197 research outputs found
Study of the time-differentiated particle flux density at various distances from EAS axis
The EAS time structure is studied using the enlarged EAS array of the Moscow State University. The time measurements are made using 22 scintillators which form 13 rectanges of 180x190 sq m size covering the entire array area. The array is triggered by a signal of 4-fold coincidences of the pulses from the detectors forming each of the rectangles. The data were obtained during 2200 hours of the array operation in 1984. A total of 816 showers, to which at least 14 of 22 scintillator detectors responded, were selected among all those detected. The coordinates of the EAS axis in the observation plane and the EAS sizes were determined by the maximum likelihood method using a computer on the assumption that the electron LDF is the NKG form. A total of 492 showers in the interval of EAS size Ne = 5x10 to the 6th power - 2x10 to the 8th power (N bar e = 1.7x 10 to the 7th power) with zenith angles theta or = 45 deg and axes within the array are analyzed
Consistent alpha-cluster description of the 12C (0^+_2) resonance
The near-threshold 12C (0^+_2) resonance provides unique possibility for fast
helium burning in stars, as predicted by Hoyle to explain the observed
abundance of elements in the Universe. Properties of this resonance are
calculated within the framework of the alpha-cluster model whose two-body and
three-body effective potentials are tuned to describe the alpha - alpha
scattering data, the energies of the 0^+_1 and 0^+_2 states, and the
0^+_1-state root-mean-square radius. The extremely small width of the 0^+_2
state, the 0_2^+ to 0_1^+ monopole transition matrix element, and transition
radius are found in remarkable agreement with the experimental data. The
0^+_2-state structure is described as a system of three alpha-particles
oscillating between the ground-state-like configuration and the elongated chain
configuration whose probability exceeds 0.9
Community evaluation of glycoproteomics informatics solutions reveals high-performance search strategies for serum glycopeptide analysis
Glycoproteomics is a powerful yet analytically challenging research tool. Software packages aiding the interpretation of complex glycopeptide tandem mass spectra have appeared, but their relative performance remains untested. Conducted through the HUPO Human Glycoproteomics Initiative, this community study, comprising both developers and users of glycoproteomics software, evaluates solutions for system-wide glycopeptide analysis. The same mass spectrometrybased glycoproteomics datasets from human serum were shared with participants and the relative team performance for Nï»ż- and O-glycopeptide data analysis was comprehensively established by orthogonal performance tests. Although the results were variable, several high-performance glycoproteomics informatics strategies were identified. Deep analysis of the data revealed key performance-associated search parameters and led to recommendations for improved 'high-coverage' and 'high-accuracy' glycoproteomics search solutions. This study concludes that diverse software packages for comprehensive glycopeptide data analysis exist, points to several high-performance search strategies and specifies key variables that will guide future software developments and assist informatics decision-making in glycoproteomics
Uplifting manhood to wonderful heights? News coverage of the human costs of military conflict from world war I to Gulf war Two
Domestic political support is an important factor constraining the use of American military power around the world. Although the dynamics of war support are thought to reflect a cost-benefit calculus, with costs represented by numbers of friendly war deaths, no previous study has examined how information about friendly, enemy, and civilian casualties is routinely presented to domestic audiences. This paper establishes a baseline measure of historical casualty reporting by examining New York Times coverage of five major wars that occurred over the past century. Despite important between-war differences in the scale of casualties, the use of conscription, the type of warfare, and the use of censorship, the frequency of casualty reporting and the framing of casualty reports has remained fairly consistent over the past 100 years. Casualties are rarely mentioned in American war coverage. When casualties are reported, it is often in ways that minimize or downplay the human costs of war
Nuclear Alpha-Particle Condensates
The -particle condensate in nuclei is a novel state described by a
product state of 's, all with their c.o.m. in the lowest 0S orbit. We
demonstrate that a typical -particle condensate is the Hoyle state
( MeV, state in C), which plays a crucial role for
the synthesis of C in the universe. The influence of antisymmentrization
in the Hoyle state on the bosonic character of the particle is
discussed in detail. It is shown to be weak. The bosonic aspects in the Hoyle
state, therefore, are predominant. It is conjectured that -particle
condensate states also exist in heavier nuclei, like O,
Ne, etc. For instance the state of O at MeV
is identified from a theoretical analysis as being a strong candidate of a
condensate. The calculated small width (34 keV) of ,
consistent with data, lends credit to the existence of heavier Hoyle-analogue
states. In non-self-conjugated nuclei such as B and C, we discuss
candidates for the product states of clusters, composed of 's,
triton's, and neutrons etc. The relationship of -particle condensation
in finite nuclei to quartetting in symmetric nuclear matter is investigated
with the help of an in-medium modified four-nucleon equation. A nonlinear order
parameter equation for quartet condensation is derived and solved for
particle condensation in infinite nuclear matter. The strong qualitative
difference with the pairing case is pointed out.Comment: 71 pages, 41 figures, review article, to be published in "Cluster in
Nuclei (Lecture Notes in Physics) - Vol.2 -", ed. by C. Beck,
(Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2011
Uplifting Manhood to Wonderful Heights? News Coverage of the Human Costs of Military Conflict From World War I to Gulf War Two
Transplanted Human Amniotic Membrane-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Ameliorate Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Liver Cirrhosis in Mouse
BACKGROUND: Human amniotic membrane-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAMCs) have the potential to reduce heart and lung fibrosis, but whether could reduce liver fibrosis remains largely unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Hepatic cirrhosis model was established by infusion of CClâ (1 ml/kg body weight twice a week for 8 weeks) in immunocompetent C57Bl/6J mice. hAMCs, isolated from term delivered placenta, were infused into the spleen at 4 weeks after mice were challenged with CClâ. Control mice received only saline infusion. Animals were sacrificed at 4 weeks post-transplantation. Blood analysis was performed to evaluate alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Histological analysis of the livers for fibrosis, hepatic stellate cells activation, hepatocyte apoptosis, proliferation and senescence were performed. The donor cell engraftment was assessed using immunofluorescence and polymerase chain reaction. The areas of hepatic fibrosis were reduced (6.2%±2.1 vs. control 9.6%±1.7, p<0.05) and liver function parameters (ALT 539.6±545.1 U/dl, AST 589.7±342.8 U/dl,vs. control ALT 139.1±138.3 U/dl, p<0.05 and AST 212.3±110.7 U/dl, p<0.01) were markedly ameliorated in the hAMCs group compared to control group. The transplantation of hAMCs into liver-fibrotic mice suppressed activation of hepatic stellate cells, decreased hepatocyte apoptosis and promoted liver regeneration. More interesting, hepatocyte senescence was depressed significantly in hAMCs group compared to control group. Immunofluorescence and polymerase chain reaction revealed that hAMCs engraftment into host livers and expressed the hepatocyte-specific markers, human albumin and α-fetoproteinran. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The transplantation of hAMCs significantly decreased the fibrosis formation and progression of CClâ-induced cirrhosis, providing a new approach for the treatment of fibrotic liver disease
Reorientation-effect measurement of the first 2+ state in 12C : Confirmation of oblate deformation
A Coulomb-excitation reorientation-effect measurement using the TIGRESS Îłâray spectrometer at the TRIUMF/ISAC II facility has permitted the determination of the ă21 +âE2Ëâ21 +ă diagonal matrix element in 12C from particleâÎł coincidence data and state-of-the-art no-core shell model calculations of the nuclear polarizability. The nuclear polarizability for the ground and first-excited (21 +) states in 12C have been calculated using chiral NN N4LO500 and NN+3NF350 interactions, which show convergence and agreement with photo-absorption cross-section data. Predictions show a change in the nuclear polarizability with a substantial increase between the ground state and first excited 21 + state at 4.439 MeV. The polarizability of the 21 + state is introduced into the current and previous Coulomb-excitation reorientation-effect analyses of 12C. Spectroscopic quadrupole moments of QS(21 +)=+0.053(44) eb and QS(21 +)=+0.08(3) eb are determined, respectively, yielding a weighted average of QS(21 +)=+0.071(25) eb, in agreement with recent ab initio calculations. The present measurement confirms that the 21 + state of 12C is oblate and emphasizes the important role played by the nuclear polarizability in Coulomb-excitation studies of light nuclei
Outer space technopolitics and postcolonial modernity in Kazakhstan
This is the final version. Available on open access from Routledge via the DOI in this recordThis article examines the role of outer space technopolitics in post-Soviet
Kazakhstan. It explores how outer space, the technological artefact of global
relevance, works as a postcolonial fetish of modernity that is called upon to produce
what it represents, i.e. the reality of a technologically advanced Kazakh nation. The
article shows that in its project of becoming a spacefaring nation the country reiterates
major incentives that have motivated nuclear and space programme development in
the postcolonial context of the Global South. The article explores how collaboration
with Russia allows Kazakhstan to claim its share in the Soviet space legacy rather
than to distance itself from it. It then traces the rise of a new internationalism in the
Kazakhstani space programme outside the post-Soviet context. The article contributes
to the debate on postcolonial techonopolitics and shows how outer space has been
used to enhance the conventional domain of postcolonial national ideologies â
nativism and tradition â with technology and science. Finally, the article depicts how
the growing resistance to the space programme among Kazakh civil society groups
reveals a close association of the environmental agenda with an âeco-nationalismâ
permeated by a profoundly anti-imperial and, ultimately, antiauthoritarian political
discourse
- âŠ