P-wave excited baryons from pion- and photo-induced hyperon production

We report evidence for $N(1710)P_{11}$, $N(1875)P_{11}$, $N(1900)P_{13}$, $\Delta(1600)P_{33}$, $\Delta(1910)P_{31}$, and $\Delta(1920)P_{33}$, and find indications that $N(1900)P_{13}$ might have a companion state at 1970\,MeV. The controversial $\Delta(1750)P_{31}$ is not seen. The evidence is derived from a study of data on pion- and photo-induced hyperon production, but other data are included as well. Most of the resonances reported here were found in the Karlsruhe-Helsinki (KH84) and the Carnegie-Mellon (CM) analyses but were challenged recently by the Data Analysis Center at GWU. Our analysis is constrained by the energy independent $\pi N$ scattering amplitudes from either KH84 or GWU. The two $\pi N$ amplitudes from KH84 or GWU, respectively, lead to slightly different $\pi N$ branching ratios of contributing resonances but the debated resonances are required in both series of fits.Comment: 22 pages, 28 figures. Some additional sets of data are adde

Interaction of inflammatory cytokines and erythropoeitin in iron metabolism and erythropoiesis in anaemia of chronic disease

In chronic inflammatory conditions increased endogenous release of specific cytokines (TNFα, IL-1, IL-6, IFNγ and others) is presumed. It has been shown that those of monocyte lineage play a key role in cytokine expression and synthesis. This may be associated with changes in iron metabolism and impaired erythropoiesis and may lead to development of anaemia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Firstly, increased synthesis of acute phase proteins, like ferritin, during chronic inflammation is proposed as the way by which the toxic effect of iron and thereby the synthesis of free oxy-radicals causing the damage on the affected joints, may be reduced. This is associated with a shift of iron towards the mononuclear phagocyte system which may participate in the development of anaemia of chronic disease. Secondly, an inhibitory action of inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL-1), on proliferation and differentiation of erythroid progenitors as well as on synthesis of erythropoietin has been shown, thereby also contributing to anaemia. Finally, chronic inflammation causes multiple, complex disturbances in the delicate physiologic equilibrium of interaction between cytokines and cells (erythroid progenitors, cells of mononuclear phagocyte system and erythropoietin producing cells) leading to development of anaemia of chronic disease (Fig. 1)

Between Governance-Driven Democratisation and Democracy-Driven Governance: explaining changes in Participatory Governance in the Case of Barcelona

Scholars of participatory democracy have long noted dynamic interactions and transformations within and between political spaces that can foster (de)democratisation. At the heart of this dynamism lie (a) the processes through which top‐down “closed” spaces can create opportunities for rupture and democratic challenges and (b) vice‐versa, the mechanisms through which bottom‐up, open spaces can be co‐opted through institutionalisation. This paper seeks to unpick dynamic interactions between different spaces of participation by looking specifically at two forms of participatory governance, or participatory forms of political decision making used to improve the quality of democracy. First, Mark Warren's concept of ‘governance‐driven democratization’ describes top‐down and technocratic participatory governance aiming to produce better policies in response to bureaucratic rationales. Second, we introduce a new concept, democracy‐driven governance, to refer to efforts by social movements to invent new, and reclaim and transform existing, spaces of participatory governance and shape them to respond to citizens’ demands. The paper defines these concepts and argues that they co‐exist and interact in dynamic fashion; it draws on an analysis of case study literature on participatory governance in Barcelona to illuminate this relationship. Finally, the paper relates the theoretical framework to the case study by making propositions as to the structural and agential drivers of shifts in participatory governance

The ATM repair pathway inhibits RNA polymerase I transcription in response to chromosome breaks

DNA lesions interfere with DNA and RNA polymerase activity. Cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and photoproducts generated by ultraviolet irradiation cause stalling of RNA polymerase II, activation of transcription-coupled repair enzymes, and inhibition of RNA synthesis. During the S phase of the cell cycle, collision of replication forks with damaged DNA blocks ongoing DNA replication while also triggering a biochemical signal that suppresses the firing of distant origins of replication. Whether the transcription machinery is affected by the presence of DNA double-strand breaks remains a long-standing question. Here we monitor RNA polymerase I (Pol I) activity in mouse cells exposed to genotoxic stress and show that induction of DNA breaks leads to a transient repression in Pol I transcription. Surprisingly, we find Pol I inhibition is not itself the direct result of DNA damage but is mediated by ATM kinase activity and the repair factor proteins NBS1 (also known as NLRP2) and MDC1. Using live-cell imaging, laser micro-irradiation, and photobleaching technology we demonstrate that DNA lesions interfere with Pol I initiation complex assembly and lead to a premature displacement of elongating holoenzymes from ribosomal DNA. Our data reveal a novel ATM/NBS1/MDC1-dependent pathway that shuts down ribosomal gene transcription in response to chromosome breaks

TRANSPIRATION RATES AND LEAF BOUNDARY LAYER PARAMETERS FOR PEANUT ANALYZED WITH THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL MODEL 2DLEAF

Rates of leaf transpiration and photosynthesis are both affected by the thickness of the boundary layer (BL) and by the rates at which gases diffuse through it. These BL properties are currently impossible to measure and must be estimated by using models in conjunction with measured rates of transpiration. Transpiration rates and BL for two Argentine peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars, Florman INTA, Virginia type, and Manfredi 393 INTA, Spanish type, were studied with the two-dimensional model 2DLEAF which accounts for leaf anatomy, i.e. for leaf internal structure and stomatal density. Measurements on leaf cross-sections and leaf surface images demonstrated a significant difference between two cultivars. Published transpiration rates for peanut of Virginia and Spanish types measured in controlled environment and field conditions were used to determine two parameters of the leaf BL, its thickness, d, and the ratio of diffusion coefficients in the BL and in the intercellular space, B. Both parameters were different for two cultivars. Transpiration rate was presented (a) as a function of BL parameters d and B with four empirical parameters which depended on cultivar and stomatal aperture, and (b) as a function of stomatal aperture and d. Dependence (b) showed that the transpiration rate of Manfredi 393 INTA is higher than that of Florman at the same environmental conditions, and that this is completely due to the difference in leaf anatomy. It was shown that the values of BL thickness, d, grow with increasing stomatal aperture. For amphystomatous leaves of peanut, two empirical parameters, d and B, are necessary and sufficient to quantitatively describe the effect of the BL on transpiration

Enrichment measurement by passive γ-ray spectrometry of uranium dioxide fuel pellets using a europium-doped, strontium iodide scintillator

The performance of a europium-doped strontium iodide scintillator for uranium enrichment measurement of a variety of sintered uranium dioxide fuel pellets is described and compared to that of caesium iodide and sodium iodide. Enrichment has been determined via passive γ-ray spectrometry of the 186 keV line from uranium-235 using gross count, net count, and peak ratio analyses. The 38 mm Ø x 38 mm strontium iodide crystal demonstrates superior energy resolution (3.43 ± 0.03% at 662 keV) and competitive detection efficiency for its size in the energy range of interest for uranium enrichment analysis (<250 keV). It demonstrates better [?] and coefficient of determination values than caesium iodide and sodium iodide when measuring uranium enrichment using the gross- and net-count from the 186 keV emission. It is shown to have the least measurement variance of the three scintillators studied in determining the uranium enrichment of pellets in a blind test, with a relative error comparative to sodium iodide and smaller than caesium iodide. This research heralds the potential of strontium iodide in passive γ-ray uranium enrichment applications

Organic-rich sedimentation in the South Pacific Ocean associated with Late Paleocene climatic cooling

A distinctive organic-rich marine mudstone of Late Paleocene age occurs in most of New Zealand's sedimentary basins and has been identified as a potential source rock for oil and gas. Identified as the Waipawa Formation in the East Coast Basin and the Tartan Formation in the Great South and Canterbury Basins, the unit is a relatively uniform massive mudstone that varies greatly in thickness (2–70 m) and grades laterally into distinctive facies equivalents, notably greensand and a thin-bedded siliceous mudstone. All these facies are characterised by relatively high TOC (0.5–10 wt.%) and 13C enrichment (δ13CTOC N −24‰), and we refer to them collectively as “Waipawa organofacies”. Our detailed stratigraphic and geochemical studies refine the age (58.7 to 59.4 Ma), distribution and nature of the Waipawa organofacies. We have determined that deposition occurred in continental margin settings throughout much of the southwest Pacific under cool, dysoxic conditions associated with a significant influx of terrestrial organic matter, high marine productivity, a global fall in sea level, and a regional unconformity across shallow and deep marine settings. The combination of cool temperatures, lowered sea level and bathyal erosion suggests that deposition was linked to short-lived growth of an Antarctic ice sheet in the earliest Late Paleocene (~59 Ma)

Organic-rich sedimentation in the South Pacific Ocean associated with Late Paleocene climatic cooling

A distinctive organic-rich marine mudstone of Late Paleocene age occurs in most of New Zealand's sedimentary basins and has been identified as a potential source rock for oil and gas. Identified as the Waipawa Formation in the East Coast Basin and the Tartan Formation in the Great South and Canterbury Basins, the unit is a relatively uniform massive mudstone that varies greatly in thickness (2–70 m) and grades laterally into distinctive facies equivalents, notably greensand and a thin-bedded siliceous mudstone. All these facies are characterised by relatively high TOC (0.5–10 wt.%) and 13C enrichment (δ13CTOC N −24‰), and we refer to them collectively as “Waipawa organofacies”. Our detailed stratigraphic and geochemical studies refine the age (58.7 to 59.4 Ma), distribution and nature of the Waipawa organofacies. We have determined that deposition occurred in continental margin settings throughout much of the southwest Pacific under cool, dysoxic conditions associated with a significant influx of terrestrial organic matter, high marine productivity, a global fall in sea level, and a regional unconformity across shallow and deep marine settings. The combination of cool temperatures, lowered sea level and bathyal erosion suggests that deposition was linked to short-lived growth of an Antarctic ice sheet in the earliest Late Paleocene (~59 Ma)