New asymptotic estimates for spherical designs

Let N(n, t) be the minimal number of points in a spherical t-design on the unit sphere S^n in R^{n+1}. For each n >= 3, we prove a new asymptotic upper bound N(n, t) <= C(n)t^{a_n}, where C(n) is a constant depending only on n, a_3 <= 4, a_4 <= 7, a_5 <= 9, a_6 <= 11, a_7 <= 12, a_8 <= 16, a_9 <= 19, a_10 <= 22, and a_n 10.Comment: 12 page

The Norman Site Excavations Near Wagoner, Oklahoma

The Norman site is seven miles southeast of Wagoner, Wagoner County, Okla., on State Highway 51. It is on the upper terraces on the west side of Grand River just north of the approach to the new bridge. Principal mound is a double unit; the larger mound, clearly visible from the highway, is conical, 27\u27 high and 90\u27 in diameter; the low mound, on the north, is circular, 7\u27 high and 100\u27 in diameter; a low, broad saddle 12\u27 long connects the 2 mounds. An extensive habitation area, Unit IV, extends to the north and northeast of Mound I-2. Unit II was also a double unit; the larger mound was originally conical, 70\u27 in diameter and probably 10\u27 high. It was only 6.5\u27 high when excavated, owing to a large pit previously dug from the apex. The smaller mound, on the north, was circular, 2.5\u27 high and 45\u27 in diameter. The edges of the two mounds overlapped somewhat. Unit III is a low circular mound 7\u27 high and 11 O\u27 in diameter. Unit VI is a low, circular mound 1.5\u27 high and 45\u27 in diameter. Unit II was completely excavated; approximately one third of Unit II, a portion of Mound 1-2 and a portion of the habitation area were also excavated

(E,E)-N1,N2-Bis(2,6-di­fluoro­benzyl­idene)ethane-1,2-di­amine.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C16H12F4N2, comprises half of the potentially bidentate Schiff base ligand, with an inversion centre located at the mid-point of the central C—C bond. The crystal packing is stabilized by inter­molecular C—H⋯N and π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.6793 (12) Å and inter­planar spacing = 3.4999 (7) Å]

Gravitino dark matter and the lithium primordial abundance within a pre-BBN modified expansion

We present supersymmetric scenarios with gravitino LSP and stau NLSP in the case of a non-standard model of cosmology with the addition of a dark component in the pre-BBN era. In the context of the standard model of cosmology, gravitino LSP has drawn quite some attention as it is a good candidate for dark matter. It is produced in scattering processes during reheating after inflation and from the decay of the stau. With a long lifetime, the stau decays during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. It is strongly constrained by the abundance of light elements but can however address the known "BBN lithium problem". It requires fairly massive staus \mstau \gtrsim 1 \unit{TeV} and puts an upper bound on the reheating temperature T_R \simeq 10^7\unit{GeV} which does not satisfy the requirements for thermal leptogenesis. For the non-standard cosmological scenario, the reheating temperature bound can be strongly relaxed T_R\gg 10^9 \unit{GeV} and the lithium-7 problem solved with a stau typical mass of \mstau \sim 600-700 \unit{GeV} and down to \sim 400 \unit{GeV} with a very important dark component that could enable possible production and detection at the LHC.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figure

A feasibility study to investigate chemogenetic modulation of the locus coeruleus by means of single unit activity

Aim: Selective chemogenetic modulation of locus coeruleus (LC) neurons would allow dedicated investigation of the role of the LC-NA pathway in brain excitability and disorders such as epilepsy. This study investigated the feasibility of an experimental set-up where chemogenetic modification of the brainstem locus coeruleus NA neurons is aimed at and followed by LC unit activity recording in response to clozapine. Methods: The LC of male Sprague-Dawley rats was injected with 10 nl of adeno-associated viral vector AAV2/7-PRSx8-hM3Dq-mCherry (n = 19, DREADD group) or AAV2/7-PRSx8-eGFP (n = 13, Controls). Three weeks later, LC unit recordings were performed in anesthetized rats. We investigated whether clozapine, a drug known to bind to modified neurons expressing hM3Dq receptors, was able to increase the LC firing rate. Baseline unit activity was recorded followed by subsequent administration of 0.01 and 0.1 mg/kg of clozapine in all rats. hM3Dq-mcherry expression levels were investigated using immunofluorescence staining of brainstem slices at the end of the experiment. Results: Unit recordings could be performed in 12 rats and in a total of 12 neurons (DREADDs: n = 7, controls: n = 5). Clozapine 0.01 mg/kg did not affect the mean firing rate of recorded LC-neurons; 0.1 mg/kg induced an increased firing rate, irrespective whether neurons were recorded from DREADD or control rats (p = 0.006). Co-labeling of LC neurons and mCherry-tag showed that 20.6 +/- 2.3% LC neurons expressed the hM3Dq receptor. Aspecific expression of hM3Dq-mCherry was also observed in non-LC neurons (26.0 +/- 4.1%). Conclusion: LC unit recording is feasible in an experimental set-up following manipulations for DREADD induction. A relatively low transduction efficiency of the used AAV was found. In view of this finding, the effect of injected clozapine on LC-NA could not be investigated as a reliable outcome parameter for activation of chemogenetically modified LC neurons. The use of AAV2/7, a vector previously applied successfully to target dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, leads to insufficient chemogenetic modification of the LC compared to transduction with AAV2/9

Ökobilanz integrierter und ökologischer Apfelerzeugung in Hamburg

In 1997-1999 a life-cycle assessment of organic-extensive, organic-intensive and integrated apple production in Hamburg was carried out. The investigation was based on an analysis of 7 organic and 7 integrated farms in Hamburg and the surrounding area. The life-cycle assessment included 12 impact categories. The functional unit (1 kg apple or 1 ha farm land) differed depending on the impact categories. Compared to integrated production, organic production gave advantages in the impact categories ecotoxicity, human toxicity, drinking water protection, biodiversity and landscape image, whereas integrated production showed better results in the environmental effects that are caused by energy use. The investigation revealed potential for optimisation of organic production concerning the biotope structure, the use of copper preparations and especially the use of energy and machinery