412 research outputs found
Direct observation of charge inversion by multivalent ions as a universal electrostatic phenomenon
We have directly observed reversal of the polarity of charged surfaces in
water upon the addition of tri- and quadrivalent ions using atomic force
microscopy. The bulk concentration of multivalent ions at which charge
inversion reversibly occurs depends only very weakly on the chemical
composition, surface structure, size and lipophilicity of the ions, but is
dominated by their valence. These results support the theoretical proposal that
spatial correlations between ions are the driving mechanism behind charge
inversion.Comment: submitted to PRL, 26-04-2004 Changed the presentation of the theory
at the end of the paper. Changed small error in estimate of prefactor ("w" in
first version) of equation
The Composite Task Reveals Stronger Holistic Processing in Children than Adults for Child Faces
Background: While own-age faces have been reported to be better recognized than other-age faces, the underlying cause of this phenomenon remains unclear. One potential cause is holistic face processing, a special kind of perceptual and cognitive processing reserved for perceiving upright faces. Previous studies have indeed found that adults show stronger holistic processing when looking at adult faces compared to child faces, but whether a similar own-age bias exists in children remains to be shown. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we used the composite face task – a standard test of holistic face processing – to investigate if, for child faces, holistic processing is stronger for children than adults. Results showed child participants (8–13 years) had a larger composite effect than adult participants (22–65 years). Conclusions/Significance: Our finding suggests that differences in strength of holistic processing may underlie the ownage bias on recognition memory. We discuss the origin of own-age biases in terms of relative experience, face-space tuning, and social categorization
Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays
The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device
in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken
during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the
number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for
all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The
efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments
reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per
layer is approximately 5 ns
Performance and Operation of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter
The operation and general performance of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter
using cosmic-ray muons are described. These muons were recorded after the
closure of the CMS detector in late 2008. The calorimeter is made of lead
tungstate crystals and the overall status of the 75848 channels corresponding
to the barrel and endcap detectors is reported. The stability of crucial
operational parameters, such as high voltage, temperature and electronic noise,
is summarised and the performance of the light monitoring system is presented
Design, performance, and calibration of CMS forward calorimeter wedges
We report on the test beam results and calibration methods using high energy electrons, pions and muons with the CMS forward calorimeter (HF). The HF calorimeter covers a large pseudorapidity region (3 <= vertical bar eta vertical bar <= 5), and is essential for a large number of physics channels with missing transverse energy. It is also expected to play a prominent role in the measurement of forward tagging jets in weak boson fusion channels in Higgs production. The HF calorimeter is based on steel absorber with embedded fused-silica-core optical fibers where Cherenkov radiation forms the basis of signal generation. Thus, the detector is essentially sensitive only to the electromagnetic shower core and is highly non-compensating (e/h approximate to 5). This feature is also manifest in narrow and relatively short showers compared to similar calorimeters based on ionization. The choice of fused-silica optical fibers as active material is dictated by its exceptional radiation hardness. The electromagnetic energy resolution is dominated by photoelectron statistics and can be expressed in the customary form as a/root E circle plus b. The stochastic term a is 198% and the constant term b is 9%. The hadronic energy resolution is largely determined by the fluctuations in the neutral pion production in showers, and when it is expressed as in the electromagnetic case, a = 280% and b = 11%
Selection of Anti-Sulfadimidine Specific ScFvs from a Hybridoma Cell by Eukaryotic Ribosome Display
BACKGROUND:Ribosome display technology has provided an alternative platform technology for the development of novel low-cost antibody based on evaluating antibiotics derived residues in food matrixes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:In our current studies, the single chain variable fragments (scFvs) were selected from hybridoma cell lines against sulfadimidine (SM(2)) by using a ribosome library technology. A DNA library of scFv antibody fragments was constructed for ribosome display, and then mRNA-ribosome-antibody (MRA) complexes were produced by a rabbit reticulocyte lysate system. The synthetic sulfadimidine-ovalbumin (SM(2)-OVA) was used as an antigen to pan MRA complexes and putative scFv-encoding genes were recovered by RT-PCR in situ following each panning. After four rounds of ribosome display, the expression vector pCANTAB5E containing the selected specific scFv DNA was constructed and transformed into Escherichia coli HB2151. Three positive clones (SAS14, SAS68 and SAS71) were screened from 100 clones and had higher antibody activity and specificity to SM(2) by indirect ELISA. The three specific soluble scFvs were identified to be the same molecular weight (approximately 30 kDa) by Western-blotting analysis using anti-E tag antibodies, but they had different amino acids sequence by sequence analysis. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:The selection of anti-SM(2) specific scFv by in vitro ribosome display technology will have an important significance for the development of novel immunodetection strategies for residual veterinary drugs
Cues for Early Social Skills: Direct Gaze Modulates Newborns' Recognition of Talking Faces
Previous studies showed that, from birth, speech and eye gaze are two important
cues in guiding early face processing and social cognition. These studies tested
the role of each cue independently; however, infants normally perceive speech
and eye gaze together. Using a familiarization-test procedure, we first
familiarized newborn infants (n = 24) with videos of
unfamiliar talking faces with either direct gaze or averted gaze. Newborns were
then tested with photographs of the previously seen face and of a new one. The
newborns looked longer at the face that previously talked to them, but only in
the direct gaze condition. These results highlight the importance of both speech
and eye gaze as socio-communicative cues by which infants identify others. They
suggest that gaze and infant-directed speech, experienced together, are powerful
cues for the development of early social skills
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