1,521 research outputs found
Physical characteristics and non-keplerian orbital motion of "propeller" moons embedded in Saturn's rings
We report the discovery of several large "propeller" moons in the outer part
of Saturn's A ring, objects large enough to be followed over the 5-year
duration of the Cassini mission. These are the first objects ever discovered
that can be tracked as individual moons, but do not orbit in empty space. We
infer sizes up to 1--2 km for the unseen moonlets at the center of the
propeller-shaped structures, though many structural and photometric properties
of propeller structures remain unclear. Finally, we demonstrate that some
propellers undergo sustained non-keplerian orbit motion. (Note: This arXiv
version of the paper contains supplementary tables that were left out of the
ApJL version due to lack of space).Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures; Published in ApJ
Variations in Shape-Sensitive Restriction Points Mirror Differences in the Regeneration Capacities of Avian and Mammalian Ears
When inner ear hair cells die, humans and other mammals experience permanent hearing and balance deficits, but non-mammalian vertebrates quickly recover these senses after epithelial supporting cells give rise to replacement hair cells. A postnatal decline in cellular plasticity appears to limit regeneration in mammalian balance organs, where declining proliferation responses are correlated with decreased spreading of supporting cells on artificial and native substrates. By culturing balance epithelia on substrates that differed in flexibility, we assessed spreading effects independent of age, showing a strong correlation between shape change and supporting cell proliferation. Then we made excision wounds in utricles cultured from young and old chickens and mice and compared quantified levels of spreading and proliferation. In utricles from young mice, and both young and old chickens, wounds re-epithelialized in <24 hours, while those in utricles from mature mice took three times longer. More cells changed shape in the fastest healing wounds, which accounted for some differences in the levels of proliferation, but inter-species and age-related differences in shape-sensitive restriction points, i.e., the cellular thresholds for shape changes that promote S-phase, were evident and may be particularly influential in the responses to hair cell losses in vivo
Communications Biophysics
Contains reports on four research projects.National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 P01 GM14940-06)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NGL 22-009-304)Boston City Hospital Purchase Order 10656B-D Electrodyne Division, Becton Dickinson and Compan
Demographic Variation in the Frequency of Gliomas in Florida
Background and objectives: Glial brain cancers affect nearly 20,000 individuals in the United States (USA) annually. SEER database data exploring the relationship between race and gliomas is now available and have shown that cerebral gliomas occur at a higher frequency in Caucasian men. However, such analyses did not include demographic data specific to the state of Florida. This study assessed the association between race and glial vs. non-glial Central Nervous System (CNS) cancers in Florida, USA. Materials and Methods: This case-control study utilized the Florida Cancer Data Registry (FCDS), in which race was considered the exposure and development of glioma as the measured outcome. The sample was comprised of patients in Florida diagnosed with brain tumors from 1981 to 2013. Relative racial frequencies were compared between patients with glial brain tumors and those with other CNS tumors. Data was analyzed using logistic regression in order to determine any associations between race and frequency of diagnosis adjusting for several confounders (age, sex, smoking status, year of diagnosis, and insurance status). Results: Between 1981 and 2013 a total of 14,092 patients meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were diagnosed in Florida with a primary brain tumor. Being of non-white race was associated with 60% decreased odds of glioma diagnosis compared to the reference white population (adjusted OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.34–0.47). Secondary findings include associations between increasing age and male sex with increased odds of glioma diagnosis. Decreased adjusted odds of glioma diagnosis were found with former smoking status (reference non-smokers), diagnosis between 2001 and 2010 (reference 1981–1990), and Medicaid or Medicare insurance (reference private insurance). Hispanic ethnicity, current smoking status, no insurance/self-pay, and geographical location (urban vs. rural) all had no association with glioma diagnosis. Conclusions: These findings are consistent with and help reinforce previous studies utilizing national databases (SEER) which also showed increasing odds of glioma diagnosis in older white males. Various potential explanations for these findings include genetic predisposition, lifestyle and behavioral factors, and socioeconomic status, including access to healthcare. Future research aims at identifying potential genetic etiologies
Variation in ruminant preference for alfalfa hays cut at sunup and sundown
Diurnal variation in the concentration of total nonstructural carbohydrates
(TNC) occurs in plants as a result of photosynthesis. Ruminants
have been shown to prefer tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea
Schreber) hays cut in the afternoon but the effect of morning vs.
evening cutting had not been tested in legumes. To test for diurnal
variation in preference for alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), we harvested
six times in the midbud stage. Harvests were paired so that each time
a cutting of alfalfa was made at sundown (PM) another was made
the next morning at sunup (AM). We harvested in this manner three
times resulting in six hays. The hays were field dried, baled, and
chopped prior to their use 3 to 6 mo after harvest. Three experiments
were conducted [Exp. 1, sheep (Ovis aries); Exp. 2, goats (Capra
hircus hircus); and Exp. 3, cattle (Bos taunts)] utilizing six animals
in each case. During an adaptation phase, hays were offered alone
as meals. In the experimental phase, every possible pair of hays (15
pairs) was presented for a meal. Data were analyzed by multidimensional
scaling as well as by traditional analyses. Multidimensional
scaling indicated that the animals were basing selection on at least
two criteria. Variables associated with preference through multiple
regression varied across experiments but significant coefficients were
found between preference and nitrate, protein, carbohydrate fractions,
lignin, and cellulose. Coefficients varied depending on which other
variables were in the model; however, carbohydrates were associated
with positive coefficients. Shifting hay mowing from early in the day
to late in the day was effective in increasing forage preference as
expressed by short-term dry matter intake
The population of propellers in Saturn's A Ring
We present an extensive data set of ~150 localized features from Cassini
images of Saturn's Ring A, a third of which are demonstrated to be persistent
by their appearance in multiple images, and half of which are resolved well
enough to reveal a characteristic "propeller" shape. We interpret these
features as the signatures of small moonlets embedded within the ring, with
diameters between 40 and 500 meters. The lack of significant brightening at
high phase angle indicates that they are likely composed primarily of
macroscopic particles, rather than dust. With the exception of two features
found exterior to the Encke Gap, these objects are concentrated entirely within
three narrow (~1000 km) bands in the mid-A Ring that happen to be free from
local disturbances from strong density waves. However, other nearby regions are
similarly free of major disturbances but contain no propellers. It is unclear
whether these bands are due to specific events in which a parent body or bodies
broke up into the current moonlets, or whether a larger initial moonlet
population has been sculpted into bands by other ring processes.Comment: 31 pages, 10 figures; Accepted at A
- …