Distinguished Scientific Research Articles

Biogerontology in Italy

In this paper experimental gerontology in Italy is reviewed on the basis of research developed in Academic and non Academic Centres. There are several groups across Italy working actively on basic science of aging producing high impact papers with a significant contribution to biogerontology. Some distinguished Italian scientist working abroad is also mentioned. Interesting issues on longevity and interventions on aging (including caloric restriction) and on aging brain are quoted. Relevant studies encompass the (glyco-)oxidative stress as direct damage mechanism and main process of theory of aging, other research lines include IGF-1, mitochondria DNA, obesity/sarcopenia and exercise and also an animal model for aging studies is reported. Notwithstanding financial restrictions and structure deficit the biogerontology research in Italy could be judged as good, but additional resources are necessary to keep this good rank.

Confusion, Cost, and Emotion Research

The inferences that can be drawn from Izard’s article are unclear. Izard (2010) suggests that his data raise questions concerning inconsistencies, confusion, and costs in emotion research. I suggest that his data do not speak to the issues of confusion and costs, and that the choice of distinguished scientists may have been inappropriate to meet the goals of Izard’s study. Of course, questions concerning the efficiency of research in emotion studies are interesting. I describe more appropriate ways of addressing such issues.

APPOINTMENT Francisco to be named National Medal of Science Committee member

ACS President Joseph S. Francisco is one of four scientists whom President Barack Obama says he intends to appoint as members of his Committee on the National Medal of Science. “I am deeply honored and delighted to have been appointed to serve” on this committee, Francisco says. “The National Medal of Science is awarded to distinguished scientists and engineers for lifetime contributions to research and development. It is our nation’s expression of thanks to the men and women who have devoted decades to scientific discovery and achievement.” In this post Francisco will join Carlos Castillo-Chavez, a professor of mathematical biology and executive director of the Mathematical & Theoretical Biology Institute at Arizona State University; Inez Fung, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of California, Berkeley, and director of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment; and Margaret Murnane, a professor in the department of physics and of electrical and computer engineering at the ...

Our Last Chance to Save Humanity?

James Hansen, Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity (New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2009), 320 pages, $25.00, hardcover.James Hansen, one of the world's most distinguished climate scientists, has written an important book about the threat posed by climate change. The title, Storms of My Grandchildren, refers to the prediction of more powerful and more damaging storms in a warmer, future earth. Subtitled The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity, the book is written for a lay public and is certain to be controversialThis article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

Frederick Stratten Russell, FRS (1897–1984): a distinguished scientist and stimulating leader

Frederick Stratten Russell, FRS (1897–1984): a distinguished scientist and stimulating leader

Guest Editorial: Proceedings of the 20th Biennial Symposium of the International Colour Vision Society July 2009, Braga, Portugal

The 20th Symposium of the International Colour Vision Society (ICVS) was held at the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, from 24 to 28 July 2009. This Symposium reinforced the wonderful tradition of the special ambience on these meetings – blending science, culture, and stimulating discussion. The scientific program attracted distinguished senior scientists as well as junior scientists and students who brought fresh enthusiasm into colour vision research. The 160 participants included 40 students and represented 20 countries. A selection of photos from the conference, the abstract book and other information will be permanently online on the conference website http://labcolour.fisica.uminho.pt/icvs/index.htm The ICVS is made up of vision scientists and clinicians with interdisciplinary basic-science and clinical interests in colour vision. The topics of the Symposium reflect the range of these interests: from evolution and molecular genetics, visual pigments, retinal and cortical processing, basic colour-vision psychophysics, colour appearance in natural viewing, to colour deficiencies and clinical testing techniques. These topics are represented in the peer-reviewed papers in this issue. We are grateful to the contributors and referees who made this issue possible. We especially thank the Editor-in-Chief, Professor Christine Dickinson, for the opportunity to publish in this special issue of Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics, and the staff of Wiley-Blackwell for their patient and diligent assistance. We also thank the local organizers and the generous sponsors whose support made the symposium possible: Universidade do Minho, Fundação para Ciência e a Tecnologia, Museu Nogueira da Silva, Município de Braga, Optical Society of America, Widecolour, Essilor, MultiÓpticas, Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Banco Espírito Santo, and Megatrónica. To learn more about ICVS and to find information about regular or discounted student membership, visit our website: http://www.icvs.info. We invite you to join us for the 21st Biennial Symposium, to be held at Buskerud University College in Kongsberg, Norway, 1–5 July 2011. See http://home.hibu.no/~icvs2011 for more information.

Preface

Special Issue : Proceedings from the Fourteenth European Workshop on Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics Preface

Visions of the future for the Royal Society’s 350th anniversary year

The Royal Society celebrates its 350th anniversary year in 2010. In order to commemorate this occasion, the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A recently published a special issue in which distinguished scientists contributed articles summarizing their respective fields, ‘Personal

Ecology and evolution on the banks of the St Lawrence

Ecology and evolution on the banks of the St Lawrence

Symposium Summary

This symposium brings together the world's leading specialists in six different subareas of visual attention. These distinguished scientists will expose the audience to an enormous range of methods, phenomena, and theories. It's not a workshop; listeners won't learn how to use the methods described, but they will become aware of the existence of diverse methods and what can be learned from them. The participants will aim their talks to target VSS attendees who are not necessarily familiar with the phenomena and theories of visual attention but who can be assumed to have some rudimentary understanding of visual information processing. The talks should be of interest to and understandable by all VSS attendees who have an interest in visual information processing: students, postdocs, academic faculty, research scientists, clinicians, and the symposium participants themselves. Attendees will see examples of the remarkable insights achieved by carefully controlled experiments combined with computational modeling. DeYoe reviews his extraordinary fMRI methods for localizing spatial visual attention in the visual cortex of alert human subjects to measure their “attention maps”. He shows in exquisite detail how top-down attention to local areas in visual space changes the BOLD response (an indicator of neural activity) in corresponding local areas V1 of visual cortex and in adjacent spatiotopic visual processing areas. This work is of fundamental significance in defining the topography of attention and it has important clinical applications. Gallant is the premier exploiter of natural images in the study of visual cortical processing. His work uses computational models to define the neural processes of attention in V4 and throughout the attention hierarchy. Gallant's methods complement DeYoe's in that they reveal functions and purposes of attentional processing that often are overlooked with simple stimuli traditionally used. Ahumada, who introduced the reverse correlation paradigm in vision science, here presents a model for the eye movements in perhaps the simplest search task (which happens also to have practical importance): the search for a small target near horizon between ocean and sky. This is an introduction to the talk by Geisler. Geisler continues the theme of attention as optimizing performance in complex tasks in studies of visual search. He presents a computational model for how attention and stimulus factors jointly control eye movements and search success in arbitrarily complex and difficult search tasks. Eye movements in visual search approach those of an ideal observer in making optimal choices given the available information, and observers adapt (learn) rapidly when the nature of the information changes. Dosher has developed analytic descriptions of attentional processes that enable dissection of attention into three components: stimulus amplification, internal noise reduction, and the sharpening of attention filters. She applies these analyses to show how subjects learn to adjust the components of attention to easy and to difficult tasks. Sperling reviews the methods used to quantitatively describe spatial and temporal attention windows, and to measure the amplification of attended features. He shows that different forms of attention act independently.

Some historic and current aspects of plasma diagnostics using atomic spectroscopy**This paper is dedicated to the memory of Nicol J Peacock (1931–2008), a distinguished plasma scientist who contributed much to the field of spectroscopy applied to plasma, and in particular, fusion plasma diagnostics. During the final stages of the preparation of this paper Professor Indrek Martinson passed away peacefully in

In this paper we give a short introduction to the use of atomic spectroscopy in plasma diagnostics. Both older works and exciting new branches of atomic physics, which have relevance to diagnostics, are discussed. In particular we focus on forbidden lines in Be-like ions, lines sensitive to magnetic fields and levels which have a lifetime dependence on the nuclear spin of the ion, i.e. f-dependent lifetimes. Finally we mention a few examples of where tokamaks, instead of needing atomic data, actually provide new data and lead to developments in atomic structure studies.

Stochastic radiative transfer in Markovian mixtures: Past, present, and future

The Markovian approach, originally suggested in the early 1900s, has widespread practical use in many of our present-day studies and allows one to build bridges between diverse research areas such as statistical physics, astronomy, and computational science. This overview takes a broad sweep of several important examples with the emphasis on the stochastic radiative transfer in a cloudy atmosphere. In particular, the overview (i) highlights important contributions made by Pomraning and Titov to the neutron and radiation transport theory in a stochastic medium with homogeneous statistics and (ii) illustrates that ideas and tools introduced by these two distinguished scientists are gaining increasing impact and recognition in the atmospheric science.

Preface

It is our great pleasure to dedicate this special issue of Journal of Plasma Physics to our dear friend and colleague Professor Padma Kant Shukla on the occasion of his 60th birthday on 7th July 2010. Padma is one of the most prominent and productive scientists in plasma physics and in neighboring fields, and has published more than 1300 papers in scientific journals. It has for some time been the aim of his friends to honor him on this occasion, and earlier this year we sent out invitations to distinguished scientists who have collaborated with Padma over the years. The response has been overwhelming, and we collected 43 manuscripts, covering a diverse range of topics in plasma physics, which are now published in this issue. We believe that these papers reflect some of the impact of Padma's research in plasma physics.

The development of calorimetry and thermochemistry in Portugal

Calorimetry is the art of measuring the heat effects involved in chemical, physical or biological processes. The devices used for the quantitative determination of the heat effects are the so-called calorimeters. The origins of Calorimetry date back to the eighteenth century, almost 200 years later than the modern principles of thermometry were established by Galileu Galilei (1564–1642). After the work and attempts of different scientists to define and establish a heat unit, it was the Swedish researcher M. Wilke who attempted to establish the measurement methods and to determine a heat unit in 1772. Soon after, in 13th June 1780, in a meeting at the French Academy, A. L. Lavoisier and P. S. Laplace, on their lecture Memoire sur la chaleur, presented the first ice calorimeter. They were the first scientists to call the device for measuring heat a calorimeter. These scientists used the original calorimeter and modified versions of it, to measure heats of combustion, heats of respiration, and specific heats. These are the first reported works on the energy changes of chemical reactions and so the period of 1780–1840, in which Lavoisier, Laplace, and Hess made the first measurements of heats of reaction, is considered the beginning of Thermochemistry, being calorimetry the oldest experimental technique for investigating the thermodynamics of chemical reactions. By 1840, Hess has established his Law, that the heat exchanged (evolved or absorbed) depends only of the initial and final states of the reaction being independent of the number of intermediate steps, which could either be postulated or observed. This Law is the basis of Thermochemistry and is in accord with the First Law of Thermodynamics, which was first formulated by Helmholtz only in 1847. In the later half of the nineteenth century, extensive studies on thermochemistry were made by Thomsen (1851– 1885) in Copenhagen and by Berthelot (1881–1905), at the College de France, in Paris, who were motivated by the mistaken idea that the driving force of a chemical reaction lay in the heat of reaction. With the realization, near the turn of the nineteenth century, that entropy changes must also to be considered as a component of the driving force of reaction, the impetus of this work declined and the classical period of thermochemistry ended. Notwithstanding the great improvement verified in the period of 1900–1930 on the design and development of combustion bombs with the prominent work of some distinguished scientists like Dickinson who published his classic paper on the procedures, apparatus, and calculations in combustion calorimetry, and the work of T. W. Richards and collaborators for the significant development and M. A. V. Ribeiro da Silva (&) Centro de Investigacao em Quimica, Faculty of Science, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal e-mail: risilva@fc.up.pt Guest Editor

Welcome to the Future

In 2010, Molecular Imaging and Biology (MIB) has entered in its ninth year, and with it, the journal has a new Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Raymond Gibson, a scientist, colleague, and friend, recently retired from Merck Sharp & Dohme. An accomplished researcher, Dr. Gibson brings to the editorial board many years of experience in molecular imaging to guide MIB to the future we all dreamed at the time of its foundation in 2002. In our first editorial (Mol Imaging Biol 4:1, 2002), the envisioned path for our journal was initially established. “MIB will be the forum for presentation of the best scientific work. The interests of MIB include basic science areas from molecular imaging probe and assay development to instrumentation design and evaluation”—we said at the time. “Although MIB focus is on in vivo studies, integration of the molecular information obtained with different imaging modalities, from single cell environments to whole-body technology in the living subject is our path, by strengthening our commitment to science and by more effectively translating new basic knowledge to patient care.” On this course, MIB has become a journal with worldwide recognition, as further evidenced by its designation as the official journal of the World Molecular Imaging Congress, the Academy of Molecular Imaging, the Society for Molecular Imaging, and the European Society for Molecular Imaging. Credit for the successful evolution of MIB over the years should primarily go to the many authors who had contributed excellent papers leading to the journal indexing by the National Library of Medicine (Pub Med, 2003) and Impact Factor rating by the Institute of Scientific Information (2004). The distinguished scientists and physicians of the editorial board, many of whom are pioneers and inventors in molecular imaging, as well as leading scientists in their disciplines, have also been instrumental to the journal's success. Special recognition is given to Mrs. Dina Boktor, our managing editor since MIB's inception, who had patiently and diligently interacted with authors, reviewers, and the publisher, always striving for excellence. Let's welcome Dr. Gibson and provide our support for his success as Editor-in-Chief. To all, my deep appreciation for an incredible ride. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

National Medal of Science nomination deadline

The deadline for nominations for the 2010 U.S. National Medal of Science is 31 March 2010. The Medal of Science, which is presented annually by the president of the United States to distinguished scientists and engineers, is the nation's highest honor for American scientists and engineers.

Cortical Neural Precursors Inhibit Their Own Differentiation via N-Cadherin Maintenance of β-Catenin Signaling

Little is known about the architecture of cellular microenvironments that support stem and precursor cells during tissue development. Although adult stem cell niches are organized by specialized supporting cells, in the developing cerebral cortex, neural stem/precursor cells reside in a neurogenic niche lacking distinct supporting cells. Here, we find that neural precursors themselves comprise the niche and regulate their own development. Precursor-precursor contact regulates beta-catenin signaling and cell fate. In vivo knockdown of N-cadherin reduces beta-catenin signaling, migration from the niche, and neuronal differentiation in vivo. N-cadherin engagement activates beta-catenin signaling via Akt, suggesting a mechanism through which cells in tissues can regulate their development. These results suggest that neural precursor cell interactions can generate a self-supportive niche to regulate their own number.

Editorial

Observant readers will have noticed some changes on the front cover of Soil Use and Management with the addition of two new deputy editors (Michael Goss and Hubert Tunney) and the absence of Bryan Davies who has retired. Welcome to Michael and Hubert whose new involvement signals the increased international emphasis being given to the journal. The main reason for this editorial, however, is to record the appreciation of readers and authors for all the work Bryan has done since he first became editor of Soil Use and Management in 1995. Bryan’s professional life has been devoted to applied soil science. He joined ADAS (then NAAS) in July 1967 and had a very successful research and advisory career in Cambridge where he became head of the ADAS soil science department in Eastern region until 1993. He was much involved with linking the agricultural advisory service with research institutes. He developed strong associations with researchers at the Letcombe laboratory, especially with respect to no-till and straw disposal issues. He is a highly distinguished soil scientist with many published papers on such topics as topsoil structure, soil stabilization, the effect of organic matter on soil properties, root development and soil nitrogen. He co-authored a book on Soil Management which is still used today by students. His intellect and enthusiasm for his subject inspired a great number of budding young soil scientists who are now leading many areas of policy-driven research on the interface between farming, land use and the environment. His legacy has been substantial. Bryan has brought a quiet professionalism to Soil Use and Management. His deep interest in the journal’s subject areas and the rigour and relevance he has adopted in his role as editor will be hard to beat. It is hoped that the new editorial team can follow his excellent example. We wish him well in his retirement.

Surface coating effects on contact stress and wear: an approach of surface engineering design and modelling

The present paper is a dedication to Professor Tom Bell, a distinguished scientist and engineer, for his great contributions and achievements in surface engineering design and modelling. An initial attempt has been made in surface system design through combining the authors’ previous achievements in understanding contact mechanics of surface engineering system. The approach is taken mainly from modelling the contact behaviour of multilayer surface system with real rough surface profiles in terms of contact stress and deformation, and both boundary and finite element methods have been employed to understand the system contact behaviour. Experimental investigations have also been carried out on the performance of surface engineered gears (steel and titanium). Tests were carried out on untreated, TiN coated, plasma nitrided and duplex treated steel gears under dry running conditions, and it has been shown that the duplex system gives the best wear resistance. For titanium gears, experimental tests were carried out on untreated and thermal oxidised titanium against steel gears and the thermal oxidised treated has showed a significant wear improvement compared to that for the untreated specimens. Finally, possible further investigations have been proposed.

Lithium storage in silicon

AbstractThe Expert Opinion is written by a distinguished scientist and presents his personal view on important and relevant new results of research, highlighting their significance and putting the work into perspective for a broader audience. Please send comments to pss.rapid@wiley‐vch.de or to the author. The text by G. Neumann and A. Würsig refers to the Rapid Research Letter by H. Föll et al., published in this issue of Phys. Status Solidi RRL 4, 4–6 (2010). (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)