Entropy, Dynamics and Instantaneous Normal Modes in a Random Energy Model

It is shown that the fraction f of imaginary frequency instantaneous normal modes (INM) may be defined and calculated in a random energy model(REM) of liquids. The configurational entropy S and the averaged hopping rate among the states R are also obtained and related to f, with the results R~f and S=a+b*ln(f). The proportionality between R and f is the basis of existing INM theories of diffusion, so the REM further confirms their validity. A link to S opens new avenues for introducing INM into dynamical theories. Liquid 'states' are usually defined by assigning a configuration to the minimum to which it will drain, but the REM naturally treats saddle-barriers on the same footing as minima, which may be a better mapping of the continuum of configurations to discrete states. Requirements of a detailed REM description of liquids are discussed

Mean-atom-trajectory model for the velocity autocorrelation function of monatomic liquids

We present a model for the motion of an average atom in a liquid or supercooled liquid state and apply it to calculations of the velocity autocorrelation function $Z(t)$ and diffusion coefficient $D$. The model trajectory consists of oscillations at a distribution of frequencies characteristic of the normal modes of a single potential valley, interspersed with position- and velocity-conserving transits to similar adjacent valleys. The resulting predictions for $Z(t)$ and $D$ agree remarkably well with MD simulations of Na at up to almost three times its melting temperature. Two independent processes in the model relax velocity autocorrelations: (a) dephasing due to the presence of many frequency components, which operates at all temperatures but which produces no diffusion, and (b) the transit process, which increases with increasing temperature and which produces diffusion. Because the model provides a single-atom trajectory in real space and time, including transits, it may be used to calculate all single-atom correlation functions.Comment: LaTeX, 8 figs. This is an updated version of cond-mat/0002057 and cond-mat/0002058 combined Minor changes made to coincide with published versio

Multiple Dimensions of the Moral Majority Platform: Shifting Interest Group Coalitions

The issues raised by the New Political Right and the Moral Majority have overlapped in recent political history. Researchers have assumed that a single additive scale across conservative issues can identify the base of support for the Moral Majority as an organization. We examine general support for the Moral Majority separately from support for six specific issues: teaching creationism, voluntary public school prayer, military defense spending, gun control, pornography and abortion. Data are from a 1982 random sample of adult respondents from Nebraska (N = 1907). Overall, support for the Moral Majority organization is low. Discriminant analysis identifies fundamentalist and evangelical religious affiliation and Biblical literalism as independent predictors of support for the Moral Majority per se. Education increases knowledge of the organization, but does not influence support for it. Respondents with high income levels are more likely to support the Moral Majority organization. These findings contradict theories of both status politics and cultural fundamentalism. Support for the six specific platform items also varies considerably and is affected by religious conservatism and, independently, by other attitudinal and demographic indicators including age, sex, income, rural residence, education and perception of declining economic conditions. These patterns do not entirely fit the predictions of status politics or cultural fundamentalism theories. Rather, they provide evidence that distinct coalitions form on specific issues. Our conclusion is that a simple additive index of support for the Moral Majority masks these differences and oversimplifies complex patterns of coalitions in the religio-political arena

Fragmented in space: the oral history narrative of an Arab Christian from Antioch, Turkey

This study uses the case of Can Kılçıksız, an Arab Christian refugee youth from Antioch, Turkey, to argue that globalization may result in fragmented families and subjectivities and can also accelerate processes initiated by modernity and the construction of national identities. Can Kılçıksız and his siblings now live in Turkey, Germany, France and Finland. His life story suggests that males of Arab Christian origin from Antioch who had access to schooling are more likely to be involved in politics whereas females tend to be drawn to evangelical Christian organizations. The case also suggests that sibling ties might prove more durable in the course of transnational migration than conjugal ties. The case of Can Kılçıksız shows that the time/space linked to childhood through memory can play an important role in identity construction of subjects circulating in transnational space

Quantum transport using the Ford-Kac-Mazur formalism

The Ford-Kac-Mazur formalism is used to study quantum transport in (1) electronic and (2) harmonic oscillator systems connected to general reservoirs. It is shown that for non-interacting systems the method is easy to implement and is used to obtain many exact results on electrical and thermal transport in one-dimensional disordered wires. Some of these have earlier been obtained using nonequilibrium Green function methods. We examine the role that reservoirs and contacts can have on determining the transport properties of a wire and find several interesting effects.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Neptune to the Common-wealth of England (1652): the republican Britannia and the continuity of interests

In the seventeenth century, John Kerrigan reminds us, “models of empire did not always turn on monarchy”. In this essay, I trace a vision of “Neptune’s empire” shared by royalists and republicans, binding English national interest to British overseas expansion. I take as my text a poem entitled “Neptune to the Common-wealth of England”, prefixed to Marchamont Nedham’s 1652 English translation of Mare Clausum (1635), John Selden’s response to Mare Liberum (1609) by Hugo Grotius. This minor work is read alongside some equally obscure and more familiar texts in order to point up the ways in which it speaks to persistent cultural and political interests. I trace the afterlife of this verse, its critical reception and its unique status as a fragment that exemplifies the crossover between colonial republic and imperial monarchy at a crucial moment in British history, a moment that, with Brexit, remains resonant

Mutational Analyses of the Influenza A Virus Polymerase Subunit PA Reveal Distinct Functions Related and Unrelated to RNA Polymerase Activity

Influenza A viral polymerase is a heterotrimeric complex that consists of PA, PB1, and PB2 subunits. We previously reported that a di-codon substitution mutation (G507A-R508A), denoted J10, in the C-terminal half of PA had no apparent effect on viral RNA synthesis but prevented infectious virus production, indicating that PA may have a novel role independent of its polymerase activity. To further examine the roles of PA in the viral life cycle, we have now generated and characterized additional mutations in regions flanking the J10 site from residues 497 to 518. All tested di-codon mutations completely abolished or significantly reduced viral infectivity, but they did so through disparate mechanisms. Several showed effects resembling those of J10, in that the mutant polymerase supported normal levels of viral RNA synthesis but nonetheless failed to generate infectious viral particles. Others eliminated polymerase activity, in most cases by perturbing the normal nuclear localization of PA protein in cells. We also engineered single-codon mutations that were predicted to pack near the J10 site in the crystal structure of PA, and found that altering residues K378 or D478 each produced a J10-like phenotype. In further studies of J10 itself, we found that this mutation does not affect the formation and release of virion-like particles per se, but instead impairs the ability of those particles to incorporate each of the eight essential RNA segments (vRNAs) that make up the viral genome. Taken together, our analysis identifies mutations in the C-terminal region of PA that differentially affect at least three distinct activities: protein nuclear localization, viral RNA synthesis, and a trans-acting function that is required for efficient packaging of all eight vRNAs

The Cytoplasmic Location of Chicken Mx Is Not the Determining Factor for Its Lack of Antiviral Activity

Chicken Mx belongs to the Mx family of interferon-induced dynamin-like GTPases, which in some species possess potent antiviral properties. Conflicting data exist for the antiviral capability of chicken Mx. Reports of anti-influenza activity of alleles encoding an Asn631 polymorphism have not been supported by subsequent studies. The normal cytoplasmic localisation of chicken Mx may influence its antiviral capacity. Here we report further studies to determine the antiviral potential of chicken Mx against Newcastle disease virus (NDV), an economically important cytoplasmic RNA virus of chickens, and Thogoto virus, an orthomyxovirus known to be exquisitely sensitive to the cytoplasmic MxA protein from humans. We also report the consequences of re-locating chicken Mx to the nucleus.Chicken Mx was tested in virus infection assays using NDV. Neither the Asn631 nor Ser631 Mx alleles (when transfected into 293T cells) showed inhibition of virus-directed gene expression when the cells were subsequently infected with NDV. Human MxA however did show significant inhibition of NDV-directed gene expression. Chicken Mx failed to inhibit a Thogoto virus (THOV) minireplicon system in which the cytoplasmic human MxA protein showed potent and specific inhibition. Relocalisation of chicken Mx to the nucleus was achieved by inserting the Simian Virus 40 large T antigen nuclear localisation sequence (SV40 NLS) at the N-terminus of chicken Mx. Nuclear re-localised chicken Mx did not inhibit influenza (A/PR/8/34) gene expression during virus infection in cell culture or influenza polymerase activity in A/PR/8/34 or A/Turkey/50-92/91 minireplicon systems.The chicken Mx protein (Asn631) lacks inhibitory effects against THOV and NDV, and is unable to suppress influenza replication when artificially re-localised to the cell nucleus. Thus, the natural cytoplasmic localisation of the chicken Mx protein does not account for its lack of antiviral activity

Assessing road effects on bats: the role of landscape, road features, and bat activity on road-kills

Recent studies suggest that roads can significantly impact bat populations. Though bats are one of the most threatened groups of European vertebrates, studies aiming to quantify bat mortality and determine the main factors driving it remain scarce. Between March 16 and October 31 of 2009, we surveyed road-killed bats daily along a 51-km-long transect that incorporates different types of roads in southern Portugal. We found 154 road-killed bats of 11 species. The two most common species in the study area, Pipistrellus kuhlii and P. pygmaeus, were also the most commonly identified road-kill, representing 72 % of the total specimens collected. About two-thirds of the total mortality occurred between mid July and late September, peaking in the second half of August. We also recorded casualties of threatened and rare species, including Miniopterus schreibersii, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, R. hipposideros, Barbastella barbastellus, and Nyctalus leisleri. These species were found mostly in early autumn, corresponding to the mating and swarming periods. Landscape features were the most important variable subset for explaining bat casualties. Road stretches crossing or in the vicinity of high-quality habitats for bats—including dense Mediterranean woodland (‘‘montado’’) areas, water courses with riparian gallery, and water reservoirs—yielded a significantly higher number of casualties. Additionally, more roadkilled bats were recorded on high-traffic road stretches with viaducts, in areas of higher bat activity and near known roosts