37 research outputs found
On the Adaptive Value of Paranormal Beliefs - a Qualitative Study
Ten female and five male participants (age range 28-50 years) were recruited at esoteric fairs or via esoteric chatrooms. In a guided face-to-face interview, they reported origins and contents of their beliefs in e.g. esoteric practices, supernatural beings, rebirthing, channeling. Transcripts of the tape-recorded reports were subjected to a qualitative analysis. Exhaustive categorization of the narratives' content revealed that paranormal beliefs were functional with regard to two fundamental motives - striving for mastery and valuing me and mine (striving for a positive evaluation of the self). Moreover, paranormal beliefs paved the way for goal-setting and leading a meaningful life but, on the negative side, could also result in social exclusion. Results are discussed with reference to the adaptive value of paranormal beliefs
Angular Momentum and Vortex Formation in Bose-Einstein-Condensed Cold Dark Matter Haloes
(Abridged) Extensions of the standard model of particle physics predict very
light bosons, ranging from about 10^{-5} eV for the QCD axion to 10^{-33} eV
for ultra-light particles, which could be the cold dark matter (CDM) in the
Universe. If so, their phase-space density must be high enough to form a
Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). The fluid-like nature of BEC-CDM dynamics
differs from that of standard collisionless CDM (sCDM), so observations of
galactic haloes may distinguish them. sCDM has problems with galaxy
observations on small scales, which BEC-CDM may overcome for a large range of
particle mass m and self-interaction strength g. For quantum-coherence on
galactic scales of radius R and mass M, either the de-Broglie wavelength
lambda_deB ~ m_H \cong 10^{-25}(R/100 kpc)^{-1/2}(M/10^{12}
M_solar)^{-1/2} eV, or else lambda_deB << R but self-interaction balances
gravity, requiring m >> m_H and g >> g_H \cong 2 x 10^{-64} (R/100
kpc)(M/10^{12} M_solar)^{-1} eV cm^3. Here we study the largely-neglected
effects of angular momentum. Spin parameters lambda \cong 0.05 are expected
from tidal-torquing by large-scale structure, just as for sCDM. Since lab BECs
develop quantum vortices if rotated rapidly enough, we ask if this angular
momentum is sufficient to form vortices in BEC haloes, affecting their
structure with potentially observable consequences. The minimum angular
momentum for this, L_{QM} = , requires m >= 9.5 m_H for lambda =
0.05, close to the particle mass required to influence structure on galactic
scales. We study the equilibrium of self-gravitating, rotating BEC haloes which
satisfy the Gross-Pitaevskii-Poisson equations, to calculate if and when
vortices are energetically favoured. Vortices form as long as self-interaction
is strong enough, which includes a large part of the range of m and g of
interest for BEC-CDM haloes.Comment: Several typos and numerical typos (incl. in Fig.6, Table 2 and Table
3) have been corrected and references have been updated after proof-reading
stage; MNRAS in press; 29 pages; 11 figure
Thermodynamic Additivity of Sequence Variations: An Algorithm for Creating High Affinity Peptides Without Large Libraries or Structural Information
BACKGROUND: There is a significant need for affinity reagents with high target affinity/specificity that can be developed rapidly and inexpensively. Existing affinity reagent development approaches, including protein mutagenesis, directed evolution, and fragment-based design utilize large libraries and/or require structural information thereby adding time and expense. Until now, no systematic approach to affinity reagent development existed that could produce nanomolar affinity from small chemically synthesized peptide libraries without the aid of structural information. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Based on the principle of additivity, we have developed an algorithm for generating high affinity peptide ligands. In this algorithm, point-variations in a lead sequence are screened and combined in a systematic manner to achieve additive binding energies. To demonstrate this approach, low-affinity lead peptides for multiple protein targets were identified from sparse random sequence space and optimized to high affinity in just two chemical steps. In one example, a TNF-α binding peptide with K(d) = 90 nM and high target specificity was generated. The changes in binding energy associated with each variation were generally additive upon combining variations, validating the basis of the algorithm. Interestingly, cooperativity between point-variations was not observed, and in a few specific cases, combinations were less than energetically additive. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: By using this additivity algorithm, peptide ligands with high affinity for protein targets were generated. With this algorithm, one of the highest affinity TNF-α binding peptides reported to date was produced. Most importantly, high affinity was achieved from small, chemically-synthesized libraries without the need for structural information at any time during the process. This is significantly different than protein mutagenesis, directed evolution, or fragment-based design approaches, which rely on large libraries and/or structural guidance. With this algorithm, high affinity/specificity peptide ligands can be developed rapidly, inexpensively, and in an entirely chemical manner
Die Subhastations-Ordnung vom 15. März 1869; ergänzt durch das Gesetz betreffend die Zwangsvollstreckung in das unbewegliche Vermögen vom 4. März 1879 : mit einem ausführlichen Kommentar in Anmerkungen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Deutschen Justizgesetze
Die Zwangsvollstreckungsordnung in Immobilien, enthaltend: 1. Das Gesetz, betr. die Zwangsvollstreckung in das unbewegliche Vermögen, vom 13.Juli 1883; 2. Das Gesetz betr. die Gerichtskosten bei Zwangsversteigerungen von Gegenständen des unbeweglichen Vermögens, vom 18.Juli 1883; 3. Die Bestimmungen über freiwillige Subhastationen und Ausführungsbestimmungen
On the Adaptive Value of Paranormal Beliefs - a Qualitative Study
Ten female and five male participants (age range 28–50 years) were recruited at esoteric fairs or via esoteric chatrooms. In a guided face-to-face interview, they reported origins and contents of their beliefs in e.g. esoteric practices, supernatural beings, rebirthing, channeling. Transcripts of the tape-recorded reports were subjected to a qualitative analysis. Exhaustive categorization of the narratives’ content revealed that paranormal beliefs were functional with regard to two fundamental motives – striving for mastery and valuing me and mine (striving for a positive evaluation of the self). Moreover, paranormal beliefs paved the way for goal-setting and leading a meaningful life but, on the negative side, could also result in social exclusion. Results are discussed with reference to the adaptive value of paranormal beliefs
Occupational Exposure to Antibiotics in Poultry Feeding Farms
Today, antibiotics are essential for effective treatment of infectious diseases both in human and veterinary medicine. The increasing development and distribution of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms are subject of concern. In some sectors of animal agriculture, such as poultry feeding farms, the application of antibiotics and hence occupational exposure is inevitable. In the past, numerous studies focussed on the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in livestock farming, but little attention was paid to the employees. The exposure of workers to antibiotics was the focus of the study detailed in this article. Four biomonitoring campaigns monitoring systemic exposure of workers to antibiotics were run at two farms over four fattening periods. Urine samples of potentially affected employees were sampled and analysed for the antibiotics of interest by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. The highest antibiotic concentrations detected in urine samples exceeded the minimum inhibitory concentration of some bacteria strains. In some cases, the amount of antibiotics excreted over a time-period of 24 h indicated the exceedance of the tolerable daily intake
Jaeckels Kommentar zum Zwangsversteigerungsgesetz
"AbkĂĽrzungen": p. [xiv]-xviMode of access: Internet
Influence des effets dynamiques et thermiques sur l’assemblage par clouage: Étude numérique et expérimentale
International audienceL’assemblage par clouage de deux tôles d’acier est présenté au moyen d’une approche numérique et expérimentale. Un modèle de l’étape d’assemblage est réalisé et confronté aux données expérimentales pour différents paramétrages de la machine. La simulation est ensuite utilisée pour l’évaluation des phénomènes locaux observés au sein des tôles, tels que les modes de rupture et les élévations de température