Beyond cosmopolitanism and nationalism : diasporic Chinese and neo-nationalism in China and Thailand

This article highlights the dynamic interaction between Chinese, Thai, and SinoThai identity construction, on the one hand, and the mutual production of domestic and international politics, on the other. It questions how nationalism and cosmopolitanism are formulated by arguing against the popular notion that a diaspora is a cosmopolitan community situated in a foreign nation. Diasporic public spheres are critically examined to show how Sino-Thai identity is produced in relation first to neo-nationalism in Thailand and China, and second in specific contexts within Thailand that call into question essential notions of Thai, Chinese, and overseas Chinese identity. Diasporas thus both construct and deconstruct the seemingly opposing forces of nationalism and cosmopolitanism. The article uses the ethnographic approach of anthropological constructivism to build on sociological constructivism's focus on national identity, norms, and formal institutions. Rather than looking to culture as a substance, the article highlights how culture takes shape in context-sensitive relations between identity and difference. This ethnographic approach encourages one to look in different places for world politics, shifting away from state actors to transnational nonstate actors, from geopolitics and international political economy to economic culture, and from law and institutions as the foundations of international society to the less formal organizations of the diasporic public sphere. Diaspora thus not only adds new data to arguments about global/local relations-it helps one question the structures of world politics that look to the opposition between cosmopolitanism and nationalism

Spinal V2b neurons reveal a role for ipsilateral inhibition in speed control

The spinal cord contains a diverse array of interneurons that govern motor output. Traditionally, models of spinal circuits have emphasized the role of inhibition in enforcing reciprocal alternation between left and right sides or flexors and extensors. However, recent work has shown that inhibition also increases coincident with excitation during contraction. Here, using larval zebrafish, we investigate the V2b (Gata3+) class of neurons, which contribute to flexor-extensor alternation but are otherwise poorly understood. Using newly generated transgenic lines we define two stable subclasses with distinct neurotransmitter and morphological properties. These V2b subclasses synapse directly onto motor neurons with differential targeting to speed-specific circuits. In vivo, optogenetic manipulation of V2b activity modulates locomotor frequency: suppressing V2b neurons elicits faster locomotion, whereas activating V2b neurons slows locomotion. We conclude that V2b neurons serve as a brake on axial motor circuits. Together, these results indicate a role for ipsilateral inhibition in speed control

Motivation for Change in Heroin and Opiate Users

Opioid and heroin abuse is a continuing problem in the United States that has been increasing dramatically since 2000. Common treatment programs tend to use methadone and behavioral therapies that do not focus on motivational factors despite the research suggesting it is an important element to treatment retention and sustained abstinence. Motivation for the purposes of this study is defined as an individual’s inner reasons for change. The current study focused on differences in motivation for change among different substance abusers. We found that opiate and heroin abusers had higher motivational scores in comparison to other substance abusers. These results imply that treatment programs should focus on increasing motivation and explore the circumstances and factors that may hinder it

Solid state television camera system Patent

Solid state television camera system consisting of monolithic semiconductor mosaic sensor and molecular digital readout system

Light trapping in ultrathin silicon photonic crystal superlattices with randomly-textured dielectric incouplers

We report here several different superlattice photonic crystal based designs for 200nm thick c-Si solar cells, demonstrating that these structures have the ability to increase broadband absorption from λ = 300nm to 1100nm by more than 100% compared to a planar cell with an optimized anti-reflection coating. We show that adding superlattices into photonic crystals introduces new optical modes that contribute to enhanced absorption. The greatest improvements are obtained when combining a superlattice photonic crystal with a randomly textured dielectric coating that improves incoupling into the modes of the absorbing region. Finally, we show that our design methodology is also applicable to layers 1 to 4 microns in thickness, where absorbed currents competitive with conventional thick Si solar cells may be achieved

Analysis of Wildfire Occurrence in Southeastern Arkansas, 1984-1987

Wildfire statistics for Arkansas Forestry Commission District I in southeastern Arkansas were analyzed for the period 1 984 through 1987. A mean of 313 fires and 1103 hectares burned annually during the study period. Most (87%) of the land burned was forested. The greatest number (90%) of wildfires occurred when fire-danger was moderate to high. Most fires were started (90%) and detected (51%) by local residents. Arson was responsible for the majority of fires (68%) and hectares burned (65%). A disproportionately high number (43%) of the incendiary fires occurred in Ashley County. Mean fire size was smaller in this county. Fire suppression professionals attribute this to increased surveillance and suppression efforts in this county as compared with other counties. Many more fires occurred in 1987 than in other years. On forest-industry land more fires occurred in1987 than in previous years (65% vs. 42%). Also, for all lands, more fires were of incendiary origin in 1987 than in previous years (78% vs. 60%). The authors provide evidence that the change in fire pattern in 1987 was due in part to a drastic change in administration of hunting privileges by a major forest industry in the area

Conjugate Generators of Knot and Link Groups

This note shows that if two elements of equal trace (e.g., conjugate elements) generate an arithmetic two-bridge knot or link group, then the elements are parabolic. This includes the figure-eight knot and Whitehead link groups. Similarly, if two conjugate elements generate the trefoil knot group, then the elements are peripheral.Comment: 10 pages, submitted to Journal of Knot Theory and Its Ramification

Ray-based calculations of backscatter in laser fusion targets

A 1D, steady-state model for Brillouin and Raman backscatter from an inhomogeneous plasma is presented. The daughter plasma waves are treated in the strong damping limit, and have amplitudes given by the (linear) kinetic response to the ponderomotive drive. Pump depletion, inverse-bremsstrahlung damping, bremsstrahlung emission, Thomson scattering off density fluctuations, and whole-beam focusing are included. The numerical code DEPLETE, which implements this model, is described. The model is compared with traditional linear gain calculations, as well as "plane-wave" simulations with the paraxial propagation code pF3D. Comparisons with Brillouin-scattering experiments at the OMEGA Laser Facility [T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, p. 495 (1997)] show that laser speckles greatly enhance the reflectivity over the DEPLETE results. An approximate upper bound on this enhancement, motivated by phase conjugation, is given by doubling the DEPLETE coupling coefficient. Analysis with DEPLETE of an ignition design for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [J. A. Paisner, E. M. Campbell, and W. J. Hogan, Fusion Technol. 26, p. 755 (1994)], with a peak radiation temperature of 285 eV, shows encouragingly low reflectivity. Re-absorption of Raman light is seen to be significant in this design.Comment: 16 pages, 19 figure

Depression and Anxiety Screens as Predictors of 8-Year Incidence of Myocardial Infarction and Stroke in Primary Care Patients

Because depression and anxiety are typically studied in isolation, our purpose was to examine the relative importance of these overlapping emotional factors in predicting incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods We examined depression and anxiety screens, and their individual items, as predictors of incident hard CVD events, myocardial infarction, and stroke over eight years in a diverse sample of 2,041 older primary care patients initially free of CVD. At baseline, participants completed self-report depression and anxiety screens. Data regarding CVD events were obtained from an electronic medical record system and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services analytic files. Results During follow-up, 683 (33%) experienced a CVD event. Cox proportional hazards models – adjusted for demographic and CVD risk factors – revealed that a positive anxiety screen, but not a positive depression screen, was associated with an increased risk of a hard CVD event in separate models (Years 0–3: Anxiety HR=1.54, p<.001; Years 3+: Anxiety HR=0.99, p=.93; Depression HR=1.10, p=.41), as well as when entered into the same model (Years 0–3: Anxiety HR=1.53, p<.001; Years 3+: Anxiety HR=0.99, p=.99; Depression HR=1.03, p=.82). Analyses examining individual items and secondary outcomes showed that the anxiety-CVD association was largely driven by the feeling anxious item and the myocardial infarction outcome. Conclusions Anxiety, especially feeling anxious, is a unique risk factor for CVD events in older adults, independent of conventional risk factors and depression. Anxiety deserves increased attention as a potential factor relevant to CVD risk stratification and a potential target of CVD primary prevention efforts