Design spectrum is known as an essential tool in earthquake engineering for calculation of maximum (design) responses in a structural system. Soil-structure interaction (SSI), as a phenomenon of coupling of responses of a structure and its underlying soil, was explored after introduction of design spectra and has not been taken into account in developing a design spectrum traditionally. To cons...

With a few exceptions, the micro total analysis systems (mTASs) currently available have failed to live up to the ideal of the miniaturization of multiple laboratory operations onto a single chip. These systems perform sample preparation off chip and only pursue a single function. Hence, the definitive challenge is to interface the processing of real-world biological samples with downstream app...

Limb dystonia can occur in primary dystonias or as a complication in neurodegenerative diseases e.g. Huntington’s disease, Wilson’s disease or Parkinson syndromes or other diseases like structural brain damage, peripheral trauma or drug-induced. Any muscle group under voluntary control can be affected, dystonic muscle overactivity can occur during rest, be aggravated by movement, or occur only ...

This paper addresses the problem of incorporating cognitively salient landmarks in computer-generated navigation instructions. Based on a review of the existing literature in the domain of navigation with landmarks, the paper develops algorithms for generating routing instructions that include references to landmarks. The most basic algorithm uses a new weighting model to annotate simple routes...

Threats to biodiversity outpace the resources of the conservation community and necessitate careful prioritization of conservation actions. I suggest that targeting the regions where biogeographic assemblages intersect—“biogeographic crossroads”—is a strategy that may achieve significant conservation economy by focusing on areas that satisfy many conservation criteria. I used a combination of d...

I N recent years, several notes in this journal have called attention to the distinctive wing-flashing of the Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) , in which the wings are opened upward at about 45” in a series of jerking movements, then closed. In this display, large white wing patches are exposed. The function of this behavior remains unknown; but, since the display is most frequently seen being p...

Plants and Insects are studied since decades, but, most of the time, separately. In Agronomy, plants are studied in order to improve crop yields while insects are studied in order to control their (negative or positive) impacts on crop yields. It is well known that plants and insects are always in interaction but, surprisingly, they are very few mathematical models of these interactions. For in...

Like the idea it advocates, The Tuning of Place begins with the suggestion that “the influences people exert on one another go beyond those between two agents seeking to affect each other’s behavior” (xviii). From here, the text repeatedly appeals for an attendance to the “subtle shifts secreted within apparently bold moves” (185) that are “the currency that enables innovation” (240). In partic...