606 research outputs found
J/Psi Production from Electromagnetic Fragmentation in Z decay
The rate for is suprisingly large
with about one event for every million decays. The reason for this is
that there is a fragmentation contribution that is not suppressed by a factor
of . In the fragmentation limit with
fixed, the differential decay rate for factors into electromagnetic decay rates and universal
fragmentation functions. The fragmentation functions for lepton fragmentation
and photon fragmentation into are calculated to lowest order in
. The fragmentation approximation to the rate is shown to match the
full calculation for greater than about .Comment: 16 pages and 8 figure
Viability of brown trout embryos positively linked to melanin-based but negatively to carotenoid-based colours of their fathers
‘Good-genes’ models of sexual selection predict significant additive genetic variation for fitness-correlated traits within populations to be revealed by phenotypic traits. To test this prediction, we sampled brown trout (Salmo trutta) from their natural spawning place, analysed their carotenoid-based red and melanin-based dark skin colours and tested whether these colours can be used to predict offspring viability. We produced half-sib families by in vitro fertilization, reared the resulting embryos under standardized conditions, released the hatchlings into a streamlet and identified the surviving juveniles 20 months later with microsatellite markers. Embryo viability was revealed by the sires' dark pigmentation: darker males sired more viable offspring. However, the sires' red coloration correlated negatively with embryo survival. Our study demonstrates that genetic variation for fitness-correlated traits is revealed by male colour traits in our study population, but contrary to predictions from other studies, intense red colours do not signal good genes
The learning experiences of health and social care paraprofessionals on a foundation degree
Foundation degrees have been developed in the UK as a means of meeting the learning needs of paraprofessionals in health and social care and the services within which they work in a cost-effective fashion. Workplace learning is an intrinsic component to these degrees. Taking a socio-cultural perspective, this paper examines how the students' workplaces, life circumstances and sense of career trajectory shaped their learning experience and motivation. A small-scale evaluation study, using semi-structured interviews, focused on the learning experiences of a group of paraprofessionals enrolled in a foundation degree in health and social care. Data revealed fragmented employment patterns, underpinned by consistent vocational drives. While the study resonated with vocation, participants were ambivalent or lacked information about career progression. Workplace conditions, relationships and limited time shaped learning and coping strategies. A strategic and focused approach to student learning is required and includes attention to career pathways, workforce development strategy, the requirements of a range of stakeholders, workplace supervision and support for learning
Hard Scattering Factorization from Effective Field Theory
In this paper we show how gauge symmetries in an effective theory can be used
to simplify proofs of factorization formulae in highly energetic hadronic
processes. We use the soft-collinear effective theory, generalized to deal with
back-to-back jets of collinear particles. Our proofs do not depend on the
choice of a particular gauge, and the formalism is applicable to both exclusive
and inclusive factorization. As examples we treat the pi-gamma form factor
(gamma gamma* -> pi^0), light meson form factors (gamma* M -> M), as well as
deep inelastic scattering (e- p -> e- X), Drell-Yan (p pbar -> X l+ l-), and
deeply virtual Compton scattering (gamma* p -> gamma(*) p).Comment: 35 pages, 4 figures, typos corrected, journal versio
X-Ray Scattering Measurements of the Transient Structure of a Driven Charge-Density-Wave
We report time-resolved x-ray scattering measurements of the transient
structural response of the sliding {\bf Q} charge-density-wave (CDW) in
NbSe to a reversal of the driving electric field. The observed time scale
characterizing this response at 70K varies from 15 msec for driving
fields near threshold to 2 msec for fields well above threshold. The
position and time-dependent strain of the CDW is analyzed in terms of a
phenomenological equation of motion for the phase of the CDW order parameter.
The value of the damping constant, eV
seconds \AA, is in excellent agreement with the value
determined from transport measurements. As the driving field approaches
threshold from above, the line shape becomes bimodal, suggesting that the CDW
does not depin throughout the entire sample at one well-defined voltage.Comment: revtex 3.0, 7 figure
On Vanishing Theorems For Vector Bundle Valued p-Forms And Their Applications
Let be a strictly increasing function
with . We unify the concepts of -harmonic maps, minimal
hypersurfaces, maximal spacelike hypersurfaces, and Yang-Mills Fields, and
introduce -Yang-Mills fields, -degree, -lower degree, and generalized
Yang-Mills-Born-Infeld fields (with the plus sign or with the minus sign) on
manifolds. When and
the -Yang-Mills field becomes an ordinary Yang-Mills field,
-Yang-Mills field, a generalized Yang-Mills-Born-Infeld field with the plus
sign, and a generalized Yang-Mills-Born-Infeld field with the minus sign on a
manifold respectively. We also introduce the energy functional (resp.
-Yang-Mills functional) and derive the first variational formula of the
energy functional (resp. -Yang-Mills functional) with
applications. In a more general frame, we use a unified method to study the
stress-energy tensors that arise from calculating the rate of change of various
functionals when the metric of the domain or base manifold is changed. These
stress-energy tensors, linked to -conservation laws yield monotonicity
formulae. A "macroscopic" version of these monotonicity inequalities enables us
to derive some Liouville type results and vanishing theorems for forms with
values in vector bundles, and to investigate constant Dirichlet boundary value
problems for 1-forms. In particular, we obtain Liouville theorems for
harmonic maps (e.g. -harmonic maps), and Yang-Mills fields (e.g.
generalized Yang-Mills-Born-Infeld fields on manifolds). We also obtain
generalized Chern type results for constant mean curvature type equations for
forms on and on manifolds with the global doubling property
by a different approach. The case and is due to Chern.Comment: 1. This is a revised version with several new sections and an
appendix that will appear in Communications in Mathematical Physics. 2. A
"microscopic" approach to some of these monotonicity formulae leads to
celebrated blow-up techniques and regularity theory in geometric measure
theory. 3. Our unique solution of the Dirichlet problems generalizes the work
of Karcher and Wood on harmonic map
Digital interventions to improve adherence to maintenance medication in asthma
© 2018 The Cochrane Collaboration. This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To determine the effectiveness of digital adherence interventions for improving adherence to maintenance treatments in asthma
Variability in Coastal Flooding predictions due to forecast errors during Hurricane Arthur
Storm surge prediction models rely on an accurate representation of the wind conditions. In this paper, we examine the sensitivity of surge predictions to forecast uncertainties in the track and strength of a storm (storm strength is quantified by the power dissipation of the associated wind field). This analysis is performed using Hurricane Arthur (2014), a Category 2 hurricane, which made landfall along the North Carolina (NC) coast in early July 2014. Hindcast simulations of a coupled hydrodynamic-wave model are performed on a large unstructured mesh to analyze the surge impact of Arthur along the NC coastline. The effects of Arthur are best represented by a post-storm data assimilated wind product with parametric vortex winds providing a close approximation. Surge predictions driven by forecast advisories issued by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) during Arthur are analyzed. The storm track predictions from the NHC improve over time. However, successive advisories predict an unrealistic increase in the storm's strength. Due to these forecast errors, the global root mean square errors of the predicted wind speeds and water levels increase as the storm approaches landfall. The relative impacts of the track and strength errors on the surge predictions are assessed by replacing forecast storm parameters with the best known post-storm information about Arthur. In a “constant track” analysis, Arthur's post storm determined track is used in place of the track predictions of the different advisories but each advisory retains its size and intensity predictions. In a “constant storm strength” analysis, forecast wind and pressure parameters are replaced by corresponding parameters extracted from the post storm analysis while each advisory retains its forecast storm track. We observe a strong correlation between the forecast errors and the wind speed predictions. However, the correlation between these errors and the forecast water levels is weak signifying a non-linear response of the shallow coastal waters to meteorological forcing
Exogenous NG-hydroxy-l-arginine causes nitrite production in vascular smooth muscle cells in the absence of nitric oxide synthase activity
AbstractNitric oxide (NO) production from exogenous NG-hydroxy-l-arginine (OH-l-Arg) was investigated in rat aortic smooth muscle cells in culture by measuring nitrite accumulation in the culture medium. As well, the interaction between OH-l-Arg and l-arginine uptake via the y+ cationic amino acid transporter was studied. In cells without NO-synthase activity, OH-l-Arg (1–1000 μM) induced a dose-dependent nitrite production with a half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) of 18.0 ± 1.5 μM (n = 4–7). This nitrite accumulation was not inhibited by the NO-synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester, l-NAME (300 μM). In contrast, it was abolished by miconazole (100 μM), an inhibitor of cytochrome P450. Incubation of vascular smooth muscle cells with LPS (10 μgml) induced an l-name inhibited nitrite accumulation, but did not enhance the OH-l-Arg induced nitrite production. OH-l-Arg and other cationic amino acids, L-lysine and l-ornithine, competitively inhibited [3H]-l-arginine uptake m rat aortic smooth muscle cells, with inhibition constants of 195 ± 23 μM(n = 12), 260 ± 40 μM(n= 5) and 330 ± 10 μM(n = 5), respectively. These results show that OH-l-Arg is recognized by the cationic l-amino acid carrier present in vascular smooth muscle cells and can be oxidized to NO and nitrite in these cells in the absence of NO-synthase, probably by cytochrome P450 or by a reaction involving a cytochrome P450 byproduct
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