Divinations, confessions, testimonies: Zulu confrontations with the social superstructure

This discusses Zulu religious cults in existence around Durban at the time of writing.Social Science Research Council, American Council of Learned Societies Combined Committee on African Studies

Effects of Heating and Cooling on Nerve Terminal Impulses Recorded from Cold-sensitive Receptors in the Guinea-pig Cornea

An in vitro preparation of the guinea-pig cornea was used to study the effects of changing temperature on nerve terminal impulses recorded extracellularly from cold-sensitive receptors. At a stable holding temperature (31–32.5°C), cold receptors had an ongoing periodic discharge of nerve terminal impulses. This activity decreased or ceased with heating and increased with cooling. Reducing the rate of temperature change reduced the respective effects of heating and cooling on nerve terminal impulse frequency. In addition to changes in the frequency of activity, nerve terminal impulse shape also changed with heating and cooling. At the same ambient temperature, nerve terminal impulses were larger in amplitude and faster in time course during heating than those recorded during cooling. The magnitude of these effects of heating and cooling on nerve terminal impulse shape was reduced if the rate of temperature change was slowed. At 29, 31.5, and 35°C, a train of 50 electrical stimuli delivered to the ciliary nerves at 10–40 Hz produced a progressive increase in the amplitude of successive nerve terminal impulses evoked during the train. Therefore, it is unlikely that the reduction in nerve terminal impulse amplitude observed during cooling is due to the activity-dependent changes in the nerve terminal produced by the concomitant increase in impulse frequency. Instead, the differences in nerve terminal impulse shape observed at the same ambient temperature during heating and cooling may reflect changes in the membrane potential of the nerve terminal associated with thermal transduction

Ultralow-threshold, continuous-wave upconverting lasing from subwavelength plasmons.

Miniaturized lasers are an emerging platform for generating coherent light for quantum photonics, in vivo cellular imaging, solid-state lighting and fast three-dimensional sensing in smartphones1-3. Continuous-wave lasing at room temperature is critical for integration with opto-electronic devices and optimal modulation of optical interactions4,5. Plasmonic nanocavities integrated with gain can generate coherent light at subwavelength scales6-9, beyond the diffraction limit that constrains mode volumes in dielectric cavities such as semiconducting nanowires10,11. However, insufficient gain with respect to losses and thermal instabilities in nanocavities has limited all nanoscale lasers to pulsed pump sources and/or low-temperature operation6-9,12-15. Here, we show continuous-wave upconverting lasing at room temperature with record-low thresholds and high photostability from subwavelength plasmons. We achieve selective, single-mode lasing from Yb3+/Er3+-co-doped upconverting nanoparticles conformally coated on Ag nanopillar arrays that support a single, sharp lattice plasmon cavity mode and greater than wavelength λ/20 field confinement in the vertical dimension. The intense electromagnetic near-fields localized in the vicinity of the nanopillars result in a threshold of 70 W cm-2, orders of magnitude lower than other small lasers. Our plasmon-nanoarray upconverting lasers provide directional, ultra-stable output at visible frequencies under near-infrared pumping, even after six hours of constant operation, which offers prospects in previously unrealizable applications of coherent nanoscale light

Species With Greater Aerial Maneuverability Have Higher Frequency of Collisions With Aircraft: A Comparative Study

Antipredator responses may appear unsuccessful when animals are exposed to approaching vehicles, often resulting inmortality. Recent studies have addressed whether certain biological traits are associated with variation in collision risk with cars, but not with higher speed-vehicles like aircraft. Our goal was to establish the association between different species traits (i.e., body mass, eye size, brain size, wing loading, wing aspect ratio) and the frequency of bird collisions with aircraft (hereafter, bird strikes) using a comparative approach controlling for the effects of shared ancestry. We proposed directional predictions as to how each of the species traits would affect the frequency of bird strikes. Considering 39 bird species with all traits represented, the model containing wing loading had the best fit to account for the variance in bird strikes across species. In another model with 54 species exploring the fit to different polynomial models but considering only wing loading, we found that wing loading was negatively and linearly associated with the frequency of bird strikes. Counterintuitively, species with lower wing loading (hence, greater maneuverability) had a higher frequency of bird strikes. We discuss potential non-mutually exclusive explanations (e.g., high wing loading species fly faster, thus gaining some extra time to avoid the aircraft flight path; high wing loading species are hazed more intensively at airports, which could lower collisions, etc.). Ultimately, our findings uncovered that species with low wing loading get struck at a higher rate at airports, which reduces the safety risk for humans because these species tend not to cause damaging strikes, but the ecological consequences of their potentially higher local mortality are unknown

Provocations of European Ethnology

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66376/1/aa.1997.99.4.713.pd

Effect Of Combined Aerobic And Resistance Training On HPA Axis Reactivity In HIV+ Women Undergoing Treatment For Substance Abuse

Substance abuse and infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are chronic stressors that affect hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of combined aerobic and resistance training on HPA axis reactivity in women with HIV undergoing treatment for substance abuse. Sixteen women (mean ± SD; 41 ± 9 years, 164 ± 6 cm, 78.1 ± 17.1 kg, 36 ± 10 % body fat) infected with HIV and enrolled in an intensive 60-day in-patient substance addiction/abuse treatment program were recruited shortly after admission to the treatment facility. Participants were assigned to one of two groups using randomization: (1) supervised combined aerobic and resistance exercise sessions 3 times per week (EX) for six weeks or (2) no exercise training (Control) for six weeks. Before (PRE) and after (POST) the 6-week period participants completed a 10-min public speaking task (Trier Social Stress Test). Saliva samples were obtained before (baseline), immediately after, and every 10 min for 50 min after the task. Saliva samples were analyzed for cortisol. HPA axis reactivity was determined as the difference between the highest values after the test minus the baseline value. HPA axis reactivity did not differ between groups at PRE (EX: 1.9 ± 2.0 nmol•L-1; Control: 1.1 ± 2.7 nmol•L-1) or POST (EX: 1.7 ± 2.1 nmol•L-1; Control: 0.0 ± 1.3 nmol•L-1). Similarly no differences were found between PRE and POST although the reactivity for the Control group appeared to be reduced at POST. HIV+ women in early recovery from substance abuse appear to display blunted HPA axis reactivity. A combined aerobic and resistance training intervention did not affect this reactivity; although, the exercise intervention might have prevented a further decline in reactivity

Modelling the Inorganic Bromine Partitioning in the Tropical Tropopause over the Pacific Ocean

The stratospheric inorganic bromine burden (Bry) arising from the degradation of brominated very short-lived organic substances (VSL org ), and its partitioning between reactive and reservoir species, is needed for a comprehensive assessment of the ozone depletion potential of brominated trace gases. Here we present modelled inorganic bromine abundances over the Pacific tropical tropopause based on aircraft observations of VSL org of two campaigns of the Airborne Tropical TRopopause EXperiment (ATTREX 2013 carried out over eastern Pacific and ATTREX 2014 carried out over the western Pacific) and chemistry-climate simulations (along ATTREX flight tracks) using the specific meteorology prevailing. Using the Community Atmosphere Model with Chemistry (CAM-Chem), we model that BrO and Br are the daytime dominant species. Integrated across all ATTREX flights BrO represents ~ 43 % and 48 % of daytime Bry abundance at 17 km over the Western and Eastern Pacific, respectively. The results also show zones where Br/BrO >1 depending on the solar zenith angle (SZA), ozone concentration and temperature. On the other hand, BrCl and BrONO 2 were found to be the dominant night-time species with ~ 61% and 56 % of abundance at 17 km over the Western and Eastern Pacific, respectively. The western-to-eastern differences in the partitioning of inorganic bromine are explained by different abundances of ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) , and total inorganic chlorine (Cly).Fil: Navarro, María A.. University of Miami; Estados UnidosFil: Saiz-lopez, Alfonso. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Química Física; EspañaFil: Cuevas, Carlos Alberto. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Química Física; EspañaFil: Fernandez, Rafael Pedro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Universidad Tecnologica Nacional. Facultad Regional Mendoza. Secretaría de Ciencia, Tecnología y Postgrado; ArgentinaFil: Atlas, Elliot. University of Miami; Estados UnidosFil: Rodriguez Lloeveras, Xavier. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Química Física; EspañaFil: Kinnison, Douglas E.. National Center For Atmospheric Research. Amospheric Chemistry División; Estados UnidosFil: Lamarque, Jean Francois. National Center For Atmospheric Research. Amospheric Chemistry División; Estados UnidosFil: Tilmes, Simone. National Center For Atmospheric Research. Amospheric Chemistry División; Estados UnidosFil: Thornberry, Troy. State University of Colorado at Boulder; Estados Unidos. Earth System Research Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Rollins, Andrew. State University of Colorado at Boulder; Estados Unidos. Earth System Research Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Elkins, James W.. Earth System Research Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Hintsa, Eric J.. State University of Colorado at Boulder; Estados Unidos. Earth System Research Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Moore, Fred L.. State University of Colorado at Boulder; Estados Unidos. Earth System Research Laboratory; Estados Unido

Evolution and phylogeny of glass-sponge-associated zoantharians, with a description of two new genera and three new species

Hexactinellid sponges are important members of deep-sea benthic ecosystems because they provide available hard substrate habitats for filter-feeding invertebrates. However, symbioses between hexactinellid sponges and their symbionts are poorly known. Zoantharians associated with hexactinellid sponges have been reported widely from deep-sea marine ecosystems, either on the bodies or stalks of hexactinellid sponges. Despite these records, there has been a lack of research on their diversity and phylogenetic relationships. In this study, 20 specimens associated with amphidiscophoran and hexasterophoran sponges were collected from the waters of Australia and Japan in the Pacific, and from Curaçao in the southern Caribbean, and these were examined in addition to museum specimens. Based on molecular phylogenetic analyses and morphological observations, we formally describe two new genera and three new species of Zoantharia and report several previously described species. The results suggest at least two independent origins for the symbioses between hexactinellid sponges and zoantharians. Our results demonstrate that the diversity of hexactinellid sponge-associated zoantharians is much higher than has been previously thought. The new taxa described in this work further reconfirm that the deep-sea harbours high levels of undescribed zoantharian diversity.journal articl

Deep, Wide-field CCD Photometry for the Open Cluster NGC3532

We present the results of a deep, wide-field CCD survey for the open cluster NGC~3532. Our new $BV(RI)_{c}$ photometry effectively covers a one square degree area and reaches an unprecedented depth of $V\sim21$ to reveal that NGC~3532 is a rich open cluster that harbors a large number of faint, low-mass stars. We employ a number of methods to reduce the impact of field star contamination in the cluster color-magnitude diagrams, including supplementing our photometry with $JHK_{s}$ data from the 2MASS catalog. These efforts allow us to define a robust sample of candidate main sequence stars suitable for a purely empirical determination of the cluster's parameters by comparing them to the well-established Hyades main sequence. Our results confirm previous findings that NGC~3532 lies fairly near to the Sun [$(m-M)_0=8.46\pm0.05$; $492^{+12}_{-11}$~pc] and has an extremely low reddening for its location near the Galactic plane [$E(B-V)=0.028\pm0.006$]. Moreover, an age of $\sim300$\,Myr has been derived for the cluster by fitting a set of overshooting isochrones to the well-populated upper main-sequence. This new photometry also extends faint enough to reach the cluster white dwarf sequence, as confirmed by our photometric recovery of eight spectroscopically identified members of the cluster. Using the location of these eight members, along with the latest theoretical cooling tracks, we have identified $\sim30$ additional white dwarf stars in the $[V,~(B-V)]$ color-magnitude diagram that have a high probability of belonging to NGC~3532. The age we derive from fitting white dwarf isochrones to the locus of these stars, $300\pm100$\,Myr, is consistent with the age derived from the turnoff. Our analysis of the photometry also includes an estimation of the binary star fraction, as well as a determination of the cluster's luminosity and mass functions.Comment: Accepted for publication in AJ. 55 pages, 21 figures. High-quality version with complete data tables can be downloaded from http://www.phys.lsu.edu/~jclem/NGC3532