1,576 research outputs found
“DALSTON! WHO ASKED U?”: A Knowledge-Centred Perspective on the Mapping of Socio-Spatial Relations in East London
Since the turn of the millennium, Dalston in the London Borough of Hackney has experienced fundamental change through public and private investment in new infrastructure and processes of urban restructuring. This was paralleled by the reform of the national planning system, which aimed to devolve decision-making to the local level and increase the possibilities for residents and stakeholders to participate in planning processes. However, the difficulty of translating local needs and aspirations into policy goals and broadly accepted area action plans resulted in a crisis, which, in 2018, led to the introduction of the Dalston Conversation and subsequently the revision of planning goals. It is in this context that the Relational States of Dalston mapping project generated and assembled local knowledge about the web of socio-spatial relations between different local actors and in this way highlighted the significance and fragility of the communities’ networks and their spatial dimensions. The collection, ordering, integration, and production of knowledge can be seen as part of the core work in urban planning processes and policymaking. Which forms of knowledge are routinely used in planning contexts and define the relationship between planning action and urban transformation? To what extent could the mapping of local community relations add to this knowledge and help to improve decision-making processes in contested spaces of knowledge? In what ways could a relational understanding of space and architectural modes of research and representation contribute to the analysis, conceptualisation, and communication of local community relations? This article engages with these questions, using the mapping project in Dalston as a case study
Continuous image distortion by astrophysical thick lenses
Image distortion due to weak gravitational lensing is examined using a
non-perturbative method of integrating the geodesic deviation and optical
scalar equations along the null geodesics connecting the observer to a distant
source. The method we develop continuously changes the shape of the pencil of
rays from the source to the observer with no reference to lens planes in
astrophysically relevant scenarios. We compare the projected area and the ratio
of semi-major to semi-minor axes of the observed elliptical image shape for
circular sources from the continuous, thick-lens method with the commonly
assumed thin-lens approximation. We find that for truncated singular isothermal
sphere and NFW models of realistic galaxy clusters, the commonly used thin-lens
approximation is accurate to better than 1 part in 10^4 in predicting the image
area and axes ratios. For asymmetric thick lenses consisting of two massive
clusters separated along the line of sight in redshift up to \Delta z = 0.2, we
find that modeling the image distortion as two clusters in a single lens plane
does not produce relative errors in image area or axes ratio more than 0.5%Comment: accepted to GR
Die schräg-transmurale Vernetzung des Herzmuskels, dargestellt im feingeweblichen Bild
Die Kardiologie des 20. Jahrhunderts wurde von der Annahme von einer ausschließlichen Tangentialanordnung der Herzmuskelfaser beherrscht. So blieb die tatsächliche Komplexität der Struktur des Herzens lange Zeit ungeachtet. Seit der 70er Jahre des 20. Jahrhunderts arbeiten Lunkenheimer et al an der funktionellen Deutung der schräg-transmuralen Vernetzung der Herzmuskelfaser, die gleichzeitig in mehreren MRT-Studien analysiert wird. Es wurde eine Methode entwickelt, die die Darstellung der schräg-transmuralen Vernetzung im histologischen Bild ermöglicht. Die so nachgewiesene Variabilität der Muskelkettenverläufe gibt dem Grundmechanismus von Systole und Diastole eine neue Deutung
Waveform control of orientation-dependent ionization of DCl in few-cycle laser fields
Strong few-cycle light fields with stable electric field waveforms allow controlling electrons on time scales down to the attosecond domain. We have studied the dissociative ionization of randomly oriented DCl in 5 fs light fields at 720 nm in the tunneling regime. Momentum distributions of D+ and Cl+ fragments were recorded via velocity-map imaging. A waveformdependent anti-correlated directional emission of D+ and Cl+ fragments is observed. Comparison of our results with calculations indicates that tailoring of the light field via the carrier envelope phase permits the control over the orientation of DCl+ and in turn the directional emission of charged fragments upon the breakup of the molecular ion
Single-shot carrier-envelope-phase measurement in ambient air
The ability to measure and control the carrier envelope phase (CEP) of
few-cycle laser pulses is of paramount importance for both frequency metrology
and attosecond science. Here, we present a phase meter relying on the
CEP-dependent photocurrents induced by circularly polarized few-cycle pulses
focused between electrodes in ambient air. The new device facilitates compact
single-shot, CEP measurements under ambient conditions and promises CEP tagging
at repetition rates orders of magnitude higher than most conventional CEP
detection schemes as well as straightforward implementation at longer
wavelengths
The Synergistic Contribution of Lactobacillus and Dietary Phytophenols in Host Health
Phytophenols are found ubiquitously among all plants. They are important in diets rich in fruits and vegetables because these compounds provide health benefits to the host, ultimately decreasing the incidence of chronic diseases. These compounds act as natural antioxidants and provide anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibiotic, and antineoplastic properties. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced under normal physiological functions, and low/moderate levels are required for cellular turnover and signaling. However, when ROS levels become too high, oxidative stress can occur. Phytophenols quench ROS and ultimately avoid the damaging effects ROS elicit on the cell. The highest source of bioavailable phytophenols comes from our diet as a component usually esterified in plant fiber. For phytophenols to be absorbed by the body, they must be released by esterases, or other related enzymes. The highest amount of esterase activity comes from the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota; therefore, the host requires the activity of mutualistic bacteria in the GI tract to release absorbable phytophenols. For this reason, mutualistic bacteria have been investigated for beneficial properties in the host. Our laboratory has begun studying the interaction of Lactobacillus johnsonii N6.2 with the host since it was found to be negatively correlated with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Analyses of this strain have revealed two important characteristics: (1) It has the ability to release phytophenols from dietary fiber through the secretion of two strong cinnamoyl esterases and (2) L. johnsonii also has the ability to generate significant amounts of H2O2, controlling the activity of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), an immunomodulatory enzyme
A Network of Physiological Interactions Modulating GI Homeostasis: Probiotics, Inflammasome, mTOR
The gastrointestinal surface is in constant interaction with various exogenous molecules. Exogenous components are discriminated in the GI context, as good, in case of nutrients and fibers, and bad, when they negatively affect host integrity. During this tolerogenic process, they also train the host’s immune system. The immune system is a morpho-physiologic unit driven by immune cells with the assistance of commensal organisms. Several species of commensal microorganisms have been used for centuries as probiotics due to their beneficial effects on human health. Lowering local levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines has a systemic effect, which is one of the fundamental characteristics associated with probiotics. Still, the primary mechanisms wiring those regulatory circuits as a unit remain unclear. Modulation of the innate immune system, via regulation of inflammasome assembly is emerging as a critical driver of this interaction. Stimulation of toll like receptors (TLR) and inner cell sensors like NLRP3 connect probiotics with essential host systems. In this context, the mTOR-regulated circuits, an intricate network modulating a cascade of protein phosphorylations, could be an important channel connecting host metabolism and probiotics crosstalk
String Field Theory Vertices for Fermions of Integral Weight
We construct Witten-type string field theory vertices for a fermionic first
order system with conformal weights (0,1) in the operator formulation using
delta-function overlap conditions as well as the Neumann function method. The
identity, the reflector and the interaction vertex are treated in detail paying
attention to the zero mode conditions and the U(1) charge anomaly. The Neumann
coefficients for the interaction vertex are shown to be intimately connected
with the coefficients for bosons allowing a simple proof that the
reparametrization anomaly of the fermionic first order system cancels the
contribution of two real bosons. This agrees with their contribution c=-2 to
the central charge. The overlap equations for the interaction vertex are shown
to hold. Our results have applications in N=2 string field theory, Berkovits'
hybrid formalism for superstring field theory, the \eta\xi-system and the
twisted bc-system used in bosonic vacuum string field theory.Comment: 1+28 pages, minor improvements, references adde
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