726 research outputs found
Low energy ion scattering
Low energy ion scattering (LEIS) is the study of the composition and structure of a surface by the detection of low energy ions with energies ranging from 100 eV to 10 keV elastically scattered off the surface. The extreme sensitivity to the outermost atomic layer makes it as a unique tool for surface analysis. In this paper, concepts of shadowing, blocking, and also polar and azimuthal scans have been described. Surface order and surface atom spacings are revealed by using these concepts and measuring the intensity of backscattered projectiles as a function of the incident and azimuthal angles
Aspects of a new class of braid matrices: roots of unity and hyperelliptic for triangularity, L-algebra,link-invariants, noncommutative spaces
Various properties of a class of braid matrices, presented before, are
studied considering vector representations for two
subclasses. For the matrices are nontrivial. Triangularity corresponds to polynomial equations for , the solutions ranging from
roots of unity to hyperelliptic functions. The algebras of operators are
studied. As a crucial feature one obtains central, group-like, homogenous
quadratic functions of constrained to equality among themselves by the
equations. They are studied in detail for and are proportional to
for the fundamental representation and hence for all iterated
coproducts. The implications are analysed through a detailed study of the
representation for N=3. The Turaev construction for link invariants
is adapted to our class. A skein relation is obtained. Noncommutative spaces
associated to our class of are constructed. The transfer matrix map is
implemented, with the N=3 case as example, for an iterated construction of
noncommutative coordinates starting from an dimensional commutative
base space. Further possibilities, such as multistate statistical models, are
indicated.Comment: 34 pages, pape
First year physics at Newcastle: A longitudinal study
At the University of Newcastle, we offer a pair of Advanced Physics courses for physics majors, science teachers and electrical engineers spanning two semesters of instruction and in which student numbers (after completion) have increased from 138 in 2010 to 180 in 2015. We commenced a longitudinal study in 2012 to measure the effect of altered teaching strategies on our first year outcomes and we report on the latest development in this stud
Probing the Origins of 1,800 MHz Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Radiation Induced Damage in Mouse Immortalized Germ Cells and Spermatozoa in vitro
As the use of mobile phone devices is now highly prevalent, many studies have sought to evaluate the effects of the radiofrequency-electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) on both human health and biology. While several such studies have shown RF-EMR is capable of inducing cellular stress, the physicobiological origin of this stress remains largely unresolved. To explore the effect of RF-EMR on the male reproductive system, we exposed cultured mouse spermatogonial GC1 and spermatocyte GC2 cell lines, as well as cauda epididymal spermatozoa to a waveguide generating continuous wave RF-EMR (1.8 GHz, 0.15 and 1.5 W/kg). This study demonstrated that a 4 h exposure is capable of inducing the generation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) in populations of GC1 (7 vs. 18%; p < 0.001) and GC2 cells (11.5 vs. 16 %; p < 0.01), identifying Complex III of the electron transport chain (ETC) as the potential source of electrons producing ROS. Assessing the generation of ROS in the presence of an antioxidant, penicillamine, as well as measuring lipid peroxidation via 4-hydroxynonenal levels, indicated that the elevated incidence of ROS generation observed under our exposure conditions did not necessarily induce an overt cellular oxidative stress response. However, exposure to RF-EMR at 0.15 W/kg for 3 h did induce significant DNA fragmentation in spermatozoa (that was no longer significant after 4 h), assessed by the alkaline comet assay (p < 0.05). Furthermore, this fragmentation was accompanied by an induction of oxidative DNA damage in the form of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine, which was significant (p < 0.05) after spermatozoa were exposed to RF-EMR for 4 h. At this exposure time point, a decline in sperm motility (p < 0.05) was also observed. This study contributes new evidence toward elucidating a mechanism to account for the effects of RF-EMR on biological systems, proposing Complex III of the mitochondrial ETC as the key target of this radiation
Lithium in the Intermediate-Age Open Cluster, NGC 3680
High-dispersion spectra centered on the Li 6708 A line have been obtained for
70 potential members of the open cluster NGC 3680, with an emphasis on stars in
the turnoff region. A measurable Li abundance has been derived for 53 stars, 39
of which have radial velocities and proper motions consistent with cluster
membership. After being transferred to common temperature and abundance scales,
previous Li estimates have been combined to generate a sample of 49 members, 40
of which bracket the cluster Li-dip. Spectroscopic elemental analysis of 8
giants and 5 turnoff stars produces [Fe/H] = -0.17 +/- 0.07 (sd) and -0.07 +/-
0.02 (sd), respectively. We also report measurements of Ca, Si and Ni which are
consistent with scaled-solar ratios within the errors. Adopting [Fe/H] = -0.08
(Sect. 3.6), Y^2 isochrone comparisons lead to an age of 1.75 +/- 0.10 Gyr and
an apparent modulus of (m-M) = 10.30 +/- 0.15 for the cluster, placing the
center of the Li-dip at 1.35 +/- 0.03 solar masses. Among the giants, 5 of 9
cluster members are now known to have measurable Li with A(Li) near 1.0. A
combined sample of dwarfs in the Hyades and Praesepe is used to delineate the
Li-dip profile at 0.7 Gyr and [Fe/H] = +0.15, establishing its center at 1.42
+/- 0.02 solar masses and noting the possible existence of secondary dip on its
red boundary. When evolved to the typical age of the clusters NGC 752, IC 4651
and NGC 3680, the Hyades/Praesepe Li-dip profile reproduces the observed
morphology of the combined Li-dip within the CMD's of the intermediate-age
clusters while implying a metallicity dependence for the central mass of the
Li-dip given by Mass = (1.38 +/-0.04) + (0.4 +/- 0.2)[Fe/H]. The implications
of the similarity of the Li-dichotomy among giants in NGC 752 and IC 4651 and
the disagreement with the pattern among NGC 3680 giants are discussed.Comment: Latex ms. is 56 pages, including 10 figures and 4 tables. Accepted
for the Astronomical Journa
Third order dielectric susceptibility in a model quantum paraelectric
In the context of perovskite quantum paraelectrics, we study the effects of a
quadrupolar interaction , in addition to the standard dipolar one .
We concentrate here on the nonlinear dielectric response , as
the main response function sensitive to quadrupolar (in our case
antiquadrupolar) interactions. We employ a 3D quantum four-state lattice model
and mean-field theory. The results show that inclusion of quadrupolar coupling
of moderate strength () is clearly accompanied by a
double change of sign of from negative to positive, near the
quantum temperature where the quantum paraelectric behaviour sets in. We
fit our to recent experimental data for SrTiO, where the
sign change is identified close to .Comment: 22 page
Evolutionary relationships between Rhynchosporium lolii sp. nov. and other Rhynchosporium species on grass.
Copyright: 2013 King et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are creditedThe fungal genus Rhynchosporium (causative agent of leaf blotch) contains several host-specialised species, including R. commune (colonising barley and brome-grass), R. agropyri (couch-grass), R. secalis (rye and triticale) and the more distantly related R. orthosporum (cocksfoot). This study used molecular fingerprinting, multilocus DNA sequence data, conidial morphology, host range tests and scanning electron microscopy to investigate the relationship between Rhynchosporium species on ryegrasses, both economically important forage grasses and common wild grasses in many cereal growing areas, and other plant species. Two different types of Rhynchosporium were found on ryegrasses in the UK. Firstly, there were isolates of R. commune that were pathogenic to both barley and Italian ryegrass. Secondly, there were isolates of a new species, here named R. lolii, that were pathogenic only to ryegrass species. R. lolii was most closely related to R. orthosporum, but exhibited clear molecular, morphological and host range differences. The species was estimated to have diverged from R. orthosporum ca. 5735 years before the present. The colonisation strategy of all of the different Rhynchosporium species involved extensive hyphal growth in the sub-cuticular regions of the leaves. Finally, new species-specific PCR diagnostic tests were developed that could distinguish between these five closely related Rhynchosporium species.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
Status of Muon Collider Research and Development and Future Plans
The status of the research on muon colliders is discussed and plans are
outlined for future theoretical and experimental studies. Besides continued
work on the parameters of a 3-4 and 0.5 TeV center-of-mass (CoM) energy
collider, many studies are now concentrating on a machine near 0.1 TeV (CoM)
that could be a factory for the s-channel production of Higgs particles. We
discuss the research on the various components in such muon colliders, starting
from the proton accelerator needed to generate pions from a heavy-Z target and
proceeding through the phase rotation and decay ()
channel, muon cooling, acceleration, storage in a collider ring and the
collider detector. We also present theoretical and experimental R & D plans for
the next several years that should lead to a better understanding of the design
and feasibility issues for all of the components. This report is an update of
the progress on the R & D since the Feasibility Study of Muon Colliders
presented at the Snowmass'96 Workshop [R. B. Palmer, A. Sessler and A.
Tollestrup, Proceedings of the 1996 DPF/DPB Summer Study on High-Energy Physics
(Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, CA, 1997)].Comment: 95 pages, 75 figures. Submitted to Physical Review Special Topics,
Accelerators and Beam
Multicenter, Observational Cohort Study Evaluating Third-Generation Cephalosporin Therapy for Bloodstream Infections Secondary to Enterobacter, Serratia, and Citrobacter Species
Objectives: There is debate on whether the use of third-generation cephalosporins (3GC) increases the risk of clinical failure in bloodstream infections (BSIs) caused by chromosomally-mediated AmpC-producing Enterobacterales (CAE). This study evaluates the impact of definitive 3GC therapy versus other antibiotics on clinical outcomes in BSIs due to Enterobacter, Serratia, or Citrobacter species. Methods: This multicenter, retrospective cohort study evaluated adult hospitalized patients with BSIs secondary to Enterobacter, Serratia, or Citrobacter species from 1 January 2006 to 1 September 2014. Definitive 3GC therapy was compared to definitive therapy with other non-3GC antibiotics. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression evaluated the impact of definitive 3GC on overall treatment failure (OTF) as a composite of in-hospital mortality, 30-day hospital readmission, or 90-day reinfection. Results: A total of 381 patients from 18 institutions in the southeastern United States were enrolled. Common sources of BSIs were the urinary tract and central venous catheters (78 (20.5%) patients each). Definitive 3GC therapy was utilized in 65 (17.1%) patients. OTF occurred in 22/65 patients (33.9%) in the definitive 3GC group vs. 94/316 (29.8%) in the non-3GC group (p = 0.51). Individual components of OTF were comparable between groups. Risk of OTF was comparable with definitive 3GC therapy vs. definitive non-3GC therapy (aHR 0.93, 95% CI 0.51–1.72) in multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Conclusions: These outcomes suggest definitive 3GC therapy does not significantly alter the risk of poor clinical outcomes in the treatment of BSIs secondary to Enterobacter, Serratia, or Citrobacter species compared to other antimicrobial agents
Searching for a Stochastic Background of Gravitational Waves with LIGO
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) has performed
the fourth science run, S4, with significantly improved interferometer
sensitivities with respect to previous runs. Using data acquired during this
science run, we place a limit on the amplitude of a stochastic background of
gravitational waves. For a frequency independent spectrum, the new limit is
. This is currently the most sensitive
result in the frequency range 51-150 Hz, with a factor of 13 improvement over
the previous LIGO result. We discuss complementarity of the new result with
other constraints on a stochastic background of gravitational waves, and we
investigate implications of the new result for different models of this
background.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figure
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