Measurement of Transverse Polarization of Electrons Emitted in Free Neutron Decay

The final analysis of the experiment determining both components of the transverse polarization of electrons ($\sigma_{T_{1}}$, $\sigma_{T_{2}}$) emitted in the $\beta$-decay of polarized, free neutrons is presented. The T-odd, P-odd correlation coefficient quantifying $\sigma_{T_{2}}$, perpendicular to the neutron polarization and electron momentum, was found to be $R=$ 0.004$\pm0.012\pm$0.005. This value is consistent with time reversal invariance, and significantly improves both earlier result and limits on the relative strength of imaginary scalar couplings in the weak interaction. The value obtained for the correlation coefficient associated with $\sigma_{T_{1}}$, $N=$ 0.067$\pm0.011\pm$0.004, agrees with the Standard Model expectation, providing an important sensitivity test of the experimental setup. The present result sets constraints on the imaginary part of scalar and tensor couplings in weak interaction. Implications for parameters of the leptoquark exchange model and minimal supersymmetric model (MSSM) with R-parity violation are discussed

Factorization of the transfer matrices for the quantum sl(2) spin chains and Baxter equation

It is shown that the transfer matrices of homogeneous sl(2) invariant spin chains with generic spin, both closed and open, are factorized into the product of two operators. The latter satisfy the Baxter equation that follows from the structure of the reducible representations of the sl(2) algebra.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, typos correcte

Immunofluorescent Localization of RuBPCase in Degraded C\u3csub\u3e4\u3c/sub\u3e Grass Tissue

Digestion-resistant tissues found in C4 grasses may allow soluble protein to escape rumen degradation. The objective of this study was to use immunofluorescent localization to follow loss of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBPCase) from switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman) parenchyma bundle sheath cells (BSC) during rumen degradation. Fluorescent signal was observed from switchgrass and big bluestem BSC through 24 and 16 h in situ digestion, respectively, and from BSC associated with both intact tissue fragments, and isolated vascular bundles in omasal digesta and fecal material from steers (Bos tarus L.) grazing switchgrass. Immunofluorescent localization demonstrated that in certain C4 grasses (i) parenchyma BSC can protect RuBPCase from degradation through 24-h in situ incubation, (ii) BSC containing RuBPCase can exit the rumen prior to degradation, and (iii) protein protected by BSC can escape degradation in the whole gastrointestinal tract and be excreted

Baxter operators for the quantum sl(3) invariant spin chain

The noncompact homogeneous sl(3) invariant spin chains are considered. We show that the transfer matrix with generic auxiliary space is factorized into the product of three sl(3) invariant commuting operators. These operators satisfy the finite difference equations in the spectral parameters which follow from the structure of the reducible sl(3) modules.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, references adde

Historical Reconstruction Reveals Recovery in Hawaiian Coral Reefs

Coral reef ecosystems are declining worldwide, yet regional differences in the trajectories, timing and extent of degradation highlight the need for in-depth regional case studies to understand the factors that contribute to either ecosystem sustainability or decline. We reconstructed social-ecological interactions in Hawaiian coral reef environments over 700 years using detailed datasets on ecological conditions, proximate anthropogenic stressor regimes and social change. Here we report previously undetected recovery periods in Hawaiian coral reefs, including a historical recovery in the MHI (∼AD 1400–1820) and an ongoing recovery in the NWHI (∼AD 1950–2009+). These recovery periods appear to be attributed to a complex set of changes in underlying social systems, which served to release reefs from direct anthropogenic stressor regimes. Recovery at the ecosystem level is associated with reductions in stressors over long time periods (decades+) and large spatial scales (>103 km2). Our results challenge conventional assumptions and reported findings that human impacts to ecosystems are cumulative and lead only to long-term trajectories of environmental decline. In contrast, recovery periods reveal that human societies have interacted sustainably with coral reef environments over long time periods, and that degraded ecosystems may still retain the adaptive capacity and resilience to recover from human impacts

Mitochondrial DNA data indicate an introduction through Mainland Southeast Asia for Australian dingoes and Polynesian domestic dogs

In the late stages of the global dispersal of dogs, dingoes appear in the Australian archaeological record 3500 years BP, and dogs were one of three domesticates brought with the colonization of Polynesia, but the introduction routes to this region remain unknown. This also relates to questions about human history, such as to what extent the Polynesian culture was introduced with the Austronesian expansion from Taiwan or adopted en route, and whether pre-Neolithic Australia was culturally influenced by the surrounding Neolithic world. We investigate these questions by mapping the distribution of the mtDNA founder haplotypes for dingoes (A29) and ancient Polynesian dogs (Arc1 and Arc2) in samples across Southern East Asia (n = 424) and Island Southeast Asia (n = 219). All three haplotypes were found in South China, Mainland Southeast Asia and Indonesia but absent in Taiwan and the Philippines, and the mtDNA diversity among dingoes indicates an introduction to Australia 4600–18 300 years BP. These results suggest that Australian dingoes and Polynesian dogs originate from dogs introduced to Indonesia via Mainland Southeast Asia before the Neolithic, and not from Taiwan together with the Austronesian expansion. This underscores the complex origins of Polynesian culture and the isolation from Neolithic influence of the pre-Neolithic Australian culture

Surface activation of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and formation of calcium phosphate coatings by precipitation

Plasma activation of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) surfaces and the influence on coating formation in a supersaturated calcium phosphate solution was investigated in this study. It was observed that plasma treatment in a N2/O2 plasma had a significant effect on the wettability of the PEEK surface. The contact angle decreased from 85° to 25° after plasma treatment. Cell culture testing with osteoblastic cell lines showed plasma activation not to be disadvantageous to cell viability. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis was performed to characterize the chemical composition of the PEEK surfaces. It was observed that the O1s intensity increased with plasma activation time. At the C1s peak the appearance of a shoulder at higher binding energies was observed. Coating of PEEK was performed in a supersaturated calcium phosphate solution. Coating thicknesses of up to 50 μm were achieved after 24 days of immersion. Plasma activation followed by nucleation in a highly saturated hydroxyapatite solution had a positive effect on the growth rate of the layer on PEEK. Chemical analysis revealed that the coating consists of a carbonate-containing calcium phosphat