1,481 research outputs found
A Rawlsian Idea of Deliberative Democracy
In my thesis, I develop a framework based on John Rawls\u27s Political Liberalism that addresses the question: how is it possible for democratic institutions and their decisions to be legitimate, given that (i) they are supposed to be governed by the will of the people , but (ii) the people will disagree with each other about what political institutions ought to do about any given issue? Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson advance a deliberative democratic response to this question, which has served as the basis of governments\u27 attempts to strengthen democracy . They argue that political decisions are justified insofar as they are made in a process that allows citizens to exchange reasons that are respectful and moral. Furthermore, although a binding decision must be made at some point, it should be possible to revisit any decision after a period of time.
I argue that while respectful public discourse about political issues may be desirable in some circumstances, this is inadequate as a basis for guiding and evaluating political decisions, in light of the reasonable disagreement that persists about what political institutions ought to do. Instead, I argue that the legitimacy of political institutions, or their obligatory force over citizens, depends on the extent to which reasonable citizens are sufficiently satisfied with the institutions that govern them, over time. Furthermore, I argue that other indicators besides deliberative democratic discourse may be used to assess how well institutions are meeting the standard of political justification that I develop
Nonuniversality of the dispersion interaction: analytic benchmarks for van der Waals energy functionals
We highlight the non-universality of the asymptotic behavior of dispersion
forces, such that a sum of inverse sixth power contributions is often
inadequate. We analytically evaluate the cross-correlation energy Ec between
two pi-conjugated layers separated by a large distance D within the
electromagnetically non-retarded Random Phase Approximation, via a
tight-binding model. For two perfect semimetallic graphene sheets at T=0K we
find Ec = C D^{-3}, in contrast to the "insulating" D^{-4} dependence predicted
by currently accepted approximations. We also treat the case where one graphene
layer is replaced by a thin metal, a model relevant to the exfoliation of
graphite. Our general considerations also apply to nanotubes, nanowires and
layered metals.Comment: 4 pages, 0 fig
Creation and characterization of vortex clusters in atomic Bose-Einstein condensates
We show that a moving obstacle, in the form of an elongated paddle, can
create vortices that are dispersed, or induce clusters of like-signed vortices
in 2D Bose-Einstein condensates. We propose new statistical measures of
clustering based on Ripley's K-function which are suitable to the small size
and small number of vortices in atomic condensates, which lack the huge number
of length scales excited in larger classical and quantum turbulent fluid
systems. The evolution and decay of clustering is analyzed using these
measures. Experimentally it should prove possible to create such an obstacle by
a laser beam and a moving optical mask. The theoretical techniques we present
are accessible to experimentalists and extend the current methods available to
induce 2D quantum turbulence in Bose-Einstein condensates.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Trans-Planckian physics and signature change events in Bose gas hydrodynamics
We present an example of emergent spacetime as the hydrodynamic limit of a
more fundamental microscopic theory. The low-energy, long-wavelength limit in
our model is dominated by collective variables that generate an effective
Lorentzian metric. This system naturally exhibits a microscopic mechanism
allowing us to perform controlled signature change between Lorentzian and
Riemannian geometries. We calculate the number of particles produced from a
finite-duration Euclidean-signature event, where we take the position that to a
good approximation the dynamics is dominated by the evolution of the linearized
perturbations, as suggested by Calzetta and Hu [Phys. Rev. A 68 (2003) 043625].
We adapt the ideas presented by Dray et al. [Gen. Rel. Grav. 23 (1991) 967],
such that the field and its canonical momentum are continuous at the
signature-change event.
We investigate the interplay between the underlying microscopic structure and
the emergent gravitational field, focussing on its impact on particle
production in the ultraviolet regime. In general, this can be thought of as the
combination of trans-Planckian physics and signature-change physics. Further we
investigate the possibility of using the proposed signature change event as an
amplifier for analogue "cosmological particle production" in condensed matter
experiments.Comment: 18 pages, revtex
Simulating avian species and foraging group responses to fuel reduction treatments in coniferous forests
Over a century of fire suppression activities have altered the structure and composition of mixed conifer forests throughout the western United States. In the absence of fire, fuels have accumulated in these forests causing concerns over the potential for catastrophic wildfires. Fuel reduction treatments are being used on federal and state lands to reduce the threat of wildfire by mechanically removing biomass. Although these treatments result in a reduction in fire hazard, their impact on wildlife is less clear. We use a multi-species occupancy modeling approach to build habitat-suitability models for 46 upland forest birds found in the Lake Tahoe Basin in the Sierra Nevada based on forest structure and abiotic variables. Using a Bayesian hierarchical framework, we predict species-specific and community-level responses to changes in forest structure and make inferences about responses of important avian foraging guilds. Disparities within and among foraging group responses to canopy cover, tree size and shrub cover emphasized the complexities in managing forests to meet biodiversity goals. Based on our species-specific model results, we predicted changes in species richness and community similarity under forest prescriptions representing three management practices: no active management, a typical fuel reduction treatment that emphasizes spacing between trees, and a thinning prescription that creates structural heterogeneity. Simulated changes to structural components of the forest analogous to management practices to reduce fuel loads clearly affected foraging groups differentially despite variability in responses within guilds. Although species richness was predicted to decrease slightly under both simulated fuels reduction treatments, the prescription that incorporated structural heterogeneity retained marginally higher species richness. The composition of communities supported by different management alternatives was influenced by urbanization and management practice, emphasizing the importance of creating heterogeneity at the landscape scale
Enhanced dispersion interaction between quasi-one dimensional conducting collinear structures
Recent investigations have highlighted the failure of a sum of terms
to represent the dispersion interaction in parallel metallic, anisotropic,
linear or planar nanostructures [J. F. Dobson, A. White, and A. Rubio, Phys.
Rev. Lett. 96, 073201 (2006) and references therein]. By applying a simple
coupled plasmon approach and using electron hydrodynamics, we numerically
evaluate the dispersion (non-contact van der Waals) interaction between two
conducting wires in a collinear pointing configuration. This case is compared
to that of two insulating wires in an identical geometry, where the dispersion
interaction is modelled both within a pairwise summation framework, and by
adding a pinning potential to our theory leading to a standard oscillator-type
model of insulating dielectric behavior. Our results provide a further example
of enhanced dispersion interaction between two conducting nanosystems compared
to the case of two insulating ones. Unlike our previous work, this calculation
explores a region of relatively close coupling where, although the electronic
clouds do not overlap, we are still far from the asymptotic region where a
single power law describes the dispersion energy. We find that strong
differences in dispersion attraction between metallic and semiconducting /
insulating cases persist into this non-asymptotic region. While our theory will
need to be supplemented with additional short-ranged terms when the electronic
clouds overlap, it does not suffer from the short-distance divergence exhibited
by purely asymptotic theories, and gives a natural saturation of the dispersion
energy as the wires come into contact.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. Added new extended numerical calculations, new
figures, extra references and heavily revised tex
A Cosmological Framework for the Co-Evolution of Quasars, Supermassive Black Holes, and Elliptical Galaxies: I. Galaxy Mergers & Quasar Activity
(Abridged) We develop a model for the cosmological role of mergers in the
evolution of starbursts, quasars, and spheroidal galaxies. Combining halo mass
functions (MFs) with empirical halo occupation models, we calculate where major
galaxy-galaxy mergers occur and what kinds of galaxies merge, at all redshifts.
We compare with observed merger MFs, clustering, fractions, and small-scale
environments, and show that this yields robust estimates in good agreement with
observations. Making the simple ansatz that major, gas-rich mergers cause
quasar activity, we demonstrate that this naturally reproduces the observed
rise and fall of the quasar luminosity density from z=0-6, as well as quasar
LFs, fractions, host galaxy colors, and clustering as a function of redshift
and luminosity. The observed excess of quasar clustering on small scales is a
natural prediction of the model, as mergers preferentially occur in regions
with excess small-scale galaxy overdensities. We show that quasar environments
at all observed redshifts correspond closely to the empirically determined
small group scale, where mergers of gas-rich galaxies are most efficient. We
contrast with a secular model in which quasar activity is driven by bars/disk
instabilities, and show that while these modes probably dominate at Seyfert
luminosities, the constraints from clustering (large and small-scale),
pseudobulge populations, disk MFs, luminosity density evolution, and host
galaxy colors argue that they must be a small contributor to the z>1 quasar
luminosity density.Comment: 34 pages, 27 figures, submitted to ApJ. Fixed appearance of Figure
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Examination of Fluconazole-Induced Alopecia in an Animal Model and Human Cohort.
Fluconazole-induced alopecia is a significant problem for patients receiving long-term therapy. We evaluated the hair cycle changes of fluconazole in a rat model and investigated potential molecular mechanisms. Plasma and tissue levels of retinoic acid were not found to be causal. Human patients with alopecia attributed to fluconazole also underwent detailed assessment and in both our murine model and human cohort fluconazole induced telogen effluvium. Future work further examining the mechanism of fluconazole-induced alopecia should be undertaken
MicroRNA-143 activation regulates smooth muscle and endothelial cell crosstalk in pulmonary arterial hypertension
Rationale: The pathogenesis of PAH remains unclear. The four microRNAs representing the miR-143 and miR-145 stem loops are genomically clustered.
Objective: To elucidate the transcriptional regulation of the miR-143/145 cluster, and the role of miR-143 in PAH.
Methods and Results: We identified the promoter region that regulates miR-143/145 miRNA expression in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). We mapped PAH-related signalling pathways, including estrogens receptor (ER), liver X factor/retinoic X receptor (LXR/RXR), TGF-β (Smads), and hypoxia (HRE) that regulated levels of all pri-miR stem loop transcription and resulting miRNA expression. We observed that miR-143-3p is selectively upregulated compared to miR-143-5p during PASMC migration. Modulation of miR-143 in PASMCs significantly altered cell migration and apoptosis. In addition, we found high abundance of miR-143-3p in PASMCs-derived exosomes. Using assays with pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (PAECs) we demonstrated a paracrine pro-migratory and pro-angiogenic effect of miR-143-3p enriched exosomes from PASMC. Quantitative PCR and in situ hybridisation showed elevated expression of miR-143 in calf models of PAH as well as in samples from PAH patients. Moreover, in contrast to our previous findings that had not supported a therapeutic role in vivo, we now demonstrate a protective role for miR-143 in experimental PH in vivo in miR-143-/- and antimiR143-3p-treated mice exposed to chronic hypoxia in both preventative and reversal settings.
Conclusions: MiR-143-3p modulated both cellular and exosome-mediated responses in pulmonary vascular cells, while inhibition of miR-143-3p blocked experimental PH. Taken together these findings confirm an important role for the miR-143/145 cluster in PAH pathobiology
Autonomous Aerobraking Development Software: Phase 2 Summary
NASA has used aerobraking at Mars and Venus to reduce the fuel required to deliver a spacecraft into a desired orbit compared to an all-propulsive solution. Although aerobraking reduces the propellant, it does so at the expense of mission duration, large staff, and DSN coverage. These factors make aerobraking a significant cost element in the mission design. By moving on-board the current ground-based tasks of ephemeris determination, atmospheric density estimation, and maneuver sizing and execution, a flight project would realize significant cost savings. The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) sponsored Phase 1 and 2 of the Autonomous Aerobraking Development Software (AADS) study, which demonstrated the initial feasibility of moving these current ground-based functions to the spacecraft. This paper highlights key state-of-the-art advancements made in the Phase 2 effort to verify that the AADS algorithms are accurate, robust and ready to be considered for application on future missions that utilize aerobraking. The advancements discussed herein include both model updates and simulation and benchmark testing. Rigorous testing using observed flight atmospheres, operational environments and statistical analysis characterized the AADS operability in a perturbed environment
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