44,635 research outputs found
Ages of Type Ia Supernovae Over Cosmic Time
We derive empirical models for galaxy mass assembly histories, and convolve
these with theoretical delay time distribution (DTD) models for Type Ia
supernovae (SNe Ia) to derive the distribution of progenitor ages for all SNe
Ia occurring at a given epoch of cosmic time. In actively star-forming
galaxies, the progression of the star formation rate is shallower than a
SN Ia DTD, so mean SN Ia ages peak at the DTD peak in all star-forming
galaxies at all epochs of cosmic history. In passive galaxies which have ceased
star formation through some quenching process, the SN Ia age distribution peaks
at the quenching epoch, which in passive galaxies evolves in redshift to track
the past epoch of major star formation. Our models reproduce the SN Ia rate
evolution in redshift, the relationship between SN Ia stretch and host mass,
and the distribution of SN Ia host masses in a manner qualitatively consistent
with observations. Our model naturally predicts that low-mass galaxies tend to
be actively star-forming while massive galaxies are generally passive,
consistent with observations of galaxy "downsizing". Consequently, the mean
ages of SNe Ia undergo a sharp transition from young ages at low host mass to
old ages at high host mass, qualitatively similar to the transition of mean SN
Ia Hubble residuals with host mass. The age discrepancy evolves with redshift
in a manner currently not accounted for in SN Ia cosmology analyses. We thus
suggest that SNe Ia selected only from actively star-forming galaxies will
yield the most cosmologically uniform sample, due to the homogeneity of young
SN Ia progenitor ages at all cosmological epochs.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The Pharmacological Potential of Mushrooms
This review describes pharmacologically active compounds from mushrooms. Compounds and complex substances with antimicrobial, antiviral, antitumor, antiallergic, immunomodulating, anti-inflammatory, antiatherogenic, hypoglycemic, hepatoprotective and central activities are covered, focusing on the review of recent literature. The production of mushrooms or mushroom compounds is discussed briefly
Damping of Oscillations in Layer-by-Layer Growth
We present a theory for the damping of layer-by-layer growth oscillations in
molecular beam epitaxy. The surface becomes rough on distances larger than a
layer coherence length which is substantially larger than the diffusion length.
The damping time can be calculated by a comparison of the competing roughening
and smoothening mechanisms. The dependence on the growth conditions,
temperature and deposition rate, is characterized by a power law. The
theoretical results are confirmed by computer simulations.Comment: 19 pages, RevTex, 5 Postscript figures, needs psfig.st
Serodiagnosis of infectious mononucleosis by using recombinant Epstein-Barr virus antigens and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technology
Four recombinant, diagnostically useful Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) proteins representative of the viral capsid antigen (p150), diffuse early antigen (p54), the major DNA-binding protein (p138), and the EBV nuclear antigen (p72) (W. Hinderer, H. Nebel-Schickel, H.H. Sonneborn, M. Motz, R. Kühbeck, and H. Wolf, J. Exp. Clin. Cancer Res. 7[Suppl.]:132, 1988) were used to set up individual enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the qualitative and quantitative detection of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies. In direct comparison with results obtained by standard immunofluorescence or immunoperoxidase assays, it was then shown that the recombinant EBV ELISAs provide the means for specific and sensitive serodiagnosis of infectious mononucleosis (IM) caused by EBV. The most useful markers in sera from such patients proved to be IgM antibodies against p54, p138, and p150. Additional positive markers for recent or ongoing IM apparently were IgG antibodies against p54 and p138. In contrast, anti-p72 IgG had a high preference for sera from healthy blood donors and, therefore, can be considered indicative of past exposure to the virus. Altogether, the individual ELISAs proved to be as specific and at least as sensitive for the diagnosis of IM as the currently available standard techniques are. Moreover, our findings suggest that, by combining individual test antigens, a workable ELISA system consisting of three assays (IgM against p54, p138, and p150; IgG against p54 and p138; and IgG against p72) can be established for the standardized rapid diagnosis of acute EBV infections
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