Megapolitan Political Ecology and Urban Metabolism in Southern Appalachia

Drawing on megapolitan geographies, urban political ecology, and urban metabolism as theoretical frameworks, this article theoretically and empirically explores megapolitan political ecology. First, we elucidate a theoretical framework in the context of southern Appalachia and, in particular, the Piedmont megapolitan region, suggesting that the megapolitan region is a useful scale through which to understand urban metabolic connections that constitute this rapidly urbanizing area. We also push the environmental history and geography literature of the U.S. South and southern Appalachia to consider the central role urban metabolic connections play in the region's pressing social and environmental crises. Second, we empirically illuminate these human and nonhuman urban metabolisms across the Piedmont megapolitan region using data from the Coweeta Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, especially highlighting a growing “ring of asphalt” that epitomizes several developing changes to patterns of metabolism. The conclusion suggests that changing urban metabolisms indicated by Coweeta LTER data, ranging from flows of people to flows of water, pose a complicated problem for regional governance and vitality in the future

Maverick dark matter at colliders

Assuming that dark matter is a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) species X produced in the early Universe as a cold thermal relic, we study the collider signal of pp or ppbar -> XXbar + jets and its distinguishability from standard-model background processes associated with jets and missing energy. We assume that the WIMP is the sole particle related to dark matter within reach of the LHC--a "maverick" particle--and that it couples to quarks through a higher dimensional contact interaction. We simulate the WIMP final-state signal XXbar + jet and dominant standard-model (SM) background processes and find that the dark-matter production process results in higher energies for the colored final state partons than do the standard-model background processes, resulting in more QCD radiation and a higher jet multiplicity. As a consequence, the detectable signature of maverick dark matter is an excess over standard-model expectations of events consisting of large missing transverse energy, together with large leading jet transverse momentum and scalar sum of the transverse momenta of the jets. Existing Tevatron data and forthcoming LHC data can constrain (or discover!) maverick dark matter.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

The Explication Defence of Arguments from Reference

In a number of influential papers, Machery, Mallon, Nichols and Stich have presented a powerful critique of so-called arguments from reference, arguments that assume that a particular theory of reference is correct in order to establish a substantive conclusion. The critique is that, due to cross-cultural variation in semantic intuitions supposedly undermining the standard methodology for theorising about reference, the assumption that a theory of reference is correct is unjustified. I argue that the many extant responses to Machery et al.’s critique do little for the proponent of an argument from reference, as they do not show how to justify the problematic assumption. I then argue that it can in principle be justified by an appeal to Carnapian explication. I show how to apply the explication defence to arguments from reference given by Andreasen (for the biological reality of race) and by Churchland (against the existence of beliefs and desires)

A demonstration of an affinity between pyrite and organic matter in a hydrothermal setting

One of the key-principles of the iron-sulphur world theory is to bring organic molecules close enough to interact with each other, using the surface of pyrite as a substrate in a hydrothermal setting. The present paper explores the relationship of pyrite and organic matter in a hydrothermal setting from the geological record; in hydrothermal calcite veins from Carboniferous limestones in central Ireland. Here, the organic matter is accumulated as coatings around, and through, pyrite grains. Most of the pyrite grains are euhedral-subhedral crystals, ranging in size from ca 0.1-0.5 mm in diameter, and they are scattered throughout the matrix of the vein calcite. The organic matter was deposited from a hydrothermal fluid at a temperature of at least 200°C, and gives a Raman signature of disordered carbon. This study points to an example from a hydrothermal setting in the geological record, demonstrating that pyrite can have a high potential for the concentration and accumulation of organic materials

Payload capabilities and operational limits of eversion robots

Recent progress in soft robotics has seen new types of actuation mechanisms based on apical extension which allows robots to grow to unprecedented lengths. Eversion robots are a type of robots based on the principle of apical extension offering excellent maneuverability and ease of control allowing users to conduct tasks from a distance. Mechanical modelling of these robotic structures is very important for understanding their operational capabilities. In this paper, we model the eversion robot as a thin-walled cylindrical beam inflated with air pressure, using Timoshenko beam theory considering rotational and shear effects. We examine the various failure modes of the eversion robots such as yielding, buckling instability and lateral collapse, and study the payloads and operational limits of these robots in axial and lateral loading conditions. Surface maps showing the operational boundaries for different combinations of the geometrical parameters are presented. This work provides insights into the design of eversion robots and can pave the way towards eversion robots with high payload capabilities that can act from long distances

Introduction: Interrogating the 'everyday' politics of emotions in international relations

The focus on the everyday in this Special Issue reveals different kinds of emotional practices, their political effects and their political contestation within both micro- and macro-politics in international relations. The articles in this Special Issue address the everyday negotiation of emotions, shifting between the reproduction of hegemonic structures of feelings and emancipation from them. In other words, the everyday politics of emotions allows an exploration of who gets to express emotions, what emotions are perceived as (il)legitimate or (un)desirable, how emotions are circulated and under what circumstances. Consequently, we identify two thematic strands which emerge as central to an interrogation of ‘everyday’ emotions in international relations and which run through each of the contributions: first, an exploration of the relationship between individual and collective emotions and, second, a focus on the role of embodiment within emotions research and its relationship with the dynamics and structures of power

Is the use of videotape recording superior to verbal feedback alone in the teaching of clinical skills?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In recent times, medical schools have committed to developing good communication and history taking skills in students. However, there remains an unresolved question as to which constitutes the best educational method. Our study aims to investigate whether the use of videotape recording is superior to verbal feedback alone in the teaching of clinical skills and the role of student self-assessment on history taking and communication skills.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A randomized controlled trial was designed. The study was conducted with 52 of the Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine second year students. All students' performances of communication and history taking skills were assessed twice. Between these assessments, the study group had received both verbal and visual feedback by watching their video recordings on patient interview; the control group received only verbal feedback from the teacher.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Although the self-assessment of the students did not change significantly, assessors' ratings increased significantly for videotaped interviews at the second time.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Feedback based on videotaped interviews is superior to the feedback given solely based on the observation of assessors.</p

Background risk of breast cancer and the association between physical activity and mammographic density

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0

Beautiful Mirrors at the LHC

We explore the "Beautiful Mirrors" model, which aims to explain the measured value of $A^b_{FB}$, discrepant at the $2.9\sigma$ level. This scenario introduces vector-like quarks which mix with the bottom, subtly affecting its coupling to the $Z$. The spectrum of the new particles consists of two bottom-like quarks and a charge -4/3 quark, all of which have electroweak interactions with the third generation. We explore the phenomenology and discovery reach for these new particles at the LHC, exploring single mirror quark production modes whose rates are proportional to the same mixing parameters which resolve the $A_{FB}^b$ anomaly. We find that for mirror quark masses $\lesssim 500 GeV, a 14 TeV LHC with 300 {\rm fb}^{-1}$ is required to reasonably establish the scenario and extract the relevant mixing parameters.Comment: version to be published in JHE

Neurotrophin gene augmentation by electrotransfer to improve cochlear implant hearing outcomes

This Review outlines the development of DNA-based therapeutics for treatment of hearing loss, and in particular, considers the potential to utilize the properties of recombinant neurotrophins to improve cochlear auditory (spiral ganglion) neuron survival and repair. This potential to reduce spiral ganglion neuron death and indeed re-grow the auditory nerve fibres has been the subject of considerable pre-clinical evaluation over decades with the view of improving the neural interface with cochlear implants. This provides the context for discussion about the development of a novel means of using cochlear implant electrode arrays for gene electrotransfer. Mesenchymal cells which line the cochlear perilymphatic compartment can be selectively transfected with (naked) plasmid DNA using array - based gene electrotransfer, termed ‘close-field electroporation’. This technology is able to drive expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the deafened guinea pig model, causing re-growth of the spiral ganglion peripheral neurites towards the mesenchymla cells, and hence into close proximity with cochlear implant electrodes within scala tympani. This was associated with functional enhancement of the cochlear implant neural interface (lower neural recruitment thresholds and expanded dynamic range, measured using electrically - evoked auditory brainstem responses). The basis for the efficiency of close-field electroporation arises from the compression of the electric field in proximity to the ganged cochlear implant electrodes. The regions close to the array with highest field strength corresponded closely to the distribution of bioreporter cells (adherent human embryonic kidney (HEK293)) expressing green fluorescent reporter protein (GFP) following gene electrotransfer. The optimization of the gene electrotransfer parameters using this cell-based model correlated closely with in vitro and in vivo cochlear gene delivery outcomes. The migration of the cochlear implant electrode array-based gene electrotransfer platform towards a clinical trial for neurotrophin-based enhancement of cochlear implants is supported by availability of a novel regulatory compliant mini-plasmid DNA backbone (pFAR4; plasmid Free of Antibiotic Resistance v.4) which could be used to package a ‘humanized’ neurotrophin expression cassette. A reporter cassette packaged into pFAR4 produced prominent GFP expression in the guinea pig basal turn perilymphatic scalae. More broadly, close-field gene electrotransfer may lend itself to a spectrum of potential DNA therapeutics applications benefitting from titratable, localised, delivery of naked DNA, for gene augmentation, targeted gene regulation, or gene substitution strategies