8,194 research outputs found
Facing the Future: Financing Productive Schools
Synthesizes the School Finance Redesign Project's findings on policy options for redesigning the system to focus resources on promoting student learning. Calls for student count-based funding, integrated data collection, innovation, and accountability
Targeting, the Law of War, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice
Allegations of civilian deaths or injury or damage to civilian property caused during combat operations require an investigation to determine the facts, make recommendations regarding lessons learned in order to prevent future occurrences, and recommend whether individual soldiers should be held accountable. Using the factual circumstances of the airstrike on the Medecins Sans Frontieres hospital, this Article articulates how, in the context of targeting, a violation of the Law of War is made punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice as explained by the recent Targeting Supplement promulgated by The Judge Advocate General of the Army
A study of the UV and VUV degradation of FEP
UV and VUV degradation of fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) copolymer was studied using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The ESR study revealed the formation of a terminal polymer radical. The stability of this radical was investigated under different environments. An XPS study of FEP film exposed to VUV and atomic oxygen showed that oxidation takes place on the polymer surface. The study revealed also that the percentage of CF2 in the polymer surface decreased with exposure time and the percentage of CF, CF3, and carbon attached to oxygen increased. SEM micrographs of FEP film exposed to VUV and atomic oxygen identified a rough surface with undulations similar to sand dunes
The Lennard-Jones-Devonshire cell model revisited
We reanalyse the cell theory of Lennard-Jones and Devonshire and find that in
addition to the critical point originally reported for the 12-6 potential (and
widely quoted in standard textbooks), the model exhibits a further critical
point. We show that the latter is actually a more appropriate candidate for
liquid-gas criticality than the original critical point.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Mol. Phy
P-SAMS: a web suite for plant artificial microRNA and synthetic trans-acting small interfering RNA design
[EN] The Plant Small RNA Maker Site (P-SAMS) is a web tool for the simple and automated
design of artificial miRNAs (amiRNAs) and synthetic trans-acting small interfering RNAs (syntasiRNAs)
for efficient and specific targeted gene silencing in plants. P-SAMS includes two applications,
P-SAMS amiRNA Designer and P-SAMS syn-tasiRNA Designer. The navigation through both
applications is wizard-assisted, and the job runtime is relatively short. Both applications output the
sequence of designed small RNA(s), and the sequence of the two oligonucleotides required for
cloning into `B/c¿ compatible vectors.This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [grant number AI043288 to J.C.C.]; the National Science Foundation [grants numbers MCB-1231726, MCB-1330562 to J.C.C.]; and the United States Department of Agriculture [fellowship number MOW-2012-01361 to N.F.).Fahlgren, N.; Hill, ST.; Carrington, JC.; Carbonell, A. (2016). P-SAMS: a web suite for plant artificial microRNA and synthetic trans-acting small interfering RNA design. Bioinformatics. 32(1):157-158. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btv534S157158321Ahmed, F., Dai, X., & Zhao, P. X. (2015). Bioinformatics Tools for Achieving Better Gene Silencing in Plants. Plant Gene Silencing, 43-60. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-2453-0_3Carbonell, A., Takeda, A., Fahlgren, N., Johnson, S. C., Cuperus, J. T., & Carrington, J. C. (2014). New Generation of Artificial MicroRNA and Synthetic Trans-Acting Small Interfering RNA Vectors for Efficient Gene Silencing in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology, 165(1), 15-29. doi:10.1104/pp.113.234989Carbonell, A., Fahlgren, N., Mitchell, S., Cox, K. L., Reilly, K. C., Mockler, T. C., & Carrington, J. C. (2015). Highly specific gene silencing in a monocot species by artificial micro
RNA
s derived from chimeric
mi
RNA
precursors. The Plant Journal, 82(6), 1061-1075. doi:10.1111/tpj.12835Fahlgren, N., & Carrington, J. C. (2009). miRNA Target Prediction in Plants. Plant MicroRNAs, 51-57. doi:10.1007/978-1-60327-005-2_4Ossowski, S., Schwab, R., & Weigel, D. (2008). Gene silencing in plants using artificial microRNAs and other small RNAs. The Plant Journal, 53(4), 674-690. doi:10.1111/j.1365-313x.2007.03328.xSchwab, R., Ossowski, S., Riester, M., Warthmann, N., & Weigel, D. (2006). Highly Specific Gene Silencing by Artificial MicroRNAs inArabidopsis. The Plant Cell, 18(5), 1121-1133. doi:10.1105/tpc.105.039834Tiwari, M., Sharma, D., & Trivedi, P. K. (2014). Artificial microRNA mediated gene silencing in plants: progress and perspectives. Plant Molecular Biology, 86(1-2), 1-18. doi:10.1007/s11103-014-0224-7Zhang, Z. J. (2014). Artificial trans-acting small interfering RNA: a tool for plant biology study and crop improvements. Planta, 239(6), 1139-1146. doi:10.1007/s00425-014-2054-
Price Discovery and the Accuracy of Consolidated Data Feeds in the U.S. Equity Markets
Both the scientific community and the popular press have paid much attention
to the speed of the Securities Information Processor, the data feed
consolidating all trades and quotes across the US stock market. Rather than the
speed of the Securities Information Processor, or SIP, we focus here on its
accuracy. Relying on Trade and Quote data, we provide various measures of SIP
latency relative to high-speed data feeds between exchanges, known as direct
feeds. We use first differences to highlight not only the divergence between
the direct feeds and the SIP, but also the fundamental inaccuracy of the SIP.
We find that as many as 60 percent or more of trades are reported out of
sequence for stocks with high trade volume, therefore skewing simple measures
such as returns. While not yet definitive, this analysis supports our
preliminary conclusion that the underlying infrastructure of the SIP is
currently unable to keep pace with the trading activity in today's stock
market.Comment: 18 pages, 20 figures, 2 table
Pion and Eta Strings
In this paper we construct a string-like classical solution, the pion-string,
in the linear sigma model. We then study the stability of the pion-string, and
find that it is unstable in the parameter space allowed experimentally. We also
speculate on the existance of an unstable eta-string, associated with
spontaneous breakdown of the anomalous symmetry in QCD at high
temperatures. The implications of the pion and eta strings for cosmology and
heavy ion collisions are briefly mentioned.Comment: 5 pages, LATE
Phase behavior of a confined nano-droplet in the grand-canonical ensemble: the reverse liquid-vapor transition
The equilibrium density distribution and thermodynamic properties of a
Lennard-Jones fluid confined to nano-sized spherical cavities at constant
chemical potential was determined using Monte Carlo simulations. The results
describe both a single cavity with semipermeable walls as well as a collection
of closed cavities formed at constant chemical potential. The results are
compared to calculations using classical Density Functional Theory (DFT). It is
found that the DFT calculations give a quantitatively accurate description of
the pressure and structure of the fluid. Both theory and simulation show the
presence of a ``reverse'' liquid-vapor transition whereby the equilibrium state
is a liquid at large volumes but becomes a vapor at small volumes.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, to appear in J. Phys. : Cond. Mat
Biological Records Centre Annual Report 2005-2006
The period covered by this report is the first year of a new six-year partnership between CEH and JNCC. For this period, there is increased emphasis on targeted survey, on analysis and interpretation and on communications and outreach. These activities were always part of BRC’s work, but they have been given greater prominence as a result of rapid developments in information technology. Data are increasingly reaching BRC in electronic form, so that the effort of data entry and collation is reduced.
The data, collected by many volunteers and then collated and analysed at BRC, document the changing status and distribution of plants and animals in Britain. Distribution maps are published in atlases and are available via the internet through the NBN Gateway. The effects of change or loss of habitats, the influence of climate change and the consequences of changing water quality are all examples of the environmental factors that affect our biodiversity and which BRC aims to document and understand. The results are vital for developing environmental policies, to support conservation, and for fundamental ecological research.
BRC is funded jointly by JNCC and NERC through a partnership based on a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA). The partnership started in 1973 when the Nature Conservancy was divided to form the successor bodies Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) and Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE). NCC was in turn divided further to form JNCC and three Country Agencies, while ITE was merged with other NERC units to form CEH. Through all these changes, the partnership has been maintained. A six-year memorandum of agreement ended on 31 January 2005 (Hill et al. 2005). The present report covers the first full year, 2005-6, of the new agreement for 2005-2010.
Rapid progress in information technology continues to be highly beneficial for BRC, whose data are increasingly used by the UK country conservation agencies, environmental consultants, NGOs, research workers, policy makers and volunteers. It is gratifying to know that, through our ability to display data on the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Gateway, some of our data suppliers now have immediate access to their own data in a convenient form.
The year 2005-6 has been one of steady progress, with new datasets added to BRC, substantial additions to existing data, and improved communication with the NBN Gateway. The most high profile activity of the year has been the Harlequin Ladybird Survey, which has enabled us to observe the early stages of colonization by a mobile insect in greater detail than has been possible in any previous case
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