Long-Range Fiber Transmission of Optical Vortices

We use specialty fiber (“vortex fiber”), to create and propagate orbital angular momentum states over ~kilometer lengths in telecom band (~1550nm). The spiral phase structure of the vortex beams was confirmed by interference with a Gaussian reference. This result is an important step toward achieving long-range classical and quantum communication links using orbital angular momentum of light.DARPA Grant No. HR0011-11-1-000

Finding the Limits of France\u27s State of Emergency

Since 2015, France has experienced a particularly high number of terrorist attacks. This paper examines the French state response to such events and analyzes its effect on the relationship between civil liberties and national security. The activation of the state of emergency – as an exceptional measure that suspends warranted searches and certain freedoms – highlights a potential impediment to reconciling France’s national values such as liberté with the urgent need to mitigate terrorist activity. Following the fifth consecutive renewal of this exceptional measure in December 2016, a close scrutiny of its legitimacy, its effectiveness, and its objectives is both timely and warranted. I thus ask the following two questions: In what ways have exceptional crisis measures been historically entrenched in the French socio-political order? In the aftermath of the attacks of November 2015, how does the state of emergency build on these measures and normalize the use of inherently exceptional policies

Restrictions on Expression as a Counter-Terror Policy in the United States and France: Divergence by Design or Curious Convergence?

This paper explores how restrictions on expression – a dimension of US and French counterterror policy – are realized given the socio-political and legal-procedural differences between the two countries. Theoretically, the US – with its strong constitutional free speech protections and its tradition of limited government – should respond less aggressively than France, which has a more flexible constitution and a statist tradition. This paper contends that while France restricts terror-related expression to a greater degree than the US, the US possesses more tools to counter terror-related expression than its constitution suggests. The primary explanation for less forceful US action stems not from constitutional limits, but from a US proclivity for military counterterrorism abroad, which takes focus away from domestic measures to disrupt terrorist propaganda. The policy inconsistencies identified in this paper contribute to not only the theoretical debate on responses to terrorism, but also the practical one playing out on legislative floors today

Analysis of Documentation About Ottoman Heritage in Belgrade Via Digital Reconstruction of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Caravanserai

In the period from 16th to the end of the 17th century Belgrade became one of the most important cities of Ottoman Empire in the Balkans. During this era of peace Sultans and Grand Viziers erected numerous waqf endowments, which formed an enviable economic, educational and religious center. Most important Belgrade waqf was certainly the waqf of Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmet Pasha. It consisted out of several buildings with the most famous one being vizier`s caravanserai, probably the biggest architectural complex of Ottoman Belgrade. In the following centuries, the city was constantly changing power and turmoil that followed many savage battles resulted in destruction of famous caravanserai and many other monuments of Ottoman Belgrade. The only testimony of these glorious objects that we have today is partial documentation scattered throughout museums and archives in Serbia and abroad. Modern means of reconstruction of cultural heritage through analysis of available documentation reveal new possibilities for further study and presentation of Ottoman heritage in Belgrade. Now we can revitalize politicized or neglected historic heritage with virtual forms of presentation which would promote cultural tolerance and real identity reference of Belgrade. This approach will be discussed through the example of digital reconstruction of Sokollu Mehmet Pasha caravanserai

Testing the Fitness Consequences of the Thermoregulatory and Parental Care Models for the Origin of Endothermy

The origin of endothermy is a puzzling phenomenon in the evolution of vertebrates. To address this issue several explicative models have been proposed. The main models proposed for the origin of endothermy are the aerobic capacity, the thermoregulatory and the parental care models. Our main proposal is that to compare the alternative models, a critical aspect is to determine how strongly natural selection was influenced by body temperature, and basal and maximum metabolic rates during the evolution of endothermy. We evaluate these relationships in the context of three main hypotheses aimed at explaining the evolution of endothermy, namely the parental care hypothesis and two hypotheses related to the thermoregulatory model (thermogenic capacity and higher body temperature models). We used data on basal and maximum metabolic rates and body temperature from 17 rodent populations, and used intrinsic population growth rate (Rmax) as a global proxy of fitness. We found greater support for the thermogenic capacity model of the thermoregulatory model. In other words, greater thermogenic capacity is associated with increased fitness in rodent populations. To our knowledge, this is the first test of the fitness consequences of the thermoregulatory and parental care models for the origin of endothermy

Seasonal acclimatization in water flux rate, urine osmolality and kidney water channels in free-living degus:molecular mechanisms, physiological processes and ecological implications

The environmental modification of an organism's physiology in the field is often hypothesized to be responsible for allowing an organism to adjust to changing biotic and abiotic environmental conditions through increases in biological performance. Here, we examine the phenotypic flexibility of water flux rate, urine osmolality and the expression of kidney aquaporins (AQP; or water channels) in free-ranging Octodon degus, a South American desert-dwelling rodent, through an integrative study at cellular, systemic and organismal levels. Water flux rates varied seasonally and were significantly lower in austral summer than in winter, while urine osmolality was higher in summer than during winter. The observed water influx rate during summer was 10.3+/-2.3 ml day(-1) and during winter was 40.4+/-9.1 ml day(-1). Mean urine osmolality was 3137 +/- 472 mosmol kg(-1) during summer and 1123 +/- 472 mosmol kg(-1) during winter. AQP-2 medullary immunolabeling was more abundant in the kidneys of degus captured during summer than those captured during winter. This immunoreactivity was higher in apical cell membranes of medullary collecting ducts of degus in summer. AQP-1 immunostaining did not differ between seasons. Consistently, AQP-2 protein levels were increased in medulla from the summer individuals, as judged by the size of the 29 kDa band in the immunoblot. Here, we reveal how the integration of flexible mechanisms acting at cellular, systemic and organismal levels allows a small desert-dwelling mammal to cope with seasonal water scarcity in its semi-arid habitat

Fluctuating thermal environments and time-dependent effects on fruit fly egg-hatching performance

Organismal performance in a changing environment is dependent on temporal patterns and duration of exposure to thermal variability. We experimentally assessed the time-dependent effects of thermal variability (i.e., patterns of thermal exposure) on the hatching performance of Drosophila melanogaster. Flies were collected in central Chile and maintained for four generations in laboratory conditions. Fourth generation eggs were acclimated to different thermal fluctuation cycles until hatching occurred. Our results show that the frequency of extreme thermal events has a significant effect on hatching success. Eggs exposed to 24 hr cycles of thermal fluctuation had a higher proportion of eggs that hatched than those acclimated to shorter (6 and 12 hr) and longer cycles (48 hr). Furthermore, eggs subjected to frequent thermal fluctuations hatched earlier than those acclimated to less frequent thermal fluctuations. Overall, we show that, egg-to-adult viability is dependent on the pattern of thermal fluctuations experienced during ontogeny; thus, the pattern of thermal fluctuation experienced by flies has a significant and until now unappreciated impact on fitness.Fil: Cavieres Parada, Grisel Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; Argentina. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Bogdanovich, José M.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile. Universidad Santo Tomas; ArgentinaFil: Toledo, Paloma. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Bozinovic, Francisco. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chil

EXAMINING THE STATUS CYTOGENETIC ON SOME AUTOCHTHONOUS VARIETIES A GRAPEVINE IN R. MACEDONIA ACCORDING O.I.V. SYSTEM

In R. Macedonia has many domestic (autochthonous) or domesticated varieties of vines. Many of them are similar to some varieties of from neighboring countries, and some of them are very different between them, and are also differ from the other varieties. It depends on heritable traits of their ancestors and their origins, from the centers of origin. They represent undiscovered source of many genes that are carriers of positive properties and predominantly transmitted to future generations. Many of them are unidentified and not known their exact origin. Therefore efforts are made with certain adequate methods to identify (ampelographic, ampelometric, DNA identification). In our research we covered several table and wine varieties of grapevine from different vineyards through R. Macedonia. In the trials used methods for determination of cytogenetic status according O.I.V. system of descriptors - (number of chromosomes, ploidy level, germination of pollen, meiosis, type and characteristics of the flower, etc.). We used statistical computer processing by (SPSS) program.Obtained are interesting results in terms of the structure of the flower and the cell division that indicate the similarity between them and their common origin

IMPACT OF THE NUMBER OF CLUSTERS ON CARDINAL VARIETY PRODUCTION RESULTS

The Cardinal variety is a leading very early ripening table grape variety in the Republic of Macedonia. The grape quality largely depends on the applied production technology. The aim of our research is to determine the impact of the number of retained clusters per m2 on the production results of the Cardinal variety, grown on pergola tendon trellis (odrina) system in the Gevgelija - Valandovo wine region. The load of 3, 4, and 5 clusters/m2 respectively was noted. Based on the results, we found a significant impact of the number of clusters on the yield, dynamics of ripening, and quality of grapes. By increasing the number of clusters, the weight of the cluster decreased from 489 g in the 3 clusters/m2 variant to 446 g in the 5 clusters/m2 variant. The weight of the berry ranged from 7,6 g in the 5 clusters/m2 variant to 8,4 g in the 3 clusters/m2 variant. Total weight of packaged grapes ranged from 1,4 kg/m2 for the 3 clusters/m2 variant to 1,9 kg/m2 for the 5 clusters/m2 variant. There was a significant difference in the dynamics of ripening, i.e., the quantity of packaged grapes in the first harvest. The highest weight of 1,55 kg/m2 of packaged grape in the first harvest was obtained from the variant with 4 clusters/m2, and the lowest of 1,29 kg/m2 from the 3 clusters/m2 variant. Thebest quality of 9.6 points was observed in the variant with 3 clusters/m2 and the lowest of 7.9 points in the grapes of the variant with 5 clusters/m2. From these results, it can be concluded that the best results for the Cardinal variety are obtained by leaving 4 clusters per m2.&nbsp