4,117 research outputs found
Impact of guided bone regeneration and defect dimension on wound healing at chemically modified hydrophilic titanium implant surfaces: an experimental study in dogs
OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of guided bone regeneration and defect dimension on wound healing at chemically modified titanium implant surfaces (modSLA).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: ModSLA implants were placed at chronic-type lateral ridge defects of different heights (H1-H4: 2, 4, 6 and 8 mm) and randomly allocated to either (a) GBR (polyethylene glycol membrane + biphasic calcium phosphate) or (b) untreated control. At 2 and 8 weeks (n=6 dogs each), dissected blocks were processed for histomorphometrical analysis [e.g., percentage linear fill (PLF), regenerated area (RA)].
RESULTS: At 8 weeks, both groups revealed comparable mean PLF (%) [Control: H1 (26.1 +/- 5.8)-H4 (60.4 +/- 11.8); GBR: H1 (8.3 +/- 5.3)-H4 (50.7 +/- 23.1)] and RA (mm(2)) [Control: H1 (2.5 +/- 0.4)-H4 (7.4 +/- 4.1); GBR: H1 (1.8 +/- 1.0)-H4 (10.8 +/- 5.9)] values. A significant difference was observed for the mean PLF values at H1 defects.
CONCLUSION: It was concluded that (i) modSLA titanium implants supported bone regeneration and osseointegration at H1-H4 defects and (ii) the present GBR procedure did not seem to improve the outcome of vertical bone regeneration, but tended to increase the mean RA values
Quantum singularity of Levi-Civita spacetimes
Quantum singularities in general relativistic spacetimes are determined by
the behavior of quantum test particles. A static spacetime is quantum
mechanically singular if the spatial portion of the wave operator is not
essentially self-adjoint. Here Weyl's limit point-limit circle criterion is
used to determine whether a wave operator is essentially self-adjoint. This
test is then applied to scalar wave packets in Levi-Civita spacetimes to help
elucidate the physical properties of the spacetimes in terms of their metric
parameters
A new study of Mg(,n)Si angular distributions at = 3 - 5 MeV
The observation of Al gives us the proof of active nucleosynthesis in
the Milky Way. However the identification of the main producers of Al is
still a matter of debate. Many sites have been proposed, but our poor knowledge
of the nuclear processes involved introduces high uncertainties. In particular,
the limited accuracy on the Mg(,n)Si reaction cross
section has been identified as the main source of nuclear uncertainty in the
production of Al in C/Ne explosive burning in massive stars, which has
been suggested to be the main source of Al in the Galaxy. We studied
this reaction through neutron spectroscopy at the CN Van de Graaff accelerator
of the Legnaro National Laboratories. Thanks to this technique we are able to
discriminate the (,n) events from possible contamination arising from
parasitic reactions. In particular, we measured the neutron angular
distributions at 5 different beam energies (between 3 and 5 MeV) in the
\ang{17.5}-\ang{106} laboratory system angular range. The presented results
disagree with the assumptions introduced in the analysis of a previous
experiment.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures - accepted by EPJ
Methane production by three widespread marine phytoplankton species: release rates, precursor compounds, and potential relevance for the environment
Methane (CH4) production within the oceanic
mixed layer is a widespread phenomenon, but the underlying mechanisms are still under debate. Marine algae might
contribute to the observed CH4 oversaturation in oxic waters, but so far direct evidence for CH4 production by marine algae has only been provided for the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi. In the present study we investigated, next to E. huxleyi, other widespread haptophytes, i.e., Phaeocystis globosa and Chrysochromulina sp. We performed CH4 production and stable carbon isotope measurements and provide unambiguous evidence that all three investigated marine algae are involved in the production of CH4 under oxic conditions. Rates ranged from 1.9 ± 0.6 to 3.1 ± 0.4 µg of CH4 per gram of POC (particulate organic carbon) per day, with Chrysochromulina sp. and E. huxleyi showing the lowest and highest rates, respectively. Cellular CH4 production rates ranged from 16.8±6.5 (P. globosa) to 62.3±6.4 ag CH4 cell−1 d −1 (E. huxleyi; ag = 10−18 g). In cultures that were treated with 13C-labeled hydrogen carbonate, δ
13CH4 values increased with incubation time, resulting from the conversion of 13C– hydrogen carbonate to 13CH4. The addition of 13C-labeled dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl sulfoxide, and methionine sulfoxide – known algal metabolites that are ubiquitous in marine
surface layers – resulted in the occurrence of 13C-enriched CH4 in cultures of E. huxleyi, clearly indicating that methylated sulfur compounds are also precursors of CH4. By comparing the algal CH4 production rates from our laboratory experiments with results previously reported in two field studies of the Pacific Ocean and the Baltic Sea, we might conclude that algae-mediated CH4 release is contributing to CH4 oversaturation in oxic waters. Therefore, we propose that haptophyte mediated CH4 production could be a common
and important process in marine surface waters
Beyond Einstein-Cartan gravity: Quadratic torsion and curvature invariants with even and odd parity including all boundary terms
Recently, gravitational gauge theories with torsion have been discussed by an
increasing number of authors from a classical as well as from a quantum field
theoretical point of view. The Einstein-Cartan(-Sciama-Kibble) Lagrangian has
been enriched by the parity odd pseudoscalar curvature (Hojman, Mukku, and
Sayed) and by torsion square and curvature square pieces, likewise of even and
odd parity. (i) We show that the inverse of the so-called Barbero-Immirzi
parameter multiplying the pseudoscalar curvature, because of the topological
Nieh-Yan form, can only be appropriately discussed if torsion square pieces are
included. (ii) The quadratic gauge Lagrangian with both parities, proposed by
Obukhov et al. and Baekler et al., emerges also in the framework of Diakonov et
al.(2011). We establish the exact relations between both approaches by applying
the topological Euler and Pontryagin forms in a Riemann-Cartan space expressed
for the first time in terms of irreducible pieces of the curvature tensor.
(iii) Only in a Riemann-Cartan spacetime, that is, in a spacetime with torsion,
parity violating terms can be brought into the gravitational Lagrangian in a
straightforward and natural way. Accordingly, Riemann-Cartan spacetime is a
natural habitat for chiral fermionic matter fields.Comment: 12 page latex, as version 2 an old file was submitted by mistake,
this is now the real corrected fil
Temperley-Lieb Stochastic Processes
We discuss one-dimensional stochastic processes defined through the
Temperley-Lieb algebra related to the Q=1 Potts model. For various boundary
conditions, we formulate a conjecture relating the probability distribution
which describes the stationary state, to the enumeration of a symmetry class of
alternating sign matrices, objects that have received much attention in
combinatorics.Comment: 9 pages LaTeX, 11 Postscript figures, minor change
The Holst Spin Foam Model via Cubulations
Spin foam models are an attempt for a covariant, or path integral formulation
of canonical loop quantum gravity. The construction of such models usually rely
on the Plebanski formulation of general relativity as a constrained BF theory
and is based on the discretization of the action on a simplicial triangulation,
which may be viewed as an ultraviolet regulator. The triangulation dependence
can be removed by means of group field theory techniques, which allows one to
sum over all triangulations. The main tasks for these models are the correct
quantum implementation of the Plebanski constraints, the existence of a
semiclassical sector implementing additional "Regge-like" constraints arising
from simplicial triangulations, and the definition of the physical inner
product of loop quantum gravity via group field theory. Here we propose a new
approach to tackle these issues stemming directly from the Holst action for
general relativity, which is also a proper starting point for canonical loop
quantum gravity. The discretization is performed by means of a "cubulation" of
the manifold rather than a triangulation. We give a direct interpretation of
the resulting spin foam model as a generating functional for the n-point
functions on the physical Hilbert space at finite regulator. This paper focuses
on ideas and tasks to be performed before the model can be taken seriously.
However, our analysis reveals some interesting features of this model: first,
the structure of its amplitudes differs from the standard spin foam models.
Second, the tetrad n-point functions admit a "Wick-like" structure. Third, the
restriction to simple representations does not automatically occur -- unless
one makes use of the time gauge, just as in the classical theory.Comment: 25 pages, 1 figure; v3: published version. arXiv admin note:
substantial text overlap with arXiv:0911.213
Structural evolution in the neutron-rich nuclei 106Zr and 108Zr
The low-lying states in 106Zr and 108Zr have been investigated by means of
{\beta}-{\gamma} and isomer spectroscopy at the RI beam factory, respectively.
A new isomer with a half-life of 620\pm150 ns has been identified in 108Zr. For
the sequence of even-even Zr isotopes, the excitation energies of the first 2+
states reach a minimum at N = 64 and gradually increase as the neutron number
increases up to N = 68, suggesting a deformed sub-shell closure at N = 64. The
deformed ground state of 108Zr indicates that a spherical sub-shell gap
predicted at N = 70 is not large enough to change the ground state of 108Zr to
the spherical shape. The possibility of a tetrahedral shape isomer in 108Zr is
also discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
K0-Sigma+ Photoproduction with SAPHIR
Preliminary results of the analysis of the reaction p(gamma,K0)Sigma+ are
presented. We show the first measurement of the differential cross section and
much improved data for the total cross section than previous data. The data are
compared with model predictions from different isobar and quark models that
give a good description of p(gamma,K+)Lambda and p(gamma,K+)Sigma0 data in the
same energy range. Results of ChPT describe the data adequately at threshold
while isobar models that include hadronic form factors reproduce the data at
intermediate energies.Comment: 4 pages, Latex2e, 4 postscript figures. Talk given at the
International Conference on Hypernuclear and Strange Particle Physics
(HYP97), Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA, October 13-18, 1997. To be
published in Nucl. Phys. A. Revised version due to changes in experimental
dat
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