MINDtouch: Embodied mobile media ephemeral transference

Copyright @ 2013 ISAST.This article reviews discoveries that emerged from the author's MINDtouch media research project, in which a mobile device was repurposed for visual and non-verbal communication through gestural and visual mobile expressivity. The work revealed new insights from emerging mobile media and participatory performance practices. The author contextualizes her media research on mobile video and networked performance alongside relevant discourse on presence and the embodiment of technology. From the research, an intimate, phenomenological and visual form of mobile expression has emerged. This form has reconfigured the communication device from voice and text/SMS only to a visual and synesthetic mode for deeper expression

Kin selection and the evolution of social information use in animal conflict

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Animals often use social information about conspecifics in making decisions about cooperation and conflict. While the importance of kin selection in the evolution of intraspecific cooperation and conflict is widely acknowledged, few studies have examined how relatedness influences the evolution of social information use. Here we specifically examine how relatedness affects the evolution of a stylised form of social information use known as eavesdropping. Eavesdropping involves individuals escalating conflicts with rivals observed to have lost their last encounter and avoiding fights with those seen to have won. We use a game theoretical model to examine how relatedness affects the evolution of eavesdropping, both when strategies are discrete and when they are continuous or mixed. We show that relatedness influences the evolution of eavesdropping, such that information use peaks at intermediate relatedness. Our study highlights the importance of considering kin selection when exploring the evolution of complex forms of information use.Dr. Baker was supported by a fellowship from the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, and by National Science Foundation (NSF) SES-0750480 and the European Science Foundation/European Collaborative Research (ESF/EUROCORES) program’s support for the The Evolution of Cooperation and Trading (TECT) project. Dr. Rankin thanks the Swiss National Science Foundation (Grants 31003A-125457 and PZ00P3-121800) and the University of Zu¨rich Forschungskredit, and Dr. Dall thanks the Natural Environment Research Council UK (NE/D014352/1) for funding. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Self-organizing & stochastic behaviors during the regeneration of hair stem cells

Stem cells cycle through active and quiescent states. Large populations of stem cells in an organ may cycle randomly or in a coordinated manner. Although stem cell cycling within single hair follicles has been studied, less is known about regenerative behavior in a hair follicle population. By combining predictive mathematical modeling with in vivo studies in mice and rabbits, we show that a follicle progresses through cycling stages by continuous integration of inputs from intrinsic follicular and extrinsic environmental signals based on universal patterning principles. Signaling from the WNT/bone morphogenetic protein activator/inhibitor pair is coopted to mediate interactions among follicles in the population. This regenerative strategy is robust and versatile because relative activator/inhibitor strengths can be modulated easily, adapting the organism to different physiological and evolutionary needs

Inductively guided circuits for ultracold dressed atoms

Recent progress in optics, atomic physics and material science has paved the way to study quantum effects in ultracold atomic alkali gases confined to non-trivial geometries. Multiply connected traps for cold atoms can be prepared by combining inhomogeneous distributions of DC and radio-frequency electromagnetic fields with optical fields that require complex systems for frequency control and stabilization. Here we propose a flexible and robust scheme that creates closed quasi-one-dimensional guides for ultracold atoms through the ‘dressing’ of hyperfine sublevels of the atomic ground state, where the dressing field is spatially modulated by inductive effects over a micro-engineered conducting loop. Remarkably, for commonly used atomic species (for example, 7Li and 87Rb), the guide operation relies entirely on controlling static and low-frequency fields in the regimes of radio-frequency and microwave frequencies. This novel trapping scheme can be implemented with current technology for micro-fabrication and electronic control

3D geometric modelling of discontinuous fibre composites using a force-directed algorithm

A geometrical modelling scheme is presented to produce representative architectures for discontinuous fibre composites, enabling downstream modelling of mechanical properties. The model generates realistic random fibre architectures containing high filament count bundles (>3k) and high (~50%) fibre volume fractions. Fibre bundles are modelled as thin shells using a multi-dimension modelling strategy, in which fibre bundles are distributed and compacted to simulate pressure being applied from a matched mould tool. FE simulations are performed to benchmark the in-plane mechanical properties obtained from the numerical model against experimental data, with a detailed study presented to evaluate the tensile properties at various fibre volume fractions and specimen thicknesses. Tensile modulus predictions are in close agreement (less than 5% error) with experimental data at volume fractions below 45%. Ultimate tensile strength predictions are within 4.2% of the experimental data at volume fractions between 40%-55%. This is a significant improvement over existing 2D modelling approaches, as the current model offers increased levels of fidelity, capturing dominant failure mechanisms and the influence of out-of-plane fibres

The dynamics of apparent horizons in Robinson-Trautman spacetimes

We present an alternative scheme of finding apparent horizons based on spectral methods applied to Robinson-Trautman spacetimes. We have considered distinct initial data such as representing the spheroids of matter and the head-on collision of two non-rotating black holes. The evolution of the apparent horizon is presented. We have obtained in some cases a mass gap between the final Bondi and apparent horizon masses, whose implications were briefly commented in the light of the thermodynamics of black holes.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Early and Middle Holocene Hunter-Gatherer Occupations in Western Amazonia: The Hidden Shell Middens

We report on previously unknown early archaeological sites in the Bolivian lowlands, demonstrating for the first time early and middle Holocene human presence in western Amazonia. Multidisciplinary research in forest islands situated in seasonally-inundated savannahs has revealed stratified shell middens produced by human foragers as early as 10,000 years ago, making them the oldest archaeological sites in the region. The absence of stone resources and partial burial by recent alluvial sediments has meant that these kinds of deposits have, until now, remained unidentified. We conducted core sampling, archaeological excavations and an interdisciplinary study of the stratigraphy and recovered materials from three shell midden mounds. Based on multiple lines of evidence, including radiocarbon dating, sedimentary proxies (elements, steroids and black carbon), micromorphology and faunal analysis, we demonstrate the anthropogenic origin and antiquity of these sites. In a tropical and geomorphologically active landscape often considered challenging both for early human occupation and for the preservation of hunter-gatherer sites, the newly discovered shell middens provide evidence for early to middle Holocene occupation and illustrate the potential for identifying and interpreting early open-air archaeological sites in western Amazonia. The existence of early hunter-gatherer sites in the Bolivian lowlands sheds new light on the region's past and offers a new context within which the late Holocene "Earthmovers" of the Llanos de Moxos could have emerged. © 2013 Lombardo et al

How weeds emerge: a taxonomic and trait‐based examination using United States data

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106812/1/nph12698.pd

Elevated Paracellular Glucose Flux across Cystic Fibrosis Airway Epithelial Monolayers Is an Important Factor for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Growth.

People with cystic fibrosis (CF) who develop related diabetes (CFRD) have accelerated pulmonary decline, increased infection with antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and increased pulmonary exacerbations. We have previously shown that glucose concentrations are elevated in airway surface liquid (ASL) of people with CF, particularly in those with CFRD. We therefore explored the hypotheses that glucose homeostasis is altered in CF airway epithelia and that elevation of glucose flux into ASL drives increased bacterial growth, with an effect over and above other cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)-related ASL abnormalities. The aim of this study was to compare the mechanisms governing airway glucose homeostasis in CF and non-CF primary human bronchial epithelial (HBE) monolayers, under normal conditions and in the presence of Ps. aeruginosa filtrate. HBE-bacterial co-cultures were performed in the presence of 5 mM or 15 mM basolateral glucose to investigate how changes in blood glucose, such as those seen in CFRD, affects luminal Ps. aeruginosa growth. Calu-3 cell monolayers were used to evaluate the potential importance of glucose on Ps. aeruginosa growth, in comparison to other hallmarks of the CF ASL, namely mucus hyperviscosity and impaired CFTR-dependent fluid secretions. We show that elevation of basolateral glucose promotes the apical growth of Ps. aeruginosa on CF airway epithelial monolayers more than non-CF monolayers. Ps. aeruginosa secretions elicited more glucose flux across CF airway epithelial monolayers compared to non-CF monolayers which we propose increases glucose availability in ASL for bacterial growth. In addition, elevating basolateral glucose increased Ps. aeruginosa growth over and above any CFTR-dependent effects and the presence or absence of mucus in Calu-3 airway epithelia-bacteria co-cultures. Together these studies highlight the importance of glucose as an additional factor in promoting Ps. aeruginosa growth and respiratory infection in CF disease