Energy-sharing asymmetries in ionization by positron impact

The triply differential cross section of molecular hydrogen for ionization by 50 eV positrons has been determined, for the first time, for both the ejected electron in coincidence with the remnant ion and for the scattered projectile. Asymmetries in the energy sharing between the two light particles in the final state are observed, with the electron spectrum being shifted to significantly lower (and the scattered positron to correspondingly higher) energies than expected. A similar shape is observed in the case of the ejected electron spectrum from a helium target at the same excess energy

Joris-Karl Huysmans, Drifting (À vau-l’eau), translated by Brendan King (Sawtry: Dedalus, 2017)

J.-K. Huysmans (1848-1907) is considered an important figure in not one, but two nineteenth-century literary movements: Naturalism and Decadence. The novella À vau-l’eau, published in 1882, might be said to hover astride the line dividing the two and to encompass his stylistic transition from the former to the latter, containing as it does both the meticulous attention to the realistic and often mundane details of everyday life that is characteristic of Naturalism, and the self-loathing malaise that is a prominent feature of Decadent art and literature

Pilar and Brett: Female Heroes in Hemingway

The significant works on the hero have always assumed that the hero is male. However, feminist writers, such as Carol Pearson and Katherine Pope, have recently shown many women who are, in fact, heroic in both American and British literature. The main problem is that both cultures have often been unable to recognize female heroism, primarily because of their long-conditioned patriarchal perspectives. Men go on heroic quests; women either help or hinder them along their paths. Thus, women have been considered as supporting characters only, and they are called heroines. But some authors have created female heroes who are not defined in relation to men. Myths have caused stereotypes, and they have influenced women throughout the years. However, archetypes work as powerful forces within women without their knowledge. The female hero must first identify the society\u27s patriarchal negative myths--sex differences, virginity, romantic love, and maternal self-sacrifice. Then she must cross the threshold to begin her heroic quest to find her true self. Along the way, she must slay the dragons of society\u27s conditioning. She discovers who her captors and her rescuers are. She combines her natural female qualities and her male heroic qualities to become an autonomous woman. Transformed, she returns to change her community into a better one. There are two fully developed female heroes in Ernest Hemingway\u27s fiction--Pilar in For Whom the Bell Tolls and Brett in The Sun Also Rises. Pilar, a revolutionary warrior, carries a gun to defend the Republic. She experiences three archetypal phases, those of the Wanderer, the Martyr, and the Warrior, learning the positive attributes of each. Her journey eventually enables her to gather her guerrilla band into a united front to fight the Spanish Fascists. Brett develops through the Orphan archetype, but she lives primarily in the Wanderer stage. Since she is a nonconformist, she is criticized by both her men and the critics; she fights the stereotype of bitch. When she gives up Romero to protect him from her and her society, she becomes heroic in her sacrifice. Both women come from wastelands; Pilar exits from a stagnant cave where a drunken coward rules, and Brett leaves a sterile postwar milieu where rules and values have been twisted and destroyed. They emerge to destroy their sick environments and to create their newly transformed kingdoms. Hemingway\u27s fondness for Pilar and Brett gives them the strength to survive their journeys to become female heroes. Pilar rides off with her people, with their home on her saddle. Brett returns to her society, still an exciting rebel, but now a more maturely compassionate woman

Pilar and Brett: Female Heroes in Hemingway

The significant works on the hero have always assumed that the hero is male. However, feminist writers, such as Carol Pearson and Katherine Pope, have recently shown many women who are, in fact, heroic in both American and British literature. The main problem is that both cultures have often been unable to recognize female heroism, primarily because of their long-conditioned patriarchal perspectives. Men go on heroic quests; women either help or hinder them along their paths. Thus, women have been considered as supporting characters only, and they are called heroines. But some authors have created female heroes who are not defined in relation to men. Myths have caused stereotypes, and they have influenced women throughout the years. However, archetypes work as powerful forces within women without their knowledge. The female hero must first identify the society\u27s patriarchal negative myths--sex differences, virginity, romantic love, and maternal self-sacrifice. Then she must cross the threshold to begin her heroic quest to find her true self. Along the way, she must slay the dragons of society\u27s conditioning. She discovers who her captors and her rescuers are. She combines her natural female qualities and her male heroic qualities to become an autonomous woman. Transformed, she returns to change her community into a better one. There are two fully developed female heroes in Ernest Hemingway\u27s fiction--Pilar in For Whom the Bell Tolls and Brett in The Sun Also Rises. Pilar, a revolutionary warrior, carries a gun to defend the Republic. She experiences three archetypal phases, those of the Wanderer, the Martyr, and the Warrior, learning the positive attributes of each. Her journey eventually enables her to gather her guerrilla band into a united front to fight the Spanish Fascists. Brett develops through the Orphan archetype, but she lives primarily in the Wanderer stage. Since she is a nonconformist, she is criticized by both her men and the critics; she fights the stereotype of bitch. When she gives up Romero to protect him from her and her society, she becomes heroic in her sacrifice. Both women come from wastelands; Pilar exits from a stagnant cave where a drunken coward rules, and Brett leaves a sterile postwar milieu where rules and values have been twisted and destroyed. They emerge to destroy their sick environments and to create their newly transformed kingdoms. Hemingway\u27s fondness for Pilar and Brett gives them the strength to survive their journeys to become female heroes. Pilar rides off with her people, with their home on her saddle. Brett returns to her society, still an exciting rebel, but now a more maturely compassionate woman

New Insight into Metformin Mechanism of Action and Clinical Application

Metformin is the first-line medication for Type 2 diabetes (T2D) treatment, and it is the only US FDA approved oral antidiabetic medication for pediatric patients with T2D 10 years and older. Metformin is also used to treat polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), another condition with underlying insulin resistance. The clinical applications of metformin are continuing to expand into other fields including cancer, aging, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. Metformin modulates multiple biological pathways. Its novel properties and effects continue to evolve; however, its molecular mechanism of action remains incompletely understood. In this chapter, we focus on the recent translational research and clinical data on the molecular action of metformin and the evidence linking the effects of metformin on insulin resistance, prediabetes, diabetes, aging, cancer, PCOS, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases

SARS-CoV-2 Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) Receptor Expression and Its Effects on COVID-19 Epidemiology in Children

Children account for less than 2% of COVID-19 cases around the globe, and children experience relatively minor symptoms compared to the adult population. Various theories have been proposed to explain this phenomenon. One such theory is the involvement of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Previous studies have found a direct relationship between the abundance of pulmonary ACE2 receptors and the age of patients. Since Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) binds to the ACE2 receptor to infect a patient, it is hypothesized that the low abundance of pulmonary ACE2 receptors in children relative to adults accounts for both the mild symptoms experienced as well as the difference in the number of identified cases

Photochemical Fate of Solvent Constituents of Corexit Oil Dispersants

In 2010, an estimated 1.87 million gallons of chemical dispersants were applied to open ocean waters in Gulf of Mexico as part of the response to the Deepwater Horizon blowout. This unprecedented volume of dispersant application highlighted the importance of dispersant chemical formulations, raising questions of dispersant fate and transport in the open ocean and spurring research into formulation improvements. The research presented here elucidates the contribution of sunlight-driven processes to the degradation of solvent constituents of these dispersant mixtures to aid in optimizing the operational effectiveness. Specifically, the compounds propylene glycol (PG) and 2-butoxyethanol (2-BE) were examined. A series of photodegradation experiments were conducted to determine the contribution of direct photolysis and indirect photolysis via hydroxyl radical (HO&bull;) to compound degradation. Experiments were performed using both a low pressure (LP) and medium pressure (MP) mercury vapor ultraviolet (UV) lamp system, and a solar simulator. Sample matrices included ultrapure water, nitrate amended water, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) spiked water, Gulf of Mexico seawater, and Boulder Creek surface water. Preliminary experiments included determination of the molar absorption coefficients (&epsilon;) and the HO&bull; reaction rate constants (kHO&bull;) of the individual compounds. This research found that significant direct photolysis of either PG or 2-BE from sunlight is unlikely. The kHO&bull;&nbsp;for PG and 2-BE were determined to be 6.15 &times; 108 M-1 s-1 and 1.15 &times; 109 M-1&nbsp;s-1,respectively. Solar simulation and UV experiments indicate that in natural systems, neither PG nor 2-BE is expected to undergo significant, rapid degradation due to direct or indirect photolysis. PG and 2-BE are effectively degraded through indirect photolysis in the presence of high HO&bull; concentrations, as witnessed in the UV/H2O2&nbsp;experiments conducted in this study, suggesting UV/H2O2&nbsp;is a feasible alternative for the treatment of waters containing PG and 2-BE.</p

Estimation of dominance effects for reproductive, growth and carcass traits of Pannon White rabbits

Authors analysed the reproductive, growth and slaughter records of Pannon White rabbits based on records collected between 1992 and 2014. The examined traits were: average daily gain (ADG), thigh muscle volume (TMV) and litter weight at day 21 (LW21). Genetic parameters were estimated using basic and extended (with dominance effects) single trait animal models using the REML procedure. Heritability estimates ranged between low and moderate for all traits (ADG: 0.25-0.3±0.01, TMV: 0.21-0.24±0.02-0.03, LW21: 0.07-0.19±0.01). Random litter effects were moderate for ADG (0.24-0.25±0.01) but were low for TMV (0.09-0.1±0.01-0.03). Magnitude of permanent environmental effects exceeded that of the heritability values for LW21 in most models. Applying the extended complete models dominance effects were low for ADG and TMV (0.03±0.01-0.02) and moderate for LW21 (0.23±0.01). Among the estimated genetic correlation coefficients, the observed negative value between ADG and TMV (-0.31±0.03) and between TMV and LW21 (-0.38±0.13) were unfavourable. Based on the different models the estimated breeding values showed high stability as their rank correlation coefficients were close to unity (0.93-0.99)

Eta Car: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Nebular and Stellar Confusion

Observations in the far-UV provide a unique opportunity to investigate the very massive star Eta Car and its hot binary companion, Eta Car B. Eta Car was observed with FUSE over a large portion of the 5.54 year spectroscopic period before and after the 2003.5 minimum. The observed spectrum is defined by strong stellar wind signatures, primarily from Eta Car A, complicated by the strong absorptions of the ejecta surrounding Eta Car plus interstellar absorption. The Homunculus and Little Homunculus are massive bipolar ejecta historically associable with LBV outbursts in the 1840s and the 1890s and are linked to absorptions at -513 and -146 km/s, respectively. The FUSE spectra are confused by the extended nebulosity and thermal drifting of the FUSE co-pointed instruments. Interpretation is further complicated by two B-stars sufficiently close to h Car to be included most of the time in the large FUSE aperture. Followup observations partially succeeded in obtaining spectra of at least one of these B-stars through the smaller apertures, allowing potential separation of the B-star contributions and h Car. A complete analysis of all available spectra is currently underway. Our ultimate goals are to directly detect the hot secondary star if possible with FUSE and to identify the absorption contributions to the overall spectrum especially of the stellar members and the massive ejecta