60 research outputs found
No Evidence for a Trade-Off between Reproductive Investment and Immunity in a Rodent
Life history theory assumes there are trade-offs between competing functions such as reproduction and immunity. Although well studied in birds, studies of the trade-offs between reproduction and immunity in small mammals are scarce. Here we examined whether reduced immunity is a consequence of reproductive effort in lactating Brandt's voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii). Specifically, we tested the effects of lactation on immune function (Experiment I). The results showed that food intake and resting metabolic rate (RMR) were higher in lactating voles (6≤ litter size ≤8) than that in non-reproductive voles. Contrary to our expectation, lactating voles also had higher levels of serum total Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and anti-keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) IgG and no change in phytohemagglutinin (PHA) response and anti-KLH Immunoglobulin M (IgM) compared with non-reproductive voles, suggesting improved rather than reduced immune function. To further test the effect of differences in reproductive investment on immunity, we compared the responses between natural large (n≥8) and small litter size (n≤6) (Experiment II) and manipulated large (11–13) and small litter size (2–3) (Experiment III). During peak lactation, acquired immunity (PHA response, anti-KLH IgG and anti-KLH IgM) was not significantly different between voles raising large or small litters in both experiments, despite the measured difference in reproductive investment (greater litter size, litter mass, RMR and food intake in the voles raising larger litters). Total IgG was higher in voles with natural large litter size than those with natural small litter size, but decreased in the enlarged litter size group compared with control and reduced group. Our results showed that immune function is not suppressed to compensate the high energy demands during lactation in Brandt's voles and contrasting the situation in birds, is unlikely to be an important aspect mediating the trade-off between reproduction and survival
The role of the pion cloud in the interpretation of the valence light-cone wavefunction of the nucleon
The pion cloud renormalises the light-cone wavefunction of the nucleon which
is measured in hard, exclusive photon-nucleon reactions. We discuss the leading
twist contributions to high-energy exclusive reactions taking into account both
the pion cloud and perturbative QCD physics. The nucleon's electromagnetic
form-factor at high is proportional to the bare nucleon probability
and the cross-sections for hard (real at large angle or deeply virtual) Compton
scattering are proportional to . Our present knowledge of the pion-nucleon
system is consistent with . If we apply just perturbative QCD
to extract a light-cone wavefunction directly from these hard exclusive
cross-sections, then the light-cone wavefunction that we extract measures the
three valence quarks partially screened by the pion cloud of the nucleon. We
discuss how this pion cloud renormalisation effect might be understood at the
quark level in terms of the (in-)stability of the perturbative Dirac vacuum in
low energy QCD.Comment: Expanded Discussion of Phenomenology and Spin Physic
Quantum Spacetime Phenomenology
I review the current status of phenomenological programs inspired by
quantum-spacetime research. I stress in particular the significance of results
establishing that certain data analyses provide sensitivity to effects
introduced genuinely at the Planck scale. And my main focus is on
phenomenological programs that managed to affect the directions taken by
studies of quantum-spacetime theories.Comment: 125 pages, LaTex. This V2 is updated and more detailed than the V1,
particularly for quantum-spacetime phenomenology. The main text of this V2 is
about 25% more than the main text of the V1. Reference list roughly double
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