582 research outputs found
Involvement of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase-Like 2 in Cognitive Function Required for Contextual and Spatial Learning in Mice
Cyclin-dependent kinase-like 2 (Cdkl2) is a cdc2-related serine/threonine protein kinase that is postnatally expressed in various brain regions, including the cerebral cortex, entorhinal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and dorsal thalamus. The extremely high Cdkl2 expression in these regions suggests that it has a role in cognition and emotion. Recent genetic studies indicate that mutations of Cdkl family kinases are associated with neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders in humans. To elucidate the physiologic role of Cdkl2, we behaviorally analyzed Cdkl2LacZ/LacZ mice lacking Cdkl2. Cdkl2LacZ/LacZ mice had reduced latencies to enter the dark compartment after electric footshock in an inhibitory avoidance task and attenuated contextual fear responses when exposed to mild training conditions. Hippocampal spatial learning in the Morris water maze was slightly anomalous with mice exhibiting an abnormal swimming pattern. The aversive response in a two-way avoidance task was slightly, but not significantly, enhanced. On the other hand, Cdkl2LacZ/LacZ mice did not exhibit altered sensitivity to aversive stimuli, such as electric footshock and heat, or deficits in the elevated plus maze or rotating rod test. These findings suggest that Cdkl2 is involved in cognitive function and provide in vivo evidence for the function of Cdkl family kinases expressed in terminally differentiated neurons in mice
Application of Hamamatsu MPPC to T2K Neutrino Detectors
A special type of Hamamatsu MPPC, with a sensitive area of 1.3x1.3mm^2
containing 667 pixels with 50x50um^2 each, has been developed for the near
neutrino detector in the T2K long baseline neutrino experiment. About 60 000
MPPCs will be used in total to read out the plastic scintillator detectors with
wavelength shifting fibers. We report on the basic performance of MPPCs
produced for T2K.Comment: Contribution to the proceedings of NDIP 2008, Aix-les-Bains, France,
June 15-20, 200
Breakup of loosely bound nuclei as indirect method in nuclear astrophysics: 8B, 9C, 23Al
We discuss the use of one-nucleon breakup reactions of loosely bound nuclei
at intermediate energies as an indirect method in nuclear astrophysics. These
are peripheral processes, therefore we can extract asymptotic normalization
coefficients (ANC) from which reaction rates of astrophysical interest can be
inferred. To show the usefulness of the method, three different cases are
discussed. In the first, existing experimental data for the breakup of 8B at
energies from 30 to 1000 MeV/u and of 9C at 285 MeV/u on light through heavy
targets are analyzed. Glauber model calculations in the eikonal approximation
and in the optical limit using different effective interactions give
consistent, though slightly different results, showing the limits of the
precision of the method. The results lead to the astrophysical factor
S_17(0)=18.7+/-1.9 eVb for the key reaction for solar neutrino production
7Be(p,\gamma)8B. It is consistent with the values from other indirect methods
and most direct measurements, but one. Breakup reactions can be measured with
radioactive beams as weak as a few particles per second, and therefore can be
used for cases where no direct measurements or other indirect methods for
nuclear astrophysics can be applied. We discuss a proposed use of the breakup
of the proton drip line nucleus 23Al to obtain spectroscopic information and
the stellar reaction rate for 22Mg(p,\gamma)23Al.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Presented at the conference "Nuclear Physics for
Astrophysics 2", Debrecen, Hungary, May 2005. Prepared for the Proceeding
Photoinduced metallic properties of one-dimensional strongly correlated electron systems
We study photoinduced optical responses of one-dimensional strongly
correlated electron systems. The optical conductivity spectra are calculated
for the ground state and a photoexcited state in the one-dimensional Hubbard
model at half filling by using the exact diagonalization method. It is found
that, in the Mott insulator phase, the photoexcited state has large spectral
weights including the Drude weight below the optical gap. As a consequence, the
spectral weight above the optical gap is largely reduced. These results imply
that a metallic state is induced by photoexcitation. Comparison between the
photoexcited and hole-doped states shows that the photoexcitation is similar to
chemical doping.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp
Generalized McKay quivers of rank three
For each finite subgroup G of SL(n, C), we introduce the generalized Cartan
matrix C_{G} in view of McKay correspondence from the fusion rule of its
natural representation. Using group theory, we show that the generalized Cartan
matrices have similar favorable properties such as positive semi-definiteness
as in the classical case of affine Cartan matrices (the case of SL(2,C)). The
complete McKay quivers for SL(3,C) are explicitly described and classified
based on representation theory
Urban energy consumption and CO2 emissions in Beijing: current and future
This paper calculates the energy consumption and CO2 emissions of Beijing over 2005–2011 in light of the Beijing’s energy balance table and the carbon emission coefficients of IPCC. Furthermore, based on a series of energy conservation planning program issued in Beijing, the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP)-BJ model is developed to study the energy consumption and CO2 emissions of Beijing’s six end-use sectors and the energy conversion sector over 2012–2030 under the BAU scenario and POL scenario. Some results are found in this research: (1) During 2005–2011, the energy consumption kept increasing, while the total CO2 emissions fluctuated obviously in 2008 and 2011. The energy structure and the industrial structure have been optimized to a certain extent. (2) If the policies are completely implemented, the POL scenario is projected to save 21.36 and 35.37 % of the total energy consumption and CO2 emissions than the BAU scenario during 2012 and 2030. (3) The POL scenario presents a more optimized energy structure compared with the BAU scenario, with the decrease of coal consumption and the increase of natural gas consumption. (4) The commerce and service sector and the energy conversion sector will become the largest contributor to energy consumption and CO2 emissions, respectively. The transport sector and the industrial sector are the two most potential sectors in energy savings and carbon reduction. In terms of subscenarios, the energy conservation in transport (TEC) is the most effective one. (5) The macroparameters, such as the GDP growth rate and the industrial structure, have great influence on the urban energy consumption and carbon emissions
X-ray absorption tomography employing a conical shell beam
We demonstrate depth-resolved absorption imaging by scanning an object through a conical shell of X-rays. We measure ring shaped projections and apply tomosynthesis to extract optical sections at different axial focal plane positions. Three-dimensional objects have been imaged to validate our theoretical treatment. The novel principle of our method is scalable with respect to both scan size and X-ray energy. A driver for this work is to
complement previously reported methods concerning the measurement of diffracted X-rays for structural analysis. The prospect of employing conical shell beams to combine both absorption and diffraction modalities would provide enhanced analytical utility and has many potential applications in security screening, process control and diagnostic imaging
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