1,515 research outputs found
Structural characteristics of positionally-disordered lattices: relation to the first sharp diffraction peak in glasses
Positional disorder has been introduced into the atomic structure of certain
crystalline lattices, and the orientationally-averaged structure factor S(k)
and pair-correlation function g(r) of these disordered lattices have been
studied. Analytical expressions for S(k) and g(r) for Gaussian positional
disorder in 2D and 3D are confirmed with precise numerical simulations. These
analytic results also have a bearing on the unsolved Gauss circle problem in
mathematics. As the positional disorder increases, high-k peaks in S(k) are
destroyed first, eventually leaving a single peak, that with the lowest-k
value. The pair-correlation function for lattices with such high levels of
positional disorder exhibits damped oscillations, with a period equal to the
separation between the furthest-separated (lowest-k) lattice planes. The last
surviving peak in S(k) is, for example for silicon and silica, at a wavevector
nearly identical to that of the experimentally-observed first sharp diffraction
peak (FSDP) in the amorphous phases of those materials. Thus, for these
amorphous materials at least, the FSDP can be regarded as arising from
scattering from atomic configurations equivalent to the single family of
positionally-disordered local Bragg planes having the furthest separation.Comment: v2: changes in response to referees' comments: Figure 2 made more
readable, improved discussion of height of peaks in S(k), other minor changes
4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review
Selective disruption of Tcf7l2 in the pancreatic β cell impairs secretory function and lowers β cell mass
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterized by β cell dysfunction and loss. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the T-cell factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene, associated with T2D by genome-wide association studies, lead to impaired β cell function. While deletion of the homologous murine Tcf7l2 gene throughout the developing pancreas leads to impaired glucose tolerance, deletion in the β cell in adult mice reportedly has more modest effects. To inactivate Tcf7l2 highly selectively in β cells from the earliest expression of the Ins1 gene (∼E11.5) we have therefore used a Cre recombinase introduced at the Ins1 locus. Tcfl2fl/fl::Ins1Cre mice display impaired oral and intraperitoneal glucose tolerance by 8 and 16 weeks, respectively, and defective responses to the GLP-1 analogue liraglutide at 8 weeks. Tcfl2fl/fl::Ins1Cre islets displayed defective glucose- and GLP-1-stimulated insulin secretion and the expression of both the Ins2 (∼20%) and Glp1r (∼40%) genes were significantly reduced. Glucose- and GLP-1-induced intracellular free Ca2+ increases, and connectivity between individual β cells, were both lowered by Tcf7l2 deletion in islets from mice maintained on a high (60%) fat diet. Finally, analysis by optical projection tomography revealed ∼30% decrease in β cell mass in pancreata from Tcfl2fl/fl::Ins1Cre mice. These data demonstrate that Tcf7l2 plays a cell autonomous role in the control of β cell function and mass, serving as an important regulator of gene expression and islet cell coordination. The possible relevance of these findings for the action of TCF7L2 polymorphisms associated with Type 2 diabetes in man is discusse
<i>In vitro</i> method to quantify dermal absorption of pesticide residues
All pesticides must go through a
rigorous risk assessment process
in order to show that they are safe for use. With respect to dermal
risk assessment for re-entry workers, the absorption value applied
to predict systemic dose from this external exposure is obtained by
testing liquid forms of the pesticide <i>in vivo</i> and/or <i>in vitro</i>. However, in a real exposure scenario, the worker
would be exposed to a dried residue, for which little or no absorption
data are available. This study has developed a novel methodology for
assessing the dermal absorption of pesticides from dried residues
and aims ultimately to use this methodology to obtain more realistic
absorption values for the risk assessment
Loop-Generated Bounds on Changes to the Graviton Dispersion Relation
We identify the effective theory appropriate to the propagation of massless
bulk fields in brane-world scenarios, to show that the dominant low-energy
effect of asymmetric warping in the bulk is to modify the dispersion relation
of the effective 4-dimensional modes. We show how such changes to the graviton
dispersion relation may be bounded through the effects they imply, through
loops, for the propagation of standard model particles. We compute these bounds
and show that they provide, in some cases, the strongest constraints on
nonstandard gravitational dispersions. The bounds obtained in this way are the
strongest for the fewest extra dimensions and when the extra-dimensional Planck
mass is the smallest. Although the best bounds come for warped 5-D scenarios,
for which the 5D Planck Mass is O(TeV), even in 4 dimensions the graviton loop
can lead to a bound on the graviton speed which is comparable with other
constraints.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX, 4 figures, uses revte
Security governance and the private military industry in Europe and North America
Even before Iraq the growing use of private military contractors has been widely discussed in the
academic and public literature. However, the reasons for this proliferation of private military
companies and its implications are frequently generalized due to a lack of suitable theoretical
approaches for the analysis of private means of violence in contemporary security. As a consequence,
this article contends, the analysis of the growth of the private military industry typically conflates two
separate developments: the failure of some developing states to provide for their national security and
the privatisation of military services in industrialized nations in Europe and North America. This
article focuses on the latter and argues that the concept of security governance can be used as a
theoretical framework for understanding the distinct development, problems and solutions for the
governance of the private military industry in developed countries.The United States Institute of Peace and the German Academic Exchange Service
The Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey: Survey Description and Data Reduction
We present the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS), a 1.1 mm continuum
survey at 33" effective resolution of 170 square degrees of the Galactic Plane
visible from the northern hemisphere. The survey is contiguous over the range
-10.5 < l < 90.5, |b| < 0.5 and encompasses 133 square degrees, including some
extended regions |b| < 1.5. In addition to the contiguous region, four targeted
regions in the outer Galaxy were observed: IC1396, a region towards the Perseus
Arm, W3/4/5, and Gem OB1. The BGPS has detected approximately 8400 clumps over
the entire area to a limiting non-uniform 1-sigma noise level in the range 11
to 53 mJy/beam in the inner Galaxy. The BGPS source catalog is presented in a
companion paper (Rosolowsky et al. 2010). This paper details the survey
observations and data reduction methods for the images. We discuss in detail
the determination of astrometric and flux density calibration uncertainties and
compare our results to the literature. Data processing algorithms that separate
astronomical signals from time-variable atmospheric fluctuations in the data
time-stream are presented. These algorithms reproduce the structure of the
astronomical sky over a limited range of angular scales and produce artifacts
in the vicinity of bright sources. Based on simulations, we find that extended
emission on scales larger than about 5.9' is nearly completely attenuated (>
90%) and the linear scale at which the attenuation reaches 50% is 3.8'.
Comparison with other millimeter-wave data sets implies a possible systematic
offset in flux calibration, for which no cause has been discovered. This
presentation serves as a companion and guide to the public data release through
NASA's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) Infrared Science Archive
(IRSA). New data releases will be provided through IPAC IRSA with any future
improvements in the reduction.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Supplemen
Estimating the long-term effects of mass screening for latent and active tuberculosis in the Marshall Islands
BACKGROUND: Ambitious population-based screening programmes for latent and active tuberculosis (TB) were implemented in the Republic of the Marshall Islands in 2017 and 2018.
METHODS: We used a transmission dynamic model of TB informed by local data to capture the Marshall Islands epidemic's historical dynamics. We then used the model to project the future epidemic trajectory following the active screening interventions, as well as considering a counterfactual scenario with no intervention. We also simulated future scenarios including periodic interventions similar to those previously implemented, to assess their ability to reach the End TB Strategy targets and TB pre-elimination in the Marshall Islands.
RESULTS: The screening activities conducted in 2017 and 2018 were estimated to have reduced TB incidence and mortality by around one-third in 2020, and are predicted to achieve the End TB Strategy milestone of 50% incidence reduction by 2025 compared with 2015. Screening interventions had a considerably greater impact when latent TB screening and treatment were included, compared with active case finding alone. Such combined programmes implemented at the national level could achieve TB pre-elimination around 2040 if repeated every 2 years.
CONCLUSIONS: Our model suggests that it would be possible to achieve TB pre-elimination by 2040 in the Marshall Islands through frequent repetition of the same interventions as those already implemented in the country. It also highlights the importance of including latent infection testing in active screening activities
Rare Copy Number Variants in \u3cem\u3eNRXN1\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eCNTN6\u3c/em\u3e Increase Risk for Tourette Syndrome
Tourette syndrome (TS) is a model neuropsychiatric disorder thought to arise from abnormal development and/or maintenance of cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits. TS is highly heritable, but its underlying genetic causes are still elusive, and no genome-wide significant loci have been discovered to date. We analyzed a European ancestry sample of 2,434 TS cases and 4,093 ancestry-matched controls for rare (\u3c 1% frequency) copy-number variants (CNVs) using SNP microarray data. We observed an enrichment of global CNV burden that was prominent for large (\u3e 1 Mb), singleton events (OR = 2.28, 95% CI [1.39–3.79], p = 1.2 × 10−3) and known, pathogenic CNVs (OR = 3.03 [1.85–5.07], p = 1.5 × 10−5). We also identified two individual, genome-wide significant loci, each conferring a substantial increase in TS risk (NRXN1 deletions, OR = 20.3, 95% CI [2.6–156.2]; CNTN6 duplications, OR = 10.1, 95% CI [2.3–45.4]). Approximately 1% of TS cases carry one of these CNVs, indicating that rare structural variation contributes significantly to the genetic architecture of TS
The Family Name as Socio-Cultural Feature and Genetic Metaphor: From Concepts to Methods
A recent workshop entitled The Family Name as Socio-Cultural Feature and Genetic Metaphor: From Concepts to Methods was held in Paris in December 2010, sponsored by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and by the journal Human Biology. This workshop was intended to foster a debate on questions related to the family names and to compare different multidisciplinary approaches involving geneticists, historians, geographers, sociologists and social anthropologists. This collective paper presents a collection of selected communications
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