Systematic study of proton radioactivity of spherical proton emitters within various versions of proximity potential formalisms

In this work we present a systematic study of the proton radioactivity half-lives of spherical proton emitters within the Coulomb and proximity potential model. We investigate 28 different versions of the proximity potential formalisms developed for the description of proton radioactivity, $\mathcal{\alpha}$ decay and heavy particle radioactivity. It is found that 21 of them are not suitable to deal with the proton radioactivity, because the classical turning points $r_{\text{in}}$ cannot be obtained due to the fact that the depth of the total interaction potential between the emitted proton and the daughter nucleus is above the proton radioactivity energy. Among the other 7 versions of the proximity potential formalisms, it is Guo2013 which gives the lowest rms deviation in the description of the experimental half-lives of the known spherical proton emitters. We use this proximity potential formalism to predict the proton radioactivity half-lives of 13 spherical proton emitters, whose proton radioactivity is energetically allowed or observed but not yet quantified, within a factor of 3.71.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. This paper has been accepted by The European Physical Journal A (in press 2019

Exact solutions of a spin-orbit coupling model in two-dimensional central-potentials and quantum-classical correspondence

In this paper we present both the classical and quantum periodic-orbits of a neutral spinning particle constrained in two-dimensional central-potentials with a cylindrically symmetric electric-field in addition which leads to an effective non-Abelian gauge field generated by the spin-orbit coupling. Coherent superposition of orbital angular-eigenfunctions obtained explicitly at the condition of zero-energy exhibits the quantum-classical correspondence in the meaning of exact coincidence between classical orbits and spatial patterns of quantum wave-functions, which as a consequence results in the fractional quantization of orbital angular-momentum by the requirement of the same rotational symmetry of quantum and classical orbits. A non-Abelian anyon-model emerges in a natural way.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Significant Comparative Characteristics between Orphan and Nonorphan Genes in the Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Genome

Microsatellites are short tandem repeats of one to six bases in genomic DNA. As microsatellites are highly polymorphic and play a vital role in gene function and recombination, they are an attractive subject for research in evolution and in the genetics and breeding of animals and plants. Orphan genes have no known homologs in existing databases. Using bioinformatic computation and statistical analysis, we identified 19,26 orphan genes in the rice (Oryza sativa ssp. Japanica cv. Nipponbare) proteome. We found that a larger proportion of orphan genes are expressed after sexual maturation and under environmental pressure than nonorphan genes. Orphan genes generally have shorter protein lengths and intron size, and are faster evolving. Additionally, orphan genes have fewer PROSITE patterns with larger pattern sizes than those in nonorphan genes. The average microsatellite content and the percentage of trinucleotide repeats in orphan genes are also significantly higher than in nonorphan genes. Microsatellites are found less often in PROSITE patterns in orphan genes. Taken together, these orphan gene characteristics suggest that microsatellites play an important role in orphan gene evolution and expression

Typical Correlation Analysis between Forage Type Triticale Production Performance and Different Pilot Ecological Factors

Domestic and foreign researches on triticale mainly focus on hereditary traits and excellent characteristics, but there are few reports on triticale yield and quality in the severe cold pastoral areas of Gansu and Qinghai. In this study, Gannong 2 triticale cultivars have been bred and planted in typical ecological areas according to the characteristics of different ecological regions. By studying the relationship between quality traits and various ecological factors, the effects of different ecological factors on the quality of Triticale hay have been clarified, which provides a reasonable basis for future triticale breeding and large-scale and targeted planting layout. The production performance and nutritional qualities of Triticale Trial in Maqu County, Gansu Province and Gannong No. 2 in Dulan County, Qinghai Province are obviously superior to other pilot sites. Through reasonable fertilization, the production performance and nutritional quality of triticale are the best. Triticale production performance is significantly related to climatic factors in different pilots. The most suitable planting area for Gannong 2 is Maqu County, Gansu Province

Ceramic Nano-particle/Substrate Interface Bonding Formation Derived from Dynamic Mechanical Force at Room Temperature: HRTEM Examination

The bonding of TiO nano-particle/substrate is a critical factor influencing the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells. In order to reveal the bonding properties at TiO nano-particle/substrate interface, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analysis was adopted to TiO coatings prepared by three different approaches. In the HRTEM analysis, the effective bonding mode is allowed to distinguish from the false image overlapping. Results show that large areas of effective bonding between nano-TiO particles and the substrate surface formed in the room temperature cold sprayed coating and mechanically pressed coating, while only limited interface areas with the effective bonding were observed in the coating deposited by non-pressed method. These results confirm that both high impact pressure during the room temperature cold spraying and mechanical pressure contribute to the bonding formation at the particle/substrate interface

Antibacterial and Antiviral Roles of a Fish β-Defensin Expressed Both in Pituitary and Testis

Defensins are a group of cationic peptides that exhibit broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. In this study, we cloned and characterized a β-defensin from pituitary cDNA library of a protogynous hermaphroditic orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides). Interestingly, the β-defensin was shown to be dominantly expressed in pituitary and testis by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, and its transcript level is significantly upregulated in reproduction organs from intersexual gonad to testis during the natural and artificial sex reversal. Promoter sequence and the responsible activity region analyses revealed the pituitary-specific POU1F1a transcription binding site and testis-specific SRY responsible site, and demonstrated that the pituitary-specific POU1F1a transcription binding site that locates between −180 and −208 bp is the major responsible region of grouper β-defensin promoter activity. Immunofluorescence localization observed its pituicyte expression in pituitary and spermatogonic cell expression in testis. Moreover, both in vitro antibacterial activity assay of the recombinant β-defensin and in vivo embryo microinjection of the β-defensin mRNA were shown to be effective in killing Gram-negative bacteria. And, its antiviral role was also demonstrated in EPC cells transfected with the β-defensin construct. Additionally, the antibacterial activity was sensitive to concentrations of Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+. The above intriguing findings strongly suggest that the fish β-defensin might play significant roles in both innate immunity defense and reproduction endocrine regulation

Distribution of enteroviruses in hospitalized children with hand, foot and mouth disease and relationship between pathogens and nervous system complications

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To explore the relationship between enteroviruses and hospitalized children with hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) complicated with nervous system disease. 234 hospitalized HFMD patients treated in Shengjing Hospital, Liaoning Province were analyzed retrospectively. Based on the presence and severity of nervous system disease, the patients were grouped as follows: general patients, severely ill patients, critically ill patients and fatal patients. Based on the detected pathogen, the patients were grouped as follows: Enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection, coxsackie A16 (CA16) infection and other enterovirus (OE) infection.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 423 hospitalized patients, most were admitted in July 2010(129/423, 30.5%). Enteroviruses were detected in 177(41.8%). 272/423 patients were male (64.3%), and fatal patients had the greatest proportion of male patients (<it>p </it>< 0.05). EV71 infection was found in 89/423 patients (21%). CA16 infection was detected in 8/423 patients (16.1%). Compared to group CA16, patients in group EV71 were hospitalized earlier, and the duration of hospitalization was longer (<it>p </it>< 0.05). Of the 92 patients with nervous system damage, 65 were infected with EV71 and 19 were infected with CA16. Among these CA16 infected patients, 2 had brainstem encephalitis and 1 had AFP. There were more patients with nervous system dysfunction in group EV71 than in groups CA16 or OE (<it>p </it>< 0.05). The 5 fatalities all occurred in group EV71 patients (<it>p </it>< 0.05). Infection with EV71 was most likely to cause neurogenic pulmonary edema (<it>p </it>< 0.05). Patients in group EV71 had a higher rate of suffering from coma and limb movement disorder than patients in groups CA16 or OE (<it>p </it>< 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The disease progresses faster in EV71-infected HFMD patients. These patients are more likely to suffer nervous system damage, neurogenic pulmonary edema, severe sequelae or death. CA16 and other enteroviruses can also cause HFMD with severe nervous system complications.</p

Neutrino oscillations in de Sitter space-time

We try to understand flavor oscillations and to develop the formulae for describing neutrino oscillations in de Sitter space-time. First, the covariant Dirac equation is investigated under the conformally flat coordinates of de Sitter geometry. Then, we obtain the exact solutions of the Dirac equation and indicate the explicit form of the phase of wave function. Next, the concise formulae for calculating the neutrino oscillation probabilities in de Sitter space-time are given. Finally, The difference between our formulae and the standard result in Minkowski space-time is pointed out.Comment: 13 pages, no figure

Rotational Symmetry of Classical Orbits, Arbitrary Quantization of Angular Momentum and the Role of Gauge Field in Two-Dimensional Space

We study the quantum-classical correspondence in terms of coherent wave functions of a charged particle in two-dimensional central-scalar-potentials as well as the gauge field of a magnetic flux in the sense that the probability clouds of wave functions are well localized on classical orbits. For both closed and open classical orbits, the non-integer angular-momentum quantization with the level-space of angular momentum being greater or less than $\hbar$ is determined uniquely by the same rotational symmetry of classical orbits and probability clouds of coherent wave functions, which is not necessarily $2\pi$-periodic. The gauge potential of a magnetic flux impenetrable to the particle cannot change the quantization rule but is able to shift the spectrum of canonical angular momentum by a flux-dependent value, which results in a common topological phase for all wave functions in the given model. The quantum mechanical model of anyon proposed by Wilczek (Phys. Rev. Lette. 48, 1144) becomes a special case of the arbitrary-quantization.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure