7,211 research outputs found
Enhanced Retention In The Passive-Avoidance Task By 5-HT1A Receptor Blockade Is Not Associated With Increased Activity Of The Central Nucleus Of The Amygdala
The effect of blockade of S-HT1A receptors was investigated on (1) retention in a mildly aversive passive-avoidance task, and (2) spontaneous single-unit activity of central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) neurons, a brain site implicated in modulation of retention. Systemic administration of the selective S-HT1A antagonist NAN-190 immediately after training markedly-and dose-dependently-facilitated retention in the passive-avoidance task; enhanced retention was time-dependent and was not attributable to variations in wattages of shock received by animals. Systemic administration of NAN-190 had mixed effects on spontaneous single-unit activity of CeA neurons recorded extracellularly in vivo; microiontophoretic application of S-HT, in contrast, consistently and potently suppressed CeA activity. The present findings-that S-HT1A receptor blockade by NAN-190 (1) enhances retention in the passive-avoidance task, and (2) does not consistently increase spontaneous neuronal activity of the CeA-provide evidence that a serotonergic system tonically inhibits modulation of retention in the passive-avoidance task through activation of the S-HT1A receptor subtype at brain sites located outside the CeA
Quantum Electrical Dipole in Triangular Systems: a Model for Spontaneous Polarity in Metal Clusters
Triangular symmetric molecules with mirror symmetry perpendicular to the
3-fold axis are forbidden to have a fixed electrical dipole moment. However, if
the ground state is orbitally degenerate and lacks inversion symmetry, then a
``quantum'' dipole moment does exist. The system of 3 electrons in D_3h
symmetry is our example. This system is realized in triatomic molecules like
Na_3. Unlike the fixed dipole of a molecule like water, the quantum moment does
not point in a fixed direction, but lies in the plane of the molecule and takes
quantized values +/- mu_0 along any direction of measurement in the plane. An
electric field F in the plane leads to a linear Stark splitting +/- mu_0 F}. We
introduce a toy model to study the effect of Jahn-Teller distortions on the
quantum dipole moment. We find that the quantum dipole property survives when
the dynamic Jahn-Teller effect is included, if the distortion of the molecule
is small. Linear Stark splittings are suppressed in low fields by molecular
rotation, just as the linear Stark shift of water is suppressed, but will be
revealed in moderately large applied fields and low temperatures. Coulomb
correlations also give a partial suppression.Comment: 10 pages with 7 figures included; thoroughly revised with a new
coauthor; final minor change
The Formation of Broad Line Clouds in the Accretion Shocks of Active Galactic Nuclei
Recent work on the gas dynamics in the Galactic Center has improved our
understanding of the accretion processes in galactic nuclei, particularly with
regard to properties such as the specific angular momentum distribution,
density, and temperature of the inflowing plasma. This information can be
valuable in trying to determine the origin of the Broad Line Region (BLR) in
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). In this paper, we explore various scenarios for
the cloud formation based on the underlying principle that the source of plasma
is ultimately that portion of the gas trapped by the central black hole from
the interstellar medium. Based on what we know about the Galactic Center, it is
likely that in highly dynamic environments such as this, the supply of matter
is due mostly to stellar winds from the central cluster. Winds accreting onto a
central black hole are subjected to several disturbances capable of producing
shocks, including a Bondi-Hoyle flow, stellar wind-wind collisions, and
turbulence. Shocked gas is initially compressed and heated out of thermal
equilibrium with the ambient radiation field; a cooling instability sets in as
the gas is cooled via inverse-Compton and bremsstrahlung processes. If the
cooling time is less than the dynamical flow time through the shock region, the
gas may clump to form the clouds responsible for broad line emission seen in
many AGN spectra. Clouds produced by this process display the correct range of
densities and velocity fields seen in broad emission lines. Very importantly,
the cloud distribution agrees with the results of reverberation studies, in
which it is seen that the central line peak responds slower to continuum
changes than the line wings.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figure
A Novel Flow-Perfusion Bioreactor Supports 3D Dynamic Cell Culture
Background. Bone engineering requires thicker three-dimensional constructs than the maximum thickness supported by standard cell-culture techniques (2 mm). A flow-perfusion bioreactor was developed to provide chemotransportation to thick (6 mm) scaffolds.
Methods. Polyurethane scaffolds, seeded with murine preosteoblasts, were loaded into a novel bioreactor. Control scaffolds remained in static culture. Samples were harvested at days 2, 4, 6, and 8 and analyzed for cellular distribution, viability, metabolic activity, and density at the periphery and core. Results. By day 8, static scaffolds had a periphery cell density of 67% ± 5.0%, while in the core it was 0.3% ± 0.3%. Flow-perfused scaffolds demonstrated peripheral cell density of 94% ± 8.3% and core density of 76% ± 3.1% at day 8. Conclusions. Flow perfusion provides chemotransportation to thick scaffolds. This system may permit high throughput study of 3D tissues in vitro and enable prefabrication of biological constructs large enough to solve clinical problems
Field and intensity correlations in amplifying random media
We study local and nonlocal correlations of light transmitted through active
random media. The conventional approach results in divergence of ensemble
averaged correlation functions due to existence of lasing realizations. We
introduce conditional average for correlation functions by omitting the
divergent realizations. Our numerical simulation reveals that amplification
does not affect local spatial correlation. The nonlocal intensity correlations
are strongly magnified due to selective enhancement of the contributions from
long propagation paths. We also show that by increasing gain, the average mode
linewidth can be made smaller than the average mode spacing. This implies that
light transport through a diffusive random system with gain could exhibit some
similarities to that through a localized passive system, owing to dominant
influence of the resonant modes with narrow width.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Antenatal Steroid Therapy for Fetal Lung Maturation and the Subsequent Risk of Childhood Asthma: A Longitudinal Analysis
This study was designed to test the hypothesis that fetal exposure to corticosteroids in the antenatal period is an independent risk factor for the development of asthma in early childhood with little or no effect in later childhood. A population-based cohort study of all pregnant women who resided in Nova Scotia, Canada, and gave birth to a singleton fetus between 1989 and 1998
was undertaken. After a priori specified exclusions, 80,448 infants were available for analysis.
Using linked health care utilization records, incident asthma cases developed after 36 months of
age were identified. Extended Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard
ratios while controlling for confounders. Exposure to corticosteroids during pregnancy was
associated with a risk of asthma in childhood between 3–5 years of age: adjusted hazard ratio of
1.19 (95% confidence interval: 1.03, 1.39), with no association noted after 5 years of age:
adjusted hazard ratio for 5–7 years was 1.06 (95% confidence interval: 0.86, 1.30)
and for 8 or greater years was 0.74 (95% confidence interval: 0.54, 1.03). Antenatal steroid therapy appears to be an independent risk factor for the development of asthma between 3 and 5 years of age
Constraints on Cosmic Strings due to Black Holes Formed from Collapsed Cosmic String Loops
The cosmological features of primordial black holes formed from collapsed
cosmic string loops are studied. Observational restrictions on a population of
primordial black holes are used to restrict , the fraction of cosmic string
loops which collapse to form black holes, and , the cosmic string
mass-per-unit-length. Using a realistic model of cosmic strings, we find the
strongest restriction on the parameters and is due to the energy
density in photons radiated by the black holes. We also find that
inert black hole remnants cannot serve as the dark matter. If earlier, crude
estimates of are reliable, our results severely restrict , and
therefore limit the viability of the cosmic string large-scale structure
scenario.Comment: (Plain Tex, uses tables.tex -- wrapped lines corrected), 11 pages,
FERMILAB-Pub-93/137-
Phylogenetic Incongruence in E. coli O104: Understanding the Evolutionary Relationships of Emerging Pathogens in the Face of Homologous Recombination
Escherichia coli O104:H4 was identified as an emerging pathogen during the spring and summer of 2011 and was responsible for a widespread outbreak that resulted in the deaths of 50 people and sickened over 4075. Traditional phenotypic and genotypic assays, such as serotyping, pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and multilocus sequence typing (MLST), permit identification and classification of bacterial pathogens, but cannot accurately resolve relationships among genotypically similar but pathotypically different isolates. To understand the evolutionary origins of E. coli O104:H4, we sequenced two strains isolated in Ontario, Canada. One was epidemiologically linked to the 2011 outbreak, and the second, unrelated isolate, was obtained in 2010. MLST analysis indicated that both isolates are of the same sequence type (ST678), but whole-genome sequencing revealed differences in chromosomal and plasmid content. Through comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of five O104:H4 ST678 genomes, we identified 167 genes in three gene clusters that have undergone homologous recombination with distantly related E. coli strains. These recombination events have resulted in unexpectedly high sequence diversity within the same sequence type. Failure to recognize or adjust for homologous recombination can result in phylogenetic incongruence. Understanding the extent of homologous recombination among different strains of the same sequence type may explain the pathotypic differences between the ON2010 and ON2011 strains and help shed new light on the emergence of this new pathogen
Gravitational wave bursts from cusps and kinks on cosmic strings
The strong beams of high-frequency gravitational waves (GW) emitted by cusps
and kinks of cosmic strings are studied in detail. As a consequence of these
beams, the stochastic ensemble of GW's generated by a cosmological network of
oscillating loops is strongly non Gaussian, and includes occasional sharp
bursts that stand above the ``confusion'' GW noise made of many smaller
overlapping bursts. Even if only 10% of all string loops have cusps these
bursts might be detectable by the planned GW detectors LIGO/VIRGO and LISA for
string tensions as small as . In the implausible case
where the average cusp number per loop oscillation is extremely small, the
smaller bursts emitted by the ubiquitous kinks will be detectable by LISA for
string tensions as small as . We show that the strongly
non Gaussian nature of the stochastic GW's generated by strings modifies the
usual derivation of constraints on from pulsar timing experiments. In
particular the usually considered ``rms GW background'' is, when G \mu \gaq
10^{-7}, an overestimate of the more relevant confusion GW noise because it
includes rare, intense bursts. The consideration of the confusion GW noise
suggests that a Grand Unified Theory (GUT) value is
compatible with existing pulsar data, and that a modest improvement in pulsar
timing accuracy could detect the confusion noise coming from a network of cuspy
string loops down to . The GW bursts discussed here might
be accompanied by Gamma Ray Bursts.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures, Revtex, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Policy Insights From the EMF 32 Study on U.S. Carbon Tax Scenarios
The Stanford Energy Modeling Forum exercise 32 (EMF 32) used 11 different models to assess emissions, energy, and economic outcomes from a plausible range of economy-wide carbon price policies to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States. Here we discuss the most policy-relevant results of the study, mindful of the strengths and weaknesses of current models. Across all models, carbon prices lead to significant reduc- tions in CO2 emissions and conventional pollutants, with the vast majority of the reductions occurring in the electricity sector. Importantly, emissions reductions do not significantly depend on the rebate or tax cut used to return revenues to the economy. Expected economic costs, as modeled by either GDP or welfare, are modest, but vary across models. These costs are offset by benefits from avoided climate damages and health benefits from reductions in conventional air pollution. Using revenues to reduce preexisting capital or labor taxes reduces costs in most models relative to lump-sum rebates, but the size of the cost reductions varies significantly. Devoting at least some revenue to household rebates can significantly reduce adverse impacts on low income households. Carbon prices at $25/ton or even lower levels cause significant shifts away from coal as an energy source with responses of other energy sources highly dependent upon technology cost assumptions. Beyond 2030, we conclude that model uncertainties are too large to make quantitative results useful for near-term policy design. We close by describing recommendations for policymakers on interacting with model results in the future
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