Fighting for Their Lives: Why the Marginalized Irish from the 1840s-1910 Dominated American Prizefighting

One of the most recognizable figures in the world during his lifetime, heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, previously Cassius Clay and Cassius X, put his self-esteem on display with the simple declaration “I am the greatest.” This was a phrase he told himself long before he truly was the greatest, but he proved it to the world in 1964 when he defeated defending champion Sonny Liston. Upon knocking out his dangerous, violent, and cheating opponent, Ali whipped himself into a frenzy, as onlookers saw him fall over the ropes, scream at the ringside reporters who had previously doubted him, and chant “I am the greatest!” and “I’m a bad man!” as loudly as he could. In the face of overwhelming doubt, a public that did not believe in him, parents that disowned him, and a white Christian society that feared and hated him, Ali claimed one of the most important social and sporting titles in the world. To this day, boxing fans, experts, and historians have largely come to agree with him; Muhammad Ali was the greatest professional boxer that ever lived

Nonlinear Dynamics of Particles Excited by an Electric Curtain

The use of the electric curtain (EC) has been proposed for manipulation and control of particles in various applications. The EC studied in this paper is called the 2-phase EC, which consists of a series of long parallel electrodes embedded in a thin dielectric surface. The EC is driven by an oscillating electric potential of a sinusoidal form where the phase difference of the electric potential between neighboring electrodes is 180 degrees. We investigate the one- and two-dimensional nonlinear dynamics of a particle in an EC field. The form of the dimensionless equations of motion is codimension two, where the dimensionless control parameters are the interaction amplitude ($A$) and damping coefficient ($\beta$). Our focus on the one-dimensional EC is primarily on a case of fixed $\beta$ and relatively small $A$, which is characteristic of typical experimental conditions. We study the nonlinear behaviors of the one-dimensional EC through the analysis of bifurcations of fixed points. We analyze these bifurcations by using Floquet theory to determine the stability of the limit cycles associated with the fixed points in the Poincar\'e sections. Some of the bifurcations lead to chaotic trajectories where we then determine the strength of chaos in phase space by calculating the largest Lyapunov exponent. In the study of the two-dimensional EC we independently look at bifurcation diagrams of variations in $A$ with fixed $\beta$ and variations in $\beta$ with fixed $A$. Under certain values of $\beta$ and $A$, we find that no stable trajectories above the surface exists; such chaotic trajectories are described by a chaotic attractor, for which the the largest Lyapunov exponent is found. We show the well-known stable oscillations between two electrodes come into existence for variations in $A$ and the transitions between several distinct regimes of stable motion for variations in $\beta$

Particle acceleration in the M87 jet

The wealth of high quality data now available on the M87 jet inspired us to carry out a detailed analysis of the plasma physical conditions in the jet. In a companion paper (Lobanov, Hardee & Eilek, this proceedings) we identify a double-helix structure within the jet, and apply Kelvin-Helmholtz stability analysis to determine the physical state of the jet plasma. In this paper we treat the jet as a test case for in situ particle acceleration. We find that plasma turbulence is likely to exist at levels which can maintain the energy of electrons radiating in the radio to optical range, consistent with the broadband spectrum of the jet.Comment: 4 pages; to appear in New Astronomy Reviews, in proceedings of the meeting "The Physics of Relativistic Jets in the CHANDRA and XMM Era

Revision of the New World Heteromeringia (Diptera: Clusiidae: Clusiodinae).

Die 18 neuweltlichen Arten von Heteromeringia Czerny, 1903 werden revidiert inklusive Beschreibung von 10 neuen Arten (H. apholis sp. n. (Mexiko), H. aphotisma sp. n. (Brasilien), H. decora sp. n. (Mexiko), H. lateralis sp. n. (Costa Rica), H. mediana sp. n. (Brasilien), H. nanella sp. n. (Brasilien), H. nervosa sp. n. (Costa Rica), H. quadriseta sp. n. (Ecuador, Peru), H. volcana sp. n. (Costa Rica) und H. zophina sp. n. (Mexiko)). Die nearktische Unterart H. nitida nigripes Melander & Argo, 1924 wird zur Art erhoben. Die H. nitida-Artengruppe und die H. czernyi-Artengruppe werden aufgestellt, und die Verwandtschaftsverhältnisse der letzteren (ausschließlich neotropischen) Gruppe werden diskutiert. Sobarocephala subfasciata Curran, 1939 wird synonymisiert mit H. czernyi Kertesz, 1903. Heteromeringia dimidiata Hennig, 1938 wird in die Gattung Sobarocephala Czerny, 1903 comb. n. gestellt. Heteromeringia tephrinos nomen nov. wird als Ersatzname vorgeschlagen für die afrotropische H. nigrifrons Lamb, 1914, ein jüngeres primäres Homonym von H. nigrifrons Kertesz, 1903. Die Biologie von Heteromeringia wird diskutiert und ein Bestimmungsschlüssel für die neuweltlichen Arten wird vorgestellt. Zum ersten Mal wird aggressives Verhalten innerhalb der Gattung beschrieben: Männchen von H. nitida benutzen ihre zweifarbigen Vorderbeine zur Verteidigung von Paarungsrevieren.StichwörterHeteromeringia, H. czernyi species group, H. nitida species group, Clusiidae, Diptera, New World, revision, new species, stat. n., syn. n., comb. n., nomen n., biology, behaviour.Nomenklatorische Handlungenapholis Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.aphotisma Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.decora Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.flavipes (Williston, 1896) (Heteromeringia), Lectotype described as Heteroneura flavipeslateralis Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.mediana Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.nanella Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.nervosa Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.nigripes Melander & Argo, 1924 (Heteromeringia), stat. n. described as Heteromeringia nitida var. nigripesquadriseta Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.tephrinos Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), nom. n. pro Heteromeringia nigrifrons Lamb, 1914, nec Kertesz, 1903volcana Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.zophina Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.dimidiata (Hennig, 1938) (Sobarocephala), comb. n. hitherto Heteromeringia dimidiatasubfasciata Curran, 1939 (Sobarocephala), syn. n. of Heteromeringia czernyi Kertesz, 1903The 18 New World species of Heteromeringia Czerny, 1903 are revised, with 10 species described as new: H. apholis sp. n. (Mexico), H. aphotisma sp. n. (Brazil), H. decora sp. n. (Mexico), H. lateralis sp. n. (Costa Rica), H. mediana sp. n. (Brazil), H. nanella sp. n. (Brazil), H. nervosa sp. n. (Costa Rica), H. quadriseta sp. n. (Ecuador, Peru), H. volcana sp. n. (Costa Rica) and H. zophina sp. n. (Mexico). The Nearctic H. nitida nigripes Melander & Argo, 1924 is raised from subspecies to species. The H. nitida species group and the H. czernyi species group are erected, and species relationships are discussed for the latter (entirely neotropical) group. Sobarocephala subfasciata Curran, 1939 is included as a junior synonym of H. czernyi Kertesz, 1903. Heteromeringia dimidiata Hennig, 1938 is moved to Sobarocephala Czerny, 1903 comb. n. Heteromeringia tephrinos nomen n. is provided as a replacement name for the Afrotropical H. nigrifrons Lamb, 1914, which is a junior primary homonym of H. nigrifrons Kertesz, 1903. The biology of Heteromeringia is discussed, and a key is provided for all New World species. Agonistic interactions are described for this genus for the first time, with H. nitida Johnson, 1913 males recorded as using bicoloured forelegs to defend mating territories.KeywordsHeteromeringia, H. czernyi species group, H. nitida species group, Clusiidae, Diptera, New World, revision, new species, stat. n., syn. n., comb. n., nomen n., biology, behaviour.Nomenclatural Actsapholis Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.aphotisma Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.decora Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.flavipes (Williston, 1896) (Heteromeringia), Lectotype described as Heteroneura flavipeslateralis Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.mediana Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.nanella Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.nervosa Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.nigripes Melander & Argo, 1924 (Heteromeringia), stat. n. described as Heteromeringia nitida var. nigripesquadriseta Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.tephrinos Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), nom. n. pro Heteromeringia nigrifrons Lamb, 1914, nec Kertesz, 1903volcana Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.zophina Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.dimidiata (Hennig, 1938) (Sobarocephala), comb. n. hitherto Heteromeringia dimidiatasubfasciata Curran, 1939 (Sobarocephala), syn. n. of Heteromeringia czernyi Kertesz, 190

Reversible Mode Switching in Y coupled Terahertz Lasers

Electrically independent terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) are optically coupled in a Y configuration. Dual frequency, electronically switchable emission is achieved in one QCL using an aperiodic grating, designed using computer-generated hologram techniques, incorporated directly into the QCL waveguide by focussed ion beam milling. Multi-moded emission around 2.9 THz is inhibited, lasing instead occurring at switchable grating-selected frequencies of 2.88 and 2.92 THz. This photonic control and switching behaviour is selectively and reversibly transferred to the second, unmodified QCL via evanescent mode coupling, without the transfer of the inherent grating losses

Y coupled terahertz quantum cascade lasers

Here we demonstrate a Y coupled terahertz (THz) quantum cascade laser (QCL) system. The two THz QCLs working around 2.85 THz are driven by independent electrical pulsers. Total peak THz output power of the Y system, with both arms being driven synchronously, is found to be more than the linear sum of the peak powers from the individual arms; 10.4 mW compared with 9.6 mW (4.7 mW + 4.9 mW). Furthermore, we demonstrate that the emission spectra of this coupled system are significantly different to that of either arm alone, or to the linear combination of their individual spectra.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Three-dimensional localization of CENP-A suggests a complex higher order structure of centromeric chromatin

The histone H3 variant centromere protein A (CENP-A) is central to centromere formation throughout eukaryotes. A long-standing question in centromere biology has been the organization of CENP-A at the centromere and its implications for the structure of centromeric chromatin. In this study, we describe the three-dimensional localization of CENP-A at the inner kinetochore plate through serial-section transmission electron microscopy of human mitotic chromosomes. At the kinetochores of normal centromeres and at a neocentromere, CENP-A occupies a compact domain at the inner kinetochore plate, stretching across two thirds of the length of the constriction but encompassing only one third of the constriction width and height. Within this domain, evidence of substructure is apparent. Combined with previous chromatin immunoprecipitation results (Saffery, R., H. Sumer, S. Hassan, L.H. Wong, J.M. Craig, K. Todokoro, M. Anderson, A. Stafford, and K.H.A. Choo. 2003. Mol. Cell. 12:509–516; Chueh, A.C., L.H. Wong, N. Wong, and K.H.A. Choo. 2005. Hum. Mol. Genet. 14:85–93), our data suggest that centromeric chromatin is arranged in a coiled 30-nm fiber that is itself coiled or folded to form a higher order structure

Chromatin state changes during neural development revealed by in vivo cell-type specific profiling.

A key question in developmental biology is how cellular differentiation is controlled during development. While transitions between trithorax-group (TrxG) and polycomb-group (PcG) chromatin states are vital for the differentiation of ES cells to multipotent stem cells, little is known regarding the role of chromatin states during development of the brain. Here we show that large-scale chromatin remodelling occurs during Drosophila neural development. We demonstrate that the majority of genes activated during neuronal differentiation are silent in neural stem cells (NSCs) and occupy black chromatin and a TrxG-repressive state. In neurons, almost all key NSC genes are switched off via HP1-mediated repression. PcG-mediated repression does not play a significant role in regulating these genes, but instead regulates lineage-specific transcription factors that control spatial and temporal patterning in the brain. Combined, our data suggest that forms of chromatin other than canonical PcG/TrxG transitions take over key roles during neural development

damidseq_pipeline: an automated pipeline for processing DamID sequencing datasets.

UNLABELLED: DamID is a powerful technique for identifying regions of the genome bound by a DNA-binding (or DNA-associated) protein. Currently, no method exists for automatically processing next-generation sequencing DamID (DamID-seq) data, and the use of DamID-seq datasets with normalization based on read-counts alone can lead to high background and the loss of bound signal. DamID-seq thus presents novel challenges in terms of normalization and background minimization. We describe here damidseq_pipeline, a software pipeline that performs automatic normalization and background reduction on multiple DamID-seq FASTQ datasets. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: Open-source and freely available from http://owenjm.github.io/damidseq_pipeline. The damidseq_pipeline is implemented in Perl and is compatible with any Unix-based operating system (e.g. Linux, Mac OSX). CONTACT: [email protected] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.We thank Charles Bradshaw for helpful comments on the software. This work was supported by the BBSRC [BB/L00786X/1] and Wellcome Trust [092545]. The Gurdon Institute is supported by core funding from the Wellcome Trust [092096] and CRUK [C6946/A14492].This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btv38