Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/1qFf1PeKoy8/roadrunner-supercomputer-goes-dark-today
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Sunday, March 31, 2013
Roadrunner Supercomputer Goes Dark Today
Nigerian army says kills 14 Islamist insurgents in raid
KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian soldiers killed 14 suspected Islamist insurgents on Sunday during a dawn raid on a house in the main northern city of Kano, the military said.
Islamist sect Boko Haram wants to carve an Islamic state out of Nigeria. It and other Islamist groups have become the main threat to stability on Africa's top oil-producing state and increasingly menace neighbors like Cameroon.
Boko Haram has killed hundreds in gun and bomb attacks, including 25 in Kano earlier in March, since it intensified an insurgency two years ago.
In Sunday's raid, one soldier was killed and another seriously injured while a suspected suicide bomber was arrested in a car packed with explosives, the army said.
"This operation was conducted following a tip-off from our intelligence. You can see that there are over 10 of the terrorists all dead," Iliyasu Abbah, an officer in the military task force dealing with Islamist rebels, told Reuters.
Task force spokesman Ikedichi Iweha confirmed 14 suspected terrorists had been killed. A witness, who asked not to be named, said he saw a woman and a child among the dead.
Security was stepped up in northern Nigerian cities this weekend to cope with an increased threat posed by Islamist groups during Christian holidays, when churches have been targeted by suicide bombers.
Western governments fear that ties with groups like al Qaeda's North African wing are drawing Nigerian Islamists towards a more explicitly anti-Western agenda.
Such concerns have risen since France launched an operation in January to flush jihadist rebels out of northern Mali.
Al Qaeda-affiliated Nigerian group Ansaru said earlier this month it had killed seven foreign hostages seized on February 7 in the northern state of Bauchi because of attempts to free them.
A French family was kidnapped from north Cameroon last month and is believed to be being held by Boko Haram in Nigeria.
(Reporting by Chukwuemeka Madu and Idris Jibrin; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nigerian-army-says-kills-14-islamist-insurgents-raid-130531418.html
How a Pope's Chalice Is Made
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/_4z_c4y7HSI/how-a-popes-chalice-is-made
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Saturday, March 30, 2013
Buzz with an edge: Marquette tops Miami 71-61
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Buzz Williams has never been this far in the NCAA tournament before, so it might take a while for him to deal with it.
The Marquette coach was just as irritable in victory as he might have been in defeat Thursday night after his Golden Eagles beat Miami 71-61 to put the school in the Elite Eight for the first time in a decade.
Williams relished the Golden Eagles' underdog status after come-from-behind wins in the subregional. But this was a dominant win over the champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference, so why the dour demeanor?
"That's a good question," he answered.
Williams then spoke of the pride and love he has in his players, how they've matured and all the works his staff does. Then the coach who doggedly worked his way up from his days as a student assistant at Navarro College got to the point.
"Because of my path to this point, I do have an edge," he said. "And I probably need to have better wisdom in how I handle that edge. But it's really delicate, because our edge is why we win."
"I'm really not good postgame," he added. "Actually, I'm really not good at all day of the game to you (reporters), my wife, my kids, because I do want to win, and I don't want to win for the outcome, I want to make sure that I and our team learn the lessons from what the day is going to give us."
Williams and the third-seeded Golden Eagles (26-8) will face No. 4 seed Syracuse in the East Regional final on Saturday, aiming for a spot in the Final Foul for the first time since the 2003 team lead by Dwyane Wade.
Marquette was knocked out in the round of 16 the past two years, and the team appeared headed for an earlier exit this year before pulling off the rallies that beat Davidson by one point and Butler by two.
This game was nothing like that. The Golden Eagles were never threatened after taking a double-digit lead in the first half. It's a good thing Vander Blue made his buzzer-beater before halftime. This time, Marquette didn't need one at the end of the game.
"It's fantastic. It feels good not to have to worry about, are you going to lose on a last-second shot or are you going to win on a last-second shot?" said Jamil Wilson, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. "To have a cushion like that, these guys played with tremendous heart, and we did it all game."
It was simple to decipher how the game was won. Marquette could shoot; Miami couldn't. The Hurricanes (29-7) had sentiment on their side, returning to the arena where coach Jim Larranaga led mid-major George Mason to the Final Four seven years ago, but they made only 35 percent of their field goals and missed 18 of 26 3-pointers.
"You ever have days where you're just out of sync or things just don't run along smoothly?" Larranaga said. "Almost like our trip over here. Our hotel is a mile and a half, it took us 45 minutes to get here. We had to go on nine different streets, weaving our way in and out of traffic and everything. And that's the way it seemed on the court. We were trying to find our way and never could. Never could get in rhythm offensively, and defensively. I don't think we communicated like we have been doing all season long."
Shane Larkin scored 14 points to lead the No. 2 seed Hurricanes, whose NCAA run to the round of 16 matched the best in school history.
"I think what we did this year was lay a foundation of what the program could be like," Larranaga said. "We're not anywhere near where I would like to be."
Marquette, meanwhile, shot 54 percent, a stark turnaround from its 38 percent rate from the first two games in the tournament. Davante Gardner added 14 points, with 12 coming in the second half when the Golden Eagles were comfortably ahead.
Blue finished with 14 points. He wasn't Marquette's leading scorer, but his offensive and defensive energy pushed the Golden Eagles to a big lead early.
He got going when he picked off a pass and converted the steal into a one-handed jam to give Marquette an 8-4 lead. His running one-hander made it 12-4. He and Junior Cadougan forced a steal, getting Larkin to commit his second foul in the process.
Blue ended the half with an exclamation point, hitting the step-back 15-footer just before the horn to give Marquette a 29-16 lead at the break. He drained the shot, strutted backward downcourt, cocked his right arm and gave Wilson a chest bump.
"We're so used to people not giving us credit. ... That fuels our fire," Blue said.
The Hurricanes couldn't sink anything. They started 2 for 12, including 0 for 6 from 3-point range, and Larkin's 3-pointer more than 11 minutes into the game was the first Hurricanes field goal scored by anyone other than Kenny Kadji.
In the second half, Blue's basket with 10:03 to play gave Marquette a 51-30 lead. The Hurricanes, who by then had started to press full court, then put together their best sequence of the night, a 7-0 run that cut the lead to 14 with 8? minutes left.
But Wilson's dunk and Gardner's inside basket stretched the lead back to 18. Gardner became the scene-stealer late, thumping his chest to the Marquette fans after a dunk in the final four minutes.
The Hurricanes played without backup center Reggie Johnson, who had surgery Tuesday for a minor knee injury. Johnson was averaging seven rebounds, but he would have helped only if he could've put the ball in the basket.
"There are only two things you have to do in basketball: One, put the ball in the basket. Two, stop the other team from putting the ball in the basket," Larranaga said. "We weren't able to do either."
___
Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/buzz-edge-marquette-tops-miami-71-61-074058527--spt.html
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Young baseball pitchers shouldn't overdo it
Mar. 29, 2013 ? Baseball season has arrived, but no matter how eager young players are to get on the diamond they have to keep from overdoing it -- especially if they're pitchers.
Overhand pitching creates great forces, stresses and strains at both the elbow and shoulder. In most children up to age 16, bones, muscles and connective tissues are not fully developed, so it should come as no surprise that the pitching motion can lead to injury if it is performed too frequently.
"Parents may find it difficult to put limits on any activity that a child is good at and enjoys performing," said Michael T. Freehill, M.D., assistant professor of orthopedics at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. "But when it comes to pitching, the surest way to ruin a young athlete's chances of success is to allow him or her to overdo it."
Fortunately, overuse injuries are preventable. Following some basic guidelines can help young baseball pitchers stay healthy.
? Young pitchers should always warm up properly by stretching and running before throwing. Throwing should begin with easy tosses, with gradual increases in distance, then intensity.
? Youngsters should concentrate on age-appropriate pitching skills. The emphasis should be on control, accuracy and good mechanics, not curveballs and velocity.
? Tracking the number of pitches thrown is important. Staying within age-specific pitch-count limits, such as those established by Little League Baseball, is recommended.
? Proper rest periods between pitching sessions should be observed. Youngsters can still play during these rest periods, but only at positions other than pitcher and catcher.
? Children should not pitch for multiple teams with overlapping schedules or play baseball year-round.
? Children should never pitch when it hurts. They must understand that telling a parent or coach is the right thing to do if they experience discomfort while throwing.
"Following these guidelines may force a young pitcher to sit out a few innings or miss a few pitching opportunities during the season," said Freehill, who pitched in the minor leagues before attending medical school, reaching the AAA level with two different organizations and making it onto the 40-man roster of the Anaheim (now Los Angeles) Angels. "However, that's a small price to pay for keeping our kids healthy and giving them their best shot at success over the long run."
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, via Newswise.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/3ytTP7OKhU4/130329161137.htm
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Professional Business Marketing ? NeoPhotonics Completes ...
SAN JOSE, Calif.?(BUSINESS WIRE)?
NeoPhotonics Corporation (NPTN), a leading designer and
manufacturer of photonic integrated circuit, or PIC, based modules and
subsystems for bandwidth-intensive, high speed communications networks,
today announced that it has completed the acquisition of the
semiconductor optical components business unit (OCU) of LAPIS
Semiconductor Co., Ltd., a leading designer and manufacturer of high
speed lasers, laser drivers, photodiodes and amplifiers for high speed
networks. OCU was previously the component division of OKI Electric for
high speed lasers and high speed III-V amplifiers before it was acquired
by ROHM Semiconductor in 2008. As of the closing, the OCU business was
merged into and now operates as NeoPhotonics Semiconductor GK, a
Japanese subsidiary of NeoPhotonics.
?We are pleased to have closed the previously announced acquisition of
the optical components unit of LAPIS Semiconductor in accordance with
our purchase agreement and earlier than planned,? said Tim Jenks,
Chairman and CEO of NeoPhotonics. ?We look forward to this expansion of
our 100G product suite, our further strategic expansion into the Japan
market, the addition of new global network equipment and module
customers, and expanding our business opportunities with our current
mutual customers.?
On March 29, 2013, NeoPhotonics paid approximately $10.2 million in cash
for the business of OCU, after adjustments, and approximately $3.7
million in cash as the first of four equal payments for the associated
real estate. In the transaction, NeoPhotonics also assumed employee
retirement obligations of approximately $6.5 million and compensation
obligations of approximately $0.6 million. The total consideration for
the real estate including the payment made upon the closing is
approximately $14.6 million with the balance payable over the next three
years. Including the future payments for real estate, the total purchase
price is approximately $35.2 million. The purchase consideration is paid
in Japanese Yen.
On March 21, 2013, NeoPhotonics entered into a syndicated Revolving
Credit and Term Loan Agreement with Comerica Bank, as administrative
agent and lead arranger. East West Bank has also become a lender under
this facility. NeoPhotonics borrowed $28 million under the term loan
facility and $12 million under the revolving credit facility to
refinance existing company indebtedness of approximately $20.9 million
and help finance the OCU acquisition and related transaction expenses.
Anticipated OCU Financial Impact
Prior to the closing, the LAPIS Semiconductor OCU business unit was not
a standalone company; therefore historically it has not prepared
separate financial statements, and audited financial information for the
business unit is not yet available. Based on preliminary unaudited pro
forma financial information provided by the management of LAPIS
Semiconductor, OCU had revenue of approximately?$45 million?for the
first nine months ended?September 30, 2012. Based on company estimates,
the addition of OCU is expected to be accretive to the company?s
Adjusted EBITDA within the first year following the transaction. Given
that the acquisition closed in the first fiscal quarter for
NeoPhotonics, transaction related expenses, which are expected to be in
the range of $3 million to $4 million, are expected to be incurred in
the first quarter.
NeoPhotonics?plans to provide an update on the OCU business, now
NeoPhotonics Semiconductor GK, when it releases its quarterly financial
results for the first quarter of 2013, which is currently expected to be
in the first half of May 2013. The company is also preparing the
required historical and pro forma financial results reflecting the
acquisition and plans to file the information with the?Securities and
Exchange Commission within the next 75 days, or by June 12, 2013.
About NeoPhotonics
NeoPhotonics is a leading designer and manufacturer of photonic
integrated circuit, or PIC, based optoelectronic modules and subsystems
for bandwidth-intensive, high-speed communications networks. The
company?s products enable cost-effective, high-speed data transmission
and efficient allocation of bandwidth over communications networks.
NeoPhotonics maintains headquarters in San Jose, California and ISO
9001:2000 certified engineering and manufacturing facilities in Silicon
Valley (USA), Japan and China. For additional information, visit www.neophotonics.com.
? 2013 NeoPhotonics Corporation. All rights reserved. NeoPhotonics and
the red dot logo are trademarks of NeoPhotonics Corporation. All other
marks are the property of their respective owners.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of applicable securities laws. Statements that are not
historical facts, including statements about beliefs, expectations and
future performance of NeoPhotonics, are forward-looking statements. The
use of any of the words ?intend?, ?believe?, ?may?, ?would?, ?will?,
?expect?, ?anticipate?, ?estimates?, and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular, forward
looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited
to, the statements under the paragraph entitled ?Anticipated OCU
Financial Impact;? the impact of the transaction on NeoPhotonics,
including the anticipated benefits and costs, of the proposed
acquisition; the expected accretive impact of the transaction to the
financial results of NeoPhotonics; future opportunities for NeoPhotonics
and the OCU business in Japan and globally; market and industry trends;
the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future
operations; and the anticipated timing of the completion of the
preparation of financial statements and the release of first quarter
financial results.
The foregoing forward-looking statements are based on the current
expectations of NeoPhotonics and are subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited
to, the risk that integrating OCU?s technology, employees or operations
may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; the risk
that OCU?s or the NeoPhotonics business may not perform as expected due
to transaction-related uncertainty or other factors (including, without
limitation, difficulties in maintaining relationships with employees,
customers, clients or suppliers); uncertainties related to customer
demand and the ability to develop technologies and match production with
customer demands; pricing trends and fluctuations in the
telecommunications and semiconductor industries; cost increases; the
impact of recent uncertainty and volatility in global economic
conditions and in the telecommunications and semiconductor industries;
natural disasters, civil unrest, acts of terrorism, or other supply
chain disruptions; and other risks and uncertainties listed in the
recent Form 10-K filed by NeoPhotonics Corporation with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 15, 2013, to which your
attention is directed. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance
on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date
hereof, and NeoPhotonics undertakes no obligation to update these
forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
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LITHOSPHERE covers Canada, California, the Alps, and the Scandinavian Caledonides
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 29-Mar-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Kea Giles
kgiles@geosociety.org
Geological Society of America
Boulder, Colo., USA - The April 2013 issue of Lithosphere is now available. Four classic research papers cover the Saint Elias Mountains of Yukon and British Columbia, Canada; the Nacimiento fault near San Simeon, California, USA; the western Alps; and the Caledonides in Scandinavia. An invited review relays the significance of dynamic topography to long-term sea level change. This month's research focus article, which is open access online, discusses the revolution in remote sensing-LiDAR-laser altimetry swath mapping.
Abstracts are online at http://lithosphere.gsapubs.org/content/current. Representatives of the media may obtain complimentary copies of LITHOSPHERE articles by contacting Kea Giles at the address above.
Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to LITHOSPHERE in articles published. Contact Kea Giles for additional information or assistance.
Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.
Detrital zircon Hf isotopic compositions indicate a northern Caledonian connection for the Alexander terrane
L. Beranek et al., Stockholm University, Geological Sciences, Svante Arrhenius vg 8, Stockholm, Stockholm 106 91, Sweden. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 19 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/L255.1.
Earth's plate tectonic history during the Silurian and Devonian periods, approx. 400 million years ago, was dominated by the closure of the Iapetus Ocean and subsequent continent-continent collision between Laurentia (ancestral North America) and Baltica (ancestral northern Europe). This collision led to the rise of the Appalachian-Caledonian Mountains and the assembly of supercontinent Laurussia. To test ancient stratigraphic connections between the northern Caledonian mountains of Laurussia and crustal fragments now located in the North American Cordillera, Luke Beranek and colleagues acquired new analytical data from Silurian and Devonian sedimentary rocks of the Alexander terrane in the Saint Elias Mountains of Yukon and British Columbia, Canada. Their datasets indicate that terrestrial and shallow-marine rocks of the Alexander terrane, including distinctive red-bed sandstones, were sourced from northern Caledonian granitoids and are analogous to sedimentary units of the Old Red Sandstone in the present-day North Atlantic region. These data have major ramifications not only for the paleogeography and displacement history of the Alexander terrane, but also the proposed Caledonian affinities of other terranes in the North American Cordillera that underlie much of Alaska, British Columbia, and western United States.
Kinematic analysis of mlange fabrics in the Franciscan Complex near San Simeon, California: Evidence for sinistral slip on the Nacimiento fault zone?
J. Singleton, Dept. of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, USA; and M. Cloos, Dept. of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 USA. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 19 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/L259.1.
A controversial topic in California geology is the tectonic significance of the Nacimiento fault, a major structure that was active approximately 75 to 60 million years ago during subduction of oceanic crust beneath California. This fault juxtaposes granitic rocks similar to the Sierra Nevada batholith on the northeast side of the fault (the Salinian block) against rocks that formed within a subduction zone on the southwest side of the fault (the Franciscan Complex). Most previous studies have interpreted the Nacimiento fault either as (a) a left-lateral strike-slip fault along which the Salinian block granitic rocks moved 500-600 km northwestward with respect to the Franciscan Complex rocks; or (b) a thrust fault along which the Salinian block rocks were displaced more than 100 km southwestward over the Franciscan rocks. This study by John Singleton and Mark Cloos presents new structural data from Franciscan Complex rocks exposed along beach cliffs near San Simeon, California. These rocks have undergone left-lateral shearing parallel to the Nacimiento fault. Singleton and Cloos suggest this shearing was related to movement on the Nacimiento fault, supporting the tectonic interpretation of the Nacimiento fault as a major left-lateral structure.
Short-lived fast erosional exhumation of the internal Western Alps during the late Early Oligocene: constraints from geo-thermochronology of pro- and retro-side foreland basin sediments
S. Jourdan et al., ISTerre, Grenoble, 38110, France. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 25 Feb. 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/L243.1.
The Oligocene is a key period in the evolution of the western Alps during which the mountain belt evolved from an accretionary wedge (Late Cretaceous to Eocene) to a relatively high-elevation mountain belt, similar to the central Alps today. Studying the sediments and sedimentary rocks deposited in basins adjacent to this mountain belt helps in reconstructing the orogenic evolution. During this period, relatively fast erosion is seen as a result of rapid surface uplift coupled with increasing orographic precipitation during this phase of orogenesis. Surface uplift may have been caused and sustained by different plate-tectonic processes such as a change in convergence direction, intermediate-depth slab breakoff, and emplacement of the Ivrea body during continental collision. The occurrence of contemporaneous volcanic activity on the pro-side of the western Alps on the subducting European plate between 36 and 30 million years ago is seen in connection with slab rollback of the Apennine slab and upwelling of hot mantle material beneath the western Alps.
Subduction along and within the Baltoscandian margin during the closing of the Iapetus Ocean and Baltica-Laurentia collision
D. Gee et al., Uppsala University, Earth Sciences, Uppsala, 752 36, Sweden. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 19 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/L220.1.
There are few places in the world where it is possible to trace a hot allochthon for 200 km across a continental margin, demonstrate its lateral displacement to have been more than twice this distance, infer that it was generated in an outer-margin subduction system during the final stages of ocean closure, and show that emplacement onto the platform occurred during subsequent continent collision. As a result of good exposure in the Scandian mountain belt and erosion to middle-crustal levels, the Caledonides in Scandinavia provide one of the best opportunities on the planet to study these aspects of mountain building.
INVITED REVIEW ARTICLE
A review of observations and models of dynamic topography
N. Flament et al., The University of Sydney, School of Geoscience, Madsen Building F09, Room 416, Eastern Avenue, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 4 Feb. 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/L245.1.
It has been known since the early 1960s that moving tectonic plates shape the Earth's surface, forming mountain belts and rift valleys. In addition to this tectonic topography, the more subtle deformation of the Earth's surface due to mantle flow in the Earth's interior, called dynamic topography, has been an active research topic since the mid-1980s. Dynamic topography has received increased interest over the last few years because it challenged the well-established view that long-term sea level change can be deduced from the rock record of "stable" continental shelves. In this review article, Nicolas Flament and colleagues show that there is good agreement between long-wavelength (greater than 5,000 km) observations and models of dynamic topography. Their work confirms the significance of dynamic topography to long-term sea level change and reinforces that comparing the predictions of mantle flow models to the geological record constrains the physical properties of the mantle. Larger data sets and increasing computing power will enable progress in this field in the coming years.
RESEARCH FOCUS ARTICLE
Active tectonics and LiDAR revolution
A. Meigs, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, 104 CEOAS Administration Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA. Issue: April 2013; free access at http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/RF.L004.1.
A revolution in remote sensing, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) laser altimetry swath mapping, reveals the details of topographic features at such high resolution that they have transformed our understanding of tectonic forcing of the shape of the Earth's surface. Meter-scale DEMs (digital elevation models) capture fault offsets, fault zone structure, off-fault deformation, and landscape properties at microgeomorphic scale, highlighting that the surface faithfully records the complexity and sensitivity of deformation in detail.
###
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Public release date: 29-Mar-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Kea Giles
kgiles@geosociety.org
Geological Society of America
Boulder, Colo., USA - The April 2013 issue of Lithosphere is now available. Four classic research papers cover the Saint Elias Mountains of Yukon and British Columbia, Canada; the Nacimiento fault near San Simeon, California, USA; the western Alps; and the Caledonides in Scandinavia. An invited review relays the significance of dynamic topography to long-term sea level change. This month's research focus article, which is open access online, discusses the revolution in remote sensing-LiDAR-laser altimetry swath mapping.
Abstracts are online at http://lithosphere.gsapubs.org/content/current. Representatives of the media may obtain complimentary copies of LITHOSPHERE articles by contacting Kea Giles at the address above.
Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to LITHOSPHERE in articles published. Contact Kea Giles for additional information or assistance.
Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.
Detrital zircon Hf isotopic compositions indicate a northern Caledonian connection for the Alexander terrane
L. Beranek et al., Stockholm University, Geological Sciences, Svante Arrhenius vg 8, Stockholm, Stockholm 106 91, Sweden. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 19 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/L255.1.
Earth's plate tectonic history during the Silurian and Devonian periods, approx. 400 million years ago, was dominated by the closure of the Iapetus Ocean and subsequent continent-continent collision between Laurentia (ancestral North America) and Baltica (ancestral northern Europe). This collision led to the rise of the Appalachian-Caledonian Mountains and the assembly of supercontinent Laurussia. To test ancient stratigraphic connections between the northern Caledonian mountains of Laurussia and crustal fragments now located in the North American Cordillera, Luke Beranek and colleagues acquired new analytical data from Silurian and Devonian sedimentary rocks of the Alexander terrane in the Saint Elias Mountains of Yukon and British Columbia, Canada. Their datasets indicate that terrestrial and shallow-marine rocks of the Alexander terrane, including distinctive red-bed sandstones, were sourced from northern Caledonian granitoids and are analogous to sedimentary units of the Old Red Sandstone in the present-day North Atlantic region. These data have major ramifications not only for the paleogeography and displacement history of the Alexander terrane, but also the proposed Caledonian affinities of other terranes in the North American Cordillera that underlie much of Alaska, British Columbia, and western United States.
Kinematic analysis of mlange fabrics in the Franciscan Complex near San Simeon, California: Evidence for sinistral slip on the Nacimiento fault zone?
J. Singleton, Dept. of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, USA; and M. Cloos, Dept. of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 USA. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 19 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/L259.1.
A controversial topic in California geology is the tectonic significance of the Nacimiento fault, a major structure that was active approximately 75 to 60 million years ago during subduction of oceanic crust beneath California. This fault juxtaposes granitic rocks similar to the Sierra Nevada batholith on the northeast side of the fault (the Salinian block) against rocks that formed within a subduction zone on the southwest side of the fault (the Franciscan Complex). Most previous studies have interpreted the Nacimiento fault either as (a) a left-lateral strike-slip fault along which the Salinian block granitic rocks moved 500-600 km northwestward with respect to the Franciscan Complex rocks; or (b) a thrust fault along which the Salinian block rocks were displaced more than 100 km southwestward over the Franciscan rocks. This study by John Singleton and Mark Cloos presents new structural data from Franciscan Complex rocks exposed along beach cliffs near San Simeon, California. These rocks have undergone left-lateral shearing parallel to the Nacimiento fault. Singleton and Cloos suggest this shearing was related to movement on the Nacimiento fault, supporting the tectonic interpretation of the Nacimiento fault as a major left-lateral structure.
Short-lived fast erosional exhumation of the internal Western Alps during the late Early Oligocene: constraints from geo-thermochronology of pro- and retro-side foreland basin sediments
S. Jourdan et al., ISTerre, Grenoble, 38110, France. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 25 Feb. 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/L243.1.
The Oligocene is a key period in the evolution of the western Alps during which the mountain belt evolved from an accretionary wedge (Late Cretaceous to Eocene) to a relatively high-elevation mountain belt, similar to the central Alps today. Studying the sediments and sedimentary rocks deposited in basins adjacent to this mountain belt helps in reconstructing the orogenic evolution. During this period, relatively fast erosion is seen as a result of rapid surface uplift coupled with increasing orographic precipitation during this phase of orogenesis. Surface uplift may have been caused and sustained by different plate-tectonic processes such as a change in convergence direction, intermediate-depth slab breakoff, and emplacement of the Ivrea body during continental collision. The occurrence of contemporaneous volcanic activity on the pro-side of the western Alps on the subducting European plate between 36 and 30 million years ago is seen in connection with slab rollback of the Apennine slab and upwelling of hot mantle material beneath the western Alps.
Subduction along and within the Baltoscandian margin during the closing of the Iapetus Ocean and Baltica-Laurentia collision
D. Gee et al., Uppsala University, Earth Sciences, Uppsala, 752 36, Sweden. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 19 Dec. 2012; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/L220.1.
There are few places in the world where it is possible to trace a hot allochthon for 200 km across a continental margin, demonstrate its lateral displacement to have been more than twice this distance, infer that it was generated in an outer-margin subduction system during the final stages of ocean closure, and show that emplacement onto the platform occurred during subsequent continent collision. As a result of good exposure in the Scandian mountain belt and erosion to middle-crustal levels, the Caledonides in Scandinavia provide one of the best opportunities on the planet to study these aspects of mountain building.
INVITED REVIEW ARTICLE
A review of observations and models of dynamic topography
N. Flament et al., The University of Sydney, School of Geoscience, Madsen Building F09, Room 416, Eastern Avenue, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 4 Feb. 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/L245.1.
It has been known since the early 1960s that moving tectonic plates shape the Earth's surface, forming mountain belts and rift valleys. In addition to this tectonic topography, the more subtle deformation of the Earth's surface due to mantle flow in the Earth's interior, called dynamic topography, has been an active research topic since the mid-1980s. Dynamic topography has received increased interest over the last few years because it challenged the well-established view that long-term sea level change can be deduced from the rock record of "stable" continental shelves. In this review article, Nicolas Flament and colleagues show that there is good agreement between long-wavelength (greater than 5,000 km) observations and models of dynamic topography. Their work confirms the significance of dynamic topography to long-term sea level change and reinforces that comparing the predictions of mantle flow models to the geological record constrains the physical properties of the mantle. Larger data sets and increasing computing power will enable progress in this field in the coming years.
RESEARCH FOCUS ARTICLE
Active tectonics and LiDAR revolution
A. Meigs, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, 104 CEOAS Administration Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA. Issue: April 2013; free access at http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/RF.L004.1.
A revolution in remote sensing, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) laser altimetry swath mapping, reveals the details of topographic features at such high resolution that they have transformed our understanding of tectonic forcing of the shape of the Earth's surface. Meter-scale DEMs (digital elevation models) capture fault offsets, fault zone structure, off-fault deformation, and landscape properties at microgeomorphic scale, highlighting that the surface faithfully records the complexity and sensitivity of deformation in detail.
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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/gsoa-lcc032913.php
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Friday, March 29, 2013
OUYA updates backers about launch titles, day-one software update
The OUYA Tegra 3-powered Android game console is having quite a day, but now that it's shipping, CEO Julie Uhrman is informing early recipients of what to expect when they open the packaging. According to an email sent out to Kickstarter backers this evening, their new box will have a software update required as soon as it's plugged in. After the Wii U we hope this isn't a trend (but fear it is) although the Ouya promises to take only seconds or at most minutes to complete. Also detailed are the 104 games already available from the 8,000 registered developers including Beast Boxing Turbo, Stalagflight, and Knightmare Tower, plus entertainment apps like XBMC and Flixster. The games are all free to try out, but a credit/debit card is required upfront.
We've already offered our opinion of the shipping hardware after a quick hands-on, although backers are encouraged to contribute their own during the preview period before it officially launches. To that end, the company is planning a Reddit AMA next month and will have its own forums available for feedback soon. Until then, you can get the rest of the info directly at the source link below.
Source: OUYA Kickstarter
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/DhEwp0ts7aE/
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Microscale medical sensors inserted under skin powered wirelessly by external handheld receiver
Mar. 27, 2013 ? Implantable electronic devices potentially offer a rapid and accurate way for doctors to monitor patients with particular medical conditions. Yet powering such devices remains a fundamental challenge: batteries are bulky and eventually need recharging or replacing. Jia Hao Cheong at the A*STAR Institute for Microelectronics, Singapore, and his co-workers are developing an alternative approach that eliminates the need for a battery. Their miniature devices are based on wireless power-transfer technology.
The research team has developed a microscale electronic sensor to monitor blood flow through artificial blood vessels. Surgeons use these prosthetic grafts to bypass diseased or clogged blood vessels in patients experiencing restricted blood supply, for example. Over time, however, the graft can also become blocked. To avoid complete failure, blood flow through the graft must be monitored regularly, but existing techniques are slow and costly.
These limitations prompted the researchers to develop a bench-top prototype of a device that could be incorporated inside a graft to monitor blood flow. The implant is powered by a handheld external reader, which uses inductive coupling to wirelessly transfer energy, a technology similar to that found in the latest wireless-charging mobile phones. The team developed an application-specific, integrated circuit for the implant designed for low power use (see image).
The incoming energy powers circuits in the device that control sensors based on silicon nanowires. This material is piezoresistive: as blood flows over the sensor the associated mechanical stresses induce a measurable increase in electrical resistance, proportional to the flow pressure.
Key to the success of the device is its ability to work with a very limited power supply. Most of the incoming energy is absorbed by skin and tissue before it can reach the implant, which may be inserted up to 50 millimeters deep.
"Our flow sensor system achieves an ultra-low power consumption of 12.6 microwatts," Cheong says. For example, the sensor transmits its data to the handheld reader passively, by backscattering some of the incoming energy. "We have tested our system with 50-millimeter-thick tissue between the external coil and implantable coil, and it successfully extracted the pressure data from the implantable device," he adds.
Cheong and his co-workers' tests showed that the prototype sensor was also highly pressure sensitive, providing pressure readings with a resolution of 0.17 pounds per square inch (1,172 pascals). "The next step of the project is to integrate the system and embed it inside a graft for [an experimental] animal," Cheong says.
The A*STAR-affiliated researchers contributing to this research are from the Institute of Microelectronics
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Jia Hao Cheong, Simon Sheung Yan Ng, Xin Liu, Rui-Feng Xue, Huey Jen Lim, Pradeep Basappa Khannur, Kok Lim Chan, Andreas Astuti Lee, Kai Kang, Li Shiah Lim, Cairan He, Pushpapraj Singh, Woo-Tae Park, Minkyu Je. An Inductively Powered Implantable Blood Flow Sensor Microsystem for Vascular Grafts. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 2012; 59 (9): 2466 DOI: 10.1109/TBME.2012.2203131
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/oPdGd-Vm3EA/130327162425.htm
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Thursday, March 28, 2013
BMW and Mini cars add iOS integration for Audible, Glympse ...
BMW Announces Four New App Integrations for iPhone
? New Partnerships with Audible, Glympse, Rhapsody and TuneIn.
? Demos of the full suite of BMW Approved Apps available for media at New York International Auto Show
Woodcliff Lake, NJ ? March 27, 2013 12:01am EDT... BMW today announced four new partners to provide BMW Approved Apps for BMW Apps option for Apple iPhone. The latest BMW Approved Apps include Audible (downloadable audio books and other spoken-word content), Glympse (location sharing), Rhapsody (subscription music service) and TuneIn (Internet radio). These newest integrations broaden the flexibility and usability of the industry's most comprehensive smartphone integration.
"We regularly identify apps that our owners rely on as part of their everyday life, and adapt them for an in-vehicle experience they'll find safe, useful and engaging," said Phil Johnston, Product Manager for the BMW Group Apps Platform from the BMW Group Technology Office. "Audible, Glympse, Rhapsody and TuneIn were natural additions to the family of BMW Apps Ready Apps."
Johnston continued, "Integrating access to digital spoken-word content from Audible was the next logical way to expand audio entertainment for drivers. The ability to use the Glympse app from the existing vehicle controls enables drivers to share their whereabouts and ETA in a much safer way. Music is key to vehicle infotainment, and by partnering with Rhapsody, we are delivering music to our owners in user-friendly formats they prefer. With TuneIn, BMW drivers will not only get thousands of music radio stations, but also live sports, news and talk shows from around the world."
Previews of all four demo apps will be offered for media guests at the New York International Auto Show on the BMW stand March 27 and 28.
Audible: The leader in downloadable audiobooks and other audio content.
Audible is the world's largest producer and seller of digital spoken-word entertainment. Audible content comprises over 135,000 audio programs from more than 2,700 content providers, including leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers and business information providers. Audible is the exclusive provider of downloadable audiobooks to Apple's iTunes store.
The addition of Audible's digital spoken-word content to BMW Apps marks the first time a
graphical integration of the app is available in a vehicle's infotainment system. Using BMW Apps, Audible customers will be able to access their library through the BMW iDrive controls and menu display. With Audible's innovative Whispersync for Voice technology, BMW owners can also switch seamlessly between reading a book on their Kindle at home and listening to the companion audiobook in the car via their iPhone app-without losing their place. With Audible's suite of mobile apps, last listening position, bookmarks and notes are saved in the cloud, ensuring drivers always pick up where they left off when they open their iPhone app.
Glympse: GPS-driven location sharing.
Glympse's location-sharing application enables users to share their location with anyone for a specified period of time. Enabling access to this function through BMW Apps allows drivers to use the car's familiar controls to share their location and arrival time while en route, without the dangers of picking up their phone.
In use with BMW Apps, Glympse location information from the app is populated with options to share, pause or cancel the information through the BMW iDrive controller and screen. Drivers can opt to send the Glympse to other users via the app, using the phone's existing contact list, or their personal social media feeds (Facebook and Twitter).
Rhapsody: Subscription music service.
Rhapsody is the original premium, ad-free on-demand music service, with more than one million members, who can listen to more than 16 million tracks on their favorite device, including connected audio systems, smartphones, iPads and Android tablets, MP3 players, connected TVs, gaming consoles and in-car audio. Rhapsody offers the best music discovery tools, thanks to a team of renowned editors help guide members through Rhapsody's catalog spanning 600 genres with original features and content, including videos, playlists, reviews and radio stations for effortless listening and discovery. Rhapsody makes it easy to find the right song for every moment.
The Rhapsody iPhone app will be fully integrated into the BMW Apps system, meaning users will be able to not only use the vehicle controls to find and listen to their favorite tracks, but also navigate Rhapsody's music discovery tools, which have been adapted for in-car use.
TuneIn: The World's Radio.
TuneIn lets people listen to the world's music, sports, talk and news from wherever they are, with over 70,000 AM, FM, HD and Internet radio stations and more than two million on-demand programs streaming from every continent. The free service includes practically every genre of music, including decades stations, plus live sports, and nearly every podcast show. A free personal account helps drivers access their favorite stations, songs and programs across any device.
The BMW Apps integration will enable users to access the TuneIn app using infotainment controls of their vehicle, allowing them to navigate the world's radio from their car.
BMW Apps: The industry's most comprehensive smart phone
The BMW Apps option, available in model year 2011 and later BMWs enables the BMW driver to be more seamlessly connected than ever before using their Apple iPhone. Vehicle compatible apps like the BMW Connected App can be downloaded from the iTunes store, enabling customers to access Twitter and Facebook updates, listen to internet radio from around the world with Web Radio, and use the Last Mile feature to help find their parked vehicle. The calendar can also be accessed. Additionally, popular services like Pandora, MOG and Stitcher can be easily and safely streamed into and controlled by the BMW vehicle interface. The flexible design of BMW Apps allows unprecedented integration of smartphone functions, taking the in-car integration of iPhone, entertainment and online functions to a whole new level. BMW Apps adopts the familiar BMW display and controls to ensure that all functions can be operated comfortably, simply, safely and intuitively while minimizing driver distraction.
The iPhone is linked to the car through the center console either via the USB cable, supplied with the phone, or through an available snap-in adapter. Once connected, the phone can be stored away and all functions can be operated using the vehicle's iDrive controller, steering wheel buttons and on-board monitor.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/27/bmw-integration-for-audible-glympse-rhapsody-tunein/
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Calm Down, No One's Getting Fired Because Of FireMe!, New Site That Exposes People Tweeting Horrible Things About Their Jobs
Anytime there's a lull in our outrage over the public nature of social media, a new site shows up to again demonstrate its dangers. Like clockwork, the latest to play on users' fears is FireMe!, a website that tracks when people are saying inappropriate things about their jobs on Twitter, including their hatred for their boss, their desire to murder said bosses or co-workers, and even those making comments about "sexual intercourse," in relation to their jobs.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Q6xTk7DuUEM/
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Singer Dionne Warwick files for bankruptcy in NJ
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) ? Singer Dionne Warwick claims in a recent bankruptcy filing that she owes nearly $10 million in back taxes and her monthly expenses exceed $20,000.
The South Orange resident and singer of classics such as "Walk On By," ''I Say a Little Prayer" and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" filed a Chapter 7 petition in U.S. bankruptcy court in New Jersey last Thursday.
In the filing, the 72-year-old Warwick listed liabilities that include nearly $7 million owed to the Internal Revenue Service for the years 1991 to 1999 and more than $3 million in business taxes owed to the state of California.
Warwick, a cousin of the late Whitney Houston, also listed $20,950 in monthly income from royalties, retirement income and a contract with Culver City, Calif.-based Star Girl Productions. Her monthly expenses total $20,940 and include $5,000 for housekeeping/housesitting.
Warwick's publicist said that the singer was victimized by bad financial management in the 1990s and that she has paid back the actual amount of the taxes, but penalties and interest have accumulated over the years.
"In light of the magnitude of her tax liabilities, (Dionne) Warwick has repeatedly attempted to offer re-payment plans and proposals to the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board for taxes owed," Kevin Sasaki said in an email Tuesday. "These plans were not accepted, resulting in escalating interest and penalties. Although the actual amount of back taxes owed has been paid, the resulting penalties and interest has continually accrued."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/singer-dionne-warwick-files-bankruptcy-nj-210030788.html
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Wednesday, March 27, 2013
6.1-magnitude quake rattles Taiwan
By Reuters
An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 6.1 shook Taiwan on Wednesday, official agencies said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey registered the quake with a magnitude of 6.3. The epicenter of the quake was near central Taiwan at a depth of about 9 miles, said Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau, which uses the Richter scale.
Earthquakes occur frequently in Taiwan, which lies on a seismically active stretch of the Pacific basin. In September 1999, a 7.6 quake killed more than 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged 50,000 buildings.
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.Gabby Olympic Gymnast Robyn Lawley Gore Vidal mlb trade rumors Misty May And Kerri Walsh Jake Dalton London 2012 field hockey
Cyberattack on anti-spam group has ripple effects
LONDON (AP) ? An Internet watchdog group responsible for keeping ads for counterfeit Viagra and bogus weight-loss pills out of inboxes around the world has been hit by a huge cyberattack, a crushing electronic onslaught that one expert said had already had ripple effects across the Web.
Spam-fighting organization Spamhaus said Wednesday that it had been buffeted by a massive denial-of-service attack since mid-March, apparently from groups angry at being blacklisted by the Geneva-based group.
"It is a small miracle that we're still online," Spamhaus researcher Vincent Hanna said in an interview.
Denial-of-service attacks work by overwhelming target servers with traffic ? like hundreds of letters being jammed through a mail slot at the same time. In a blog post, San Francisco-based CloudFlare, Inc. said the attackers were taking advantage of weaknesses in the Internet's infrastructure to trick servers from across the Internet into routing billions of bits of junk traffic to Spamhaus every second.
The attack could be bad news for email users, many of whose incoming messages are checked against Spamhaus's widely used and constantly updated blacklists.
Hanna said that his site had so far managed to stay on top of the spammers, but warned that being knocked offline could give them an opening to step up their mailings.
The sheer size of the attack has already affected Internet users elsewhere, according to Patrick Gilmore of Akamai Technologies.
He explained that colleagues at other Internet service providers had been in touch to say their services were affected by the attack. He declined to identify them ? saying they had shared the information on a confidential basis ? but said problems include sluggish access and dropped connections.
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The Reference Frame: Speed of light is variable: only in junk media
If you open Google Science News at this very moment, the #1 story is saying things like
new research shows that the speed of light is variable in real space.The only problem is that the "research" is pure crackpottery. Those stories build upon the following two papers in a journal called European Physical Journal D I have never heard of in the context of fundamental physics:
A sum rule for charged elementary particles by Gerd Leuchs, Luis L. S?nchez-Soto (free: arXiv)The abstracts are enough to see that the authors aren't just making one or two serious technical errors. Instead, they misunderstand the very logic of science - how arguments in favor of some claims may or may not be phrased.
The quantum vacuum as the origin of the speed of light by Marcel Urban, Fran?ois Couchot, Xavier Sarazin, Arache Djannati-Atai (free: arXiv)
The first, German-Spanish paper tries to claim that the sum of squared electric charges over all elementary particle species (regardless of their mass) is \[
\sum_i Q_i^2 \sim 100.
\] This is quite a bold statement. You may try to look what is the quantum field theoretical (or stringy?) calculation leading to this condition. What you will find is that there isn't any quantum field theory in the paper at all!
Instead, the paper misinterprets virtual particles etc. in the way you expect from a 10-year-old schoolkid. For them, the virtual particles are real and they're connected by springs of some sort. Some physically meaningless calculations lead them to the sum of the squared charges. If you try to find out where the number \(100\) came from, you will find out that it was calculated as a function of three more real parameters whose values were chosen arbitrarily.
It would be a terribly stupid paper even for a 10-year-old boy. But the authors must believe that it's possible to learn things about physics in this way even if they don't know anything about the way how modern physics describes particle species and their interactions with the electromagnetic field ? about quantum field theory. So one sentence in the paper refers to quantum field theory, after all. It's the last sentence before acknowledgements that says:
We hope that this result will stimulate more rigorous quantum ?eld theoretical calculations.Wow: they leave the details for their assistants whose task is to convert the ingenious findings that contradict everything that a quantum field theory could say about these matters to a proof in quantum field theory.
Needless to say, it's totally impossible in \(d=4\) to have a similar constraint for the sum of squared charges. At most, the sum of cubed charges is what enters the gauge anomalies in \(d=4\). But summed squared charges over particle species can't occur in physically meaningless formulae. Moreover, the number of particle species is really infinite ? although most of them may have masses near the string scale or higher ? so the sum is either ill-defined or divergent. In other words, it's implausible for an important physical formula to deal with particle species regardless of their mass.
Via Gene, off-topic: Lots of music for a buck.
The other paper, the French one, is a similar nonsense about the variable speed of light. These papers are being clumped together because the authors of both of them are clearly pals and they coordinated their invasion into the journals and the media. Let me repost the abstract here:
We show that the vacuum permeability and permittivity may originate from the magnetization and the polarization of continuously appearing and disappearing fermion pairs. We then show that if we simply model the propagation of the photon in vacuum as a series of transient captures within these ephemeral pairs, we can derive a finite photon velocity. Requiring that this velocity is equal to the speed of light constrains our model of vacuum. Within this approach, the propagation of a photon is a statistical process at scales much larger than the Planck scale. Therefore we expect its time of flight to fluctuate. We propose an experimental test of this prediction.Unbelievable. Look at the first sentence. They think that they "show" that the vacuum permeability and permittivity "may" originate from the magnetization and the polarization of continuously appearing and disappearing fermion pairs. (Needless to say, there's no quantum field theory in this paper, either.) How do they achieve this ambitious task?
It's easy. They forget and ignore everything we know about physics and everything they should have learned about physics, even at the high school. In this state of perfect oblivion, one isn't constrained by any knowledge at all ? because there isn't any knowledge ? so anything goes and an arbitrarily stupid pile of crackpottery "may" be true and one thus "shows" that it's possible.
Except that a person who knows something about physics may show that pretty much every sentence in this paper is pure rubbish. Their particular nonsense that "may" be true as they "show" is that the vacuum is chaotic for photons so the light propagation is chaotic and the speed is variable. By saying these things, they prove that they don't have the slightest clue about the actual explanation of the existence of light that we have known since the late 19th century.
The actual explanation of light is that it's a type of electromagnetic waves. And electromagnetic waves are simple solutions to Maxwell's equations, the equations that describe all electromagnetic phenomena. These equations are particularly simple in the vacuum. Maxwell's equations in the vacuum are actually the more fundamental ones; the propagation of electromagnetic waves in other mediums requires some extra work.
But in the vacuum, the permittivity \(\varepsilon_0\) and permeability \(\mu_0\) simply enter Maxwell's equations as conversion factors that disappear ? that are replaced by \(1\) ? if we use more natural units. The reason why I say these things is that \(\mu_0,\varepsilon_0\) are not supposed to be "derived" from any complicated mechanism involving lots of charged particles etc. On the contrary, they're players in the most fundamental equations of electromagnetism and it's the behavior of lots of charged particles that is "derived" and that can be reduced to fundamental Maxwell's equations.
Hendrik Lorentz was the first man who showed that Maxwell's equations in general materials may be derived from the vacuum Maxwell's equations combined with some behavior of the charged and magnetized particles that exist inside the materials. It was an important insight (it helped Einstein to think in the right way when he was marching towards relativity) and people could have been unfamiliar with this insight at some point ? except that Lorentz found those things more than 100 years ago so they shouldn't be unknown to authors of a journal called European Physical Journal D in 2013.
The authors are trying to derive the light propagation in the vacuum from light propagation in some fictitious complex material ? which is exactly the opposite strategy than physics chooses (and it's obvious why it chooses the opposite one): complicated materials are more complicated than the vacuum. In other words, the authors suggest that if their contrived "additional" effects didn't exist, the permittivity and permeability would vanish in the vacuum. But they couldn't vanish. Even when all the chaos is removed, physics must be described by non-singular equations which essentially means ? among many other things ? that the permittivity and permeability would still have to be finite nonzero constant in the vacuum. We know what these constants are: they are \(\varepsilon_0,\mu_0\).
But what is even more important is that the authors don't understand what is primary in science: unrestricted speculations about the ways how the world "may" work, or constraints from observations and experiments? They clearly think that it's the former. They "may" write kilobytes about nonsensical models that have nothing whatsoever to do with the Universe around us and they claim that this "shows" something.
But science doesn't work like that. We actually know that the speed of light has to be completely constant and free of any fundamental "noise". In fact, our definition of one meter is such that the speed of light in the vacuum is tautologically \(299,792,458\,{\rm m/s}\). So it's obviously constant. The constancy of the vacuum speed of light follows directly from special relativity and special relativity is what we actually know to be true from the observations. So all the speculations must adjust to this knowledge ? and all other empirical knowledge we have. The authors' approach is just the opposite: they want the empirical knowledge to be adjusted to their unconstrained fantasies. They simply don't understand the basic point of science that the self-consistency of a hypothesis isn't enough for such a hypothesis to be a good scientific theory. Empirical knowledge actually matters and kills most of the conceivable guesses.
I can't resist to compare their approach with the following question that a user named John Smith asked on Physics Stack Exchange two days ago:
Why perpetual motion wouldn't be possible if we are so technological advanced?You see some kind of a fundamental misunderstanding about the inner workings of the Universe and the humanity. John Smith ? and similarly the authors of the papers discussed in this blog entry ? doesn't get the point that regardless of the technological sophistication, every civilization much like every object in Nature is "obliged" to obey the laws of physics and the non-existence of the perpetual motion machines are among these laws (the so-called first two laws of thermodynamics).
John Smith's ? and the authors' ? opinion about this basic issue (about the very existence of the laws of Nature) is the opposite one. He believes ? and they believe ? that there are no permanent laws, there are just limitations that we're constantly breaking as we're getting more technologically advanced and more self-confident. The non-existence of the perpetual motion machines (or similarly the constancy of the speed of light in the vacuum) must be just due to some limitations of technology we can surely transcend in 2013 if we want! ;-)
It doesn't make sense to spend too much time with these silly papers. So I will stop and finish this blog entry with the complaint that the adjective European in the name of the journal could be replaced by Idiots' if we wanted the name of the journal to be more accurate. And that's not a good result for the old continent of ours! At the same moment, these idiotic crackpot papers are widely quoted in the U.S. and other media so Europe is not the unique continent on which similar junk flourishes.
And that's the memo.
Source: http://motls.blogspot.com/2013/03/speed-of-light-is-variable-only-in-junk.html
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Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Functional ovarian tissue engineered in lab
Mar. 26, 2013 ? A proof-of-concept study suggests the possibility of engineering artificial ovaries in the lab to provide a more natural option for hormone replacement therapy for women. In Biomaterials, a team from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine report that in the laboratory setting, engineered ovaries showed sustained release of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone.
Although there are medications that can compensate for the loss of female sex hormone production, the drugs are often not recommended for long-term use due to the increased risk of heart disease and breast cancer.
"Our goal is to develop a tissue- or cell-based hormone therapy -- essentially an artificial ovary- to deliver sex hormones in a more natural manner than drugs," said Emmanuel C. Opara, Ph.D., professor of regenerative medicine and senior author. "A bioartificial ovary has the potential to secrete hormones in a natural way based on the body's needs, rather than the patient taking a specific dose of drugs each day."
Ovaries are the female reproductive organs that produce eggs that are fertilized for pregnancy as well as secrete hormones important to bone and cardiovascular health. The loss of ovarian function can be due to surgical removal, chemotherapy and radiation treatments for certain types of cancer, and menopause. The effects of hormone loss can range from hot flashes and vaginal dryness to infertility and increased risk of osteoporosis and heart disease.
"This research project is interesting because it offers hope to replace natural ovarian hormones in women with premature ovarian failure or in women going through menopause," Tamer Yalcinkaya, M.D., associate professor and section head of reproductive medicine at Wake Forest Baptist. "The graft format would bring certain advantages: it would eliminate pharmacokinetic variations of hormones when administered as drugs and would also allow body's feedback mechanisms to control the release of ovarian hormones."
The project to engineer a bioartificial ovary involves encapsulating ovarian cells inside a thin membrane that allows oxygen and nutrients to enter the capsule, but would prevent the patient from rejecting the cells. With this scenario, functional ovarian tissue from donors could be used to engineer bioartificial ovaries for women with non-functioning ovaries.
The Wake Forest Baptist team isolated the two types of endocrine cells found in ovaries (theca and granulosa) from 21-day-old rats. The cells were encapsulated inside materials that are compatible with the body. The scientists evaluated three different ways of arranging the cells inside the capsules.
The function of the capsules was then evaluated in the lab by exposing them to follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, two hormones that stimulate ovaries to produce sex hormones. The arrangement of cells that most closely mimicked the natural ovary (layers of cells in a 3-D shape) secreted levels of estrogen that were 10 times higher than other cell arrangements.
The capsules also secreted progesterone as well as inhibin and activin, two hormones that interact with the pituitary and hypothalamus and are important to the body's natural system to regulate the production of female sex hormones.
"Cells in the multilayer capsules were observed to function in similar fashion to the native ovaries," said Opara. "The secretion of inhibin and activin secretion suggests that these structures could potentially function as an artificial ovary by synchronizing with the body's innate control system."
Opara said the next step in the research, already underway, is to evaluate the function of the ovarian structures in animals.
Opara's co-researchers were Sivanandane Sittadjody, Ph.D, Sunyoung Joo, M.D., Ph.D., James J. Yoo, M.D., Ph.D., and Anthony Atala, M.D., all from Wake Forest Baptist, and Justin M. Saul, Ph.D., a former Wake Forest Baptist researcher now at Miami University.
The study was supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health (award #R01DK080897).
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
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Journal Reference:
- Sivanandane Sittadjody, Justin M. Saul, Sunyoung Joo, James J. Yoo, Anthony Atala, Emmanuel C. Opara. Engineered multilayer ovarian tissue that secretes sex steroids and peptide hormones in response to gonadotropins. Biomaterials, 2013; 34 (10): 2412 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2012.11.059
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/z6ZUn40lAPE/130326151131.htm
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