Boston Hospitality Review: Fall 2012

Lodging Update: Greater Boston by Rachel Rogisnky and Matthew Arrants -- A Sense of Place by Rachel Black -- Hospitality, Tourism, and Politics by Stephen W. Litvin -- Paris in Boston by photo essay by Jack Dzamba -- The Cradle of American Hospitality by Bradford Hudson -- Thompon’s Spa: The Most Famous Lunch Counter in the World by Peter Szende and Heather Rule -- The Restaurant as Hybrid: Lean Manufacturer and Service Provider by Christopher Mulle

Distributional reinforcement learning in prefrontal cortex

The prefrontal cortex is crucial for learning and decision-making. Classic reinforcement learning (RL) theories center on learning the expectation of potential rewarding outcomes and explain a wealth of neural data in the prefrontal cortex. Distributional RL, on the other hand, learns the full distribution of rewarding outcomes and better explains dopamine responses. In the present study, we show that distributional RL also better explains macaque anterior cingulate cortex neuronal responses, suggesting that it is a common mechanism for reward-guided learning

A Current Induced Transition in atomic-sized contacts of metallic Alloys

We have measured conductance histograms of atomic point contacts made from the noble-transition metal alloys CuNi, AgPd, and AuPt for a concentration ratio of 1:1. For all alloys these histograms at low bias voltage (below 300 mV) resemble those of the noble metals whereas at high bias (above 300 mV) they resemble those of the transition metals. We interpret this effect as a change in the composition of the point contact with bias voltage. We discuss possible explanations in terms of electromigration and differential diffusion induced by current heating.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

The Two-Loop Scale Dependence of the Static QCD Potential including Quark Masses

The interaction potential V(Q^2) between static test charges can be used to define an effective charge $\alpha_V(Q^2)$ and a physically-based renormalization scheme for quantum chromodynamics and other gauge theories. In this paper we use recent results for the finite-mass fermionic corrections to the heavy-quark potential at two-loops to derive the next-to-leading order term for the Gell Mann-Low function of the V-scheme. The resulting effective number of flavors $N_F(Q^2/m^2)$ in the $\alpha_V$ scheme is determined as a gauge-independent and analytic function of the ratio of the momentum transfer to the quark pole mass. The results give automatic decoupling of heavy quarks and are independent of the renormalization procedure. Commensurate scale relations then provide the next-to-leading order connection between all perturbatively calculable observables to the analytic and gauge-invariant $\alpha_V$ scheme without any scale ambiguity and a well defined number of active flavors. The inclusion of the finite quark mass effects in the running of the coupling is compared with the standard treatment of finite quark mass effects in the $\bar{MS}$ scheme.Comment: 27 pages, 13 figure

Properties of a single photon generated by a solid-state emitter: effects of pure dephasing

We investigate the properties of a single photon generated by a solid-state emitter subject to strong pure dephasing. We employ a model in which all the elements of the system, including the propagating fields, are treated quantum mechanically. We analytically derive the density matrix of the emitted photon, which contains full information about the photon, such as its pulse profile, power spectrum, and purity. We visualize these analytical results using realistic parameters and reveal the conditions for maximizing the purity of generated photons.Comment: 25pages(one column), 10 figure

Effects of gender and race on prognosis after myocardial infarction: Adverse prognosis for women, particularly black women

Controversy has arisen concerning whether gender influences the prognosis after myocardial infarction. Although some studies have shown there to be no difference between the sexes, most have indicated a worse prognosis for women, attributing this to differences in baseline characteristics. It has been further suggested that black women have a particularly poor prognosis after infarction. To determine the contribution of gender and race to the course of infarction, 816 patients with confirmed myocardial infarction who were enrolled in the Multi-center Investigation of the Limitation of Infarct Size (MILIS) were analyzed. Of those patients, 226 were women and 590 were men, 142 were black and 674 were white.The cumulative mortality rate at 48 months was 36% for women versus 21% for men (p < 0.001, mean follow-up 32 months). The cumulative mortality rate by race was 34% for blacks versus 24% for whites (p < 0.005). Both women and blacks exhibited more baseline characteristics predictive of mortality than did their male or white counterparts. It was possible to account for the greater mortality rate of blacks by identifiable baseline variables; however, even after adjustment, the mortality rate for women remained significantly higher (p < 0.002). The poorer prognosis for women was influenced by a particularly high mortality rate among black women (48%); the mortality rate for white women was 32%, for black men 23% and for white men 21%. The mortality for black women was significantly greater than that of the other subgroups. Thus, findings in the MILIS population indicate that the prognosis after myocardial infarction is worse for women, particularly black women

Functional structure of European forest beetle communities is enhanced by rare species

Biodiverse communities have been shown to sustain high levels of multifunctionality and thus a loss of species likely negatively impacts ecosystem functions. For most taxa, however, roles of individual species are poorly known. Rare species, often most likely to go extinct, may have unique traits and functional roles. Alternatively, rare species may be functionally redundant, such that their loss would not disrupt ecosystem functions. We quantified the functional role of rare species by using captures of wood-living (saproxylic) beetle species, combined with recent databases of morphological and ecological traits, from three regions in central and northern Europe. Using a rarity index based on species' local abundance, geographic range, and habitat breadth, we used local and regional species removal simulations to examine the contributions of both the rarest and the most common beetle species to three measures of community functional structure: functional richness, functional specialization, and functional originality. Both regionally and locally, all three measures declined more rapidly when rare species were removed than under common (or random) species removal scenarios. These consistent patterns across scales and among forest types give evidence that rare species provide unique functional contributions, and their loss may disproportionately impact ecosystem functions. This implies that conservation measures targeting rare and endangered species, such as preserving intact forests with dead wood and mature trees, can provide broader ecosystem-level benefits. Experimental research linking functional structure to ecosystem processes should be prioritized to increase understanding of the functional consequences of species loss and to develop more effective conservation strategies

Traits mediate niches and co-occurrences of forest beetles in ways that differ among bioclimatic regions

Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the role of traits in beetle community assembly and test for consistency in these effects among several bioclimatic regions. We asked (1) whether traits predicted species' responses to environmental gradients (i.e. their niches), (2) whether these same traits could predict co-occurrence patterns and (3) how consistent were niches and the role of traits among study regions. Location Boreal forests in Norway and Finland, temperate forests in Germany. Taxon Wood-living (saproxylic) beetles. Methods We compiled capture records of 468 wood-living beetle species from the three regions, along with nine morphological and ecological species traits. Eight climatic and forest covariates were also collected. We used Bayesian hierarchical joint species distribution models to estimate the influence of traits and phylogeny on species' niches. We also tested for correlations between species associations and trait similarity. Finally, we compared species niches and the effects of traits among study regions. Results Traits explained some of the variability in species' niches, but their effects differed among study regions. However, substantial phylogenetic signal in species niches implies that unmeasured but phylogenetically structured traits have a stronger effect. Degree of trait similarity was correlated with species associations but depended idiosyncratically on the trait and region. Species niches were much more consistent-widespread taxa often responded similarly to an environmental gradient in each region. Main conclusions The inconsistent effects of traits among regions limit their current use in understanding beetle community assembly. Phylogenetic signal in niches, however, implies that better predictive traits can eventually be identified. Consistency of species niches among regions means niches may remain relatively stable under future climate and land use changes; this lends credibility to predictive distribution models based on future climate projections but may imply that species' scope for short-term adaptation is limited.Peer reviewe

Live SIV vaccine correlate of protection: immune complex-inhibitory Fc receptor interactions that reduce target cell availability

Principles to guide design of an effective vaccine against HIV are greatly needed, particularly to protect women in the pandemic’s epicentre in Africa. We have been seeking these principles by identifying correlates of the robust protection associated with SIVmac239Δnef vaccination in the SIV-rhesus macaque animal model of HIV-1 transmission to women. We have identified one correlate of SIVmac239Δnef protection against vaginal challenge as a resident mucosal system for SIV-gp41 trimer antibody production and neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn)-mediated concentration of these antibodies on the path of virus entry to inhibit establishment of infected founder populations at the portal of entry. Here we identify as a second protection correlate, blocking CD4+ T cell recruitment to inhibit local expansion of infected founder populations. Virus-specific immune complex interactions with the inhibitory FcγRIIb receptor in the epithelium lining the cervix initiate expression of genes that block recruitment of target cells to fuel local expansion. Immune complex-FcγRIIb receptor interactions at mucosal frontlines to dampen the innate immune response to vaginal challenge could be a potentially general mechanism for the mucosal immune system to sense and modulate the response to a previously encountered pathogen. Designing vaccines to provide protection without eliciting these transmission-promoting innate responses could contribute to developing an effective HIV-1 vaccine

Live SIV vaccine correlate of protection: immune complex-inhibitory Fc receptor interactions that reduce target cell availability

Principles to guide design of an effective vaccine against HIV are greatly needed, particularly to protect women in the pandemic’s epicentre in Africa. We have been seeking these principles by identifying correlates of the robust protection associated with SIVmac239Δnef vaccination in the SIV-rhesus macaque animal model of HIV-1 transmission to women. We have identified one correlate of SIVmac239Δnef protection against vaginal challenge as a resident mucosal system for SIV-gp41 trimer antibody production and neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn)-mediated concentration of these antibodies on the path of virus entry to inhibit establishment of infected founder populations at the portal of entry. Here we identify as a second protection correlate, blocking CD4+ T cell recruitment to inhibit local expansion of infected founder populations. Virus-specific immune complex interactions with the inhibitory FcγRIIb receptor in the epithelium lining the cervix initiate expression of genes that block recruitment of target cells to fuel local expansion. Immune complex-FcγRIIb receptor interactions at mucosal frontlines to dampen the innate immune response to vaginal challenge could be a potentially general mechanism for the mucosal immune system to sense and modulate the response to a previously encountered pathogen. Designing vaccines to provide protection without eliciting these transmission-promoting innate responses could contribute to developing an effective HIV-1 vaccine