240 research outputs found
Aquinas' Roman Commentary on Peter Lombard
The address presents the recently discovered second Roman commentary of St. Thomas Aquinas on Peter Lombardâs "Liber sententiarum" and offers some reflections on work to be done by scholars in the study of this text. The first part of the address presents the manuscript and its circumstances to argue for the authenticity of the text. The second part briefly describes the character and content of Thomasâ Lectura romana. The third part addresses a concern expressed by Frs. Dondaine and Torrell that a rationalist tendency in the textâs consideration of the Trinity raises questions of its authenticity
Long-term P weathering and recent N deposition control contemporary plant-soil C, N, and P
Models are needed to understand how plant-soil nutrient stores and fluxes have responded to the last two centuries of widespread anthropogenic nutrient pollution and predict future change. These models need to integrate across carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus (C, N, and P) cycles and simulate changes over suitable timescales using available driving data. It is also vital that they are constrainable against observed data to provide confidence in their outputs. To date, no models address all of these requirements. To meet this need, a new model, N14CP, is introduced, which is initially applied to Northern Hemisphere temperate and boreal ecosystems over the Holocene. N14CP is parameterized and tested using 88 northern Europe plot-scale studies, providing the most robust test of such a model to date. The model simulates long-term P weathering, based on the assumption of a starting pool of weatherable P (Pweath0, gâmâ2), which is gradually transformed into organic and sorbed pools. Nitrogen fixation (and consequently primary production) is made dependent on available P. In the absence of knowledge about the spatial variability of Pweath0, N14CP produces good average soil and plant variables but cannot simulate variations among sites. Allowing Pweath0 to vary between sites improves soil C, N, and P results greatly, suggesting that contemporary soil C, N, and P are sensitive to long-term P weathering. Most sites were found to be N limited. Anthropogenic N deposition since 1800 was calculated to have increased plant biomass substantially, in agreement with observations and consequently increased soil carbon pools
Functional and molecular analysis of proprioceptive sensory neuron excitability in mice
Neurons located in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) are crucial for transmitting peripheral sensations such as proprioception, touch, temperature, and nociception to the spinal cord before propagating these signals to higher brain structures. To date, difficulty in identifying modality-specific DRG neurons has limited our ability to study specific populations in detail. As the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin (PV) is a neurochemical marker for proprioceptive DRG cells we used a transgenic mouse line expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) in PV positive DRGs, to study the functional and molecular properties of putative proprioceptive neurons. Immunolabeled DRGs showed a 100% overlap between GFP positive (GFP+) and PV positive cells, confirming the PVeGFP mouse accurately labeled PV neurons. Targeted patch-clamp recording from isolated GFP+ and GFP negative (GFPâ) neurons showed the passive membrane properties of the two groups were similar, however, their active properties differed markedly. All GFP+ neurons fired a single spike in response to sustained current injection and their action potentials (APs) had faster rise times, lower thresholds and shorter half widths. A hyperpolarization-activated current (Ih) was observed in all GFP+ neurons but was infrequently noted in the GFPâ population (100% vs. 11%). For GFP+ neurons, Ih activation rates varied markedly, suggesting differences in the underlying hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (HCN) subunit expression responsible for the current kinetics. Furthermore, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) showed the HCN subunits 2, 1, and 4 mRNA (in that order) was more abundant in GFP+ neurons, while HCN 3 was more highly expressed in GFPâ neurons. Likewise, immunolabeling confirmed HCN 1, 2, and 4 protein expression in GFP+ neurons. In summary, certain functional properties of GFP+ and GFPâ cells differ markedly, providing evidence for modality-specific signaling between the two groups. However, the GFP+ DRG population demonstrates considerable internal heterogeneity when hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (HCN channel) properties and subunit expression are considered. We propose this heterogeneity reflects the existence of different peripheral receptors such as tendon organs, muscle spindles or mechanoreceptors in the putative proprioceptive neuron population
Flavour constraints on scenarios with two or three heavy squark generations
We re-assess constraints from flavour-changing neutral currents in the kaon
system on supersymmetric scenarios with a light gluino, two heavy generations
of squarks and a lighter third generation. We compute for the first time limits
in scenarios with three heavy squark families, taking into account QCD
corrections at the next-to-leading order. We compare our limits with those in
the case of two heavy families. We use the mass insertion approximation and
consider contributions from gluino exchange to constrain the mixing between the
first and second squark generation. While it is not possible to perform a
general analysis, we assess the relevance of each kind of flavour- and
CP-violating parameters. We also provide ready to use magic numbers for the
computation of the Wilson coefficients at 2 GeV for these scenarios.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures; v3: matches published version (contains
improvements in the presentation and clarifications
GEOTRACES IC1 (BATS) contamination-prone trace element isotopes Cd, Fe, Pb, Zn, Cu, and Mo intercalibration
International audienceWe report data on the isotopic composition of cadmium, copper, iron, lead, zinc, and molybdenum at the GEOTRACES IC1 BATS Atlantic intercalibration station. In general, the between lab and within-lab precisions are adequate to resolve global gradients and vertical gradients at this station for Cd, Fe, Pb, and Zn. Cd and Zn isotopes show clear variations in the upper water column and more subtle variations in the deep water; these variations are attributable, in part, to progressive mass fractionation of isotopes by Rayleigh distillation from biogenic uptake and/or adsorption. Fe isotope variability is attributed to heavier crustal dust and hydrothermal sources and light Fe from reducing sediments. Pb isotope variability results from temporal changes in anthropogenic source isotopic compositions and the relative contributions of U.S. and European Pb sources. Cu and Mo isotope variability is more subtle and close to analytical precision. Although the present situation is adequate for proceeding with GEOTRACES, it should be possible to improve the within-lab and between-lab precisions for some of these properties
Random Convex Hulls and Extreme Value Statistics
In this paper we study the statistical properties of convex hulls of
random points in a plane chosen according to a given distribution. The points
may be chosen independently or they may be correlated. After a non-exhaustive
survey of the somewhat sporadic literature and diverse methods used in the
random convex hull problem, we present a unifying approach, based on the notion
of support function of a closed curve and the associated Cauchy's formulae,
that allows us to compute exactly the mean perimeter and the mean area enclosed
by the convex polygon both in case of independent as well as correlated points.
Our method demonstrates a beautiful link between the random convex hull problem
and the subject of extreme value statistics. As an example of correlated
points, we study here in detail the case when the points represent the vertices
of independent random walks. In the continuum time limit this reduces to
independent planar Brownian trajectories for which we compute exactly, for
all , the mean perimeter and the mean area of their global convex hull. Our
results have relevant applications in ecology in estimating the home range of a
herd of animals. Some of these results were announced recently in a short
communication [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 103}, 140602 (2009)].Comment: 61 pages (pedagogical review); invited contribution to the special
issue of J. Stat. Phys. celebrating the 50 years of Yeshiba/Rutgers meeting
Galactic Halos of Fluid Dark Matter
Dwarf spiral galaxies - and in particular the prototypical DDO 154 - are
known to be completely dominated by an unseen component. The putative
neutralinos - so far the favored explanation for the astronomical dark matter -
fail to reproduce the well measured rotation curves of those systems because
these species tend to form a central cusp whose presence is not supported by
observation. We have considered here a self-coupled charged scalar field as an
alternative to neutralinos and investigated whether a Bose condensate of that
field could account for the dark matter inside DDO 154 and more generally
inside dwarf spirals. The size of the condensate turns out to be precisely
determined by the scalar mass m and self-coupling lambda of the field. We find
actually that for m^4 / lambda = 50 - 75 eV^4, the agreement with the
measurements of the circular speed of DDO 154 is impressive whereas it lessens
for larger systems. The cosmological behavior of the field is also found to be
consistent - yet marginally - with the limits set by BBN on the effective
number of neutrino families. We conclude that classical configurations of a
scalar and self-coupled field provide a possible solution to the astronomical
dark matter problem and we suggest further directions of research.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures; one reference added, version to be published in
PR
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