On the comparison of stable and unstable P-completion

In this note we show that a p-complete nilpotent space X has a p-complete suspension spectrum if and only if its homotopy groups pi X-* are bounded p-torsion. In contrast, if pi X-* is not all bounded p-torsion, we locate uncountable rational vector spaces in the integral homology and in the stable homotopy groups of X. To prove this, we establish a homological criterion for p-completeness of connective spectra. Moreover, we illustrate our results by studying the stable homotopy groups of K(Z(p), n) via Goodwillie calculus

Ratchet effect in dc SQUIDs

We analyzed voltage rectification for dc SQUIDs biased with ac current with zero mean value. We demonstrate that the reflection symmetry in the 2-dimensional SQUID potential is broken by an applied flux and with appropriate asymmetries in the dc SQUID. Depending on the type of asymmetry, we obtain a rocking or a simultaneously rocking and flashing ratchet, the latter showing multiple sign reversals in the mean voltage with increasing amplitude of the ac current. Our experimental results are in agreement with numerical solutions of the Langevin equations for the asymmetric dc SQUID.Comment: 10 pages including 5 Postscript figure

TOMS total ozone data compared with northern latitude Dobson ground stations

Ozone measurements from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer on the Nimbus 7 satellite are compared with ground-based measurements from five Dobson stations at northern latitudes to evaluate the accuracy of the TOMS data, particularly in regions north of 50 deg N. The measurements from the individual stations show mean differences from -2.5 percent up to plus 8.3 percent relative to TOMS measurements and two of the ground stations, Oslo and Longyearbyen, show a significant drift of plus 1.2 percent and plus 3.7 percent per year, respectively. It can be shown from nearly simultaneous measurements in two different wavelength double pairs at Oslo that at least 2 percent of the differences result from the use of the CC' wavelength double pair instead of the standard AD wavelength double pair. Since all Norwegian stations used the CC' wavelength double pair exclusively a similar error can be assumed for Tromso and Longyearbyren. A comparison between the tropospheric ozone content in TOMS data and from ECC ozonesonde measurements at Ny-Alesund and Bear Island shows that the amount of tropospheric ozone in the standard profiles used in the TOMS algorithm is too low, which leads to an error of about 2 percent in total ozone. Particularly at high solar zenith angles (greater than 80 deg), Dobson measurements become unreliable. They are up to 20 percent lower than TOMS measurements averaged over solar zenith angles of 88 deg to 89 deg

The HIFI spectral survey of AFGL 2591 (CHESS). II. Summary of the survey

This paper presents the richness of submillimeter spectral features in the high-mass star forming region AFGL 2591. As part of the CHESS (Chemical Herschel Survey of Star Forming Regions) Key Programme, AFGL 2591 was observed by the Herschel/HIFI instrument. The spectral survey covered a frequency range from 480 up to 1240 GHz as well as single lines from 1267 to 1901 GHz (i.e. CO, HCl, NH3, OH and [CII]). Rotational and population diagram methods were used to calculate column densities, excitation temperatures and the emission extents of the observed molecules associated with AFGL 2591. The analysis was supplemented with several lines from ground-based JCMT spectra. From the HIFI spectral survey analysis a total of 32 species were identified (including isotopologues). In spite of the fact that lines are mostly quite week, 268 emission and 16 absorption lines were found (excluding blends). Molecular column densities range from 6e11 to 1e19 cm-2 and excitation temperatures range from 19 to 175 K. One can distinguish cold (e.g. HCN, H2S, NH3 with temperatures below 70 K) and warm species (e.g. CH3OH, SO2) in the protostellar envelope.Comment: Accepted to A&

Staphylococcus aureus proteins Sbi and Efb recruit human plasmin to degrade complement C3 and C3b

Upon host infection, the human pathogenic microbe Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) immediately faces innate immune reactions such as the activated complement system. Here, a novel innate immune evasion strategy of S. aureus is described. The staphylococcal proteins surface immunoglobulin-binding protein (Sbi) and extracellular fibrinogen-binding protein (Efb) bind C3/C3b simultaneously with plasminogen. Bound plasminogen is converted by bacterial activator staphylokinase or by host-specific urokinase-type plasminogen activator to plasmin, which in turn leads to degradation of complement C3 and C3b. Efb and to a lesser extend Sbi enhance plasmin cleavage of C3/C3b, an effect which is explained by a conformational change in C3/C3b induced by Sbi and Efb. Furthermore, bound plasmin also degrades C3a, which exerts anaphylatoxic and antimicrobial activities. Thus, S. aureus Sbi and Efb comprise platforms to recruit plasmin(ogen) together with C3 and its activation product C3b for efficient degradation of these complement components in the local microbial environment and to protect S. aureus from host innate immune reactions

Developmental patterning of rod and cone photoreceptors in embryonic zebrafish

Cone photoreceptors in the zebrafish retina are arranged in a crystalline lattice, with each spectral subtype at a specific position in the array: rod photoreceptors are inserted around the cones. Patterning events and developmental mechanisms that lead to the formation of the cone mosaic are not known. To begin investigating this issue, we examined the initial stages of opsin expression in zebrafish embryos by in situ hybridization with goldfish opsin cRNA probes to determine how and when the cone mosaic pattern arises. We found both differences and similarities in the spatiotemporal patterns of rod and cone development, which suggest the following: (1) Expression of opsin message (including rod opsin, blue and red cone opsins) was initiated at 50–52 hours postfertilization by a few photoreceptors which were consistently found in a ventral patch of retina located nasal to the choroid fissure. (2) The cone mosaic pattern was generated by a crystallization-like process initiated in the precocial ventral patch and secondarily in nasal retina, which then swept like a wave into dorsotemporal retina. (3) The pattern of differentiation of rods in the ventronasal patch differed substantially from that in the remainder of the retina, suggesting that these precocial rods might differ from typical rods. (4) Developmental maturation of rods in zebrafish, as reflected by expression of opsin, may be accelerated compared to cones, which are thought to become postmitotic before rods. These data are consistent with a model in which lateral inductive interactions among differentiating photoreceptors lead to patterning of the array. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/50066/1/903590403_ftp.pd

Adhesive Contact to a Coated Elastic Substrate

We show how the quasi-analytic method developed to solve linear elastic contacts to coated substrates (Perriot A. and Barthel E. {\em J. Mat. Res.}, {\bf 2004}, {\em 19}, 600) may be extended to adhesive contacts. Substrate inhomogeneity lifts accidental degeneracies and highlights the general structure of the adhesive contact theory. We explicit the variation of the contact variables due to substrate inhomogeneity. The relation to other approaches based on Finite Element analysis is discussed