A Signal Distribution Network for Sequential Quantum-dot Cellular Automata Systems

The authors describe a signal distribution network for sequential systems constructed using the Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) computing paradigm. This network promises to enable the construction of arbitrarily complex QCA sequential systems in which all wire crossings are performed using nearest neighbor interactions, which will improve the thermal behavior of QCA systems as well as their resistance to stray charge and fabrication imperfections. The new sequential signal distribution network is demonstrated by the complete design and simulation of a two-bit counter, a three-bit counter, and a pattern detection circuit

The Mediation Role of Career Adaptability between Career Commitment and Career Motivation: An Empirical Investigation

This study investigates the nexus between career commitment, adaptability and motivation, and the mediation role of career adaptability on the relationships between career commitment and motivation. Data were collected randomly from marketers working in the telecommunication sector in the Kurdistan region of Iraq through online questionnaires. There were 121 out of 285 forms received and analyzed using the structural equation modeling approach. The findings indicate that both career commitment and adaptability have direct effects on career motivation. Furthermore, a mediation effect of career adaptability was identified in the relationship between career commitment and motivation. The findings of the study contribute to the career motivation literature by investigating the effects of individual factors, namely career commitment and career adaptability, on career motivation in the context of developing countries. The study also points out the compound effect of these factors on career motivation

Prefrontal microcircuit underlies contextual learning after hippocampal loss

Specific brain circuits have been classically linked to dedicated functions. However, compensation following brain damage suggests that these circuits are capable of dynamic adaptation. Such compensation is exemplified by Pavlovian fear conditioning following damage to the dorsal hippocampus (DH). Although the DH normally underlies contextual fear and fear renewal after extinction, both can be learned in the absence of the DH, although the mechanisms and nature of this compensation are currently unknown. Here, we report that recruitment of alternate structures, specifically the infralimbic and prelimbic prefrontal cortices, is required for compensation following damage to the hippocampus. Disconnection of these cortices in DH-compromised animals and immediate early gene induction profiles for amygdala-projecting prefrontal cells revealed that communication and dynamic rebalancing within this prefrontal microcircuit is critical. Additionally, the infralimbic cortex normally plays a role in limiting generalization of contextual fear. These discoveries reveal that plasticity through recruitment of alternate circuits allows the brain to compensate following damage, offering promise for targeted treatment of memory disorders

Models that use logarithmic and power functons

Nowadays, a tremendous speed of computer technologies is being observed. This caused intensive numerous researches in the fields of data protection, information processing and image processing. This article is devoted to computer graphics. To create and manipulate realistic objects in computer graphics one needs to have powerful computers to perform a lot of complicated computations. Though, GPU in modern visual adapters is able to handle very complicated operations during short period of time, a lot of other devices (e.g. hand-held devices) not equipped with GPU require simplification of computations for image shading. Herein we suggest approximation of BRDF (Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function) which hard to get computed, by two quadratic polynomials

Proteomic Analysis of Ubiquitin Ligase KEAP1 Reveals Associated Proteins That Inhibit NRF2 Ubiquitination

Somatic mutations in the KEAP1 ubiquitin ligase or its substrate NRF2 (NFE2L2) commonly occur in human cancer, resulting in constitutive NRF2-mediated transcription of cytoprotective genes. However, many tumors display high NRF2 activity in the absence of mutation, supporting the hypothesis that alternative mechanisms of pathway activation exist. Previously, we and others discovered that via a competitive binding mechanism, the proteins WTX (AMER1), PALB2 and SQSTM1 bind KEAP1 to activate NRF2. Proteomic analysis of the KEAP1 protein interaction network revealed a significant enrichment of associated proteins containing an ETGE amino acid motif, which matches the KEAP1 interaction motif found in NRF2. Like WTX, PALB2, and SQSTM1, we found that the dipeptidyl peptidase 3 (DPP3) protein binds KEAP1 via an ‘ETGE’ motif to displace NRF2, thus inhibiting NRF2 ubiquitination and driving NRF2-dependent transcription. Comparing the spectrum of KEAP1 interacting proteins with the genomic profile of 178 squamous cell lung carcinomas characterized by The Cancer Genome Atlas revealed amplification and mRNA over-expression of the DPP3 gene in tumors with high NRF2 activity but lacking NRF2 stabilizing mutations. We further show that tumor-derived mutations in KEAP1 are hypomorphic with respect to NRF2 inhibition and that DPP3 over-expression in the presence of these mutants further promotes NRF2 activation. Collectively, our findings further support the competition model of NRF2 activation and suggest that ‘ETGE’-containing proteins like DPP3 contribute to NRF2 activity in cancer

Observations of the Askaryan Effect in Ice

We report on the first observations of the Askaryan effect in ice: coherent impulsive radio Cherenkov radiation from the charge asymmetry in an electromagnetic (EM) shower. Such radiation has been observed in silica sand and rock salt, but this is the first direct observation from an EM shower in ice. These measurements are important since the majority of experiments to date that rely on the effect for ultra-high energy neutrino detection are being performed using ice as the target medium. As part of the complete validation process for the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment, we performed an experiment at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in June 2006 using a 7.5 metric ton ice target, yielding results fully consistent with theoretical expectations.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, minor correction

Observations of Microwave Continuum Emission from Air Shower Plasmas

We investigate a possible new technique for microwave measurements of ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) extensive air showers which relies on detection of expected continuum radiation in the microwave range, caused by free-electron collisions with neutrals in the tenuous plasma left after the passage of the shower. We performed an initial experiment at the AWA (Argonne Wakefield Accelerator) laboratory in 2003 and measured broadband microwave emission from air ionized via high energy electrons and photons. A follow-up experiment at SLAC (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center) in summer of 2004 confirmed the major features of the previous AWA observations with better precision and made additional measurements relevant to the calorimetric capabilities of the method. Prompted by these results we built a prototype detector using satellite television technology, and have made measurements indicating possible detection of cosmic ray extensive air showers. The method, if confirmed by experiments now in progress, could provide a high-duty cycle complement to current nitrogen fluorescence observations of UHECR, which are limited to dark, clear nights. By contrast, decimeter microwave observations can be made both night and day, in clear or cloudy weather, or even in the presence of moderate precipitation.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figure

Proposal for Single-Bunch Collimator Wakefield Measurements at SLAC ESTB

Collimator wakefields in the Beam Delivery System (BDS) of future linear colliders, such as the International Linear Collider (ILC) and the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC), can be an important source of emittance growth and beam jitter amplification, consequently degrading the luminosity. Therefore, a better understanding of collimator wakefield effects is essential to optimise the collimation systems of future linear colliders in order to minimise wakefield effects. In the past, measurements of single-bunch collimator wakefields have been carried out at SLAC with the aim of benchmarking theory, numerical calculations and experiments. Those studies revealed some discrepancies between the measurements and the theoretical models. New experimental tests using available beam test facilities, such as the End Station A Test Beam (ESTB) at SLAC, would help to improve our understanding on collimator wakefields. ESTB will provide the perfect test bed to investigate collimator wakefields for different bunch length conditions, relevant for both ILC (300 micrometers nominal bunch length) and CLIC (44 micrometers nominal bunch length) studies. Here we propose to perform new experimental tests of collimator wakefield effects on electron/positron beams at SLAC ESTB.Comment: 22 pages, 19 figure

Observation of Ultra-high-energy Cosmic Rays with the ANITA Balloon-borne Radio Interferometer

We report the observation of sixteen cosmic ray events of mean energy of 1.5 x 10^{19} eV, via radio pulses originating from the interaction of the cosmic ray air shower with the Antarctic geomagnetic field, a process known as geosynchrotron emission. We present the first ultra-wideband, far-field measurements of the radio spectral density of geosynchrotron emission in the range from 300-1000 MHz. The emission is 100% linearly polarized in the plane perpendicular to the projected geomagnetic field. Fourteen of our observed events are seen to have a phase-inversion due to reflection of the radio beam off the ice surface, and two additional events are seen directly from above the horizon.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, new figure adde