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"Mirages"
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The waterless sea : a curious history of mirages
\"Mirages have long astonished travelers of the sea and beguiled thirsty desert voyagers. Chinese and Japanese poetry and images depicted mirages as the exhalations of clam-monsters. Indian sources related them to the 'thirst of gazelles,' a metaphor for the futility of desire. From the late eighteenth century to the present, mirages became a symbol of 'Oriental despotis,' a malign, but also enchanted, emblem. But the mirage motif is rarely simply condemnatory. More commonly it conveys a sense of escape, of fascination, of a desire to be deceived. The Waterless Sea is the first book devoted to the theories and history of mirages. Christopher Pinney navigates a sinuous pathway through a mysterious and evanescent terrain, showing how mirages have impacted politics, culture, science, and religion, and how we can continue to learn from their sublimity\"--Dust jacket.
Book
catalytic domain of all eukaryotic cut-and-paste transposase superfamilies
Cut-and-paste DNA transposable elements are major components of eukaryotic genomes and are grouped into superfamilies (e.g., hAT, P) based on sequence similarity of the element-encoded transposase. The transposases from several superfamilies possess a protein domain containing an acidic amino acid triad (DDE or DDD) that catalyzes the \"cut and paste\" transposition reaction. However, it was unclear whether this domain was shared by the transposases from all superfamilies. Through multiple-alignment of transposase sequences from a diverse collection of previously identified and recently annotated elements from a wide range of organisms, we identified the putative DDE/D triad for all superfamilies. Furthermore, we identified additional highly conserved amino acid residues or motifs within the DDE/D domain that together form a \"signature string\" that is specific to each superfamily. These conserved residues or motifs were exploited as phylogenetic characters to infer evolutionary relationships among all superfamilies. The phylogenetic analysis revealed three major groups that were not previously discerned and led us to revise the classification of several currently recognized superfamilies. Taking the data together, this study suggests that all eukaryotic cut-and-paste transposable element superfamilies have a common evolutionary origin and establishes a phylogenetic framework for all future cut-and-paste transposase comparisons.
Journal Article
Mirages and other marvels of light and air
\"This captivating volume takes a closer look at mirages and similar phenomena, explaining to elementary readers that there is much more to these natural optical illusions than meets -- or doesn't meet -- the eye. Topics covered include refraction, the difference between superior and inferior mirages, green flashes, and the famous Fata Morgana castle in the sky mirage.\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Investigating ultrastructural morphology in MIRAGE syndrome (SAMD9)-derived fibroblasts using transmission electron microscopy. version 1; peer review: 3 approved with reservations
Background: Heterozygous
de novo variants in the gene
SAMD9 cause the complex multisystem disorder, MIRAGE syndrome. Patients are characterised by myelodysplasia, infections, growth restriction, adrenal insufficiency, gonadal dysfunction and enteropathies. Pathogenic variants in SAMD9 are gain-of-function and enhance its role as a growth repressor, leading to growth restriction of many tissues. Two studies have reported changes in skin fibroblasts derived from MIRAGE patients, more specifically identifying enlarged endosomes. We have also previously shown subtle changes in endosome size in patients' fibroblasts compared to controls. However, these variations in endosomes were not as marked as those described in the literature.
Methods: We have performed an observational study using transmission electron microscopy (EM) in a larger number of cells derived from three patients' fibroblasts to assess ultrastructure morphology compared to control images.
Results: Consistent changes were observed in cell organelles in all patient samples. In particular, increased endosomal activity was detected, characterised by augmented pinocytosis and vesicle budding, increased endosome number, as well as by large lysosomes and endosomes. Endoplasmic reticulum was also prominent. Mitochondria appeared enlarged in selected cells, possibly due to cellular stress. Cell nuclei did not display major differences compared to controls.
Conclusions: EM is a powerful tool to investigate morphological features of tissues and cell organelles, although EM data could be affected by sample preparation methodology, therefore potentially explaining the variability between independent studies, and its analysis can be dependent on the experience of the researcher. The increased endosomal activity we have observed in patients' fibroblasts could indicate that SAMD9 regulates endocytosis of receptors, acting as an endosome fusion facilitator, or in lysosomal activation. However, the precise mechanism(s) by which SAMD9 regulates cell growth is still not fully understood, and further studies are needed to elucidate its pathogenic pathway and develop therapeutic approaches to support patients.
Journal Article
Debt Enforcement around the World
Insolvency practitioners from 88 countries describe how debt enforcement will proceed against an identical hotel about to default on its debt. We use the data on time, cost, and the likely disposition of the assets (preservation as a going concern vs. piecemeal sale) to construct a measure of the efficiency of debt enforcement in each country. This measure is strongly correlated with per capita income and legal origin and predicts debt market development. Several characteristics of debt enforcement procedures, such as the structure of appeals and availability of floating charge finance, influence efficiency.
Journal Article
The Colorectal MicroRNAome
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that have important regulatory roles in multicellular organisms. The public miRNA database contains 321 human miRNA sequences, 234 of which have been experimentally verified. To explore the possibility that additional miRNAs are present in the human genome, we have developed an experimental approach called miRNA serial analysis of gene expression (miRAGE) and used it to perform the largest experimental analysis of human miRNAs to date. Sequence analysis of 273,966 small RNA tags from human colorectal cells allowed us to identify 200 known mature miRNAs, 133 novel miRNA candidates, and 112 previously uncharacterized miRNA* forms. To aid in the evaluation of candidate miRNAs, we disrupted the Dicer locus in three human colorectal cancer cell lines and examined known and novel miRNAs in these cells. These studies suggest that the human genome contains many more miRNAs than currently identified and provide an approach for the large-scale experimental cloning of novel human miRNAs in human tissues.
Journal Article
InvSim algorithm for pre-computing airplane flight controls in limited-range autonomous missions, and demonstration via double-roll maneuver of Mirage III fighters
In this work, we start with a generic mathematical framework for the equations of motion (EOM) in flight mechanics with six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) for a general (not necessarily symmetric) fixed-wing aircraft. This mathematical framework incorporates (1) body axes (fixed in the airplane at its center of gravity), (2) inertial axes (fixed in the earth/ground at the take-off point), wind axes (aligned with the flight path/course), (3) spherical flight path angles (azimuth angle measured clockwise from the geographic north, and elevation angle measured above the horizon plane), and (4) spherical flight angles (angle of attack and sideslip angle). We then manipulate these equations of motion to derive a customized version suitable for inverse simulation flight mechanics, where a target flight trajectory is specified while a set of corresponding necessary flight controls to achieve that maneuver are predicted. We then present a numerical procedure for integrating the developed inverse simulation (InvSim) system in time; utilizing (1) symbolic mathematics, (2) explicit fourth-order Runge–Kutta (RK4) numerical integration technique, and (3) expressions based on the finite difference method (FDM); such that the four necessary control variables (engine thrust force, ailerons’ deflection angle, elevators’ deflection angle, and rudder’s deflection angle) are computed as discrete values over the entire maneuver time, and these calculated control values enable the airplane to achieve the desired flight trajectory, which is specified by three inertial Cartesian coordinates of the airplane, in addition to the Euler’s roll angle. We finally demonstrate the proposed numerical procedure of flight mechanics inverse simulation (InvSim) through an example case that is representative of the Mirage III family of French fighter airplanes, in which a straight subsonic flight with a double-roll maneuver over a duration of 30 s at an altitude of 5 km (3.107 mi or 16,404 ft) is inversely simulated.
Journal Article
Paramodular abelian varieties of odd conductor
A precise and testable modularity conjecture for rational abelian surfaces AA with trivial endomorphisms, EndQA=Z\\mathrm {End}_{\\mathbb {Q}} A = \\mathbb {Z}, is presented. It is consistent with our examples, our non-existence results and recent work of C. Poor and D. S. Yuen on weight 2 Siegel paramodular forms. We obtain fairly precise information on ℓ\\ell-division fields of semistable abelian varieties, mainly when A[ℓ]A[\\ell ] is reducible, by considering extension problems for group schemes of small rank.
Journal Article
MIRAGE DEMOCRATIQUE ET IMMOBILISME POLITIQUE EN AFRIQUE SUBSAHARIENNE : LE CAS DU CAMEROUN
Democratic mirage and political immobilism in sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Cameroon. The objective of this work is to understand the strategies that have been put in place by the Biya regime in order to lock the controls of the central power in Cameroon. To achieve this, we used a qualitative investigative method, combining techniques of documentary research, direct observation and interviews. It appears that to stay in power in perpetuity, Paul Biya relied on a form of \"belly politics\" based on clientelism and electoral donation on the one hand. On the other hand, he knew how to put in place an authoritarian democratization allowing him to manipulate the constitution to represent himself for life, to obtain the triumph of the ballot boxes thanks to the electoral tampering with which his “Creatures” are responsible, and to ensure the control of social and political order through efficient use of coercive and repressive resources. All of these make up what we have chosen to call the democratic mirage.
Journal Article
