305 research outputs found
Short Little Pencils
A non-fiction account of a juvenile delinquent\u27s harrowing journey through the walls of the child welfare system. This article discusses the trans formative power of writing and the act of creativity as a tool for healing trauma
Low-lying level structure of Cu and its implications on the rp process
The low-lying energy levels of proton-rich Cu have been extracted
using in-beam -ray spectroscopy with the state-of-the-art -ray
tracking array GRETINA in conjunction with the S800 spectrograph at the
National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University.
Excited states in Cu serve as resonances in the
Ni(p,)Cu reaction, which is a part of the rp-process in
type I x-ray bursts. To resolve existing ambiguities in the reaction Q-value, a
more localized IMME mass fit is used resulting in ~keV. We derive
the first experimentally-constrained thermonuclear reaction rate for
Ni(p,)Cu. We find that, with this new rate, the
rp-process may bypass the Ni waiting point via the Ni(p,)
reaction for typical x-ray burst conditions with a branching of up to
40. We also identify additional nuclear physics uncertainties that
need to be addressed before drawing final conclusions about the rp-process
reaction flow in the Ni region.Comment: 8 pages, accepted for Phys. Rev.
Decomposition of operator semigroups on W*-algebras
We consider semigroups of operators on a W-algebra and prove, under
appropriate assumptions, the existence of a Jacobs-DeLeeuw-Glicksberg type
decomposition. This decomposition splits the algebra into a "stable" and
"reversible" part with respect to the semigroup and yields, among others, a
structural approach to the Perron-Frobenius spectral theory for completely
positive operators on W-algebras.Comment: referee's comments incorporated. To appear in Semigroup Foru
Thermodynamics of Electrolytes on Anisotropic Lattices
The phase behavior of ionic fluids on simple cubic and tetragonal
(anisotropic) lattices has been studied by grand canonical Monte Carlo
simulations. Systems with both the true lattice Coulombic potential and
continuous-space electrostatic interactions have been investigated. At
all degrees of anisotropy, only coexistence between a disordered low-density
phase and an ordered high-density phase with the structure similar to ionic
crystal was found, in contrast to recent theoretical predictions. Tricritical
parameters were determined to be monotonously increasing functions of
anisotropy parameters which is consistent with theoretical calculations based
on the Debye-H\"uckel approach. At large anisotropies a two-dimensional-like
behavior is observed, from which we estimated the dimensionless tricritical
temperature and density for the two-dimensional square lattice electrolyte to
be and .Comment: submitted to PR
Gravitational Waves From Known Pulsars: Results From The Initial Detector Era
We present the results of searches for gravitational waves from a large selection of pulsars using data from the most recent science runs (S6, VSR2 and VSR4) of the initial generation of interferometric gravitational wave detectors LIGO (Laser Interferometric Gravitational-wave Observatory) and Virgo. We do not see evidence for gravitational wave emission from any of the targeted sources but produce upper limits on the emission amplitude. We highlight the results from seven young pulsars with large spin-down luminosities. We reach within a factor of five of the canonical spin-down limit for all seven of these, whilst for the Crab and Vela pulsars we further surpass their spin-down limits. We present new or updated limits for 172 other pulsars (including both young and millisecond pulsars). Now that the detectors are undergoing major upgrades, and, for completeness, we bring together all of the most up-to-date results from all pulsars searched for during the operations of the first-generation LIGO, Virgo and GEO600 detectors. This gives a total of 195 pulsars including the most recent results described in this paper.United States National Science FoundationScience and Technology Facilities Council of the United KingdomMax-Planck-SocietyState of Niedersachsen/GermanyAustralian Research CouncilInternational Science Linkages program of the Commonwealth of AustraliaCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research of IndiaIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare of ItalySpanish Ministerio de Economia y CompetitividadConselleria d'Economia Hisenda i Innovacio of the Govern de les Illes BalearsNetherlands Organisation for Scientific ResearchPolish Ministry of Science and Higher EducationFOCUS Programme of Foundation for Polish ScienceRoyal SocietyScottish Funding CouncilScottish Universities Physics AllianceNational Aeronautics and Space AdministrationOTKA of HungaryLyon Institute of Origins (LIO)National Research Foundation of KoreaIndustry CanadaProvince of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development and InnovationNational Science and Engineering Research Council CanadaCarnegie TrustLeverhulme TrustDavid and Lucile Packard FoundationResearch CorporationAlfred P. Sloan FoundationAstronom
Characterization of 8p21.3 chromosomal deletions in B-cell lymphoma: TRAIL-R1 and TRAIL-R2 as candidate dosage-dependent tumor suppressor genes
Deletions of chromosome 8p are a recurrent event in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL), suggesting the presence of a tumor suppressor gene. We have characterized these deletions using comparative genomic hybridization to microarrays, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) mapping, DNA sequencing, and functional studies. A minimal deleted region (MDR) of 600 kb was defined in chromosome 8p21.3, with one mantle cell lymphoma cell line (Z138) exhibiting monoallelic deletion of 650 kb. The MDR extended from bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones RP11-382J24 and RP11-109B10 and included the tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) receptor gene loci. Sequence analysis of the individual expressed genes within the MDR and DNA sequencing of the entire MDR in Z138 did not reveal any mutation. Gene expression analysis and quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR) showed down-regulation of TRAIL-R1 and TRAIL-R2 receptor genes as a consistent event in B-NHL with 8p21.3 loss. Epigenetic inactivation was excluded via promoter methylation analysis. In vitro studies showed that TRAIL-induced apoptosis was dependent on TRAIL-R1 and/or -R2 dosage in most tumors. Resistance to apoptosis of cell lines with 8p21.3 deletion was reversed by restoration of TRAIL-R1 or TRAIL-R2 expression by gene transfection. Our data suggest that TRAIL-R1 and TRAIL-R2 act as dosage-dependent tumor suppressor genes whose monoallelic deletion can impair TRAIL-induced apoptosis in B-cell lymphoma
Near- and far-field plume studies of a one-kilowatt arcjet
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76045/1/AIAA-23997-966.pd
Instantaneous Liquid Interfaces
We describe and illustrate a simple procedure for identifying a liquid
interface from atomic coordinates. In particular, a coarse grained density
field is constructed, and the interface is defined as a constant density
surface for this coarse grained field. In applications to a molecular dynamics
simulation of liquid water, it is shown that this procedure provides
instructive and useful pictures of liquid-vapor interfaces and of
liquid-protein interfaces.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
The Size Ellect on the Infrared Spectra of Condensed Media Under Conditions of ID, 2D and 3D Dielectric Confinement
A general expression for the dielectric loss spectrum of an absorbing composite medium was obtained from a Maxwell-Garnett general equation. This expression was simplified for the cases of one, two and three dimensional dielectric confinement in both ordered and disordered thin layers, rods (wires) and spheres of absorbing medium which are considered as mesoparticles or mesoscopic molecules. This theoretical approach was verified experimentally using high purity organic liquids with strong absorption bands in the infrared range. Three organic liquids, namely benzene, chloroform and carbon disulphide, were measured in various dielectric confinement configurations using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy with a Grazing Angle attachment GATRTM. A significant shift of the resonant absorption band of liquid mesoparticles was observed for various dielectric confinement geometries which is in good agreement with theoretical predictions. Possible applications of this work include investigations of industrial smoke, toxic aerosols and liquid droplets
Celiac disease: how complicated can it get?
In the small intestine of celiac disease patients, dietary wheat gluten and similar proteins in barley and rye trigger an inflammatory response. While strict adherence to a gluten-free diet induces full recovery in most patients, a small percentage of patients fail to recover. In a subset of these refractory celiac disease patients, an (aberrant) oligoclonal intraepithelial lymphocyte population develops into overt lymphoma. Celiac disease is strongly associated with HLA-DQ2 and/or HLA-DQ8, as both genotypes predispose for disease development. This association can be explained by the fact that gluten peptides can be presented in HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 molecules on antigen presenting cells. Gluten-specific CD4+ T cells in the lamina propria respond to these peptides, and this likely enhances cytotoxicity of intraepithelial lymphocytes against the intestinal epithelium. We propose a threshold model for the development of celiac disease, in which the efficiency of gluten presentation to CD4+ T cells determines the likelihood of developing celiac disease and its complications. Key factors that influence the efficiency of gluten presentation include: (1) the level of gluten intake, (2) the enzyme tissue transglutaminase 2 which modifies gluten into high affinity binding peptides for HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8, (3) the HLA-DQ type, as HLA-DQ2 binds a wider range of gluten peptides than HLA-DQ8, (4) the gene dose of HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8, and finally,(5) additional genetic polymorphisms that may influence T cell reactivity. This threshold model might also help to understand the development of refractory celiac disease and lymphoma
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