Critical connections : Islamic politics and political economy in Indonesia and Malaysia

This article explores Islamic politics in two Muslim-majority countries in Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Malaysia, by linking their trajectories, from late colonial emergence to recent upsurge, to broad concerns of political economy, including changing social bases, capitalist transformation, state policies, and economic crises. The Indonesian and Malaysian trajectories of Islamic politics are tracked in a comparative exercise that goes beyond the case studies to suggest that much of contemporary Islamic politics cannot be explained by reference to Islam alone, but to how Islamic identities and agendas are forged in contexts of modern and profane social contestation.Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Internal politics, Islam, Islamization, State, Economic transformation, Economic crises, Populism

Vapor condensation on a turbulent liquid interface

An experimental investigation which seeks the fundamental relationship between the interfacial condensation rate and the parameters which control it when the liquid side is turbulent is discussed. The scaling laws for free-surface condensation are discussed for this case. It is argued that the condensation of cryogenic liquids can, in principle, be simulated in experiments using steam and water. Data are presented for the condensation rate in terms of the dimensionless scaling parameters which involve the fluid properties and the liquid-side turbulence velocity and length scales

New records of florivory on dipterocarp flowers

Peer reviewedPreprin

High-Field Shubnikov-de Haas Oscillations in the Topological Insulator Bi2_2Te2_2Se

We report measurements of the surface Shubnikov de Haas oscillations (SdH) on crystals of the topological insulator Bi$_2$Te$_2$Se. In crystals with large bulk resistivity ($\sim$4 $\Omega$cm at 4 K), we observe $\sim$15 surface SdH oscillations (to the $n$ = 1 Landau Level) in magnetic fields $B$ up to 45 Tesla. Extrapolating to the limit $1/B\to 0$, we confirm the $\frac12$-shift expected from a Dirac spectrum. The results are consistent with a very small surface Lande $g$-factor.Comment: Text expanded, slight changes in text, final version; Total 6 pages, 6 figure

Quantum Walks on Trees with Disorder: Decay, Diffusion, and Localization

Quantum walks have been shown to have impressive transport properties compared to classical random walks. However, imperfections in the quantum walk algorithm can destroy any quantum mechanical speed-up due to Anderson localization. We numerically study the effect of static disorder on a quantum walk on the glued trees graph. For small disorder, we find that the dominant effect is a type of quantum decay, and not quantum localization. For intermediate disorder, there is a crossover to diffusive transport, while a localization transition is observed at large disorder, in agreement with Anderson localization on the Cayley tree.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figure

Splicing therapeutics in SMN2 and APOB

Splicing therapeutics are defined as the deliberate modification of RNA splicing to achieve therapeutic goals. Various techniques for splicing therapeutics have been described, and most of these involve the use of antisense oligonucleotide-based compounds that target key elements in the pre-mRNA to control splicing in the nucleus. In this review, recent developments in splicing therapeutics for the treatment of two specific diseases are described: correcting the alternative splicing of survival of motor neuron (SMN)2 pre-mRNA to compensate for the defective SMN1 gene in spinal muscular atrophy, and re-engineering the splicing of apolipoprotein B pre-mRNA to lower circulating cholesterol levels

The potential impacts of climate change on the distribution of Nepenthes and dipterocarps of the Trus Madi Forest Reserve

Publisher PD

Information and communication technology for environmental regulation: developing a research agenda

The ways in which information and communications technology can be used to support environmental regulation were the subject of an international exploratory workshop in NUI Galway on 20–21 June 2013. The event, ‘Information and Communications Technology for Environmental Regulation: Developing a Research Agenda’, was funded by NUI Galway’s Ryan Institute for Environmental, Marine and Energy Research, the Whitaker Institute for Innovation and Societal Change, and the Irish Research Council. It attracted over fifty international experts from Europe, the United States of America and Australia. The delegates were experts in law, the physical and social sciences, information systems and web science. The lively discussions addressed topics such as real-time monitoring of air pollution through sensors; large-scale databases of geographical information on the health of rivers, lakes and beaches; satellite-based monitoring of farming patterns; and the provision of information on industrial pollution to the public through government websites. Speakers included academics, staff from non-governmental agencies and personnel from regulatory agencies. Slides and recordings from the event are available online at http://ict4er.org/ict4er-2013/