6,259 research outputs found
Associations between mothersâ perceptions of the cost of fruit and vegetables and childrenâs diets : Will children pay the price?
Background/Objectives: Perceptions that fruit and vegetables are expensive are more common among the socio-economically disadvantaged groups and are linked to poor dietary outcomes. Such perceptions may be exacerbated in countries recently affected by natural disasters, where devastation of fruit and vegetable crops has resulted in increase in prices of fruit and vegetables. Examining the associations of perceptions of fruit and vegetable affordability and children\u27s diets can offer insights into how the high prices of fruit and vegetables might have an impact on the diets of children.Subjects/Methods: We analysed the data from 546 socio-economically disadvantaged mother–child pairs to assess the relationship between maternal perceptions of fruit and vegetable affordability and the diets of their children.Results: Fruit consumption was lower among children whose mothers felt the cost of fruit was too high. Maternal perceptions of fruit and vegetable affordability were not associated with any other aspect of child\u27s diet.Conclusions: Our results suggest a possible role for maternal perceptions of fruit affordability in children\u27s diet, though further research is warranted.<br /
Nanoscale temperature measurements using non-equilibrium Brownian dynamics of a levitated nanosphere
Einstein realised that the fluctuations of a Brownian particle can be used to
ascertain properties of its environment. A large number of experiments have
since exploited the Brownian motion of colloidal particles for studies of
dissipative processes, providing insight into soft matter physics, and leading
to applications from energy harvesting to medical imaging. Here we use
optically levitated nanospheres that are heated to investigate the
non-equilibrium properties of the gas surrounding them. Analysing the sphere's
Brownian motion allows us to determine the temperature of the centre-of-mass
motion of the sphere, its surface temperature and the heated gas temperature in
two spatial dimensions. We observe asymmetric heating of the sphere and gas,
with temperatures reaching the melting point of the material. This method
offers new opportunities for accurate temperature measurements with spatial
resolution on the nanoscale, and a new means for testing non-equilibrium
thermodynamicsComment: 5 pages, 4 figures, supplementary material available upon reques
Non-Parametric Approximations for Anisotropy Estimation in Two-dimensional Differentiable Gaussian Random Fields
Spatially referenced data often have autocovariance functions with elliptical
isolevel contours, a property known as geometric anisotropy. The anisotropy
parameters include the tilt of the ellipse (orientation angle) with respect to
a reference axis and the aspect ratio of the principal correlation lengths.
Since these parameters are unknown a priori, sample estimates are needed to
define suitable spatial models for the interpolation of incomplete data. The
distribution of the anisotropy statistics is determined by a non-Gaussian
sampling joint probability density. By means of analytical calculations, we
derive an explicit expression for the joint probability density function of the
anisotropy statistics for Gaussian, stationary and differentiable random
fields. Based on this expression, we obtain an approximate joint density which
we use to formulate a statistical test for isotropy. The approximate joint
density is independent of the autocovariance function and provides conservative
probability and confidence regions for the anisotropy parameters. We validate
the theoretical analysis by means of simulations using synthetic data, and we
illustrate the detection of anisotropy changes with a case study involving
background radiation exposure data. The approximate joint density provides (i)
a stand-alone approximate estimate of the anisotropy statistics distribution
(ii) informed initial values for maximum likelihood estimation, and (iii) a
useful prior for Bayesian anisotropy inference.Comment: 39 pages; 8 figure
Design of high-magnetic field gradient sources for controlling magnetically induced flow of ferrofluids in microfluidic systems
The use of miniature electromagnets for ferrofluid-actuated liquid dispensing into microfluidic channels has been investigated by numerical simulations using the finite element method and measurements of fluid displacement and flow rate. The simulations illustrate the effect of structural and geometrical parameters of single and paired solenoid coils on the magnetic force experienced by the ferrofluid. Dual solenoids were used for extended fluid displacement. Ferrofluid positioning and flow rates were controlled also by using a solenoid with an iron core. The experimental measurements of fluidflow in capillaries were used to validate the modeling calculations. The results can be used as a basis for the development of on-chip ferrofluid-based devices integrated with microfluidic architectures
Photobacterium profundum under Pressure:A MS-Based Label-Free Quantitative Proteomics Study
Photobacterium profundum SS9 is a Gram-negative bacterium, originally collected from the Sulu Sea. Its genome consists of two chromosomes and a 80 kb plasmid. Although it can grow under a wide range of pressures, P. profundum grows optimally at 28 MPa and 15°C. Its ability to grow at atmospheric pressure allows for both easy genetic manipulation and culture, making it a model organism to study piezophily. Here, we report a shotgun proteomic analysis of P. profundum grown at atmospheric compared to high pressure using label-free quantitation and mass spectrometry analysis. We have identified differentially expressed proteins involved in high pressure adaptation, which have been previously reported using other methods. Proteins involved in key metabolic pathways were also identified as being differentially expressed. Proteins involved in the glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathway were up-regulated at high pressure. Conversely, several proteins involved in the oxidative phosphorylation pathway were up-regulated at atmospheric pressure. Some of the proteins that were differentially identified are regulated directly in response to the physical impact of pressure. The expression of some proteins involved in nutrient transport or assimilation, are likely to be directly regulated by pressure. In a natural environment, different hydrostatic pressures represent distinct ecosystems with their own particular nutrient limitations and abundances. However, the only variable considered in this study was atmospheric pressure
Interactions among mitochondrial proteins altered in glioblastoma
Mitochondrial dysfunction is putatively central to glioblastoma (GBM) pathophysiology but there has been no systematic analysis in GBM of the proteins which are integral to mitochondrial function. Alterations in proteins in mitochondrial enriched fractions from patients with GBM were defined with label-free liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. 256 mitochondrially-associated proteins were identified in mitochondrial enriched fractions and 117 of these mitochondrial proteins were markedly (fold-change ≥2) and significantly altered in GBM (p ≤ 0.05). Proteins associated with oxidative damage (including catalase, superoxide dismutase 2, peroxiredoxin 1 and peroxiredoxin 4) were increased in GBM. Proteinâprotein interaction analysis highlighted a reduction in multiple proteins coupled to energy metabolism (in particular respiratory chain proteins, including 23 complex-I proteins). Qualitative ultrastructural analysis in GBM with electron microscopy showed a notably higher prevalence of mitochondria with cristolysis in GBM. This study highlights the complex mitochondrial proteomic adjustments which occur in GBM pathophysiology
Oxidative stress rather than triglyceride accumulation perturbs glutathione metabolism in an in vitro model of cellular steatosis
Filtering and Tracking with Trinion-Valued Adaptive Algorithms
A new model for three-dimensional processes based on the trinion algebra is introduced for the first time. Compared
with the pure quaternion model, the trinion model is more compact and computationally more efficient, while having similar or
comparable performance in terms of adaptive linear filtering. Moreover, the trinion model can effectively represent the general
relationship of state evolution in Kalman filtering, where the pure quaternion model fails. Simulations on real-world wind
recordings and synthetic data sets are provided to demonstrate the potentials of this new modeling method
Measurement of Semileptonic Branching Fractions of B Mesons to Narrow D** States
Using the data accumulated in 2002-2004 with the DO detector in
proton-antiproton collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron collider with
centre-of-mass energy 1.96 TeV, the branching fractions of the decays B ->
\bar{D}_1^0(2420) \mu^+ \nu_\mu X and B -> \bar{D}_2^{*0}(2460) \mu^+ \nu_\mu X
and their ratio have been measured: BR(\bar{b}->B) \cdot BR(B-> \bar{D}_1^0
\mu^+ \nu_\mu X) \cdot BR(\bar{D}_1^0 -> D*- pi+) =
(0.087+-0.007(stat)+-0.014(syst))%; BR(\bar{b}->B)\cdot BR(B->D_2^{*0} \mu^+
\nu_\mu X) \cdot BR(\bar{D}_2^{*0} -> D*- \pi^+) =
(0.035+-0.007(stat)+-0.008(syst))%; and (BR(B -> \bar{D}_2^{*0} \mu^+ \nu_\mu
X)BR(D2*0->D*- pi+)) / (BR(B -> \bar{D}_1^{0} \mu^+ \nu_\mu X)\cdot
BR(\bar{D}_1^{0}->D*- \pi^+)) = 0.39+-0.09(stat)+-0.12(syst), where the charge
conjugated states are always implied.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Search for Large Extra Spatial Dimensions in Dimuon Production with the D0 Detector
We present the results of a search for the effects of large extra spatial
dimensions in collisions at 1.96 TeV in events
containing a pair of energetic muons. The data correspond to 246 \ipb of
integrated luminosity collected by the \D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron
Collider. Good agreement with the expected background was found, yielding no
evidence for large extra dimensions. We set 95% C.L. lower limits on the
fundamental Planck scale between 0.85 TeV and 1.27 TeV within several
formalisms. These are the most stringent limits achieved in the dimuon channel
to date.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Published in Phys. Rev. Lett. Minor
changes in v2 to match the published versio
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