Algebraic Degeneracy of Non-Archimedean Analytic Maps

We prove non-Archimedean analogs of results of Noguchi and Winkelmann showing algebraic degeneracy of rigid analytic maps to projective varieties omitting an effective divisor with sufficiently many irreducible components relative to the rank of the group they generate in the Neron-Severi group of the variety.Comment: 10 page

Chiral Thianthrenes

Acknowledgments: We thank the UK EPSRC National Mass Spectrometry Service Centre for mass spectrometric data and the UK National Crystallography Centre (University of Southampton) for the X-ray data collections. M. J. Plater performed all syntheses and obtained the characterisation data, and W. T. A. Harrison solved the crystallographic data sets. Data sets were obtained free of charge from the National Crystallography Centre, Southampton University.Peer reviewe

A Phylogenetic Perspective on Distributed Decision-Making Mechanisms

This paper challenges a common assumption about decision- making mechanisms in humans: decision-making is a distinctively high-level cognitive activity implemented by mechanisms concentrated in the higher-level areas of the cortex. We argue instead that human behavior is controlled by a multiplicity of highly distributed, heterarchically organized decision-making mechanisms. We frame it in terms of control mechanisms that procure and evaluate information to select activities of controlled mechanisms and adopt a phylogenetic perspective, showing how decision-making is realized in control mechanisms in a variety of species. We end by discussing this picture's implication for high-level cognitive decision-making

Uncovering John Holliday’s industrial dye synthesis patented in 1865

Open Access via the Sage Agreement The authors thank the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) National Mass Spectrometry Service Centre for mass spectrometric data and the UK National Crystallography Centre (University of Southampton) for the X-ray data collections. Data sets were obtained free of charge from the National Crystallography Centre, Southampton University.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Reactions of 4,5-difluoro-1,2-dinitrobenzene with amines in dimethylformamide or EtOH

Funding The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A Phylogenetic Perspective on Distributed Decision-Making Mechanisms

This paper challenges a common assumption about decision- making mechanisms in humans: decision-making is a distinctively high-level cognitive activity implemented by mechanisms concentrated in the higher-level areas of the cortex. We argue instead that human behavior is controlled by a multiplicity of highly distributed, heterarchically organized decision-making mechanisms. We frame it in terms of control mechanisms that procure and evaluate information to select activities of controlled mechanisms and adopt a phylogenetic perspective, showing how decision-making is realized in control mechanisms in a variety of species. We end by discussing this picture's implication for high-level cognitive decision-making

Combining tower mixing ratio and community model data to estimate regional-scale net ecosystem carbon exchange by boundary layer inversion over 4 flux towers in the U.S.A.

We evaluated an idealized boundary layer (BL) model with simple parameterizations using vertical transport information from community model outputs (NCAR/NCEP Reanalysis and ECMWF Interim Analysis) to estimate regional-scale net CO2 fluxes from 2002 to 2007 at three forest and one grassland flux sites in the United States. The BL modeling approach builds on a mixed-layer model to infer monthly average net CO2 fluxes using high-precision mixing ratio measurements taken on flux towers. We compared BL model net ecosystem exchange (NEE) with estimates from two independent approaches. First, we compared modeled NEE with tower eddy covariance measurements. The second approach (EC-MOD) was a data-driven method that upscaled EC fluxes from towers to regions using MODIS data streams. Comparisons between modeled CO2 and tower NEE fluxes showed that modeled regional CO2 fluxes displayed interannual and intra-annual variations similar to the tower NEE fluxes at the Rannells Prairie and Wind River Forest sites, but model predictions were frequently different from NEE observations at the Harvard Forest and Howland Forest sites. At the Howland Forest site, modeled CO2 fluxes showed a lag in the onset of growing season uptake by 2 months behind that of tower measurements. At the Harvard Forest site, modeled CO2 fluxes agreed with the timing of growing season uptake but underestimated the magnitude of observed NEE seasonal fluctuation. This modeling inconsistency among sites can be partially attributed to the likely misrepresentation of atmospheric transport and/or CO2gradients between ABL and the free troposphere in the idealized BL model. EC-MOD fluxes showed that spatial heterogeneity in land use and cover very likely explained the majority of the data-model inconsistency. We show a site-dependent atmospheric rectifier effect that appears to have had the largest impact on ABL CO2 inversion in the North American Great Plains. We conclude that a systematic BL modeling approach provided new insights when employed in multiyear, cross-site synthesis studies. These results can be used to develop diagnostic upscaling tools, improving our understanding of the seasonal and interannual variability of surface CO2 fluxes

Low-density resin impregnated ceramic article and method for making the same

A low-density resin impregnated ceramic article advantageously employed as a structural ceramic ablator comprising a matrix of ceramic fibers. The fibers of the ceramic matrix are coated with an organic resin film. The organic resin can be a thermoplastic resin or a cured thermosetting resin. In one embodiment, the resin is uniformly distributed within the ceramic article. In a second embodiment, the resin is distributed so as to provide a density gradient along at least one direction of the ceramic article. The resin impregnated ceramic article is prepared by providing a matrix of ceramic fibers; immersing the matrix of ceramic fibers in a solution of a solvent and an organic resin infiltrant; and removing the solvent to form a resin film on the ceramic fibers

Weed Robot

Team Weed Scouts has completed our work on a weed-cutting robot for the Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast. The final robot build provides a solid foundation that can be built and improved upon by future teams. We have completed the robot base and structure, including the chassis, drivetrain, and robot shell. We also completed manufacturing a weed storage bin and canvas cover for the robot. Additionally, we have built a weed scooper, the mechanism that cuts weeds and transports them into a storage compartment. The electronics and programming for remote control of the robot are also implemented. After some testing, we found that the robot had limited functionality. It was able to drive around with slight power issues but unfortunately, the weed scooper was not able to fully cut and transport the weeds. Despite these obstacles, we have created a semi-operable foundation for future teams to optimize, test, and debug. The next steps include adding a weed shredder and developing autonomous robot functionality along with weed identification. Upon project completion, the weed-cutting robot will help maintain the grounds at Camp Arnaz and serve as a source of engineering inspiration for Girl Scouts and other camp visitors

Model Organisms for Studying Decision-Making: A Phylogenetically Expanded Perspective

This article explores the use of model organisms in studying the cognitive phenomenon of decision-making. Drawing on the framework of biological control to develop a skeletal conception of decision-making, we show that two core features of decision-making mechanisms can be identified by studying model organisms, such as E. coli, jellyfish, C. elegans, lamprey, and so on. First, decision mechanisms are distributed and heterarchically structured. Second, they depend heavily on chemical information processing, such as that involving neuromodulators. We end by discussing the implications for studying distinctively human decision-making