4,808 research outputs found
Relative spins and excitation energies of superdeformed bands in 190Hg: Further evidence for octupole vibration
An experiment using the Eurogam Phase II gamma-ray spectrometer confirms the
existence of an excited superdeformed (SD) band in 190Hg and its very unusual
decay into the lowest SD band over 3-4 transitions. The energies and dipole
character of the transitions linking the two SD bands have been firmly
established. Comparisons with RPA calculations indicate that the excited SD
band can be interpreted as an octupole-vibrational structure.Comment: 12 pages, latex, 4 figures available via WWW at
http://www.phy.anl.gov/bgo/bc/hg190_nucl_ex.htm
Direct radiocarbon dating of fish otoliths from mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus) and black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) from Long Point, Coorong, South Australia
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates (n=20) determined on fish otoliths from mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus) and black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) are reported from five sites at Long Point, Coorong, South Australia. The dates range from 2938–2529 to 326–1 cal. BP, extending the known period of occupation of Long Point. Previous dating at the sites indicated intensive occupation of the area from 2455–2134 cal. BP. Results provide a detailed local chronology for the region, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of Aboriginal use of Ngarrindjeri lands and waters. This study validates the use of fish otoliths for radiocarbon dating and reveals how dating different materials can result in different midden chronologies
Driving calmodulin protein towards conformational shift by changing ionization states of select residues
Proteins are complex systems made up of many conformational sub-states which are mainly determined by the folded structure. External factors such as solvent type, temperature, pH and ionic strength play a very important role in the conformations sampled by proteins. Here we study the conformational multiplicity of calmodulin (CaM) which is a protein that plays an important role in calcium signaling pathways in the eukaryotic cells. CaM can bind to a variety of other proteins or small organic compounds, and mediates different physiological processes by activating various enzymes. Binding of calcium ions and proteins or small organic molecules to CaM induces large conformational changes that are distinct to each interacting partner. In particular, we discuss the effect of pH variation on the conformations of CaM. By using the pKa values of the charged residues as a basis to assign protonation states, the conformational changes induced in CaM by reducing the pH are studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Our current view suggests that at high pH, barrier crossing to the compact form is prevented by repulsive electrostatic interactions between the two lobes. At reduced pH, not only is barrier crossing facilitated by protonation of residues, but also conformations which are on average more compact are attained. The latter are in accordance with the fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiment results of other workers. The key events leading to the conformational change from the open to the compact conformation are (i) formation of a salt bridge between the N-lobe and the linker, stabilizing their relative motions, (ii) bending of the C-lobe towards the N-lobe, leading to a lowering of the interaction energy between the two-lobes, (iii) formation of a hydrophobic patch between the two lobes, further stabilizing the bent conformation by reducing the entropic cost of the compact form, (iv) sharing of a Ca+2 ion between the two lobes
Active Galactic Nuclei under the scrutiny of CTA
Active Galactic Nuclei (hereafter AGN) produce powerful outflows which offer
excellent conditions for efficient particle acceleration in internal and
external shocks, turbulence, and magnetic reconnection events. The jets as well
as particle accelerating regions close to the supermassive black holes
(hereafter SMBH) at the intersection of plasma inflows and outflows, can
produce readily detectable very high energy gamma-ray emission. As of now, more
than 45 AGN including 41 blazars and 4 radiogalaxies have been detected by the
present ground-based gamma-ray telescopes, which represents more than one third
of the cosmic sources detected so far in the VHE gamma-ray regime. The future
Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) should boost the sample of AGN detected in the
VHE range by about one order of magnitude, shedding new light on AGN population
studies, and AGN classification and unification schemes. CTA will be a unique
tool to scrutinize the extreme high-energy tail of accelerated particles in
SMBH environments, to revisit the central engines and their associated
relativistic jets, and to study the particle acceleration and emission
mechanisms, particularly exploring the missing link between accretion physics,
SMBH magnetospheres and jet formation. Monitoring of distant AGN will be an
extremely rewarding observing program which will inform us about the inner
workings and evolution of AGN. Furthermore these AGN are bright beacons of
gamma-rays which will allow us to constrain the extragalactic infrared and
optical backgrounds as well as the intergalactic magnetic field, and will
enable tests of quantum gravity and other "exotic" phenomena.Comment: 28 pages, 23 figure
The Precarious Health of Young Mexican American Men in South Texas, Cameron County Hispanic Cohort, 2004–2015
Introduction
Hispanic men have higher rates of illness and death from various chronic conditions than do non-Hispanic men. We aimed to characterize the health of Mexican American men living on the US–Mexico border in South Texas and elucidate indications of chronic disease in young men.
Methods
We sampled all male participants from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort, an ongoing population-based cohort of Mexican Americans in Brownsville, Texas. We calculated descriptive statistics and stratified the sample into 3 age groups to estimate the prevalence of sociodemographic, behavioral, and clinical factors by age group and evaluated differences between age groups.
Results
Obesity prevalence was approximately 50% across all age groups (P = .83). Diabetes prevalence was high overall (26.8%), and 16.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 10.1%–23.8%) of men younger than 35 had diabetes. More than 70% of these young men had elevated liver enzymes, and mean values of aspartate aminotransferase were significantly higher in younger men (45.0 u/L; 95% CI, 39.5–50.6 u/L) than in both older age groups. Less than 20% of young men had any form of health insurance. Current smoking was higher in young men than in men in the other groups, and the rate was higher than the national prevalence of current smoking among Hispanic men.
Conclusions
We suggest a need for obesity and diabetes prevention programs and smoking cessation programs for men in this region. Opportunities exist to expand current intervention programs and tailor them to better reach this vulnerable population of young Hispanic men. Elevated liver enzymes in men younger than 35 suggest a substantial burden of liver abnormalities, a finding that warrants further study
Superdeformation in Po
The Yb(Si,5n) reaction at 148 MeV with thin targets was used
to populate high-angular momentum states in Po. Resulting rays
were observed with Gammasphere. A weakly-populated superdeformed band of 10
-ray transitions was found and has been assigned to Po. This is
the first observation of a SD band in the region in a nucleus
with . The of the new band is very similar to those of
the yrast SD bands in Hg and Pb. The intensity profile suggests
that this band is populated through states close to where the SD band crosses
the yrast line and the angular momentum at which the fission process dominates.Comment: 10 pages, revtex, 2 figs. available on request, submitted to Phys.
Rev. C. (Rapid Communications
On the equivalence of pairing correlations and intrinsic vortical currents in rotating nuclei
The present paper establishes a link between pairing correlations in rotating
nuclei and collective vortical modes in the intrinsic frame. We show that the
latter can be embodied by a simple S-type coupling a la Chandrasekhar between
rotational and intrinsic vortical collective modes. This results from a
comparison between the solutions of microscopic calculations within the HFB and
the HF Routhian formalisms. The HF Routhian solutions are constrained to have
the same Kelvin circulation expectation value as the HFB ones. It is shown in
several mass regions, pairing regimes, and for various spin values that this
procedure yields moments of inertia, angular velocities, and current
distributions which are very similar within both formalisms. We finally present
perspectives for further studies.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
How Personality Became Treatable:The Mutual Constitution of Clinical Knowledge and Mental Health Law
In recent years, personality disorders – psychiatric constructs understood as enduring dysfunctions of personality – have come into ever-greater focus for British policymakers, mental health professionals and service-users. Disputes have focussed largely on highly controversial attempts by the UK Department of Health to introduce mental health law and policy (now enshrined within the 2007 Mental Health Act of England and Wales). At the same time, clinical framings of personality disorder have dramatically shifted: once regarded as untreatable conditions, severe personality disorders are today thought of by many clinicians to be responsive to psychiatric and psychological intervention. In this article, I chart this transformation by means of a diachronic analysis of debates and institutional shifts pertaining to both attempts to change the law, and understandings of personality disorder. In so doing, I show how mental health policy and practice have mutually constituted one another, such that the aims of clinicians and policymakers have come to be closely aligned. I argue that it is precisely through these reciprocally constitutive processes that the profound reconfiguration of personality disorder from being an obdurate to a plastic condition has occurred; this demonstrates the significance of interactions between law and the health professions in shaping not only the State’s management of pathology, but also perceptions of its very nature
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