A Description of the Naval War College Management Study

The study of management is a relative newcomer to the War College curriculum and may seem somewhat anomalous among the more traditional studies of strategy and tactics

Exploring the Low-ZZ Shore of the Island of Inversion at N=19N = 19

The technique of invariant mass spectroscopy has been used to measure, for the first time, the ground state energy of neutron-unbound $^{28}\textrm{F},$ determined to be a resonance in the $^{27}\textrm{F} + n$ continuum at $2\underline{2}0 (\underline{5}0)$ keV. States in $^{28}\textrm{F}$ were populated by the reactions of a 62 MeV/u $^{29}\textrm{Ne}$ beam impinging on a 288 $\textrm{mg/cm}^2$ beryllium target. The measured $^{28}\textrm{F}$ ground state energy is in good agreement with USDA/USDB shell model predictions, indicating that $pf$ shell intruder configurations play only a small role in the ground state structure of $^{28}\textrm{F}$ and establishing a low-$Z$ boundary of the island of inversion for N=19 isotones.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Improving Illumina assemblies with Hi-C and long reads : An example with the North African dromedary

Researchers have assembled thousands of eukaryotic genomes using Illumina reads, but traditional mate-pair libraries cannot span all repetitive elements, resulting in highly fragmented assemblies. However, both chromosome conformation capture techniques, such as Hi-C and Dovetail Genomics Chicago libraries and long-read sequencing, such as Pacific Biosciences and Oxford Nanopore, help span and resolve repetitive regions and therefore improve genome assemblies. One important livestock species of arid regions that does not have a high-quality contiguous reference genome is the dromedary (Camelus dromedarius). Draft genomes exist but are highly fragmented, and a high-quality reference genome is needed to understand adaptation to desert environments and artificial selection during domestication. Dromedaries are among the last livestock species to have been domesticated, and together with wild and domestic Bactrian camels, they are the only representatives of the Camelini tribe, which highlights their evolutionary significance. Here we describe our efforts to improve the North African dromedary genome. We used Chicago and Hi-C sequencing libraries from Dovetail Genomics to resolve the order of previously assembled contigs, producing almost chromosome-level scaffolds. Remaining gaps were filled with Pacific Biosciences long reads, and then scaffolds were comparatively mapped to chromosomes. Long reads added 99.32 Mbp to the total length of the new assembly. Dovetail Chicago and Hi-C libraries increased the longest scaffold over 12-fold, from 9.71 Mbp to 124.99 Mbp and the scaffold N50 over 50-fold, from 1.48 Mbp to 75.02 Mbp. We demonstrate that Illumina de novo assemblies can be substantially upgraded by combining chromosome conformation capture and long-read sequencing.Peer reviewe

Big Physics At Small Places: The Mongol Horde Model Of Undergraduate Research

A model for engaging undergraduates in cutting-edge experimental nuclear physics research at a national user facility is discussed.  Methods to involve students and examples of their success are presented

Maternal Responsivity Predicts Language Development in Young Children With Fragile X Syndrome

The relationship between early maternal responsivity and later child communication outcomes in young children with fragile X syndrome was investigated. Data were obtained from 55 mother–child dyads over a 36-month period. Performance data were obtained at each measurement point from video observations of four different contexts. These were coded for (a) child communication behaviors, (b) parent responsivity, and (c) behavior management behaviors. Results indicate that early maternal responsivity predicts the level of four important child language outcomes at 36 months of age after controlling for child developmental level and autism symptomology

Dust and the spectral energy distribution of the OH/IR star OH 127.8+0.0: Evidence for circumstellar metallic iron

We present a fit to the spectral energy distribution of OH 127.8+0.0, a typical asymptotic giant branch star with an optically thick circumstellar dust shell. The fit to the dust spectrum is achieved using non-spherical grains consisting of metallic iron, amorphous and crystalline silicates and water ice. Previous similar attempts have not resulted in a satisfactory fit to the observed spectral energy distributions, mainly because of an apparent lack of opacity in the 3--8 micron region of the spectrum. Non-spherical metallic iron grains provide an identification for the missing source of opacity in the near-infrared. Using the derived dust composition, we have calculated spectra for a range of mass-loss rates in order to perform a consistency check by comparison with other evolved stars. The L-[12 micron] colours of these models correctly predict the mass-loss rate of a sample of AGB stars, strengthening our conclusion that the metallic iron grains dominate the near-infrared flux. We discuss a formation mechanism for non-spherical metallic iron grains.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication by A&

The effects of stand characteristics on the understory vegetation in Quercus petraea and Q. cerris dominated forests

The shelterwood system used in Hungary has many effects on the composition and structure of the herb layer. The aim of our study was to identify the main variables that affect the occurence of herbs and seedlings in Turkey oak-sessile oak (Quercus cerris and Q. petraea) stands. The study was carried out in the Bükk mountains, Hungary. 122 sampling plots were established in 50-150 year old oak forests, where we studied the species composition and structure of the understorey and overstorey. The occurence of herbs was affected by canopy closure, the heterogenity and patchiness of the stand, the slope and the east-west component of the aspect. The composition of saplings was significantly explained by the ratio of the two major oak species in the stand and the proximity of the adult plants. An important result for forest management was that sessile oaks were able to regenerate almost only where they were dominant in the overstorey

Combined photonics and MEMs function demonstration

The authors have recently demonstrated two prototypes where photonics and microelectromechanical system (MEMs) technologies have been integrated to show proof-of-principle functionality for weapon surety functions. These activities are part of a program which is exploring the miniaturization of electromechanical components for making weapon systems safer. Such miniaturization can lead to a low-cost, small, high-performance ``systems-on-a-chip``, and have many applications ranging from advanced military systems to large-volume commercial markets like automobiles, rf or land-based communications networks and equipment, or commercial electronics. One of the key challenges in realization of the microsystem is integration of several technologies including digital electronics; analog and rf electronics, optoelectronics (light emitting and detecting devices and circuits), sensors and actuators, and advanced packaging technologies. In this work the authors describe efforts in integrating MEMs and photonic functions and the fabrication constraints on both system components. Here, they discuss two examples of integration of MEMs and a photonic device. In the first instance, a MEMs locking device pin is driven by a voltage generated by photovoltaic cells connected in series, which are driven by a laser. In the second case, a VCSEL emitting at 1.06 {micro}m is packaged together with a metallized MEMs shutter. By appropriate alignment to the opening in the shutter, the VCSEL is turned on and off by the movement of the Si chopper wheel

Autism as a disorder of neural information processing: directions for research and targets for therapy

The broad variation in phenotypes and severities within autism spectrum disorders suggests the involvement of multiple predisposing factors, interacting in complex ways with normal developmental courses and gradients. Identification of these factors, and the common developmental path into which theyfeed, is hampered bythe large degrees of convergence from causal factors to altered brain development, and divergence from abnormal brain development into altered cognition and behaviour. Genetic, neurochemical, neuroimaging and behavioural findings on autism, as well as studies of normal development and of genetic syndromes that share symptoms with autism, offer hypotheses as to the nature of causal factors and their possible effects on the structure and dynamics of neural systems. Such alterations in neural properties may in turn perturb activity-dependent development, giving rise to a complex behavioural syndrome many steps removed from the root causes. Animal models based on genetic, neurochemical, neurophysiological, and behavioural manipulations offer the possibility of exploring these developmental processes in detail, as do human studies addressing endophenotypes beyond the diagnosis itself

Do Children with Fragile X Syndrome Show Declines or Plateaus in Adaptive Behavior?

This study explores if children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) show advances, declines, or plateaus in adaptive behavior over time and the relationship of nonverbal cognitive abilities and autistic behavior on these trajectories. Parents of 55 children with FXS completed the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales between 3 and 6 times from 2 to 10 years of age. Using raw scores, results indicate that about half of the sample showed advances in adaptive behavior, while the other half showed declines, indicating a regression in skills. Children who were more cognitively advanced and had less autistic behaviors had higher trajectories. Understanding the developmental course of adaptive behavior in FXS has implications for educational planning and intervention, especially for those children showing declines