173 research outputs found
Finite Temperature Effective Potential for the Abelian Higgs Model to the Order
A complete calculation of the finite temperature effective potential for the
abelian Higgs model to the order is presented and the result is
expressed in terms of physical parameters defined at zero temperature. The
absence of a linear term is verified explicitly to the given order and proven
to survive to all orders. The first order phase transition has weakened in
comparison with lower order calculation, which shows up in a considerable
decrease of the surface tension. The only difference from the original version
is the splitting of some overlong lines causing problems with certain mailers.Comment: 13 pages LaTex ( figures not included , hardcopy available on request
: [email protected] or t00heb@dhhdesy3 ) , DESY 93-08
Canine ehrlichiosis in Egypt: sero-epidemiological survey
A total of 374 dogs, 252 from five military kennels and 122 privately owned, were tested for Ehrlichia canis antibody.
Sera were tested at a 1:20 dilution by indirect fluorescent antibody with the use of E. canis cell-culture antigen slides.
The overall prevalence of E. canis antibody was 33%. Antibody prevalence among military dogs (29 %) was
significantly lower than among privately owned dogs (41 %; P < 0,05) . The E. canis seroprevalence among dogs
infested with ticks (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) was higher (44 %) than that among uninfested dogs (31 %; P = 0,08) .
The seroprevalence among military dogs varied from 21-46% at the five kennels; lower prevalences were observed
in kennels with higher sanitary and hygienic conditions. Age- and sex-related E. canis antibody prevalences were
not significantly different among military and privately owned dogs, although adult and male privately owned dogs
had the highest seroprevalences (45% and 44 %, respectively). Three dogs with epistaxis had E. canis antibody
titres > 1:320. These data demonstrate the first laboratory evidence of E. canis infection among dogs in Egypt.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi.
Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.Naval Medical Research and Development Command, NMC, NCR, Bethesda,
MD.mn201
Real-Time Immunosensor for Small-Molecule Monitoring in Industrial Food Processes
Industrial food processes are monitored to ensure that food is being produced with good quality, yield, and productivity. For developing innovative real-time monitoring and control strategies, real-time sensors are needed that can continuously report chemical and biochemical data of the manufacturing process. Here, we describe a generalizable methodology to develop affinity-based biosensors for the continuous monitoring of small molecules in industrial food processes. Phage-display antibody fragments were developed for the measurement of small molecules, as exemplified with the measurement of glycoalkaloids (GAs) in potato fruit juice. The recombinant antibodies were selected for use in a competition-based biosensor with single-molecule resolution, called biosensing by particle motion, using assay architectures with free particles as well as tethered particles. The resulting sensor measures GAs in the micromolar range, is reversible, has a measurement response time below 5 min, and enables continuous monitoring of GAs in protein-rich solutions for more than 20 h with concentration measurement errors below 15%. The demonstrated biosensor gives the perspective to enable a variety of monitoring and control strategies based on continuous measurement of small molecules in industrial food processes.</p
Global Structure of Deffayet (Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati) Cosmologies
We detail the global structure of the five-dimensional bulk for the
cosmological evolution of Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati braneworlds. The picture
articulated here provides a framework and intuition for understanding how
metric perturbations leave (and possibly reenter) the brane universe. A bulk
observer sees the braneworld as a relativistically expanding bubble, viewed
either from the interior (in the case of the
Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker phase) or the exterior (the
self-accelerating phase). Shortcuts through the bulk in the first phase can
lead to an apparent brane causality violation and provide an opportunity for
the evasion of the horizon problem found in conventional four-dimensional
cosmologies. Features of the global geometry in the latter phase anticipate a
depletion of power for linear metric perturbations on large scales.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, RevTeX. References adde
Life path analysis: scaling indicates priming effects of social and habitat factors on dispersal distances
1. Movements of many animals along a life-path can be separated into repetitive ones within home ranges and transitions between home ranges. We sought relationships of social and environmental factors with initiation and distance of transition movements in 114 buzzards Buteo buteo that were marked as nestlings with long-life radio tags.
2. Ex-natal dispersal movements of 51 buzzards in autumn were longer than for 30 later in their first year and than 35 extra-natal movements between home ranges after leaving nest areas. In the second and third springs, distances moved from winter focal points by birds that paired were the same or less than for unpaired birds. No post-nuptial movement exceeded 2 km.
3. Initiation of early ex-natal dispersal was enhanced by presence of many sibs, but also by lack of worm-rich loam soils. Distances travelled were greatest for birds from small broods and with relatively little short grass-feeding habitat near the nest. Later movements were generally enhanced by the absence of loam soils and short grassland, especially with abundance of other buzzards and probable poor feeding habitats (heathland, long grass).
4. Buzzards tended to persist in their first autumn where arable land was abundant, but subsequently showed a strong tendency to move from this habitat.
5. Factors that acted most strongly in ½-km buffers round nests, or round subsequent focal points, usually promoted movement compared with factors acting at a larger scale. Strong relationships between movement distances and environmental characteristics in ½-km buffers, especially during early ex-natal dispersal, suggested that buzzards became primed by these factors to travel far.
6. Movements were also farthest for buzzards that had already moved far from their natal nests, perhaps reflecting genetic predisposition, long-term priming or poor habitat beyond the study area
The Non-linear Dynamics of Meaning-Processing in Social Systems
Social order cannot be considered as a stable phenomenon because it contains
an order of reproduced expectations. When the expectations operate upon one
another, they generate a non-linear dynamics that processes meaning. Specific
meaning can be stabilized, for example, in social institutions, but all meaning
arises from a horizon of possible meanings. Using Luhmann's (1984) social
systems theory and Rosen's (1985) theory of anticipatory systems, I submit
equations for modeling the processing of meaning in inter-human communication.
First, a self-referential system can use a model of itself for the
anticipation. Under the condition of functional differentiation, the social
system can be expected to entertain a set of models; each model can also
contain a model of the other models. Two anticipatory mechanisms are then
possible: one transversal between the models, and a longitudinal one providing
the modeled systems with meaning from the perspective of hindsight. A system
containing two anticipatory mechanisms can become hyper-incursive. Without
making decisions, however, a hyper-incursive system would be overloaded with
uncertainty. Under this pressure, informed decisions tend to replace the
"natural preferences" of agents and an order of cultural expectations can
increasingly be shaped
Wind-Blown Bubbles around Evolved Stars
Most stars will experience episodes of substantial mass loss at some point in
their lives. For very massive stars, mass loss dominates their evolution,
although the mass loss rates are not known exactly, particularly once the star
has left the main sequence. Direct observations of the stellar winds of massive
stars can give information on the current mass-loss rates, while studies of the
ring nebulae and HI shells that surround many Wolf-Rayet (WR) and luminous blue
variable (LBV) stars provide information on the previous mass-loss history. The
evolution of the most massive stars, (M > 25 solar masses), essentially follows
the sequence O star to LBV or red supergiant (RSG) to WR star to supernova. For
stars of mass less than 25 solar masses there is no final WR stage. During the
main sequence and WR stages, the mass loss takes the form of highly supersonic
stellar winds, which blow bubbles in the interstellar and circumstellar medium.
In this way, the mechanical luminosity of the stellar wind is converted into
kinetic energy of the swept-up ambient material, which is important for the
dynamics of the interstellar medium. In this review article, analytic and
numerical models are used to describe the hydrodynamics and energetics of
wind-blown bubbles. A brief review of observations of bubbles is given, and the
degree to which theory is supported by observations is discussed.Comment: To be published as a chapter in 'Diffuse Matter from Star Forming
Regions to Active Galaxies' - A volume Honouring John Dyson. Eds. T. W.
Harquist, J. M. Pittard and S. A. E. G. Falle. 22 pages, 12 figure
Sport, genetics and the `natural athlete': The resurgence of racial science
This article explores the ethical implications of recent discussions that naturalize the relationship between race, the body and sport within the frame of genetic science. Many suggestions of a racially distributed genetic basis for athletic ability and performance are strategically posited as a resounding critique of the `politically correct' meta-narratives of established sociological and anthropological forms of explanation that emphasize the social and cultural construction of race. I argue that this use of genetic science in order to describe and explain common-sense impressions of racial physiology and sporting ability is founded on erroneous premises of objectivity and disinterest, and inflates the analytical efficacy of scientific truth claims. I suggest that assertions of a value-free science of racial athletic ability reify race as inherited permanent biological characteristics that produce social hierarchies and are more characteristic of a longer history of `racial science'
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