1,151 research outputs found
Exposure to Photoperiod-Melatonin-Induced, Sexually-Activated Rams after Weaning Advances the Resumption of Sexual Activity in Post-Partum Mediterranean Ewes Lambing in January
This study was aimed to determine whether the presence of sexually stimulated rams by photoperiodic and melatonin treatments can advance the resumption of post-partum sexual activity in Mediterranean ewes lambing in January and weaned at the end of the breeding season at 41°N, in March. Rams were exposed to two months of long days (16 h light/day) and given three melatonin implants at the end of the long days (sexually-activated rams; SAR). Control rams (CR) were exposed to the natural photoperiod. Thirty-six ewes weaned on 25 February were assigned to one of two groups. From 1 March to 30 June, one group was housed with four SAR males (SAR-treated; n = 18), and the other group (CR-treated; n = 18) was housed with four unstimulated rams. Ovulation was assessed once per week based on plasma progesterone concentrations. Estrus was monitored daily by marks left on ewes by rams’ harnesses. SAR-treated ewes had a shorter (p < 0.01) weaning–first estrus interval than CR-treated ewes (61 ± 17 days vs. 102 ± 47 days; mean date of first estrus after weaning on April 26 and June 6, respectively). The proportion of the ewes ovulating in April or May was higher (p < 0.05) in the SAR-treated group than in the CR-treated group. SAR-treated ewes resumed estrous activity sooner than CR-treated ewes such that, in April, May, and June, the proportion of females that exhibited estrus was higher (p < 0.01) in the SAR-treated group (72%, 89%, and 100%, respectively) than in the CR-treated group (17%, 44%, and 61%, respectively). In conclusion, the introduction at weaning of sexually activated rams advanced the resumption of estrous activity in ewes in spring. The practical implications of this work could be important in ewes adapted for intensive production and accelerated lambing systems
Binaphthyl-1,2,3-triazole peptidomimetics with activity against Clostridium difficile and other pathogenic bacteria
Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a problematic Gram positive bacterial pathogen causing moderate to severe gastrointestinal infections. Based on a lead binaphthyl-tripeptide dicationic antimicrobial, novel mono-, di- and tri-peptidomimetic analogues targeting C. difficile were designed and synthesized incorporating one, two or three d-configured cationic amino acid residues, with a common 1,2,3-triazole ester isostere at the C-terminus. Copper- and ruthenium-click chemistry facilitated the generation of a 46 compound library for in vitro bioactivity assays, with structure-activity trends over the largest compound subset revealing a clear advantage to triazole-substitution with a linear or branched hydrophobic group. The most active compounds were dicationic-dipeptides where the triazole was substituted with a 4- or 5-cyclohexylmethyl or 4,5-diphenyl moiety, providing MICs of 4 μg mL-1 against three human isolates of C. difficile. Further biological screening revealed significant antimicrobial activity for several compounds against other common bacterial pathogens, both Gram positive and negative, including S. aureus (MICs ≥2 μg mL-1), S. pneumoniae (MICs ≥1 μg mL-1), E. coli (MICs ≥4 μg mL-1), A. baumannii (MICs ≥4 μg mL-1) and vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis (MICs ≥4 μg mL-1)
Normal form transforms separate slow and fast modes in stochastic dynamical systems
Modelling stochastic systems has many important applications. Normal form
coordinate transforms are a powerful way to untangle interesting long term
macroscale dynamics from detailed microscale dynamics. We explore such
coordinate transforms of stochastic differential systems when the dynamics has
both slow modes and quickly decaying modes. The thrust is to derive normal
forms useful for macroscopic modelling of complex stochastic microscopic
systems. Thus we not only must reduce the dimensionality of the dynamics, but
also endeavour to separate all slow processes from all fast time processes,
both deterministic and stochastic. Quadratic stochastic effects in the fast
modes contribute to the drift of the important slow modes. The results will
help us accurately model, interpret and simulate multiscale stochastic systems
Jahn-Teller polarons and their superconductivity in a molecular conductor
We present a theoretical study of a possibility of superconductivity in a
three dimensional molecular conductor in which the interaction between
electrons in doubly degenerate molecular orbitals and an {\em intra}molecular
vibration mode is large enough to lead to the formation of
Jahn-Teller small polarons. We argue that the effective polaron-polaron
interaction can be attractive for material parameters realizable in molecular
conductors. This interaction is the source of superconductivity in our model.
On analyzing superconducting instability in the weak and strong coupling
regimes of this attractive interaction, we find that superconducting transition
temperatures up to 100 K are achievable in molecular conductors within this
mechanism. We also find, for two particles per molecular site, a novel Mott
insulating state in which a polaron singlet occupies one of the doubly
degenerate orbitals on each site. Relevance of this study in the search for new
molecular superconductors is pointed out.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Measurement of coherent charge transfer in an adiabatic Cooper pair pump
We study adiabatic charge transfer in a superconducting Cooper pair pump,
focusing on the influence of current measurement on coherence. We investigate
the limit where the Josephson coupling energy between the various parts
of the system is small compared to the Coulomb charging energy . In this
case the charge transferred in a pumping cycle , the charge of one
Cooper pair: the main contribution is due to incoherent Cooper pair tunneling.
We are particularly interested in the quantum correction to , which is due
to coherent tunneling of pairs across the pump and which depends on the
superconducting phase difference between the electrodes: . A measurement of tends to destroy the phase
coherence. We first study an arbitrary measuring circuit and then specific
examples and show that coherent Cooper pair transfer can in principle be
detected using an inductively shunted ammeter
Argon annealing of the oxygen-isotope exchanged manganite La_{0.8}Ca_{0.2}MnO_{3+y}
We have resolved a controversial issue concerning the oxygen-isotope shift of
the ferromagnetic transition temperature T_{C} in the manganite
La_{0.8}Ca_{0.2}MnO_{3+y}. We show that the giant oxygen-isotope shift of T_C
observed in the normal oxygen-isotope exchanged samples is indeed intrinsic,
while a much smaller shift observed in the argon annealed samples is an
artifact. The argon annealing causes the 18O sample to partially exchange back
to the 16O isotope due to a small 16O contamination in the Ar gas. Such a
contamination is commonly caused by the oxygen outgas that is trapped in the
tubes, connectors and valves. The present results thus umambiguously
demonstrate that the observed large oxygen isotope effect is an intrinsic
property of manganites, and places an important constraint on the basic physics
of these materials.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PR
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Quantitative plant proteomics using hydroponic isotope labeling of entire plants (HILEP)
Stability of periodic domain structures in a two-dimensional dipolar model
We investigate the energetic ground states of a model two-phase system with
1/r^3 dipolar interactions in two dimensions. The model exhibits spontaneous
formation of two kinds of periodic domain structure. A striped domain structure
is stable near half filling, but as the area fraction is changed, a transition
to a hexagonal lattice of almost-circular droplets occurs. The stability of the
equilibrium striped domain structure against distortions of the boundary is
demonstrated, and the importance of hexagonal distortions of the droplets is
quantified. The relevance of the theory for physical surface systems with
elastic, electrostatic, or magnetostatic 1/r^3 interactions is discussed.Comment: Revtex (preprint style, 19 pages) + 4 postscript figures. A version
in two-column article style with embedded figures is available at
http://electron.rutgers.edu/~dhv/preprints/index.html#ng_do
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