Iron Rings, Doctor Honoris Causa Raoul Bott, Carl Herz, and a Hidden Hand

The degree of Doctor of Sciences, honoris causa, was conferred on Raoul Bott by McGill University in 1987. Much of the work to make this happen was done by Carl Herz. Some of the author's personal recollections of both professors are included, along with some context for the awarding of this degree and ample historical tangents. Some cultural aspects occurring in the addresses are elaborated on, primarily, the Canadian engineer's iron ring. This paper also reprints both the convocation address of Raoul Bott and the presentation of Carl Herz on that occasion.Comment: An edited and reformatted version of this paper, with an additional photo, will appear in a volume dedicated to Raoul Bott. The author hopes to expand on some aspects of this preprint in future version

A comparative analysis of phenylpropanoid metabolism, N utilization, and carbon partitioning in fast- and slow-growing Populus hybrid clones

The biosynthetic costs of phenylpropanoid-derived condensed tannins (CTs) and phenolic glycosides (PGs) are substantial. However, despite reports of negative correlations between leaf phenolic content and growth of Populus, it remains unclear whether or how foliar biosynthesis of CT/PG interferes with tree growth. A comparison was made of carbon partitioning and N content in developmentally staged leaves, stems, and roots of two closely related Populus hybrid genotypes. The genotypes were selected as two of the most phytochemically divergent from a series of seven previously analysed clones that exhibit a range of height growth rates and foliar amino acid, CT, and PG concentrations. The objective was to analyse the relationship between leaf phenolic content and plant growth, using whole-plant carbon partitioning and N distribution data from the two divergent clones. Total N as a percentage of tissue dry mass was comparatively low, and CT and PG accrual comparatively high in leaves of the slow-growing clone. Phenylpropanoid accrual and N content were comparatively high in stems of the slow-growing clone. Carbon partitioning within phenylpropanoid and carbohydrate networks in developing stems differed sharply between clones. The results did not support the idea that foliar production of phenylpropanoid defence chemicals was the primary cause of reduced plant growth in the slow-growing clone. The findings are discussed in the context of metabolic mechanism(s) which may contribute to reduced N delivery from roots to leaves, thereby compromising tree growth and promoting leaf phenolic accrual in the slow-growing clone

The Impact of Intraspecific Density on Garlic Mustard Sinigrin Concentration

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata, Brassicaceae) is a biennial herb that produces glucosinolates, a class of constituent secondary metabolites that defend against herbivores and pathogens allowing it to grow at high densities in invaded regions. The glucosinolate sinigrin is predominant in garlic mustard and aids in its competitiveness as an invasive species. In North America, garlic mustard can grow at high densities and form dense monocultures which may increase its apparency to herbivores and therefore increase its sinigrin production. I measured leaf sinigrin concentration in garlic mustard populations of different densities in the field and in greenhouse experiments to evaluate the response of sinigrin concentration and growth to density and light. Sinigrin concentrations of second-year plants were negatively correlated with growth metrics across all field densities; indicating a cost to sinigrin production. In the greenhouse density experiment with high and low rosette stem densities, sinigrin differed significantly by rosette density category. A factorial greenhouse experiment with light and density treatments discerned significant differences in sinigrin concentration by density. These findings suggest that sinigrin concentration may be influenced by intraspecific density across different light environments

Signatures of quantum gravity

This thesis discusses the hurdles that are frequently encountered in attempts to quantize gravity or rather, while gravitizing quantum mechanics. Among the issues we consider here are the lack of observable signatures of the quantum nature of gravity despite the considerable amount of effort directed towards theoretical approaches such as string theory and loop quantum gravity, to name a few. Here, we examine observable consequences of quantum gravity through superpositions of primordial massive particles and quantum witnesses in table top experiments involving Bose Einstein Condensates. We compute the decoherence timescales of a primordial superposition and outline its effects in the form of an interference pattern, characteristic absorption spectra or entanglement effects. While it is difficult to conceive of a way to control measurements that occur in the early universe, such as the measurement of curvature perturbations during inflation, we have a significant degree of control over quantum systems in the laboratory such as Bose Einstein Condensates for which we propose a non-Gaussianity based witness of the quantum nature of gravity. Non-Gaussianities are also discussed in the context of cosmological observations where it becomes important to distinguish primoridal non-Gaussianities from secondary effects. While observing any of these signatures can give credence to the requirement that gravity should be quantum, insight can also be drawn between conflicts that exist between general relativity and quantum mechanics. One such anomaly we discuss is the cosmic censorship conjecture and its reconciliation with quantum information theory. In particular by employing the complexity-volume conjecture from the AdS/CFT correspondence, we show that for Kerr black holes, spacetime must continue across the Cauchy Horizon where solutions to the Einstein field equations break down. Finally, we introduce a formalism that attempts to bridge the gap between quantum theory and relativity by putting spacelike and timelike events on the same footing. The notion of an event, redefined as a correspondence between a system and an apparatus, gives rise to interesting predictive phenomena and allows us to apply the tools of quantum information theory in their characterisation

The BG News February 17, 1993

The BGSU campus student newspaper February 17, 1993. Volume 75 - Issue 101https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/6494/thumbnail.jp

Government and Commercial Interests in Genomics: Improving Data Security and Regulation

The relationship between new technologies and security is well established in the fields of defence, law enforcement, communications and public health. This has been highlighted by recent public debate about the security implications of data held by companies operating in social media and information technology (such as TikTok and Huawei). While genomic technology had been less high profile in the context of security, this changed following the COVID-19 pandemic, which focused attention on the significant implications of this form of data. This article discusses commercial genomic technology, related government interests and the growing implications for data security and regulation, such as through the example of the Beijing Genomics Institute, a large company providing genomic testing services to consumers worldwide. We suggest that commercial genomic data has growing implications for countries such as the United States and Australia and argue for greater attention to be directed to this form of technology and associated data security and regulation, including security assessment to address the risks associated with international transfer via corporate entities

On the Problem of Dependent People: hyperbolic discounting in Atlantic Canadian island jurisdictions

Prince Edward Island's Economics, Statistics and Federal Fiscal Relations Division's 33rd Annual Statistical Review reports the total value of 2006 fish landings was CAD $166.6 MM. This paper discloses a preliminary finding that the actual total value of fish landings for 2006 was approximately CAD 416.5 MM. Furthermore, this discourse submits that this entrenched systemic error has been consistently generated for all 33 years that the Annual Statistical Review has been published. Moreover, this systemic error creates a ripple-effect and promotes bias through all relative natural resource valuations. This significant conjecture is presented within an institutional context which serves as the foundation for this error generation, including other errors associated with The Problem of Induction and The Tragedy of the Commons. Within this broad context, this paper focuses upon deficient resource valuation methods, especially as they relate to dependency and valuation errors. Our analysis contrasts the failure of fishery management amongst dependent Canadian islanders,and the relative success of fishery management amongst independent Icelandic islanders. The possibilities that independent people enjoy higher levels of rationality, efficiency, happiness, economic sustainability, Darwinian fitness, resource holding power, and, are thus, ceteris paribus, less likely to commit errors associated with The Problem of Induction are taken into consideration. Likewise, consideration is given to the notion that dependent people are more likely to exhibit irrational behaviour, develop deeper dependencies, and to contribute to a wide array of maladaptive behaviours, such as those which exacerbate The Tragedy of the Commons.tragedy of the commons; insularity; problem of induction; methodology; sub-national island jurisdiction; prince edward island; cancer; bravo; potato production; Chlorothalonil Carcinogenicity; prince edward island development plan; confederation bridge; prince edward island tourism

Peacock Cabinet. Mary Magdalene From Feathers To Fur To Flesh: Painting a woodparent cabinet red

Description: This magazine is a written and graphic account of attempting to level with the scope and scale of the kind intuition that is responsible for producing the desire to create something. The kind of desire that you are not able to contain in anything you already are aware of. The kind of idea you cannot quite define, which are kept alive by a particular gut feeling[1]. A feeling that are both joyous and frightening, outlining the contour of a body on the horizon of thought. A contour you are curious to experience with full sensorial perception. Bodies we normally meet in the category of artefacts – wordless but sensible. Naturally, this perception of a “body” cannot be represented, when there is such a desire, by any other fashion than how the faculty that perceives it demands. Obviously, the project then must begin with an abandonment of documenting the process of making, as an effort of parallelism and on reasons of opposing the believed value of “transparency”, as forms of heresy. Rather, it embraces the concept of documenting the parts of the pattern that is possible to capture in a document – publishing it on the note of querying its validity. The various aspects of the work must be allowed to be faithful to their own laws, which in turn, creates a liminal state for the artistic researcher, like a place of rest, just outside the field polarity [artistic and research]. Thus, this document does not represent the made cabinet, but it mirrors a perception of a pattern, as does the cabinet. The liminal state between making and writing is not stable, because of the current asymmetric relationship between the two – the ontogeny of the pattern was initiated with the conception of a piece of furniture; the precision of language dwarfs our collective conscious understanding of craft. It is published, not as a scholarly embellishment of what is made, but, alongside the actual cabinet, as a demonstration of the fecundity of the bivalent deployment of artistic and research. Between the two, the designer is given two roles. 1) The attempt of transposing the quite nerdy research from a presentation of whim and caprice to a demonstration of live connections that is possible to connect with and trying its’ best to arbiter the connections in a comprehensible and coherent line of thinking. Artistic research is the rig that allows this possibility of sustained concentration, but it demands quite allot from the reader, as it has from BJB. 2) The second role given to the designer is found between Ingmar Bergman’s spear of intuition[2] and Michael Schwab’s notion of artistic research as the assembly of the rear-guard as opposed to the avant-garde. I propose rather not to send anyone anywhere, but to go the distance yourself. The designer’s intuition is not a wild stab in the dark but, if it was a spear, thrown with a rope and pully already attached to the back end. The mark manifests itself simultaneously with the perception of the pattern, connecting here and there, already with a sense of a route. The route is obviously not as you believe, and the mark may very well be very different to what you thought you aimed at, and finally there, all kinds of things are different. I don’t obey my intuition but are curious to find out what it knows. Matching resistance to flow. As the editor marks in her notes, friction is thick in this magazine. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1]An inadequate word now that the chemical signals to the brain from the gut is given credence over will. A better description could be something like a sudden recognition of a pattern, between pervious unrelated issues. [2]“I throw a spear into the darkness. That is intuition. Then I must send an army into the darkness to find that spear. That is intellect”publishedVersio