13,752 research outputs found
C3H2 observations as a diagnostic probe for molecular clouds
Recently the three-membered ring molecule, cyclopropenylidene, C3H2, has been identified in the laboratory and detected in molecular clouds by Thaddeus, Vrtilek and Gottlieb (1985). This molecule is wide-spread throughout the Galaxy and has been detected in 25 separate sources including cold dust clouds, circumstellar envelopes, HII regions, and the spiral arms observed against the Cas supernova remnant. In order to evaluate the potential of C3H2 as a diagnostic probe for molecular clouds, and to attempt to identify the most useful transitions, statistical equilibrium calculations were carried out for the lowest 24 levels of the ortho species and the lowest 10 levels of the para species. Many of the sources observed by Matthews and Irvine (1985) show evidence of being optically thick in the 1(10)-1(01) line. Consequently, the effects of radiative trapping should be incorporated into the equilibrium calculations. This was done using the Large Velocity Gradient approximation for a spherical cloud of uniform density. Some results of the calculations for T(K)=10K are given. Figures are presented which show contours of the logarithm of the ratio of peak line brightness temperatures for ortho-para pairs of lines at similar frequencies. It appears that the widespread nature of C3H2, the relatively large strength of its spectral lines, and their sensitivity to density and molecular abundance combine to make this a useful molecule for probing physical conditions in molecular clouds. The 1(10)-1(01) and 2(20)-2(11) K-band lines may be especially useful in this regard because of the ease with which they are observed and their unusual density-dependent emission/absorption properties
Money and interest rates under a reserves operating target
This study examines the short-run dynamic relationships between nonborrowed reserves, the federal funds rate, and transaction accounts using daily data from 1979 through 1982. Separate models are estimated for each day of the week, and simulation experiments are performed. The results suggest that the funds rate responded quite rapidly to a change in nonborrowed reserves, but that the short-run nonborrowed reserves multiplier for transaction accounts was only about 18 percent of its theoretical maximum. In addition, the Federal Reserve appeared to accommodate about 65 percent of a permanent shock to money, and lagged reserve requirements seemed to delay depository institutions' response to a money shock.Interest rates ; Bank reserves
Cultivating a Pedagogy of Empathy: Teaching Science Fiction in a Changing Biotechnological World
CULTIVATING A PEDAGOGY OF EMPATHY: Teaching Science Fiction in a Changing Biotechnological World
By
KATHY L. AVERY
(Under the Direction of John Weaver)
Abstract
I argue that science fiction affords us the ability to think past our anthropocentrism, opening up a space for us to consider our relationship to burgeoning biotechnologies and the other. I provide critical interpretations of science fiction film and literature, which I believe stimulate the power of the narrative imagination to envision the “netherworld experience of the other”. I believe science fiction provides a site of speculation, a means to better understand and consider the role and position of the post/human as well as the vital issues of human equity and social justice as new technologies challenge the immutability of normatively human boundaries.
Martha Nussbaum asserts that the power of the narrative imagination is crucial to the cultivation of sympathy and empathy which are key components of the best modern ideals of a democratic education. This study extends Nussbaum’s theories on the narrative imagination into the realm of science fiction film and literature. I argue that a pedagogy of science fiction not only awakens awareness of biotechnologies, but also stimulates the narrative imagination to empathetically envision a rapidly changing world.
Index Words: Science fiction, Biotechnology, Moral imagination, Empath
The effects of electron and proton radiation on GaSb infrared solar cells
Gallium antimonide (GaSb) infrared solar cells were exposed to 1 MeV electrons and protons up to fluences of 1 times 10(exp 15) cm (-2) and 1 times 10(exp 12) cm (-2) respectively. In between exposures, current voltage and spectral response curves were taken. The GaSb cells were found to degrade slightly less than typical GaAs cells under electron irradiation, and calculations from spectral response curves showed that the damage coefficient for the minority carrier diffusion length was 3.5 times 10(exp 8). The cells degraded faster than GaAs cells under proton irradiation. However, researchers expect the top cell and coverglass to protect the GaSb cell from most damaging protons. Some annealing of proton damage was observed at low temperatures (80 to 160 C)
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SERO-REACTIVITY OF PROTEINS MAP1152 AND MAP1156 FROM \u3ci\u3eMYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM\u3c/i\u3e SUBSPECIES \u3ci\u3ePARATUBERCULOSIS\u3c/i\u3e
Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) causes Johne’s disease (JD) in ruminants. Development of genetic tools and completion of the MAP genome sequencing project expanded opportunities for antigen discovery. In this thesis, I review the current trends in diagnosis and disease control of JD and present the results of the studies on the seroreactivity of two proteins encoded for by the MAP1152-MAP1156 gene cluster. MAP1152 encodes for a PPE protein and MAP1156 encodes a diacylglycerol acyltransferase involved in triglyceride metabolism and classified in the uncharacterized protein family UPF0089. Maltose-binding protein (MBP) tagged recombinant MAP proteins were purified from Escherichia coli. Western immunoblotting analysis indicated that both MAP1152 and MAP1156 displayed reactivity against sera of immunized mice and rabbits, and naturally infected cattle. MAP1156 yielded a stronger positive signal than MAP1152 against sera from cattle with JD. An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the recombinant proteins was developed and used to test pre-classified positive and negative serum samples from naturally infected and non-infected cattle. Samples, with one exception, displayed no seroreactivity against MBP-LacZ (P \u3e 0.05), the negative control antigen. MAP1152 displayed seroreactivity against all positive sera, but no seroreactivity to the negative sera (P \u3c 0.01). MAP1156 displayed stronger and more variable reactivity than MAP1152, but significant differences were observed between non- infected and infected cattle (P \u3c 0.05). Otherwise, degrees of reactivity followed the same trend as the positive reference antigen. In conclusion, MAP infected cattle mount a humoral response to both MAP1152 and MAP1156. These findings have potential applications to diagnostics, vaccine production, and elucidation of the immuno-pathogenesis of JD.
Adviser: Raul G. Barlett
Behavioral and Ecological Considerations for Managing Bird Damage to Cultivated Fruit
Many bird species eat fruits and, likewise, many plant species are dependent on birds for the dispersal of seeds. Through cultivation and selective breeding, attributes of wild fruit have been changed to make fruit more palatable to humans. For example, cultivated species bear fruits that are often thinner-skinned. are more succulent, have fewer seeds and are easier to pick than non-cultivated species. These same changes, however, have also increased the attractiveness of fruit to avian consumers. Ecological relationships that have developed across evolutionary time between wild plants and frugivores become emphasized by the introduction of cultivated fruits that have been carefully bred, unknowingly and unintentionally, with bird-friendly traits
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