8,831 research outputs found
Unparticle physics in diphoton production at the CERN LHC
We have considered the di-photon production with unparticle at LHC. The
contributions of spin-0 and spin-2 unparticle to the di-photon production are
studied in the invariant mass and other kinematical distributions, along with
their dependencies on the model dependent parameters. The signal corresponding
to the unparticle is significant for moderate coupling constant values.Comment: 17 pages, 15 eps figure
Supporting play exploration and early developmental intervention versus usual care to enhance development outcomes during the transition from the neonatal intensive care unit to home: a pilot randomized controlled trial
Background While therapy services may start in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) there is often a gap in therapy after discharge. Supporting Play Exploration and Early Development Intervention (SPEEDI) supports parents, helping them build capacity to provide developmentally supportive opportunities starting in the NICU and continuing at home. The purpose of this single blinded randomized pilot clinical trial was to evaluate the initial efficacy of SPEEDI to improve early reaching and exploratory problem solving behaviors. Methods Fourteen infants born very preterm or with neonatal brain injury were randomly assigned to SPEEDI or Usual Care. The SPEEDI group participated in 5 collaborative parent, therapist, and infant interventions sessions in the NICU (Phase 1) and 5 at home (Phase 2). Parents provided daily opportunities designed to support the infants emerging motor control and exploratory behaviors. Primary outcome measures were assessed at the end of the intervention, 1 and 3 months after the intervention ended. Reaching was assessed with the infant supported in an infant chair using four 30 s trials. The Early Problem Solving Indicator was used to evaluate the frequency of behaviors during standardized play based assessment. Effect sizes are including for secondary outcomes including the Test of Infant Motor Performance and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Results No group differences were found in the duration of toy contact. There was a significant group effect on (F1,8 = 4.04, p = 0.08) early exploratory problem-solving behaviors with infants in the SPEEDI group demonstrating greater exploration with effect sizes of 1.3, 0.6, and 0.9 at the end of the intervention, 1 and 3 months post-intervention. Conclusions While further research is needed, this initial efficacy study showed promising results for the ability of SPEEDI to impact early problem solving behaviors at the end of intervention and at least 3 months after the intervention is over. While reaching did not show group differences, a ceiling effect may have contributed to this finding. This single blinded pilot RCT was registered prior to subject enrollment on 5/27/14 at ClinicalTrials.Gov with number NCT02153736
Nuclear magnetic resonance probes for the Kondo scenario for the 0.7 feature in semiconductor quantum point contact devices
We propose a probe based on nuclear relaxation and Knight shift measurements
for the Kondo scenario for the "0.7 feature" in semiconductor quantum point
contact (QPC) devices. We show that the presence of a bound electron in the QPC
would lead to a much higher rate of nuclear relaxation compared to nuclear
relaxation through exchange of spin with conduction electrons. Furthermore, we
show that the temperature dependence of this nuclear relaxation is very
non-monotonic as opposed to the linear-T relaxation from coupling with
conduction electrons. We present a qualitative analysis for the additional
relaxation due to nuclear spin diffusion (NSD) and study the extent to which
NSD affects the range of validity of our method. The conclusion is that nuclear
relaxation, in combination with Knight shift measurements, can be used to
verify whether the 0.7 feature is indeed due to the presence of a bound
electron in the QPC.Comment: Published version. Appears in a Special Section on the 0.7 Feature
and Interactions in One-Dimensional Systems. 16 page
Dynamic nuclear polarisation in biased quantum wires with spin-orbit interaction
We propose a new method for dynamic nuclear polarisation in a quasi
one-dimensional quantum wire utilising the spin-orbit interaction, the
hyperfine interaction, and a finite source-drain potential difference. In
contrast with current methods, our scheme does not rely on external magnetic or
optical sources which makes independent control of closely placed devices much
more feasible. Using this method, a significant polarisation of a few per cent
is possible in currently available InAs wires which may be detected by
conductance measurements. This may prove useful for nuclear-magnetic-resonance
studies in nanoscale systems as well as in spin-based devices where external
magnetic and optical sources will not be suitable.Comment: 6 pages, published versio
Microwave Measurement of Complex Permittivity and Conductivity of Silicon by a Simple Technique
Ortho-para transition rate in -molecular hydrogen and the proton's induced pseudoscalar coupling
We report a measurement of the ortho-para transition rate in the pp
molecule. The experiment was conducted at TRIUMF via the measurement of the
time dependence of the 5.2 MeV neutrons from muon capture in liquid hydrogen.
The measurement yielded an ortho-para rate s that is substantially larger than the
earlier result of Bardin {\it et al.} We discuss the striking implications for
the proton's induced pseudoscalar coupling .Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Sex-partitioning of the <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> stage V gametocyte proteome provides insight into <i>falciparum</i>-specific cell biology
One of the critical gaps in malaria transmission biology and surveillance is our lack of knowledge about Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte biology, especially sexual dimorphic development and how sex ratios that may influence transmission from the human to the mosquito. Dissecting this process has been hampered by the lack of sex-specific protein markers for the circulating, mature stage V gametocytes. The current evidence suggests a high degree of conservation in gametocyte gene complement across Plasmodium, and therefore presumably for sex-specific genes as well. To better our understanding of gametocyte development and subsequent infectiousness to mosquitoes, we undertook a Systematic Subtractive Bioinformatic analysis (filtering) approach to identify sex-specific P. falciparum NF54 protein markers based on a comparison with the Dd2 strain, which is defective in producing males, and with syntenic male and female proteins from the reanalyzed and updated P. berghei (related rodent malaria parasite) gametocyte proteomes. This produced a short list of 174 male- and 258 female-enriched P. falciparum stage V proteins, some of which appear to be under strong diversifying selection, suggesting ongoing adaptation to mosquito vector species. We generated antibodies against three putative female-specific gametocyte stage V proteins in P. falciparum and confirmed either conserved sex-specificity or the lack of cross-species sex-partitioning. Finally, our study provides not only an additional resource for mass spectrometry-derived evidence for gametocyte proteins but also lays down the foundation for rational screening and development of novel sex-partitioned protein biomarkers and transmission-blocking vaccine candidates
Development of Readout Interconnections for the Si-W Calorimeter of SiD
The SiD collaboration is developing a Si-W sampling electromagnetic
calorimeter, with anticipated application for the International Linear
Collider. Assembling the modules for such a detector will involve special
bonding technologies for the interconnections, especially for attaching a
silicon detector wafer to a flex cable readout bus. We review the interconnect
technologies involved, including oxidation removal processes, pad surface
preparation, solder ball selection and placement, and bond quality assurance.
Our results show that solder ball bonding is a promising technique for the Si-W
ECAL, and unresolved issues are being addressed.Comment: 8 pages + title, 6 figure
Fractional Order Thermoelastic Deflection in a Thin Circular Plate
In this work, a quasi-static uncoupled theory of thermoelasticity based on time fractional heat conduction equation is used to model a thin circular plate, whose lower surface is maintained at zero temperature whereas the upper surface is insulated. The edge of the circular plate is fixed and clamped. Integral transform technique is used to derive the analytical solutions in the physi-cal domain. The numerical results for temperature distributions and thermal deflection are com-puted and represented graphically for Copper material
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