Topological mechanics of gyroscopic metamaterials

Topological mechanical metamaterials are artificial structures whose unusual properties are protected very much like their electronic and optical counterparts. Here, we present an experimental and theoretical study of an active metamaterial -- comprised of coupled gyroscopes on a lattice -- that breaks time-reversal symmetry. The vibrational spectrum of these novel structures displays a sonic gap populated by topologically protected edge modes which propagate in only one direction and are unaffected by disorder. We present a mathematical model that explains how the edge mode chirality can be switched via controlled distortions of the underlying lattice. This effect allows the direction of the edge current to be determined on demand. We envision applications of these edges modes to the design of loss-free, one-way, acoustic waveguides and demonstrate this functionality in experiment

Convergent evolution of pregnancy-specific glycoproteins in human and horse

Pregnancy-specific glycoproteins (PSGs) are members of the carcinoembryonic antigen cell adhesion molecule (CEACAM) family that are secreted by trophoblast cells. PSGs may modulate immune, angiogenic and platelet responses during pregnancy. Until now, PSGs are only found in species that have a highly invasive (hemochorial) placentation including humans, mice and rats. Surprisingly, analyzing the CEACAM gene family of the horse, which has a non-invasive epitheliochorial placenta, with the exception of the transient endometrial cups, we identified equine CEACAM family members that seem to be related to PSGs of rodents and primates. We identified seven genes that encode secreted PSG-like CEACAMs. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that they evolved independently from an equine CEACAM1-like ancestor rather than from a common PSG-like ancestor with rodents and primates. Significantly, expression of PSG-like genes (CEACAM44, CEACAM48, CEACAM49 and CEACAM55) was found in non-invasive as well as invasive trophoblast cells such as purified chorionic girdle cells and endometrial cup cells. Chorionic girdle cells are highly invasive trophoblast cells that invade the endometrium of the mare where they form endometrial cups and are in close contact with maternal immune cells. Therefore, the microenvironment of invasive equine trophoblast cells has striking similarities to the microenvironment of trophoblast cells in hemochorial placentas, suggesting that equine PSG-like CEACAMs and rodent and primate PSGs have undergone convergent evolution. This is supported by our finding that equine PSG-like CEACAM49 exhibits similar activity to certain rodent and human PSGs in a functional assay of platelet–fibrinogen binding. Our results have implications for understanding the evolution of PSGs and their functions in maternal–fetal interactions

Natural capital metrics. Phase 1 final report: central components

This is a condensed version of the Natural Capital Metrics (NCMet) project Phase 1 report. It focuses on three key components: i) the conceptual framework, ii) development of six example evidence-chains and their associated data and model inventories, and iii) early development work towards a Natural Capital Portal to provide access to relevant data, models and maps of natural capital. All outputs are preliminary and are undergoing considerable refinement in the second phase of the project. Phase 2 outputs will be available in 2018

Robert Cavally\u27s Edition of G. F. Handel\u27s Solo Flute Sonatas: An Evaluation and Historical Perspective.

Teachers are frequently faced with the difficult dilemma of determining what edition of a particular Baroque work they should recommend to their students. This decision is becoming even more difficult as modern publishers continue to produce new editions of standard repertoire. Such is the case with G. F. Handel\u27s solo sonatas, often referred to as his Opus 1 . One publication of these sonatas that has been popular for over fifty years among flutists and flute teachers is G. F. Handel: Seven Sonatas and Famous Largo for Flute and Piano, edited by Robert Cavally (c. 1941). Because this edition was prepared prior to the explosion of exhaustive research of Baroque performance practice, the validity of this edition as a modern performing edition has been questioned. This study evaluates the worth and usefulness of Cavally\u27s edition and assesses how accurately Cavally\u27s edition reflects the content of Handel\u27s original version(s). It also discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the edition and determines what purpose it serves flutists today. To achieve these goals, this study surveys the chronology and publication history of Handel\u27s solo sonatas. It attempts to sort out, in a way comprehensible to performers and teachers, the many complexities surrounding these issues. It compares Handel\u27s autograph manuscripts, contemporary manuscript copies, and the early editions in an attempt to understand the relationship between them. As a result, a clearer distinction between what Handel wrote and Cavally\u27s editorial procedure can be determined

Multiplicity dependence of jet-like two-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 5.02 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations between unidentified charged trigger and associated particles are measured by the ALICE detector in p-Pb collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV. The transverse-momentum range 0.7 $< p_{\rm{T}, assoc} < p_{\rm{T}, trig} <$ 5.0 GeV/$c$ is examined, to include correlations induced by jets originating from low momen\-tum-transfer scatterings (minijets). The correlations expressed as associated yield per trigger particle are obtained in the pseudorapidity range $|\eta|<0.9$. The near-side long-range pseudorapidity correlations observed in high-multiplicity p-Pb collisions are subtracted from both near-side short-range and away-side correlations in order to remove the non-jet-like components. The yields in the jet-like peaks are found to be invariant with event multiplicity with the exception of events with low multiplicity. This invariance is consistent with the particles being produced via the incoherent fragmentation of multiple parton--parton scatterings, while the yield related to the previously observed ridge structures is not jet-related. The number of uncorrelated sources of particle production is found to increase linearly with multiplicity, suggesting no saturation of the number of multi-parton interactions even in the highest multiplicity p-Pb collisions. Further, the number scales in the intermediate multiplicity region with the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions estimated with a Glauber Monte-Carlo simulation.Comment: 23 pages, 6 captioned figures, 1 table, authors from page 17, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/161

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

A Response to Colonial Carceral Control: Conceptualising a Decolonial Approach to Self-Determination

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Law.The hyperincarceration of Indigenous peoples in colonial carceral systems is a widely documented phenomenon. In recent decades, significant research attention has focused on ameliorating these so-called disproportionate levels of Indigenous imprisonment. Nevertheless, Indigenous incarceration rates continue to swell. My research reframes the nature of Indigenous incarceration in colonial carceral systems. In this dissertation, I situate the role of colonial carceral control in contemporary colonial state engagement with Indigenous nations; I argue that colonial states cannot solve the so-called ‘problem’ of Indigenous incarceration, because colonial states are the source of Indigenous incarceration. I demonstrate that high levels of Indigenous incarceration in colonial carceral systems are not proof of these systems’ failure but are evidence of their success. I contend that the most pressing issue within the incarceration of Indigenous nations in colonial carceral systems is not solving the ‘problem’ of Indigenous incarceration, but rather solving the problem of colonial carceral control. Drawing on case studies from Australia, Kanaky (New Caledonia), Canada, and Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), I argue that colonial gaols are repositories of colonial goals. Resolving the problem of colonial carceral control, therefore, necessitates deep shifts in the terms upon which colonial states engage with Indigenous nations, not merely a revision of the content of the conversation. Indigenous decarceration demands Indigenous self-determination certainly; but, I argue, to be Indigenous self-determination this precept must be delinked from the colonial matrix of power. In this dissertation, I respond to the problem of colonial carceral control by developing the Colonial State Engagement Visualisation Tool: a novel visual mapping approach to conceptualising colonial state engagement with Indigenous nations at sites of colonial carceral control. Using the Colonial State Engagement Visualisation Tool, I schematise an Indigenous Self-centred approach to self-determination – one which eschews the impositions of Colonial Self-centred limitations on the rights of Indigenous nations and rightly positions Indigenous peoples as the final arbiters of their right of self-determination

Gender, time and ‘waiting’ in everyday academic life

No abstract available