Features Hint Research Articles

Deblurring the early Universe: reconstruction of primordial power spectrum from Planck CMB using image analysis techniques

While the simplest inflationary models predict the primordial perturbations to be near scale-invariant, the primordial power spectrum (PPS) can exhibit oscillatory features in many physically well-motivated models. We search for hints of such features via free-form reconstructions of the PPS based on Planck 2018 CMB temperature and polarization anisotropies. In order to robustly invert the oscillatory integrals and handle noisy unbinned data, we draw inspiration from image analysis techniques. In previous works, the Richardson-Lucy deconvolution algorithm for deblurring images has been modified for reconstructing PPS from the CMB temperature angular power spectrum. We extensively develop the methodology by including CMB polarization and introducing two new regularization techniques, also inspired by image analysis and adapted for our cosmological context. Regularization is essential for improving the fit to the temperature and polarization channels (TT, TE and EE) simultaneously without sacrificing one for another. The reconstructions we obtain are consistent with previous findings from temperature-only analyses. We evaluate the statistical significance of the oscillatory features in our reconstructions using mock data and find the observations to be consistent with having a featureless PPS. The machinery developed here will be a complimentary tool in the search for features with upcoming CMB surveys. Our methodology also shows competitive performance in image deconvolution tasks, which have various applications from microscopy to medical imaging.

Interstitial carbonates in pillowed metabasaltic rocks from the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia: A vestige of Archean seawater chemistry and seawater-rock interactions

Calcites hosted in the interpillow void spaces of extremely well preserved, 3.47–3.12 Ga pillow lavas of the Archean Pilbara Craton, Australia, provide new geochemical insights into the composition of Archean seawater and its interaction with basaltic crust. We present a comprehensive dataset of major and trace elements, radiogenic 147Sm-143Nd, 87Rb-87Sr, and stable C-O isotopes for these calcites.Based on their elemental composition and Post-Archean Australian Shale-normalized rare earth element and yttrium (REYPAAS) patterns, two types of calcites can be distinguished. Type I (n = 9) are coarse-grained calcites with elevated Mn concentrations (478–14,790 ppm) and high REY concentrations that match the basaltic host rock compositions. Petrographic textures in combination with geochemical data indicate precipitation from boiling seawater trapped between pillows during basalt eruption. Small light-REYPAAS depletions, only slightly super-chondritic Y/Ho (34.5–39.1), and low δ18O(VSMOW2) (9.25–16.66 ‰) suggest relatively high fluid-rock interactions of boiling seawater with the basaltic host rock. These characteristics are similar to those of interstitial carbonates found in modern mid-ocean ridge basalts. Type II carbonates (n = 6) are fine-grained, low-Mn (13.7–420 ppm) calcites that exhibit comparably high Sr concentrations (825–2,516 ppm) and anoxic modern seawater-like REYPAAS patterns, strong super-chondritic Y/Ho (39.1–55.8) and δ18O(VSMOW2) values of 9.10–13.18 ‰. These features hint to direct calcite precipitation from seawater within the degassing space with little fluid-rock interaction.Almost all (Type I and Type II) of the calcites investigated here, combined with their respective host rocks, yield well-defined Sm-Nd isochron ages for the Apex (3,466 ± 23 Ma), Euro (3,365 ± 43 Ma), Honeyeater (3,187 ± 33 Ma), and Bradley (3,131 ± 24 Ma) formations. Only calcites from the Mt. Ada Basalt and their associated host rocks show a ∼ 100 Ma younger Sm-Nd isochron age (3,361 ± 22 Ma) compared to the U-Pb zircon age of formation.Highly radiogenic initial Sr isotope compositions of the high-Mn calcites (Type I) and low Sr concentrations, suggest Sr remobilization for these calcites. In contrast, the low-Mn calcite (Type II) exhibit higher Sr concentrations and lower 87Sr/86Sr(i) of 0.7010–0.7011 at 3.34 Ga and 0.70137 at 3.12 Ga, suggesting increasing influence of crustal weathering on the composition of Paleoarchean seawater through time, and progressive decoupling from the Archean mantle (87Sr/86Sr(i) = 0.7003–0.7007).

Do near-threshold molecular states mix with neighboring Q¯Q states?

The last two decades are marked by a renaissance in hadronic spectroscopy caused by the arrival of vast experimental information on exotic states in the spectrum of charmonium and bottomonium. Most of such states have properties at odds with the predictions of the quark model and reside very close to strong hadronic thresholds. Prominent examples are provided by the glorious $X(3872)$ charmonium-like state and the doubly charmed tetraquark $T_{cc}^+$ with the masses within less than 1 MeV from the $D\bar{D}^*$ and $DD^*$ open-charm thresholds, respectively. The universality of this feature hints towards the existence of a general pattern for such exotic states. In this work we discuss a possible generic mechanism for the formation of near-threshold molecular states as a result of the strong coupling of compact quark states with a hadronic continuum channel. The compact states that survive the strong coupling limit decouple from the continuum channel and therefore also from the formed hadronic molecule - if realised this scenario would provide a justification to treat hadronic molecules isolated, ignoring the possible influence from surrounding, compact quark-model states. We confront the phenomenology of the $D_{s1}(2460)$ and $D_{s1}(2536)$ with this picture and find consistency, although other explanations remain possible for those states.

Down but Not Out: Properties of the Molecular Gas in the Stripped Virgo Cluster Early-type Galaxy NGC 4526

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array data on the 3 mm continuum emission, CO isotopologues (12CO, 13CO, and C18O), and high-density molecular tracers (HCN, HCO+, HNC, HNCO, CS, CN, and CH3OH) in NGC 4526. These data enable a detailed study of the physical properties of the molecular gas in a longtime resident of the Virgo Cluster; comparisons to more commonly studied spiral galaxies offer intriguing hints into the processing of molecular gas in the cluster environment. Many molecular line ratios in NGC 4526, along with our inferred abundances and CO/H2 conversion factors, are similar to those found in nearby spirals. One striking exception is the very low observed 12CO/13CO(1−0) line ratio, 3.4 ± 0.3, which is unusually low for spirals though not for Virgo Cluster early-type galaxies. We carry out radiative transfer modeling of the CO isotopologues with some archival (2−1) data, and we use Bayesian analysis with Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques to infer the physical properties of the CO-emitting gas. We find surprisingly low [12CO/13CO] abundance ratios of and at radii of 0.4 kpc and 1 kpc. The emission from the high-density tracers HCN, HCO+, HNC, CS, and CN is also relatively bright, and CN is unusually optically thick in the inner parts of NGC 4526. These features hint that processing in the cluster environment may have removed much of the galaxy’s relatively diffuse, optically thinner molecular gas along with its atomic gas. Angular momentum transfer to the surrounding intracluster medium may also have caused contraction of the disk, magnifying radial gradients such as we find in [13CO/C18O]. More detailed chemical evolution modeling would be interesting in order to explore whether the unusual [12CO/13CO] abundance ratio is entirely an environmental effect or whether it also reflects the relatively old stellar population in this early-type galaxy.

Scaling properties of elastic proton-proton scattering at LHC energies

The TOTEM Collaboration has measured the differential cross section of elastic proton-proton scattering dσ/d|t| at s=2.76, 7, 8, and 13 TeV. It is observed that all dσ/d|t| data points vary in the same way as a function of the center-of-mass energy in the so-called “dip” and “bump” regions. These features hint at possible universal properties of elastic scattering. Based on these empirical observations, and taking inspiration from saturation models, we propose a simple scaling law for proton-proton elastic scattering at LHC energies. We find that the dσ/d|t| at LHC energies fall onto a universal curve when they are mapped to the scaling variables dσ/d|t|×(s/TeV2)−0.305 versus (s/TeV2)0.065(|t|/GeV2)0.72. Some implications of this scaling law in the impact parameter picture of the scattering amplitudes are explored.

Double marking of the past in Early Modern Greek

Abstract This paper examines double marking of the past feature in verbal formations with preverbs in Early Modern Greek (16th c.). This period is characterized by great linguistic variation reflected in every type of text. We compiled a dataset of 268 formations from a corpus which includes 250 excerpts of prose texts (155,717 words in total). Our analysis is based on quantitative and qualitative criteria. We argue that double marking of the past feature in this period can take two forms, that is, it can be realized as two distinct prefixes (explicit multiple exponence), or it can be realized by one verbal augment (prefix) and as part of the information carried by the verbal allomorph (implicit multiple exponence). The double exponence of this inflectional feature hints at a process of externalization of inflection, while pleonastic exponence of the past feature related to stem allomorphy can be explained as a tendency for explicit exponents of inflectional features.

Animal Husbandry During Late Antiquity: Archaeozoological Analysis and Regional Comparison of the 4th to 6th Century AD Small Rural Settlement in Podersdorf am See (Burgenland, Austria)

ABSTRACT This study investigates the faunal assemblage from excavations in Podersdorf am See (easternmost Austria) dating between the 4th and 6th century AD. The site is located in a flat area east of Lake Neusiedl (Hungarian: Fertő tó), surrounded by numerous (palaeo-)lake depressions and comprises remains of small-scale rural installations from three phases between the 2nd and 13th century AD. In contrast with previous studies, which focus on urban sites or villae rusticace, Podersdorf offers the opportunity to examine the Late Antiquity period of transition at a peripheral, small-scale, rural site. In total, 904 animal bones were investigated. Although several features hint at a rural site of producers, such as the dominance of female sheep/goats there are, also indications for animal imports, including a high number of male/castrated cattle and pigs along with the presence of three different cattle morphotypes. Age and sex profiles of the main domesticated species (cattle, sheep/goats and pigs) show a slight emphasis on meat consumption. Chop and cut marks on horse and dog bones indicate cynophagy and hippophagy. Compared with contemporaneous sites in north-eastern Austria, Podersdorf has the highest NISP number of wild mammals, the second highest number of horses, and the second highest number of birds.

Fast Blue Optical Transients Due to Circumstellar Interaction and the Mysterious Supernova SN 2018gep

Abstract The discovery of SN 2018gep (ZTF 18abukavn) challenged our understanding of the late-phase evolution of massive stars and their supernovae (SNe). The fast rise in luminosity of this SN (spectroscopically classified as a broad-lined Type Ic SN) indicates that the ejecta interacts with a dense circumstellar medium (CSM), while an additional energy source such as 56Ni decay is required to explain the late-time light curve. These features hint at the explosion of a massive star with pre-SN mass loss. In this work, we examine the physical origins of rapidly evolving astrophysical transients like SN 2018gep. We investigate the wave-driven mass-loss mechanism and how it depends on model parameters such as progenitor mass and deposition energy, searching for stellar progenitor models that can reproduce the observational data. A model with an ejecta mass ∼2 M ⊙, explosion energy ∼1052 erg, a CSM of mass ∼0.3 M ⊙ and radius ∼1000 R ⊙, and a 56Ni mass ∼0.3 M ⊙ provides a good fit to the bolometric light curve. We also examine how interaction-powered light curves depend more generally on these parameters and how ejecta velocities can help break degeneracies. We find both wave-driven mass loss and mass ejection via pulsational pair instability can plausibly create the dense CSM in SN 2018gep, but we favor the latter possibility.

Alcoholic liver disease and autoimmune hepatitis: Sometimes a closer look under the surface is needed

AimsDifferential diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) incorporates various liver diseases, including alcoholic liver disease (ALD). We report on clinical, laboratory and outcome characteristics of AIH patients who were initially referred as ALD based on increased alcohol consumption (AIH/ALD). MethodsFrom 2000-2019, we retrospectively identified 12 AIH/ALD patients [9 males, age: 61 (30-73) years] in our prospective data base of 317 AIH patients. ResultsAIH diagnosis was based on aminotransferases elevation in 10 patients, high IgG in 8, compatible autoantibody profile in all and typical/compatible histology in all 9 with available biopsy. There were no significant differences of baseline demographics, presentation, cirrhosis at diagnosis, response to treatment and simplified score compared to 45 age- and sex-matched AIH patients without alcohol consumption and 44 age- and sex-matched ALD patients. However, the AIH/ALD cohort was characterized by more frequent progression to cirrhosis, higher liver-related deaths and overall mortality compared to AIH, though similar to the ALD group. AST/ALT ratio>1 seems to bear a good positive (0.84) and negative predictive value (0.88) for ALD and AIH diagnosis, respectively, but cannot help in discriminating the AIH/ALD variant. ConclusionsAIH should not be forgotten in patients with alcohol use when clinical and laboratory features hint towards the diagnosis of AIH/ALD variant as this group seems to have worse outcome compared to those with AIH alone suggesting the need for closer follow-up and surveillance. Reliable autoantibody testing and cautious interpretation of liver histology appear mandatory for AIH diagnosis in these difficult to diagnose cases.

Cascading and Residual Connected Network for Single Image Superresolution

Convolution neural networks facilitate the significant process of single image super‐resolution (SISR). However, most of the existing CNN‐based models suffer from numerous parameters and excessively deeper structures. Moreover, these models relying on in‐depth features commonly ignore the hints of low‐level features, resulting in poor performance. This paper demonstrates an intriguing network for SISR with cascading and residual connections (CASR), which alleviates these problems by extracting features in a small net called head module via the strategies based on the depthwise separable convolution and deformable convolution. Moreover, we also include a cascading residual block (CAS‐Block) for the upsampling process, which benefits the gradient propagation and feature learning while easing the model training. Extensive experiments conducted on four benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed method is superior to the latest SISR methods in terms of quantitative indicators and realistic visual effects.

Three-Coordinate Formal Cobalt(0), Iron(0), and Manganese(0) Complexes with Persistent Carbene and Alkene Ligation.

Low-coordinate transition-metal species, i.e., metal species with coordination numbers of less than 4, represent a category of ubiquitous reactive intermediates in metal-catalyzed reactions that take place in solution, in metalloenzymes, on supported nanomaterials and single-atom catalysts, and so on. While reactive intermediates are usually transient and hard to isolate, which makes detailed investigation challenging, molecular representatives of low-coordinate transition-metal intermediates can be synthesized by the judicious use of supporting ligands, allowing detailed study of their inherent chemical and physical properties. By the use of bulky nitrogen- and oxygen-based anionic ligands, plenty of three- and two-coordinate group 4-10 metal complexes with the oxidation states of the metal centers being +3, + 2, and +1 have been prepared and subjected to extensive study. Much less known are low-coordinate zero-valent metal complexes, and knowledge about them had been restricted to group 10 metal complexes until very recently. In this Account, we summarize the studies of the synthesis, spectroscopic features, electronic structures, and reactivities of three-coordinate formal cobalt(0), iron(0), and manganese(0) complexes with persistent carbene and alkene ligation. The introduction of the π-accepting alkene ligands 1,3-divinyl-1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane (dvtms) and vinyltrimethylsilane (vtms) into the reduction reactions of MCl2 (M = Co, Fe, Mn) with persistent carbenes and alkaline metals effectively suppresses ligand C-H bond activation reactions, leading to the successful preparation of three-coordinate formal cobalt(0), iron(0), and manganese(0) complexes LM(η2:η2-dvtms), LM(η2-vtms)2, and L2M(η2-vtms) (M = Co, Fe, Mn; L = N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC), cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbene (cAAC)). These three-coordinate metal complexes feature pronounced back-donation from the filled metal 3d orbitals to the alkene π* orbital(s), resulting in electronic configurations of (dxy+πalkene*)2(dx2-y2+π'alkene*)2(dz2,dxz,dyz)n (the coordination plane was chosen as the xy plane; n = 5, 4, and 3 for Co, Fe, and Mn, respectively) for the bis(alkene) complexes LM(η2:η2-dvtms) and LM(η2-vtms)2. The alkene ligands in the low-coordinate formal zero-valent metal complexes are amenable to undergo ligand-exchange reactions with better π-accepting ligands. In reactions with organic azides, hydrosilanes, nitrosoarenes, alkynes, etc., the alkene ligands dissociate from the metal coordination sphere, and three-coordinate formal zero-valent metal complexes function as synthons of LnM0 (L = NHC, cAAC; n = 1, 2; M = Co, Fe, Mn) to perform redox reactions with these substrates, affording divalent and tetravalent cobalt, iron, or manganese complexes. These electronic structure and reactivity features hint at the potential of low-coordinate zero-valent group 7-9 metal complexes for the development of new 3d metal catalysts and magnetic materials.

The speciation of thallium in (Tl,Sb,As)-rich pyrite

Three samples of (Tl,Sb,As)-rich pyrite from the ore deposits of the southern Apuan Alps (Tuscany, Italy) were studied through a multi-technique approach in order to constrain the speciation and incorporation mechanism of thallium in pyrite. High concentrations of Tl, Sb, and As were detected in all the studied samples through laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Average Tl contents were 1299 ppm, 1967 ppm, and 2623 ppm in samples from Sennari, Canale della Radice, and Fornovolasco, respectively. The LA-ICP-MS time-resolved down-hole ablation profiles were smooth indicating that Tl, Sb, and As are dissolved in the pyrite matrix, or occur in homogeneously distributed nanoparticles (NPs). X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) data revealed that Tl, Sb, and As occurs as Tl+, Sb3+, As3+, and As−. In all the studied samples, bond distances and coordination numbers for Sb3+ and As3+ are constant, whereas Tl displays a range of coordination numbers (∼3 to ∼6), revealing the occurrence of different local environments. Moreover, no hints of features corresponding to coordination shells higher than the first were observed, suggesting an extremely disordered environment around Tl. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations revealed the presence of dislocations and As-rich “fluid” inclusions, whereas no Tl-rich NPs were observed. The study suggests that Tl+ could occur in structural defects in pyrite, lacking any long-range order. The ‘loose’ nature of Tl in pyrite favours its ready loss during the metamorphic recrystallization of pyrite and its redistribution within ore bodies and country rocks, with important implications from an economic and environmental point of view.

Shellfish collection on the westernmost Mediterranean, Bajondillo cave (∼160-35 cal kyr BP): A case of behavioral convergence?

The Middle (MP) and Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) evidences of shellfish collection on the southern Iberian site of Bajondillo cave are presented and compared with Westernmost Mediterranean archaeological sites. The main feature is stasis for Mytilus galloprovincialis represents the dominant taxon during a ∼120kyr temporal sequence. The second feature is the decrease of the shellfishing signal when site distance to the coast increases. The data reveal that shellfish collection was practiced during Marine Isotopic Stage 4, a poorly documented stage in terms of aquatic adaptations. Striking is also that mollusc assemblages evidence an uninterrupted decreasing trend in terms of remains from the earliest to the latest levels, in particular when H. sapiens replaced H. neanderthalensis. Although taxa of secondary importance are too scarce to make reliable inferences, another difference between the MP and EUP collections is the substantial increase of infaunal bivalves in the latter cultural period. Warm and cold water mollusc records match temperature rises and drops although the scarcity of data do not allow one to proceed beyond qualitative statements. Likewise, the prevalence of fresh and brackish water mollusc hint at a permanent presence of freshwater around the site at all times. When compared with assemblages from the Alboran sea region (Westernmost Mediterranean Sea), the Bajondillo cave collections are remarkable for their abundance of mussels. Comparison between Bajondillo cave and Pinnacle Point reveal that infaunal bivalve abundances in the South African site are far higher than those recorded in the MP levels, though not those from the EUP. Whether this feature hints at subtle differences existing between the collection of shellfish by H. sapiens and H. neanderthalensis, reflects a behavioral convergence between the two hominine lineages or represents an inherited cognitive trait from a common ancestor is an issue in need of further analysis.

The relationship between the processing of semantic relation information and morphological awareness among Hong Kong Chinese children

In the present study, 151 third-grade Hong Kong children participated in two expression-picture matching experiments (a relation priming paradigm). In this paradigm, an unambiguous prime was first presented, followed by an ambiguous target that could be interpreted with either of two relations (i.e., Descriptor and Possessor). Children were asked to judge which picture matched with the compounds in both the prime and target sessions. The linear mixed model analysis was applied to investigate the semantic relation processing in novel ambiguous combination and its relationship with children’s performances on morphological awareness tasks. In Experiment 1, the relation priming effect (i.e., children preferred to select the target pictures involving the same relation with the primes) was observed. At the same time, children’s morphological awareness showed a positive moderation effect on relation priming. Experiment 2 investigated whether visual features, rather than semantic relations, produced priming effect. The interaction between semantic relation processing and morphological awareness was observed as well in the situation that the hints of visual features were removed. The results indicated that children with skilled morphological awareness, but not the children with less skilled morphological awareness, showed significant relation priming effect, even without the visual cues. Compared to children with less skilled morphological awareness, children with skilled morphological awareness were better in activating semantic relation information when reading compounds. These findings may help us understand the mechanism of the association between MA and Chinese literacy acquisition.

Human Pancreatic β Cell lncRNAs Control Cell-Specific Regulatory Networks

SummaryRecent studies have uncovered thousands of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in human pancreatic β cells. β cell lncRNAs are often cell type specific and exhibit dynamic regulation during differentiation or upon changing glucose concentrations. Although these features hint at a role of lncRNAs in β cell gene regulation and diabetes, the function of β cell lncRNAs remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the function of β cell-specific lncRNAs and transcription factors using transcript knockdowns and co-expression network analysis. This revealed lncRNAs that function in concert with transcription factors to regulate β cell-specific transcriptional networks. We further demonstrate that the lncRNA PLUTO affects local 3D chromatin structure and transcription of PDX1, encoding a key β cell transcription factor, and that both PLUTO and PDX1 are downregulated in islets from donors with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. These results implicate lncRNAs in the regulation of β cell-specific transcription factor networks.

Towards Systemic Evaluation

Problems of conventional evaluation models can be understood as an impoverished ‘conversation’ between realities (of non‐linearity, indeterminate attributes, and ever‐changing context), and models of evaluating such realities. Meanwhile, ideas of systems thinking and complexity science—grouped here under the acronym STCS—struggle to gain currency in the big ‘E’ world of institutionalized evaluation. Four evaluation practitioners familiar with evaluation tools associated with STCS offer perspectives on issues regarding mainstream uptake of STCS in the big ‘E’ world. The perspectives collectively suggest three features of practicing systemic evaluation: (i) developing value in conversing between bounded values (evaluations) and unbounded reality (evaluand), with humility; (ii) developing response‐ability with evaluand stakeholders based on reflexivity, with empathy; and (iii) developing adaptive rather than mere contingent use(fulness) of STCS ‘tools’ as part of evaluation praxis, with inevitable fallibility and an orientation towards bricolage (adaptive use). The features hint towards systemic evaluation as core to a reconfigured notion of developmental evaluation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A new robust enantiornithine bird from the Lower Cretaceous of China with scansorial adaptations

ABSTRACTWe describe a new enantiornithine bird, Fortunguavis xiaotaizicus, gen. et sp. nov, from the Lower Cretaceous lacustrine deposits of the Jiufotang Formation in northeastern China. The new taxon has a strongly dorsoventrally bowed furcula indicating that enantiornithines evolved furcular morphologies in parallel with ornithuromorphs. The new specimen has very robust limbs compared with other enantiornithines and has an unique foot morphology with metatarsal II much shorter than metatarsal IV, robust pedal digits, and strongly recurved pedal unguals. Although recurved unguals characterize Enantiornithes, the extreme curvature present in Fortunguavis suggests scansorial specialization in this species. These features hint at a unique ecology for this taxon and further increase the known diversity of body plans in Early Cretaceous enantiornithines.SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at http://www.tandfonline.com/UJVP.

Towards a realistic transport modeling in a superconducting nanowire with Majorana fermions

Motivated by recent experiments searching for Majorana fermions (MFs) in hybrid semiconducting-superconducting nanostructures, we consider a realistic tight-binding model and analyze its transport behavior numerically. In particular, we take into account the presence of a superconducting contact, used in real experiments to extract the current, which is usually not included in theoretical calculations. We show that important features emerge that are absent in simpler models, such as the shift in energy of the proximity gap signal, and the enhanced visibility of the topological gap for increased spin-orbit interaction. We find oscillations of the zero bias peak as a function of the magnetic field and study them analytically. We argue that many of the experimentally observed features hint at an actual spin-orbit interaction larger than the one typically assumed. However, even taking into account all the known ingredients of the experiments and exploring many parameter regimes for MFs, we are not able to reach full agreement with the reported data. Thus, a different physical origin for the observed zero-bias peak cannot be excluded.

'Virtual Orientalism: Asian Religions and American Popular Culture, by Jane Naomi Iwamura.'

Virtual Orientalism: Asian Religions and American Popular Culture. By Jane Naomi Iwamura. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. 232 pp. ISBN 9780199738601 (hardcover), $99.00; ISBN 9780199738618I (paperback), $24.95.Reviewed by Jonathan H. X. LeeWhen and where did the figure of the American popular and culture originate? How has the figure of the monk been imagined and re-imagined? What does it reveal about the interplay of historical events, translation, and production vis-a-vis Asian religious traditions the United States? Jane Naomi Iwamura addresses these questions Virtual Orientalism: Asian Religions and American Popular Culture. Iwamura employs Edward Said's concept of to construct a paradigm of Orientalism anchored a critical racialization perspective. She defines Orientalism as a type of cultural stereotyping by visual forms of media that train the consumer to prefer visual representations and adds gravitas to the narrative and creates its own scene of virtual (p. 7). The combination of Orientalization and racialization serves to blunt the distinctiveness of particular persons and making the popular production of the monk not only consumable, but immediate and widespread (p. 6). The monk is not just someone we imagine, but a figure that is made real to us photographs, movies, and on pages of popular magazines.In Virtual Orientalism, Iwamura narrates the cultural-historical genealogy of the monk figure U.S. popular culture and media, noting its complexities, contradictions, and contemporary manifestations. It is through popular that the predominately Christian and non-Asian American public consumes, an accessible and virtually sensuous way, Asian religious figures and teachings before only accessible in the mind's eye only through the literary word and imagination (p. 5). Iwamura argues that the commercialization and fetishism of the monk icon, beginning the 1950s, and ending with today's Spiritual Romance, has delivered to the spiritual marketplace of American popular culture and a racialized monk who is no longer Asian. Iwamura argues, Although the figure is easily recognizable today, the monk did not miraculously appear from out of nowhere. Rather, we have been primed for his appearance: trained to identify him from knowledge of his character, which can be traced to a series of historical encounters and imaginative engagements (p. 6).Iwamura provides three case studies representing three types of encounters with the monk figure American and popular culture. In chapter two, Iwamura discusses D.T. Suzuki and the American encounter with Zen Buddhism the 1950s. In chapter three, covering the 1960s, she describes the American encounter with a Hindu monk the figure of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. In chapter four, she analyzes the Hollywood-American invention of the monk who is half-Chinese and half-white as visually represented the 1970s TV series Kung Fu. In her concluding chapter, Iwamura discusses new iterations and new imaginations of the monk who is only stereotypically coded as Asian cartoon figures such as Kung Fu Panda.In her chapter on Suzuki and the period of Zen's flourishing the U.S. the 1950s, Iwamura notes that Suzuki was portrayed as a mysterious Oriental whose wrinkled features hint at an ancient wisdom that harked back to an age far beyond his considerable years (p. 26). The medium through which Suzuki was consumed by the American public was popular and fashion magazines (Harper's Bazaar, Look, Time, Newsweek, Life, and Vogue). The combined effect of the racialization and Orientalization of Suzuki popular magazines produced a persona that was simultaneous incomprehensible yet wholly comprehensible to his 1950s American audience (p. …

Modifications of polymers by additives and irradiations and their characterizations

Abstract Polymer properties are often engineered in desired directions by additives or by irradiations or by both. However, in space and certain other applications, energetic particles or γ-rays may damage the polymeric parts in undesired directions, needing prior radiation damage studies for necessary precautions. Case studies of three completely different polymer-additive composites follow: (1) shielding electromagnetic interference (EMI) by different composites of a polymeric binder, (2) electrical, thermal, mechanical (Young’s Modulus, Y) and positron lifetime (PL) characterizations of solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs), and (3) determination of total free volume and hole size by pressure-volume-temperature (P-V-T) and positron lifetime techniques, respectively, in two types of polymers. One type consists of complexes of poly-(ethylene oxide), PEO, with a suitable salt, PEO-salt SPEs. The other type consists of silica-filled and pure varieties of poly(dimethyl siloxane), PDMS. Melting point and glass transition temperature of these polymers have been determined from PL techniques as well as from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Electrical contact problem has been addressed by measuring impedance as a function of pressure, p, and then extracting p=0 values of impedance and Young’s Modulus. These illustrative measurements have been carried out for better characterization of the polymers. DSC thermogram showed that radiation induced changes of melting point of PEO-salt samples are in opposite directions for 160 MeV Ne6+ion and 1.25 MeV γ-ray irradiations. This interesting feature hints at different mechanisms of radiation damage in two cases.