Galileo as a ‘bad theologian’: a formative myth about Galileo’s trial

For 150 years after Galileo’s condemnation in 1633, there were many references to the trial, but no sustained, heated or polarized discussions. Then came the thesis that Galileo was condemned not for being a good astronomer but for being a bad theologian (using Scripture to support astronomical hypotheses); it began in 1784–1785 with an apology of the Inquisition by Mallet du Pan in the Mercure de France and the printing in Tiraboschi’s Storia della letteratura italiana of an apocryphal letter attributed to Galileo but forged by Onorato Gaetani. This thesis is not only untenable and false but inverts and subverts the truth; it proved to be long-lasting and widely accepted; so it may be labeled a myth. It was held by such writers as Bergier; Bergier; B; Feller; Cooper; Purcell; Marini; Reumont; Madden and Duhem. Afterwards, it was generally abandoned, its death knell being pope John Paul II’s speeches in 1979–1992. The myth seems to have acted as a catalyst insofar as its creation encouraged the proliferation of pro-clerical accounts and the articulation of pro-Galilean ones, thus making the discussion of Galileo’s trial the cause célèbre it is today.     

Multivariate Bayesian regression applied to the problem of network security

An Erratum has been published for this article in Journal of Forecasting 23(6): 461 (2004) . This paper examines the problem of intrusion in computer systems that causes major breaches or allows unauthorized information manipulation. A new intrusion‐detection system using Bayesian multivariate regression is proposed to predict such unauthorized invasions before they occur and to take further action. We develop and use a multivariate dynamic linear model based on a unique approach leaving the unknown observational variance matrix distribution unspecified. The result is simultaneous forecasting free of the Wishart limitations that is proved faster and more reliable. Our proposed system uses software agent technology. The distributed software agent environment places an agent in each of the computer system workstations. The agent environment creates a user profile for each user. Every user has his or her profile monitored by the agent system and according to our statistical model prediction is possible. Implementation aspects are discussed using real data and an assessment of the model is provided. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

早-中元古代Columbia超级大陆研究进展

地球在过去25亿年里曾发生过几次全球性大规模碰撞造山事件（如 Grenville事件,Pan-African事件等）;地质学家由此推测大陆块自早元古代以来曾发生过周期性拼合和分离,从而导致古超级大陆的形成和裂解[1].在过去10年里（1991～2001年）,被认为由约1.0 Ga Grenville造山事件所形成的超级大陆Rodinia已成为古大陆重建的一个热点[2,3].然而,地质学家们在重建Rodinia 过程中发现,并非全部Rodinia组成陆块都是由Grenville造山带所焊接,而     

基质金属蛋白酶-26(MMP-26)在小鼠胚胎植入过程中的作用

基质金属蛋白酶-26（MMP-26，又称Endometase或基质水解素-2）是MMPs家族的一个新成员，它可在胎盘，子宫以及不同肿瘤细胞系中表达，采用子宫角注射，免疫组化，原位杂交，胚泡与子宫上皮单层培养，免疫印迹，RT-PCR和RNA印迹等多种体内外实验方法研究并报道了MMP-26在小鼠胚胎中的表达以及MMP-26抗体在胚胎植入中的作用，研究表明，MMP-26的mRNA与蛋白在小鼠胚泡中均有强烈的表达，此外，体内研究显示，MMP-26抗体能显著抑制小鼠胚胎的着床；在体外培养体系中，MMP-26抗体可显著抑制小鼠胚泡在子宫上皮单层上的黏附与扩展；同时，MMP-26抗体以剂量依赖关系抑制整合素αV亚基mRNA和蛋白的表达，研究提示，MMP-26可能直接或间接参与滋养层细胞侵入子宫内膜的过程，促使小鼠胚泡成功植入。     

脉冲激光照射下生物质材料的传热特性

采用快速瞬态温度检测系统测定高能脉冲激光作用下生物质材料的温度动态变化,研究生物质材料瞬态传热特性以及激光脉冲宽度、功率密度、材料厚度与初始含湿量对温度变化规律的影响.根据实验现象,尝试提出脉冲激光作用下生物质材料传热的数学模型,数值模拟分析表明,计算与实验结果基本吻合,能较好地反应脉冲激光作用下生物质材料的传热特性,为进一步深入研究和理论分析积累了有价值的实验资料,提供了可供参考的经验.     

Mass march of termites into the deadly trap.

Carnivorous pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes are not usually very selective about their prey, catching anything that is careless enough to walk on their slippery peristome, but Nepenthes albomarginata is an exception. We show here that this plant uses a fringe of edible white hairs to lure and then trap its prey, which consists exclusively of termites in enormous numbers. This singular feature accounts for the specialization of N. albomarginata for one prey taxon, unique so far among carnivorous plants.     

Superoxide activates mitochondrial uncoupling proteins.

Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) diverts energy from ATP synthesis to thermogenesis in the mitochondria of brown adipose tissue by catalysing a regulated leak of protons across the inner membrane. The functions of its homologues, UCP2 and UCP3, in other tissues are debated. UCP2 and UCP3 are present at much lower abundance than UCP1, and the uncoupling with which they are associated is not significantly thermogenic. Mild uncoupling would, however, decrease the mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species, which are important mediators of oxidative damage. Here we show that superoxide increases mitochondrial proton conductance through effects on UCP1, UCP2 and UCP3. Superoxide-induced uncoupling requires fatty acids and is inhibited by purine nucleotides. It correlates with the tissue expression of UCPs, appears in mitochondria from yeast expressing UCP1, and is absent in skeletal muscle mitochondria from UCP3 knockout mice. Our findings indicate that the interaction of superoxide with UCPs may be a mechanism for decreasing the concentrations of reactive oxygen species inside mitochondria.     

基于正规剩余格的一个逻辑系统及其完备性

在模糊逻辑中,基于剩余格的逻辑系统起着非常重要的作用.本文提出一种新的代数结构,叫做正规剩余格,研究这种剩余格的性质和结构,建立基于正规剩余格的统一的逻辑系统,许多重要的逻辑系统是这个系统的扩张.进一步,本文还讨论了这个系统关于建立在正规剩余格上语义的完备性.     

Sox9 induces testis development in XX transgenic mice.

Mutations in SOX9 are associated with male-to-female sex reversal in humans. To analyze Sox9 function during sex determination, we ectopically expressed this gene in XX gonads. Here, we show that Sox9 is sufficient to induce testis formation in mice, indicating that it can substitute for the sex-determining gene Sry.