Discussing Quantum Aspects of Higher-Derivative 3D-Gravity in the First-Order Formalism

In this paper, we reassess the issue of deriving the propagators and identifying the spectrum of excitations associated to the vielbein and spin connection of (1+2)-D gravity in the presence of dynamical torsion, while working in the first-order formulation. A number of peculiarities is pointed out whenever the Chern-Simons term is taken into account along with a combination of bilinear terms in the torsion tensor. We present a procedure to derive the full set of propagators, based on an algebra of enlarged spin-type operators, and we discuss under which conditions the poles of the tree-level 2-point functions correspond to physical excitations that do not conflict with causality and unitarity

Insights into the interaction of iodide and iodine with Cu(II)-loaded bispicolylamine chelating resin and applications for nuclear waste treatment

Radioiodine is a challenging contaminant to remove from aqueous wastestreams, resulting from spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. To create a selective, economical adsorbent, a Cu-loaded bispicolylamine chelating resin was produced, from commercially available reagents and its performance for removal of aqueous iodide and iodine was assessed. The resin possessed a large equilibrium uptake capacity of 305 ± 14 mg.g−1 iodide and 2940 ± 180 mg.g−1 total iodine. Performance was close to maximal over a pH range of 2–10. Capacity was reduced by ~55% by the addition of cocontaminants nitrate and molybdate, but resistance to suppression was greatly superior to non-modified polyamine resins, clearly seen in dynamic column experiments. The uptake mechanism was investigated spectroscopically and was found to proceed via ligand-exchange, with some in-situ REDOX chemistry occurring, resulting in the formation of Cu(I) and triiodide. The latter was concurrently adsorbed on to the resin and occupied both strong (Cu-associated) and weak (charge-transfer complex formation) binding sites. Thermal decomposition of the loaded resins revealed that the captured iodine was volatised at several different temperatures, according to strength of adsorption, but a large fraction was converted to stable CuI, suggesting a possible pathway towards volume-reduction and immobilisation as a final wasteform

Rationale and protocol for the 7- And 8-year longitudinal assessments of eye health in a cohort of young adults in the Raine Study

Introduction Eye diseases and visual impairment more commonly affect elderly adults, thus, the majority of ophthalmic cohort studies have focused on older adults. Cohort studies on the ocular health of younger adults, on the other hand, have been few. The Raine Study is a longitudinal study that has been following a cohort since their birth in 1989-1991. As part of the 20-year follow-up of the Raine Study, participants underwent a comprehensive eye examination. As part of the 27- and 28-year follow-ups, eye assessments are being conducted and the data collected will be compared with those of the 20-year follow-up. This will provide an estimate of population incidence and updated prevalence of ocular conditions such as myopia and keratoconus, as well as longitudinal change in ocular parameters in young Australian adults. Additionally, the data will allow exploration of the environmental, health and genetic factors underlying inter-subject differential long-term ocular changes. Methods and analysis Participants are being contacted via telephone, email and/or social media and invited to participate in the eye examination. At the 27-year follow-up, participants completed a follow-up eye screening, which assessed visual acuity, autorefraction, ocular biometry and ocular sun exposure. Currently, at the 28-year follow-up, a comprehensive eye examination is being conducted which, in addition to all the eye tests performed at the 27-year follow-up visit, includes tonometry, optical coherence tomography, funduscopy and anterior segment topography, among others. Outcome measures include the incidence of refractive error and pterygium, an updated prevalence of these conditions, and the 8-year change in ocular parameters. Ethics and dissemination The Raine Study is registered in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry. The Gen2 20-year, 27-year and 28-year follow-ups are approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of Western Australia. Findings resulting from the study will be published in health or medical journals and presented at conferences. Trial registration number ACTRN12617001599369; Active, not recruiting

Actin Cytoskeleton and Golgi Involvement in Barley stripe mosaic virus Movement and Cell Wall Localization of Triple Gene Block Proteins

Barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) induces massive actin filament thickening at the infection front of infected Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. To determine the mechanisms leading to actin remodeling, fluorescent protein fusions of the BSMV triple gene block (TGB) proteins were coexpressed in cells with the actin marker DsRed: Talin. TGB ectopic expression experiments revealed that TGB3 is a major elicitor of filament thickening, that TGB2 resulted in formation of intermediate DsRed:Talin filaments, and that TGB1 alone had no obvious effects on actin filament structure. Latrunculin B (LatB) treatments retarded BSMV cell-to-cell movement, disrupted actin filament organization, and dramatically decreased the proportion of paired TGB3 foci appearing at the cell wall (CW). BSMV infection of transgenic plants tagged with GFP-KDEL exhibited membrane proliferation and vesicle formation that were especially evident around the nucleus. Similar membrane proliferation occurred in plants expressing TGB2 and/or TGB3, and DsRed: Talin fluorescence in these plants colocalized with the ER vesicles. TGB3 also associated with the Golgi apparatus and overlapped with cortical vesicles appearing at the cell periphery. Brefeldin A treatments disrupted Golgi and also altered vesicles at the CW, but failed to interfere with TGB CW localization. Our results indicate that actin cytoskeleton interactions are important in BSMV cell-to-cell movement and for CW localization of TGB3

Detector Description and Performance for the First Coincidence Observations between LIGO and GEO

For 17 days in August and September 2002, the LIGO and GEO interferometer gravitational wave detectors were operated in coincidence to produce their first data for scientific analysis. Although the detectors were still far from their design sensitivity levels, the data can be used to place better upper limits on the flux of gravitational waves incident on the earth than previous direct measurements. This paper describes the instruments and the data in some detail, as a companion to analysis papers based on the first data.Comment: 41 pages, 9 figures 17 Sept 03: author list amended, minor editorial change

T=1 states in Rb74 and their Kr74 analogs

Charge symmetry breaking effects that perturb analog symmetry between nuclei are usually small but are important in extracting reliable Fermi matrix elements from "superallowed" β decays and testing conserved vector current theory, especially for the heavier cases. We have used the Ca40(Ar36, pn)Rb74 and Ca40(Ca40,αpn)Rb74 reactions at 108, 123 and 160 MeV, respectively, to populate Rb74 and determine the analog distortion through comparison of T=1 states in Rb74 with their corresponding Kr74 levels. We have traced the analogs of the Kr74 ground-state band in Rb74 to a candidate spin J=8 state and determined the Coulomb energy differences. They are small and positive and increase smoothly with spin. New T=0 states were found that better delineate the deformed band structure and clarify the steps in deexcitation from high spin. A new T=0 band was found. No evidence was found for γ decay to or from a low-lying Jπ=0+ state in Rb74 despite a careful search

Erratum: "A Gravitational-wave Measurement of the Hubble Constant Following the Second Observing Run of Advanced LIGO and Virgo" (2021, ApJ, 909, 218)

[no abstract available