Local Interstellar Neutral Hydrogen sampled in-situ by IBEX

Hydrogen gas is the dominant component of the local interstellar medium. However, due to ionization and interaction with the heliosphere, direct sampling of neutral hydrogen in the inner heliosphere is more difficult than sampling the local interstellar neutral helium, which penetrates deep into the heliosphere. In this paper we report on the first detailed analysis of the direct sampling of neutral hydrogen from the local interstellar medium. We confirm that the arrival direction of hydrogen is offset from that of the local Helium component. We further report the discovery of a variation of the penetrating Hydrogen over the first two years of IBEX observations. Observations are consistent with hydrogen experiencing an effective ratio of outward solar radiation pressure to inward gravitational force greater than unity ({\mu}>1); the temporal change observed in the local interstellar hydrogen flux can be explained with solar variability

Combining SPR with atomic-force microscopy enables single-molecule insights into activation and suppression of the complement cascade

This work was supported by Leverhulme Trust Grant RPG-2015-109.Activation and suppression of the complement system compete on every serum-exposed surface, host or foreign. Potentially harmful outcomes of this competition depend on surface molecules through mechanisms that remain incompletely understood. Combining surface plasmon resonance (SPR) with atomic force microscopy (AFM), here we studied two complement system proteins at the single-molecule level: C3b, the proteolytically activated form of C3, and factor H (FH), the surface-sensing C3b-binding complement regulator. We used SPR to monitor complement initiation occurring through a positive-feedback loop wherein surface-deposited C3b participates in convertases that cleave C3, thereby depositing more C3b. Over multiple cycles of flowing factor B, factor D, and C3 over the SPR chip, we amplified C3b from ∼20 to ∼220 molecules·μm−2. AFM revealed C3b clusters of up to 20 molecules and solitary C3b molecules deposited up to 200 nm away from the clusters. A force of 0.17 ± 0.02 nanonewtons was needed to pull a single FH molecule, anchored to the AFM probe, from its complex with surface-attached C3b. The extent to which FH molecules stretched before detachment varied widely among complexes. Performing force-distance measurements with FH(D1119G), a variant lacking one of the C3b-binding sites and causing atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, we found that it detached more uniformly and easily. In further SPR experiments, KD values between FH and C3b on a custom-made chip surface were 5-fold tighter than on commercial chips and similar to those on erythrocytes. These results suggest that the chemistry at the surface on which FH acts drives conformational adjustments that are functionally critical.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

A Tale Of Two Worlds: A Comparative Study Of Language Ecologies In Asia And The Americas

A common notion among those working in endangered language documentation and maintenance, is that most communities speaking small, endangered languages pattern in a similar way. Having spent most of our careers studying minority and endangered languages in the Americas, we the authors, came to share this notion. For example, we believed that preserving the language in the home domain was essential for its survival (Fishman, 1991). Another pattern we saw from the Americas was that literacy could have the effect of speeding up language shift (Fishman, 2002; Luykx, 2011). In 2013, we moved to Borneo and Thailand, respectively, and began studying minority languages there. There were several ways we gained access to information about Asian languages. (1) One of the writers spent almost three years immersed in one minority community, (2) Another writer supervised linguistic theses at a Thai university, (3) We conducted language surveys, and (4) We held sociolinguistic workshops involving several tribes in various places in Asia. Our work in Asia, has brought us to the gradual realization that we are dealing with very different ecologies than those in the Americas. We have identified fourteen traits that characterize ecologies in general, and explain how they are expressed in the Americas versus Asia. They are as follows: (1) Size/prestige gap, (2) Literacy rate, (3) Literacy transference: L2 to L1, (4) Literacy domain, (5) Literacy/shift connection, (6) Elders’ criticism/shift connection, (7) Language/culture connection, (8) L2 in home/shift connection, (9) Multilingualism/shift connection, (10) Target of shift, (11) National identity, (12) Diglossia, (13) Genetic relationship L1/L2, and (14) Colonial history. Interestingly, the effects of these factors play out very differently. In the Americas, they tend to contribute to language shift. In Asia, they set the stage for language maintenance. We discuss linguistic values in the Americas, and explain how these are more favorable to language shift. Then we talk about values in Asia, and show how these are more conducive to language maintenance. In our paper we apply these fourteen traits to two groups, the Mamainde from Brazil and Sebuyau from Malaysia. These languages represent somewhat prototypical examples from each area. They also respond in opposite ways to the fourteen traits discussed in the paper. We conclude with some comments about how these traits can be useful for those engaged in language development work. References Fishman, J. A., 1991, Reversing language shift, Clevedon, UK, Multilingual Matters Ltd. Fishman, J. A. 2002. Personal communication, 6 October 2002. Luykx, Aurolyn. 2011. “Paradoxes of Quechua Language Revitalization in Bolivia: Back and Forth along the Success-Failure Continuum.” In Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity. v. 2, The Success-Failure Continuum in Language and Ethnic Identity Efforts, edited by Joshua Fishma

Mentoring and coaching for new leaders Full report

Includes bibliographical referencesSIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:m03/28231 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Simultaneous simulation of systematic and stochastic process variations

An efficient approach is presented and demonstrated which enables the simultaneous simulation of the impact of several sources of process variations, ranging from equipment-induced to stochastic ones, which are caused by the granularity of matter. Own software is combined with third-party tools to establish a hierarchical simulation sequence from equipment to circuit level. Correlations which occur because some sources of variability affect different devices and different device quantities can be rigorously studied

Variability-aware compact model strategy for 20-nm bulk MOSFETs

No abstract available