Design and comparison of minimal symmetric model-subset for maneuvering target tracking

Model-set is utilized in state estimation for maneuvering target tracking.Two minimal symmetric model-subsets are designed and investigated by moment matching method,which include hypersphere-symmetric model-subset and axis-symmetric model-subset,if system mode is a random variable and obeys certain probability distribution.They can be used as the fundamental model-subset for multiple models estimation with fixed structure,variable structure and moving bank.The model-groups constructed by above designed subsets are given,which give the practical guidance for use of model-set in multiple models approach with a variable structure.Simulation results show that the performances of two minimal model-set significantly outperform the corresponding model-sets with fixed spacing.     

Book Reviews: Behavior Change in the Human Services: An Introduction to Principles and Applications by Martin Sundel and Sandra S. Sundel. Exploring Personality: An Intellectual Odyssey by Russell L. Ackoff. The Ecologist: The Cosmic Covenant.

Systemic Practice and Action Research -     

Community Organizations in Venezuela: Toward the Disintegration of the Modern State and the Emergence of a Community Organized Society?

This paper argues that Venezuelan community organizations (COs) are playing a substantial role in the building of a new social order in which elements such as rights, equity, and justice are being displaced from a universal narrative toward more local narratives. This displacement is enwrapped in a discourse on the political participation of citizens in the running of public affairs, which implies a redefinition of the role of COs and the state beyond the usually accepted sphere of COs. The need to unfold the sense of COs thus becomes paramount for understanding our present and its current manifestations of an epochal change.     

Programmable and autonomous computing machine made of biomolecules.

Devices that convert information from one form into another according to a definite procedure are known as automata. One such hypothetical device is the universal Turing machine, which stimulated work leading to the development of modern computers. The Turing machine and its special cases, including finite automata, operate by scanning a data tape, whose striking analogy to information-encoding biopolymers inspired several designs for molecular DNA computers. Laboratory-scale computing using DNA and human-assisted protocols has been demonstrated, but the realization of computing devices operating autonomously on the molecular scale remains rare. Here we describe a programmable finite automaton comprising DNA and DNA-manipulating enzymes that solves computational problems autonomously. The automaton's hardware consists of a restriction nuclease and ligase, the software and input are encoded by double-stranded DNA, and programming amounts to choosing appropriate software molecules. Upon mixing solutions containing these components, the automaton processes the input molecule via a cascade of restriction, hybridization and ligation cycles, producing a detectable output molecule that encodes the automaton's final state, and thus the computational result. In our implementation 1012 automata sharing the same software run independently and in parallel on inputs (which could, in principle, be distinct) in 120 microl solution at room temperature at a combined rate of 109 transitions per second with a transition fidelity greater than 99.8%, consuming less than 10-10 W.     

Superconductivity in CaCuO2 as a result of field-effect doping.

Understanding the doping mechanisms in the simplest superconducting copper oxide-the infinite-layer compound ACuO2 (where A is an alkaline earth metal)-is an excellent way of investigating the pairing mechanism in high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors more generally. Gate-induced modulation of the carrier concentration to obtain superconductivity is a powerful means of achieving such understanding: it minimizes the effects of potential scattering by impurities, and of structural modifications arising from chemical dopants. Here we report the transport properties of thin films of the infinite-layer compound CaCuO2 using field-effect doping. At high hole- and electron-doping levels, superconductivity is induced in the nominally insulating material. Maximum values of Tc of 89 K and 34 K are observed respectively for hole- and electron-type doping of around 0.15 charge carriers per CuO2. We can explore the whole doping diagram of the CuO2 plane while changing only a single electric parameter, the gate voltage.     

Invertebrate communities,sediment parameters and food availability of intertidal soft-sediment ecosystems on the north coast of British Columbia,Canada

ABSTRACT

The Skeena River estuary supports commercial and culturally important salmon fisheries. However, considerable development has occurred in the area, and more has been proposed. If anthropogenic development degrades this critical habitat, the Skeena salmon run, that every year contributes $110 million to local economies, may be negatively impacted. Benthic invertebrates are common indicator species, as they often respond to disturbances before commercial species, warning of potential impacts. Unfortunately, invertebrates in the Skeena estuary have not been extensively studied, and we lack the detailed understanding of their community structure and dynamics for them to serve as indicator species in this region. Therefore, present conditions of the Skeena estuary are established here (invertebrate community, sediment conditions and food availability), in order to provide the data required both to anticipate changes associated with potential anthropogenic disturbances and to detect changes in this system if development occurs.     

Asynchronous reproduction in three species of crocodilians in south-eastern Amazonia

We studied reproduction of three species of crocodilians, Paleosuchus trigonatus, Caiman crocodilus and Melanosuchus niger, in the Xingu River, near the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam. The periods of laying and hatching of eggs were estimated for each nest before (2013–2014) and after (2016–2017) the river was dammed and the reservoir was formed. Nesting of the three species occurred between August and December, but was largely asynchronous; nest construction peaked in September for P. trigonatus, October for M. niger and November for C. crocodilus. Reservoir filling had little effect on the laying period of any of the species. Nests of P. trigonatus and M. niger were always within 0–12 m of the bank, whereas nests of C. crocodilus, which nests later in the season when flooding is more likely, were up to 100 m from the nearest water body. There was no relationship between distance from water and the number of eggs in nests, suggesting that larger and presumably more experienced females do not lay at different distances from the bank in any of the species.     

Molecular function of the novel α7β2 nicotinic receptor

The α7 nicotinic receptor is a promising drug target for neurological and inflammatory disorders. Although it is the homomeric member of the family, a novel α7β2 heteromeric receptor has been discovered. To decipher the functional contribution of the β2 subunit, we generated heteromeric receptors with fixed stoichiometry by two different approaches comprising concatenated and unlinked subunits. Receptors containing up to three β2 subunits are functional. As the number of β2 subunits increases in the pentameric arrangement, the durations of channel openings and activation episodes increase progressively probably due to decreased desensitization. The prolonged activation episodes conform the kinetic signature of α7β2 and may have an impact on neuronal excitability. For activation of α7β2 receptors, an α7/α7 binding-site interface is required, thus indicating that the three β2 subunits are located consecutively in the pentameric arrangement. α7-positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) are emerging as novel therapeutic drugs. The presence of β2 in the pentamer affects neither type II PAM potentiation nor activation by an allosteric agonist whereas it impairs type I PAM potentiation. This first single-channel study provides fundamental basis required to decipher the role and function of the novel α7β2 receptor and opens doors to develop selective therapeutic drugs.     

Predation on eggs of Schneider’s dwarf caiman,Paleosuchus trigonatus (Schneider, 1807), by armadillos and other predators

Nests of Schneider’s dwarf caiman, Paleosuchus trigonatus, were located in the forests around three streams that drain into the Xingu River, Brazilian Amazonia, in October 2014. Camera traps were installed at the edge of four nests to document predators and female parental care. At two nests, females unsuccessfully defended their nests against one or more giant armadillos, Priodontes maximus, and nine-banded armadillos, Dasypus novemcinctus. Both armadillo species responded to the attack by fleeing and returning on the opposite side of the nest by going around the tree under which the nest was located. Giant armadillos have never before been recorded consuming caiman eggs and their diet has been described as consisting mostly of ants and termites. Another species of armadillo, Cabassous unicinctus, was also registered digging into a nest and probably consuming eggs, though it is generally considered to be primarily insectivorous. A tayra (Eira barbara), lizard (Tupinambis teguixin) and coati (Nasua nasua) were also registered taking eggs from nests during the day, but we obtained no registers of nest defence by caimans during the day. The three nests were attacked after 60 days of incubation, when the eggs were well developed.