Effect of on- and off-ramps in cellular automata models for traffic flow

We present results on the modeling of on- and off-ramps in cellular automata for traffic flow, especially the Nagel-Schreckenberg model. We study two different types of on-ramps that cause qualitatively the same effects. In a certain density regime one observes plateau formation in the fundamental diagram. The plateau value depends on the input-rate of cars at the on-ramp. The on-ramp acts as a local perturbation that separates the system into two regimes: A regime of free flow and another one where only jammed states exist. This phase separation is the reason for the plateau formation and implies a behaviour analogous to that of stationary defects. This analogy allows to perform very fast simulations of complex traffic networks with a large number of on- and off-ramps because one can parametrise on-ramps in an exceedingly easy way.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Beyond the stomp: the Nobbs Suzuki Praxis as an Australian variant of the Suzuki method of actor training

This article provides a brief overview of the Nobbs Suzuki Praxis (NSP), an Australian variant of the Suzuki Method of Actor Training (SMAT) developed by John Nobbs in collaboration with Jacqui Carroll from the mid-1990s onwards. After a brief introduction to SMAT and the context in which NSP evolved from it, the article outlines NSP’s key differences in exercise practice and design, particularly in the use of signature physical and vocal tools, and the increased use of structured improvisation within NSP formats. It goes on to examine two concepts specific to NSP—‘feeling’ and ‘opposites and paradox’—and outlines how these enable advanced engagement with the training, especially the cultivation of a heightened awareness of self and the performance environment. The article concludes (with reference to Crothers [2021]) by suggesting that NSP adds softness to and is a more playful version of SMAT. By providing room for invention and creativity, NSP embeds creative application of SMAT’s principles within the training itself, rather than seeing it as part of a separate rehearsal process

Hypervelocity impacts into stainless-steel tubes armored with reinforced beryllium

Hypervelocity impact into stainless steel tubes armored with reinforced berylliu

Hypervelocity impact damage characteristics in beryllium and graphite plates and tubes

Hypervelocity impact damage characteristics in beryllium and graphite plates and tube

Sequential primed kinases create a damage-responsive phosphodegron on Eco1.

Sister-chromatid cohesion is established during S phase when Eco1 acetylates cohesin. In budding yeast, Eco1 activity falls after S phase due to Cdk1-dependent phosphorylation, which triggers ubiquitination by SCF(Cdc4). We show here that Eco1 degradation requires the sequential actions of Cdk1 and two additional kinases, Cdc7-Dbf4 and the GSK-3 homolog Mck1. These kinases recognize motifs primed by previous phosphorylation, resulting in an ordered sequence of three phosphorylation events on Eco1. Only the latter two phosphorylation sites are spaced correctly to bind Cdc4, resulting in strict discrimination between phosphates added by Cdk1 and by Cdc7. Inhibition of Cdc7 by the DNA damage response prevents Eco1 destruction, allowing establishment of cohesion after S phase. This elaborate regulatory system, involving three independent kinases and stringent substrate selection by a ubiquitin ligase, enables robust control of cohesion establishment during normal growth and after stress

Somatostatin agonist pasireotide inhibits exercise stimulated growth in the male Siberian hamster (Phodopus sungorus)

R.Dumbell was supported by a University of Aberdeen PhD studentship and a research visit grant awarded by the British Society of Neuroendocrinology. Further support was provided by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (Barrett and the German Research Foundation (DFG; STE 331/8-1; Steinlechner lab). We are grateful for technical assistance from Dana Wilson at RINH and Siegried Hiliken at UVMH, and thank Dr Claus-Dieter Mayer of Biomathematics & Statistics Scotland for valuable advice on statistical analysis.Peer reviewedPostprin

Can a charged ring levitate a neutral, polarizable object? Can Earnshaw's Theorem be extended to such objects?

Stable electrostatic levitation and trapping of a neutral, polarizable object by a charged ring is shown to be theoretically impossible. Earnshaw's Theorem precludes the existence of such a stable, neutral particle trap.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur

Conflicts and solutions related to marine turtle conservation initiatives in the Caribbean basin: identifying new challenges

Conflicts among and between local, national, regional and international stakeholders involved in marine turtle conservation are increasing. Often, they arise because of different socio-economic backgrounds of the people or groups involved. Here, we identified and assessed the conservation-based conflicts occurring in 24 of the 39 Caribbean countries, including their frequency, level of severity, number of stakeholders' groups involved, the degree to which they hinder conservation goals, and potential solutions. Using a cross-sectional social survey, we evaluated the presence and details of conservation conflicts provided by 72 respondents. The respondents included conservation-based project leaders, researchers, people involved in policy-based decision-making, conservation volunteers (community-based conservation groups), and species experts with experience working on marine turtle conservation programs in the Caribbean. The respondents identified 136 conflicts, and we grouped them into 16 different categories. The most commonly mentioned causes of conflicts were: 1) the ‘lack of enforcement by local authorities to support conservation-based legislation or programs’ (18%); 2) ‘legal consumption of turtles by one sector of community clashing the conservation aspirations of other sectors of community (14%); and 3) ’variable enforcement of legislation to limit/prohibit use across range states of the species (10%). From our data it is also apparent that illicit activities in the region are also likely to impact the future success of conservation or monitoring based projects and programs. Overall, an exhaustive review was carried out, and the potential solutions were gathered. Due to the level of severity (physical violence) that some conflicts have reached, achieving solutions will be challenging without mediation, mutual cooperation around shared values, and adaptive management arrangements. Achieving this will require combinations of bottom up and top down collaborative governance approaches

Two types of bone necrosis in the middle triassic pistosaurus longaevus bones: The results of integrated studies

Avascular necrosis, diagnosed on the basis of either a specific pathological modification of the articular surfaces of bone or its radiologic appearance in vertebral centra, has been recognized in many Mesozoic marine reptiles as well as in present-day marine mammals. Its presence in the zoological and paleontologic record is usually associated with decompression syndrome, a disease that affects secondarily aquatic vertebrates that could dive. Bone necrosis can also be caused by infectious processes, but it differs in appearance from decompression syndrome-associated aseptic necrosis. Herein, we report evidence of septic necrosis in the proximal articular surface of the femur of a marine reptile, Pistosaurus longaevus, from the Middle Triassic of Poland and Germany. This is the oldest recognition of septic necrosis associated with septic arthritis in the fossil record so far, and the mineralogical composition of pathologically altered bone is described herein in detail. The occurrence of septic necrosis is contrasted with decompression syndrome-associated avascular necrosis, also described in Pistosaurus longaevus bone from Middle Triassic of Germany