Evidence for a New State of Matter: An Assessment of the Results from the CERN Lead Beam Programme

This "position paper" collects the scientific arguments behind the CERN Press Release of February 10, 2000, which announced evidence for the creation of a new state of matter in Pb-Pb collisions at the CERN SPS. The data on which this paper is based were presented in a special seminar at CERN on the same day, a recording of which can be accessed at http://www.cern.ch/CERN/Announcements/2000/NewStateMatter/ .Comment: 7 pages LaTeX, no figure

A simple moving target defense for power grid security using network address translation

The Smart Grid is a Cyber Physical system which relies on the interaction between complex Information Technology (IT) networks and Operational Technology (OT) networks. In the Smart Grid, control and monitoring of physical devices is facilitated through the SCADA network. Recent attacks, such at the Ukrainian Power Grid Attack, show a rising trend of sophisticated and persistent attackers targeting the static vulnerabilities of power systems and SCADA networks [2]

Heparinase selectively sheds heparan sulphate from the endothelial glycocalyx

A healthy vascular endothelium is coated by the endothelial glycocalyx. Its main constituents are transmembrane syndecans and bound heparan sulphates. This structure maintains the physiological endothelial permeability barrier and prevents leukocyte and platelet adhesion, thereby mitigating inflammation and tissue oedema. Heparinase, a bacteria] analogue to heparanase, is known to attack the glycocalyx. However, the exact extent and specificity of degradation is unresolved. We show by electron microscopy, immunohistological staining and quantitative measurements of the constituent parts, that heparinase selectively sheds heparan sulphate from the glycocalyx, but not the synclecans

Extraction of Surface-Related Features in a Recurrent Model of V1-V2 Interactions

Humans can effortlessly segment surfaces and objects from two-dimensional (2D) images that are projections of the 3D world. The projection from 3D to 2D leads partially to occlusions of surfaces depending on their position in depth and on viewpoint. One way for the human visual system to infer monocular depth cues could be to extract and interpret occlusions. It has been suggested that the perception of contour junctions, in particular T-junctions, may be used as cue for occlusion of opaque surfaces. Furthermore, X-junctions could be used to signal occlusion of transparent surfaces.In this contribution, we propose a neural model that suggests how surface-related cues for occlusion can be extracted from a 2D luminance image. The approach is based on feedforward and feedback mechanisms found in visual cortical areas V1 and V2. In a first step, contours are completed over time by generating groupings of like-oriented contrasts. Few iterations of feedforward and feedback processing lead to a stable representation of completed contours and at the same time to a suppression of image noise. In a second step, contour junctions are localized and read out from the distributed representation of boundary groupings. Moreover, surface-related junctions are made explicit such that they are evaluated to interact as to generate surface-segmentations in static images. In addition, we compare our extracted junction signals with a standard computer vision approach for junction detection to demonstrate that our approach outperforms simple feedforward computation-based approaches.A model is proposed that uses feedforward and feedback mechanisms to combine contextually relevant features in order to generate consistent boundary groupings of surfaces. Perceptually important junction configurations are robustly extracted from neural representations to signal cues for occlusion and transparency. Unlike previous proposals which treat localized junction configurations as 2D image features, we link them to mechanisms of apparent surface segregation. As a consequence, we demonstrate how junctions can change their perceptual representation depending on the scene context and the spatial configuration of boundary fragments

Det sovende subjekt

In this article, I consider how questions of subjectivity and self pose problems for the conception of sleep as a field of scientific study. During the twentieth century, the study of human sleep underwent significant changes and is now considered a fully fledged scientific object available for scrutiny outside of purely subjective criteria. It is nevertheless relevant to question how the expropriation of subjective sleep experiences to a medical and technological domain affects the conception of human sleep. The interplay between subjective sleep experiences and objective as well as medical depictions of sleep is inherent in the narrative framework of Marcel Proust’s A la recherche du temps perdu (1913-1927), most prominently expressed in the narrator’s sustained effort to articulate his experience as a subject in sleep. By applying Giorgio Agamben’s conception of the expropriation of subjective experience as a pre-condition for a biopolitical critique of modern sleep science, I argue that Proust’s narrative articulates the crucial connection between language and subjectivity in the experience of sleep. I conclude by suggesting that a linguistic and literary analysis of subjective experience is a necessary pre-condition for any serious effort to grasp subjective sleep in medical and scientific terms

Typologie Et Déterminants Des Stratégies D’adaptation Aux Changements Climatiques En Riziculture Au Nord Et Centre Du Bénin

La combinaison des stratégies d’adaptation semble être aujourd’hui les meilleures options qui permettent d’atténuer les effets des changements climatiques. C’est dans ce cadre que cette étude vise à réaliser une typologie des stratégies d’adaptation développées en riziculture au Bénin ainsi que les déterminants. Sur la base de la théorie des dynamiques adaptatives de Chia et al., l’hypothèse de travail est que les producteurs combinent plusieurs stratégies en fonction de leur situation pour faire face aux changements climatiques. L’étude s’est basée sur un échantillon de 144 riziculteurs enquêtés à l’aide d’un questionnaire et des entretiens. L’Analyse Factorielle des Correspondances Multiples (AFCM) suivie d’une Classification Hiérarchique Ascendante (CHA) ont permis de réaliser la typologie. Le modèle logit multinomial a permis d’identifier les déterminants de l’adoption des stratégies catégorisées. De l’AFCM, trois (03) catégories de stratégies se dégagent et se diffèrent par le contact des producteurs avec un projet sur le changement climatique, le niveau d’instruction, la zone agroécologique, le sexe et les informations sur les prévisions climatiques. Les riziculteurs de la Classe 1 adoptent et combinent les stratégies telles que les rotations culturales, l’accroissement des superficies cultivées, une plus grande utilisation d’engrais chimique et l’utilisation des variétés résistantes ; ceux de la classe 2 combinent le semis direct et l’utilisation des variétés de cycle court alors que ceux de la Classe 3 s’adaptent en combinant la diversification culturale et l’introduction de nouvelles spéculations. Les résultats du modèle logit multinomial révèlent que le sexe, le contact avec un projet sur le changement climatique, l’utilisation de la fumure organique et l’accès à l’information sur les prévisions climatiques sont les facteurs qui déterminent les stratégies. Les agents du développement de la filière riz devraient orienter des actions de soutien en tenant compte de ces résultats pour accompagner les acteurs. Combining adaptation strategies are now options that can mitigate the effects of climate change. It is in this context that this study aims to make a typology of the adaptation strategies developed in rice growing in Benin. Based on the theory of adaptive dynamics of Chia et al., The working hypothesis is that producers combine several strategies depending on their situation to cope with climate change. The study was based on a sample of 144 rice farmers surveyed using a questionnaire and interviews. The Factorial Analysis of Multiple Correspondences (AFCM) followed by an Ascending Hierarchical Classification (CHA) made it possible to carry out the typology. The multinomial Logit model identified the determinants of the adoption of categorized strategies. From AFCM, three (03) categories of strategies are obtained and differ by the contact of producers with a project on climate change, level of education, agro-ecological zone, gender and information on forecasts climate. Class 1 rice farmers combine strategies such as crop rotations, increasing the area cultivated, Greater use of chemical fertilizers and the use of resistant varieties while those of Class 2 combine direct seeding and use of short cycle varieties and those of Class 3 combine crop diversification and the introduction of new crop. The multinomial logit model reveals gender, contact with a climate change project, the use of organic manure, and access to information on climate forecasts. These different determinants are the factors on which development agents in the rice sector should direct support actions to support actors

Perspectives in Microvascular Fluid Handling: Does the Distribution of Coagulation Factors in Human Myocardium Comply with Plasma Extravasation in Venular Coronary Segments?

Background: Heterogeneity of vascular permeability has been suggested for the coronary system. Whereas arteriolar and capillary segments are tight, plasma proteins pass readily into the interstitial space at venular sites. Fittingly, lymphatic fluid is able to coagulate. However, heart tissue contains high concentrations of tissue factor, presumably enabling bleeding to be stopped immediately in this vital organ. The distribution of pro- and anti-coagulatively active factors in human heart tissue has now been determined in relation to the types of microvessels. Methods and Results: Samples of healthy explanted hearts and dilated cardiomyopathic hearts were immunohistochemically stained. Albumin was found throughout the interstitial space. Tissue factor was packed tightly around arterioles and capillaries, whereas the tissue surrounding venules and small veins was practically free of this starter of coagulation. Thrombomodulin was present at the luminal surface of all vessel segments and especially at venular endothelial cell junctions. Its product, the anticoagulant protein C, appeared only at discrete extravascular sites, mainly next to capillaries. These distribution patterns were basically identical in the healthy and diseased hearts, suggesting a general principle. Conclusions: Venular extravasation of plasma proteins probably would not bring prothrombin into intimate contact with tissue factor, avoiding interstitial coagulation in the absence of injury. Generation of activated protein C via thrombomodulin is favored in the vicinity of venular gaps, should thrombin occur inside coronary vessels. This regionalization of distribution supports the proposed physiological heterogeneity of the vascular barrier and complies with the passage of plasma proteins into the lymphatic system of the heart. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Base