1,275 research outputs found
Acoustic characterization of crack damage evolution in sandstone deformed under conventional and true triaxial loading
We thank the Associate Editor, Michelle Cooke, and the reviewers, Ze'ev Reches and Yves Guéguen, for useful comments which helped to improve the manuscript. We thank J.G. Van Munster for providing access to the true triaxial apparatus at KSEPL and for technical support during the experimental program. We thank R. Pricci for assistance with technical drawings of the apparatus. This work was partly funded by NERC award NE/N002938/1 and by a NERC Doctoral Studentship, which we gratefully acknowledge. Supporting data are included in a supporting information file; any additional data may be obtained from J.B. (e-mail: [email protected]).Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Identification of the growth arrest and DNA damage protein GADD34 in the normal human heart and demonstration of alterations in expression following myocardial ischaemia
Growth arrest and DNA damage protein 34 (GADD34) is a multifunctional protein upregulated in response to cellular stress and is believed to mediate DNA repair and restore protein synthesis. In the present study we have examined GADD34 immunoreactivity in human myocardial tissue at defined survival times following cardiac arrest and determined alterations in expression following ischaemia. In the normal human heart, GADD34 immunoreactivity was generally intense and present within most cells. GADD34 immunoreactivity was downregulated in tissue displaying ischaemic damage and remained intense in adjacent non-infarcted tissue. Unlike brain, GADD34 was not found to be upregulated in the peri-infarct zone. Cells displaying apoptotic changes were located in regions displaying reduced GADD34 immunoreactivity. In the brain, it is thought that GADD34 supports re-initiation of protein synthesis following ischaemia. Similarly, GADD34 may perform important functions in cardiac tissue in response to ischaemia
Hyperbolic calorons, monopoles, and instantons
We construct families of SO(3)-symmetric charge 1 instantons and calorons on
the space H^3 x R. We show how the calorons include instantons and hyperbolic
monopoles as limiting cases. We show how Euclidean calorons are the flat space
limit of this family.Comment: 11 pages, no figures 1 reference added Published version available
at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/k0j4815u54303450
Signatures of chaotic and non-chaotic-like behaviour in a non-linear quantum oscillator through photon detection
The driven non-linear duffing osillator is a very good, and standard, example
of a quantum mechanical system from which classical-like orbits can be
recovered from unravellings of the master equation. In order to generated such
trajectories in the phase space of this oscillator in this paper we use a the
quantum jumps unravelling together with a suitable application of the
correspondence principle. We analyse the measured readout by considering the
power spectra of photon counts produced by the quantum jumps. Here we show that
localisation of the wave packet from the measurement of the oscillator by the
photon detector produces a concomitant structure in the power spectra of the
measured output. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this spectral analysis can be
used to distinguish between different modes of the underlying dynamics of the
oscillator.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
An inside story: tracking experiences, challenges and successes in a joint specialist performing arts college
In England the government’s specialist schools initiative is transforming the nature of secondary education. A three-year longitudinal case study tracked the effects of specialist performing arts college status on two schools. The sites were a mainstream school drawing pupils from an area of high social deprivation and disadvantage, and a special school catering for pupils with profound and \ud
multiple learning difficulties, which were awarded joint performing arts college status. The government’s \ud
preferred criterion for judging the success of specialist schools is improvement in whole-school examination results. The authors argue that this is a crude and inappropriate measure for these case study schools and probably others. Using questionnaires, interviews and documentation they tell an ‘inside story’ of experiences, challenges and achievements, from the perspectives of the schools’ mangers, staff and pupils. Alternative ‘value-added’ features emerged that were positive indicators of enrichment and success in both schools
Instantons and Killing spinors
We investigate instantons on manifolds with Killing spinors and their cones.
Examples of manifolds with Killing spinors include nearly Kaehler 6-manifolds,
nearly parallel G_2-manifolds in dimension 7, Sasaki-Einstein manifolds, and
3-Sasakian manifolds. We construct a connection on the tangent bundle over
these manifolds which solves the instanton equation, and also show that the
instanton equation implies the Yang-Mills equation, despite the presence of
torsion. We then construct instantons on the cones over these manifolds, and
lift them to solutions of heterotic supergravity. Amongst our solutions are new
instantons on even-dimensional Euclidean spaces, as well as the well-known
BPST, quaternionic and octonionic instantons.Comment: 40 pages, 2 figures v2: author email addresses and affiliations adde
The wool proteome and fibre characteristics of three distinct genetic ovine breeds from Portugal
Wool properties and commodity value vary considerably between breeds. In Portugal, three major ovine groups exist: Churros, Bordaleiros and Merinos. This work studies the effect of the ovine genotype on the wool proteome of such groups. Wool was collected from 15 ewes/breed and genetic groups: Churra da Terra Quente (CTQ) or Churro, Serra da Estrela (SE) or Bordaleiro and Merino Branco (MB) or Merino. Proteins were extracted and subjected to label-free proteomics analysis. A total of 50 keratinous protein groups were identified in all the samples, divided into type I and II keratins and the keratin associated proteins: high-glycine-tyrosine proteins, ultra-high sulphur proteins and high-sulphur proteins. Major differences were found between MB and CTQ with respect to K75 and K38, both medullar proteins and to a lesser extent between SE and CTQ suggesting that these might be good markers for this trait in wool. Partial least squares discriminatory analysis proved MB to be readily distinguishable from the other two breeds. Further differences were noted in keratin associated protein levels between the three breeds, normally an indicator of higher levels of orthocortex and also their relationship to high curvature, high crimp fibres like Merinoinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
Variation in education doctoral students’ conceptions of university teaching
The development of doctoral students as university teachers has received substantially less attention compared with their development as researchers, with a similar deficit extending to research on how they experience and understand university teaching. This article reports the results of a phenomenographic study of education doctoral students’ conceptions of teaching in higher education. Using samples from two education departments in England and Sweden, we conducted interviews to identify variation in doctoral students’ experiences of university teaching. Analysis of the transcripts produced six qualitatively different conceptions of teaching: doctoral students conceptualised university teaching as a means of (A) transmitting knowledge, (B) presenting contrasting concepts of education, (C) communicating and engaging with students, (D) enabling students to apply knowledge and skills, (E) enabling students to interpret and compare concepts of education, and (F) promoting personal, professional and societal development and change. While in broad agreement with previous studies on university teachers’ conceptions of teaching, the study offers a unique insight into how the subject of education is understood by doctoral students who teach. The findings also underline the need to introduce common frameworks of academic development for academics and doctoral students alike that prioritise ways of representing and engaging with the structure of the subject, rather than the acquisition of teaching skills
M5-branes from gauge theories on the 5-sphere
We use the 5-sphere partition functions of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories
to explore the (2,0) superconformal theory on S^5 x S^1. The 5d theories can be
regarded as Scherk-Schwarz reductions of the 6d theory along the circle. In a
special limit, the perturbative partition function takes the form of the
Chern-Simons partition function on S^3. With a simple non-perturbative
completion, it becomes a 6d index which captures the degeneracy of a sector of
BPS states as well as the index version of the vacuum Casimir energy. The
Casimir energy exhibits the N^3 scaling at large N. The large N index for U(N)
gauge group also completely agrees with the supergravity index on AdS_7 x S^4.Comment: 44 pages, 1 figure, v4: ref added, clarified weak/strong coupling
behaviors of large N free energy, minor improvements, version to be published
in JHE
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