Inferring Population Preferences via Mixtures of Spatial Voting Models

Understanding political phenomena requires measuring the political preferences of society. We introduce a model based on mixtures of spatial voting models that infers the underlying distribution of political preferences of voters with only voting records of the population and political positions of candidates in an election. Beyond offering a cost-effective alternative to surveys, this method projects the political preferences of voters and candidates into a shared latent preference space. This projection allows us to directly compare the preferences of the two groups, which is desirable for political science but difficult with traditional survey methods. After validating the aggregated-level inferences of this model against results of related work and on simple prediction tasks, we apply the model to better understand the phenomenon of political polarization in the Texas, New York, and Ohio electorates. Taken at face value, inferences drawn from our model indicate that the electorates in these states may be less bimodal than the distribution of candidates, but that the electorates are comparatively more extreme in their variance. We conclude with a discussion of limitations of our method and potential future directions for research.Comment: To be published in the 8th International Conference on Social Informatics (SocInfo) 201

Political trials and the suppression of popular radicalism in England, 1799-1820

This chapter examines the decision-making process between the Home Office and the government’s law officers in prosecuting individuals for sedition and treason in the period 1799–1820. The term state trial suggests a more centralised and government-led repression of popular radicalism than the process was in practice. Provincial reformers also faced the complex layers of their local justice system, which was more loyalist, committed to stamping out political radicalism. The trial of the “Thirty Eight” Manchester radicals in June 1812 demonstrates the mutable definitions of treason, sedition and processes of justice in the theatre of the court.Peer reviewe

Hierarchical structures of cactus spines that aid in the directional movement of dew droplets

Three species of cactus whose spines act as dew harvesters were chosen for this study: Copiapoa cinerea var. haseltoniana, Mammillaria columbiana subsp. yucatanensis and Parodia mammulosa and compared with Ferocactus wislizenii whose spines do not perform as dew harvesters. Time-lapse snapshots of C. cinerea showed movement of dew droplets from spine tips to their base, even against gravity. Spines emanating from one of the areoles of C. cinerea were submerged in water laced with fluorescent nanoparticles and this particular areole with its spines and a small area of stem was removed and imaged. These images clearly showed that fluorescent water had moved into the stem of the plant. Lines of vascular bundles radiating inwards from the surface areoles (from where the spines emanate) to the core of the stem were detected using magnetic resonance imaging, with the exception of F. wislizenii that does not harvest dew on its spines. Spine microstructures were examined using SEM images and surface roughness measurements (Ra and Rz) taken of the spines of C. cinerea. It was found that a roughness gradient created by tapered microgrooves existed that could potentially direct surface water from a spine tip to its base

Electrically driven single electron spin resonance in a slanting Zeeman field

The rapidly rising fields of spintronics and quantum information science have led to a strong interest in developing the ability to coherently manipulate electron spins. Electron spin resonance (ESR) is a powerful technique to manipulate spins that is commonly achieved by applying an oscillating magnetic field. However, the technique has proven very challenging when addressing individual spins. In contrast, by mixing the spin and charge degrees of freedom in a controlled way through engineered non-uniform magnetic fields, electron spin can be manipulated electrically without the need of high-frequency magnetic fields. Here we realize electrically-driven addressable spin rotations on two individual electrons by integrating a micron-size ferromagnet to a double quantum dot device. We find that the electrical control and spin selectivity is enabled by the micro-magnet's stray magnetic field which can be tailored to multi-dots architecture. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of manipulating electron spins electrically in a scalable way.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figure

Generic mechanism for generating a liquid-liquid phase transition

Recent experimental results indicate that phosphorus, a single-component system, can have two liquid phases: a high-density liquid (HDL) and a low-density liquid (LDL) phase. A first-order transition between two liquids of different densities is consistent with experimental data for a variety of materials, including single-component systems such as water, silica and carbon. Molecular dynamics simulations of very specific models for supercooled water, liquid carbon and supercooled silica, predict a LDL-HDL critical point, but a coherent and general interpretation of the LDL-HDL transition is lacking. Here we show that the presence of a LDL and a HDL can be directly related to an interaction potential with an attractive part and two characteristic short-range repulsive distances. This kind of interaction is common to other single-component materials in the liquid state (in particular liquid metals), and such potentials are often used to decribe systems that exhibit a density anomaly. However, our results show that the LDL and HDL phases can occur in systems with no density anomaly. Our results therefore present an experimental challenge to uncover a liquid-liquid transition in systems like liquid metals, regardless of the presence of the density anomaly.Comment: 5 pages, 3 ps Fig

Driven coherent oscillations of a single electron spin in a quantum dot

The ability to control the quantum state of a single electron spin in a quantum dot is at the heart of recent developments towards a scalable spin-based quantum computer. In combination with the recently demonstrated exchange gate between two neighbouring spins, driven coherent single spin rotations would permit universal quantum operations. Here, we report the experimental realization of single electron spin rotations in a double quantum dot. First, we apply a continuous-wave oscillating magnetic field, generated on-chip, and observe electron spin resonance in spin-dependent transport measurements through the two dots. Next, we coherently control the quantum state of the electron spin by applying short bursts of the oscillating magnetic field and observe about eight oscillations of the spin state (so-called Rabi oscillations) during a microsecond burst. These results demonstrate the feasibility of operating single-electron spins in a quantum dot as quantum bits.Comment: Total 25 pages. 11 pages main text, 5 figures, 9 pages supplementary materia

Measuring and Comparing Party Ideology and Heterogeneity

Estimates of party ideological positions in Western Democracies yield useful party-level information, but lack the ability to provide insight into intraparty politics. In this paper, we generate comparable measures of latent individual policy positions from elite survey data which enable analysis of elite-level party ideology and heterogeneity. This approach has advantages over both expert surveys and approaches based on behavioral data, such as roll call voting and is directly relevant to the study of party cohesion. We generate a measure of elite positions for several European countries using a common space scaling approach and demonstrate its validity as a measure of party ideology. We then apply these data to determine the sources of party heterogeneity, focusing on the role of intraparty competition in electoral systems, nomination rules, and party goals. We find that policy-seeking parties and centralized party nomination rules reduce party heterogeneity. While intraparty competition has no effect, the presence of these electoral rules conditions the effect of district magnitude

Future orientation and planning in forestry: a comparison of forest managers' planning horizons in Germany and the Netherlands

Long range (or strategic) planning is an important tool for forest management to deal with the complex and unpredictable future. However, it is the ability to make meaningful predictions about the rapidly changing future that is questioned. What appears to be particularly neglected is the question of the length of time horizons and the limits (if any) to these horizons, despite being considered one of the most critical factors in strategic planning. As the future creation of values lies within individual responsibility, this research empirically explored the limits (if any) of individual foresters¿ time horizons. To draw comparisons between countries with different traditions in forest management planning, data were collected through telephone surveys of forest managers in the state/national forest services of the Netherlands and Germany. In order to minimize other cultural differences, the research in Germany concentrated on the federal state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, which has considerable similarities with the Netherlands, e.g. in topography, forest types and forest functions. The results show that, in practice, 15 years appears to be the most distant horizon that foresters can identify with. This is in sharp contrast to the time horizons spanning decades and even generations that are always said to exist in forestry. The ¿doctrine of the long run¿¿the faith in the capacity of foresters to overcome the barriers of the uncertain future and look ahead and plan for long-range goals¿which in many countries still underlies traditional forest management, can therefore be rejected

The porin and the permeating antibiotic: A selective diffusion barrier in gram-negative bacteria

Gram-negative bacteria are responsible for a large proportion of antibiotic resistant bacterial diseases. These bacteria have a complex cell envelope that comprises an outer membrane and an inner membrane that delimit the periplasm. The outer membrane contains various protein channels, called porins, which are involved in the influx of various compounds, including several classes of antibiotics. Bacterial adaptation to reduce influx through porins is an increasing problem worldwide that contributes, together with efflux systems, to the emergence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance. An exciting challenge is to decipher the genetic and molecular basis of membrane impermeability as a bacterial resistance mechanism. This Review outlines the bacterial response towards antibiotic stress on altered membrane permeability and discusses recent advances in molecular approaches that are improving our knowledge of the physico-chemical parameters that govern the translocation of antibiotics through porin channel

The broad-spectrum antimicrobial potential of [Mn(CO)4(S2CNMe(CH2CO2H))], a water-soluble CO-releasing molecule (CORM-401): intracellular accumulation, transcriptomic and statistical analyses, and membrane Polarization

Aims: Carbon monoxide (CO)-releasing molecules (CORMs) are candidates for animal and antimicrobial therapeutics. We aimed to probe the antimicrobial potential of a novel manganese CORM. Results: [Mn(CO)4S2CNMe(CH2CO2H)], CORM-401, inhibits growth of Escherichia coli and several antibiotic-resistant clinical pathogens. CORM-401 releases CO that binds oxidases in vivo, but is an ineffective respiratory inhibitor. Extensive CORM accumulation (assayed as intracellular manganese) accompanies antimicrobial activity. CORM-401 stimulates respiration, polarizes the cytoplasmic membrane in an uncoupler-like manner, and elicits loss of intracellular potassium and zinc. Transcriptomics and mathematical modeling of transcription factor activities reveal a multifaceted response characterized by elevated expression of genes encoding potassium uptake, efflux pumps, and envelope stress responses. Regulators implicated in stress responses (CpxR), respiration (Arc, Fnr), methionine biosynthesis (MetJ), and iron homeostasis (Fur) are significantly disturbed. Although CORM-401 reduces bacterial growth in combination with cefotaxime and trimethoprim, fractional inhibition studies reveal no interaction. Innovation: We present the most detailed microbiological analysis yet of a CORM that is not a ruthenium carbonyl. We demonstrate CO-independent striking effects on the bacterial membrane and global transcriptomic responses. Conclusions: CORM-401, contrary to our expectations of a CO delivery vehicle, does not inhibit respiration. It accumulates in the cytoplasm, acts like an uncoupler in disrupting cytoplasmic ion balance, and triggers multiple effects, including osmotic stress and futile respiration