Necessary conditions for classical super-integrability of a certain family of potentials in constant curvature spaces

We formulate the necessary conditions for the maximal super-integrability of a certain family of classical potentials defined in the constant curvature two-dimensional spaces. We give examples of homogeneous potentials of degree -2 on $E^2$ as well as their equivalents on $S^2$ and $H^2$ for which these necessary conditions are also sufficient. We show explicit forms of the additional first integrals which always can be chosen polynomial with respect to the momenta and which can be of an arbitrary high degree with respect to the momenta

Est locus uni cuique suus: City and Status in Horace’s Satires 1.8 and 1.9

This is the published version

Seeding Science, Courting Conclusions: Reexamining the Intersection of Science, Corporate Cash, and the Law

Social scientists have expressed strong views on corporate influences over science, but most attention has been devoted to broad, Black/White arguments, rather than to actual mechanisms of influence. This paper summarizes an experience where involvement in a lawsuit led to the discovery of an unexpected mechanism: A large corporation facing a multibillion-dollar court judgment quietly provided generous funding to well-known scientists (including at least one Nobel prize winner) who would submit articles to "open," peer-reviewed journals, so that their "unbiased science" could be cited in an appeal to the Supreme Court. On balance, the corporation's most effective techniques of influence may have been provided not by overt pressure, but by encouraging scientists to continue thinking of themselves as independent and impartial

Eureka and beyond: mining's impact on African urbanisation

This collection brings separate literatures on mining and urbanisation together at a time when both artisanal and large-scale mining are expanding in many African economies. While much has been written about contestation over land and mineral rights, the impact of mining on settlement, notably its catalytic and fluctuating effects on migration and urban growth, has been largely ignored. African nation-states’ urbanisation trends have shown considerable variation over the past half century. The current surge in ‘new’ mining countries and the slow-down in ‘old’ mining countries are generating some remarkable settlement patterns and welfare outcomes. Presently, the African continent is a laboratory of national mining experiences. This special issue on African mining and urbanisation encompasses a wide cross-section of country case studies: beginning with the historical experiences of mining in Southern Africa (South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe), followed by more recent mineralizing trends in comparatively new mineral-producing countries (Tanzania) and an established West African gold producer (Ghana), before turning to the influence of conflict minerals (Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone)

Value of diagnosing immunological phenomena in patients with suspected endocarditis

PURPOSE: Immunological phenomena are a minor criteria in the modified Duke Criteria for endocarditis. Given the changes in epidemiology and diagnostics, the added value of determining these phenomena in today's patients with suspected endocarditis is unknown. METHODS: In a retrospective cohort study of all patients with suspected endocarditis admitted to our hospital and discussed in our endocarditis team, we determined the proportion of patients classified as definite endocarditis because of either positive IgM rheumatoid factor (IgM RF), haematuria, or Roth's spots on ophthalmology consultation. We also determined diagnostic accuracy of each of these immunological phenomena separately and combined. RESULTS: Of 285 patients included, 138 (48%) had definite endocarditis and at least one immunological test was performed in 222 patients (78%). Elevated IgM RF was found in 22 of 126 patients tested (17%), haematuria in 78 of 196 tested (40%) and Roth's spots in six of 120 tested (5%). Eighteen of 138 patients with definite IE (13%) were classified as such because of a positive IgM RF, haematuria or Roth's spots. Haematuria had the highest sensitivity: 50.5% (95% CI 40.4-60.6) and Roth's spots the highest specificity: 98.3% (95% CI 90.8-99.9). The diagnostic accuracy results were robust in a sensitivity analysis aimed at avoiding incorporation bias. CONCLUSION: Among patients with a clinical suspicion of endocarditis, recommended systematic testing for immunological phenomena helped classify more patients as definite IE and is useful to confirm the diagnosis of endocarditis

Making sense of policy choices: understanding the roles of value predispositions, mass media, and cognitive processing in public attitudes toward nanotechnology

Using a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,015 adults in the United States, this study examines how value predispositions, communication variables, and perceptions of risks and benefits are associated with public support for federal funding of nanotechnology. Our findings show that highly religious individuals were less supportive of funding of nanotech than less religious individuals, whereas individuals who held a high deference for scientific authority were more supportive of funding of the emerging technology than those low in deference. Mass media use and elaborative processing of scientific news were positively associated with public support for funding, whereas factual scientific knowledge had no significant association with policy choices. The findings suggest that thinking about and reflecting upon scientific news promote better understanding of the scientific world and may provide a more sophisticated cognitive structure for the public to form opinions about nanotech than factual scientific knowledge. Finally, heuristic cues including trust in scientists and perceived risks and benefits of nanotech were found to be associated with public support for nanotech funding. We conclude with policy implications that will be useful for policymakers and science communication practitioners

Targeted emission reductions from global super-polluting power plant units

There are more than 30,000 biomass- and fossil-fuel-burning power plants now operating worldwide, reflecting a tremendously diverse infrastructure, which ranges in capacity from less than a megawatt to more than a gigawatt. In 2010, 68.7% of electricity generated globally came from these power plants, compared with 64.2% in 1990. Although the electricity generated by this infrastructure is vital to economic activity worldwide, it also produces more CO2 and air pollutant emissions than infrastructure from any other industrial sector. Here, we assess fuel- and region-specific opportunities for reducing undesirable air pollutant emissions using a newly developed emission dataset at the level of individual generating units. For example, we find that retiring or installing emission control technologies on units representing 0.8% of the global coal-fired power plant capacity could reduce levels of PM2.5 emissions by 7.7–14.2%. In India and China, retiring coal-fired plants representing 1.8% and 0.8% of total capacity can reduce total PM2.5 emissions from coal-fired plants by 13.2% and 16.0%, respectively. Our results therefore suggest that policies targeting a relatively small number of ‘super-polluting’ units could substantially reduce pollutant emissions and thus the related impacts on both human health and global climate