3,860 research outputs found
Laboratory Measurement of the Pure Rotational Transitions of the HCNH+ and its Isotopic Species
The pure rotational transitions of the protonated hydrogen cyanide ion,
HCNH+, and its isotopic species, HCND+ and DCND+, were measured in the 107 -
482 GHz region with a source modulated microwave spectrometer. The ions were
generated in the cell with a magnetically confined dc-glow discharge of HCN
and/or DCN. The rotational constant B0 and the centrifugal distortion constant
D0 for each ion were precisely determined by a least-squares fitting to the
observed spectral lines. The observed rotational transition frequencies by
laboratory spectroscopy and the predicted ones are accurate in about 30 to 40
kHz and are useful as rest frequencies for astronomical searches of HCNH+ and
HCND+.Comment: 14 pages in TeX, 1 figures in JPE
A coupled drug kinetics-cell cycle model to analyse the response of human cells to intervention by topotecan
A model describing the response of the growth of single human cells in the absence and presence of the anti-cancer agent topotecan (TPT) is presented. The model includes a novel coupling of both the kinetics of TPT and cell cycle responses to the agent. By linking the models in this way, rather than using separate (disjoint) approaches, it is possible to illustrate how the drug perturbs the cell cycle. The model is compared to experimental in vitro cell cycle response data (comprising single cell descriptors for molecular and behavioural events), showing good qualitative agreement for a range of TPT dose levels
Mechanisms of Surviving Burial: Dune Grass Interspecific Differences Drive Resource Allocation After Sand Deposition
Sand dunes are important geomorphic formations of coastal ecosystems that are critical in protecting human populations that live in coastal areas. Dune formation is driven by ecomorphodynamic interactions between vegetation and sediment deposition. While there has been extensive research on responses of dune grasses to sand burial, there is a knowledge gap in understanding mechanisms of acclimation between similar, coexistent, dune-building grasses such as Ammophila breviligulata (C3), Spartina patens (C4), and Uniola paniculata (C4). Our goal was to determine how physiological mechanisms of acclimation to sand burial vary between species. We hypothesize that (1) in the presence of burial, resource allocation will be predicated on photosynthetic pathway and that we will be able to characterize the C3 species as a root allocator and the C4 species as leaf allocators. We also hypothesize that (2) despite similarities between these species in habitat, growth form, and life history, leaf, root, and whole plant traits will vary between species when burial is not present. Furthermore, when burial is present, the existing variability in physiological strategy will drive species-specific mechanisms of survival. In a greenhouse experiment, we exposed three dune grass species to different burial treatments: 0 cm (control) and a one-time 25-cm burial to mimic sediment deposition during a storm. At the conclusion of our study, we collected a suite of physiological and morphological functional traits. Results showed that Ammophila decreased allocation to aboveground biomass to maintain root biomass, preserving photosynthesis by allocating nitrogen (N) into light-exposed leaves. Conversely, Uniola and Spartina decreased allocation to belowground production to increase elongation and maintain aboveground biomass. Interestingly, we found that species were functionally distinct when burial was absent; however, all species became more similar when treated with burial. In the presence of burial, species utilized functional traits of rapid growth strategy, although mechanisms of change were interspecifically variable
The Lambda_b lifetime in the light front quark model
The enhancement of the Lambda_b decay width relative to B decay one due to
the difference of Fermi motion effects in Lambda_b and B is calculated in the
light--front quark model with the simplifying assumption that Lambda_b consists
of the heavy quark and light scalar diquark. In order to explain the large
deviation from unity in the experimental result for tau(Lambda_b)/tau(B), it is
necessary that diquark be light and the ratio of the squares of the Lambda_b
and B wave functions at the origin be \le 1.Comment: final journal version to appear in JETP Letter
Historical Criminology and the Explanatory Power of the Past
To what extent can the past âexplainâ the present? This deceptively simple question lies at the heart of historical criminology (research which incorporates historical primary sources while addressing present-day debates and practices in the criminal justice field). This article seeks first to categorise the ways in which criminologists have used historical data thus far, arguing that it is most commonly deployed to âproblematizeâ the contemporary rather than to âexplainâ it. The article then interrogates the reticence of criminologists to attribute explicative power in relation to the present to historical data. Finally, it proposes the adoption of long time-frame historical research methods, outlining three advantages which would accrue from this: the identification and analysis of historical continuities; a more nuanced, shared understanding of micro/macro change over time in relation to criminal justice; and a method for identifying and analysing instances of historical recurrence, particularly in perceptions and discourses around crime and justice
Relativistic quantum plasma dispersion functions
Relativistic quantum plasma dispersion functions are defined and the
longitudinal and transverse response functions for an electron (plus positron)
gas are written in terms of them. The dispersion is separated into
Landau-damping, pair-creation and dissipationless regimes. Explicit forms are
given for the RQPDFs in the cases of a completely degenerate distribution and a
nondegenerate thermal (J\"uttner) distribution. Particular emphasis is placed
on the relation between dissipation and dispersion, with the dissipation
treated in terms of the imaginary parts of RQPDFs. Comparing the dissipation
calculated in this way with the existing treatments leads to the identification
of errors in the literature, which we correct. We also comment on a controversy
as to whether the dispersion curves in a superdense plasma pass through the
region where pair creation is allowed.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figur
The evolution and development of visual perspective taking
I outline three conceptions of seeing that a creature might possess: âthe headlamp conception,â which involves an understanding of the causal connections between gazing at an object, certain mental states, and behavior; âthe stage lights conception,â which involves an understanding of the selective nature of visual attention; and seeing-as. I argue that infants and various nonhumans possess the headlamp conception. There is also evidence that chimpanzees and 3-year-old children have some grasp of seeing-as. However, due to a dearth of studies, there is no evidence that infants or nonhumans possess the stage lights conception of seeing. I outline the kinds of experiments that are needed, and what we stand to learn about the evolution and development of perspective taking
Pan-Africanism: a contorted delirium or a pseudonationalist paradigm? Revivalist critique
This essaic-article goes against established conventions that there is anything ethno-cultural (and hence national) about the so-called African tribes. Drawing largely from the culture history of precolonial/prepolitical Africansâthat is, the Bantu/Cushitic-Ethiopians (Azanians)âthe author has demonstrated vividly that far from being distinct ethno-culture national communities, the so-called tribes of African states are better considered subculture groups, whose regional culture practices erstwhile paid tribute to their nationâs main culture center in Karnak. For example, using the culture symbols and practices of some local groups and linking them to the predynastic and dynastic Pharaonic periods, I argued that there is compelling evidence against qualifying Africaâs tribes as distinct ethno-culture national entities. In genuine culture context, I stressed that the Ritual of Resurrection and its twin culture process of the mummification of deceased indigenous Pharaohs tend to suggest that the object of the Bantu/Cushitic-Ethiopians national culture was life (in its eternal manifestation) and then resurrection later, and that there are recurring (culturally sanctioned) ethical examples among the culture custodians of these subculture groups that generally pay tribute to the overarching culture norm. Furthermore, the fact that the Ritual of Resurrection began in the Delta region and ended at the Sources of the Nile, where the spirit of the deceased indigenous Pharaohs was introduced into the spiritual world of their ancestors, contradicts conventional perceptions that ancient Egypt was a distinct national community isolated from precolonial/prepolitical Africa/Azania
Increased Thymic B Cells but Maintenance of Thymic Structure, T Cell Differentiation and Negative Selection in Lymphotoxin-α and TNF Gene-Targeted Mice
TNF, lymphotoxin (LT) and their receptors are expressed constitutively in the thymus. It
remains unclear whether these cytokines play a role in normal thymic structure or function.
We have investigated thymocyte differentiation, selection and thymic organogenesis in gene
targeted mice lacking LTα, TNF, or both (TNF/LTα-/-). The thymus was normal in
TNF/LTα-/- mice with regard to cell yields and stromal architecture. Detailed analysis of αÎČ
and γΎ T cell-lineage thymocyte subsets revealed no abnormalities, implying that neither TNF
nor LT play an essential role in T cell differentiation or positive selection. The number and
distribution of thymic CD11c+ dendritic cells was also normal in the absence of both TNF and
LTα. A three-fold increase in B cell numbers was observed consistently in the TNF/LTα-/-
thymus. This phenotype was due entirely to the LTα deficiency and associated with changes
in the hemopoietic compartment, rather than the thymic stromal compartment of LTα-/- mice.
Finally, specific VÎČ8+ T cell deletion within the thymus following intrathymic injection of
staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) was TNF/LT independent. Thus, despite the presence of
these cytokines and their receptors in the normal thymus, there appears no essential role for
either TNF or LT in development of organ structure or for those processes associated with T
cell repertoire selection
Relativistic quantum model of confinement and the current quark masses
We consider a relativistic quantum model of confined massive spinning quarks
and antiquarks which describes leading Regge trajectories of mesons. The quarks
are described by the Dirac equations and the gluon contribution is approximated
by the Nambu-Goto straight-line string. The string tension and the current
quark masses are the main parameters of the model. Additional parameters are
phenomenological constants which approximate nonstring short-range
contributions. Comparison of the measured meson masses with the model
predictions allows one to determine the current quark masses (in MeV) to be
. The chiral
model[23] makes it possible to estimate from here the - and -quark masses
to be ~ Mev and Mev.Comment: 15 pages, LATEX, 2 tables. (submitted to Phys.Rev.D
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