GEOPHYSICAL AND GEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF NEOTECTONIC DEFORMATION ALONG THE CABORN AND HOVEY LAKE FAULTS, WABASH VALLEY FAULT SYSTEM, CENTRAL UNITED STATES

Seismic reflection (P- and SH-wave), ground-penetrating radar, correlative drilling, and age dating data provide evidence of neotectonic deformation along the Caborn (CF) and Hovey Lake (HLF) faults, in the Wabash Valley fault system (WVFS). The WVFS is a series of high-angle normal faults located primarily in southern Indiana and Illinois. Since their formation, these faults have likely been transpressionally reactivated in the contemporary E-W-oriented compressive stress state. The WVFS has experienced large prehistoric earthquakes, but only moderate historic and contemporary seismicity; therefore, the seismic potential in this region is poorly defined. The bedrock expressions of the CF and HLF were imaged with seismic reflection data (P- and SH-wave). Higher resolution analyses were performed with seismic (SHwave) and ground-penetrating radar surveys to characterize structure that may extend into the overlying Quaternary sediments. Anomalous features were cored to verify structure, and to collect datable material. The CF and HLF are interpreted to extend into the uppermost five meters of sediment and to displace horizons dated to 19,740 and 31,000 years before present, respectively. Displacement along the HLF is interpreted to extend 2-3 meters above the associated age date. These structures represent the only known primary coseismic deformation of the Late Quaternary within the WVFS

Gunning Down the Fog: A Test of the Unintelligibility and Illiteracy Hypotheses

Sociologists have often been criticized for their inability to make themselves understood. Talcott Parsons, in particular, has been singled out for his alleged incomprehensibility. As a consequence, his name has achieved legendary stature for more than his theoretical contributions. The present inquiry examines Parsons' writing style using the Gunning fog index of readability, finding that Parsons was indeed unintelligible as a writer. Moreover, it was discovered, serendipitously, that a postive feedback loop was operating (i.e., with one exception, Parsons became more unintelligible with each new book)

Binding and activation of host plasminogen on the surface of Francisella tularensis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Francisella tularensis </it>(FT) is a gram-negative facultative intracellular coccobacillus and is the causal agent of a life-threatening zoonotic disease known as tularemia. Although FT preferentially infects phagocytic cells of the host, recent evidence suggests that a significant number of bacteria can be found extracellularly in the plasma fraction of the blood during active infection. This observation suggests that the interaction between FT and host plasma components may play an important role in survival and dissemination of the bacterium during the course of infection. Plasminogen (PLG) is a protein zymogen that is found in abundance in the blood of mammalian hosts. A number of both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial pathogens have the ability to bind to PLG, giving them a survival advantage by increasing their ability to penetrate extracellular matrices and cross tissue barriers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show that PLG binds to the surface of FT and that surface-bound PLG can be activated to plasmin in the presence of tissue PLG activator <it>in vitro</it>. In addition, using Far-Western blotting assays coupled with proteomic analyses of FT outer membrane preparations, we have identified several putative PLG-binding proteins of FT.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The ability of FT to acquire surface bound PLG that can be activated on its surface may be an important virulence mechanism that results in an increase in initial infectivity, survival, and/or dissemination of this bacterium <it>in vivo</it>.</p

Quantum Cosmology and Higher-Order Lagrangian Theories

In this paper the quantum cosmological consequences of introducing a term cubic in the Ricci curvature scalar $R$ into the Einstein--Hilbert action are investigated. It is argued that this term represents a more generic perturbation to the action than the quadratic correction usually considered. A qualitative argument suggests that there exists a region of parameter space in which neither the tunneling nor the no-boundary boundary conditions predict an epoch of inflation that can solve the horizon and flatness problems of the big bang model. This is in contrast to the $R^2$--theory.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX, preprint FERMILAB-Pub-94/XXX-A, March 199

Development of genome-specific primers for homoeologous genes in allopolyploid species: the waxy and starch synthase II genes in allohexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as examples

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In allopolypoid crops, homoeologous genes in different genomes exhibit a very high sequence similarity, especially in the coding regions of genes. This makes it difficult to design genome-specific primers to amplify individual genes from different genomes. Development of genome-specific primers for agronomically important genes in allopolypoid crops is very important and useful not only for the study of sequence diversity and association mapping of genes in natural populations, but also for the development of gene-based functional markers for marker-assisted breeding. Here we report on a useful approach for the development of genome-specific primers in allohexaploid wheat.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>In the present study, three genome-specific primer sets for the <it>waxy </it>(<it>Wx</it>) genes and four genome-specific primer sets for the <it>starch synthase II </it>(<it>SSII</it>) genes were developed mainly from single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and/or insertions or deletions (Indels) in introns and intron-exon junctions. The size of a single PCR product ranged from 750 bp to 1657 bp. The total length of amplified PCR products by these genome-specific primer sets accounted for 72.6%-87.0% of the <it>Wx </it>genes and 59.5%-61.6% of the <it>SSII </it>genes. Five genome-specific primer sets for the <it>Wx </it>genes (one for Wx-7A, three for Wx-4A and one for Wx-7D) could distinguish the wild type wheat and partial waxy wheat lines. These genome-specific primer sets for the <it>Wx </it>and <it>SSII </it>genes produced amplifications in hexaploid wheat, cultivated durum wheat, and <it>Aegilops tauschii </it>accessions, but failed to generate amplification in the majority of wild diploid and tetraploid accessions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>For the first time, we report on the development of genome-specific primers from three homoeologous <it>Wx </it>and <it>SSII </it>genes covering the majority of the genes in allohexaploid wheat. These genome-specific primers are being used for the study of sequence diversity and association mapping of the three homoeologous <it>Wx </it>and <it>SSII </it>genes in natural populations of both hexaploid wheat and cultivated tetraploid wheat. The strategies used in this paper can be used to develop genome-specific primers for homoeologous genes in any allopolypoid species. They may be also suitable for (i) the development of gene-specific primers for duplicated paralogous genes in any diploid species, and (ii) the development of allele-specific primers at the same gene locus.</p

The twilight of the Liberal Social Contract? On the Reception of Rawlsian Political Liberalism

This chapter discusses the Rawlsian project of public reason, or public justification-based 'political' liberalism, and its reception. After a brief philosophical rather than philological reconstruction of the project, the chapter revolves around a distinction between idealist and realist responses to it. Focusing on political liberalism’s critical reception illuminates an overarching question: was Rawls’s revival of a contractualist approach to liberal legitimacy a fruitful move for liberalism and/or the social contract tradition? The last section contains a largely negative answer to that question. Nonetheless the chapter's conclusion shows that the research programme of political liberalism provided and continues to provide illuminating insights into the limitations of liberal contractualism, especially under conditions of persistent and radical diversity. The programme is, however, less receptive to challenges to do with the relative decline of the power of modern states

Constitutivism

A brief explanation and overview of constitutivism

Reconstructing the Inflaton Potential --- an Overview

We review the relation between the inflationary potential and the spectra of density (scalar) perturbations and gravitational waves (tensor perturbations) produced, with particular emphasis on the possibility of reconstructing the inflaton potential from observations. The spectra provide a potentially powerful test of the inflationary hypothesis; they are not independent but instead are linked by consistency relations reflecting their origin from a single inflationary potential. To lowest-order in a perturbation expansion there is a single, now familiar, relation between the tensor spectral index and the relative amplitude of the spectra. We demonstrate that there is an infinite hierarchy of such consistency equations, though observational difficulties suggest only the first is ever likely to be useful. We also note that since observations are expected to yield much better information on the scalars than on the tensors, it is likely to be the next-order version of this consistency equation which will be appropriate, not the lowest-order one. If inflation passes the consistency test, one can then confidently use the remaining observational information to constrain the inflationary potential, and we survey the general perturbative scheme for carrying out this procedure. Explicit expressions valid to next-lowest order in the expansion are presented. We then briefly assess the prospects for future observations reaching the quality required, and consider a simulated data set that is motivated by this outlook.Comment: 69 pages standard LaTeX plus 4 postscript figures. Postscript version of text in landscape format (35 pages) available at http://star-www.maps.susx.ac.uk/papers/infcos_papers.html Modifications are a variety of updates to discussion and reference

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

Philosophy of action

The philosophical study of human action begins with Plato and Aristotle. Their influence in late antiquity and the Middle Ages yielded sophisticated theories of action and motivation, notably in the works of Augustine and Aquinas.1 But the ideas that were dominant in 1945 have their roots in the early modern period, when advances in physics and mathematics reshaped philosophy