Standard comparison test procedures for initiator output

Standard test procedures for initiators of explosive device

Eyes and ears: combining sensory motor systems modelled on insect physiology

Journal ArticleIntegrating sensorimotor systems is still a difficult problems for robotics. Biological inspiration, which has been effectively used to address single sensorimotor tasks, could also be applied to this problem. Several studies on the cricket suggest that it integrates an optomotor response to two existing 'biorabots' - one that uses an a VLSI circuit to reproduce the optomotor behaviour and another that models in hardware and software the sounds localization of the cricket- and combined their capabilities to investigate whether an additive combination will reproduce these effects. We report the initial results and discuss a number of issues raised by this investigation

A systemic parvo-like virus in the freshwater crayfish Cherax destructor

Systemic Cowdry Type A inclusions (CAs) were observed in a moribund Cherax destructor collected at an aquaculture farm in South Australia. Inclusions were most common in the gills and were associated with multifocal necrosis of the main gill axis and lamellae. The hepatopancreas was necrotic; however, only one CA was observed in the interstitial tissues. CAs were associated with necrosis in the abdominal and gut musculature. CAs were also observed in the spongy connective tissues and the epicardium. Empty capsids (17.5 +/- 0.5 nm) and microfilaments were most commonly observed within these inclusions by transmission electron microscopy. Complete icosahedral viral particles (20.8 +/- 1.2 nm) were difficult to distinguish within the viroplasm, but were visualised better in aggregates between the viroplasm and the inner nuclear membrane. The nucleolus was closely associated with the developing viroplasm, and was hypertrophied and segregated into its fibrillar and granular components. The virus was named Cherax destructor systemic parvo-like virus (CdSPV) on the basis of its histopathology, cytopathology and morphology. CdSPV is the first systemic virus described in a freshwater crayfish

Limited access orders in the developing world :a new approach to the problems of development

The upper-income, advanced industrial countries of the world today all have market economies with open competition, competitive multi-party democratic political systems, and a secure government monopoly over violence. Such open access orders, however, are not the only norm and equilibrium type of society. The middle and low-income developing countries today, like all countries before about 1800, can be understood as limited access orders that maintain their equilibrium in a fundamentally different way. In limited access orders, the state does not have a secure monopoly on violence, and society organizes itself to control violence among the elite factions. A common feature of limited access orders is that political elites divide up control of the economy, each getting some share of the rents. Since outbreaks of violence reduce the rents, the elite factions have incentives to be peaceable most of the time. Adequate stability of the rents and thus of the social order requires limiting access and competition-hence a social order with a fundamentally different logic than the open access order. This paper lays out such a framework and explores some of its implications for the problems of development today.Corporate Law,Labor Policies,Public Sector Corruption&Anticorruption Measures,E-Business,Disability

Microwave-Induced Dephasing in One-Dimensional Metal Wires

We report on the effect of monochromatic microwave (MW) radiation on the weak localization corrections to the conductivity of quasi-one-dimensional (1D) silver wires. Due to the improved electron cooling in the wires, the MW-induced dephasing was observed without a concomitant overheating of electrons over wide ranges of the MW power $P_{MW}$ and frequency $f$. The observed dependences of the conductivity and MW-induced dephasing rate on $P_{MW}$ and $f$ are in agreement with the theory by Altshuler, Aronov, and Khmelnitsky \cite{Alt81}. Our results suggest that in the low-temperature experiments with 1D wires, saturation of the temperature dependence of the dephasing time can be caused by an MW electromagnetic noise with a sub-pW power.Comment: 4 pages with 4 figures, paper revised, accepted by Phys Rev Let

Splicing factor 3B subunit 1 interacts with HIV Tat and plays a role in viral transcription and reactivation from latency

ABSTRACT The main obstacle to an HIV cure is the transcriptionally inert proviruses that persist in resting CD4 T cells and other reservoirs. None of the current approaches has significantly reduced the size of the viral reservoir. Hence, alternative approaches, such as permanent blocking of viral transcription, to achieve a sustained remission, need urgent attention. To identify cellular factors that may be important for this approach, we sought for host targets that when altered could block HIV transcription and reactivation. Here, we identified splicing factor 3B subunit 1 (SF3B1) as a critical HIV dependency factor required for viral replication. SF3B1 is a splicing factor involved in directing chromatin and nascent gene transcripts to appropriate splice sites. Inhibitors of SF3B1 are currently in development for cancer and have been found to be nontoxic to normal cells compared to malignant cells. Knockdown of SF3B1 abrogated HIV replication in all cell types tested. SF3B1 interacted with viral protein Tat in vitro and in vivo. Genetic or pharmacologic inhibition of SF3B1 prevented Tat-mediated HIV transcription and RNA polymerase II association with the HIV promoter. In addition, an inhibitor of SF3B1 prevented HIV reactivation from latency irrespective of the latency-reversing agent used. The data show that SF3B1 is involved in viral transcription and reactivation from latency and may serve as a therapeutic target in the HIV cure efforts. IMPORTANCE The reason why HIV cannot be cured by current therapy is because of viral persistence in resting T cells. One approach to permanent HIV remission that has received less attention is the so-called “block and lock” approach. The idea behind this approach is that the virus could be permanently disabled in patients if viral genome or surrounding chromatin could be altered to silence the virus, thus enabling patients to stop therapy. In this work, we have identified splicing factor 3B subunit 1 (SF3B1) as a potential target for this approach. SF3B1 interacts with the viral protein Tat, which is critical for viral transcription. Inhibition of SF3B1 prevents HIV transcription and reactivation from latency. Since there are preclinical inhibitors for this protein, our findings could pave the way to silence HIV transcription, potentially leading to prolonged or permanent remission

Decoherence and Quantum Fluctuations

We show that the zero-point fluctuations of the intrinsic electromagnetic environment limit the phase coherence time in all mesoscopic systems at low temperatures. We derive this quantum noise limited dephasing time and its temperature dependence in the crossover to the thermal regime. Our results agree well with most experiments in 1D systems.Comment: 4 pages & 1 figur