249 research outputs found
On the Influence of Stochastic Moments in the Solution of the Neutron Point Kinetics Equation
On the Influence of Stochastic Moments in the Solution of the Neutron Point
Kinetics EquationComment: 12 pages, 2 figure
NMR Experiments on a Three-Dimensional Vibrofluidized Granular Medium
A three-dimensional granular system fluidized by vertical container
vibrations was studied using pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR coupled with
one-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The system consisted of
mustard seeds vibrated vertically at 50 Hz, and the number of layers N_ell <= 4
was sufficiently low to achieve a nearly time-independent granular fluid. Using
NMR, the vertical profiles of density and granular temperature were directly
measured, along with the distributions of vertical and horizontal grain
velocities. The velocity distributions showed modest deviations from
Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics, except for the vertical velocity distribution
near the sample bottom which was highly skewed and non-Gaussian. Data taken for
three values of N_ell and two dimensionless accelerations Gamma=15,18 were fit
to a hydrodynamic theory, which successfully models the density and temperature
profiles including a temperature inversion near the free upper surface.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figure
A Phenomenological Analysis of Gluon Mass Effects in Inclusive Radiative Decays of the and $\Upsilon
The shapes of the inclusive photon spectra in the processes \Jp \to \gamma
X and \Up \to \gamma X have been analysed using all available experimental
data.
Relativistic, higher order QCD and gluon mass corrections were taken into
account in the fitted functions. Only on including the gluon mass corrections,
were consistent and acceptable fits obtained. Values of
GeV and GeV were found for the
effective gluon masses (corresponding to Born level diagrams) for the \Jp and
\Up respectively. The width ratios \Gamma(V \to {\rm hadrons})/\Gamma(V \to
\gamma+ {\rm hadrons}) V=\Jp, \Up were used to determine and . Values consistent with the current world
average were obtained only when gluon mass correction factors,
calculated using the fitted values of the effective gluon mass, were applied. A
gluon mass GeV, as suggested with these results, is consistent with
previous analytical theoretical calculations and independent phenomenological
estimates, as well as with a recent, more accurate, lattice calculation of the
gluon propagator in the infra-red region.Comment: 50 pages, 11 figures, 15 table
The influence of T cell development on pathogen specificity and autoreactivity
T cells orchestrate adaptive immune responses upon activation. T cell
activation requires sufficiently strong binding of T cell receptors on their
surface to short peptides derived from foreign proteins bound to protein
products of the major histocompatibility (MHC) gene products, which are
displayed on the surface of antigen presenting cells. T cells can also interact
with peptide-MHC complexes, where the peptide is derived from host (self)
proteins. A diverse repertoire of relatively self-tolerant T cell receptors is
selected in the thymus. We study a model, computationally and analytically, to
describe how thymic selection shapes the repertoire of T cell receptors, such
that T cell receptor recognition of pathogenic peptides is both specific and
degenerate. We also discuss the escape probability of autoimmune T cells from
the thymus.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
Aligned silk-based 3-D architectures for contact guidance in tissue engineering
An important challenge in the biomaterials field is to mimic the structure of functional tissues via cell and extracellular matrix (ECM) alignment and anisotropy. Toward this goal, silk-based scaffolds resembling bone lamellar structure were developed using a freeze-drying technique. The structure could be controlled directly by solute concentration and freezing parameters, resulting in lamellar scaffolds with regular morphology. Different post-treatments, such as methanol, water annealing and steam sterilization, were investigated to induce water stability. The resulting structures exhibited significant differences in terms of morphological integrity, structure and mechanical properties. The lamellar thicknesses were ∼2.6 μm for the methanol-treated scaffolds and ∼5.8 μm for water-annealed. These values are in the range of those reported for human lamellar bone. Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) were seeded on these silk fibroin lamellar scaffolds and grown under osteogenic conditions to assess the effect of the microstructure on cell behavior. Collagen in the newly deposited ECM was found aligned along the lamellar architectures. In the case of methanol-treated lamellar structures, the hMSC were able to migrate into the interior of the scaffolds, producing a multilamellar hybrid construct. The present morphology constitutes a useful pattern onto which hMSC cells attach and proliferate for guided formation of a highly oriented extracellular matrix.A.L.O. wishes to thank financial support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BPD/39102/2007) under POCTI Program. This work was partially supported by FCT through POCTI and/or FEDER programs and by the NIH [DE017207, EB003210 and EB002520]
Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities
A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by
the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an
explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were
chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in
2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that
time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the
broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles
could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII
program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the -factories and CLEO-c
flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the
Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the
deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality,
precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for
continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states
unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such
as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the
spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b},
and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical
approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The
intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have
emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and
cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review
systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing
directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K.
Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D.
Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A.
Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair
Achieving coordinated national immunity and cholera elimination in Haiti through vaccination: a modelling study
Background: Cholera was introduced into Haiti in 2010. Since then, more than 820 000 cases and nearly 10 000 deaths have been reported. Oral cholera vaccine (OCV) is safe and effective, but has not been seen as a primary tool for cholera elimination due to a limited period of protection and constrained supplies. Regionally, epidemic cholera is contained to the island of Hispaniola, and the lowest numbers of cases since the epidemic began were reported in 2019. Hence, Haiti may represent a unique opportunity to eliminate cholera with OCV. Methods: In this modelling study, we assessed the probability of elimination, time to elimination, and percentage of cases averted with OCV campaign scenarios in Haiti through simulations from four modelling teams. For a 10-year period from January 19, 2019, to Jan 13, 2029, we compared a no vaccination scenario with five OCV campaign scenarios that differed in geographical scope, coverage, and rollout duration. Teams used weekly department-level reports of suspected cholera cases from the Haiti Ministry of Public Health and Population to calibrate the models and used common vaccine-related assumptions, but other model features were determined independently. Findings: Among campaigns with the same vaccination coverage (70% fully vaccinated), the median probability of elimination after 5 years was 0–18% for no vaccination, 0–33% for 2-year campaigns focused in the two departments with the highest historical incidence, 0–72% for three-department campaigns, and 35–100% for nationwide campaigns. Two-department campaigns averted a median of 12–58% of infections, three-department campaigns averted 29–80% of infections, and national campaigns averted 58–95% of infections. Extending the national campaign to a 5-year rollout (compared to a 2-year rollout), reduced the probability of elimination to 0–95% and the proportion of cases averted to 37–86%. Interpretation: Models suggest that the probability of achieving zero transmission of Vibrio cholerae in Haiti with current methods of control is low, and that bolder action is needed to promote elimination of cholera from the region. Large-scale cholera vaccination campaigns in Haiti would offer the opportunity to synchronise nationwide immunity, providing near-term population protection while improvements to water and sanitation promote long-term cholera elimination. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Good Fund, Institute for Disease Modeling, Swiss National Science Foundation, and US National Institutes of Health
All-sky search for long-duration gravitational wave transients with initial LIGO
We present the results of a search for long-duration gravitational wave transients in two sets of data collected by the LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston detectors between November 5, 2005 and September 30, 2007, and July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010, with a total observational time of 283.0 days and 132.9 days, respectively. The search targets gravitational wave transients of duration 10-500 s in a frequency band of 40-1000 Hz, with minimal assumptions about the signal waveform, polarization, source direction, or time of occurrence. All candidate triggers were consistent with the expected background; as a result we set 90% confidence upper limits on the rate of long-duration gravitational wave transients for different types of gravitational wave signals. For signals from black hole accretion disk instabilities, we set upper limits on the source rate density between 3.4×10-5 and 9.4×10-4 Mpc-3 yr-1 at 90% confidence. These are the first results from an all-sky search for unmodeled long-duration transient gravitational waves. © 2016 American Physical Society
All-sky search for long-duration gravitational wave transients with initial LIGO
We present the results of a search for long-duration gravitational wave transients in two sets of data collected by the LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston detectors between November 5, 2005 and September 30, 2007, and July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010, with a total observational time of 283.0 days and 132.9 days, respectively. The search targets gravitational wave transients of duration 10-500 s in a frequency band of 40-1000 Hz, with minimal assumptions about the signal waveform, polarization, source direction, or time of occurrence. All candidate triggers were consistent with the expected background; as a result we set 90% confidence upper limits on the rate of long-duration gravitational wave transients for different types of gravitational wave signals. For signals from black hole accretion disk instabilities, we set upper limits on the source rate density between 3.4×10-5 and 9.4×10-4 Mpc-3 yr-1 at 90% confidence. These are the first results from an all-sky search for unmodeled long-duration transient gravitational waves. © 2016 American Physical Society
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