Estimating rate constants from single ion channel currents when the initial distribution is known.

PubMed

The, Yu-Kai; Fernandez, Jacqueline; Popa, M Oana; Lerche, Holger; Timmer, Jens

2005-06-01

Single ion channel currents can be analysed by hidden or aggregated Markov models. A classical result from Fredkin et al. (Proceedings of the Berkeley conference in honor of Jerzy Neyman and Jack Kiefer, vol I, pp 269-289, 1985) states that the maximum number of identifiable parameters is bounded by 2n(o)n(c), where n(o) and n(c) denote the number of open and closed states, respectively. We show that this bound can be overcome when the probabilities of the initial distribution are known and the data consist of several sweeps.

Fisher, Neyman, and Bayes at FDA.

PubMed

Rubin, Donald B

2016-01-01

The wise use of statistical ideas in practice essentially requires some Bayesian thinking, in contrast to the classical rigid frequentist dogma. This dogma too often has seemed to influence the applications of statistics, even at agencies like the FDA. Greg Campbell was one of the most important advocates there for more nuanced modes of thought, especially Bayesian statistics. Because two brilliant statisticians, Ronald Fisher and Jerzy Neyman, are often credited with instilling the traditional frequentist approach in current practice, I argue that both men were actually seeking very Bayesian answers, and neither would have endorsed the rigid application of their ideas.

Projective limits of state spaces I. Classical formalism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lanéry, Suzanne; Thiemann, Thomas

2017-01-01

In this series of papers, we investigate the projective framework initiated by Jerzy Kijowski (1977) and Andrzej Okołów (2009, 2013, 2014), which describes the states of a quantum (field) theory as projective families of density matrices. A short reading guide to the series can be found in [27]. The present first paper aims at clarifying the classical structures that underlies this formalism, namely projective limits of symplectic manifolds [27, subsection 2.1]. In particular, this allows us to discuss accurately the issues hindering an easy implementation of the dynamics in this context, and to formulate a strategy for overcoming them [27, subsection 4.1].

Insights on the Understanding of the Circum-Caribbean Region from Potential Field Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia-Reyes, A.; Dyment, J.; Thebault, E.

2017-12-01

During decades, the nature, geometry and evolution of the Caribbean geological provinces and their boundaries have been topic of discussion and controversy. Great strike-slip faulting in the northern boundaries of the plate, and folding and thrusting structures related with Cretaceous magmatism have been used as indicators of the emplacement of the Caribbean plate between the Northamerican and Southamerican plates at least from the Late Cretaceous, which is the most accepted hypothesis. The exotic origin of the Caribbean plate has also been supported by presence of radiolarites, fauna, ages from rocks sampled from drilling and oceanic paleo-currents analyses. The high thickness of the sediments in most of the basins, the absence of drilling wells reaching the acoustic basement and the absence of identifiable patterns of magnetic anomalies constitute the limitations for the interpretation from potential field data. Potential field data allows tracking contrasts in the physical properties between two geological bodies if they are laterally exhibited. Hence its use is suitable to characterise the seafloor fabric but also to better delineate the boundaries between the geological provinces. In this research we are providing an interpretation from vertical gradients of gravity and reprocessed magnetic anomalies over the Caribbean region with the purpose of making a contribution to the understanding of this area. We are also using magnetic anomalies to determine the paleolatitude over those areas where seafloor spreading related anomalies are observed. Our results led us to propose a conceptual model of the origin of the Caribbean plate. Our model relates the Venezuelan basin with the Cretaceous `not-so-quite' magnetic isochrons; it proposes that the Colombian, Venezuelan and Grenada basins have oceanic crustal affinity and it reinterprets the Beata and Aves ridges as reactivated fracture zones - respectively - in which a magmatic event occurred during or after its

Tardigrades from Nahuel Huapi National Park (Argentina, South America) with descriptions of two new Macrobiotidae species.

PubMed

Roszkowska, Milena; Stec, Daniel; Ciobanu, Daniel Adrian; Kaczmarek, Łukasz

2016-04-21

In 31 samples of mosses and lichens collected in the Argentinean province of Río Negro, 657 tardigrades, 53 exuviae and 219 free-laid eggs were found. In total, 20 species were identified: Diphascon chilenense, Dip. mitrense, Echiniscus bigranulatus, Ech. corrugicaudatus, Ech. merokensis merokensis, Ech. testudo, Hebesuncus mollispinus, Hypsibius convergens, Macrobiotus cf. anderssoni, Mac. andinus, Mac. kazmierskii, Mac. patagonicus, Mesobiotus szeptyckii, Mes. pseudoblocki sp. nov., Milnesium argentinum, Mil. beatae, Mil. brachyungue, Mil. granulatum, Mopsechiniscus granulosus, Minibiotus pseudostellarus sp. nov. Of the two new species, Mesobiotus pseudoblocki sp. nov. is most similar to Mes. blocki, but it differs mainly by the lack of dentate lunules, smaller eggs and presence of reticular design on egg processes. Minibiotus pseudostellarus sp. nov. is most similar to Min. constellatus, Min. eichhorni, Min. sidereus or Min. vinciguerrae, but it differs from them by the presence of 'pseudo-star'-shaped pores in the dorsal cuticle instead of fully developed 'stars' and by other morphometric characters.

Biotechnology

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-12-15

NASA is looking to biological techniques that are millions of years old to help it develop new materials and nanotechnology for the 21st century. Sponsored by NASA, Jerzy Bernholc, a principal investigator in the microgravity materials science program and a physics professor at North Carolina State University, Bernholc works with very large-scale computations to model carbon molecules as they assemble themselves to form nanotubes. The strongest confirmed material known, nanotubes are much stronger than graphite, a more common material made of carbon, and weigh six times less than steel. Nanotubes have potential uses such as strain gauges, advanced electronic devices, amd batteries. The strength, light weight, and conductive qualities of nanotubes, shown in light blue in this computed electron distribution, make them excellent components of nanoscale devices. One way to conduct electricity to such devices is through contact with aluminum, shown in dark blue.

Diabetes, bone and glucose-lowering agents: clinical outcomes.

PubMed

Schwartz, Ann V

2017-07-01

Older adults with diabetes are at higher risk of fracture and of complications resulting from a fracture. Hence, fracture risk reduction is an important goal in diabetes management. This review is one of a pair discussing the relationship between diabetes, bone and glucose-lowering agents; an accompanying review is provided in this issue of Diabetologia by Beata Lecka-Czernik (DOI 10.1007/s00125-017-4269-4 ). Specifically, this review discusses the challenges of accurate fracture risk assessment in diabetes. Standard tools for risk assessment can be used to predict fracture but clinicians need to be aware of the tendency for the bone mineral density T-score and the fracture risk assessment tool (FRAX) to underestimate risk in those with diabetes. Diabetes duration, complications and poor glycaemic control are useful clinical markers of increased fracture risk. Glucose-lowering agents may also affect fracture risk, independent of their effects on glycaemic control, as seen with the negative skeletal effects of the thiazolidinediones; in this review, the potential effects of glucose-lowering medications on fracture risk are discussed. Finally, the current understanding of effective fracture prevention in older adults with diabetes is reviewed.

The struggle for life of the genome's selfish architects

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Transposable elements (TEs) were first discovered more than 50 years ago, but were totally ignored for a long time. Over the last few decades they have gradually attracted increasing interest from research scientists. Initially they were viewed as totally marginal and anecdotic, but TEs have been revealed as potentially harmful parasitic entities, ubiquitous in genomes, and finally as unavoidable actors in the diversity, structure, and evolution of the genome. Since Darwin's theory of evolution, and the progress of molecular biology, transposable elements may be the discovery that has most influenced our vision of (genome) evolution. In this review, we provide a synopsis of what is known about the complex interactions that exist between transposable elements and the host genome. Numerous examples of these interactions are provided, first from the standpoint of the genome, and then from that of the transposable elements. We also explore the evolutionary aspects of TEs in the light of post-Darwinian theories of evolution. Reviewers This article was reviewed by Jerzy Jurka, Jürgen Brosius and I. King Jordan. For complete reports, see the Reviewers' reports section. PMID:21414203

Does the central dogma still stand?

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Abstract Prions are agents of analog, protein conformation-based inheritance that can confer beneficial phenotypes to cells, especially under stress. Combined with genetic variation, prion-mediated inheritance can be channeled into prion-independent genomic inheritance. Latest screening shows that prions are common, at least in fungi. Thus, there is non-negligible flow of information from proteins to the genome in modern cells, in a direct violation of the Central Dogma of molecular biology. The prion-mediated heredity that violates the Central Dogma appears to be a specific, most radical manifestation of the widespread assimilation of protein (epigenetic) variation into genetic variation. The epigenetic variation precedes and facilitates genetic adaptation through a general ‘look-ahead effect’ of phenotypic mutations. This direction of the information flow is likely to be one of the important routes of environment-genome interaction and could substantially contribute to the evolution of complex adaptive traits. Reviewers This article was reviewed by Jerzy Jurka, Pierre Pontarotti and Juergen Brosius. For the complete reviews, see the Reviewers’ Reports section. PMID:22913395

Study of behavior: science or pseudoscience (with comments of Bogdan Dreher, Giacomo Rizzolatti and Charles Gross).

PubMed

Konorski, Jerzy

2013-01-01

The manuscript printed below has been written by Professor Jerzy Konorski around 1970, a few years before his death in 1973. The manuscript has not been published before. It was recently discovered in Konorski's papers deposed in the Library of the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology. In his critical review Konorski debates advantages and shortcomings of the physiological approach of Pavlov and purely behavioristic approaches advocated by Hull and Skinner. He supports close cooperation o behaviorists with neurophysiologists and neuroanatomists, with focus on the investigation of the neural mechanisms underlying behavior. Konorski's ideas concerning the integration of the study of behavior and neurophysiology anticipated contemporary path of neuroscience. Indeed, his approach, which at that time appeared somewhat controversial, is universally accepted by contemporary neuroscientists. By contrast, physiological theories of higher mental functions formulated by Pavlov as well as deliberately anti-physiological approaches of Skinner and Hull have all but disappeared from serious scientific discourse. However, the same problems such as strongly promoted self-importance of some branches of neuroscience, the lack of inter-communication between different branches and resulting lack of integrating ideas appear to emerge anew in each new generation of scientists. (Editors of Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis).

Recognizing sights, smells, and sounds with gnostic fields.

PubMed

Kanan, Christopher

2013-01-01

Mammals rely on vision, audition, and olfaction to remotely sense stimuli in their environment. Determining how the mammalian brain uses this sensory information to recognize objects has been one of the major goals of psychology and neuroscience. Likewise, researchers in computer vision, machine audition, and machine olfaction have endeavored to discover good algorithms for stimulus classification. Almost 50 years ago, the neuroscientist Jerzy Konorski proposed a theoretical model in his final monograph in which competing sets of "gnostic" neurons sitting atop sensory processing hierarchies enabled stimuli to be robustly categorized, despite variations in their presentation. Much of what Konorski hypothesized has been remarkably accurate, and neurons with gnostic-like properties have been discovered in visual, aural, and olfactory brain regions. Surprisingly, there have not been any attempts to directly transform his theoretical model into a computational one. Here, I describe the first computational implementation of Konorski's theory. The model is not domain specific, and it surpasses the best machine learning algorithms on challenging image, music, and olfactory classification tasks, while also being simpler. My results suggest that criticisms of exemplar-based models of object recognition as being computationally intractable due to limited neural resources are unfounded.

Recognizing Sights, Smells, and Sounds with Gnostic Fields

PubMed Central

Kanan, Christopher

2013-01-01

Mammals rely on vision, audition, and olfaction to remotely sense stimuli in their environment. Determining how the mammalian brain uses this sensory information to recognize objects has been one of the major goals of psychology and neuroscience. Likewise, researchers in computer vision, machine audition, and machine olfaction have endeavored to discover good algorithms for stimulus classification. Almost 50 years ago, the neuroscientist Jerzy Konorski proposed a theoretical model in his final monograph in which competing sets of “gnostic” neurons sitting atop sensory processing hierarchies enabled stimuli to be robustly categorized, despite variations in their presentation. Much of what Konorski hypothesized has been remarkably accurate, and neurons with gnostic-like properties have been discovered in visual, aural, and olfactory brain regions. Surprisingly, there have not been any attempts to directly transform his theoretical model into a computational one. Here, I describe the first computational implementation of Konorski's theory. The model is not domain specific, and it surpasses the best machine learning algorithms on challenging image, music, and olfactory classification tasks, while also being simpler. My results suggest that criticisms of exemplar-based models of object recognition as being computationally intractable due to limited neural resources are unfounded. PMID:23365648

[Prof. Morawiecki: the oculist and outstanding expert in immunology, immunopathology and serology].

PubMed

Raczyńska, K; Iwaszkiewicz-Bilikiewicz, B

2000-01-01

Jerzy Morawiecki (1910-1997) was a man with versatile interests. Being an assistant of Professor Władysław Szumowski in the Jagiellonian University he published papers devoted to the history of medicine. After getting his medical degree in 1937 he worked in the Public Health Department in Warsaw under the very well known Ludwik Hirszfeld. There he carried out pioneer studies on the blood groups, the very beginning of a new science - immunology which moulded the scientific interests to which he was faithful for the rest of his life. Under the Nazi occupation of Warsaw he managed to send his paper on blood groups to Switzerland where it was published in 1941. Between 1946 and 1992 he published 18 papers in the field of immunology mainly of the eye. He did pioneer work on the precipitation of antigens and antibodies. The phenomenon of precipitation lines in the cornea is quoted in the literature as the "Morawiecki phenomenon" or as "Morawiecki' lines". He presented the original hypothesis of immunotherapy of intravitreal hemorrhages - the method of acceleration of hemorrhage absorption. The use of Anti-RhD antibodies subsequently became the most effective method of intraocular hemorrhages.

["Baltic Declaration"--telemedicine and mHealth as support for clinical processes in cardiology. The opinion of the Committee of Informatics and Telemedicine of the Polish Society of Cardiology and Telemedicine Clinical Sciences Committee of the PAS].

PubMed

Piotrowicz, Ryszard; Grabowski, Marcin; Balsam, Paweł; Kołtowski, Łukasz; Kozierkiewicz, Adam; Zajdel, Justyna; Piotrowicz, Ewa; Kowalski, Oskar; Mitkowski, Przemysław; Kaźmierczak, Jarosław; Kalarus, Zbigniew; Opolski, Grzegorz

2015-01-01

For several decades we have observed the development of data transmission technology on an unprecedented scale. With the development of such technology there has also appeared concepts on the use of these solutions in health care systems. Over the last decade telemedicine has been joined by the concept of mHealth, which is based on mobile devices mainly to monitor selected biomedical parameters. On 10 October 2014, during the conference Baltic Electrocardiology Autumn - Telemedicine and Arrhythmia (BEATA), a debate was held with the participation of physicians, politicians, businessmen, and representatives of the Government (Ministry of Health, National Health Fund, Social Insurance Institution) concerning the use of telecardiology services in daily practice. During the meeting issues were discussed such as: telemedicine solutions available throughout the world, analysis of their effectiveness based on clinical trials, funding opportunities, their legal status, and the development perspectives of telecardiology in Poland. The result of the meeting was a document called the "Baltic Declaration". The declaration is a call for proven and profitable technologies to be introduced into clinical practice. The declaration also indicates that the variety of available technological solutions are merely tools, and the utility of such tools stems not only from their modernity, but also primarily from matching their functionality to the features of the health interventions that are to be improved.

PLASMA-2013: International Conference on Research and Applications of Plasmas (Warsaw, Poland, 2-6 September 2013)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadowski, Marek J.

2014-05-01

, Otwock, Poland—Chairman Dimitri Batani, Universite Bordeaux, France Sergio Ciattaglia, ITER, Cadarache, France Michael Dudeck, UPMC, Paris, France Igor E Garkusha, NSC KIPT, Kharkov, Ukraine Zbigniew Kłos, CBK PAN, Warsaw Giorgio Maddaluno, ENEA Frascati, Italy Andrea Murari, EFDA JET, Culham, UK Józef Musielok, University of Opole, Poland Svetlana Ratynskaia, RIT, Stockholm, Sweden Karel Rohlena, IP CAS, Prague, Czech Republic Valentin Smirnov, Rosatom, Moscow, Russia Francisco Tabares, CIEMAT, Madrid, Spain Lorenzo Torrisi, University of Messina, Messina, Italy Jerzy Wołowski, IFPiLM, Warsaw, Poland Urszula Woźnicka, IFJ PAN, Cracow, Poland Local Organizing Committee Jerzy Wołowski—Chairman Paweł Gąsior—Secretary Zofia Kalinowska Ewa Kowalska-Strzęciwilk Monika Kubkowska Anita Pokorska Ryszard Panfil Joanna Dziak-Beme Conference website: http://plasma2013.ipplm.pl/

PREFACE: International Conference on 'Quantum Control, Exact or Perturbative, Linear or Nonlinear' to celebrate 50 years of the scientific career of Professor Bogdan Mielnik (Mielnik50)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bretón, N.; Fernández, D.; Kielanowski, P.

2015-06-01

The International Conference on 'Quantum Control, Exact or Perturbative, Linear or Nonlinear', took place in Mexico City on 22-24 October 2014. It was held with the aim of celebrating the first fifty years of scientific career of Bogdan Mielnik, an outstanding scientist whose professional trajectory spans over Poland and Mexico and who is currently Professor Emeritus in the Physics Department of Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (Cinvestav) in Mexico. Bogdan Mielnik was born on May 6th, 1936 in Warsaw, Poland. He studied elementary and high school until 1953. In the autumn of 1953 he started the studies in the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Warsaw, and at the end of 1957 he did his master work under the direction of Professor Jerzy Plebański. In 1962 he was invited to the newly opened Research Center of IPN (Cinvestav), in Mexico, as an assistant and PhD student of Jerzy Plebański. On October 22nd, 1964, he submitted to Cinvestav his PhD Thesis entitled ''Analytic functions of the displacement operator'', marking the offcial beginning of his scientific career. It is worth mentioning that Bogdan Mielnik is the first PhD graduate of the Physics Department of Cinvestav, so with this Conference our Department was also celebrating an important date on its calendar. A more detailed information can be found in the website http://www.fis.cinvestav.mx/mielnik50/. It was our great pleasure to see that many collaborators and former students of Bogdan Mielnik attended this Conference. The articles collected in this volume are the written contributions of the majority of talks presented at the conference. They have been organized according to the research subjects that Bogdan Mielnik has been involved in. Thus, the articles of JG Hirsch, L Hughston, G Morales-Luna, O Rosas-Ortiz and G Torres-Vega deal with Fundamental Problems in Quantum Mechanics. On the other hand, the papers by F Delgado, H Hernández-Coronado, G Herrera

Seismotectonics of south-west Dominican Republic using recent data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez, Javier; Havskov, Jens; Sørensen, Mathilde Bøttger; Santos, Luis Fernando

2018-03-01

The Dominican Republic has a high level of seismic activity, and a new seismic network has been installed to improve the detection of earthquakes. The network has been operated by Instituto Politécnico Loyola since 2012. It uses six new stations of its own, as well as 17 other stations publically available. In this study, we investigate in particular the south-west of the country where no seismic stations have been operating before. We find an area, SE of the Enriquillo Plantain Garden fault (responsible for the 2010 Haiti M7.0 earthquake), with a high seismic activity (M = 2-4) compared to the surrounding area. This shallow seismicity (except two events around 40 km depth) is not seen in any global catalogs, and it does not seem to be associated with any known faults. However, the region has been under rapid recent uplift since margins between hills and valleys are filled with massive alluvial fans. We made 24 new fault plane solutions using P-polarities and S/P amplitude ratios. The solutions show mainly reverse mechanisms and the P-axis directions are mainly NNE oriented, which is in agreement with a published strain direction from GPS measurements. We conclude that the main cause of the seismicity in our study area is the push of the Beata Ridge against Enriquillo basin and the rest of the Gonave microplate, reflected in the mainly reverse focal mechanisms.

Laplace deep level transient spectroscopy: Embodiment and evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peaker, A. R.; Markevich, V. P.; Hawkins, I. D.; Hamilton, B.; Bonde Nielsen, K.; Gościński, K.

2012-08-01

This paper is to commemorate the work of Leszek Dobaczewski who devoted much of his life to the development and application of high resolution DLTS. Under good experimental conditions Laplace DLTS provides an order of magnitude higher energy resolution than conventional DLTS techniques. This has had a profound effect on electrical defect spectroscopy enabling the effect of external probes, such as uniaxial stress, and internal perturbations, such as the proximity of atoms isovalent with the host, to be quantified in terms of electronic behaviour. Laplace DLTS provides a synergy with other techniques that was difficult or impossible to achieve previously. In this paper we present an overview of the development of LDLTS and illustrate some of its uses by describing its application in a number of key areas of defect research. Leszek Dobaczewski was born on 25th December 1954. He received his education in Warsaw taking his PhD in 1986 with Jerzy Langer at the Institute of Physics on “Recombination Processes at defects with the large lattice relaxation”. He held a research position at the institute in Warsaw until he came to Manchester in 1990 and thereafter alternated between Manchester and Warsaw. He worked primarily on the development and application of high resolution DLTS. He was awarded the degree of DSc in 1994 for his work on DX centres and held an appointment as full professor in Warsaw with Visiting Professor posts at Manchester and Aarhus. Professor Leszek Dobaczewski died in April 2010.

Paleomagnetic evidence for Late Miocene counterclockwise rotation of north coast carbonate sequence, Puerto Rico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reid, J.A.; Plumley, P.W.; Schellekens, J.H.

1991-03-01

A paleomagnetic study of the essentially undeformed middle Tertiary carbonate sequence along the north coast of Puerto Rico reveals statistically significant pre-Pliocene discordance of characteristic component directions against those expected from cratonic North America for much of the section. Despite generally weak to moderately weak magnetic intensities, confirmation of the magnetization as primary in origin comes from the presence of two distinct components of magnetization, intrasite bipolarity, and/or the reproducibility of measurements. The mean geographic direction for the upper Oligocene to middle Miocene strata is 335.2{degree}/32.9{degree} and the corrected mean paleomagnetic pole is 207.6{degree}/66.5{degree}, (N = 3, {alpha}95 = 4.3{degree}).more » This suggests a counter-clockwise (CCW) block rotation of Puerto Rico and its microplate of 24.5{degrees} ({plus minus} 5.8{degrees}) during the late Miocene. Using a width of 250 km for the Northern Caribbean Plate Boundary Zone (NCPBZ) between the North American Plate and Caribbean Plate, the mean left lateral displacement implied is 1.8 to 2.4 cm/yr, which agrees fairly well with published relative motion rates for the two plates. Average rotation rate for 50 Ma to 20 Ma was 0.7{degree}/my but perhaps as great as 4{degree}/my in the Miocene. Resolution of mean paleolatitude indicates northward motion of a degree or less during the period of rotation. Causes of this short-lived rotation may include (1) tectonic escape from the inhibiting presence of the Bahama Banks and Beata Ridge during eastward motion of Puerto Rico along the sinistral transpressive Puerto Rico Trench and Muertos Trough fault systems or (2) changes in relative plate motions of the Caribbean and North American Plate during the late Miocene.« less

Curie point depth in the SW Caribbean using the radially averaged spectra of magnetic anomalies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salazar, Juan M.; Vargas, Carlos A.; Leon, Hermann

2017-01-01

We have estimated the Curie Point Depth (CPD) using the average radial power spectrum in a tectonically complex area located in the SW Caribbean basin. Data analyzed came from the World Digital Magnetic Anomaly Map, and three methods have been used to compare results and evaluate uncertainties: Centroid, Spectral Peak, and Forward Modeling. Results show a match along the three methods, suggesting that the CPD values in the area ranging between 6 km and 50 km. The results share the following characteristics: A) High values (> 30 km) are in continental regions; B) There is a trend of maximum CPD values along the SW-NE direction, starting from the Central Cordillera in Colombia to the Maracaibo Lake in Venezuela; C) There is a maximum CPD at the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia) as well as between Costa Rica - Nicaragua and Nicaragua - Honduras borders. The lowest CPD values (< 20 km) are associated with the coastal regions and offshore. We also tested results by estimating the geothermal gradient and comparing measured observations of the study area. Our results suggest at least five thermal terrains in the SW Caribbean Basin: A) The area that is comprising the Venezuela Basin, the Beata Ridge and the Colombia Basin up to longitude parallel to the Providencia Throat. B) The area that includes zones to the north of the Cocos Ridge and Panam Basin up to the trench. C) The orogenic region of the northern Andes and including areas of the Santa Marta Massif. D) The continental sector that encompasses Nicaragua, northern Costa Rica and eastern of Honduras. E) Corresponds to areas of the northern Venezuela and Colombia, NW of Colombia, the Panamanian territory and the transition zones between the Upper and Lower Nicaragua Rise.

Investigation of Collisional Styles of the Caribbean Large Igneous Province (CLIP) vs. Normal Oceanic Crust from Seismic Reflection Profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mataracioglu, M.; Magnani, M.; DeShon, H. R.; Cox, R. T.

2011-12-01

The Caribbean plate subducts beneath the North American and the South American plates at the Muertos Trough and the South Caribbean Deformed Belt (SCDB), respectively. During subduction, large amount of crustal material may enter the subduction zone with the subducting plate or may be incorporated into the accretionary prism. To investigate the changes in collisional style and structures associated with subduction of the Caribbean Large Igneous Province (CLIP) versus normal oceanic crust, we interpret seismic reflection profiles collected around the northern and southern margins of the Venezuelan Basin. We refine the extent of the CLIP in the central and eastern Caribbean by identifying the structural differences at the top of the acoustic basement (Horizon B") on a dataset of 150 multi-channel seismic time stack and migrated marine reflection profiles acquired in eight cruises from 1975 to 2004, as well as some selected Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) drilling data. We will also attempt to determine whether sedimentary material enters the trench and is recycled back into the mantle, and therefore characterize the northern and southern subduction zones as accretionary or erosive. Our preliminary results show that the CLIP extends spatially to most of the Venezuelan Basin, the western part of the Columbian Basin, and a part of the Beata Ridge, but that it does not extend as far south as suggested by previous interpretations. Furthermore, some portions of the CLIP at the northern and southern boundaries subduct beneath the North and the South American plates at the Muertos Trough and the SCDB, respectively. The change in nature of the subducting plate (CLIP or normal oceanic crust) causes variations in the collisional style (i.e., accretionary versus erosive) and in structures at the accretionary wedge and on the downgoing plate.

[Figures of first laureates of the Wiktor Dega medal (XXXVII Jubilee Congress of Polish Orthopaedic and Traumatologic Society, 10-13 September 2008)].

PubMed

Nowakowski, Andrzej; Rapała, Kazimierz

2008-01-01

Figures of two outstanding orthopaedists Professor Stefan Malawski and Professor Jerzy Król rewarded with the medal of the name of Wiktor Degi were described. The medal is being granted by the Chapter of the Medal as regarding for outstanding achievements for the Polish and world orthopaedics and rehabilitation. Profesor Stefan Kazimierz Malawski was born 26. 12. 1920 in the Vilnius area. In Vilnius he stated his medical studies, which he continued in Lwow and graduated in 1946 at the Marie Curie Skłodowska in Lublin. Professor Malawski's main field of interest were related to the problems related to tuberculosis of bones and joints and trauma of the lumbar and cervical spine. In the problems of bone tuberculosis he remains an unquestioned authority in Poland. His deep understanding of these clinical problems can be found in his text-book "Tuberculosis of bones and joints", which was printed in 1976. The information pertaining diagnosis and surgical treatment remain extremely valuable today. Another field of interest of Professor Malawski are pathologies of the spine. Disc disease, neoplasms of the spine, spinal stenosis and infections of the spine, spondylolisthesis are among many of his interests. This very wide field of interest can be dound in his 3 tome publication Spondyloorthopedics. His 166 papars printed in Poland and abroad bear proof of the Professors wide field of interest and deep knowledge. Professor Malawski was the first surgeon in Poland to perform surgery on the front elements of the spine in tuberculotic paraplegia. In 1958 he implemented surgical treatment of spine tumor--both primary and metastatic, by resecting them and stabilizing the spine with grafts. In the early 70's he focused on spinal stenosis. In the years 1982-1986 he was the Chairman of the Board of the Polish Orthopedic and Trauma Society. Professor Malawski introdued a modern set of Rules and Regulations, greatly simplifying the decision making process during General assemblies

P value and the theory of hypothesis testing: an explanation for new researchers.

PubMed

Biau, David Jean; Jolles, Brigitte M; Porcher, Raphaël

2010-03-01

In the 1920s, Ronald Fisher developed the theory behind the p value and Jerzy Neyman and Egon Pearson developed the theory of hypothesis testing. These distinct theories have provided researchers important quantitative tools to confirm or refute their hypotheses. The p value is the probability to obtain an effect equal to or more extreme than the one observed presuming the null hypothesis of no effect is true; it gives researchers a measure of the strength of evidence against the null hypothesis. As commonly used, investigators will select a threshold p value below which they will reject the null hypothesis. The theory of hypothesis testing allows researchers to reject a null hypothesis in favor of an alternative hypothesis of some effect. As commonly used, investigators choose Type I error (rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true) and Type II error (accepting the null hypothesis when it is false) levels and determine some critical region. If the test statistic falls into that critical region, the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis. Despite similarities between the two, the p value and the theory of hypothesis testing are different theories that often are misunderstood and confused, leading researchers to improper conclusions. Perhaps the most common misconception is to consider the p value as the probability that the null hypothesis is true rather than the probability of obtaining the difference observed, or one that is more extreme, considering the null is true. Another concern is the risk that an important proportion of statistically significant results are falsely significant. Researchers should have a minimum understanding of these two theories so that they are better able to plan, conduct, interpret, and report scientific experiments.

Geological interpretation of combined Seabeam, Gloria and seismic data from Anegada Passage (Virgin Islands, north Caribbean)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jany, I.; Scanlon, Kathryn M.; Mauffret, A.

1990-01-01

The Anegada Passage (sensu lato) includes several basins and ridges from Southeast of Puerto Rico to the corner of the Virgin Islands Platform. Seabeam (Seacarib I) and Gloria long-range sidescan sonar surveys were carried out in this area. These new data allow us to propose an interpretation of the Anegada Passage. Most of the features described are related to wrench faulting: (a) St Croix and Virgin Islands Basins are pull-apart basins created in a right-lateral strike-slip environment based on their rhomboidal shape and seismic data (e.g. the flower structure). These two pull-aparts are divided into two sub-basins by a curvilinear normal fault in the Virgin Islands Basin and a right-lateral strike-slip fault in the St Croix Basin. (b) Tortola Ridge and a 'dog's leg' shaped structure are inferred to be restraining bends between two right-lateral strike-slip faults. (c) We identified two ENE-WSW volcanic lineaments in the eastern area and one volcano lying between Virgin Islands and St Croix Basins. (d) As shown by the seismic activity main wrench motion occurs along the north slope of Virgin Islands Basin and through Anegada Passage. A branching of this main fault transmits the transtensional motion to St Croix Basin. A two-stage story is proposed for the creation of the basins. A first extensional event during Eocene(?)-Oligocene-lower Miocene time created Virgin Islands, St Croix Basins and the tilted blocks of St Croix Ridge. A second transtensional event from Pliocene to Recent gave the present day pattern to this area. However, the displacement along the strike-slip faults is no more than 15 km long. The proposed geodynamic model is based on the separation of the northeastern Caribbean boundary into two blocks. In the West, the indenter of Beata Ridge gives a northeastern motion to Hispaniola Block. In the East, as a result of Hispaniola Block's motion, the Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands Block could escape in an east-northeast direction. 

Tectonic escape of the Caribbean plate since the Paleocene: a consequence of the Chicxulub meteor impact?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rangin, C.; Martinez-Reyes, J.; Crespy, A.; Zitter, T. A. C.

2012-04-01

The debate for Pacific exotic origin versus in situ inter American plate Atlantic origin of the Caribbean plate is active in the scientific community since decades. Independently of the origin of this plate, its fast motion towards the east at a present rate of 2cm/yr is accepted to have been initiated during the early-most Cenozoic. The Paleocene is a key period in the global evolution of Central America mainly marked also by the Chicxulub multiring meteor impact in Yucatan. We question here the genetic relationship between this impact event and the incipient tectonic escape of the Caribbean plate. The mostly recent published models suggest this impact has affected the whole crust down to the Moho, the upper mantle being rapidly and considerably uplifted. The crust was then fragmented 600km at least from the point of impact, and large circular depressions were rapidly filled by clastic sediments from Cantarell to Western Cuba via Chiapas and Belize. North of the impact, the whole Gulf of Mexico was affected by mass gravity sliding, initiated also during the Paleocene in Texas, remaining active in this basin up to present time. South of the impact, in the Caribbean plate, the Yucatan basin was rapidly opened, indicating a fast escape of the crustal material towards the unique free boundary, the paleo-Antilles subduction zone. Shear waves velocity data below the Caribbean plate suggest this crustal tectonic escape was enhanced by the fast eastward flowing mantle supporting a fragmented and stretched crust. The proposed model suggests Chicxulub impact (but also the hypothetic Beata impact) have fragmented brittle crust, then easily drifted towards the east. This could explain the Paleogene evolution of the Caribbean plate largely stretched during its early evolution. Geologically, this evolution could explain the absence of evident Paleogene oblique subduction along the Caribbean plate northern and southern margins, marked only by Mid Cretaceous dragged volcanic

Consequences of Chixculub Impact for the Tectonic and Geodynamic Evolution of the Gulf of Mexico North Carribean Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rangin, C.; Crespy, A.; Martinez-Reyes, J.

2013-05-01

The debate for Pacific exotic origin versus in situ inter American plate Atlantic origin of the Caribbean plate is active in the scientific community since decades. Independently of the origin of this plate, its fast motion towards the east at a present rate of 2cm/yr is accepted to have been initiated during the early-most Cenozoic. The Paleocene is a key period in the global evolution of Central America mainly marked also by the Chicxulub multiring meteor impact in Yucatan. We question here the genetic relationship between this impact event and the incipient tectonic escape of the Caribbean plate. The mostly recent published models suggest this impact has affected the whole crust down to the Moho, the upper mantle being rapidly and considerably uplifted. The crust was then fragmented 600km at least from the point of impact, and large circular depressions were rapidly filled by clastic sediments from Cantarell to Western Cuba via Chiapas and Belize. North of the impact, the whole Gulf of Mexico was affected by mass gravity sliding, initiated also during the Paleocene in Texas, remaining active in this basin up to present time. South of the impact, in the Caribbean plate, the Yucatan basin was rapidly opened, indicating a fast escape of the crustal material towards the unique free boundary, the paleo-Antilles subduction zone. Shear waves velocity data below the Caribbean plate suggest this crustal tectonic escape was enhanced by the fast eastward flowing mantle supporting a fragmented and stretched crust. The proposed model suggests Chicxulub impact (but also the hypothetic Beata impact) have fragmented brittle crust, then easily drifted towards the east. This could explain the Paleogene evolution of the Caribbean plate largely stretched during its early evolution. Geologically, this evolution could explain the absence of evident Paleogene oblique subduction along the Caribbean plate northern and southern margins, marked only by Mid Cretaceous dragged volcanic

Rigidity and definition of Caribbean plate motion from COCONet and campaign GPS observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattioli, Glen; Miller, Jamie; DeMets, Charles; Jansma, Pamela

2014-05-01

observations, which implies that the Caribbean is undergoing modest (1-3 mm/yr) deformation within its interior. Some sites in the western Caribbean included in our analysis may be biased by small, but significant coseismic deformation, which has not been removed from the site velocities used in our inversion to define Caribbean motion and rigidity. Scenarios for possible east-west deformation accommodated across the Lower Nicaraguan Rise and Beata Ridge will be presented.

Rigidity and definition of Caribbean plate motion from COCONet and campaign GPS observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattioli, G. S.; Miller, J. A.; DeMets, C.; Jansma, P. E.

2015-12-01

sites in the western Caribbean included in our analysis may be biased by small, but significant coseismic deformation, which has not been removed from the site velocities used in our inversion to define Caribbean motion and rigidity. Scenarios for possible east-west deformation accommodated across the Lower Nicaraguan Rise and Beata Ridge will be presented.

The existence of species rests on a metastable equilibrium between inbreeding and outbreeding. An essay on the close relationship between speciation, inbreeding and recessive mutations

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

a gene. A very important further advantage of inbreeding is that it reduces the accumulation of recessive mutations in genomes. A consequence of the model proposed is that the existence of species would correspond to a metastable equilibrium between inbreeding and outbreeding, with excessive inbreeding promoting speciation, and excessive outbreeding resulting in irreversible accumulation of recessive mutations that could ultimately only lead to extinction. Reviewer names Eugene V. Koonin, Patrick Nosil (nominated by Dr Jerzy Jurka), Pierre Pontarotti PMID:22152499

Stakeholder analysis of perceived relevance of connectivity - the implication to your research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smetanova, Anna; Müller, Eva Nora Nora; Fernández-Getino, Ana Patricia; José Marqués, María; Vericat, Damià; Dugodan, Recep; Kapovic, Marijana; Ljusa, Melisa; Ferreira, Carla Sofia; Cavalli, Marco; Marttila, Hannu; Broja, Manuel Esteban Lucas; Święchowicz, Jolanta; Zumr, David

2016-04-01

conducting interview with a stakeholder: Charles Bielders (Catholic University Louvain, Belgium), Frédéric Darboux (Department of Soil Science Orléans, INRA, France), Dragana Dordevic (Centre of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Serbia), Tobias Heckmann (Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany), Anna Kidová (Institute of Geography, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia), Tobias Krüger (Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems, Humboldt University, Germany), Carly Maynard (Department of Geography and the Lived Environment, University of Edinburgh, UK), Eva Mockler, (School of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering , University College Dublin, Ireland), Tony Parsons, (Department of Geography, University Sheffield, UK), Thorunn Petursdottir (RECARE, Soil Conservation Service of Iceland, Iceland), Ronald Pöppel (Institute of Geography and Regional Research, University Vienna, Austria), Jerzy Rejman (Institute of Agronomy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland), Jose López-Tarazón (Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany), Sophie Tindale (Department of Geography, University, Durham, UK), Brigitta Tóth (Department of Crop Production and Soil Sciences, Pannonian University, Hungary) and Marco Vainu (Institute of Ecology, Tallinn University, Estonia). The project was supported by COST-STSM-ECOST-STSM-ES1306-011215-063624.

[Maria Skłodowska-Curie--her chemistry at the centenary of the second Nobel Prize].

PubMed

Zagórski, Zbigniew Paweł; Kornacka, Ewa Maria

2012-01-01

The article presents from the perspective of one hundred years the work of Maria Curie-Skłodowska, which in many cases was ahead of the state of knowledge of the time. It opened new horizons and for this reason we made many digressions. The fact of awarding her the Nobel Prize twice is a sensation enough to present the values of careful activity of the Nobel Prize Committee that emphasizes the importance of Maria's achievements. A significant element of Maria Skłodowska-Curie's achievements was still mysterious character of the radiation in her time, and only chemical approach made it possible to organise the phenomena and explain the origin of the radiation. The essence of the research was an arduous separation of components following the track of growing radiation of successive fractions of preparations. This research was a start of the technology of educement of dispersed elements in great mass of materials. We underline the paramount role of the chemical research Maria Skłodowska conducted while still in Warsaw in the laboratories of the Museum of Industry and Agriculture under the guidance of an excellent chemist Józef Jerzy Boguski. Her research in Paris was the origin of the semi-commercial scale in chemistry and setting aside a special shed outside the university building was the beginning of the institutes that now function beyond universities and are key element of scientific and technical progress. Technology of splitting developed by Maria Skłodowska-Curie was applied also by other radiochemists, e.g. By Otto Hahn. Lively movement in radiochemistry of her lifetime resulted in Maria's disputes with e.g. German chemist Marckwald, who questioned the originality of polonium. The scientific disputes like this one Maria won triumphantly although in several others she had to accept opponents' argument, as in the case of radon. Her experiments were planned with utmost rationality as it was with the rejection of the hypothesis saying that radioactivity was

PREFACE: 12th International Symposium on Multiscale, Multifunctional and Functionally Graded Materials (FGM 2012)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Zhangjian; Li, Jingfeng; Zhang, Lianmeng; Ge, Changchun

2013-03-01

Technology, and was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China. On behalf of the organizing committee of FGM-2012, I express my great appreciation to their support of the symposium. Nearly 100 scholars and students from Japan, Brazil, Germany, Russia, United States of America, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Turkey, Singapore, China, and so on, attended FGM-2012, and 57 of the presented papers were collected and selected for publication. The subjects of these papers cover simulation and characterization, advanced fabrication technology, novel application of FGM and layer materials. I cordially thank all of the authors and attendees for their support, and my appreciation is also given to the advisory committee, organizing committee, and the conference volunteers for their hard work. Professor Zhangjian Zhou Proceedings Editor Beijing, December 2012 Committees International Advisory Committee Professor Glaucio H Paulino, USA Professor Marek-Jerzy Pindera, USA Professor Jeong-Ho Kim, USA Professor Emer Fazil Erdogan, USA Professor Dr Monika Willert-Porada, Germany Professor Emer Wolfgang G J Bunk, Germany Professor Omer Van Der Biest, Belgium Professor Michael M Gasik, Finland Professor Evgeny Levashov, Russia Professor Lianmeng Zhang, China Professor Qingjie Zhang, China Professor Wei Pan, China Professor Chang-Chun Ge, China Professor Jing-Feng Li, China Professor Zhangjian Zhou, China Associate Professor Serkan Dag, Turkey Professor Fernando A Rochinha, Brazil Professor Emilio C N Silva, Brazil Professor Luis August Rocha, Portugal Dr Sasa Novak, Slovenia Dr Masayuki Niino, Japan Professor Akira Kawasaki, Japan Professor Ichiro Shiota, Japan Dr Akinaga Kumakawa, Japan Dr Yoshikazu Shinohara, Japan Professor Kiyotaka Matsuura, Japan Professor Yoshinari Miyamoto, Japan Professor Takashi Goto, Japan Professor Yoshimi Watanabe, Japan Professor Kazuhiro Hasezaki, Japan Professor Soshu Kirihara, Japan Professor Emer Toshio Hirai, Japan Mr Choji Endou, Japan Dr

EDITORIAL: The 28th International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simek, Milan; Sunka, Pavel

2008-05-01

-equilibrium Plasmas and Micro-plasmas at High Pressures', reflecting new trends in the field. Important parts of the conference were two workshops focused on specific themes. The workshop 'Pulsed electrical discharges in water: fundamentals and applications', organized by Professor Pavel Sunka, reviewed the scientific challenges related to fundamentals of pulsed discharges initiated in slightly conductive liquid water solutions. The workshop 'Physics and applications of pulsed high-current capillary discharges', organized by Dr Karel Kolácek, addressed scientific challenges and technological applications of high-current capillary discharges pinching into a nearly uni-dimensional dense plasma column composed of a quasi-neutral mixture of very hot electrons and multiply charged ions. All ICPIG speakers were invited to prepare peer-reviewed articles based on their conference lectures for the journal Plasma Sources Sciences and Technology (PSST) in the form of either reviews or original works. A selection of invited papers is published in this special issue. We would like to thank all authors for their effort in preparing interesting articles for the readers of PSST. We would like to thank once more all members of the International Scientific Committee chaired by Professor Jerzy Mizeraczyk as well as the members of the Local Organizing Committee and the National Advisory Board for their considerable contributions to the success of the conference. We are particularly grateful to the Editorial Board of Plasma Sources Science and Technology for the opportunity to bring the 28th ICPIG to a wider audience.

EDITORIAL: Message from the Editor Message from the Editor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Paul

2010-02-01

November 2009 and provided particularly detailed advice to the authors. The other three have been very helpful in 'minority fields'. We have excluded our Board members, Guest Editors of special editions and those referees who were already listed in the last four years. Guest Editors' work on papers submitted to their Special Issues is also excluded from consideration. The following people have been selected: Tomonori Takizuka, JAEA-Naka Fusion Institute, Japan Rudolf Neu, Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany Sibylle Guenter, Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany Taik-Soo Hahm, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, United States David R. Mikkelsen, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, United States Peter C. de Vries, EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, United Kingdom Yasuhiro Suzuki, National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan Jerzy Wolowski, Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, Poland Tetsuo Tanabe, Kyushu University, Japan Yasuyuki Yagi, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan Congratulations and many, many thanks! The Guest Editors of special editions deserve a special mention for the excellent help that they have given us. They are: Taik-Soo Hahm, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, United States, Special Issue on H-Mode Physics and Transport Barriers Yaroslav Kolesnichenko, Institute for Nuclear Research, Ukraine, Special Issue on Energetic Particles in Magnetic Confinement Systems Kimitaka Itoh, National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan and Howard R. Wilson, University of York, UK, Special Issue on Plasma Instabilities Bernhard Unterberg, Forschungszentrum Juelich, Germany, Special Issue on Stochastic Fusion Plasma In addition, there is a group of several hundred referees who have helped us in the past year to maintain the high scientific standard of Nuclear Fusion. At the end of this issue we give the full list of all referees for 2009. Our thanks to them! Authors The winner of the 2009 Nuclear Fusion

Preface: Introductory Remarks: Linear Scaling Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowler, D. R.; Fattebert, J.-L.; Gillan, M. J.; Haynes, P. D.; Skylaris, C.-K.

2008-07-01

problems, there was another important theme: extending functionality. The search for greater accuracy has given an implementation of density functional designed to model van der Waals interactions accurately as well as local correlation, TDDFT and QMC and GW methods which, while not explicitly O(N), take advantage of localisation. All speakers at the workshop were invited to contribute to this issue, but not all were able to do this. Hence it is useful to give a complete list of the talks presented, with the names of the sessions; however, many talks fell within more than one area. This is an exciting time for linear scaling methods, which are already starting to contribute significantly to important scientific problems. Applications to nanostructures and biomolecules A DFT study on the structural stability of Ge 3D nanostructures on Si(001) using CONQUEST Tsuyoshi Miyazaki, D R Bowler, M J Gillan, T Otsuka and T Ohno Large scale electronic structure calculation theory and several applications Takeo Fujiwara and Takeo Hoshi ONETEP:Linear-scaling DFT with plane waves Chris-Kriton Skylaris, Peter D Haynes, Arash A Mostofi, Mike C Payne Maximally-localised Wannier functions as building blocks for large-scale electronic structure calculations Arash A Mostofi and Nicola Marzari A linear scaling three dimensional fragment method for ab initio calculations Lin-Wang Wang, Zhengji Zhao, Juan Meza Peta-scalable reactive Molecular dynamics simulation of mechanochemical processes Aiichiro Nakano, Rajiv K. Kalia, Ken-ichi Nomura, Fuyuki Shimojo and Priya Vashishta Recent developments and applications of the real-space multigrid (RMG) method Jerzy Bernholc, M Hodak, W Lu, and F Ribeiro Energy minimisation functionals and algorithms CONQUEST: A linear scaling DFT Code David R Bowler, Tsuyoshi Miyazaki, Antonio Torralba, Veronika Brazdova, Milica Todorovic, Takao Otsuka and Mike Gillan Kernel optimisation and the physical significance of optimised local orbitals in the ONETEP code Peter

Preface: Proceedings of the ESF Exploratory Workshop on Glassy Liquids under Pressure: Fundamentals and Applications (Ustroń, Poland, 10-12 October 2007) Proceedings of the ESF Exploratory Workshop on Glassy Liquids under Pressure: Fundamentals and Applications (Ustroń, Poland, 10-12 October 2007)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drozd-Rzoska, Aleksandra; Rzoska, Sylwester J.; Tamarit, Josep Ll

2008-06-01

and translational degrees of freedom (xii) the vitrification-related behaviour at extreme pressures in the multi-GPa domain. All these problems show that pressure studies on supercooled liquids and glassy systems can shed new light on properties observed under atmospheric pressure. In our opinion comprehensive pressure and temperature research, supported by PVT measurements and matched with sophisticated state-of-the-art modern techniques, may deliver qualitatively new input data for numerical analysis as well as for verification and construction of theoretical models. All these can form a milestone for reaching a long expected breakthrough in glass transition physics. We would like to stress the interdisciplinary significance of high pressure studies on glass forming materials. They are important not only for condensed matter and soft matter physics but also for tailoring new materials, for biotechnological issues or for deep Earth and planetary sciences 3, 9-13, 16-18. This poses an additional challenge for glassy liquids under pressure studies. This issue contains the majority of results presented at the European Science Foundation Exploratory Workshop (ESF EW) 'Glassy Liquids Under Pressure', Ustroń, Poland, 10-12 October, 2007 (convenors: Aleksandra Drozd-Rzoska (Poland) and Josep Ll Tamarit (Spain)). Aleksandra Drozd-Rzoska belongs to the group (together with Sylwester J Rzoska, Marian Paluch Paluch, Jerzy Zioło, Sebastian Pawlus, Michał Mierzwa and the staff of PhD students) from the Department of Biophysics and Molecular Physics, Institute of Physics, Silesian University, Katowice, Poland), which began pressure studies in liquids almost three decades ago. First, these investigations focused on critical mixtures and liquid crystals 21-24. On the basis of experimental solutions developed in that period, pressure studies of dielectric relaxation in supercooled, vitrifying systems began a decade ago 18, 25-27 Results associated with these studies are recalled