Trench-parallel flow and seismic anisotropy in the Mariana and Andean subduction systems

Shear-wave splitting measurements above the mantle wedge of the Mariana and southern Andean subduction zones show trench-parallel seismically fast directions close to the trench and abrupt rotations to trench-perpendicular anisotropy in the back arc. These patterns of seismic anisotropy may be caused by three-dimensional flow associated with along-strike variations in slab geometry. The Mariana and Andean subduction systems are associated with the largest along-strike variations of slab geometry observed on Earth and are ideal for testing the link between slab geometry and solid-state creep processes in the mantle. Here we show, with fully three-dimensional non-newtonian subduction zone models, that the strong curvature of the Mariana slab and the transition to shallow slab dip in the Southern Andes give rise to strong trench-parallel stretching in the warm-arc and warm-back-arc mantle and to abrupt rotations in stretching directions that are accompanied by strong trench-parallel stretching. These models show that the patterns of shear-wave splitting observed in the Mariana and southern Andean systems may be caused by significant three-dimensional flow induced by along-strike variations in slab geometry.     

遗传进化理论及其在数据挖掘中的应用

遗传进化理论由美国密歇根大学J.Holland教授提出,它借鉴生物遗传机制,以群体方法进行自适应搜索,受到广泛关注,并在科学研究中得到广泛应用。数据挖掘从大量数据中提取信息与知识,遗传算法具有群体搜索策略和简单的遗传算子,可以实现整个数据空间上的分布式信息搜索和采集,在数据挖掘领域得到广泛应用。本文综述了遗传算法的起源、基本原理和特点,介绍了数据挖掘的应用和发展,阐述了近年来遗传算法在分类系统挖掘和关联规则挖掘方面的应用。最后对遗传算法在数据挖掘中的应用前景和面临的挑战进行了分析和展望。     

Degenerating Families of Dendrograms

Dendrograms used in data analysis are ultrametric spaces, hence objects of nonarchimedean geometry. It is known that there exist p-adic representations of dendrograms. Completed by a point at infinity, they can be viewed as subtrees of the Bruhat-Tits tree associated to the p-adic projective line. The implications are that certain moduli spaces known in algebraic geometry are in fact p-adic parameter spaces of dendrograms, and stochastic classification can also be handled within this framework. At the end, we calculate the topology of the hidden part of a dendrogram.     

A Simple Identification Proof for a Mixture of Two Univariate Normal Distributions

A simple proof of the identification of a mixture of two univariate normal distributions is given. The proof is based on the equivalence of local identification with positive definiteness of the information matrix and the equivalence of the latter to a condition on the score vector that is easily checked for this model. Two extensions using the same line of proof are also given. We would like to thank Tom Wansbeek, Michel Wedel, Arie Kapteyn, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper.     

Preface

The papers in this Special Issue originated from the energy forecasting stream at the 1995 Symposium on Energy Models for Policy and Planning, held at the London Business School in association with the International Federation of Operational Research Societies. The motivation of the Symposium was to focus upon model-based insights into energy issues. The papers selected here, which survived the refereeing process, indicate the range and importance of modelling in this context. We are grateful to the referees, participants of the symposium and the institutional support which facilitated this work.     

tRNA splicing endonuclease mutations cause pontocerebellar hypoplasia

Pontocerebellar hypoplasias (PCH) represent a group of neurodegenerative autosomal recessive disorders with prenatal onset, atrophy or hypoplasia of the cerebellum, hypoplasia of the ventral pons, microcephaly, variable neocortical atrophy and severe mental and motor impairments. In two subtypes, PCH2 and PCH4, we identified mutations in three of the four different subunits of the tRNA-splicing endonuclease complex. Our findings point to RNA processing as a new basic cellular impairment in neurological disorders.     

The worldwide leaf economics spectrum

Bringing together leaf trait data spanning 2,548 species and 175 sites we describe, for the first time at global scale, a universal spectrum of leaf economics consisting of key chemical, structural and physiological properties. The spectrum runs from quick to slow return on investments of nutrients and dry mass in leaves, and operates largely independently of growth form, plant functional type or biome. Categories along the spectrum would, in general, describe leaf economic variation at the global scale better than plant functional types, because functional types overlap substantially in their leaf traits. Overall, modulation of leaf traits and trait relationships by climate is surprisingly modest, although some striking and significant patterns can be seen. Reliable quantification of the leaf economics spectrum and its interaction with climate will prove valuable for modelling nutrient fluxes and vegetation boundaries under changing land-use and climate.     

The value of data

Data citation and the derivation of semantic constructs directly from datasets have now both found their place in scientific communication. The social challenge facing us is to maintain the value of traditional narrative publications and their relationship to the datasets they report upon while at the same time developing appropriate metrics for citation of data and data constructs.     

Transformation of amyloid β(1–40) oligomers into fibrils is characterized by a major change in secondary structure

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder occurring in the elderly. It is widely accepted that the amyloid beta peptide (Aβ) aggregation and especially the oligomeric states rather than fibrils are involved in AD onset. We used infrared spectroscopy to provide structural information on the entire aggregation pathway of Aβ(1–40), starting from monomeric Aβ to the end of the process, fibrils. Our structural study suggests that conversion of oligomers into fibrils results from a transition from antiparallel to parallel β-sheet. These structural changes are described in terms of H-bonding rupture/formation, β-strands reorientation and β-sheet elongation. As antiparallel β-sheet structure is also observed for other amyloidogenic proteins forming oligomers, reorganization of the β-sheet implicating a reorientation of β-strands could be a generic mechanism determining the kinetics of protein misfolding. Elucidation of the process driving aggregation, including structural transitions, could be essential in a search for therapies inhibiting aggregation or disrupting aggregates.