Bilateral Differentiation of Color and Morphology in the Larval and Pupal Stages of \u3ci\u3ePapilio Glaucus\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)

A sharply delineated, bilateral differentiation of color patterns and morphology were observed in a final (5th) instar larva of a subspecies backcross of a female Papilio glaucus glaucus with a hybrid male (P. g. glaucus x P. g. canadensis). Color and morphological differences were detectable in the pupa as well. In addition, a bilateral size difference was evident in both the pupa and the resulting adult butterfly. Such observations within a single living individual attest to the bilateral independence (also evident in perfect gynandromorphs) and general flexibility of the developmental control in this species of Lepidoptera

Self-imaging silicon Raman amplifier

We propose a new type of waveguide optical amplifier. The device consists of collinearly propagating pump and amplified Stokes beams with periodic imaging of the Stokes beam due to the Talbot effect. The application of this device as an Image preamplifier for Mid Wave Infrared (MWIR) remote sensing is discussed and its performance is described. Silicon is the preferred material for this application in MWIR due to its excellent transmission properties, high thermal conductivity, high damage threshold and the mature fabrication technology. In these devices, the Raman amplification process also includes four-wave-mixing between various spatial modes of pump and Stokes signals. This phenomenon is unique to nonlinear interactions in multimode waveguides and places a limit on the maximum achievable gain, beyond which the image begins to distort. Another source of image distortion is the preferential amplification of Stokes modes that have the highest overlap with the pump. These effects introduce a tradeoff between the gain and image quality. We show that a possible solution to this trade-off is to restrict the pump into a single higher order waveguide mode.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures and 5 sections. Submitted to Optics Expres

Time and Chance Happen to Them All: A Macroevolutionary Examination of the Effects of Whole Genome Multiplications

Polyploidy, the state of having more than two complete sets of chromosomes, is common in plants and has been linked to several beneficial traits. On the macroevolutionary scale, the effects of polyploidy have been hotly debated for over one hundred years, being alternatively described as an “evolutionary dead end” and the most important discovery in evolutionary biology since Darwin and Wallace. This thesis aims to contribute to the debate by studying the diversification, biogeography, and ecophysiology of polyploid flowering plants with recently developed phylogenetic comparative methods. This dissertation has three chapters. In Chapter I, I review work on the so-called “dead-end hypothesis” in polyploid research, which I argue is in fact multiple hypotheses masquerading as one. I supplement the review with an analysis of tip diversification rates in Solanaceae, employing the MiSSE model. In Chapter II, I examine the “latitudinal polyploidy gradient,” in which polyploid plants comprise greater proportions of the flora at higher latitudes. To compare latitudinal movement and patterns of origination between diploids and polyploids across four flowering plant clades, I use the novel machuruku model to reconstruct ancestral ranges and develop a new function for ancestral state reconstruction within the corHMM package. In Chapter III, I perform the first systematic review and meta-analysis comparing pathogen resistance in diploid and polyploid plants, incorporating phylogenetic information at the family level. Across these three analyses, I do not find support for associations between polyploidy and increased diversification or the evolution of beneficial traits. It is thus possible that any beneficial effects resulting from polyploidy can be chalked up to the “luck of the draw.” Together, these chapters all present novel or under-utilized methods of studying the effects of polyploidy in phylogenetic context

Short-term Heart Rate Turbulence Analysis Versus Variability and Baroreceptor Sensitivity in Patients With Dilated Cardiomyopathy

New methods for the analysis of arrhythmias and their hemodynamic consequences have been applied in risk stratification, in particular to patients after myocardial infarction. This study investigates the suitability of short-term heart rate turbulence (HRT) analysis in comparison to heart rate and blood pressure variability as well as baroreceptor sensitivity analyses to characterise the regulatory differences between patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and healthy controls. In this study, 30 minutes data of non-invasive continuous blood pressure and ECGs of 37 DCM patients and 167 controls measured under standard resting conditions were analysed. The results show highly significant differences between DCM patients and controls in heart rate and blood pressure variability as well as in baroreceptor sensitivity parameters. Applying a combined heart rate-blood pressure trigger, ventricular premature beats were detected in 24.3% (9) of the DCM patients and 11.3% (19) of the controls. This fact demonstrates the limited applicability of short-term HRT analyses. However, the HRT parameters showed significant differences in this subgroup with ventricular premature beats (turbulence onset: DCM: 1.80±2.72, controls: - 4.34±3.10, p<0.001; turbulence slope: DCM: 6.75±5.50, controls: 21.30±17.72, p=0.021). Considering all (including HRT) parameters in the subgroup with ventricular beats, a discrimination rate between DCM patients and controls of 88.0% was obtained (max. 6 parameters). The corresponding value obtained for the total group was 86.3% (without HRT parameters). Comparable classification rates and high correlations between heart rate turbulence and variability and baroreflex parameters point to a more universal applicability of the latter methods

Time and Chance Happen to Them All: A Macroevolutionary Examination of the Effects of Whole Genome Multiplications

Polyploidy, the state of having more than two complete sets of chromosomes, is common in plants and has been linked to several beneficial traits. On the macroevolutionary scale, the effects of polyploidy have been hotly debated for over one hundred years, being alternatively described as an “evolutionary dead end” and the most important discovery in evolutionary biology since Darwin and Wallace. This thesis aims to contribute to the debate by studying the diversification, biogeography, and ecophysiology of polyploid flowering plants with recently developed phylogenetic comparative methods. This dissertation has three chapters. In Chapter I, I review work on the so-called “dead-end hypothesis” in polyploid research, which I argue is in fact multiple hypotheses masquerading as one. I supplement the review with an analysis of tip diversification rates in Solanaceae, employing the MiSSE model. In Chapter II, I examine the “latitudinal polyploidy gradient,” in which polyploid plants comprise greater proportions of the flora at higher latitudes. To compare latitudinal movement and patterns of origination between diploids and polyploids across four flowering plant clades, I use the novel machuruku model to reconstruct ancestral ranges and develop a new function for ancestral state reconstruction within the corHMM package. In Chapter III, I perform the first systematic review and meta-analysis comparing pathogen resistance in diploid and polyploid plants, incorporating phylogenetic information at the family level. Across these three analyses, I do not find support for associations between polyploidy and increased diversification or the evolution of beneficial traits. It is thus possible that any beneficial effects resulting from polyploidy can be chalked up to the “luck of the draw.” Together, these chapters all present novel or under-utilized methods of studying the effects of polyploidy in phylogenetic context

Spectacle, architecture and place at the Nuremberg Party Rallies: projecting a Nazi vision of past, present and future

Nuremberg, perhaps more than any other place, stands central among iconic images of Nazi Germany. The Nazi regime went to great lengths to inscribe its basic tenets into Nuremberg's urban landscape. While many are already familiar with the role Nuremberg played as the site of the annual Nazi Party Rallies, few realize that the Nazi building programme in Nuremberg placed great emphasis on redesigning the city's historical centre in addition to developing the extensive rally grounds on the city's edge. This article explores the architectural form, performative function and motivating ideologies associated with these extensive building programmes in Nuremberg and, rather than seeing them as two separate projects, highlights the intimate connections between the construction of the rally grounds on the city's edge and the concurrent redesign of the city's historical centre. Although seemingly irreconcilable in terms of style and scale, these efforts to build and rebuild in Nuremberg were actually seen as complementing elements in the regime's programme to create and project images of historical greatness, current political legitimacy and promises of future grandeur

Effective Field Theory for Halo Nuclei

We investigate properties of two- and three-body halo systems using effective field theory. If the two-particle scattering length a in such a system is large compared to the typical range of the interaction R, low-energy observables in the strong and the electromagnetic sector can be calculated in halo EFT in a controlled expansion in R/|a|. Here we will focus on universal properties and stay at leading order in the expansion. Motivated by the existence of the P-wave halo nucleus 6He, we first set up an EFT framework for a general three-body system with resonant two-particle P-wave interactions. Based on a Lagrangian description, we identify the area in the effective range parameter space where the two-particle sector of our model is renormalizable. However, we argue that for such parameters, there are two two-body bound states: a physical one and an additional deeper-bound and non-normalizable state that limits the range of applicability of our theory. With regard to the three-body sector, we then classify all angular-momentum and parity channels that display asymptotic discrete scale invariance and thus require renormalization via a cut-off dependent three-body force. In the unitary limit an Efimov effect occurs. However, this effect is purely mathematical, since, due to causality bounds, the unitary limit for P-wave interactions can not be realized in nature. Away from the unitary limit, the three-body binding energy spectrum displays an approximate Efimov effect but lies below the unphysical, deep two-body bound state and is thus unphysical. Finally, we discuss possible modifications in our halo EFT approach with P-wave interactions that might provide a suitable way to describe physical three-body bound states. We then set up a halo EFT formalism for two-neutron halo nuclei with resonant two-particle S-wave interactions. Introducing external currents via minimal coupling, we calculate observables and universal correlations for such systems. We apply our model to some known and suspected halo nuclei, namely the light isotopes 11Li, 14Be and 22C and the hypothetical heavy atomic nucleus 62Ca. In particular, we calculate charge form factors, relative electric charge radii and dipole strengths as well as general dependencies of these observables on masses and one- and two-neutron separation energies. Our analysis of the62Ca system provides evidence of Efimov physics along the Calcium isotope chain. Experimental key observables that facilitate a test of our findings are discussed

Efficient Bayesian estimates for discrimination among topologically different systems biology models

A major effort in systems biology is the development of mathematical models that describe complex biological systems at multiple scales and levels of abstraction. Determining the topology—the set of interactions—of a biological system from observations of the system's behavior is an important and difficult problem. Here we present and demonstrate new methodology for efficiently computing the probability distribution over a set of topologies based on consistency with existing measurements. Key features of the new approach include derivation in a Bayesian framework, incorporation of prior probability distributions of topologies and parameters, and use of an analytically integrable linearization based on the Fisher information matrix that is responsible for large gains in efficiency. The new method was demonstrated on a collection of four biological topologies representing a kinase and phosphatase that operate in opposition to each other with either processive or distributive kinetics, giving 8–12 parameters for each topology. The linearization produced an approximate result very rapidly (CPU minutes) that was highly accurate on its own, as compared to a Monte Carlo method guaranteed to converge to the correct answer but at greater cost (CPU weeks). The Monte Carlo method developed and applied here used the linearization method as a starting point and importance sampling to approach the Bayesian answer in acceptable time. Other inexpensive methods to estimate probabilities produced poor approximations for this system, with likelihood estimation showing its well-known bias toward topologies with more parameters and the Akaike and Schwarz Information Criteria showing a strong bias toward topologies with fewer parameters. These results suggest that this linear approximation may be an effective compromise, providing an answer whose accuracy is near the true Bayesian answer, but at a cost near the common heuristics.National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (U54 CA112967)National University of Singapor

Einstein equations in the null quasi-spherical gauge III: numerical algorithms

We describe numerical techniques used in the construction of our 4th order evolution for the full Einstein equations, and assess the accuracy of representative solutions. The code is based on a null gauge with a quasi-spherical radial coordinate, and simulates the interaction of a single black hole with gravitational radiation. Techniques used include spherical harmonic representations, convolution spline interpolation and filtering, and an RK4 "method of lines" evolution. For sample initial data of "intermediate" size (gravitational field with 19% of the black hole mass), the code is accurate to 1 part in 10^5, until null time z=55 when the coordinate condition breaks down.Comment: Latex, 38 pages, 29 figures (360Kb compressed