Spin observables for pion photoproduction on the deuteron in the Δ\Delta(1232)-resonance region

Spin observables for the three charge states of the pion for the pion photoproduction reaction on the deuteron, $\gamma d\to\pi NN$, with polarized photon beam and/or oriented deuteron target are predicted. For the beam-target double-spin asymmetries, it is found that only the longitudinal asymmetries $T_{20}^{\ell}$ and $T_{2\pm 2}^{\ell}$ do not vanish, whereas all the circular and the other longitudinal asymmetries do vanish. The sensitivity of spin observables to the model deuteron wave function is investigated. It has been found that only $T_{21}$ and $T_{22}$ are sensitive to the model deuteron wave function, in particular in the case of $\pi^0$-production above the $\Delta$-region, and that other asymmetries are not.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phy

Polarization observables of the gamma d --> PiNN reaction in the Delta(1232)-resonance region

Polarization observables of the three charge states of the pion for the $\gamma d\to\pi NN$ reaction with polarized photon beam and/or oriented deuteron target are evaluated over the whole $\Delta$(1232)-resonance region adopting a nonrelativistic model based on time-ordered perturbation theory. Results for the $\pi$-meson spectra, linear photon asymmetry, vector and tensor target asymmetries are presented. Particular attention is given, for the first time, to double polarization asymmetries for which we present results for $T_{20}^{\ell}$ and $T_{2\pm 2}^{\ell}$. We found that all other double polarization asymmetries of photon and deuteron target are vanished.Comment: 17 Pages, 8 Figures, accepted for publication in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Pharmaceutically modified subtilisins withstand acidic conditions and effectively degrade gluten in vivo

Detoxification of gluten immunogenic epitopes is a promising strategy for the treatment of celiac disease. Our previous studies have shown that these epitopes can be degraded in vitro by subtilisin enzymes derived from Rothia mucilaginosa, a natural microbial colonizer of the oral cavity. The challenge is that the enzyme is not optimally active under acidic conditions as encountered in the stomach. We therefore aimed to protect and maintain subtilisin-A enzyme activity by exploring two pharmaceutical modification techniques: PEGylation and Polylactic glycolic acid (PLGA) microencapsulation. PEGylation of subtilisin-A (Sub-A) was performed by attaching methoxypolyethylene glycol (mPEG, 5 kDa). The PEGylation protected subtilisin-A from autolysis at neutral pH. The PEGylated Sub-A (Sub-A-mPEG) was further encapsulated by PLGA. The microencapsulated Sub-A-mPEG-PLGA showed significantly increased protection against acid exposure in vitro. In vivo, gluten immunogenic epitopes were decreased by 60% in the stomach of mice fed with chow containing Sub-A-mPEG-PLGA (0.2mg Sub-A/ g chow) (n=9) compared to 31.9 % in mice fed with chow containing unmodified Sub-A (n=9). These results show that the developed pharmaceutical modification can protect Sub-A from auto-digestion as well as from acid inactivation, thus rendering the enzyme more effective for applications in vivo.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6522598/Published versio

Mean parity of single quantum excitation of some optical fields in thermal environments

The mean parity (the Wigner function at the origin) of excited binomial states, excited coherent states and excited thermal states in thermal channel is investigated in details. It is found that the single-photon excited binomial state and the single-photon excited coherent state exhibit certain similarity in the aspect of their mean parity in the thermal channel. We show the negative mean parity can be regarded as an indicator of nonclassicality of single-photon excitation of optical fields with a little coherence, especially for the single-photon excited thermal states.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, RevTex4; PACS numbers: 42.50.Dv, 03.65.Yz, 05.40.Ca; Three typo errors have been correcte

A Time-Space Tradeoff for Triangulations of Points in the Plane

In this paper, we consider time-space trade-offs for reporting a triangulation of points in the plane. The goal is to minimize the amount of working space while keeping the total running time small. We present the first multi-pass algorithm on the problem that returns the edges of a triangulation with their adjacency information. This even improves the previously best known random-access algorithm

Design and structural dynamic characteristics of an irregular staircase under earthquake loading

Reinforced concrete staircases are structurally designed as cantilevered, slab type or beam-slab type. Within this study an irregular cantilevered staircase is studied and its structural dynamic characteristics are explored. An eigen-value modal analysis is performed to determine the mode shapes, their corresponding modal participation factors and natural periods of vibration. The highest modes of interest are identified. Following on that, a scaled record of a previous historical earthquake was applied within a direct integration time-history analysis in order to assess the performance of that irregular stair case under earthquake loading. That load was applied within two perpendicular load cases representing the different possible directions of earthquake vibrations in which the effect of the structure irregularity was assessed per direction. The structure was found to have large drifts creating a need to change the structural system

Phenotyping tomato root developmental plasticity in response to salinity in soil rhizotrons

Plants have developed multiple strategies to respond to salt stress. In order to identify new traits related to salt tolerance, with potential breeding application, the research focus has recently been shifted to include root system architecture (RSA) and root plasticity. Using a simple but effective root phenotyping system containing soil (rhizotrons), RSA of several tomato cultivars and their response to salinity was investigated. We observed a high level of root plasticity of tomato seedlings under salt stress. The general root architecture was substantially modified in response to salt, especially with respect to position of the lateral roots in the soil. At the soil surface, where salt accumulates, lateral root emergence was most strongly inhibited. Within the set of tomato cultivars, H1015 was the most tolerant to salinity in both developmental stages studied. A significant correlation between several root traits and aboveground growth parameters was observed, highlighting a possible role for regulation of both ion content and root architecture in salt stress resilience

Direct-current output of silicon–organic monolayer–platinum Schottky TENGs: Elusive friction-output relationship

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are an emerging energy harvesting technology able to convert ubiquitous mechanical energy into electricity. Friction, static charging and flexoelectricity are all involved in the mechanism underpinning TENG operation, but their relative contribution has remained elusive. Here we used dynamic and static conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) measurements on monolayer-modified silicon crystals to detect evidence of a relationship between friction and zero-bias current, and between pressure and the direction of the putative flexovoltage. We demonstrate that a static electricity-related tribovoltage is probably responsible for a friction excess, and that surprisingly this friction excess is found to be dependent on the doping level and type of the silicon substrate. Such friction excess is however no longer measurable once current is allowed to flow across the junction. This observation points to an electrostatic origin of friction in silicon-based Schottky TENGs, and suggests that the zero external bias DC current is at least in part an electronic flow to neutralize static charges. Further, the sign of the zero-bias current, but not its magnitude, is independent of the semiconductor doping type, which is again suggestive of surface statics being a main contributor to the zero-bias output rather than exclusively a space-charge effect. We also reveal the presence of a junction flexovoltage under pressures common in AFM experiments (GPa), even for negligible lateral friction. In a static Pt–monolayer–n-type Si junction the flexovoltage carries the same sign as the tribovoltage, and can reach such magnitude to overwrite external voltages as high as 2 V. The immediate implication is that the flexovoltage is likely to have i) a strong contribution to the zero-bias output of a n-Si Schottky TENG, ii) a negative effect on the output of a p-Si TENG, and iii) its detection can be straightforward, as we discovered that flexoelectricity manifests as an “inverted diode”: a n-type Si–platinum diode with negligible current even when the n-type material is negatively biased as long as the “static” diode remains under a large normal pressure