Procedural Group Identification

In this paper we axiomatically characterize two recursive procedures for defining a social group.The first procedure starts with the set of all individuals who define themselves as members of the social group, while the starting point of the second procedure is the set of all individuals who are defined by everyone in the society as group members.Both procedures expand these initial sets by adding individuals who are considered to be appropriate group members by someone in the corresponding initial set, and continue inductively until there is no possibility of expansion any more.identification;social groups;social identity

Procedural Group Identification

In this paper we axiomatically characterize two recursive procedures for defining a social group.The first procedure starts with the set of all individuals who define themselves as members of the social group, while the starting point of the second procedure is the set of all individuals who are defined by everyone in the society as group members.Both procedures expand these initial sets by adding individuals who are considered to be appropriate group members by someone in the corresponding initial set, and continue inductively until there is no possibility of expansion any more

Potential of variegated lady beetle Hippodamia variegata in management of invasive tomato potato psyllid Bactericera cockerelli

BACKGROUND The tomato potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (Šulc) is a new invasive pest in Western Australia, which may disperse across the whole of Australia within a few years and cause significant economic losses. Chemical control is the most widely used approach to manage B. cockerelli, but insect resistance, chemical residue and effects on non-target species have become an increasing concerned. Therefore, in this study, the biocontrol potential of variegated lady beetle, Hippodamia variegata (Goeze) was investigated. The impact of utilizing B. cockerelli as a food source on the predator's development and reproduction was assessed by formulating age-stage, two sex life tables. The predatory potential of H. variegata on B. cockerelli nymphs was assessed in a closed arena and the effects of releasing H. variegata for the control of B. cockerelli were then evaluated. RESULTS H. variegata could successfully develop and oviposit when feeding on B. cockerelli. However, both survival and the rate of development were higher for H. variegata feeding on Myzus persicae (Sulzer) than B. cockerelli or a mixed population of B. cockerelli and M. persicae. A type II functional response was observed for H. variegata. In the greenhouse, the releases of H. variegata larvae reduced the number of B. cockerelli nymphs by up to 66% and adults by up to 59%, which positively influenced the plant chlorophyll content and biomass. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated the potential of the resident generalist predator, H. variegata as a biocontrol agent for the invasive pest, B. cockerelli, which may help improving current management strategies

Generation of two-mode nonclassical states and a quantum phase gate operation in trapped ion cavity QED

We propose a scheme to generate nonclassical states of a quantum system, which is composed of the one-dimensional trapped ion motion and a single cavity field mode. We show that two-mode SU(2) Schr\"odinger-cat states, entangled coherent states, two-mode squeezed vacuum states and their superposition can be generated. If the vibration mode and the cavity mode are used to represent separately a qubit, a quantum phase gate can be implemented.Comment: to appear in PR

Parity Problem With A Cellular Automaton Solution

The parity of a bit string of length $N$ is a global quantity that can be efficiently compute using a global counter in ${O} (N)$ time. But is it possible to find the parity using cellular automata with a set of local rule tables without using any global counter? Here, we report a way to solve this problem using a number of $r=1$ binary, uniform, parallel and deterministic cellular automata applied in succession for a total of ${O} (N^2)$ time.Comment: Revtex, 4 pages, final version accepted by Phys.Rev.

A Wideband Triple-Mode Differentially-Fed Microstrip Patch Antenna

© 2021 IEEE. This is the accepted manuscript version of an article which has been published in final form at https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/LAWP.2021.3074302A wideband differentially-fed microstrip patch antenna (MPA) with tripe-resonant modes is presented in this letter. The proposed triple-mode MPA is realized by combining two dual-mode MPAs (MPA-I and MPA-II) with different resonant frequency ratios. Firstly, the TM0,1 mode and TM0,1/2 mode of dual-mode MPA-I can be concurrently excited by adding a pair of coupling shorted patches beside the strip MPA. The ratio of f0,1/2/f0,1 can be easily adjusted by moving the shorting pins between the strip MPA and shorted patches. Secondly, by properly designing the dimensions of a conventional MPA, the TM0,1 and TM2,1 modes of dual-mode MPA-II are simultaneously excited. To further reduce the ratio of f2,1/f0,1, four slots are elaborately etched on the conventional MPA. Finally, by combining the two dual-mode MPAs, a triple-mode MPA with the frequency ratio of f0,1/2:f2,1:f0,1 = 1.2:1.1:1 is realized. To verify the design concept, a prototype of triple-mode MPA was fabricated and measured. Experimental results show that the proposed microstrip antenna achieves a wide bandwidth of 26.5%, a low cross-polarization of -23 dB, and high harmonic suppression.Peer reviewe

Bailout Embeddings, Targeting of KAM Orbits, and the Control of Hamiltonian Chaos

We present a novel technique, which we term bailout embedding, that can be used to target orbits having particular properties out of all orbits in a flow or map. We explicitly construct a bailout embedding for Hamiltonian systems so as to target KAM orbits. We show how the bailout dynamics is able to lock onto extremely small KAM islands in an ergodic sea.Comment: 3 figures, 9 subpanel

Non-Markovian dynamics for an open two-level system without rotating wave approximation: Indivisibility versus backflow of information

By use of the two measures presented recently, the indivisibility and the backflow of information, we study the non-Markovianity of the dynamics for a two-level system interacting with a zero-temperature structured environment without using rotating wave approximation (RWA). In the limit of weak coupling between the system and the reservoir, and by expanding the time-convolutionless (TCL) generator to the forth order with respect to the coupling strength, the time-local non-Markovian master equation for the reduced state of the system is derived. Under the secular approximation, the exact analytic solution is obtained and the sufficient and necessary conditions for the indivisibility and the backflow of information for the system dynamics are presented. In the more general case, we investigate numerically the properties of the two measures for the case of Lorentzian reservoir. Our results show the importance of the counter-rotating terms to the short-time-scale non-Markovian behavior of the system dynamics, further expose the relations between the two measures and their rationality as non-Markovian measures. Finally, the complete positivity of the dynamics of the considered system is discussed

(Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder: A novel promising anticancer therapy to melanoma by blocking phosphotyrosine signaling

Background: Melanoma is a malignant tumor with high misdiagnosis rate and poor prognosis. The bio-targeted therapy is a prevailing method in the treatment of melanoma; however, the accompanying drug resistance is inevitable. SH2 superbinder, a triple-mutant of the Src Homology 2 (SH2) domain, shows potent antitumor ability by replacing natural SH2-containing proteins and blocking multiple pY-based signaling pathways. Polyarginine (Arg) 9 , a powerful vector for intracellular delivery of large molecules, could transport therapeutic agents across cell membrane. The purpose of this study is to construct (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder and investigate its effects on melanoma cells, expecting to provide potential new approaches for anti-cancer therapy and overcoming the unavoidable drug resistance of single-targeted antitumor agents. Methods: (Arg) 9 and SH2 superbinder were fused to form (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder via genetic engineering. Pull down assay was performed to identify that (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder could capture a wide variety of pY proteins. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the efficiency of (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder entering cells. The proliferation ability was assessed by MTT and colony formation assay. In addition, wound healing and transwell assay were performed to evaluate migration of B16F10, A375 and A375/DDP cells. Moreover, apoptosis caused by (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder was analyzed by flow cytometry-based Annexin V/PI. Furthermore, western blot revealed that (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder influenced some pY-related signaling pathways. Finally, B16F10 xenograft model was established to confirm whether (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder could restrain the growth of tumor. Results: Our data showed that (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder had the ability to enter melanoma cells effectively and displayed strong affinities for various pY proteins. Furthermore, (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder could repress proliferation, migration and induce apoptosis of melanoma cells by regulating PI3K/AKT, MAPK/ERK and JAK/STAT signaling pathways. Importantly, (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder could significantly inhibit the growth of tumor in mice. Conclusions: (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder exhibited high affinities for pY proteins, which showed effective anticancer ability by replacing SH2-containing proteins and blocking diverse pY-based pathways. The remarkable ability of (Arg) 9 -SH2 superbinder to inhibit cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth might open the door to explore the SH2 superbinder as a therapeutic agent for cancer treatment

Identifying a Universal Activity Descriptor and a Unifying Mechanism Concept on Perovskite Oxides for Green Hydrogen Production

Producing indispensable hydrogen and oxygen for social development via water electrolysis shows more prospects than other technologies. Although electrocatalysts have been explored for centuries, a universal activity descriptor for both hydrogen-evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen-evolution reaction (OER) is not yet developed. Moreover, a unifying concept is not yet established to simultaneously understand HER/OER mechanisms. Here, the relationships between HER/OER activities in three common electrolytes and over ten representative material properties on 12 3d-metal-based model oxides are rationally bridged through statistical methodologies. The orbital charge-transfer energy (Δ) can serve as an ideal universal descriptor, where a neither too large nor too small Δ (≈1 eV) with optimal electron-cloud density around Fermi level affords the best activities, fulfilling Sabatier's principle. Systematic experiments and computations unravel that pristine oxide with Δ ≈ 1 eV possesses metal-like high-valence configurations and active lattice-oxygen sites to help adsorb key protons in HER and induce lattice-oxygen participation in the OER, respectively. After reactions, partially generated metals in the HER and high-valence hydroxides in the OER dominate proton adsorption and couple with pristine lattice-oxygen activation, respectively. These can be successfully rationalized by the unifying orbital charge-transfer theory. This work provides the foundation of rational material design and mechanism understanding for many potential applications