2,621 research outputs found
Experimental approaches for 100 TeV gamma-ray astronomy
The high energy end of gamma-ray source spectra might provide important clues
regarding the nature of the processes involved in gamma-ray emission. Several
galactic sources with hard emission spectra extending up to more than 30TeV
have already been reported. Measurements around 100TeV and above should be an
important goal for the next generation of high energy gamma-ray astronomy
experiments. Here we present several techniques providing the required exposure
(100 km^2.h). We focus our study on three Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov
Technique (IACT) based approaches: low elevation observations, large field of
view telescopes, and large telescope arrays. We comment on the advantages and
disadvantages of each approach and report simulation based estimates of their
energy ranges and sensitivities.Comment: 3 pages 1 figure. Proceedings of TeV particle astrophysics 2,
Madison, August 2006.
http://www.icecube.wisc.edu/TeV/presentations/colin_poster.pd
Placental macrophage (Hofbauer cell) responses to infection during pregnancy: a systematic scoping review
Background: Congenital infection of the fetus via trans-placental passage of pathogens can result in severe morbidity and mortality. Even without transmission to the fetus, infection of the placenta itself is associated with pregnancy complications including pregnancy loss and preterm birth. Placental macrophages, also termed Hofbauer cells (HBCs), are fetal-origin macrophages residing in the placenta that are likely involved in responding to placental infection and protection of the developing fetus. As HBCs are the only immune cell present in the villous placenta, they represent one of the final opportunities for control of infection and prevention of passage to the developing fetus. Objective and Rationale: The objective of this review was to provide a systematic overview of the literature regarding HBC responses during infection in pregnancy, including responses to viral, bacterial, and parasitic pathogens. Methods: PubMed and Scopus were searched on May 20th, 2021, with no limit on publication date, to identify all papers that have studied placental macrophages/Hofbauer cells in the context of infection. The following search strategy was utilized: (hofbauer* OR “hofbauer cells” OR “hofbauer cell” OR “placental macrophage” OR “placental macrophages”) AND [infect* OR virus OR viral OR bacteri* OR parasite* OR pathogen* OR LPS OR “poly(i:c)” OR toxoplasm* OR microb* OR HIV)]. Outcomes: 86 studies were identified for review. This included those that investigated HBCs in placentas from pregnancies complicated by maternal infection and in vitro studies investigating HBC responses to pathogens or Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs). HBCs can be infected by a variety of pathogens, and HBC hyperplasia was a common observation. HBCs respond to pathogen infection and PAMPs by altering their transcriptional, translational and secretion profiles. Co-culture investigations demonstrate that they can replicate and transmit pathogens to other cells. In other cases, they may eliminate the pathogen through a variety of mechanisms including phagocytosis, cytokine-mediated pathogen elimination, release of macrophage extracellular traps and HBC-antibody-mediated neutralization. HBC responses differ across gestation and may be influenced by pre-existing immunity. Clinical information, including gestational age at infection, gestational age of the samples, mode of sample collection and pregnancy outcome were missing for the majority of studies
The polarizability model for ferroelectricity in perovskite oxides
This article reviews the polarizability model and its applications to
ferroelectric perovskite oxides. The motivation for the introduction of the
model is discussed and nonlinear oxygen ion polarizability effects and their
lattice dynamical implementation outlined. While a large part of this work is
dedicated to results obtained within the self-consistent-phonon approximation
(SPA), also nonlinear solutions of the model are handled which are of interest
to the physics of relaxor ferroelectrics, domain wall motions, incommensurate
phase transitions. The main emphasis is to compare the results of the model
with experimental data and to predict novel phenomena.Comment: 55 pages, 35 figure
Onset of dielectric modes at 110K and 60K due to local lattice distortions in non-superconducting YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{6.0} crystals
We report the observation of two dielectric transitions at 110K and 60K in
the microwave response of non-superconducting YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{6.0} crystals.
The transitions are characterized by a change in polarizability and presence of
loss peaks, associated with overdamped dielectric modes. An explanation is
presented in terms of changes in polarizability of the apical O atoms in the
Ba-O layer, affected by lattice softening at 110K, due to change in buckling of
the Cu-O layer. The onset of another mode at 60K strongly suggests an
additional local lattice change at this temperature. Thus microwave dielectric
measurements are sensitive indicators of lattice softening which may be
relevant to superconductivity.Comment: 5 pages, 3 ps format figure
Enhanced fluctuations of the tunneling density of states near bottoms of Landau bands measured by a local spectrometer
We have found that the local density of states fluctuations (LDOSF) in a
disordered metal, detected using an impurity in the barrier as a spectrometer,
undergo enhanced (with respect to SdH and dHvA effects) oscillations in strong
magnetic fields, omega _c\tau > 1. We attribute this to the dominant role of
the states near bottoms of Landau bands which give the major contribution to
the LDOSF and are most strongly affected by disorder. We also demonstrate that
in intermediate fields the LDOSF increase with B in accordance with the results
obtained in the diffusion approximation.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Correlation-function spectroscopy of inelastic lifetime in heavily doped GaAs heterostructures
Measurements of resonant tunneling through a localized impurity state are
used to probe fluctuations in the local density of states of heavily doped
GaAs. The measured differential conductance is analyzed in terms of correlation
functions with respect to voltage. A qualitative picture based on the scaling
theory of Thouless is developed to relate the observed fluctuations to the
statistics of single particle wavefunctions. In a quantitative theory
correlation functions are calculated. By comparing the experimental and
theoretical correlation functions the effective dimensionality of the emitter
is analyzed and the dependence of the inelastic lifetime on energy is
extracted.Comment: 41 pages, 14 figure
H2O Masers and Supersonic Turbulence
We use unpublished and published VLBI results to investigate the geometry and
the statistical properties of the velocity field traced by H2O masers in five
galactic regions of star formation -- Sgr B2(M), W49N, W51(MAIN), W51N, and
W3(OH). In all sources the angular distribution of the H2O hot spots
demonstrates approximate self-similarity (fractality) over almost four orders
of magnitude in scale, with the calculated fractal dimension d between
(approximately) 0.2 and 1.0. In all sources, the lower order structure
functions for the line-of-sight component of the velocity field are
satisfactorily approximated by power laws, with the exponents near their
classic Kolmogorov values for the high-Reynolds-number incompressible
turbulence. These two facts, as well as the observed significant excess of
large deviations of the two-point velocity increments from their mean values,
strongly suggest that the H2O masers in regions of star formation trace
turbulence. We propose a new conceptual model of these masers in which maser
hot spots originate at the sites of ultimate dissipation of highly supersonic
turbulence produced in the ambient gas by the intensive gas outflow from a
newly-born star. Due to the high brightness and small angular sizes of masing
hot spots and the possibility of measuring their positions and velocities with
high precision, they become a unique probe of supersonic turbulence.Comment: 40 pages with 14 total figures (figures 9 and 10 are multi-part)
Accepted for publication ApJ, December 20, 2002, Vol. 581, n
Can greater muscularity in larger individuals resolve the 3/4 power-law controversy when modelling maximum oxygen uptake?
BACKGROUND: The power function relationship, MR = a.m(b), between metabolic rate (MR) and body mass m has been the source of much controversy amongst biologists for many years. Various studies have reported mass exponents (b) greater than the anticipated 'surface-area' exponent 0.67, often closer to 0.75 originally identified by Kleiber. AIM: The study aimed to provide a biological explanation for these 'inflated' exponents when modelling maximum oxygen uptake (max), based on the observations from this and previous studies that larger individuals develop disproportionately more muscle mass in the arms and legs. RESEARCH DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: A cross-sectional study of 119 professional soccer players from Croatia aged 18-34 was carried out. RESULTS: Here we confirm that the power function relationship between max and body mass of the professional soccer players results in an 'inflated' mass exponent of 0.75 (95% confidence interval from 0.56 to 0.93), but also the larger soccer players have disproportionately greater leg muscle girths. When the analysis was repeated incorporating the calf and thigh muscle girths rather than body mass as predictor variables, the analysis not only explained significantly more of the variance in max, but the sum of the exponents confirmed a surface-area law. CONCLUSIONS: These findings confirm the pitfalls of fitting body-mass power laws and suggest using muscle-girth methodology as a more appropriate way to scale or normalize metabolic variables such as max for individuals of different body sizes
Constraining dark energy with Sunyaev-Zel'dovich cluster surveys
We discuss the prospects of constraining the properties of a dark energy
component, with particular reference to a time varying equation of state, using
future cluster surveys selected by their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. We compute
the number of clusters expected for a given set of cosmological parameters and
propogate the errors expected from a variety of surveys. In the short term they
will constrain dark energy in conjunction with future observations of type Ia
supernovae, but may in time do so in their own right.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, version accepted for publication in PR
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