Apparent Convergence Research Articles

Indigenous Personality Measures

After noting the need for indigenous scale construction efforts in the Philippines, the current article focuses on the development and current status of two multidimensional measures of Filipino personality constructs, plus two projects that are investigating indigenous Filipino personality structure. In a final section, we note apparent convergences between the personality dimensions identified and assessed by these four projects and consider how these dimensions might relate to purported universal dimensions of personality (i.e., the "Big Five" dimensions).

Apatite fission-track thermochronology of the Sierras Pampeanas, central western Argentina: Implications for the mechanism of plateau uplift in the Andes

Research Article| November 01, 1998 Apatite fission-track thermochronology of the Sierras Pampeanas, central western Argentina: Implications for the mechanism of plateau uplift in the Andes Timothy J. Coughlin; Timothy J. Coughlin 1Department of Earth Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Paul B. O'Sullivan; Paul B. O'Sullivan 2Australian Geodynamics Cooperative Research Centre, School of Earth Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria 3083, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Barry P. Kohn; Barry P. Kohn 2Australian Geodynamics Cooperative Research Centre, School of Earth Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria 3083, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Rodney J. Holcombe Rodney J. Holcombe 1Department of Earth Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (1998) 26 (11): 999–1002. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1998)026<0999:AFTTOT>2.3.CO;2 Article history first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Timothy J. Coughlin, Paul B. O'Sullivan, Barry P. Kohn, Rodney J. Holcombe; Apatite fission-track thermochronology of the Sierras Pampeanas, central western Argentina: Implications for the mechanism of plateau uplift in the Andes. Geology 1998;; 26 (11): 999–1002. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1998)026<0999:AFTTOT>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Over much of its length, the Andean orogen is characterized by a generally east-vergent geometry and a progressive eastward (cratonward) migration of individual arc-orogenic elements. A departure from this model occurs in the Sierras Pampeanas region of central western Argentina where a terrane of active basement uplifts is currently developing to the east of the main Cordillera. Apatite fission-track data from uplifted Precambrian and Phanerozoic basement rocks of the Sierras Pampeanas constrain the tectonic development of this terrane and indicate that deformation associated with exhumation may have propagated broadly westward since the late Miocene. Two pre-Andean cooling events—during the Carboniferous–Permian (ca. 300–280 Ma) and the early Jurassic–middle Jurassic (ca. 200–174 Ma)—have been identified. The onset of Andean deformation is represented by a cooling event during the late Paleocene–middle Eocene. This cooling was followed by a period of middle Miocene–late Miocene reheating, during foreland basin-style sedimentation. Exhumation, and possible westward migration of the exhumation “front” in the Sierras Pampeanas, commenced during the late Miocene-Pliocene to the east of the dominantly east-vergent Precordillera fold-and-thrust belt. The apparent convergence of deformation in these two terranes and the progressive closure of Miocene-Pliocene intermontane basins in the Sierras Pampeanas may reflect the early stages of Andean plateau uplift. The relative timing of plateau development along strike suggests that lateral thickening of the orogen is progressing southward at least from the latitude of central Bolivia (ca. 20°S). Furthermore, the time-space coincidence between basement uplift and flattening of the subducted slab beneath the Sierras Pampeanas suggests that a relationship exists between westward displacement of the terrane and the dynamics of plate interaction. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

The global diversity of protozoa and other small species

It is widely believed that the number of species of micro-organisms in the world is extremely large. Here, we offer the contrasting view—that the number may be quite modest. Most of the work reviewed refers to the ciliated protozoa. As with all microbial groups, we must define our concept of “species”, and for ciliates, the “morphospecies” concept appears to be at least as robust as any other. Critical examination of published descriptions of ciliates provides a “best estimate” of 3744 for the global number of free-living morphospecies. Of these, 793 are associated with marine sediments, and 1370 with freshwater sediments. In an independent analysis based on extrapolation (assuming the ubiquity of species) from ecological datasets, we estimate the numbers of species in marine and freshwater sediments as 597 and 732, respectively (i.e. within a factor of two of the figures obtained from taxonomic analysis). This apparent convergence of independent estimates will strengthen if, as is likely, the number of nominal species is further reduced by taxonomic revision. These relatively low numbers of species are consistent with (a) the vast amount of published information indicating typically cosmopolitan distributions for ciliates and other microbes, and (b) recent experimental evidence that most free-living ciliates are rare or cryptic—seldom detectable, but present, and “waiting” for suitable conditions to arrive. In summary, most ciliates (and other micro-organisms) are probably ubiquitous, endemics are rare, global species richness is relatively low, and, at least in the case of the ciliates, most species have already been discovered.

Propagation of prion strains through specific conformers of the prion protein.

Two prion strains with identical incubation periods in mice exhibited distinct incubation periods and different neuropathological profiles upon serial transmission to transgenic mice expressing chimeric Syrian hamster/mouse (MH2M) prion protein (PrP) genes [Tg(MH2M) mice] and subsequent transmission to Syrian hamsters. After transmission to Syrian hamsters, the Me7 strain was indistinguishable from the previously established Syrian hamster strain Sc237, despite having been derived from an independent ancestral source. This apparent convergence suggests that prion diversity may be limited. The Me7 mouse strain could also be transmitted directly to Syrian hamsters, but when derived in this way, its properties were distinct from those of Me7 passaged through Tg(MH2M) mice. The Me7 strain did not appear permanently altered in either case, since the original incubation period could be restored by effectively reversing the series of passages. Prion diversity enciphered in the conformation of the scrapie isoform of PrP (PrP(Sc)) (G. C. Telling et al., Science 274:2079-2082, 1996) seems to be limited by the sequence of the PrP substrates serially converted into PrP(Sc), while prions are propagated through interactions between the cellular and scrapie isoforms of PrP.

CONVERGENCE AND THE U.S. STATES: A TIME‐SERIES ANALYSIS*

ABSTRACT. After decades of apparent convergence, state and regional per capita earnings diverged between 1978 and 1988. A central tenet of the convergence hypothesis is that shocks to relative state and regional earnings, such as those of the 1978 to 1988 period, are transitory. We find evidence for convergence for the U.S. states and regions during the 1929 to 1990 period after allowing for a break in the rate at which the various states and regions were converging in 1946. An important finding of this research is that the US. states and regions achieved per capita earnings convergence by 1946.

Waterfront regeneration in the Netherlands: The gases of Rotterdam and Maastricht

Abstract The regeneration of obsolescent urban waterfront areas has proved to be a recent focus of urban policy throughout Europe. Despite an apparent convergence in the practice of waterfront regeneration within European cities, such practice in the Netherlands has evolved in a distinctive manner. The latest manifestation of a policy response has been the designation of ‘key projects’, for which waterfront areas in Rotterdam and Maastricht have been selected. The resulting proposals for integrated, mixed‐use development schemes would appear to present a relatively sophisticated response to the problem of declining waterfront areas.

Higgs sector renormalization group in the MS-bar and on-mass-shell scheme: The breakdown of perturbation theory for a heavy Higgs boson.

We discuss different aspects of the Higgs self-interaction in the $\stackrel{-}{\mathrm{MS}}$ and the on-mass-shell (OMS) scheme. The running coupling $\ensuremath{\lambda}(\ensuremath{\mu})$ is investigated in great detail. The three-loop coefficient of the $\ensuremath{\beta}$ function in the OMS scheme is derived, and the three-loop running coupling is calculated. The breakdown of perturbation theory for large Higgs boson masses ${M}_{H}$ is analyzed in three physical observables for which two-loop results are known. Requiring the dependence on the renormalization scale to diminish order by order in $\ensuremath{\lambda}$, we find that perturbation theory breaks down for ${M}_{H}\ensuremath{\sim}700$ GeV in Higgs boson decays. Similarly, ${M}_{H}$ must be smaller than \ensuremath{\sim}400 GeV for perturbatively calculated cross sections to be trustworthy up to c.m. energies of \ensuremath{\sim}2 TeV. If the Higgs sector shall be perturbative up to the GUT scale, the Higgs boson must be lighter than \ensuremath{\sim}150 GeV. For the two-loop observables examined, the apparent convergence of the perturbation series is better in the OMS scheme than in the $\stackrel{-}{\mathrm{MS}}$ scheme.

A new numerical method for rough-surface scattering calculations

A new approach to solving the magnetic field integral equation (MFIE) for the current induced on a infinite perfectly conducting rough surface is presented. By splitting the propagator matrix into contributions from the left and from the right of the point of observation, a second kind integral equation can be formed with a new Born term and a new kernel. Following discretization of this new integral equation, the unknown currents can be determined more rapidly and with significantly less storage requirements than conventional LU decomposition; where the time saving factor is roughly N/3 where N is the number of current samples on the surface and the usual storage requirements associated with matrix inversion are eliminated. While the new Born term is usually adequate for scattered field calculations, the new discretized integral equation can be iterated to amy desired accuracy with no apparent convergence problems. Results are presented for one-dimensional rough surfaces with rms heights exceeding one wavelength and rms slopes exceeding 40° which illustrate the robustness of the new Born term.

La politique et la mort : phénomènes sociaux et catégories analytiques

Costabile, Antonio, Politics and Death : Social Phenomena and Analytical Categories Apparent convergences between deaths and social or political cohesion can be seen in daily life and in political theories. The study of this connection illustrates the content of certain illusions persisting in democratic societies. Max Weber's ideas concerning the state's monopoly over legitimate violence are useful in this regard

Analytical models of Doppler data signatures

A primary indicator of the accuracy of orbit determination based on Doppler tracking is the graph of residuals vs time. Parameter errors in the orbit determination model produce characteristic signatures in the residuals plot. A systematic method of modeling the signature due to a parameter error by means of first and second partial derivative approximations is presented. Signatures due to errors in station location, solar pressure, relativistic clock, and the Earth's troposphere are compared with residual plots from a spacecraft mission, corresponding to the introduction of the same parametric error into orbit determination software. A comparison of postfit residuals with and without the introduction of known modeling errors demonstrates that some errors can be masked by apparent convergence, resulting in erroneous estimates.

Matching QCD and heavy-quark effective theory heavy-light currents at two loops and beyond.

Heavy--light QCD currents are matched with HQET currents at two loops and leading order in $1/m$. A single formula applies to all current matchings. As a by--product, a master formula for the two--loop anomalous dimension of the QCD current $\bar{q}\gamma^{[\mu_1}\ldots\gamma^{\mu_n]}q$ is obtained, yielding a new result for the tensor current. The dependence of matching coefficients on $\gamma_5$ prescriptions is elucidated. Ratios of QCD matrix elements are obtained, independently of the three--loop anomalous dimension of HQET currents. The two--loop coefficient in $f_{{\rm B}^*}/f_{\rm B} =1-2\alpha_{\rm s}(m_b)/3\pi-K_b\alpha_{\rm s}^2/\pi^2 +{\rm O}(\alpha_{\rm s}^3,1/m_b)$ is \[K_b=\frac{83}{12}+\frac{4}{81}\pi^2+\frac{2}{27}\pi^2\log2-\frac19\zeta(3) -\frac{19}{54}N_l+\Delta_c=6.37+\Delta_c\] with $N_l=4$ light flavours, and a correction, $\Delta_c=0.18\pm0.01$, that takes account of the non--zero ratio $m_c/m_b=0.28\pm0.03$. Fastest apparent convergence would entail $\alpha_{\rm s}(\mu)$ at $\mu=370$~MeV. ``Naive non--abelianization'' of large--$N_l$ results, via $N_l\to N_l-\frac{33}{2}$, gives reasonable approximations to exact two--loop results. All--order results for anomalous dimensions and matching coefficients are obtained at large $\beta_0=11-\frac23N_l$. Consistent cancellation between infrared-- and ultraviolet--renormalon ambiguities is demonstrated.

Protein conformational landscapes: energy minimization and clustering of a long molecular dynamics trajectory.

Using energy minimization and cluster analysis, we have analyzed a 1020 ps molecular dynamics trajectory of solvated bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor. Elucidation of conformational substates in this way both illustrates the degree of conformational convergence in the simulation and reduces the structural data to a tractable subset. The relative movement of structures upon energy minimization was used to estimate the sizes of features on the protein potential energy surface. The structures were analyzed using their pairwise root-mean-square C alpha deviations, which gave a global measure of conformational changes that would not be apparent by monitoring single degrees of freedom. At time scales of 0.1 ps, energy minimization detected sharp transitions between energy minima separated by 0.1 A rms deviation. Larger conformational clusters containing these smaller minima and separated by 0.25 A were seen at 1 ps time scales. Both of these small features of the conformational landscape were characterized by movements in loop regions associated with small, correlated backbone dihedral angle shifts. On a nanosecond time scale, the main features of the protein energy landscape were clusters separated by over 0.7 A rms deviation, with only seven of these substates visited over the 1 ns trajectory. These substrates, discernible both before and after energy minimization, differ mainly in a monotonic pivot of the loop residues 11-18 over the course of the simulation. This loop contains lysine 17, which specifically binds to trypsin in the active site. The trajectory did not return to previously visited clusters, indicating that this trajectory has not been shown to have completely sampled the conformational substates available to it. Because the apparent convergence to a single region of conformation space depends on both the time scale of observation and the size of the conformational features examined, convergence must be operationally defined within the context of the simulation.

Who are the students at community colleges and proprietary schools?

AbstractIt appears that community college and proprietaly school students differed more in the past than they do now; proprietary not‐ for‐ profit institutions may contribute to the apparent convergence.

Full sequence and characterization of two insect defensins: immune peptides from the mosquito Aedes aegypti.

We report the complete amino acid sequence and biological activity of two immune peptides, from the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti, that are induced in response to infection. Both peptides display biological activity against the Gram positive microbe Micrococcus luteus and substantial sequence homology to insect defensins, small heat-stable, antibiotic peptides previously described from several non-vector insects. These mosquito peptides, designated Ae. aegypti defensins A and B, are isoforms. Defensin B is the most abundant antibacterial peptide in this species whereas defensin A is much less abundant and carries two amino acid substitutions compared to defensin B, making it more basic in character. Apparent convergence between isoforms from Ae. aegypti and the fleshfly Phormia terranovae is discussed. The synergistic activity previously described between Ae. aegypti immune haemolymph and lysozyme is not caused by these peptides because synergy occurred only at concentrations far outside the physiological range seen in Ae. aegypti.

Children's Use of Converging Obliques in their Perspective Drawings

Abstract This paper investigates children's use of converging obliques in their drawings of objects. Adults and adolescents, as well as 7‐year‐old children, were not very successful in using converging obliques in their drawings of small‐scale objects; they tended to use parallel edges. When confronted with the apparent convergence of a real road receding into the distance adults and adolescents switched to using converging obliques; 7‐year‐olds still drew parallel roadsides. Children were induced to use converging obliques, however, when asked to copy from a line drawing of a road or from a photograph, particularly when the convergence of the road in the photograph was more dramatic.

The Sources of Economic Growth of the East Asian Newly Industrialized Countries

The sources of economic growth of the East Asian newly industrialized countries are analyzed empirically using the aggregate meta-production function framework. The sample consists of nine countries—the four East Asian newly industrialized countries (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan) and the Group-of-Five industrialized countries (France, West Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States). The results reaffirm the Boskin and Lau (Technical Paper 217, Stanford University, 1990) finding that technical progress can be represented as purely capital-augmenting in all countries. However, the hypothesis that there has been no technical progress during the postwar period cannot be rejected for the four East Asian newly industrialized countries. By far the most important source of economic growth of the East Asian newly industrialized countries is capital accumulation, accounting for between 48 and 72% of their economic growth, in contrast to the case of the Group-of-Five industrialized countries, in which technical progress has played the most important role, accounting for between 46 and 71% of their economic growth. An international comparison of the productive efficiencies of the Group-of-Five countries and the East Asian newly industrialized countries indicates no apparent convergence between the technologies of the two groups of countries. J. Japan. Int. Econ., September 1994, 8(3), pp. 235-271. Department of Economics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-6072.

Computer-aided analyses of transport protein sequences: gleaning evidence concerning function, structure, biogenesis, and evolution

Three-dimensional structures have been elucidated for very few integral membrane proteins. Computer methods can be used as guides for estimation of solute transport protein structure, function, biogenesis, and evolution. In this paper the application of currently available computer programs to over a dozen distinct families of transport proteins is reviewed. The reliability of sequence-based topological and localization analyses and the importance of sequence and residue conservation to structure and function are evaluated. Evidence concerning the nature and frequency of occurrence of domain shuffling, splicing, fusion, deletion, and duplication during evolution of specific transport protein families is also evaluated. Channel proteins are proposed to be functionally related to carriers. It is argued that energy coupling to transport was a late occurrence, superimposed on preexisting mechanisms of solute facilitation. It is shown that several transport protein families have evolved independently of each other, employing different routes, at different times in evolutionary history, to give topologically similar transmembrane protein complexes. The possible significance of this apparent topological convergence is discussed.

Computer-aided analyses of transport protein sequences: gleaning evidence concerning function, structure, biogenesis, and evolution.

Three-dimensional structures have been elucidated for very few integral membrane proteins. Computer methods can be used as guides for estimation of solute transport protein structure, function, biogenesis, and evolution. In this paper the application of currently available computer programs to over a dozen distinct families of transport proteins is reviewed. The reliability of sequence-based topological and localization analyses and the importance of sequence and residue conservation to structure and function are evaluated. Evidence concerning the nature and frequency of occurrence of domain shuffling, splicing, fusion, deletion, and duplication during evolution of specific transport protein families is also evaluated. Channel proteins are proposed to be functionally related to carriers. It is argued that energy coupling to transport was a late occurrence, superimposed on preexisting mechanisms of solute facilitation. It is shown that several transport protein families have evolved independently of each other, employing different routes, at different times in evolutionary history, to give topologically similar transmembrane protein complexes. The possible significance of this apparent topological convergence is discussed.

Critique of ?the dream in group therapy: A reappraisal of unconscious processes in groups? by Peter J. Schlachet, Ph.D.

Peter Schlachet has presented us with an extremely ambitious effort to describe and explain nature of unitary functioning in groups. He believes that there is some kind of sharing or convergence of unconscious processes among group members, and he correctly states that there is an insufficient understanding or agreement on nature of shared and on explanation of how this process occurs. His effort was to shed further light on these questions, important both to theory of group functioning and to practicing group therapist. Schlachet begins his daunting task very properly with a series of nicely presented vignettes of dreams, all of which illustrate how dreamer in a group is spokesperson for anxieties and conflicts that group members share in common. Not only do these examples illustrate how members of a group collaborate with each other and contribute to an ever-resonating shared theme, but first three dreams, all from same group, reflect an ongoing conflict within group concerning a therapist whose active, possibly intrusive style was creating considerable anxiety lest he and group get out of control. The beauty of all clinical vignettes is that they offer prima facie evidence for operation of a commonly shared group conflict. With this auspicious beginning, reader looks forward to a significant advance toward understanding nature and causes of these unitary responses. His effort to explain the apparent convergence of this unconscious material leads Schlachet to a scholarly discussion of communication processes, including studies of innate capacities of human beings to understand and empathize with each other. He refers to a variety of studies of nonverbal communication, to theories of how dreams may be understood as a means of integrating previous day's experience with an individual's past history, and crucial importance to humans of social awareness. He emphasizes that commonly shared metaphors and symbols that exist in any given culture are basic to human communication. While all of these factors are undoubtedly significant in understanding how people communicate, both consciously and unconsciously, and are significant general considerations in how people understand each other, they are only

International trade and the relative dispersion of industrial wages and production techniques in 14 OECD countries, 1970?1985

The Factor Price Equalization theorem implies that freer trade would narrow the gap in returns to similar productive factors across countries over time. To determine the empirical relevance of this implication, data for 11 industries in 14 countries over the period 1970–1985 are investigated. Moreover, the paper examines the data for seven industries in the nontrade sector. Regression analyses suggest that the industry-level wages across countries are significantly influenced by the relative dispersion of production techniques at the industry level and, to a lesser extent, by international trade. The estimation of a wage model indicates that the diffusion of technology may have also played a role in the apparent convergence of wages. The findings of this paper suggest that FPE is capable of explaining the cross-country variation in returns to productive factors.