82 research outputs found
Making Conservatism: Conservative Intellectuals and the American Political Tradition
Conservative thought has a complex relationship between principles and expediency; conservative intellectuals read history in line with their needs. This dissertation traces the construction of “conservatism” as a political identity in a nation of normative liberalism. Conservative discourse coalesced around several constructs: the language of conservatism itself; a theoretical formulation that prioritized economic liberty and anti-statism in politics and sublimated “tradition” to the cultural sphere; an equation right-wing policies with America’s political tradition; and an anti-leftism that included anti-communism, but was especially motivated by domestic anti-liberalism. When conservative intellectuals appealed to history, they drew on a reservoir of symbolic authority that naturalized their contemporary political programs. These appeals developed in three stages: first, the justification of a conservative tradition in American history; second, an interpretation of history that found resources for contemporary conservative politics in the past; finally, the establishment of conservative readings as the sole interpretation of history, supplanting liberal interpretations of the past. The conservative appeal to the authority of history had political intent. Conservative intellectuals sought to bring the federal state in line with pre-New Deal limits. They saw this as restoring the republic after a liberal rupture in history. This narrative delegitimized their political opponents and fostered existential politics. The prologue discusses the dominance of “liberalism” after World War II. Chapter 1 looks at the emergence of “conservatism” as a political language in the 1950s. Chapter 2 analyzes critics of liberalism in the early 1950s. Chapter 3 traces the founding of the conservative magazine National Review and the development of “conservatism” around several tropes. Chapter 4 addresses key conservative thinkers and their interpretations of American history. Chapter 5 focuses on conservative intellectuals and civil rights. Chapter 6 discusses the exhaustion of movement conservative intellectuals in the 1960s and 1970s and contrasts conservative intellectuals defined by their interpretation of history. Chapter 7 covers the neoconservative-led celebration of the Bicentennial of American independence, demonstrating conservative history reaching the White House. Chapter 8 offers snapshots of conservative intellectual success and failure in equating their policies with the American political tradition in the 1980s and beyond.Doctor of Philosoph
Towards understanding the clinical significance of QT peak prolongation: a novel marker of myocardial ischemia independently demonstrated in two prospective studies
Background: QT peak prolongation identified patients at risk of death or non-fatal MI. We tested the hypothesis that QT peak prolongation might be associated with significant myocardial ischaemia in two separate cohorts to see how widely applicable the concept was. Methods and Results: In the first study, 134 stroke survivors were prospectively recruited and had 12-lead ECGs and Nuclear myocardial perfusion scanning. QT peak was measured in lead I of a 12-lead ECG and heart rate corrected by Bazett’s formula (QTpc). QTpc prolongation to 360ms or more was 92% specific at diagnosing severe myocardial ischaemia. This hypothesis-generating study led us to perform a second prospective study in a different cohort of patients who were referred for dobutamine stress echocardiography. 13 of 102 patients had significant myocardial ischaemia. Significant myocardial ischaemia was associated with QT peak prolongation at rest (mean 354ms, 95% CI 341-367ms, compared with mean 332ms, 95% CI 327-337ms in those without significant ischaemia; p=0.002). QT peak prolongation to 360ms or more was 88% specific at diagnosing significant myocardial ischaemia in the stress echocardiography study. QT peak prolongation to 360ms or more was associated with over 4-fold increase odds ratio of significant myocardial ischaemia. The Mantel- Haenszel Common Odds Ratio Estimate=4.4, 95% CI=1.2-16.0, p=0.023. Conclusion: QT peak (QTpc) prolongation to 360ms or more should make us suspect the presence of significant myocardial ischaemia. Such patients merit further investigations for potentially treatable ischaemic heart disease to reduce their risk of subsequent death or non-fatal MI
A system-on-chip microwave photonic processor solves dynamic RF interference in real time with picosecond latency
Radio-frequency interference is a growing concern as wireless technology
advances, with potentially life-threatening consequences like interference
between radar altimeters and 5G cellular networks. Mobile transceivers mix
signals with varying ratios over time, posing challenges for conventional
digital signal processing (DSP) due to its high latency. These challenges will
worsen as future wireless technologies adopt higher carrier frequencies and
data rates. However, conventional DSPs, already on the brink of their clock
frequency limit, are expected to offer only marginal speed advancements. This
paper introduces a photonic processor to address dynamic interference through
blind source separation (BSS). Our system-on-chip processor employs a fully
integrated photonic signal pathway in the analogue domain, enabling rapid
demixing of received mixtures and recovering the signal-of-interest in under 15
picoseconds. This reduction in latency surpasses electronic counterparts by
more than three orders of magnitude. To complement the photonic processor,
electronic peripherals based on field-programmable gate array (FPGA) assess the
effectiveness of demixing and continuously update demixing weights at a rate of
up to 305 Hz. This compact setup features precise dithering weight control,
impedance-controlled circuit board and optical fibre packaging, suitable for
handheld and mobile scenarios. We experimentally demonstrate the processor's
ability to suppress transmission errors and maintain signal-to-noise ratios in
two scenarios, radar altimeters and mobile communications. This work pioneers
the real-time adaptability of integrated silicon photonics, enabling online
learning and weight adjustments, and showcasing practical operational
applications for photonic processing
Mitotic stress is an integral part of the oncogene-induced senescence program that promotes multinucleation and cell cycle arrest
Oncogene-induced senescence (OIS) is a tumor suppression mechanism that blocks cell proliferation in response to oncogenic signaling. OIS is frequently accompanied by multinucleation; however, the origin of this is unknown. Here, we show that multinucleate OIS cells originate mostly from failed mitosis. Prior to senescence, mutant H-RasV12 activation in primary human fibroblasts compromised mitosis, concordant with abnormal expression of mitotic genes functionally linked to the observed mitotic spindle and chromatin defects. Simultaneously, H-RasV12 activation enhanced survival of cells with damaged mitoses, culminating in extended mitotic arrest and aberrant exit from mitosis via mitotic slippage. ERK-dependent transcriptional upregulation of Mcl1 was, at least in part, responsible for enhanced survival and slippage of cells with mitotic defects. Importantly, mitotic slippage and oncogene signaling cooperatively induced senescence and key senescence effectors p21 and p16. In summary, activated Ras coordinately triggers mitotic disruption and enhanced cell survival to promote formation of multinucleate senescent cells
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First Data Release of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program
The Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) is a three-layered
imaging survey aimed at addressing some of the most outstanding questions in
astronomy today, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy. The
survey has been awarded 300 nights of observing time at the Subaru Telescope
and it started in March 2014. This paper presents the first public data release
of HSC-SSP. This release includes data taken in the first 1.7 years of
observations (61.5 nights) and each of the Wide, Deep, and UltraDeep layers
covers about 108, 26, and 4 square degrees down to depths of i~26.4, ~26.5, and
~27.0 mag, respectively (5sigma for point sources). All the layers are observed
in five broad bands (grizy), and the Deep and UltraDeep layers are observed in
narrow bands as well. We achieve an impressive image quality of 0.6 arcsec in
the i-band in the Wide layer. We show that we achieve 1-2 per cent PSF
photometry (rms) both internally and externally (against Pan-STARRS1), and ~10
mas and 40 mas internal and external astrometric accuracy, respectively. Both
the calibrated images and catalogs are made available to the community through
dedicated user interfaces and database servers. In addition to the pipeline
products, we also provide value-added products such as photometric redshifts
and a collection of public spectroscopic redshifts. Detailed descriptions of
all the data can be found online. The data release website is
https://hsc-release.mtk.nao.ac.jp/.Comment: 34 pages, 20 figures, 7 tables, moderate revision, accepted for
publication in PAS
Simplified Models for LHC New Physics Searches
This document proposes a collection of simplified models relevant to the
design of new-physics searches at the LHC and the characterization of their
results. Both ATLAS and CMS have already presented some results in terms of
simplified models, and we encourage them to continue and expand this effort,
which supplements both signature-based results and benchmark model
interpretations. A simplified model is defined by an effective Lagrangian
describing the interactions of a small number of new particles. Simplified
models can equally well be described by a small number of masses and
cross-sections. These parameters are directly related to collider physics
observables, making simplified models a particularly effective framework for
evaluating searches and a useful starting point for characterizing positive
signals of new physics. This document serves as an official summary of the
results from the "Topologies for Early LHC Searches" workshop, held at SLAC in
September of 2010, the purpose of which was to develop a set of representative
models that can be used to cover all relevant phase space in experimental
searches. Particular emphasis is placed on searches relevant for the first
~50-500 pb-1 of data and those motivated by supersymmetric models. This note
largely summarizes material posted at http://lhcnewphysics.org/, which includes
simplified model definitions, Monte Carlo material, and supporting contacts
within the theory community. We also comment on future developments that may be
useful as more data is gathered and analyzed by the experiments.Comment: 40 pages, 2 figures. This document is the official summary of results
from "Topologies for Early LHC Searches" workshop (SLAC, September 2010).
Supplementary material can be found at http://lhcnewphysics.or
US Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter 2017: Community Report
This white paper summarizes the workshop "U.S. Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in
Dark Matter" held at University of Maryland on March 23-25, 2017.Comment: 102 pages + reference
Openness in Education as a Praxis: From Individual Testimonials to Collective Voices
Why is Openness in Education important, and why is it critically needed at this moment? As manifested in our guiding question, the significance of Openness in Education and its immediate necessity form the heart of this collaborative editorial piece. This rather straightforward, yet nuanced query has sparked this collective endeavour by using individual testimonies, which may also be taken as living narratives, to reveal the value of Openness in Education as a praxis. Such testimonies serve as rich, personal narratives, critical introspections, and experience-based accounts that function as sources of data. The data gleaned from these narratives points to the understanding of Openness in Education as a complex, multilayered concept intricately woven into an array of values. These range from aspects such as sharing, access, flexibility, affordability, enlightenment, barrier-removal, empowerment, care, individual agency, trust, innovation, sustainability, collaboration, co-creation, social justice, equity, transparency, inclusivity, decolonization, democratisation, participation, liberty, and respect for diversity. This editorial, as a product of collective endeavour, invites its readers to independently engage with individual narratives, fostering the creation of unique interpretations. This call stems from the distinctive character of each narrative as they voice individual researchers’ perspectives from around the globe, articulating their insights within their unique situational contexts
Titania mixed with silica: a low thermal-noise coating material for gravitational-wave detectors
Coating thermal noise is one of the dominant noise sources in current gravitational wave detectors and ultimately limits their ability to observe weaker or more distant astronomical sources. This Letter presents investigations of TiO2 mixed with SiO2 (TiO2:SiO2) as a coating material. We find that, after heat treatment for 100 h at 850 °C, thermal noise of a highly reflective coating comprising of TiO2:SiO2 and SiO2 reduces to 76% of the current levels in the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors—with potential for reaching 45%, if we assume the mechanical loss of state-of-the-art SiO2 layers. Furthermore, those coatings show low optical absorption of <1  ppm and optical scattering of ≲5  ppm. Notably, we still observe excellent optical and thermal noise performance following crystallization in the coatings. These results show the potential to meet the parameters required for the next upgrades of the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors
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