Informational Warfare

Recent empirical and theoretical work suggests that reputation was an important mediator of access to resources in ancestral human environments. Reputations were built and maintained by the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information about the actions and capabilities of group members-that is, by gossiping. Strategic gossiping would have been an excellent strategy for manipulating reputations and thereby competing effectively for resources and for cooperative relationships with group members who could best provide such resources. Coalitions (cliques) may have increased members' abilities to manipulate reputations by gossiping. Because, over evolutionary time, women may have experienced more within-group competition than men, and because female reputations may have been more vulnerable than male reputations to gossip, gossiping may have been a more important strategy for women than men. Consequently, women may have evolved specializations for gossiping alone and in coalitions. We develop and partially test this theory

The oceanic crust

In the last half dozen years the nature of the crust under the oceans has been determined by seismic refraction work (Ewing, Worzel, Raitt, Hill, Hersey, Gaskell, and others). The Mohorovicic discontinuity is near 10 km in depth, and above this there are approximately 4 km of rock having the properties of basalt which are overlain by sediments of perhaps ¾ km thickness

Drowned Ancient Islands of the Pacific Basin

Some one hundred and sixty curious flat-topped peaks have been discovered in the Pacific Basin between Hawaii and the Marianas. They appear to be truncated volcanic islands rising about nine to twelve thousand feet from the ocean floor. The flat level summits generally range from three to six thousand feet below sea level. Some less-developed ones are deeper. The flat upper surface is commonly bordered by a gently-sloping shelf a mile or two wide. The summit surfaces are apparently not all of the same age since adjacent peaks may have flat tops which differ in elevation by as much as a thousand feet, though in some cases groups of peaks do have the same elevation. The relationships to atolls of the Marshall Islands group indicate that the surfaces are older than the atoll formation. An hypothesis is tentatively advanced suggesting that the summit surfaces are very old and possibly represent marine planation surfaces in a pre-Cambrian ocean in which reef-building organisms did not exist. It is suggested that the present depths of the surfaces may be accounted for by the relative rise of the ocean surface as a result of accumulation of sediments on the floor. Thus the deeper the surfaces are, the greater their age

Star-shaped Local Density of States around Vortices in a Type II Superconductor

The electronic structure of vortices in a type II superconductor is analyzed within the quasi-classical Eilenberger framework. The possible origin of a sixfold ``star'' shape of the local density of states, observed by scanning tunneling microscope experiments on NbSe$_2$, is examined in the light of the three effects; the anisotropic pairing, the vortex lattice, and the anisotropic density of states at the Fermi surface. Outstanding features of split parallel rays of this star are well explained in terms of an anisotropic $s$-wave pairing. This reveals a rich internal electronic structure associated with a vortex core.Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX, 3 figures available upon reques

Method and apparatus for positioning a robotic end effector

A robotic end effector and operation protocol for a reliable grasp of a target object irrespective of the target's contours is disclosed. A robotic hand includes a plurality of jointed fingers, one of which, like a thumb, is in opposed relation to the other. Each finger is comprised of at least two jointed sections, and provided with reflective proximity sensors, one on the inner surface of each finger section. Each proximity sensor comprises a transmitter of a beam of radiant energy and means for receiving reflections of the transmitted energy when reflected by a target object and for generating electrical signals responsive thereto. On the fingers opposed to the thumb, the proximity sensors on the outermost finger sections are aligned in an outer sensor array and the sensors on the intermediate finger sections and sensors on the innermost finger sections are similarly arranged to form an intermediate sensor array and an inner sensor array, respectively. The invention includes a computer system with software and/or circuitry for a protocol comprising the steps in sequence of: (1) approach axis alignment to maximize the number of outer layer sensors which detect the target; (2) non-contact contour following the target by the robot fingers to minimize target escape potential; and (3) closing to rigidize the target including dynamically re-adjusting the end effector finger alignment to compensate for target motion. A signal conditioning circuit and gain adjustment means are included to maintain the dynamic range of low power reflection signals

The Demand for Seasonal Farm Labor from Central- and Eastern European Countries in German Agriculture

Rosana G. Moreira, Editor-in-Chief; Texas A&M UniversityThis is a paper from International Commission of Agricultural Engineering (CIGR, Commission Internationale du Genie Rural) E-Journal Volume 8 (2006): The Demand for Seasonal Farm Labor from Central- and Eastern European Countries in German Agriculture. Manuscript MES 05 003. Vol. VIII. April, 2006

Shear-stress controlled dynamics of nematic complex fluids

Based on a mesoscopic theory we investigate the non-equilibrium dynamics of a sheared nematic liquid, with the control parameter being the shear stress $\sigma_{\mathrm{xy}}$ (rather than the usual shear rate, $\dot\gamma$). To this end we supplement the equations of motion for the orientational order parameters by an equation for $\dot\gamma$, which then becomes time-dependent. Shearing the system from an isotropic state, the stress- controlled flow properties turn out to be essentially identical to those at fixed $\dot\gamma$. Pronounced differences when the equilibrium state is nematic. Here, shearing at controlled $\dot\gamma$ yields several non-equilibrium transitions between different dynamic states, including chaotic regimes. The corresponding stress-controlled system has only one transition from a regular periodic into a stationary (shear-aligned) state. The position of this transition in the $\sigma_{\mathrm{xy}}$-$\dot\gamma$ plane turns out to be tunable by the delay time entering our control scheme for $\sigma_{\mathrm{xy}}$. Moreover, a sudden change of the control method can {\it stabilize} the chaotic states appearing at fixed $\dot\gamma$.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure

Durability testing at one atmosphere of advanced catalysts and catalyst supports for automotive gas turbine engine combustors, part 1

The durability of catalysts and catalyst supports in a combustion environment was experimentally demonstrated. A test of 1000 hours duration was completed with two catalysts, using diesel fuel and operating at catalytically supported thermal combustion conditions. The performance of the catalysts was determined by monitoring emissions throughout the test, and by examining the physical condition of the catalyst core at the conclusion of the test. The test catalysts proved to be capable of low emissions operation after 1000 hours diesel aging, with no apparent physical degradation of the catalyst support