920 research outputs found
Learning more effectively from experience
Developing the capacity for individuals to learn effectively from their experiences is an important part of building the knowledge and skills in organizations to do good adaptive management. This paper reviews some of the research from cognitive psychology and phenomenography to present a way of thinking about learning to assist individuals to make better use of their personal experiences to develop understanding of environmental systems. We suggest that adaptive expertise (an individualâs ability to deal flexibly with new situations) is particularly relevant for environmental researchers and practitioners. To develop adaptive expertise, individuals need to: (1) vary and reflect on their experiences and become adept at seeking out and taking different perspectives; and (2) become proficient at making balanced judgements about how or if an experience will change their current perspective or working representation of a social, economic, and biophysical system by applying principles of âgood thinking.â Such principles include those that assist individuals to be open to the possibility of changing their current way of thinking (e.g., the disposition to be adventurous) and those that reduce the likelihood of making erroneous interpretations (e.g., the disposition to be intellectually careful). An example of applying some of the principles to assist individuals develop their understanding of a dynamically complex wetland system (the Macquarie Marshes in Australia) is provided. The broader implications of individual learning are also discussed in relation to organizational learning, the role of experiential knowledge for conservation, and for achieving greater awareness of the need for ecologically sustainable activity
Implementation of low-loss superinductances for quantum circuits
The simultaneous suppression of charge fluctuations and offsets is crucial
for preserving quantum coherence in devices exploiting large quantum
fluctuations of the superconducting phase. This requires an environment with
both extremely low DC and high RF impedance. Such an environment is provided by
a superinductance, defined as a zero DC resistance inductance whose impedance
exceeds the resistance quantum at
frequencies of interest (1 - 10 GHz). In addition, the superinductance must
have as little dissipation as possible, and possess a self-resonant frequency
well above frequencies of interest. The kinetic inductance of an array of
Josephson junctions is an ideal candidate to implement the superinductance
provided its phase slip rate is sufficiently low. We successfully implemented
such an array using large Josephson junctions (), and measured
internal losses less than 20 ppm, self-resonant frequencies greater than 10
GHz, and phase slip rates less than 1 mHz
From Golden Spirals to Constant Slope Surfaces
In this paper, we find all constant slope surfaces in the Euclidean 3-space,
namely those surfaces for which the position vector of a point of the surface
makes constant angle with the normal at the surface in that point. These
surfaces could be thought as the bi-dimensional analogue of the generalized
helices. Some pictures are drawn by using the parametric equations we found.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure
Magnetic Mineral Populations in Lower Oceanic Crustal Gabbros (Atlantis Bank, SW Indian Ridge): Implications for Marine Magnetic Anomalies
To learn more about magnetic properties of the lower ocean crust and its contributions to marine magnetic anomalies, gabbro samples were collected from International Ocean Discovery Program Hole U1473A at Atlantis Bank on the Southwest Indian Ridge. Detailed magnetic property work links certain magnetic behaviors and domain states to specific magnetic mineral populations. Measurements on whole rocks and mineral separates included magnetic hysteresis, firstâorder reversal curves, lowâtemperature remanence measurements, thermomagnetic analysis, and magnetic force microscopy. Characteristics of the thermomagnetic data indicate that the upper ~500 m of the hole has undergone hydrothermal alteration. The thermomagnetic and natural remanent magnetization data are consistent with earlier observations from Hole 735B that show remanence arises from lowâTi magnetite and that natural remanent magnetizations are up to 25 A mâ1 in evolved FeâTi oxide gabbros, but are mostly \u3c1 A mâ1. Magnetite is present in at least three forms. Primary magnetite is associated with coarseâgrained oxides that are more frequent in the upper part of the hole. This magnetic population is linked to dominantly âpseudoâsingleâdomainâ behavior that arises from fineâscale lamellar intergrowths within the large oxides. Deeper in the hole the magnetic signal is more commonly dominated by an interacting singleâdomain assemblage most likely found along crystal discontinuities in olivine and/or pyroxene. A third contribution is from noninteracting singleâdomain inclusions within plagioclase. Because the concentration of the highly magnetic, oxideârich gabbros is greatest toward the surface, the signal from coarse oxides will likely dominate the nearâbottom magnetic anomaly signal at Atlantis Bank
Chaos in Andreev Billiards
A new type of classical billiard - the Andreev billiard - is investigated
using the tangent map technique. Andreev billiards consist of a normal region
surrounded by a superconducting region. In contrast with previously studied
billiards, Andreev billiards are integrable in zero magnetic field, {\it
regardless of their shape}. A magnetic field renders chaotic motion in a
generically shaped billiard, which is demonstrated for the Bunimovich stadium
by examination of both Poincar\'e sections and Lyapunov exponents. The issue of
the feasibility of certain experimental realizations is addressed.Comment: ReVTeX3.0, 4 pages, 3 figures appended as postscript file (uuencoded
with uufiles
Activation of toll-like receptors and inflammasome complexes in the diabetic cardiomyopathy-associated inflammation
Diabetic cardiomyopathy is defined as a ventricular dysfunction initiated by alterations in cardiac energy substrates in the absence of coronary artery disease and hypertension. Hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and insulin resistance are major inducers of the chronic low-grade inflammatory state that characterizes the diabetic heart. Cardiac Toll-like receptors and inflammasome complexes may be key inducers for inflammation probably through NF- Îș B activation and ROS overproduction. However, metabolic dysregulated factors such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors and sirtuins may serve as therapeutic targets to control this response by mitigating both Toll-like receptors and inflammasome signalingThis work was supported by National Grants fromMinisterio
de EducaciĂłn y Ciencia (SAF2009-08367), Comunidad de
Madrid (CCG10-UAM/BIO-5289), and FISS (PI10/00072
Kinetic Monte Carlo and Cellular Particle Dynamics Simulations of Multicellular Systems
Computer modeling of multicellular systems has been a valuable tool for
interpreting and guiding in vitro experiments relevant to embryonic
morphogenesis, tumor growth, angiogenesis and, lately, structure formation
following the printing of cell aggregates as bioink particles. Computer
simulations based on Metropolis Monte Carlo (MMC) algorithms were successful in
explaining and predicting the resulting stationary structures (corresponding to
the lowest adhesion energy state). Here we present two alternatives to the MMC
approach for modeling cellular motion and self-assembly: (1) a kinetic Monte
Carlo (KMC), and (2) a cellular particle dynamics (CPD) method. Unlike MMC,
both KMC and CPD methods are capable of simulating the dynamics of the cellular
system in real time. In the KMC approach a transition rate is associated with
possible rearrangements of the cellular system, and the corresponding time
evolution is expressed in terms of these rates. In the CPD approach cells are
modeled as interacting cellular particles (CPs) and the time evolution of the
multicellular system is determined by integrating the equations of motion of
all CPs. The KMC and CPD methods are tested and compared by simulating two
experimentally well known phenomena: (1) cell-sorting within an aggregate
formed by two types of cells with different adhesivities, and (2) fusion of two
spherical aggregates of living cells.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures; submitted to Phys Rev
Nonlocal Effects on the Magnetic Penetration Depth in d-wave Superconductors
We show that, under certain conditions, the low temperature behavior of the
magnetic penetration depth of a pure d-wave superconductor is
determined by nonlocal electrodynamics and, contrary to the general belief, the
deviation is proportional to T^2 and
not T. We predict that the dependence, due to
nonlocality, should be observable experimentally in nominally clean high-T_c
superconductors below a crossover temperature . Possible complications due to impurities, surface quality and
crystal axes orientation are discussed.Comment: REVTeX3.0; 4 pages, 1 EPS figure (included); Submitted to Phys. Rev.
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