819 research outputs found
Molecular ratchets - verification of the principle of detailed balance
We argue that the recent experiments of Kelly et. al.(Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.
Engl. 36, 1866 (1997)) on molecular ratchets, in addition to being in agreement
with the second law of thermodynamics, is a test of the principle of detailed
balance for the ratchet. We suggest new experiments, using an asymmetric
ratchet, to further test the principle. We also point out methods involving a
time variation of the temperature to to give it a directional motion
Benthic biomass size spectra in shelf and deep-sea sediments
The biomass distributions of marine benthic metazoans (meio- to macro-fauna, 1 ?g–32 mg wet weight) across three contrasting sites were investigated to test the hypothesis that allometry can consistently explain observed trends in biomass spectra. Biomass (and abundance) size spectra were determined from observations made at the Faroe–Shetland Channel (FSC) in the Northeast Atlantic (water depth 1600 m), the Fladen Ground (FG) in the North Sea (150 m), and the hypoxic Oman Margin (OM) in the Arabian Sea (500 m). Observed biomass increased with body size as a power law at FG (scaling exponent, b = 0.16) and FSC (b = 0.32), but less convincingly at OM (b = 0.12 but not significantly different from 0). A simple model was constructed to represent the same 16 metazoan size classes used for the observed spectra, all reliant on a common detrital food pool, and allowing the three key processes of ingestion, respiration and mortality to scale with body size. A micro-genetic algorithm was used to fit the model to observations at the sites. The model accurately reproduces the observed scaling without needing to include the effects of local influences such as hypoxia. Our results suggest that the size-scaling of mortality and ingestion are dominant factors determining the distribution of biomass across the meio- to macrofaunal size range in contrasting marine sediment communities. Both the observations and the model results are broadly in agreement with the "metabolic theory of ecology" in predicting a quarter power scaling of biomass across geometric body size classes
Forward and Reverse Genetics of Rapid-Cycling \u3cem\u3eBrassica oleracea\u3c/em\u3e
Seeds of rapid-cycling Brassica oleracea were mutagenized with the chemical mutagen, ethylmethane sulfonate. The reverse genetics technique, TILLING, was used on a sample population of 1,000 plants, to determine the mutation profile. The spectrum and frequency of mutations induced by ethylmethane sulfonate was similar to that seen in other diploid species such as Arabidopsis thaliana. These data indicate that the mutagenesis was effective and demonstrate that TILLING represents an efficient reverse genetic technique in B. oleracea that will become more valuable as increasing genomic sequence data become available for this species. The extensive duplication in the B. oleracea genome is believed to result in the genetic redundancy that has been important for the evolution of morphological diversity seen in today\u27s B. oleracea crops (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale and kohlrabi). However, our forward genetic screens identified 120 mutants in which some aspect of development was affected. Some of these lines have been characterized genetically and in the majority of these, the mutant trait segregates as a recessive allele affecting a single locus. One dominant mutation (curly leaves) and one semi-dominant mutation (dwarf-like) were also identified. Allelism tests of two groups of mutants (glossy and dwarf) revealed that for some loci, multiple independent alleles have been identified. These data indicate that, despite genetic redundancy, mutation of many individual loci in B. oleracea results in distinct phenotypes
Indirect evaluation of pit and fissure sealants : a 3D-based method validation
The aim of the present study was to compare indirect methods to assess the clinical performance of pit and fissure sealants and validate the use of 3D scanners. Sample consisted of 58 plaster models of upper and lower first permanent molars, sealed with resin sealants, as well as photographs obtained during the 18-month follow-up. Pre-established criteria were applied to categorize the sealant presence/absence and marginal integrity. Two calibrated examiners performed the evaluations, independently, using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM; gold-standard), Photography, 3D (CEREC In Lab) and Stereomicroscope analysis. The intra-examiner Spearman correlation was 94% e 97%, respectively, and the inter-examiner was 96%. Data was submitted to Kappa test, Spearman correlation and Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC). 3D and SEM presented good concordance; Stereomicroscope showed regular concordance with SEM and 3D (p0.05). SEM had a significant positive correlation with 3D and Stereomicroscope (r=0.76 and 0.71, respectively; p<0.01). There was significant positive correlation (r=0.65) between 3D and Stereomicroscope (p<0.01). The ROC estimated curve areas for Stereomicroscope and 3D were 0.90 (IC:0.81-0.99) and 1.0 (IC:1.0-1.0), respectively (p<0.001). Photography presented lower sensitivity and specificity (area=0.59). 3D method showed the best performance when compared to gold standard, exhibiting high sensitivity and specificity, therefore, it was validated as a reliable method to evaluate pit and fissure sealants
Boost operators in Coulomb-gauge QCD: the pion form factor and Fock expansions in phi radiative decays
In this article we rederive the Boost operators in Coulomb-Gauge Yang-Mills
theory employing the path-integral formalism and write down the complete
operators for QCD. We immediately apply them to note that what are usually
called the pion square, quartic... charge radii, defined from derivatives of
the pion form factor at zero squared momentum transfer, are completely blurred
out by relativistic and interaction corrections, so that it is not clear at all
how to interpret these quantities in terms of the pion charge distribution. The
form factor therefore measures matrix elements of powers of the QCD boost and
Moeller operators, weighted by the charge density in the target's rest frame.
In addition we remark that the decomposition of the eta' wavefunction in
quarkonium, gluonium, ... components attempted by the KLOE collaboration
combining data from phi radiative decays, requires corrections due to the
velocity of the final state meson recoiling against a photon. This will be
especially important if such decompositions are to be attempted with data from
J/psi decays.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure
Universality in the Screening Cloud of Dislocations Surrounding a Disclination
A detailed analytical and numerical analysis for the dislocation cloud
surrounding a disclination is presented. The analytical results show that the
combined system behaves as a single disclination with an effective fractional
charge which can be computed from the properties of the grain boundaries
forming the dislocation cloud. Expressions are also given when the crystal is
subjected to an external two-dimensional pressure. The analytical results are
generalized to a scaling form for the energy which up to core energies is given
by the Young modulus of the crystal times a universal function. The accuracy of
the universality hypothesis is numerically checked to high accuracy. The
numerical approach, based on a generalization from previous work by S. Seung
and D.R. Nelson ({\em Phys. Rev A 38:1005 (1988)}), is interesting on its own
and allows to compute the energy for an {\em arbitrary} distribution of
defects, on an {\em arbitrary geometry} with an arbitrary elastic {\em energy}
with very minor additional computational effort. Some implications for recent
experimental, computational and theoretical work are also discussed.Comment: 35 pages, 21 eps file
Immunosenescence in wild animals:Meta-analysis and outlook
Immunosenescence, the decline in immune defense with age, is an important mortality source in elderly humans but little is known of immunosenescence in wild animals. We systematically reviewed and meta-analysed evidence for age-related changes in immunity in captive and free-living populations of wild species (321 effect sizes in 62 studies across 44 species of mammals, birds and reptiles). As in humans, senescence was more evident in adaptive (acquired) than innate immune functions. Declines were evident for cell function (antibody response), the relative abundance of naive immune cells and an in vivo measure of overall immune responsiveness (local response to phytohaemagglutinin injection). Inflammatory markers increased with age, similar to chronic inflammation associated with human immunosenescence. Comparisons across taxa and captive vs free-living animals were difficult due to lack of overlap in parameters and species measured. Most studies are cross-sectional, which yields biased estimates of age-effects when immune function co-varies with survival. We therefore suggest longitudinal sampling approaches, and highlight techniques from human cohort studies that can be incorporated into ecological research. We also identify avenues to address predictions from evolutionary theory and the contribution of immunosenescence to age-related increases in disease susceptibility and mortality
Black Hole Spin via Continuum Fitting and the Role of Spin in Powering Transient Jets
The spins of ten stellar black holes have been measured using the
continuum-fitting method. These black holes are located in two distinct classes
of X-ray binary systems, one that is persistently X-ray bright and another that
is transient. Both the persistent and transient black holes remain for long
periods in a state where their spectra are dominated by a thermal accretion
disk component. The spin of a black hole of known mass and distance can be
measured by fitting this thermal continuum spectrum to the thin-disk model of
Novikov and Thorne; the key fit parameter is the radius of the inner edge of
the black hole's accretion disk. Strong observational and theoretical evidence
links the inner-disk radius to the radius of the innermost stable circular
orbit, which is trivially related to the dimensionless spin parameter a_* of
the black hole (|a_*| < 1). The ten spins that have so far been measured by
this continuum-fitting method range widely from a_* \approx 0 to a_* > 0.95.
The robustness of the method is demonstrated by the dozens or hundreds of
independent and consistent measurements of spin that have been obtained for
several black holes, and through careful consideration of many sources of
systematic error. Among the results discussed is a dichotomy between the
transient and persistent black holes; the latter have higher spins and larger
masses. Also discussed is recently discovered evidence in the transient sources
for a correlation between the power of ballistic jets and black hole spin.Comment: 30 pages. Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Also to
appear in hard cover in the Space Sciences Series of ISSI "The Physics of
Accretion onto Black Holes" (Springer Publisher). Changes to Sections 5.2,
6.1 and 7.4. Section 7.4 responds to Russell et al. 2013 (MNRAS, 431, 405)
who find no evidence for a correlation between the power of ballistic jets
and black hole spi
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