574 research outputs found
Biomechanics: An Army Marching with Its Stomach
SummaryA novel X-ray technique shows that the internal organs of crawling caterpillars slide past the body walls like pistons in a new kind of legged locomotion
Analysis of quasi-hybrid solid rocket booster concepts for advanced earth-to-orbit vehicles
A study was conducted to assess the feasibility of quasi-hybrid solid rocket boosters for advanced Earth-to-orbit vehicles. Thermochemical calculations were conducted to determine the effect of liquid hydrogen addition, solids composition change plus liquid hydrogen addition, and the addition of an aluminum/liquid hydrogen slurry on the theoretical performance of a PBAN solid propellant rocket. The space shuttle solid rocket booster was used as a reference point. All three quasi-hybrid systems theoretically offer higher specific impulse when compared with the space shuttle solid rocket boosters. However, based on operational and safety considerations, the quasi-hybrid rocket is not a practical choice for near-term Earth-to-orbit booster applications. Safety and technology issues pertinent to quasi-hybrid rocket systems are discussed
Thermotolerance of an inactivated rabies vaccine for dogs
This study provides the first robust data that the antibody response of dogs vaccinated with Nobivac® Rabies vaccine stored for several months at high temperatures (up to 30 °C) is not inferior to that of dogs vaccinated with vaccine stored under recommended cold-chain conditions (2–8 °C). A controlled and randomized non-inferiority study was carried out comparing the four-week post vaccination serological responses of Tanzanian village dogs inoculated with vaccine which had been stored at elevated temperatures for different periods of time with those of dogs vaccinated with the same product stored according to label recommendations. Specifically, the neutralizing antibody response following the use of vaccine which had been stored for up to six months at 25 °C or for three months at 30 °C was not inferior to that following the use of cold-chain stored vaccine. These findings provide reassurance that the vaccine is likely to remain efficacious even if exposed to elevated temperatures for limited periods of time and, under these circumstances, it can safely be used and not necessarily destroyed or discarded. The availability of thermotolerant vaccines has been an important factor in the success of several disease control and elimination programs and could greatly increase the capacity of rabies vaccination campaigns to access hard to reach communities in Africa and Asia. We have not confirmed a 3-year duration of immunity for the high temperature stored vaccine, however because annual re-vaccination is usually practiced for dogs presented for vaccination during campaigns in Africa and Asia this should not be a cause for concern. These findings will provide confidence that, for rabies control and elimination programs using this vaccine in low-income settings, more flexible delivery models could be explored, including those that involve limited periods of transportation and storage at temperatures higher than that currently recommended
Exploring the Expression of Cardiac Regulators in a Vertebrate Extremophile: The Cichlid Fish Oreochromis (Alcolapia) alcalica
Although it is widely accepted that the cellular and molecular mechanisms of vertebratecardiac development are evolutionarily conserved, this is on the basis of data from only a fewmodel organisms suited to laboratory studies. Here, we investigate gene expression during cardiacdevelopment in the extremophile, non-model fish species, Oreochromis (Alcolapia) alcalica. Wefirst characterise the early development of O. alcalica and observe extensive vascularisation across the yolk prior to hatching. We further investigate heart development by identifying andcloning O. alcalica orthologues of conserved cardiac transcription factors gata4, tbx5, and mef2cfor analysis by in situ hybridisation. Expression of these three key cardiac developmentalregulators also reveals other aspects of O. alcalica development, as these genes are expressed indeveloping blood, limb, eyes, and muscle, as well as the heart. Our data support the notion that O.alcalica is a direct-developing vertebrate that shares the highly conserved molecular regulation ofthe vertebrate body plan. However, the expression of gata4 in O. alcalica reveals interestingdifferences in the development of the circulatory system distinct from that of the well-studiedzebrafish. Understanding the development of O. alcalica embryos is an important step towardsproviding a model for future research into the adaptation to extreme conditions; this is particularlyrelevant given that anthropogenic-driven climate change will likely result in more freshwaterorganisms being exposed to less favourable conditions
The pion transition form factor and the pion distribution amplitude
Recent BaBaR data on the pion transition form factor, whose Q^2 dependence is
much steeper then predicted by asymptotic Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), have
caused a renewed interest in its theoretical description. We present here a
formalism based on a model independent low energy description and a high energy
description based on QCD, which match at a scale Q_0. The high energy
description incorporates a flat pion distribution amplitude, phi(x)=1, at the
matching scale Q_0 and QCD evolution from Q_0 to Q>Q_0. The flat pion
distribution is connected, through soft pion theorems and chiral symmetry, to
the pion valance parton distribution at the same low scale Q_0. The procedure
leads to a good description of the data, and incorporating additional twist
three effects, to an excellent description of the data.Comment: 11 pages, 5 postscript figures, uses epsfig.sty and 1 appendi
A posteriori inclusion of parton density functions in NLO QCD final-state calculations at hadron colliders: The APPLGRID Project
A method to facilitate the consistent inclusion of cross-section measurements
based on complex final-states from HERA, TEVATRON and the LHC in proton parton
density function (PDF) fits has been developed. This can be used to increase
the sensitivity of LHC data to deviations from Standard Model predictions. The
method stores perturbative coefficients of NLO QCD calculations of final-state
observables measured in hadron colliders in look-up tables. This allows the
posteriori inclusion of parton density functions (PDFs), and of the strong
coupling, as well as the a posteriori variation of the renormalisation and
factorisation scales in cross-section calculations.
The main novelties in comparison to original work on the subject are the use
of higher-order interpolation, which substantially improves the trade-off
between accuracy and memory use, and a CPU and computer memory optimised way to
construct and store the look-up table using modern software tools.
It is demonstrated that a sufficient accuracy on the cross-section
calculation can be achieved with reasonably small look-up table size by using
the examples of jet production and electro-weak boson (Z, W) production in
proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 14 TeV at the LHC.
The use of this technique in PDF fitting is demonstrated in a PDF-fit to HERA
data and simulated LHC jet cross-sections as well as in a study of the jet
cross-section uncertainties at various centre-of-mass energies
Pion light-cone wave function and pion distribution amplitude in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model
We compute the pion light-cone wave function and the pion quark distribution
amplitude in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. We use the Pauli-Villars
regularization method and as a result the distribution amplitude satisfies
proper normalization and crossing properties. In the chiral limit we obtain the
simple results, namely phi_pi(x)=1 for the pion distribution amplitude, and
= -M / f_pi^2 for the second moment of the pion light-cone
wave function, where M is the constituent quark mass and f_pi is the pion decay
constant. After the QCD Gegenbauer evolution of the pion distribution amplitude
good end-point behavior is recovered, and a satisfactory agreement with the
analysis of the experimental data from CLEO is achieved. This allows us to
determine the momentum scale corresponding to our model calculation, which is
close to the value Q_0 = 313 MeV obtained earlier from the analogous analysis
of the pion parton distribution function. The value of is, after the
QCD evolution, around (400 MeV)^2. In addition, the model predicts a linear
integral relation between the pion distribution amplitude and the parton
distribution function of the pion, which holds at the leading-order QCD
evolution.Comment: mistake in Eq.(38) correcte
Transverse lattice calculation of the pion light-cone wavefunctions
We calculate the light-cone wavefunctions of the pion by solving the meson
boundstate problem in a coarse transverse lattice gauge theory using DLCQ. A
large-N_c approximation is made and the light-cone Hamiltonian expanded in
massive dynamical fields at fixed lattice spacing. In contrast to earlier
calculations, we include contributions from states containing many gluonic
link-fields between the quarks.The Hamiltonian is renormalised by a combination
of covariance conditions on boundstates and fitting the physical masses M_rho
and M_pi, decay constant f_pi, and the string tension sigma. Good covariance is
obtained for the lightest 0^{-+} state, which we identify with the pion. Many
observables can be deduced from its light-cone wavefunctions.After perturbative
evolution,the quark valence structure function is found to be consistent with
the experimental structure function deduced from Drell-Yan pi-nucleon data in
the valence region x > 0.5. In addition, the pion distribution amplitude is
consistent with the experimental distribution deduced from the pi gamma^* gamma
transition form factor and diffractive dissociation. A new observable we
calculate is the probability for quark helicity correlation. We find a 45%
probability that the valence-quark helicities are aligned in the pion.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figure
Spectral quark model and low-energy hadron phenomenology
We propose a spectral quark model which can be applied to low energy hadronic
physics. The approach is based on a generalization of the Lehmann
representation of the quark propagator. We work at the one-quark-loop level.
Electromagnetic and chiral invariance are ensured with help of the gauge
technique which provides particular solutions to the Ward-Takahashi identities.
General conditions on the quark spectral function follow from natural physical
requirements. In particular, the function is normalized, its all positive
moments must vanish, while the physical observables depend on negative moments
and the so-called log-moments. As a consequence, the model is made finite,
dispersion relations hold, chiral anomalies are preserved, and the twist
expansion is free from logarithmic scaling violations, as requested of a
low-energy model. We study a variety of processes and show that the framework
is very simple and practical. Finally, incorporating the idea of vector-meson
dominance, we present an explicit construction of the quark spectral function
which satisfies all the requirements. The corresponding momentum representation
of the resulting quark propagator exhibits only cuts on the physical axis, with
no poles present anywhere in the complex momentum space. The momentum-dependent
quark mass compares very well to recent lattice calculations. A large number of
predictions and relations can be deduced from our approach for such quantities
as the pion light-cone wave function, non-local quark condensate, pion
transition form factor, pion valence parton distribution function, etc.Comment: revtex, 24 pages, 3 figure
Measurement of in vitro cardiac deformation by means of 3D digital image correlation and ultrasound 2D speckle-tracking echocardiography
Ultrasound-based 2D speckle-tracking echocardiography (US-2D-STE) is increasingly used to assess the functionality of the heart. In particular, the analysis of cardiac strain plays an important role in the identification of several cardiovascular diseases. However, this imaging technique presents some limitations associated with its operating principle that result in low accuracy and reproducibility of the measurement.
In this study, an experimental framework for multimodal strain imaging in an in vitro porcine heart was developed. Specifically, the aim of this work was to analyse displacement and strain in the heart by means of 3D digital image correlation (3D-DIC) and US-2D-STE. Over a single cardiac cycle, displacement values obtained from the two techniques were in strong correlation, although systematically larger displacements were observed with 3D-DIC. Notwithstanding an absolute comparison of the strain measurements was not possible to achieve between the two methods, maximum principal strain directions computed with 3D-DIC were consistent with the longitudinal and circumferential strain distribution measured with US-2D-STE. 3D-DIC confirmed its high repeatability in quantifying displacement and strain over multiple cardiac cycles, unlike US-2D-STE which is affected by accumulated errors over time (i.e. drift).
To conclude, this study demonstrates the potential of 3D-DIC to perform dynamic measurement of displacement and strain during heart deformations and supports future applications of this method in ex vivo beating heart platforms, which replicate more fully the complex contraction of the heart
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