1,465 research outputs found
Initial Performance of Upgraded Tevatron Cryogenic Systems
Fermilab began operating a re-designed satellite refrigerator systems in November 1993. Upgrades were installed to operate the Tevatron at a magnet temperature of 3.5 K, approximately 1K lower than the original design. Refrigerator upgrades included new valve boxes, larger reciprocating expanders, the installation of cold vapor compressors, new sub-atmospheric instrumentation and an entirely new distributed controls system. Cryogenic system reliability data for Colliding Physics Run 1B is presented emphasizing a failure analysis for each aspect of the upgrade. Comparison to data for Colliding Physics Run 1A (previous to upgrade) is presented to show the impact of a major system overhaul. New operational problems and their solutions are presented in detail
Environmental and Parental Influences on Offspring Health and Growth in Great Tits (Parus major)
PMCID: PMC3728352This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Human serum antibodies recognize Treponema denticola Msp and PrtP protease complex proteins
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73677/1/j.1399-302X.2007.00404.x.pd
Deciphering interplay between Salmonella invasion effectors
Bacterial pathogens have evolved a specialized type III secretion system (T3SS) to translocate virulence effector proteins directly into eukaryotic target cells. Salmonellae deploy effectors that trigger localized actin reorganization to force their own entry into non-phagocytic host cells. Six effectors (SipC, SipA, SopE/2, SopB, SptP) can individually manipulate actin dynamics at the plasma membrane, which acts as a ‘signaling hub’ during Salmonella invasion. The extent of crosstalk between these spatially coincident effectors remains unknown. Here we describe trans and cis binary entry effector interplay (BENEFIT) screens that systematically examine functional associations between effectors following their delivery into the host cell. The results reveal extensive ordered synergistic and antagonistic relationships and their relative potency, and illuminate an unexpectedly sophisticated signaling network evolved through longstanding pathogen–host interaction
The AIMSS Project – III. The Stellar Populations of Compact Stellar Systems
In recent years, a growing zoo of compact stellar systems (CSSs) have been found whose physical properties (mass, size, velocity dispersion) place them between classical globular clusters (GCs) and true galaxies, leading to debates about their nature. Here we present results using a so far underutilized discriminant, their stellar population properties. Based on new spectroscopy from 8–10m telescopes, we derive ages, metallicities, and [α/Fe] of 29 CSSs. These range from GCs with sizes of merely a few parsec to compact ellipticals (cEs) larger than M32. Together with a literature compilation, this provides a panoramic view of the stellar population characteristics of early-type systems. We find that the CSSs are predominantly more metal rich than typical galaxies at the same stellar mass. At high mass, the cEs depart from the mass–metallicity relation of massive early-type galaxies, which forms a continuous sequence with dwarf galaxies. At lower mass, the metallicity distribution of ultracompact dwarfs (UCDs) changes at a few times 107 M⊙, which roughly coincides with the mass where luminosity function arguments previously suggested the GC population ends. The highest metallicities in CSSs are paralleled only by those of dwarf galaxy nuclei and the central parts of massive early types. These findings can be interpreted as CSSs previously being more massive and undergoing tidal interactions to obtain their current mass and compact size. Such an interpretation is supported by CSSs with direct evidence for tidal stripping, and by an examination of the CSS internal escape velocities
A close halo of large transparent grains around extreme red giant stars
Intermediate-mass stars end their lives by ejecting the bulk of their
envelope via a slow dense wind back into the interstellar medium, to form the
next generation of stars and planets. Stellar pulsations are thought to elevate
gas to an altitude cool enough for the condensation of dust, which is then
accelerated by radiation pressure from starlight, entraining the gas and
driving the wind. However accounting for the mass loss has been a problem due
to the difficulty in observing tenuous gas and dust tens of milliarcseconds
from the star, and there is accordingly no consensus on the way sufficient
momentum is transferred from the starlight to the outflow. Here, we present
spatially-resolved, multi-wavelength observations of circumstellar dust shells
of three stars on the asymptotic giant branch of the HR diagram. When imaged in
scattered light, dust shells were found at remarkably small radii (<~ 2 stellar
radii) and with unexpectedly large grains (~300 nm radius). This proximity to
the photosphere argues for dust species that are transparent to starlight and
therefore resistant to sublimation by the intense radiation field. While
transparency usually implies insufficient radiative pressure to drive a wind,
the radiation field can accelerate these large grains via photon scattering
rather than absorption - a plausible mass-loss mechanism for lower-amplitude
pulsating stars.Comment: 13 pages, 1 table, 6 figure
Kinematics and Dynamics of the Galactic Stellar Halo
The structure, kinematics and dynamics of the Galactic stellar halo are reviewed including evidence of substructure in the spatial distribution and kinematics of halo stars. Implications for galaxy formation theory are subsequently discussed; in particular it is argued that the observed kinematics of stars in the outer Galactic halo can be used as an important constraint on viable galaxy formation scenarios
The many facets of the matricelluar protein periostin during cardiac development, remodeling, and pathophysiology
Periostin is a member of a growing family of matricellular proteins, defined by their ability to interact with components of the extracellular milieu, and with receptors at the cell surface. Through these interactions, periostin has been shown to play a crucial role as a profibrogenic molecule during tissue morphogenesis. Tissues destined to become fibrous structures are dependent on cooperative interactions between periostin and its binding partners, whereas in its absence, these structures either totally or partially fail to become mature fibrous entities. Within the heart, fibrogenic differentiation is required for normal tissue maturation, remodeling and function, as well as in response to a pathological myocardial insult. In this review, aspects related to the function of periostin during cardiac morphogenesis, remodeling and pathology are summarized
In vivo effects of antibodies from patients with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis: further evidence of synaptic glutamatergic dysfunction
Background: A severe encephalitis that associates with auto-antibodies to the NR1 subunit of the NMDA receptor (NMDA-R) was recently reported. Patients' antibodies cause a decrease of the density of NMDA-R and synaptic mediated currents, but the in vivo effects on the extracellular glutamate and glutamatergic transmission are unknown. Methods. We investigated the acute metabolic effects of patients' CSF and purified IgG injected in vivo. Injections were performed in CA1 area of Ammon's horn and in premotor cortex in rats. Results: Patient's CSF increased the concentrations of glutamate in the extracellular space. The increase was dose-dependent and was dramatic with purified IgG. Patients' CSF impaired both the NMDA- and the AMPA-mediated synaptic regulation of glutamate, and did not affect the glial transport of glutamate. Blockade of GABA-A receptors was associated with a marked elevation of extra-cellular levels of glutamate following a pretreatment with patients' CSF. Conclusion: These results support a direct role of NMDA-R antibodies upon altering glutamatergic transmission. Furthermore, we provide additional evidence in vivo that NMDA-R antibodies deregulate the glutamatergic pathways and that the encephalitis associated with these antibodies is an auto-immune synaptic disorder. © 2010 Manto et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe
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