The brachyopoid Hadrokkosaurus bradyi from the early Middle Triassic of Arizona, and a phylogenetic analysis of lower jaw characters in temnospondyl amphibians

The holotype of the brachyopoid temnospondyl Hadrokkosaurus bradyi, represented by a right lower jaw ramus, is re−ex− amined based upon new data and revision of various morphological features. Additional fragmentary jaw material re− ferred to this species is briefly described. Prominent features are a large postsymphyseal foramen that is anteriorly open, and prearticular and surangular buttresses for support of the articular. Brachyopoid characters include a long and robust postglenoid area formed by surangular and prearticular, anterior and posterior keels on at least some marginal dentary teeth, and subtriangular outline of the adductor fossa in dorsal view. Five features of the holotype ramus, long thought to be at odds with its brachyopoid or temnospondyl nature, are critically re−evaluated. A phylogenetic analysis of lower jaw characters in temnospondyls retrieves most of the clades found in more comprehensive data sets, but the statistical node support is low. Brachyopoids are monophyletic, with Hadrokkosaurus emerging as their most basal taxon

Unified model of hyperthermia via hysteresis heating in systems of interacting magnetic nanoparticles

We present a general study of frequency and magnetic field dependence of the specific heat power produced during field-driven hysteresis cycles in magnetic nanoparticles with relevance to hyperthermia applications in biomedicine. Employing a kinetic Monte-Carlo method with natural time scales allows us to go beyond the assumptions of small driving field amplitudes and negligible inter-particle interactions, which are fundamental to applicability of the standard approach based on linear response theory. The method captures the superparamagnetic and fully hysteretic regimes and the transition between them. Our results reveal unexpected dipolar interaction-induced enhancement or suppression of the specific heat power, dependent on the intrinsic statistical properties of particles, which cannot be accounted for by the standard theory. Although the actual heating power is difficult to predict because of the effects of interactions, optimum heating is in the transition region between the superparamagnetic and fully hysteretic regimes

The tetrapod Caerorhachis bairdi Holmes and Carroll from the Lower Carboniferous of Scotland

The tetrapod Caerorhachis bairdi, probably from the Pendleian Limestone Coal Group in the Scottish Midland Valley, is redi agnosed and redescribed, and its affinities are discussed. Caerorachis was originally interpreted as a temnospondyl amphibian, based on characters that are now regarded as primitive for tetrapods, or of uncertain polarity. Several features of Caerorhachis (e.g. gastrocentrous vertebrae, curved trunk ribs, reduced dorsal iliac blade, L-shaped tarsal intermedium) are observed in certain primitive amniotes. In particular, Caerorhachis resembles ‘anthracosaurs’, generally considered to be among the most primitive of stem-group amniotes. The phylogenetic position of Caerorhachis is considered in the light of recently published cladistic analyses of Palaeozoic tetrapods. Most analyses place Caerorhachis at the base of, or within, ‘anthra- cosaurs’. When multiple, equally parsimonious solutions are found, its ‘anthracosaur’ affinities are shown in at least some trees, and are supported by several informative and, generally, highly consistent characters. Alternative phylogenetic placements (e.g. sister taxon to temnospondyls) are usually less well corroborated. If the fundamental evolutionary split of most early tetrapods into stem-group lissamphibians (e.g. temnospondyl s) and stem-group amniotes (e.g. ‘anthracosaurs’) is accepted, then the revised interpretation of Caerorhachi s sheds light on near-ancestral conditions for Amniota

Opportunity Zones Providing Opportunity for Whom?: How the Current Regulations Are Failing and a Solution to Uplift Communities

In 2017, the newly enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created an incentive for taxpayers to invest in Qualified Opportunity Zones— census tracts that consist of low-income communities. These investments, which are incentivized via lucrative tax deferral benefits, are intended to uplift communities and leave them in a better position than they were pre-investment. However, the initiative lacks regulation requiring investments to actually benefit low-income areas, resulting in money going to places that do not need help, while communities that are in need may face displacement. This is a result of many wealthy investors finding that luxury projects are the easiest to finance, while others have even lobbied to have state officials designate specific plots of lands, that are not low-income at all, as Opportunity Zones. This Note explores how the Opportunity Zone legislation contributes to the pervasive income and wealth disparities in America and proposes additional regulations that could result in meaningful investments that benefit underserved communities

Genetic Toolkit for Assessment and Prediction of Population-Level Impacts of Bridge Construction on Birds

Recent studies have highlighted alarming rates of declines in bird populations across the country. The State of California is home to over 650 resident and migrant avian species. Legislation for protecting these species has existed for over a century now, yet tools for identifying populations and understanding seasonal movement remain limited. Recently, genetic and genomic tools have provided a method for understanding population structure, allowing for more informed delineation of management units. The goal of this project was to create a genetic toolkit for identifying breeding populations and assigning individuals to those populations. Ultimately, such tools could be used to assess population-level impacts when there are conflicts with birds at infrastructure construction sites. As a test case, we sequenced entire genomes for 40 individual Anna’s hummingbirds (Calypte anna) from across the state. Based on this initial data, we found low levels of differentiation between sampled locations, suggesting that C. anna in California are not subdivided into different population units. However, there was a weak signal of geography suggesting there may be localized genetic differences in a small proportion of the genome. Follow-up work will focus on a broader sampling across the state of California to clarify any possible population subdivision or geographical patterns of differentiation.View the NCST Project Webpag

Discovery of a giant radio halo in a new Planck galaxy cluster PLCKG171.9-40.7

We report the discovery of a giant radio halo in a new, hot, X-ray luminous galaxy cluster recently found by Planck, PLCKG171.9-40.7. The radio halo was found using Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope observations at 235 MHz and 610 MHz, and in the 1.4 GHz data from a NRAO Very Large Array Sky Survey pointing that we have reanalyzed. The diffuse radio emission is coincident with the cluster X-ray emission, has an extent of ~1 Mpc and a radio power of ~5x 10^24 W/Hz at 1.4 GHz. Its integrated radio spectrum has a slope of alpha~1.8 between 235 MHz and 1.4 GHz, steeper than that of a typical giant halo. The analysis of the archival XMM-Newton X-ray data shows that the cluster is hot (~10 keV) and disturbed, consistent with X-ray selected clusters hosting radio halos. This is the first giant radio halo discovered in one of the new clusters found by Planck.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures and 4 tables. Corrected Figure 7. Matches ApJ published versio

Discovery of a radio relic in the low mass, merging galaxy cluster PLCK G200.9-28.2

Radio relics at the peripheries of galaxy clusters are tracers of the elusive cluster merger shocks. We report the discovery of a single radio relic in the galaxy cluster PLCK G200.9-28.2 ($z=0.22$, $M_{500} = 2.7\pm0.2 \times 10^{14} M_{\odot}$) using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope at 235 and 610 MHz and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array at 1500 MHz. The relic has a size of $\sim 1 \times 0.28$ Mpc, an arc-like morphology and is located at 0.9 Mpc from the X-ray brightness peak in the cluster. The integrated spectral index of the relic is $1.21\pm0.15$. The spectral index map between 235 and 610 MHz shows steepening from the outer to the inner edge of the relic in line with the expectation from a cluster merger shock. Under the assumption of diffusive shock acceleration, the radio spectral index implies a Mach number of $3.3\pm1.8$ for the shock. The analysis of archival XMM Newton data shows that PLCK G200.9-28.2 consists of a northern brighter sub-cluster, and a southern sub-cluster in a state of merger. This cluster has the lowest mass among the clusters hosting single radio relics. The position of the Planck Sunyaev Ze'ldovich effect in this cluster is offset by 700 kpc from the X-ray peak in the direction of the radio relic, suggests a physical origin for the offset. Such large offsets in low mass clusters can be a useful tool to select disturbed clusters and to study the state of merger.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Beamlike models for the analyses of curved, twisted and tapered horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT) blades undergoing large displacements

Abstract. Continuous ongoing efforts to better predict the mechanical behaviour of complex beamlike structures, such as wind turbine blades, are motivated by the need to improve their performance and reduce the costs. However, new design approaches and the increasing flexibility of such structures make their aeroelastic modelling ever more challenging. For the structural part of this modelling, the best compromise between computational efficiency and accuracy can be obtained via schematizations based on suitable beamlike elements. This paper addresses the modelling of the mechanical behaviour of beamlike structures which are curved, twisted and tapered in their unstressed state and undergo large displacements, in- and out-of-plane cross-sectional warping, and small strains. A suitable model for the problem at hand is proposed. Analytical and numerical results obtained by its application are presented and compared with results from 3D FEM analyses

A Non-Sequential Representation of Sequential Data for Churn Prediction

We investigate the length of event sequence giving best predictions when using a continuous HMM approach to churn prediction from sequential data. Motivated by observations that predictions based on only the few most recent events seem to be the most accurate, a non-sequential dataset is constructed from customer event histories by averaging features of the last few events. A simple K-nearest neighbor algorithm on this dataset is found to give significantly improved performance. It is quite intuitive to think that most people will react only to events in the fairly recent past. Events related to telecommunications occurring months or years ago are unlikely to have a large impact on a customer’s future behaviour, and these results bear this out. Methods that deal with sequential data also tend to be much more complex than those dealing with simple nontemporal data, giving an added benefit to expressing the recent information in a non-sequential manner