RHIC Critical Point Search: Assessing STAR's Capabilities

In this report we discuss the capabilities and limitations of the STAR detector to search for signatures of the QCD critical point in a low energy scan at RHIC. We find that a RHIC low energy scan will cover a broad region of interest in the nuclear matter phase diagram and that the STAR detector -- a detector designed to measure the quantities that will be of interest in this search -- will provide new observables and improve on previous measurements in this energy range.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, proceedings for "The 3rd edition of the International Workshop - The Critical Point and Onset of Deconfinement" - July 3-7 2006 Galileo Galilei Institute, Florence, Ital

Glucosinolate types and concentrations in seedlings of different Brassica species used for food

Brassicaceous food crops contain in their tissues different quantities of the glucoside allelochemicals known as glucosinolates (Bellostas et al., 2004; Sørensen, 1990). These compounds are alkyl-N-hydroximine sulphate esters with a β-D-thioglucopyranoside group attached to the hydroximine carbon in Z-configuration relative to the sulphate group (Ettlinger and Kjær, 1968; Kjær, 1960). Glucosinolates are biosynthetically derived from amino acids (Hill et al., 2003) and they occur in all plants of the order Capparales and in some other plants (Bjerg and Sørensen, 1987; Kjær, 1960; Rodman, 1978). These compounds co-occur with myrosinase isoenzymes (Thioglucosidase; EC 3.2.1.147), which catalyze the hydrolysis of the β-D-thioglucopyranoside bond releasing an aglucone that forms a variety of biologically active products with structures defined by the type of glucosinolate and the reaction conditions (Bjergegaard et al., 1994; Buskov et al., 2000a; Buskov et al., 2000b; Buskov et al., 2000c; Palmieri et al., 1998). These breakdown products are chemically very reactive and they have for a long time been related to the pungent odour and flavour typical for Brassicaceous plants. These compounds show a various range of biological activities that goes from antinutritional (Bjerg et al., 1989; Hansen et al., 1997), to fungicidal, nematicidal and bactericidal (Brown and Morra, 1997; Buskov et al., 2002; Kirkegaard and Sarwar, 1998). In the last years, interest in their anticarcinogenic properties has increased and research has mainly focused on the effect of the isothiocyanates present in sprouts of certain Brassica food crops, especially broccoli (Zhang et al., 1992; Zhang, 2004). These isothiocyanates have been related to the increase in the activity of the Phase 2 enzymes, which is related to detoxification of xenobiotica and protection against cancer (Bonnesen et al., 1999). They have also been related to an increased antioxidative metabolism by induction of the scavenging of oxygen radicals, which may contribute to a decreased risk of coronary diseases (Wu et al., 2004). Given the biological effects of Brassica crops used for food, it was considered of interest to investigate the glucosinolate profile during early development of the Brassica plant in order to be able to determine the stages at which the desired biologically active compounds are present. It would also allow determining the presence of other potentially active compounds as well as to allow better understanding the metabolic changes occurring during germination and early growth. Five B. oleracea used for food (white cabbage, red cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and savoy cabbage) and two B. napus (a low and a high-glucosinolate rapeseeds) were used in the present experiments. The content of glucosinolates in seeds, seedlings and the individual parts of grown plants was followed from germination to one-month growth. Samples were taken at one, two, three, four, seven, 14, 21 and 28 days and plants were separated into cotyledons, leaves, epicotyle and roots. Glucosinolates were isolated and their concentration determined by HPLC following standard procedures developed at our laboratory

Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography—Synchronous monitoring of substrate and products in the myrosinase catalysed hydrolysis of glucosinolates

A micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) method has been developed for monitoring the myrosinase catalysed hydrolysis of 2-hydroxy substituted glucosinolates and the simultaneous formation of the corresponding degradation products (oxazolidine-2-thiones (OZTs) and nitriles). Glucosibarin ((2R)-2-hydroxy-2-phenylethylglucosinolate) was chosen as the model glucosinolate owing to the difficulties in determining hydrolysis rates of this type of substrates in traditional UV-assays. The method was afterwards validated with glucobarbarin ((2S)-2-hydroxy-2-phenylethylglucosinolate) and progoitrin ((2R)-2-hydroxybut-3-enylglucosinolate). Aromatic glucosinolates without a 2-hydroxy group in their side chains, such as glucotropaeolin (benzylglucosinolate) and gluconasturtiin (phenethylglucosinolate) were also tested. Formation of the glucosinolate hydrolysis products was monitored simultaneously at 206 nm and 230 nm. This allowed estimation of the extinction coefficient of the OZT derived from glucosibarin, which was found to be 18,000M−1 cm−1 and 12,000M−1 cm−1 at 206 nm and 230 nm, respectively. The developed method has limit of detection of 0.04mM and 0.06mM and limit of quantification of 0.2mM and 0.3mM for the glucosibarin derived OZT and nitrile, respectively. Linearity of the glucosinolate concentration was examined at six concentration levels from 2.5mMto 100mMand at 206 nm a straight line (R2 = 0.9996) was obtained. The number of theoretical plates (N) at the optimal system conditions was 245,000 for the intact glucosibarin, 264,000 for the OZT and 252,000 for the nitrile

Effect of ascorbic acid and glutathione on the production of nitriles by myrosinase

Biofumigation is based on the use of glucosinolate-containing plants for the control of soil-borne pest and diseases. Upon tissue damage, glucosinolates are hydrolyzed by endogenous enzymes (myrosinase) and a range of biologically active compounds are formed. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) are the quantitatively dominating products formed at neutral pH. Most of these compounds are volatile and only sparingly soluble in aqueous systems, and depending on the R-group structure and the presence of nucleophiles, further transformation of ITCs occurs. At lower pH and in the presence of certain molecules able to deliver two redox equivalents, the proportion of nitriles increases at the expense of ITC. The effect of ascorbic acid and glutathione on the production of nitriles at pH 5 was investigated by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC). The presence of 0.25 µmol ascorbic acid increased the production of nitriles although at higher concentrations the proportion of nitriles decreased. Increasing amounts of GSH favored the production of nitriles (40% of the total degradation products were nitriles in the presence of 2 µmol GSH). The oxidation of GSH gives the redox equivalents needed for the liberation of the sulfur from the unstable intermediate of the glucosinolate hydrolysis leading to the formation of the nitrile

Identified particle measurements at RHIC: elucidating hadronization mechanisms for bulk partonic matter

Measurements of identified particle momentum spectra at center of mass energy 200 GeV are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on the azimuthal dependence and the centrality dependence of hadron yields at intermediate transverse momentum (1.5 < p_T < 5 GeV/c). The first measurements of the fourth harmonic term (v_4) in the azimuthal variation of identified particle yields are shown. The recombination mechanism of hadron formation provides a consistent description of the dependence of these measurements on particle-type.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings for the 20th Winter Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics, Trelawny Beach, Jamaica, March 15-20, 200

Literature Review of the Definition, Size and Turnover of the Creative Industries and Micro-Businesses in Scotland: Preliminary Research

This research seeks to review, evaluate and clarify the findings of five recent reports in relation to the discussion paper Creative Industries in Scotland. Micro-businesses, Access to Finance and the Public Purse by Bob Last for the Cultural Enterprise Office

Initial Results From the New York Noncustodial Parent EITC

Examines the design, adoption, and initial outcomes of New York's earned income tax credit program for low-income parents who do not have custody but pay child support. Recommends increased outreach to improve implementation and participation rates

The development of a process for the production of restructured fish from recovered fish mince : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology in Food Technology at Massey University

Recovery of edible flesh by meat/bone separators The production of fish paste products such as Kamaboko (fish paste) and chukawa (fish sausage) is an ancient tradition in Japan, and it is only recently that the industry has developed into a mass production enterprise (Tanikawa 1963). To produce the quantity of boneless, ground fish required for this industry, the Japanese have developed a range of machines by which the material can be processed, and an appropriate technology to ensure quality standards are met. These developments have proved to be very successful, and the principles developed by the Japanese are now being adopted by a number of industries throughout the world. The success of the meat/bone separation machines is largely due to their versatility, and the high yields of edible fish flesh that can be recovered. Using this process most species of fish will yield 55% of edible material (King and Carver 1970), although flat fish may yield as little as 25% (Tanikawa 1963) and species such as Blue Marlin may yield up to 70% edible fish (King and Carver 1970)

The role of public sector agencies and the effectiveness of the support they provide’: Examples of successful policies and strategies for growing the screen industries in Scandinavia

Response to the call for evidence from the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee on the economic impact of the creative industries