Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of steam exploded duckweed: Improvement of the ethanol yield by increasing yeast titre

This study investigated the conversion of Lemna minor biomass to bioethanol. The biomass was pre-treated by steam explosion (SE, 210 °C, 10 min) and then subjected to simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) using CellicÒ CTec 2 (20 U or 0.87 FPU gﰂ1 substrate) cellulase plus b-glucosidase (2 U gﰂ1 substrate) and a yeast inoculum of 10% (v/v or 8.0 ﰀ 107 cells mLﰂ1). At a substrate concentration of 1% (w/v) an ethanol yield of 80% (w/w, theoretical) was achieved. However at a substrate concentration of 20% (w/v), the ethanol yield was lowered to 18.8% (w/w, theoretical). Yields were considerably improved by increasing the yeast titre in the inoculum or preconditioning the yeast on steam exploded liquor. These approaches enhanced the ethanol yield up to 70% (w/w, theoretical) at a substrate concen- tration of 20% (w/v) by metabolising fermentation inhibitors

Generalized Analysis of Weakly-Interacting Massive Particle Searches

We perform a generalized analysis of data from WIMP search experiments for point-like WIMPs of arbitrary spin and general Lorenz-invariant WIMP-nucleus interaction. We show that in the non-relativistic limit only spin-independent (SI) and spin-dependent (SD) WIMP-nucleon interactions survive, which can be parameterized by only five independent parameters. We explore this five-dimensional parameter space to determine whether the annual modulation observed in the DAMA experiment can be consistent with all other experiments. The pure SI interaction is ruled out except for very small region of parameter space with the WIMP mass close to 50 GeV and the ratio of the WIMP-neutron to WIMP-proton SI couplings $-0.77\le f_n/f_p\le -0.75$. For the predominantly SD interaction, we find an upper limit to the WIMP mass of about 18 GeV, which can only be weakened if the constraint stemming from null searches for energetic neutrinos from WIMP annihilation the Sun is evaded. None of the regions of the parameter space that can reconcile all WIMP search results can be easily accommodated in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model.Comment: 27 pages, 3 figure

Probing Kaluza-Klein Dark Matter with Neutrino Telescopes

In models in which all of the Standard Model fields live in extra universal dimensions, the lightest Kaluza-Klein (KK) particle can be stable. Calculations of the one-loop radiative corrections to the masses of the KK modes suggest that the identity of the lightest KK particle (LKP) is mostly the first KK excitation of the hypercharge gauge boson. This LKP is a viable dark matter candidate with an ideal present-day relic abundance if its mass is moderately large, between 600 to 1200 GeV. Such weakly interacting dark matter particles are expected to become gravitationally trapped in large bodies, such as the Sun, and annihilate into neutrinos or other particles that decay into neutrinos. We calculate the annihilation rate, neutrino flux and the resulting event rate in present and future neutrino telescopes. The relatively large mass implies that the neutrino energy spectrum is expected to be well above the energy threshold of AMANDA and IceCube. We find that the event rate in IceCube is between a few to tens of events per year.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, LaTeX; typos fixed, version to appear in PR

assessment of disease burden in the phase iii celestial trial of cabozantinib c versus placebo p in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma hcc

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Lepton Flavor Non-Conservation

In the present work we review the most prominent lepton flavor violating processes (\mu \ra e\gamma, \mu \ra 3e, $(\mu , e)$ conversion, $M-\bar M$ oscillations etc), in the context of unified gauge theories. Many currently fashionable extensions of the standard model are considered, such as: {\it i)} extensions of the fermion sector (right-handed neutrino); {\it ii)} minimal extensions involving additional Higgs scalars (more than one isodoublets, singly and doubly charged isosinglets, isotriplets with doubly charged members etc.); {\it iii)} supersymmetric or superstring inspired unified models emphasizing the implications of the renormalization group equations in the leptonic sector. Special attention is given to the experimentaly most interesting $(\mu - e)$ conversion in the presence of nuclei. The relevant nuclear aspects of the amplitudes are discussed in a number of fashionable nuclear models. The main features of the relevant experiments are also discussed, and detailed predictions of the above models are compared to the present experimental limits.Comment: (IOA-300/93, review article, 83p, 6 epsf figures , available upon request from [email protected])

Supermassive Binaries and Extragalactic Jets

Some quasars show Doppler shifted broad emission line peaks. I give new statistics of the occurrence of these peaks and show that, while the most spectacular cases are in quasars with strong radio jets inclined to the line of sight, they are also almost as common in radio-quiet quasars. Theories of the origin of the peaks are reviewed and it is argued that the displaced peaks are most likely produced by the supermassive binary model. The separations of the peaks in the 3C 390.3-type objects are consistent with orientation-dependent "unified models" of quasar activity. If the supermassive binary model is correct, all members of "the jet set" (astrophysical objects showing jets) could be binaries.Comment: 31 pages, PostScript, missing figure is in ApJ 464, L105 (see http://www.aas.org/ApJ/v464n2/5736/5736.html

Lepton Flavour Violating Leptonic/Semileptonic Decays of Charged Leptons in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model

We consider the leptonic and semileptonic (SL) lepton flavour violating (LFV) decays of the charged leptons in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). The formalism for evaluation of branching fractions for the SL LFV charged-lepton decays with one or two pseudoscalar mesons, or one vector meson in the final state, is given. Previous amplitudes for the SL LFV charged-lepton decays in MSSM are improved, for instance the $\gamma$-penguin amplitude is corrected to assure the gauge invariance. The decays are studied not only in the model-independent formulation of the theory in the frame of MSSM, but also within the frame of the minimal supersymmetric SO(10) model within which the parameters of the MSSM are determined. The latter model gives predictions for the neutrino-Dirac Yukawa coupling matrix, once free parameters in the model are appropriately fixed to accommodate the recent neutrino oscillation data. Using this unambiguous neutrino-Dirac Yukawa couplings, we calculate the LFV leptonic and SL decay processes assuming the minimal supergravity scenario. A very detailed numerical analysis is done to constrain the MSSM parameters. Numerical results for SL LFV processes are given, for instance for tau -> e (mu) pi0, tau -> e (mu) eta, tau -> e (mu) eta', tau -> e (mu) rho0, tau -> e (mu) phi, tau -> e (mu) omega, etc.Comment: 36 pages, 3 tables, 5 .eps figure

New way of healing : experienced counsellors’ perceptions of the influence of ch’i-related exercises on counselling practice in Taiwan

This study examines how Taiwanese senior counsellors with substantial experience of ch’i-related exercise (CRE) perceived the influence of their regular CRE on their counselling practice. I am interested in the perceived influence of CRE on both self-care and professional practice. In this studyn this studyn this study n this study n this study n this study, CRE, CRE, CRE, CRE, CRE refers to any refers to any refers to any refers to any ch'i enhancing exercise that coordinates movement with breathing and inner concentration wherein ch'i is a first order concept used by practitioners and regarded by them as an embodiment of ideas related to human life and human existence and able to be experienced and refined through any ch'i related exercise. CRE is a set of practices and an intrinsic part of local culture in Taiwan which in recent years, has become popular practice in Taiwanese society. There are growing numbers of counselling professionals involved in regular CRE in recent years. Studies examining the effects of CRE indicate the benefits of CRE on practitioners' global health and personal growth. However, no previous study has investigated the influence of the long-term regular use of CRE on counsellors‟ self-care and counselling practice. The narrative research design for this study was developed from a post-structural theoretical perspective located in the domain of social constructivism. The data were co-constructed between the researcher and 12 senior Taiwanese counsellors with substantial CRE experience using a semi-structured in-depth interview approach. Interview data were analysed using the structure-based approach developed by William Labov in the field of socio-linguistics. The study reveals an overall benefit of regular involvement in CRE for practitioners' global wellbeing and personal growth counsellor' self-care. The research findings also reveals the potential of ch’i to be used as a way of expressing health and illness and a way of understanding in therapy and CRE to be lived out in therapy as an embodiment. I argue that collectively the narratives, as a whole, give evidence of an increasing integratin of the ideas and practices of ch’i into counselling practice in contemporary Taiwan. This might even make up a new form of integrated and culturally appropriate practice, what I term "a new way of healing." These are therapeutic practices which value the potential of CRE for counsellor's self-care and personal growth; recognize the integral whole of the human person; promote conscious use of the knowledge and experience of ch’i and CRE in therapy as an important aspect of the therapeutic use of self. Implications for practice such as the potential of CRE to be introduced into counsellor training programmes for counsellors' preparation or ongoing education are provided. Recommendations for future research such as the development of a new healing modality based on the research findings are offered

Neutrino Propagation in a Strongly Magnetized Medium

We derive general expressions at the one-loop level for the coefficients of the covariant structure of the neutrino self-energy in the presence of a constant magnetic field. The neutrino energy spectrum and index of refraction are obtained for neutral and charged media in the strong-field limit ($M_{W}\gg \sqrt{B}\gg m_{e},T,\mu ,| \mathbf{p}|$) using the lowest Landau level approximation. The results found within the lowest Landau level approximation are numerically validated, summing in all Landau levels, for strong $B\gg T^{2}$ and weakly-strong $B \gtrsim T^{2}$ fields. The neutrino energy in leading order of the Fermi coupling constant is expressed as the sum of three terms: a kinetic-energy term, a term of interaction between the magnetic field and an induced neutrino magnetic moment, and a rest-energy term. The leading radiative correction to the kinetic-energy term depends linearly on the magnetic field strength and is independent of the chemical potential. The other two terms are only present in a charged medium. For strong and weakly-strong fields, it is found that the field-dependent correction to the neutrino energy in a neutral medium is much larger than the thermal one. Possible applications to cosmology and astrophysics are considered.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures. Corrected misprints in reference