On the investigations of galaxy redshift periodicity

In this article we present a historical review of study of the redshift periodicity of galaxies, starting from the first works performed in the seventies of the twentieth century until the present day. We discuss the observational data and methods used, showing in which cases the discretization of redshifts was observed. We conclude that galaxy redshift periodisation is an effect which can really exist. We also discussed the redshift discretization in two different structures: the Local Group of galaxies and the Hercules Supercluster. Contrary to the previous studies we consider all galaxies which can be regarded as a structure member disregarding the accuracy of velocity measurements. We applied the power spectrum analysis using the Hann function for weighting, together with the jackknife error estimator. In both the structures we found weak effects of redshift periodisation.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Part. and Nucl. Lett. 200

Xenon in Mercury-Manganese Stars

Previous studies of elemental abundances in Mercury-Manganese (HgMn) stars have occasionally reported the presence of lines of the ionized rare noble gas Xe II, especially in a few of the hottest stars with Teff ~ 13000--15000 K. A new study of this element has been undertaken using observations from Lick Observatory's Hamilton Echelle Spectrograph. In this work, the spectrum synthesis program UCLSYN has been used to undertake abundance analysis assuming LTE. We find that in the Smith & Dworetsky sample of HgMn stars, Xe is vastly over-abundant in 21 of 22 HgMn stars studied, by factors of 3.1--4.8 dex. There does not appear to be a significant correlation of Xe abundance with Teff. A comparison sample of normal late B stars shows no sign of Xe II lines that could be detected, consistent with the expected weakness of lines at normal abundance. The main reason for the previous lack of widespread detection in HgMn stars is probably due to the strongest lines being at longer wavelengths than the photographic blue. The lines used in this work were 4603.03A, 4844.33A and 5292.22A.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Accepted by Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 8 January 200

Helium, Oxygen, Proton, and Electron (HOPE) Mass Spectrometer for the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission

The HOPE mass spectrometer of the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission (renamed the Van Allen Probes) is designed to measure the in situ plasma ion and electron fluxes over 4π sr at each RBSP spacecraft within the terrestrial radiation belts. The scientific goal is to understand the underlying physical processes that govern the radiation belt structure and dynamics. Spectral measurements for both ions and electrons are acquired over 1 eV to 50 keV in 36 log-spaced steps at an energy resolution ΔE FWHM/E≈15 %. The dominant ion species (H+, He+, and O+) of the magnetosphere are identified using foil-based time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry with channel electron multiplier (CEM) detectors. Angular measurements are derived using five polar pixels coplanar with the spacecraft spin axis, and up to 16 azimuthal bins are acquired for each polar pixel over time as the spacecraft spins. Ion and electron measurements are acquired on alternate spacecraft spins. HOPE incorporates several new methods to minimize and monitor the background induced by penetrating particles in the harsh environment of the radiation belts. The absolute efficiencies of detection are continuously monitored, enabling precise, quantitative measurements of electron and ion fluxes and ion species abundances throughout the mission. We describe the engineering approaches for plasma measurements in the radiation belts and present summaries of HOPE measurement strategy and performance

The Ethics of Corporate Governance

How should corporate directors determine what is the right decision? For at least the past 30 years the debate has raged as to whether shareholder value should take precedence over corporate social responsibility when crucial decisions arise. Directors face pressure, not least from ethical investors, to do the good thing when they seek to make the right choice. Corporate governance theory has tended to look to agency theory and the need of boards to curb excessive executive power to guide directors' decisions. While useful for those purposes, agency theory provides only limited guidance. Supplementing it with the alternatives - stakeholder theory and stewardship theory - tends to put directors in conflict with their legal obligations to work in the interests of shareholders. This paper seeks to reframe the discussion about corporate governance in terms of the ethical debate between consequential, teleological approaches to ethics and idealist, deontological ones, suggesting that directors are - for good reason - more inclined toward utilitarian judgments like those underpinning shareholder value. But the problems with shareholder value have become so great that a different framework is needed: strategic value, with an emphasis on long-term value creation judged from a decidedly utilitarian standpoint

Disentangling the Effects of Corporate Disclosure on the Cost of Equity Capital: A Study of the Role of Intellectual Capital Disclosure

In this article, we investigate whether intellectual capital (IC) and financial disclosures jointly affect the firm’s cost of equity capital. In contrast to prior research, we disaggregate disclosures into IC and financial disclosures and examine whether the two disclosure types are jointly related to the cost of equity capital. We also investigate whether IC and financial disclosures have an interaction effect on the cost of equity capital. Using data for a sample of 125 U.K. firms, we find a negative relationship between the cost of equity capital and IC disclosure. We find that the relationship between financial disclosure and the cost of equity capital is magnified when combined with IC disclosure. In addition, we find that IC and financial disclosures interact in shaping their effects on the cost of equity capital. Further analyses suggest that the effect of financial disclosure on the cost of equity capital is augmented for firms characterized by a medium level of IC disclosure. These results provideimportant insights into the relationship between disclosures and cost of equity capital and have policy and practical implications

Ancient Origins of a Modern Anthropic Cosmological Argument

Ancient origins of a modern anthropic argument against cosmologies involving infinite series of past events are considered. It is shown that this argument - which in modern times has been put forward by distinguished cosmologists like Paul C. W. Davies and Frank J. Tipler - originates in pre-Socratic times and is implicitly present in the cyclical cosmology of Empedocles. There are traces of the same line of reasoning throughout the ancient history of ideas, and the case of a provocative statement of Thucydides is briefly analyzed. Moreover, the anthropic argument has been fully formulated in the epic of Lucretius, confirming it as the summit of ancient cosmology. This is not only of historical significance but presents an important topic for the philosophy of cosmology provided some of the contemporary inflationary models, particularly Linde's chaotic inflation, turn out to be correct.Comment: 11 pages, no figures; Astronomical and Astrophysical Transactions, accepte

The SpikerBox: A Low Cost, Open-Source BioAmplifier for Increasing Public Participation in Neuroscience Inquiry

Although people are generally interested in how the brain functions, neuroscience education for the public is hampered by a lack of low cost and engaging teaching materials. To address this, we developed an open-source tool, the SpikerBox, which is appropriate for use in middle/high school educational programs and by amateurs. This device can be used in easy experiments in which students insert sewing pins into the leg of a cockroach, or other invertebrate, to amplify and listen to the electrical activity of neurons. With the cockroach leg preparation, students can hear and see (using a smartphone oscilloscope app we have developed) the dramatic changes in activity caused by touching the mechanosensitive barbs. Students can also experiment with other manipulations such as temperature, drugs, and microstimulation that affect the neural activity. We include teaching guides and other resources in the supplemental materials. These hands-on lessons with the SpikerBox have proven to be effective in teaching basic neuroscience

Machine Learning in Automated Text Categorization

The automated categorization (or classification) of texts into predefined categories has witnessed a booming interest in the last ten years, due to the increased availability of documents in digital form and the ensuing need to organize them. In the research community the dominant approach to this problem is based on machine learning techniques: a general inductive process automatically builds a classifier by learning, from a set of preclassified documents, the characteristics of the categories. The advantages of this approach over the knowledge engineering approach (consisting in the manual definition of a classifier by domain experts) are a very good effectiveness, considerable savings in terms of expert manpower, and straightforward portability to different domains. This survey discusses the main approaches to text categorization that fall within the machine learning paradigm. We will discuss in detail issues pertaining to three different problems, namely document representation, classifier construction, and classifier evaluation.Comment: Accepted for publication on ACM Computing Survey

Tumour invasiveness, the local and systemic environment and the basis of staging systems in colorectal cancer

background: The present study aimed to examine the relationship between tumour invasiveness (T stage), the local and systemic environment and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of patients with primary operable colorectal cancer. methods: The tumour microenvironment was examined using measures of the inflammatory infiltrate (Klintrup-Makinen (KM) grade and Immunoscore), tumour stroma percentage (TSP) and tumour budding. The systemic inflammatory environment was examined using modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS) and neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio (NLR). A 5-year CSS was examined. results: A total of 331 patients were included. Increasing T stage was associated with colonic primary, N stage, poor differentiation, margin involvement and venous invasion (P<0.05). T stage was significantly associated with KM grade (P=0.001), Immunoscore (P=0.016), TSP (P=0.006), tumour budding (P<0.001), and elevated mGPS and NLR (both P<0.05). In patients with T3 cancer, N stage stratified survival from 88 to 64%, whereas Immunoscore and budding stratified survival from 100 to 70% and from 91 to 56%, respectively. The Glasgow Microenvironment Score, a score based on KM grade and TSP, stratified survival from 93 to 58%. conclusions: Although associated with increasing T stage, local and systemic tumour environment characteristics, and in particular Immunoscore, budding, TSP and mGPS, are stage-independent determinants of survival and may be utilised in the staging of patients with primary operable colorectal cancer