Surface plasmon lifetime in metal nanoshells

The lifetime of localized surface plasmon plays an important role in many aspects of plasmonics and its applications. In small metal nanostructures, the dominant mechanism restricting plasmon lifetime is size-dependent Landau damping. We performed quantum-mechanical calculations of Landau damping for the bright surface plasmon mode in a metal nanoshell. In contrast to the conventional model based on the electron surface scattering, we found that the damping rate decreases as the nanoshell thickness is reduced. The origin of this behavior is traced to the spatial distribution of plasmon local field inside the metal shell. We also found that, due to interference of electron scattering amplitudes from nanoshell's two metal surfaces, the damping rate exhibits pronounced quantum beats with changing shell thickness.Comment: 9 pages, 4 Figure

Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, and Meat Quality of Bali Cattle Fed a Ration Supplemented with Soybean Oil Calcium Soap and Cashew Fruit Flour

The study to evaluate growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood metabolites profile and meat fatty acid of Bali cattle treated with 3 different types of rations were conducted using a completely randomized block design with 4 replications. Ration treatments were R1: 40% native grass (NG) + 60% concentrate, R2: 40% NG + 60% concentrate supplemented with 5% soybean oil calcium soap (SOCS), and R3: (40% NG + 60% concentrate supplemented with 5% SOCS + 10% cashew fruit flour (CFF). Variables measured were growth performance, nutrients digestibility, blood metabolites, and meat fatty acid profile. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the differences between treatment means were examined by Duncan Multiple Range Test. Results of the study showed that the 3 different feed treatments did not have any significant effect on dry matter intake and organic matter intake, daily body weight gain, feed efficiency, crude fiber, ADF and NDF digestibilities, cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL), total fatty acid contents and content of unsaturated and saturated meat fatty  acids of Bali cattle meat. Different treatment rations also did not affect dry matter digestibility, however the treatments significantly affect the organic matter, crude protein, and fat digestibility (P<0.05). Bali cattle fed 5% SOCS (R2) and 5% SOCS + 10% CFF (R3) had higher organic matter and ether extract digestibilities and linoleic acid content of meat (P<0.05) compared with the control (R1). The Bali cattle fed with R1 and R2 had higher crude protein digestibility (P<0.05) compared with that of R3. It is concluded that the supplementation of 5% SOCS and 10% CFF in the ration improved the digestibility of organic matter, ether extract and linoleic fatty acids content in Bali cattle meat

On a Linear Program for Minimum-Weight Triangulation

Minimum-weight triangulation (MWT) is NP-hard. It has a polynomial-time constant-factor approximation algorithm, and a variety of effective polynomial- time heuristics that, for many instances, can find the exact MWT. Linear programs (LPs) for MWT are well-studied, but previously no connection was known between any LP and any approximation algorithm or heuristic for MWT. Here we show the first such connections: for an LP formulation due to Dantzig et al. (1985): (i) the integrality gap is bounded by a constant; (ii) given any instance, if the aforementioned heuristics find the MWT, then so does the LP.Comment: To appear in SICOMP. Extended abstract appeared in SODA 201

Probing the stability of superheavy dark matter particles with high-energy neutrinos

Two of the most fundamental properties of the dark matter particle, the mass and the lifetime, are only weakly constrained by the astronomical and cosmological evidence of dark matter. We derive in this paper lower limits on the lifetime of dark matter particles with masses in the range 10 TeV-10^15 TeV from the non-observation of ultrahigh energy neutrinos in the AMANDA, IceCube, Auger and ANITA experiments. For dark matter particles which produce neutrinos in a two body or a three body decay, we find that the dark matter lifetime must be longer than O(10^26-10^28) s for masses between 10 TeV and the Grand Unification scale. Finally, we also calculate, for concrete particle physics scenarios, the limits on the strength of the interactions that induce the dark matter decay.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures; v2: references added, discussion improved, matches the version published at JCA

The Crossing Statistic: Dealing with Unknown Errors in the Dispersion of Type Ia Supernovae

We propose a new statistic that has been designed to be used in situations where the intrinsic dispersion of a data set is not well known: The Crossing Statistic. This statistic is in general less sensitive than `chi^2' to the intrinsic dispersion of the data, and hence allows us to make progress in distinguishing between different models using goodness of fit to the data even when the errors involved are poorly understood. The proposed statistic makes use of the shape and trends of a model's predictions in a quantifiable manner. It is applicable to a variety of circumstances, although we consider it to be especially well suited to the task of distinguishing between different cosmological models using type Ia supernovae. We show that this statistic can easily distinguish between different models in cases where the `chi^2' statistic fails. We also show that the last mode of the Crossing Statistic is identical to `chi^2', so that it can be considered as a generalization of `chi^2'.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures. Paper restructured and extended and new interpretation of the method presented. New results concerning model selection. Treatment and error-analysis made fully model independent. References added. Accepted for publication in JCA

Induced cosmological constant and other features of asymmetric brane embedding

We investigate the cosmological properties of an "induced gravity" brane scenario in the absence of mirror symmetry with respect to the brane. We find that brane evolution can proceed along one of four distinct branches. By contrast, when mirror symmetry is imposed, only two branches exist, one of which represents the self-accelerating brane, while the other is the so-called normal branch. This model incorporates many of the well-known possibilities of brane cosmology including phantom acceleration (w < -1), self-acceleration, transient acceleration, quiescent singularities, and cosmic mimicry. Significantly, the absence of mirror symmetry also provides an interesting way of inducing a sufficiently small cosmological constant on the brane. A small (positive) Lambda-term in this case is induced by a small asymmetry in the values of bulk fundamental constants on the two sides of the brane.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures. New results and two figures discussing transient acceleration are included. Version accepted for publication in JCA

DEG/ENaC but Not TRP Channels Are the Major Mechanoelectrical Transduction Channels in a C. elegans Nociceptor

SummaryMany nociceptors detect mechanical cues, but the ion channels responsible for mechanotransduction in these sensory neurons remain obscure. Using in vivo recordings and genetic dissection, we identified the DEG/ENaC protein, DEG-1, as the major mechanotransduction channel in ASH, a polymodal nociceptor in Caenorhabditis elegans. But DEG-1 is not the only mechanotransduction channel in ASH: loss of deg-1 revealed a minor current whose properties differ from those expected of DEG/ENaC channels. This current was independent of two TRPV channels expressed in ASH. Although loss of these TRPV channels inhibits behavioral responses to noxious stimuli, we found that both mechanoreceptor currents and potentials were essentially wild-type in TRPV mutants. We propose that ASH nociceptors rely on two genetically distinct mechanotransduction channels and that TRPV channels contribute to encoding and transmitting information. Because mammalian and insect nociceptors also coexpress DEG/ENaCs and TRPVs, the cellular functions elaborated here for these ion channels may be conserved

Moving from information and collaboration to action: report from the 3rd International Dog Health Workshop, Paris in April 2017

Abstract Background Breed-related health problems in dogs have received increased focus over the last decade. Responsibility for causing and/or solving these problems has been variously directed towards dog breeders and kennel clubs, the veterinary profession, welfare scientists, owners, regulators, insurance companies and the media. In reality, all these stakeholders are likely to share some responsibility and optimal progress on resolving these challenges requires all key stakeholders to work together. The International Partnership for Dogs (IPFD), together with an alternating host organization, holds biennial meetings called the International Dog Health Workshops (IDHW). The Société Centrale Canine (French Kennel Club) hosted the 3rd IDHW, in Paris, in April, 2017. These meetings bring together a wide range of stakeholders in dog health, science and welfare to improve international sharing of information and resources, to provide a forum for ongoing collaboration, and to identify specific needs and actions to improve health, well-being and welfare in dogs. Results The workshop included 140 participants from 23 countries and was structured around six important issues facing those who work to improve dog health. These included individualized breed-specific strategies for health and breeding, extreme conformations, education and communication in relation to antimicrobial resistance, behavior and welfare, genetic testing and population-based evidence. A number of exciting actions were agreed during the meeting. These included setting up working groups to create tools to help breed clubs accelerate the implementation of breed-health strategies, review aspects of extreme conformation and share useful information on behavior. The meeting also heralded the development of an online resource of relevant information describing quality measures for DNA testing. A demand for more and better data and evidence was a recurring message stressed across all themes. Conclusions The meeting confirmed the benefits from inclusion of a diverse range of stakeholders who all play relevant and collaborative parts to improve future canine health. Firm actions were set for progress towards improving breed-related welfare. The next international workshop will be in the UK in 2019 and will be organized by the UK Kennel Club

Dynamical dark energy in light of the latest observations

A flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe dominated by a cosmological constant (Λ) and cold dark matter (CDM) has been the working model preferred by cosmologists since the discovery of cosmic acceleration1,2. However, tensions of various degrees ofsignificance are known to be present among existing datasets within the ΛCDM framework3-11. In particular, the Lyman-α forest measurement of the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) by the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey3 prefers a smaller value of the matter density fraction ΩM than that preferred by cosmic microwave background (CMB). Also, the recently measured value of the Hubble constant, H0 = 73.24 ±1.74 km s-1 Mpc-1 (ref. 12), is 3.4σ higher than the 66.93 ± 0.62 km s-1Mpc-1 inferred from the Planck CMB data7. In this work, we investigate whether these tensions can be interpreted as evidence for a non-constant dynamical dark energy. Using the Kullback-Leibler divergence13 to quantify the tension between datasets, we find that the tensions are relieved by an evolving dark energy, with the dynamical dark energy model preferred at a 3.5σ significance level based on the improvement in the fit alone. While, at present, the Bayesian evidence for the dynamical dark energy is insufficient to favour it over ΛCDM, we show that, if the current best-fit dark energy happened to be the true model, it would be decisively detected by the upcoming Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument survey14.PostprintPeer reviewe

Variants in interferon-alpha pathway genes and response to pegylated interferon-Alpha2a plus ribavirin for treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection in the hepatitis C antiviral long-term treatment against cirrhosis trial

Combination treatment with pegylated-interferon-alpha (PEG IFN-Α) and ribavirin, the current recommended therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, results in a sustained virological response (SVR) in only about half of patients. Because genes involved in the interferon-alpha pathway may affect antiviral responses, we analyzed the relationship between variants in these genes and SVR among participants in the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term treatment Against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) trial. Patients had advanced chronic hepatitis C that had previously failed to respond to interferon-based treatment. Participants were treated with peginterferon-Α2a and ribavirin during the trial. Subjects with undetectable HCV RNA at week 72 were considered to have had an SVR. Subjects with detectable HCV RNA at week 20 were considered nonresponders. We used TaqMan assays to genotype 56 polymorphisms found in 13 genes in the interferon-alpha pathway. This analysis compares genotypes for participants with an SVR to nonresponders. The primary analysis was restricted to European American participants because a priori statistical power was low among the small number (n = 131) of African American patients. We used logistic regression to control the effect of other variables that are associated with treatment response. Among 581 European American patients, SVR was associated with IFNAR1 IVS1-22G (adjusted odds ratio, 0.57; P = 0.02); IFNAR2 Ex2-33C (adjusted odds ratio, 2.09; P = 0.02); JAK1 IVS22+112T (adjusted odds ratio, 1.66; P = 0.04); and ADAR Ex9+14A (adjusted odds ratio, 1.67; P = 0.03). For the TYK2 -2256A promoter region variant, a borderline association was present among European American participants (OR, 1.51; P = 0.05) and a strong relationship among African American patients; all 10 with SVR who were genotyped for TYK2 -2256 carried the A variant compared with 68 of 120 (57%) nonresponders ( P = 0.006). Conclusion: Genetic polymorphisms in the interferon-Α pathway may affect responses to antiviral therapy of chronic hepatitis C. (H EPATOLOGY 2009.)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63061/1/22877_ftp.pd