370 research outputs found
Exclusive light particle measurements for the system F + C at 96 MeV
Decay sequence of hot {31}^P nucleus has been investigated through
exclusive light charged particle measurements in coincidence with individual
evaporation residues using the reaction {19}^F (96 MeV) + {12}^C.
Information on the sequential decay chain have been extracted by confronting
the data with the predictions of the statistical model. It is observed from the
present analysis that such exclusive light charged particle data may be used as
a powerful tool to probe the decay sequence of the hot light compound systems.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, Physical Review C (in press
Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell-Specific Progerin Expression Provokes Contractile Impairment in a Mouse Model of Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome that Is Ameliorated by Nitrite Treatment
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the main cause of death worldwide, and aging is its leading risk factor. Aging is much accelerated in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), an ultra-rare genetic disorder provoked by the ubiquitous expression of a mutant protein called progerin. HGPS patients die in their teens, primarily due to cardiovascular complications. The primary causes of age-associated CVD are endothelial dysfunction and dysregulated vascular tone; however, their contribution to progerin-induced CVD remains poorly characterized. In the present study, we found that progeroid LmnaG609G/G609G mice with ubiquitous progerin expression show both endothelial dysfunction and severe contractile impairment. To assess the relative contribution of specific vascular cell types to these anomalies, we examined LmnaLCS/LCSTie2Cretg/+ and LmnaLCS/LCSSm22αCretg/+ mice, which express progerin specifically in endothelial cells (ECs) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), respectively. Whereas vessel contraction was impaired in mice with VSMC-specific progerin expression, we observed no endothelial dysfunction in mice with progerin expression restricted to VSMCs or ECs. Vascular tone regulation in progeroid mice was ameliorated by dietary sodium nitrite supplementation. Our results identify VSMCs as the main cell type causing contractile impairment in a mouse model of HGPS that is ameliorated by nitrite treatment.Work in V.A.’s lab was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCI, grant SAF2016-79490-R), with co-funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, “Una manera de hacer Europa”). L.d.C. was supported by a Jordi Soler postdoctoral contract from the Red de Investigación Cardiovascular (RETIC Program, Instituto de Salud Carlos III), and A.S.-L. was supported by a predoctoral contract from the MCI (SVP-2014-068334) and by a grant from Asociación Apadrina la Ciencia-Ford España-Ford Motor Company Fund. The CNIC is supported by the MCI, the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, and the Pro-CNIC Foundation, and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (grant SEV-2015-0505).S
Kibble-Zurek mechanism of Ising domains
The formation of topological defects after a symmetry-breaking phase
transition is an overarching phenomenon that encodes rich information about the
underlying dynamics. Kibble-Zurek mechanism (KZM), which describes these
nonequilibrium dynamics, predicts defect densities of these second-order phase
transitions driven by thermal fluctuations. It has been verified as a
successful model in a wide variety of physical systems, finding applications
from structure formation in the early universe to condensed matter systems.
However, whether topologically-trivial Ising domains, one of the most common
and fundamental types of domains in condensed matter systems, also obey the KZM
has never been investigated in the laboratory. We examined two different kinds
of three-dimensional (3D) structural Ising domains: clockwise
(CW)/counter-clockwise (CCW) ferro-rotation domains in NiTiO3 and up/down polar
domains in BiTeI. While the KZM slope of ferro-rotation domains in NiTiO3
agrees well with the prediction of the 3D Ising model, the KZM slope of polar
domains in BiTeI surprisingly far exceeds the theoretical limit, setting an
exotic example where possible weak long-range dipolar interactions play a
critical role in steepening the KZM slope of non-topological quantities. Our
results demonstrate the validity of KZM for Ising domains and reveal an
enhancement of the power-law exponent and a possible reduction of the dynamic
critical exponent z for transitions with long-range interactions
Emission of intermediate mass fragments from hot Ba formed in low-energy Ni+Ni reaction
The complex fragments (or intermediate mass fragments) observed in the
low-energy Ni+NiBa reaction, are studied within
the dynamical cluster decay model for s-wave with the use of the
temperature-dependent liquid drop, Coulomb and proximity energies. The
important result is that, due to the temperature effects in liquid drop energy,
the explicit preference for -like fragments is washed out, though the
C (or the complementary Sn) decay is still predicted to be one
of the most probable -nucleus decay for this reaction. The production
rates for non- like intermediate mass fragments (IMFs) are now higher
and the light particle production is shown to accompany the IMFs at all
incident energies, without involving any statistical evaporation process in the
model. The comparisons between the experimental data and the (s-wave)
calculations for IMFs production cross sections are rather satisfactory and the
contributions from other -waves need to be added for a further
improvement of these comparisons and for calculations of the total kinetic
energies of fragments.Comment: 22 pages, 15 figure
Extended Hauser-Feshbach Method for Statistical Binary-Decay of Light-Mass Systems
An Extended Hauser-Feshbach Method (EHFM) is developed for light heavy-ion
fusion reactions in order to provide a detailed analysis of all the possible
decay channels by including explicitly the fusion-fission phase-space in the
description of the cascade chain. The mass-asymmetric fission component is
considered as a complex-fragment binary-decay which can be treated in the same
way as the light-particle evaporation from the compound nucleus in
statistical-model calculations. The method of the phase-space integrations for
the binary-decay is an extension of the usual Hauser-Feshbach formalism to be
applied to the mass-symmetric fission part. The EHFM calculations include
ground-state binding energies and discrete levels in the low excitation-energy
regions which are essential for an accurate evaluation of the phase-space
integrations of the complex-fragment emission (fission). In the present
calculations, EHFM is applied to the first-chance binary-decay by assuming that
the second-chance fission decay is negligible. In a similar manner to the
description of the fusion-evaporation process, the usual cascade calculation of
light-particle emission from the highly excited complex fragments is applied.
This complete calculation is then defined as EHFM+CASCADE. Calculated
quantities such as charge-, mass- and kinetic-energy distributions are compared
with inclusive and/or exclusive data for the S+Mg and
Cl+C reactions which have been selected as typical examples.
Finally, the missing charge distributions extracted from exclusive measurements
are also successfully compared with the EHFM+CASCADE predictions.Comment: 34 pages, 6 Figures available upon request, Phys. Rev. C (to be
published
Fusion of radioactive Sn with Ni
Evaporation residue and fission cross sections of radioactive Sn on
Ni were measured near the Coulomb barrier. A large sub-barrier fusion
enhancement was observed. Coupled-channel calculations including inelastic
excitation of the projectile and target, and neutron transfer are in good
agreement with the measured fusion excitation function. When the change in
nuclear size and shift in barrier height are accounted for, there is no extra
fusion enhancement in Sn+Ni with respect to stable Sn+Ni.
A systematic comparison of evaporation residue cross sections for the fusion of
even Sn and Sn with Ni is presented.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figure
Enhanced Fusion-Evaporation Cross Sections in Neutron-Rich Sn on Ni
Evaporation residue cross sections have been measured with neutron-rich
radioactive Sn beams on Ni in the vicinity of the Coulomb
barrier. The average beam intensity was particles per second
and the smallest cross section measured was less than 5 mb. Large subbarrier
fusion enhancement was observed. Coupled-channels calculations taking into
account inelastic excitation and neutron transfer underpredict the measured
cross sections below the barrier.Comment: 4 pages including 1 table and 3 figure
Resonant Dielectronic and Direct Excitation in Crystal Channels
We have observed dielectronic and direct excitation of H-like S15+ and Ca19+ and He-like Ti20+ ions in silicon channels caused by collision with weakly bound target electrons which behave as a free-electron gas. As in vacuo, relaxation of the doubly excited states can occur radiatively leading to ions of decreased charge, but in a crystal channel collisional effects can cause double ionization. The effects are seen in both the x-ray yields and charge-state fractions, and, in the case of Ti20+, in charge-state x-ray coincidences
EVOLUTION OF THE FUSION LIKE PROCESS AROUND THE FERMI ENERGY
The study of evaporation residue from the Ne + Ag system shows that there is qualitative change in the reaction mechanism in the Fermi energy domain. At 20 MeV/u the projectile is mostly absobered by the target, while at 30-37 MeV/u a continious range of mass transfer with a large transverse momentum is observed
Lung Radiology and Pulmonary Function of Children Chronically Exposed to Air Pollution
We analyzed the chest radiographs (CXRs) of 249 clinically healthy children, 230 from southwest Mexico City and 19 from Tlaxcala. In contrast to children from Tlaxcala, children from southwest Mexico City were chronically exposed to ozone levels exceeding the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards for an average of 4.7 hr/day and to concentrations of particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameters ≤2.5 μm (PM(2.5)) above the annual standard. CXRs of Mexico City children demonstrated bilateral hyperinflation (151 of 230) and increased linear markings (121 of 230). Hyperinflation and interstitial markings were significantly more common in Mexico City children (p < 0.0002 and 0.00006 respectively). Mexico City boys had a higher probability of developing interstitial markings with age (p = 0.004). Computed tomography (CT) scans were obtained in 25 selected Mexico City children with abnormal CXRs. Mild bronchial wall thickening was seen in 10 of 25, prominent central airways in 4 of 25, air trapping in 8 of 21, and pulmonary nodules in 2 of 21. Only 7.8% of Mexico City children had abnormal lung function tests based on predicted values. These findings are consistent with bronchiolar, peribronchiolar, and/or alveolar duct inflammation, possibly caused by ozone, PM, and lipopolysaccharide exposure. The epidemiologic implications of these findings are important for children residing in polluted environments, because bronchiolar disease could lead to chronic pulmonary disease later in life
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