Freezing and pressure-driven flow of solid helium in Vycor

The recent torsional oscillator results of Kim and Chan suggest a supersolid phase transition in solid He-4 confined in Vycor. We have used a capacitive technique to directly monitor density changes for helium confined in Vycor at low temperature and have used a piezoelectrically driven diaphragm to study the pressure-induced flow of solid helium into the Vycor pores. Our measurements showed no indication of a mass redistribution in the Vycor that could mimic supersolid decoupling and put an upper limit of about 0.003 um/s on any pressure-induced supersolid flow in the pores of Vycor.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Collaboration and Resistance on the Southwest Frontier: Early Eighteenth-Century Qing Expansion on Two Fronts

In 1715 two unrelated international events, the emergence of the Zunghar Mongols in Central Eurasia and Japan’s decision to restrict copper exports to China triggered a burst in Qing expansion into two different regions over the next fifteen years (1715-30), the Kham territory of Eastern Tibet and tusi-controlled territories in neighboring Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. As this article will show, Qing officials posted to Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou during this fifteen-year period were in a very peculiar position. On the one hand, they were authorized to negotiate alliances and grant tusi offices to the local Kham elite in order to advance the Qing empire into Kham, while at the same time they were encouraged to eliminate the remaining tusi in Yunnan and Guizhou in order to consolidate civilian control throughout the southwest. In short, during this brief fifteen year period both ends of the historical spectrum Peter Perdue describes as the process of Qing imperial expansion existed in the southwest: the use of tusi offices to extend Qing influence into Kham, and the elimination of tusi in the southwest in order to establish centralized civilian rule

Synthetic approaches to natural products

The total synthesis of natural products and their analogs is a very exciting and challenging area of organic chemistry. The biological activities of these natural products make this area of chemistry popular. Our synthetic approaches towards the biologically active molecules eburnamonine, MS-444, halenaquinone and their analogs represent a valuable contribution to the field of organic chemistry;We have devised a synthetic pathway that completes four of the five rings of eburnamonine. In addition this pathway can be used to synthesize a variety of indolo(2,3-a) quinolizines, demonstrating the wide versatility of our pathway;We have also devised a synthetic route to the core structure of MS-444. During this study, we developed some interesting methodology involving the synthesis of highly functionalized furans;Finally, we have developed a unique synthetic pathway to the core structure of halenaquinone. We have successfully completed three of the five rings present in halenaquinone and have designed intermediates which contain functional handles. These handles could eventually be used to complete the total synthesis of this biologically active molecule

Shaping the Breast in Aesthetic and Reconstructive Breast Surgery: An Easy Three-Step Principle. Part II - Breast Reconstruction after Total Mastectomy

This is Part II of four parts describing the three-step principle being applied in reconstructive and aesthetic breast surgery. Part I explains how to analyze a problematic breast by understanding the main anatomical features of a breast and how they interact: the footprint, the conus of the breast, and the skin envelope. This part describes how one can optimize results with breast reconstructions after complete mastectomy. For both primary and secondary reconstructions, the authors explain how to analyze the mastectomized breast and the deformed chest wall, before giving step-by-step guidelines for rebuilding the entire breast with either autologous tissue or implants. The differences in shaping unilateral or bilateral breast reconstructions with autologous tissue are clarified. Regardless of timing or method of reconstruction, it is shown that by breaking down the surgical strategy into three easy (anatomical) steps, the reconstructive surgeon will be able to provide more aesthetically pleasing and reproducible results. Throughout these four parts, the three-step principle will be the red line on which to fall back to define the problem and to propose a solution

Morphometrics of the dwarf honey bee Apis florea show biogeographic differentiation across India

The Asian dwarf honey bee (Apis florea) is a relatively small honey bee, nests in the open with single combs attached to tree branches, and inhabits areas uninhabitable to other Apis species. A. florea is one of few honey bees in the genus to have remained unmanaged by beekeepers across Asia. Because A. florea has not been bred for specific traits or transported intentionally across continents like managed Apis species, populations of A. florea should offer insight into natural adaptations of honey bee populations to diverse climates. We use morphometrics to examine which environmental factors correlate with morphological differences between populations of A. florea surveyed across India. The surveyed populations show a trend of increased wing size going from the equator to the north. The populations also vary in Cubital Index, a wing venation measurement often associated with subspecies differentiation, and this variation is correlated with minimum temperature of the coldest month. Taken together, these findings show that A. florea differs morphologically across a temperature gradient in India and support future work towards understanding biogeographic patterns in this understudied species of honey bee.Ecology, Evolution and Behavio