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Selected AbstractsDynamical similarity of explosions at Stromboli volcanoGEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2004S. De Martino SUMMARY We analyse Strombolian explosions recorded with broadband seismometers to quantify the degree of similarity among explosions. First, we construct the trajectory space. This reconstruction is analogous to that of phase space but, unlike the phase space which relies on the analysis of a single trajectory of a dynamic system, the trajectory space takes into account many trajectories of the dynamic process to study the overlapping properties. Based on the scaling of distances between each pair of histories, it is possible to evaluate the dimension of the trajectory space. We consider the different explosions as different trajectories and, after normalizing all the records, we find that the scaling region is spread over less than one order of magnitude. This absence of scaling implies that all the trajectories cover the same attractor in the trajectory space, and that the trajectories are generated by the same dynamic system. Accordingly, we conclude that all the events are very similar to each other. This result is confirmed by the energy distribution of these events. Standard techniques of energy estimation are inadequate in this case, and we propose an evaluation method based on a quantity that is proportional to energy. The distribution function of this quantity, calculated on 580 events, displays a log-normal behaviour with very low variability (less than two orders of magnitude in energy). These results provide quantitative support for the observation that there is a great degree of similarity among Strombolian explosions and support the idea that a dynamic model underlying these events can be elaborated through the study of just one event. [source] Being liked activates primary reward and midline self-related brain regionsHUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 4 2010Christopher G. Davey Abstract The experience of being liked is a key social event and fundamental to motivating human behavior, though little is known about its neural underpinnings. In this study, we examined the experience of being liked in a group of 15- to 24-year-old: a cohort for whom forming friendships has a great degree of salience, and for whom the explicit representation of relationships is familiar from their frequent use of social networking technologies. Study participants (n = 19) were led to believe that other participants had formed an opinion on their likability based on their appearance in a photograph, and during fMRI scanning viewed the photographs of people who had purportedly responded favorably to them (alongside photographs of control participants). Results indicated that being liked activated primary reward- and self-related regions, including the nucleus accumbens, midbrain (in an area corresponding to the ventral tegmentum), ventromedial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex (including retrosplenial cortex), amygdala, and insula/opercular cortex. Participants showed greater activation of ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala in response to being liked by people that they regarded highly compared to those they regarded less so. Finally, being liked by the opposite compared to the same gender activated the right caudal orbitofrontal cortex and right anterior insula: areas important for the representation of primary somatic rewards. This study demonstrates that neural response to being liked has features that are consistent with response to other rewarding events, but it has additional features that reflect its intrinsically interpersonal character. Hum Brain Mapp, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Community structure and temporal variability of ichthyoplankton in North Brazilian mangrove creeksJOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 2002A. Barletta-Bergan The species composition and dynamics of fish larvae in three mangrove creeks located in the Caeté Estuary (north Brazil) were studied monthly using a trap net during diurnal ebb tides. A total of 109 954 larvae, representing 25 families and 54 species, were collected from October 1996 to October 1997. The community was dominated numerically by a few species, a feature common for other estuarine fish populations. The most abundant taxa were estuarine species, namely the eleotrid Guavina guavina (46·7%) and the engraulid Anchovia clupeoides (14·9%). The sciaenid Cynoscion acoupa was the only marine species that used the mangroves extensively as a nursery site, occurring mainly at the postflexion stage. The size distribution of G. guavina did not produce shifting modes, indicating continuous transport out of the mangroves by tidal currents. Significantly lower species richness was observed in the late rainy season, primarily due to the emigration of marine species. Intermediate seasons were characterized by more complex larval fish assemblages. The temporal trends of the dominant species was influenced to a great degree by their life history strategy. [source] Elucidation of the molecular structure of lipid A isolated from both a rough mutant and a wild strain of Aeromonas salmonicida lipopolysaccharides using electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometryRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 12 2005Anas El-Aneed The chemical structure of lipid A, isolated by mild acid hydrolysis from a rough mutant and a wild strain of Aeromonas salmonicida lipopolysaccharide, was investigated using electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight (QqToF) hybrid tandem mass spectrometry and showed a great degree of microheterogeneity. The chemical structure of the main constituent of this heterogeneous mixture was identified as a , -D-(1,,,6) linked D-glucosamine disaccharide substituted by two phosphate groups, one being bound to the non-reducing end at position O-4, and the other to the position O-1 of the reducing end of the D-glucosamine disaccharide. The location of the fatty acids linked to the disaccharide backbone was established by identifying diagnostic ions in the conventional QqToF-MS scan. Low-energy collision tandem mass spectrometry analysis of the selected precursor diagnostic ions confirmed, unambiguously, their proposed molecular structures. We have established that myristyloxylauric (C14:0(3- O(12:0))) acid residues were both N-2, and O-3, linked to the non-reducing end of the D-GlcN residue, and that two 3-hydroxymyristic (C14:0(3-OH)) acid chains acylated the remaining positions of the reducing end. The MS and MS/MS data obtained allowed us to determine the complex molecular structure of lipid A. The QqToF-MS/MS instrument has shown excellent superiority over a conventional quadrupole-hexapole-quadrupole tandem instrument which failed to fragment the selected precursor ion. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] From "Veshyas" to "Entertainment Workers": Evolving Discourses of Bodies, Rights, and Prostitution in IndiaASIAN POLITICS AND POLICY, Issue 2 2009Subir K. Kole The discursive terrain of prostitution has undergone several changes with modernity/postmodernity. Various groups of feminists hold contentious, often conflicting, ideologies on this issue. Two broad groups emerge from these debates: One takes a clear abolitionist perspective, while the other takes a sex work position. Both these groups actively lobby and join forces with individuals and institutions to influence global and national policy-making. There is a great degree of variation and overlap within and across each camp. Among those taking a sex work position, some argue that selling sex is equal to using any other part of the body for making a living. This article examines the discursive terrain of prostitution in India, focusing on what it means to treat sex as any other use of the body in commerce. It concludes that prohibition is a prejudice that India must overcome to develop sound public health policies. [source] On the Determination of Contract Price in Credit Sales Transaction: Exchange Option Approach,ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL STUDIES, Issue 5 2010Jong Yeon Choi G32 Abstract Conditions for credit sales transactions vary to a great degree depending upon characteristics of the commodity, the buyer, and the seller. In this paper, we analyzed the buyer's right to return purchased commodities and void his or her financial obligations as an exchange option written by the seller and held by the credit buyer. The value of this exchange option is determined by the value of supplied goods and their volatility, the value of bonds and their volatility, and the correlation between the values of the commodity and the bonds. As a result, this paper was able to derive a model that could explain the impact of: (i) characteristics of the commodities; (ii) characteristics of the buyer; (iii) characteristics of the seller; and (iv) changes in market conditions. Besides the progress stated above, we also derived the necessary condition for both the buyer and the seller to be satisfied in a credit sales transaction. Based on this model, a number of empirical hypotheses were made. [source] | ||||||||||