4,827 research outputs found
âA Faustian bargain?â Public voices on forensic DNA technologies and the National DNA Database
This article draws on the idea of the âforensic imaginaryâ (Williams 2010) to explore UK public perspectives on the place, role and significance of forensic DNA technologies, both independent of and in relation to other genetic applications. Using correspondentsâ replies to the Spring 2006 Mass Observation Directive âGenes, Genetics and Cloningâ, the analysis focuses on continuities and tensions in their discursive repertoires. The argument examines (a) the ways in which knowledge is made sense of in these accounts, and (b) the discrepancy between an appreciation of the benefits of using DNA identification techniques in police work and a more critical attitude towards a wider national DNA database. The conclusion reflects on the need for a wider scope in research on public understandings of science, which looks beyond targeted consultations and specific publics, and provides more textured data to document collective views on the development and governance of forensic DNA technologies
Use of specific Green's functions for solving direct problems involving a heterogeneous rigid frame porous medium slab solicited by acoustic waves
A domain integral method employing a specific Green's function (i.e.,
incorporating some features of the global problem of wave propagation in an
inhomogeneous medium) is developed for solving direct and inverse scattering
problems relative to slab-like macroscopically inhomogeneous porous obstacles.
It is shown how to numerically solve such problems, involving both
spatially-varying density and compressibility, by means of an iterative scheme
initialized with a Born approximation. A numerical solution is obtained for a
canonical problem involving a two-layer slab.Comment: submitted to Math.Meth.Appl.Sc
A photometric and spectroscopic study of the new dwarf spheroidal galaxy in Hercules
Our aim is to provide as clean and as complete a sample as possible of red
giant branch stars that are members of the Hercules dSph galaxy. With this
sample we explore the velocity dispersion and the metallicity of the system.
Stromgren photometry and multi-fibre spectroscopy are combined to provide
information about the evolutionary state of the stars (via the Stromgren c_1
index) and their radial velocities. Based on this information we have selected
a clean sample of red giant branch stars, and show that foreground
contamination by Milky Way dwarf stars can greatly distort the results. Our
final sample consists of 28 red giant branch stars in the Hercules dSph galaxy.
Based on these stars we find a mean photometric metallicity of -2.35 dex which
is consistent with previous studies. We find evidence for an abundance spread.
Using those stars for which we have determined radial velocities we find a
systemic velocity of 45.2 km/s with a dispersion of 3.72 km/s, this is lower
than values found in the literature. Furthermore we identify the horizontal
branch and estimate the mean magnitude of the horizontal branch of the Hercules
dSph galaxy to be V_0=21.17, which corresponds to a distance of 147 kpc. We
have shown that a proper cleaning of the sample results in a smaller value for
the velocity dispersion of the system. This has implications for galaxy
properties derived from such velocity dispersions.Comment: 24 pages, 28 figure
Dynamical stability of infinite homogeneous self-gravitating systems: application of the Nyquist method
We complete classical investigations concerning the dynamical stability of an
infinite homogeneous gaseous medium described by the Euler-Poisson system or an
infinite homogeneous stellar system described by the Vlasov-Poisson system
(Jeans problem). To determine the stability of an infinite homogeneous stellar
system with respect to a perturbation of wavenumber k, we apply the Nyquist
method. We first consider the case of single-humped distributions and show
that, for infinite homogeneous systems, the onset of instability is the same in
a stellar system and in the corresponding barotropic gas, contrary to the case
of inhomogeneous systems. We show that this result is true for any symmetric
single-humped velocity distribution, not only for the Maxwellian. If we
specialize on isothermal and polytropic distributions, analytical expressions
for the growth rate, damping rate and pulsation period of the perturbation can
be given. Then, we consider the Vlasov stability of symmetric and asymmetric
double-humped distributions (two-stream stellar systems) and determine the
stability diagrams depending on the degree of asymmetry. We compare these
results with the Euler stability of two self-gravitating gaseous streams.
Finally, we determine the corresponding stability diagrams in the case of
plasmas and compare the results with self-gravitating systems
TiO2 Nanoparticles Are Phototoxic to Marine Phytoplankton
Nanoparticulate titanium dioxide (TiO2) is highly photoactive, and its function as a photocatalyst drives much of the application demand for TiO2. Because TiO2 generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) when exposed to ultraviolet radiation (UVR), nanoparticulate TiO2 has been used in antibacterial coatings and wastewater disinfection, and has been investigated as an anti-cancer agent. Oxidative stress mediated by photoactive TiO2 is the likely mechanism of its toxicity, and experiments demonstrating cytotoxicity of TiO2 have used exposure to strong artificial sources of ultraviolet radiation (UVR). In vivo tests of TiO2 toxicity with aquatic organisms have typically shown low toxicity, and results across studies have been variable. No work has demonstrated that photoactivity causes environmental toxicity of TiO2 under natural levels of UVR. Here we show that relatively low levels of ultraviolet light, consistent with those found in nature, can induce toxicity of TiO2 nanoparticles to marine phytoplankton, the most important primary producers on Earth. No effect of TiO2 on phytoplankton was found in treatments where UV light was blocked. Under low intensity UVR, ROS in seawater increased with increasing nano-TiO2 concentration. These increases may lead to increased overall oxidative stress in seawater contaminated by TiO2, and cause decreased resiliency of marine ecosystems. Phototoxicity must be considered when evaluating environmental impacts of nanomaterials, many of which are photoactive
Extracellular Matrix Aggregates from Differentiating Embryoid Bodies as a Scaffold to Support ESC Proliferation and Differentiation
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have emerged as potential cell sources for tissue engineering and regeneration owing to its virtually unlimited replicative capacity and the potential to differentiate into a variety of cell types. Current differentiation strategies primarily involve various growth factor/inducer/repressor concoctions with less emphasis on the substrate. Developing biomaterials to promote stem cell proliferation and differentiation could aid in the realization of this goal. Extracellular matrix (ECM) components are important physiological regulators, and can provide cues to direct ESC expansion and differentiation. ECM undergoes constant remodeling with surrounding cells to accommodate specific developmental event. In this study, using ESC derived aggregates called embryoid bodies (EB) as a model, we characterized the biological nature of ECM in EB after exposure to different treatments: spontaneously differentiated and retinoic acid treated (denoted as SPT and RA, respectively). Next, we extracted this treatment-specific ECM by detergent decellularization methods (Triton X-100, DOC and SDS are compared). The resulting EB ECM scaffolds were seeded with undifferentiated ESCs using a novel cell seeding strategy, and the behavior of ESCs was studied. Our results showed that the optimized protocol efficiently removes cells while retaining crucial ECM and biochemical components. Decellularized ECM from SPT EB gave rise to a more favorable microenvironment for promoting ESC attachment, proliferation, and early differentiation, compared to native EB and decellularized ECM from RA EB. These findings suggest that various treatment conditions allow the formulation of unique ESC-ECM derived scaffolds to enhance ESC bioactivities, including proliferation and differentiation for tissue regeneration applications. © 2013 Goh et al
Noise Sensitivity in Continuum Percolation
We prove that the Poisson Boolean model, also known as the Gilbert disc
model, is noise sensitive at criticality. This is the first such result for a
Continuum Percolation model, and the first for which the critical probability
p_c \ne 1/2. Our proof uses a version of the Benjamini-Kalai-Schramm Theorem
for biased product measures. A quantitative version of this result was recently
proved by Keller and Kindler. We give a simple deduction of the
non-quantitative result from the unbiased version. We also develop a quite
general method of approximating Continuum Percolation models by discrete models
with p_c bounded away from zero; this method is based on an extremal result on
non-uniform hypergraphs.Comment: 42 page
- âŠ