Galactic exploration by directed Self-Replicating Probes, and its implications for the Fermi paradox

This paper proposes a long term scheme for robotic exploration of the galaxy,and then considers the implications in terms of the `Fermi paradox' and our search for ETI. We discuss the parameter space of the `galactic ecology' of civilizations in terms of the parameters T (time between ET civilizations arising) and L, the lifetime of these civilizations. Six different regions are described.Comment: 1 figur

Development of improved heat sterilizable potting compounds third quarterly report, 1 jan. - 31 mar. 1964

Development of heat sterilizable potting compoun

Ecological Observations on Predatory Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) in Southwestern Michigan

Ecological observations on habitat utilization by thirteen species of predatory Coccinellidae were made at a southern Michigan site during 1989 and 1990. Most of species were common during both years and used both agricul- tural and uncultivated habitats. Coccinella septempunctata and Coleomegilla maculata, were the most abundant in agricultural crops (alfalfa, maize, soy- bean and triticale), whereas Adalia bipunctata and Cycloneda munda, were the most abundant in deciduous and bushy habitats

From amaurosis fugax to asymptomatic bithalamic infarct

Bilateral paramedian thalamic infarctions are usually associated with impaired consciousness, oculomotor disturbances and neuropsychological changes. A 44-year-old healthy woman presented with amaurosis fugax of the right eye immediately after a Valsalva maneuver. Neurological examination, in particular visual acuity, vigilance and ocular movements, was normal. Blood pressure, ECG and angio-CT of the neck and head vessels were normal, but MRI/DWI and T2 sequences showed recent bi-thalamic ischemic lesions in the paramedian territories. Doppler sonography and transesophageal echocardiography showed a large right-to-left shunt due to an atrial communication, with septum aneurysm. Twenty-four-hours cardiac monitoring was normal but prior to an eventual closure of the cardiac defect she underwent an ambulatory 7-day ECG monitoring which revealed several paroxystic short lasting passages into atrial fibrillation, unnoticed by the patient. The interest in this case is threefold: (1) bilateral paramedian thalamic infarction which usually presents with a devastating clinical picture may occur clinically silent; (2) monocular amaurosis fugax which is usually associated with ipsilateral carotid disease may be the consequence of cardiac embolism, and (3) atrial fibrillation is never completely ruled out, here it was caught only in a 7-days ambulatory R-test, and consequently prevented closure of a possibly asymptomatic patent foramen oval

Survey of users of earth resources remote sensing data

A user survey was conducted to determine current earth resources survey (ERS) data use/user status and recommendations for strengthening use. Only high-altitude aircraft and satellite (primarily LANDSAT) data were included. Emphasis was placed on the private sector/industrial user. Objectives of the survey included: who is using ERS data, how they are using the data, the relative value of current data use as well as obtaining user views as to possible ways of strengthening future ERS data use. The survey results are documented and should provide relevant decision making information for developing future programs of maximum benefit to all end users of satellite ERS data

DNA methylation-based age prediction and telomere length in white blood cells and cumulus cells of infertile women with normal or poor response to ovarian stimulation.

An algorithm assessing the methylation levels of 353 informative CpG sites in the human genome permits accurate prediction of the chronologic age of a subject. Interestingly, when there is discrepancy between the predicted age and chronologic age (age acceleration or AgeAccel ), patients are at risk for morbidity and mortality. Identification of infertile patients at risk for accelerated reproductive senescence may permit preventative action. This study aimed to assess the accuracy of the epigenetic clock concept in reproductive age women undergoing fertility treatment by applying the age prediction algorithm in peripheral (white blood cells [WBCs]) and follicular somatic cells (cumulus cells [CCs]), and to identify whether women with premature reproductive aging (diminished ovarian reserve) were at risk of AgeAccel in their age prediction. Results indicated that the epigenetic algorithm accurately predicts age when applied to WBCs but not to CCs. The age prediction of CCs was substantially younger than chronologic age regardless of the patient\u27s age or response to stimulation. In addition, telomeres of CCs were significantly longer than that of WBCs. Our findings suggest that CCs do not demonstrate changes in methylome-predicted age or telomere-length in association with increasing female age or ovarian response to stimulation

Gold Standard Online Debates Summaries and First Experiments Towards Automatic Summarization of Online Debate Data

Usage of online textual media is steadily increasing. Daily, more and more news stories, blog posts and scientific articles are added to the online volumes. These are all freely accessible and have been employed extensively in multiple research areas, e.g. automatic text summarization, information retrieval, information extraction, etc. Meanwhile, online debate forums have recently become popular, but have remained largely unexplored. For this reason, there are no sufficient resources of annotated debate data available for conducting research in this genre. In this paper, we collected and annotated debate data for an automatic summarization task. Similar to extractive gold standard summary generation our data contains sentences worthy to include into a summary. Five human annotators performed this task. Inter-annotator agreement, based on semantic similarity, is 36% for Cohen's kappa and 48% for Krippendorff's alpha. Moreover, we also implement an extractive summarization system for online debates and discuss prominent features for the task of summarizing online debate data automatically.Comment: accepted and presented at the CICLING 2017 - 18th International Conference on Intelligent Text Processing and Computational Linguistic

Alunite and the role of magmatic fluids in the Tambo high-sulfidation deposit, El Indio–Pascua belt, Chile

The Tambo high-sulfidation deposit, located within the El Indio–Pascua belt in Chile, produced almost 25 t (0.8 M oz) of gold from altered Tertiary rhyodacitic volcanic rocks. Episodic magmatic-hydrothermal activity in the district occurred over at least 4 my and is characterized by several stages of acid-sulfate alteration, including magmatic-hydrothermal, magmatic steam, steam-heated, and apparent supergene assemblages. Two stages of Au±Ag mineralization are recognized and are hosted in barite and alunite within hydrothermal breccias and veins. Isotopic compositions of fluid in alunite show a dominant magmatic signature, with only a variable 18O-enriched meteoric water component throughout the entire hydrothermal process. Alunite 40Ar/39Ar ages constrain the timing of alteration and the duration of the hydrothermal system. Pre-ore alteration occurred at about 10 to 11 Ma and was contemporaneous with the volcanism of the Tambo Formation. Alunite from this stage of alteration occurs in the matrix of barren breccias and as fine intergrowths of alunite–quartz±clays that selectively replaced feldspars and pumice fragments. The textural relationships combined with stable-isotope systematics suggest a magmatic-hydrothermal origin for the alunite, with a local magmatic steam overprint. Early ore-stage alunite (8.7±0.2 Ma) occurs with barite and gold±walthierite within open spaces of the breccia matrix, and has δ34S values (24–27%◦) typical of magmatic-hydrothermal alunite, reflecting equilibrium between aqueous H2S and SO2 ̶ 4. Fluid-inclusion ratios of H2S/SO2 (approximately 6) are consistent with ratios determined from stable-isotope data, and indicate reduced fluid conditions during ore deposition. Vaporphase transport of Au, and deposition from condensed magmatic vapor rising from the brittle–ductile transition is inferred. Late gold coprecipitated with a third stage of alunite (8.2±0.2 Ma) that is characterized by nearly uniform chemical compositions and δ34S values (1%◦) similar to those for associated enargite, reflecting disequilibrium between H2S and SO2 ̶ 4. This third-stage of alunite is isotopically and chemically similar to that of post-ore, coarse, banded alunite±hematite-quartz veins that crosscut the breccias in the Tambo area. Analyses of fluid-inclusion gas from alunite in these veins indicate high SO2 and disequilibrium CO2–CO–CH4–H2 species, consistent with a magmatic-steam origin. The gases are also depleted in He, and the late goldbearing alunite was probably precipitated from rapidly ascending SO2-rich vapors that were flashed from condensed magmati