Improving intelligence in a counterinsurgency or counterterrorism environment through the application of a critical thinking-based framework

The intelligence community is responsible for providing competent analysis and assessments pertaining to the many significant geo-political situations that may potentially or do effect the nation’s interests. The intelligence community has always experienced challenges living up to that charge, and while it may merely be a case of the nature of the profession, there are always lessons that can be learned and processes that may improve the analytical processes. Critical thinking is a cognitive process that may be able to provide that improvement to the analytical processes, and when an analytical framework is built by applying these cognitive skills, the analytical effort may become more focused and meaningful. This study examined an intelligence analysis framework that was built using specific cognitive critical thinking skills. It was demonstrated that intelligence analysis did improve, specifically with the novice analysts that participated, and there was demonstrated specificity in the respondents’ analyses. A panel of experts provided insight and content assurance that demonstrated the intelligence analysis and products produced were valuable for operational usage. Finally, successful historical counterinsurgencies were examined in relationship to the analytical framework that was utilized in order to understand how this analysis can lead to operational success

Meditation and awakening: An exploration of the wind music of Eric Guinivan

American composer and percussionist Eric Guinivan is a rising star in the world of composition. He is the recipient of several major awards including the Morton Gould Young Composer Award, the BMI Student Composer’s Award, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance for his work with the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet. His work Meditation and Awakening was hailed by the New York Times as “engaging,” and commented on the work’s “shimmering colors” and “frenetic energy.” His pieces for wind band have been performed around the country, including at national and regional conferences of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA). The purpose of this document is to explore and elucidate the current compositions for wind band by the composer. Three works will be studied in depth: Fractured Light (2012), Vicious Cycle (2014), and Meditation and Awakening (originally composed in 2010 but transcribed for wind band in 2016 by the author). Biographical information, theoretical analyses, performance considerations, and information regarding the transcription process will be discussed

Enhanced Diffusion of Catalytically Active Enzymes

The past decade has seen an increasing number of investigations into enhanced diffusion of catalytically active enzymes [1]. These studies suggested that enzymes are actively propelled as they catalyze reactions or bind with ligands (e.g., substrates or inhibitors). In this Outlook, we chronologically summarize and discuss the experimental observations and theoretical interpretations and emphasize the potential contradictions in these efforts. We point out that the existing multimeric forms of enzymes or isozymes may cause artifacts in measurements and that the conformational changes upon substrate binding are usually not sufficient to give rise to a diffusion enhancement greater than 30%. Therefore, more rigorous experiments and a more comprehensive theory are urgently needed to quantitatively validate and describe the enhanced enzyme diffusion. We utilized dynamic light scattering (DLS) to measure the diffusion coefficient of aldolase in the absence and presence of its substrate [2]. The DLS measurements have an experimental error of 3% and do not find a statistically significant change of the aldolase diffusion coefficient even at a saturating substrate concentration. This finding lends support to the contention that photophysical artifacts may have affected the prior FCS measurements and challenges the idea that enzymes can be self-propelled by their catalytic activity

Progress with Ball and Roller Bearings

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Reply to "Comment on 'Trivial Andreev Band Mimicking Topological Bulk Gap Reopening in the Nonlocal Conductance of Long Rashba Nanowires'"

In this Reply we respond to the comment by Das Sarma and Pan [1] on Hess et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 207001, "Trivial Andreev Band Mimicking Topological Bulk Gap Reopening in the Nonlocal Conductance of Long Rashba Nanowires" [2]. First, we note that Das Sarma and Pan reproduce the key results of Hess et al., substantiating that our findings are entirely valid. Next, we clarify the incorrect statement by Das Sarma and Pan that the main result of Hess et al. requires a "contrived periodic pristine system", pointing out the extensive discussion of positional disorder in the Hess et al. We also demonstrate that nonlocal conductance features are generically reduced by disorder. This applies to both an Andreev band and to a genuine topological bulk gap reopening signature (BRS). In fact, the suppression of nonlocal conductance of a genuine BRS by disorder was discussed in, e.g., Pan, Sau, Das Sarma, PRB 103, 014513 (2021) [3]. We conclude that, contrary to the claims of Das Sarma and Pan, the minimal model of Hess et al. is relevant to current realistic nanowire devices where only a few overlapping ABSs would be required to mimic a BRS.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figur