9,966 research outputs found
Notes on drift theory
It is shown that there is a simpler way to derive the average guiding center drift of a distribution of particles than via the so-called single particle analysis. Based on this derivation it is shown that the entire drift formalism can be considerably simplified, and that results for low order anisotropies are more generally valid than is usually appreciated. This drift analysis leads to a natural alternative derivation of the drift velocity along a neutral sheet
The effect of fruit maturity and storage duration on friction discolouration of Packham's Triumph and Doyenne du Comice pears
The original publication is available at http://www.actahort.org/books/671/671_53.htmFriction discolouration (FD) is causing the South African pear industry
multi-million rand losses due to blemished fruit being rejected for the export market
and being sold locally. The occurrence of FD was studied over two seasons using
‘Packham’s Triumph’ and ‘Doyenne du Comice’ (Pyrus communis) fruit. The
influence of fruit maturity and storage duration were investigated by harvesting
over three maturities and storing fruit for up to three months. FD was induced using
a modified laboratory shaker that was shown to closely mimic pack line damage.
Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity and total phenolics (TP) content were also
evaluated. ‘Doyenne du Comice’ was more prone to FD than ‘Packham’s Triumph’.
Harvest maturity significantly influenced FD susceptibility, with the middle picking
maturity generally giving higher FD ratings. Increasing storage duration generally
increased FD ratings, although not consistently. PPO activity was not influenced by
harvest maturity, but was influenced by storage duration. In ‘Packham’s Triumph’,
the TP content was not affected by harvest maturity or storage duration, whereas
both these factors significantly influenced TP content in ‘Doyenne du Comice’.
Susceptibility to development of FD symptoms is not easily linked to either PPO
activity or TP content, and seasonal differences in susceptibility make prediction of
possible levels of FD very difficult
Atomic Bose-Fermi mixtures in an optical lattice
A mixture of ultracold bosons and fermions placed in an optical lattice
constitutes a novel kind of quantum gas, and leads to phenomena, which so far
have been discussed neither in atomic physics, nor in condensed matter physics.
We discuss the phase diagram at low temperatures, and in the limit of strong
atom-atom interactions, and predict the existence of quantum phases that
involve pairing of fermions with one or more bosons, or, respectively, bosonic
holes. The resulting composite fermions may form, depending on the system
parameters, a normal Fermi liquid, a density wave, a superfluid liquid, or an
insulator with fermionic domains. We discuss the feasibility for observing such
phases in current experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 1 eps figure, misprints correcte
IGFBP-7 expression in human breast cancer and association with proliferation and cell cycle aberrations
Nonparametric instrumental regression with non-convex constraints
This paper considers the nonparametric regression model with an additive
error that is dependent on the explanatory variables. As is common in empirical
studies in epidemiology and economics, it also supposes that valid instrumental
variables are observed. A classical example in microeconomics considers the
consumer demand function as a function of the price of goods and the income,
both variables often considered as endogenous. In this framework, the economic
theory also imposes shape restrictions on the demand function, like
integrability conditions. Motivated by this illustration in microeconomics, we
study an estimator of a nonparametric constrained regression function using
instrumental variables by means of Tikhonov regularization. We derive rates of
convergence for the regularized model both in a deterministic and stochastic
setting under the assumption that the true regression function satisfies a
projected source condition including, because of the non-convexity of the
imposed constraints, an additional smallness condition
Magnetic properties of single-crystalline CeCuGa3
The magnetic behavior of single-crystalline CeCuGa3 has been investigated.
The compound forms in a tetragonal BaAl4-type structure consisting of
rare-earth planes separated by Cu-Ga layers. If the Cu-Ga site disorder is
reduced, CeCuGa3 adopts the related, likewise tetragonal BaNiSn3-type
structure, in which the Ce ion are surrounded by different Cu and Ga layers and
the inversion symmetry is lost. In the literature conflicting reports about the
magnetic order of CeCuGa3 have been published. Single crystals with the
centrosymmetric structure variant exhibit ferromagnetic order below approx. 4 K
with a strong planar anisotropy. The magnetic behavior above the transition
temperature can be well understood by the crystal-field splitting of the 4f
Hund's rule ground-state multiplet of the Ce ions
Epidemiological evidence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia without the presence of human papillomavirus.
The aim of this paper was to provide epidemiological evidence to support the notion that cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) without human papillomavirus (HPV) is a true entity. If a diagnosis of HPV-negative cervical neoplasia is erroneous, one would not expect there to be any differences in risk factors between HPV-positive and HPV-negative patients. Patients at a gynaecological outpatient clinic of a university hospital [a total of 265 consecutive women with dyskaryotic cervical smears who were subsequently diagnosed with CIN I (n=37), CIN II (n=48) or CIN III (n=180)] completed a structured questionnaire regarding smoking habits and sexual history. Analysis of an endocervical swab for Chlamydia trachomatis, analysis of a cervical scrape for HPV, and morphological examination of cervical biopsy specimens were also performed. HPV was found in 205 (77.4%) out of the 265 women. Univariate analysis showed that current age (P=0.02), current smoking behaviour (P=0.002) and the number of sexual partners (P=0.02) were significantly associated with the presence of HPV. Age at first sexual intercourse, a past history of venereal disease or genital warts, and current infection with Chlamydia trachomatis were not associated with the presence of HPV. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, the number of sexual partners and current smoking behaviour showed an independent significant association with HPV. HPV-negative and HPV-positive CIN patients differ with respect to the risk factors for HPV. These findings suggest that HPV-negative CIN is a separate true entity
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