Superstring Relics, Supersymmetric Fragmentation and UHECR

Superstring theory predicts the existence of relic metastable particles whose average lifetime is longer than the age of the universe and which could, in principle, be good dark matter candidates. At the same time, these states would be responsible for the Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) events which will be searched for by various experimental collaborations in the near future. We describe a possible phenomenological path which could be followed in order to search for new physics in their detection.Comment: 7 pages 4 Figs. Plenary Talk presented by Claudio Coriano' at the 1st Intl. Conf. on String Phenomenology, Oxford, UK, July 6-11, 200

Leading Twist Amplitudes for Exclusive Neutrino Interactions in the Deeply Virtual Limit

Neutrino scattering on nucleons in the regime of deeply virtual kinematics is studied both in the charged and the neutral electroweak sectors using a formalism developed by Blumlein, Robaschik, Geyer and Collaborators for the analysis of the Virtual Compton amplitude in the generalized Bjorken region. We discuss the structure of the leading twist amplitudes of the process.Comment: 14 pages, 1 fig revised final version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Exposure to metallic mercury and contact dermatitis

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Water penetration profile at the protein-lipid interface in Na,K-ATPase membranes.

The affinity of ionized fatty acids for the Na,K-ATPase is used to determine the transmembrane profile of water penetration at the protein-lipid interface. The standardized intensity of the electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) from 2H-hyperfine interaction with D2O is determined for stearic acid, n-SASL, spin-labeled systematically at the C-n atoms throughout the chain. In both native Na,K-ATPase membranes from shark salt gland and bilayers of the extracted membrane lipids, the D2O-ESEEM intensities of fully charged n-SASL decrease progressively with position down the fatty acid chain toward the terminal methyl group. Whereas the D2O intensities decrease sharply at the n = 9 position in the lipid bilayers, a much broader transition region in the range n = 6 to 10 is found with Na,K-ATPase membranes. Correction for the bilayer population in the membranes yields the intrinsic D2O-intensity profile at the protein-lipid interface. For positions at either end of the chains, the D2O concentrations at the protein interface are greater than in the lipid bilayer, and the positional profile is much broader. This reveals the higher polarity, and consequently higher intramembrane water concentration, at the protein-lipid interface. In particular, there is a significant water concentration adjacent to the protein at the membrane midplane, unlike the situation in the bilayer regions of this cholesterol-rich membrane. Experiments with protonated fatty acid and phosphatidylcholine spin labels, both of which have a considerably lower affinity for the Na,K-ATPase, confirm these results