4,447 research outputs found
Radioactive isotope analyses of skeletal materials in forensic science: a review of uses and potential uses
A review of information that can be provided from measurements made on natural and anthropogenic radionuclide activities in human skeletal remains has been undertaken to establish what reliable information of forensic anthropological use can be obtained regarding years of birth and death (and hence post-mortem interval (PMI)). Of the anthropogenic radionuclides that have entered the environment, radiocarbon (14C) can currently be used to generate the most useful and reliable information. Measurements on single bones can indicate whether or not the person died during the nuclear era, while recent research suggests that measurements on trabecular bone may, depending on the chronological age of the remains, provide estimates of year of death and hence PMI. Additionally, 14C measurements made on different components of single teeth or on teeth formed at different times can provide estimates of year of birth to within 1–2 years of the true year. Of the other anthropogenic radionuclides, 90Sr shows some promise but there are problems of (1) variations in activities between individuals, (2) relatively large analytical uncertainties and (3) diagenetic contamination. With respect to natural series radionuclides, it is concluded that there is no convincing evidence that 210Pb dating can be used in a rigorous, quantitative fashion to establish a PMI. Similarly, for daughter/parent pairs such as 210Po/210Pb (from the 238U decay series) and 228Th/228Ra (from the 232Th decay series), the combination of analytical uncertainty and uncertainty in activity ratios at the point of death inevitably results in major uncertainty in any estimate of PMI. However, observation of the disequilibrium between these two daughter/parent pairs could potentially be used in a qualitative way to support other forensic evidence
Combined Solar System and rotation curve constraints on MOND
The Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) paradigm generically predicts that the
external gravitational field in which a system is embedded can produce effects
on its internal dynamics. In this communication, we first show that this
External Field Effect can significantly improve some galactic rotation curves
fits by decreasing the predicted velocities of the external part of the
rotation curves. In modified gravity versions of MOND, this External Field
Effect also appears in the Solar System and leads to a very good way to
constrain the transition function of the theory. A combined analysis of the
galactic rotation curves and Solar System constraints (provided by the Cassini
spacecraft) rules out several classes of popular MOND transition functions, but
leaves others viable. Moreover, we show that LISA Pathfinder will not be able
to improve the current constraints on these still viable transition functions.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Seawater acidification more than warming presents a challenge for two Antarctic macroalgal-associated amphipods
Elevated atmospheric pCO2 concentrations are triggering seawater pH reductions and seawater temperature increases along the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). These factors in combination have the potential to influence organisms in an antagonistic, additive, or synergistic manner. The amphipods Gondogeneia antarctica and Paradexamine fissicauda represent prominent members of macroalgal-associated mesograzer assemblages of the WAP. Our primary objective was to investigate amphipod behavioral and physiological responses to reduced seawater pH and elevated temperature to evaluate potential cascading ecological impacts. For 90 d, amphipods were exposed to combinations of seawater conditions based on present ambient (pH 8.0, 1.5°C) and predicted end-of-century conditions (pH 7.6, 3.5°C). We recorded survival, molt frequency, and macroalgal consumption rates as well as change in wet mass and proximate body composition (protein and lipid). Survival for both species declined significantly at reduced pH and co-varied with molt frequency. Consumption rates in G. antarctica were significantly higher at reduced pH and there was an additive pH-temperature effect on consumption rates in P. fissicauda. Body mass was reduced for G. antarctica at elevated temperature, but there was no significant effect of pH or temperature on body mass in P. fissicauda. Exposure to the pH or temperature levels tested did not induce significant changes in whole body biochemical composition of G. antarctica, but exposure to elevated temperature resulted in a significant increase in whole body protein content of P. fissicauda. Our study indicates that while elevated temperature causes sub-lethal impacts on both species of amphipods, reduced pH causes significant mortality
Modified Baryonic Dynamics: two-component cosmological simulations with light sterile neutrinos
In this article we continue to test cosmological models centred on Modified
Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) with light sterile neutrinos, which could in
principle be a way to solve the fine-tuning problems of the standard model on
galaxy scales while preserving successful predictions on larger scales. Due to
previous failures of the simple MOND cosmological model, here we test a
speculative model where the modified gravitational field is produced only by
the baryons and the sterile neutrinos produce a purely Newtonian field (hence
Modified Baryonic Dynamics). We use two component cosmological simulations to
separate the baryonic N-body particles from the sterile neutrino ones. The
premise is to attenuate the over-production of massive galaxy cluster halos
which were prevalent in the original MOND plus light sterile neutrinos
scenario. Theoretical issues with such a formulation notwithstanding, the
Modified Baryonic Dynamics model fails to produce the correct amplitude for the
galaxy cluster mass function for any reasonable value of the primordial power
spectrum normalisation.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures. Submitted to JCA
The wedding of modified dynamics and non-exotic dark matter in galaxy clusters
We summarize the status of Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) in galaxy
clusters. The observed acceleration is typically larger than the acceleration
threshold of MOND in the central regions, implying that some dark matter is
necessary to explain the mass discrepancy there. A plausible resolution of this
issue is that the unseen mass in MOND is in the form of ordinary neutrinos with
masses just below the experimentally detectable limit. In particular, we show
that the lensing mass reconstructions of the clusters 1E0657-56 (the bullet
cluster) and Cl0024+17 (the ring) do not pose a new challenge to this scenario.
However, the mass discrepancy for cool X-ray emitting groups, in which
neutrinos cannot cluster, pose a more serious problem, meaning that dark
baryons could present a more satisfactory solution to the problem of unseen
mass in MOND clusters.Comment: to appear in World Scientific, proceedings of DARK 200
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