalities arising from brain insulin resistance and deficiency, ultimately highlighting the need for new approaches capable of preventing the development of AD in type 2 diabetic patients. This review provides an update on overlapping pathophysiological mechanisms and pathways in T2D and AD, such as amyloidogenic events, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, aberrant enzymatic activity, and even shared genetic background. These events will be presented as puzzle pieces put together, thus establishing potential therapeutic targets for drug discovery and development against T2D and diabetes-induced cognitive decline-a heavyweight contributor to the increasing incidence of dementia in developed countries. Hoping to pave the way in this direction, we will present some of the most promising and well-studied drug leads with potential against both pathologies, including their respective bioactivity reports, mechanisms of action, and structure-activity relationships. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The suspended magnetic separator with large blocks from NdFeB magnets and its long term technological tests

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Žežulka, Václav; Straka, Pavel

2011-01-01

Roč. 8, č. 1 (2011), s. 89-97 ISSN 1214-9705 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30460519 Keywords : magnetic separation * magnetic separators * magnetic circuits Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.530, year: 2011 http://www.irsm.cas.cz/abstracts/AGG/01_11/8_Zezulka.pdf

The detection of weak earthquakes in the western Bohemian swarm area through the deployment of seismic arrays

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Štrunc, Jaroslav; Brož, Milan

2011-01-01

Roč. 8, č. 4 (2011), s. 469-477 ISSN 1214-9705 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30460519 Keywords : weak earthquakes * seismic array * small aperture Subject RIV: DC - Siesmology, Volcanology, Earth Structure Impact factor: 0.530, year: 2011 http://www.irsm.cas.cz/abstracts/AGG/04_11/8_Strunc.pdf

On the state of the TM 71 extensometer monitoring in Slovenia: seven years of micro-tectonic displacement measurements

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Gosar, A.; Šebela, S.; Košťák, Blahoslav; Stemberk, Josef

2011-01-01

Roč. 8, č. 4 (2011), s. 389-402 ISSN 1214-9705 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30460519 Keywords : geodynamics * TM 71 extensometer * micro-tectonic displacements Subject RIV: DE - Earth Magnetism, Geodesy, Geography Impact factor: 0.530, year: 2011 http://www.irsm.cas.cz/abstracts/AGG/04_11/2_Gosar.pdf

Root sprouting in Knautia arvensis (Dipsacaceae): effects of polyploidy, soil origin and nutrient availability

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Martínková, Jana; Klimešová, Jitka; Doležal, Jiří; Kolář, Filip

2015-01-01

Roč. 216, č. 6 (2015), s. 901-911 ISSN 1385-0237 R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36079G Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : root-sprouting * ploidy * Knautia arvensis Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 1.490, year: 2015

Formation of unimer nanoparticles by controlling the self-association of hydrophobically modified poly(amino acid)s.

Science.gov (United States)

Akagi, Takami; Piyapakorn, Phassamon; Akashi, Mitsuru

2012-03-20

Amphiphilic block or graft copolymers have been demonstrated to form a variety of self-assembled nano/microstructures in selective solvents. In this study, the self-association behavior of biodegradable graft copolymers composed of poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA) as the hydrophilic segment and L-phenylalanine (Phe) as the hydrophobic segment in aqueous solution was investigated. The association behavior and unimer nanoparticle formation of these γ-PGA-graft-Phe (γ-PGA-Phe) copolymers in aqueous solution were characterized with a focus on the effect of the Phe grafting degree on the intra- and interpolymer association of γ-PGA-Phe. The particle size and number of polymer aggregates (N(agg)) in one particle of the γ-PGA-Phe depended on the Phe grafting degree. The size of γ-PGA-Phe with 12, 27, 35, or 42% Phe grafting (γ-PGA-Phe-12, -27, -35, or -42) was about 8-14 nm and the N(agg) was about 1, supporting the presence of a unimolecular graft copolymer in PBS. The pyrene fluorescence data indicated that γ-PGA-Phe-35 and -42 have hydrophobic domains formed by the intrapolymer association of Phe attached to γ-PGA. These results suggest that the Phe grafting degree is critical to the association behavior of γ-PGA-Phe and that γ-PGA-Phe-35 and -42 could form unimer nanoparticles. Moreover, when γ-PGA-Phe-42 dissolved in DMSO was added to various concentrations of NaCl solution, the particle size and N(agg) could be easily controlled by changing the NaCl concentration during the formation of the particles. These results suggest that biodegradable γ-PGA-Phe is useful for the fabrication of very small nanoparticles. It is expected that γ-PGA-Phe nanoparticles, including unimer particles, will have great potential as multifunctional carriers for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications, such as drug and vaccine delivery systems.

Ag on Ge(111): 2D x-ray structure analysis of the #sq root#3 x #sq root#3 superstructure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dornisch, D.; Moritz, W.; Schulz, H.

1992-01-01

We have studied the Ag/Ge(111) square-root 3 x square-root 3 superstructure by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction. In our structural analysis we find striking similarities to the geometry of Au on Si(111). The Ag atoms form trimer clusters with an Ag-Ag distance of 2.94 +/- 0.04 angstrom...

Accumulation and effects of sediment-associated silver nanoparticles to sediment-dwelling invertebrates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ramskov, Tina; Forbes, Valery E; Gilliland, Douglas

2015-01-01

are in high demand. Here, we examine the effects of exposure to sediment mixed with either aqueous Ag (administered as AgNO3) or Ag NPs (13 nm, citrate-capped) at a nominal exposure concentration of 100 μg Ag/g dry weight sediment on four benthic invertebrates: two clones of the gastropod Potamopyrgus...

The effect of GlycoPEGylation on the physical stability of human rFVIIa with increasing calcium chloride concentration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Plesner, Bitten; Westh, Peter; Hvidt, Søren

2011-01-01

The effects of calcium chloride on the structural, kinetic and thermal stability of recombinant human factor VIIa (rFVIIa) were investigated using rFVIIa and two GlycoPEGylated recombinant human FVIIa derivatives, a linear 10 kDa PEG and a branched 40 kDa PEG, respectively. Three different CaCl(2......) concentrations were used: 10mM, 35 mM and 100mM. The secondary structure and tertiary structure of rFVIIa at 25C, measured by circular dichroism (CD), were maintained upon GlycoPEGylation as well as CaCl(2) content. In contrast, the thermal stability of the three rFVIIa compounds, measured by differential......FVIIa, whereas the concentration of CaCl(2) has to be raised to 100mM in order to see the same effect on the GlycoPEGylated rFVIIa compounds. The temperature of aggregation of rFVIIa, T(agg), increased as the CaCl(2) concentration increased from 35 mM to 100 mM, while T(agg) for the GlycoPEGylated r...

The universe strikes back

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steigman, G.

1983-01-01

The approach to particle physics via cosmology may meet with an obstacle in a series of cosmological puzzles studied in this paper: the flatness-longevity puzzle, the horizon-homogenity puzzle, and the cosmological constant puzzle. An analysis of the geometry and dynamics of the universe leads to an understanding (but not solution) of the flatness-longevity puzzle: possible universes are distinguished by the value of the dimensionless quantity N, the coordinate density of ER particles, such that the longevity of the universe is fixed by N. Universes where nonrelativistic particles dominate are then studied. An inflationary scenario proposed as a solution to these puzzles is studied, but found to have some difficulties

Long-term development of seismic monitoring networks in the Ostrava-Karviná coal mine district

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Holub, Karel; Holečko, J.; Rušajová, Jana; Dombková, Anna

2012-01-01

Roč. 166, č. 2 (2012), s. 115-132 ISSN 1214-9705 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30860518 Keywords : Ostrava _Karviná Coal Basin * seismoacoustic and seismological monitoring * geomechanical service Subject RIV: DC - Siesmology, Volcanology, Earth Structure Impact factor: 0.530, year: 2011 http://www.irsm.cas.cz/abstracts/AGG/02_12/1_Holub.pdf

Analysis of inner structure changes of concretes exposed to high temperatures using micro X-ray computed tomography

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Sitek, Libor; Bodnárová, L.; Souček, Kamil; Staš, Lubomír; Gurková, Lucie

2015-01-01

Roč. 12, č. 1 (2015), s. 78-89 ISSN 1214-9705 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP104/12/1988 Institutional support: RVO:68145535 Keywords : concrete * cement paste * aggregate * high temperature Subject RIV: JQ - Machines ; Tools Impact factor: 0.561, year: 2015 https://www.irsm.cas.cz/materialy/acta_content/2015_doi/Sitek_AGG_2015_0009.pdf

The identification of faults using morphostructural and geophysical methods: a case study from Strašín Cave site

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hartvich, Filip; Valenta, Jan

2011-01-01

Roč. 8, č. 4 (2011), s. 425-441 ISSN 1214-9705 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KJB300460803 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30460519 Keywords : geophysical profiling * morphostructural analysis * cave Subject RIV: DB - Geology ; Mineralogy Impact factor: 0.530, year: 2011 http://www.irsm.cas.cz/abstracts/AGG/04_11/5_Hartvich.pdf

DQA1

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

mukesh

2, GAC, CAC, ATT, GGC, ACC, TAT, GGC, GTA, AGC, TTC, TAC, CAC, TCT, TAT, GGT, CCC, TCT, GGC, TAC, TAT, ATC, CAT, GAA, TTT, GAT, GGA, GAT, GAA, GAG, TTT, TAT, GTG, GAC, CTG, GAG, AAG, AGG, GAG, ACT, GTC, TGG, CAT, CTG, CCT, GTG, TTT, AGT, GAA, TTT, GCA, AGT, TTT, GAC, CCT, CAG, GAT, GGG ...