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sabato 30 luglio 2016

# s-gst: vortex knots in wave systems

<< Waves  surround  us  all  the  time:  sound waves in  the  noise  around  us, light  waves enabling  us  to see,  and  according  to  quantum  mechanics,  all  matter  has  a  wave  nature.  Most  of  these  waves, however,  do  not  resemble  the  regular  train  of  waves  at  the  shore  of  the  ocean—the  pattern  is much  more  chaotic.  Most  significantly,  the  whirls  and  eddies  form  lines  in  space  called  vortices. Along  these  lines,  the  wave  intensity  is  zero,  and  natural  wave  fields  -  light,  sound  and  quantum matter  -  are  filled  with  a  dense  tangle  of  these  null  filaments >>

Knots  in  chaotic  waves. July  29,  2016.

http://m.phys.org/news/2016-07-chaotic.html

Alexander J. Taylor & Mark R. Dennis. Vortex knots in tangled quantum eigenfunctions. Nature Communications. Published 29 Jul 2016 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12346 OPEN

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2016/160729/ncomms12346/full/ncomms12346.html

giovedì 28 luglio 2016

# p-usa: POTUS race: five reasons why Donald will win, by Michael

<< I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but ... >>

Michael Moore.  (www.twitter.com/MMFlint)
5 Reasons Why Trump Will Win
07/23/2016 03:45 pm ET

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-moore/5-reasons-why-trump-will-_b_11156794.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.it/michael-moore/5-motivi-per-cui-donald-trump-vincera_b_11166616.html?utm_hp_ref=italy

FonT: l'articolo di Moore sembra risuonare  dell'echi dai riflessi purpurei di Entita' del tipo << Vico, flagello di Moldavia, travaglio di Carpazia >>  << cio' che e' stato ritornera', cio' che e' non si ripetera' >> (Ghostbusters 2) ; chissa' se la causa  nascosta, sottotraccia, di un ipotetico sottoinsieme non numericamente banale delle Moltitudini che votano (voteranno) Donald possa essere riconducibile alle considerazioni in ambito etologico di M.Palacios, S.Killen (et al.);  talvolta le cause in apparenza piu' semplici ...

http://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2016/04/s-behav-to-comfort-small-fish-by-more.html

mercoledì 27 luglio 2016

# rmx-s-phys: wave's complex exceptional points

<< When  waves  are  able  to  absorb  or  release  energy,  so-called  "exceptional  points"  occur,  around which  the  waves  show  quite  peculiar  behaviour >>

<< Exceptional  points  occur,  when  the  shape  and  the absorption  of  a  system  can  be  tuned  in  such  a  way  that  two  different  waves  can  meet  at  one specific  complex  frequency >>

<< At  this  exceptional  point  the  waves  not  only  share the  same  frequency  and  absorption  rate,  but  also  their  spatial  structure  is  the  same.  One  may thus  really  interpret  this  as  two  wave  states  merging  into  a  single  one  at  the  exceptional  point. >>

The  exception  and  its  rules. 'Exceptional  points'  give  rise  to  counterintuitive  physical  effects. Vienna University of Technology. 27 Jul 2016.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-07/vuot-tea072016.php

Jorg  Doppler,  Alexei  A.  Mailybaev, et al.  Dynamically  encircling  an  exceptional  point  for asymmetric  mode  switching. Nature   (2016)   doi:10.1038/nature18605.  Published  online  25  July  2016

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature18605

martedì 26 luglio 2016

# s-ai: jackrabbot is watching you (and learn on the fly) ...

<< Unlike self-driving cars which follow well-defined rules, crowds of people have unwritten rules, interacting with each other based on social convention and etiquette, some of which they might not be aware of >>

<< Every country, every culture has its own behaviour and that is why we decided to invent an algorithm which can learn on the fly >>

<< The idea is to create an algorithm which can be used by any robot to learn the social conventions of the place it is in at the time >>

Spencer Kelly. Jackrabbot: Why this robot is watching how you move. 25 July 2016 00:47 BST

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36836243

domenica 24 luglio 2016

# s-ecol: climate can drive the emergence of different personalities in Anelosimus studiosus (the tangle web spider)

AA << have uncovered an unexpected benefit of (..) personalities [like shyness and aggressiveness]: to protect societies from extreme temperature changes. >>

<< This work focused on the tangle web spider, known to scientists as Anelosimus studiosus, which lives in North Carolina and across North and South America. >>

<< In this species, individual spiders have either one of two personalities: docile or highly aggressive. Together, they not only share the same living space but also share in the duties of brood care and capturing of prey. >>

AA << looked at the effect of temperature – 75 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit – on the spiders' ability to survive and reproduce as an individual and within a colony.  They found that aggressive spiders were less likely to survive and reproduce at higher temperatures. But the opposite was true for docile spiders: as the temperature heated up, the better they reproduced and survived. The researchers saw the same pattern when the colonies were made up of all aggressive individuals or all docile ones. But when a colony had different personalities – a mix of aggressive and docile spiders – the aggressive spiders didn't die in hot temperatures and docile ones didn't die in cooler ones. >>

Thania Benios. Temperature helps drive the emergence of different personalities in spiders. July 21, 2016.

http://uncnews.unc.edu/2016/07/21/54073/

Celine T. Goulet, Spencer J. Ingley, et al.  Thermal effects on survival and reproductive performance vary according to personality type. Behavioral Ecology, 2016; arw084 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw084

http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arw084

sabato 23 luglio 2016

# n-socsci: a three-level social network among Hunter-Gatherer Societies

<< The new work reveals surprising similarities between the Agta of the Philippines and Mbendjele of the Republic of Congo. >>

<< In both places, individuals maintain a three-tiered social network that appears to buffer them against day-to-day shortfalls in foraging returns. >>

<< First is their immediate household, most often consisting of five or six individuals, second is a cluster of three to four closely related households who share food frequently, and third is the wider camp. >>

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-07/cp-whc071316.php

Mark Dyble, James Thompson, et al.
Networks of Food Sharing Reveal the Functional Significance of Multilevel Sociality in Two Hunter-Gatherer Groups. Current Biology, 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.05.064 Published: July 21, 2016

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.05.064

venerdì 22 luglio 2016

# s-A.I.: a Buddhist-like A.I. can hack humans via Turing test; the begin ...

<< The Turing test, the quintessential evaluation designed to determine if something is a computer or a human, may have a fatal flaw >>

<< The test currently can't determine if a person is talking to another human being or a robot if the person being interrogated simply chooses to stay silent >>

<< Warwick [Kevin Warwick] was organizing Turing tests for the 60th anniversary of Turing's death when he and his colleague Huma Shah, also a computer scientist at Coventry University, noticed something curious: Occasionally, some of the AI chatbots broke and remained silent, confusing the interrogators. >>

Tia  Ghose. Robots Could Hack Turing Test by Keeping Silent.  LiveScience. July  13,  2016.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/robots-could-hack-turing-test-by-keeping-silent/

more:

# zen: silence revolutions

http://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2016/04/zen-silence-revolutions.html

giovedì 21 luglio 2016

# s-evol: swapping analogous genes among species

<< (..) about half of shared genes are interchangeable across species. >>

<< (..)  in unpublished experiments, the researchers have swapped yeast genes with analogous ones from Escherichia coli bacteria or with those from the plant Arabidopsis thaliana >>

<< About 60 percent of E. coli genes could stand in for their yeast counterparts >>

Tina Hesman Saey. Swapping  analogous  genes  no  problem  among  species. Yeast  survives  with  bacteria,  plant,  human  versions  of shared  genetic  material. July 19, 2016, 4:12pm.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/swapping-analogous-genes-no-problem-among-species

Aashiq H. Kachroo et al. Deciphering common principles governing gene replaceability in yeast. The Allied Genetics Conference 2016, Orlando, Fla., July 15, 2016.

http://www.genetics2016.org/presenters/abstracts

mercoledì 20 luglio 2016

# s-behav: immune system may affect social behavior

<< In a discovery that raises fundamental questions about human behavior, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have found that the immune system directly affects — and even controls — our social behavior, such as our desire to interact with others. >>

Why your immune system may control your social behavior. July 15, 2016.

http://www.kurzweilai.net/why-your-immune-system-may-control-your-social-behavior

<< (..) recent findings implicate meningeal immunity influencing behaviour, such as spatial learning and memory. Here we show that meningeal immunity is also critical for social behaviour; mice deficient in adaptive immunity exhibit social deficits and hyper-connectivity of fronto-cortical brain regions. >>

Anthony  J.  Filiano,  Yang  Xu, et al. Unexpected  role  of  interferon-γ  in  regulating neuronal  connectivity  and  social  behaviour.  Nature (2016) doi:10.1038/nature18626. Published  online  13  July  2016.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature18626.html

FonT: quasi 3 decine di anni fa lessi che, in qualsivoglia importante accademia biomedica, anche in quelle di serie A super per intendersi, a presentare programmi di ricerca che potevano ricondurre in qualche modo alla PNEI ci si giocava la carriera ... sara' vero?

PNEI: psychoneuroendocrine immunology

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=psychoneuroendocrine+immunology

martedì 19 luglio 2016

# n-arch: the future fieldwork of Archaeology: 'Spacejunk'

<< The grand tour of the future (..) might take place off the Earth entirely, involving a tour of derelict satellites and abandoned spacecraft, those ruined cathedrals of the sky. >>

<< (..) these abandoned satellites and other spacecraft will likely be preserved in situ, still actively orbiting the planet or even circling a Jovian moon >>

<< In this vision of what Barclay and Brooks describe as “the future of museums beyond the atmosphere,” tomorrow's grand tourists will come face-to-hull with ancient spacecraft, the way economically privileged Europeans once visited Notre Dame or the Colosseum. >>

Geoff Manaugh. The Future of Archaeology Is 'Spacejunk'. Jun 28, 2016

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/06/grand-tour-of-the-future/488909/

more:

Randall C. Brooks, Robert Barclay.  "In Situ Preservation of Historic Spacecraft”. In: Handbook of Space Engineering, Archaeology, and Heritage. Publ.: June 26, 2009. Online Date : June 15, 2010. DOI : 10.1201/9781420084320-c37. Pages : 679-700.

http://www.crcnetbase.com/doi/abs/10.1201/9781420084320-c37

lunedì 18 luglio 2016

# p-trade-TPP: #Potus "in the middle" (?) ...

<< As for President Obama, he must be made to realize that every time he pushes the TPP [Trans-Pacific Partnership], he might as well be campaigning for Donald Trump >>

Thomas Palley. Betrayed Again, This Time By Unconvincing Arguments For The TPP. Tuesday, July 05, 2016.

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/07/05/betrayed-again-time-unconvincing-arguments-tpp

more:

The Trans-Pacific Partnership. What You Need to Know about President Obama’s Trade Agreement

https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/economy/trade

domenica 17 luglio 2016

# s-acad: la nipote di Jeff, dall'immediata sintesi

<< La musica cambia e oggi nasce soprattutto dalla tecnologia, è determinata da quanto sei bravo a premere pulsanti. Puoi fingere sempre, battere i pugni sul tavolo e farla diventare una batteria. La cosa triste è che la bravura rischia di scomparire >>

<< Un esempio: ho suonato un brano molto veloce davanti a mia nipote di otto anni e lei alla fine mi ha detto:  "Ci deve essere un bottone per farlo succedere automaticamente". Dopo venti anni di dedizione, anzi di asservimento alla chitarra, ecco cosa mi tocca sentire >> Jeff Beck

Simona Orlando. Il Messaggero. 15/7/2016.

http://www.dagospia.com/rubrica-2/media_e_tv/come-beck-palco-garage-chitarrista-jeff-beck-torna-disco-128812.htm

venerdì 15 luglio 2016

# n-socsci: by just two degrees Celsius ...

<< Global  warming  by  just  2  degrees  Celsius  is  likely  to  force  some  tropical  plant,  animal  and  human  populations  to  relocate  hundreds  of  miles  from their  current  homes  this  century >>

AA << foresee  dramatic  population  declines  in  Mexico,  Central  America,  Africa,  India  and  other  tropical locales  if  ecosystems  or  humans  move  due  to climate  change. In  their  analysis,  the  pair  used  a  model  to  demonstrate  how climate  dynamics  in  the  tropics  can  dramatically  magnify  the  consequences  of  climate change  as  it  is  experienced  on  the  ground.  This  means  even  small  climate  changes  can  have  dramatic  impacts. >>

AA << describe  climate-related  displacements  in  the  tropics  as  "an  almost  complete  evacuation  of  the  equatorial  band"  that  could impact  ecosystems  as  well  as  human  well-being. >>

Kathleen  Maclay. Climate  change  could  trigger  tropical  evacuations,  researchers  advise. June  10,  2016.

http://m.phys.org/news/2016-06-climate-trigger-tropical-evacuations.html

Solomon  M. Hsiang, Adam H. Sobel. Potentially  Extreme  Population Displacement  and  Concentration  in  the Tropics  Under  Non-Extreme  Warming. Scientific  Reports 6, Article  number: 25697 (2016) doi:10.1038/srep25697. Published  online: 09  June 2016.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep25697

giovedì 14 luglio 2016

# s-acad: imparare bene due accordi ...

<< impara bene due accordi; prima di imparare il terzo procurati un buon avvocato >>

Anonymous. Virgin Radio, http://www.virginradio.it. 2016.06.06 16:27

more (three body problem):

Jon Cartwright. Physicists  Discover  a  Whopping  13  New  Solutions  to  Three-Body  Problem. Mar. 8, 2013 , 4:30  PM

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/03/physicists-discover-whopping-13-new-solutions-three-body-problem

Institute  of  Physics  Belgrade. Three-body gallery

http://suki.ipb.ac.rs/3body/

mercoledì 13 luglio 2016

# s-nanotech: displayed by an electronic tattoo

<< A new temporary "electronic tattoo" (..)  that can measure the activity of muscle and nerve cells (..) is poised to revolutionize medicine, rehabilitation, and even business and marketing research. >>

<< The tattoo consists of a carbon electrode, an adhesive surface that attaches to the skin, and a nanotechnology-based conductive polymer coating that enhances the electrode's performance. It records a strong, steady signal for hours on end without irritating the skin. >>

<< The electrode (..)  may improve the therapeutic restorationof damaged nerves and tissue -- and may even lead to new insights into our emotional life. >>

Nanotechnology 'tattoo' can map emotionsand monitor muscle activity. Jul 11, 2016.

http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news/newsid=43905.php

martedì 12 luglio 2016

# s-phys: "entanglement entropy of a qubit", the begin ...

<< All systems are fundamentally quantum systems (..) but the means of describing in a quantum sense the chaotic behavior of, say, air molecules in an evacuated room, remains limited >>

<< To investigate, [AA] devised an experiment using three quantum bits, the basic computational units of the quantum computer >>

<< By manipulating these qubits with electronic pulses, [AA] caused them to interact, rotate and evolve in the quantum analog of a highly sensitive classical [chaotic] system >>

<< The result is a map of entanglement entropy of a qubit that, over time, comes to strongly resemble that of classical dynamics — the regions of entanglement in the quantum map resemble the regions of chaos on the classical map >>

Sonia Fernandez. Researchers at UCSB blur the line between classical and quantum physics by connecting chaos and entanglement.  Monday, July 11, 2016

http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2016/017014/entanglement-chaos

C. Neill, P. Roushan, et al.  Ergodic dynamics and thermalization in an isolated quantum system. Nature Physics (2016) DOI: doi:10.1038/nphys3830. Published online 11 July 2016

http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nphys3830.html

lunedì 11 luglio 2016

# s-game: fair games if a child thinks life is unfair

Paul Raeburn, co-author of “The Game Theorist's Guide to Parenting” <<suggests applying classic game theory strategies to help children make “fair” decisions and stop the squabbling>>

KJ Dell'Antonia. When a Child Thinks Life Is Unfair, Use Game Theory. July 5, 2016

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2016/07/05/when-a-child-thinks-life-is-unfair-use-game-theory/

domenica 10 luglio 2016

# e-sec: brainjacking in medical implants

<< Here  are  some  real  examples  of  what  can  be  achieved  if  you  have  access  to  somebody’s  DBS [Deep Brain Stimulation] electrodes.  You  can  induce  mania,  hypersexuality,  and  even  pathological  gambling.  You  can modify  emotions.  Patients  undergoing  DBS  therapy  have  sometimes  experienced  pathological crying  and  inappropriate  laughter,  "likely  due  to  off-target  stimulation,"  says  the  paper.  Strong sensations  of  fear  and  panic  have  also  been  observed. >>

Charlie  Sorrel.  Brainjacking,  Or  How  Hackers  Can  Remote Control  Your  Medical  Implants. 06.29.16 11:46  AM

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3061323/brainjacking-or-how-hackers-can-remote-control-your-medical-implants

Laurie Pycroft, Sandra G. Boccard, et al. Brainjacking: Implant Security Issues in Invasive Neuromodulation. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2016.05.010. Published Online: May 13, 2016

http://www.worldneurosurgery.org/article/S1878-8750(16)30272-8/abstract

venerdì 8 luglio 2016

# s-gst: fractals to approach wigglies

<< (..) or narrow down forecasts for "wiggly" problems—those that involve rapid erratic behavior with seemingly unpredictable movements, including real-world issues like the stock market or climate change. >>

Beautiful fractals help solve 'wiggly' problems. July 5, 2016

http://m.phys.org/news/2016-07-beautiful-fractals-wiggly-problems.html

mercoledì 6 luglio 2016

# p-eu-gb: BRexiteers, on the wave of anger

<< Many Brexiteers built their campaign on optimism. Outside the European Union, Britain would be free to open up to the world.  But what secured their victory was anger >>

<< Proponents of globalisation, including this newspaper, must acknowledge that technocrats have made mistakes and ordinary people paid the price >>

Liberalism  after  Brexit. The  politics  of  anger. The  triumph  of  the  Brexit  campaign  is  a  warning  to  the  liberal  international  order.  Jul  2nd  2016.

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21701478-triumph-brexit-campaign-warning-liberal-international-order-politics?force=scn/tw/te/pe/ed/thepoliticsofanger

FonT: qui si e' accennato alla rabbia dei perdenti,  ma anche di qualche vincente (sempre relativo) quando si accorge che i suoi giochi in prospettiva non entrano affatto bene ...

martedì 5 luglio 2016

# n-trade: three dates to worry about, by Sandy

<< The man who accurately predicted four market crashes to the exact date each time has told Business Insider about three more dates to worry about. >>

<< He now warns that the following dates spell trouble for the Dow Jones in the US that could spread to other markets.

1. Between August 26 and August 30, 2016.
2. September 26, 2016.
3. October 20, 2016. >>

<< Technical analysts use historical charts to spot patterns in the markets.They cannot tell you what event will move the markets.  They can only tell you when a shift is likely to happen. >>

Lianna  Brinded. Jun. 18, 2016, 7:30 AM

http://uk.businessinsider.com/sandy-jadeja-interview-technical-analysis-dow-jones-market-crash-forecasts-2016-6

Alberto  Battaglia. 4  luglio  2016.

http://www.wallstreetitalia.com/lanticipazione-dellanalista-che-ha-previsto-4-crash-al-millimetro/

lunedì 4 luglio 2016

# p-socsci: you bet it could happen also in US, by Bernie

<<  Surprise, surprise (..) Could this rejection of the current form of the global economy happen in the United States?  You bet it could. >>

Bernie  Sanders. Democrats  Need  to  Wake  Up. June 28, 2016.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/06/29/opinion/campaign-stops/bernie-sanders-democrats-need-to-wake-up.html

domenica 3 luglio 2016

# s-astro: the thinning of an atmosphere to flash on track of sand

<< We think Mars had a thicker atmosphere in the past that might have formed smaller wind-drag ripples or even have prevented their formation altogether. Thus, the size of preserved wind-drag ripples, where found in Martian sandstones, may have recorded the thinning of the atmosphere >>

Guy  Webster, Robert  Perkins. NASA Rover's  Sand-Dune  Studies  Yield  Surprise. June 30,  2016.

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6551

M. G. A. Lapotre, R. C. Ewing, et al. Large wind ripples on Mars: A record of atmospheric evolution. Science. 01 Jul 2016:Vol. 353, Issue 6294, pp. 55-58DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf3206

http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf3206

sabato 2 luglio 2016

# s-phyto-behav: Pea (Pisum sativum), a gambler plant

<< pea plants can demonstrate sensitivity to risk - namely, that they can make adaptive choices that take into account environmental variance, an ability previously unknown outside the animal kingdom >>

<< Alex Kacelnik (..) said: "To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of an adaptive response to risk in an organism without a nervous system. We do not conclude that plants are intelligent in the sense used for humans or other animals, but rather that complex and interesting behaviours can theoretically be predicted as biological adaptations - and executed by organisms - on the basis of processes evolved to exploit natural opportunities efficiently >>

Pea  plants  demonstrate  ability  to  'gamble'—a  first in  plants. June  30,  2016

http://m.phys.org/news/2016-06-pea-ability-gamblea.html

Efrat Dener, Alex Kacelnik, Hagai Shemesh. Pea Plants Show Risk Sensitivity. In Press. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.05.008

http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(16)30459-6

venerdì 1 luglio 2016

# p-trade: JPMorgan & Deutsche Bank: sweet imagine with assets of $1 ...

<< Two banks, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, account for about 20 per cent of total global derivatives exposure. Each has more than $50bn ... Imagine promising to buy a house for $2,000 with assets of $1 >>

Don't always believe a balance sheet. February 16, 2016 5:21 pm

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/95895178-d49c-11e5-829b-8564e7528e54.html

<< "Immaginate  di  acquistare  una  casa  per duemila  dollari  con  garanzie  per  un  dollaro",  chiosò  il  'Financial  Times'  in  un  articolo  dello  scorso  febbraio >>

Fondo  Monetario  Internazionale:  Deutsche  Bank  è  maggior fonte  di  rischi  sistemici  al  mondo. L'Huffington  Post.  30/06/2016  16:47  CEST

http://m.huffpost.com/it/entry/10754644

more:

GERMANY. FINANCIAL SECTOR ASSESSMENT PROGRAM. FINANCIAL SYSTEM STABILITY ASSESSMENT. This report on Financial System Stability Assessment on Germany was prepared by a staff team of the International Monetary Fund. It is based on the information available at the time it was completed in June 2016. 

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2016/cr16189.pdf