41 research outputs found
Study of the heating effect contribution to the nonlinear dielectric response of a supercooled liquid
We present a detailed study of the heating effects in dielectric measurements
carried out on a liquid. Such effects come from the dissipation of the electric
power in the liquid and give a contribution to the nonlinear third harmonics
susceptibility chi_3 which depends on the frequency and temperature. This study
is used to evaluate a possible `spurious' contribution to the recently measured
nonlinear susceptibility of an archetypical glassforming liquid (Glycerol).
Those measurements have been shown to give a direct evaluation of the number of
dynamically correlated molecules temperature dependence close to the glass
transition temperature T_g~190K (Crauste-Thibierge et al., Phys. Rev. Lett
104,165703(2010)). We show that the heating contribution is totally negligible
(i) below 204K at any frequency; (ii) for any temperature at the frequency
where the third harmonics response chi_3 is maximum. Besides, this heating
contribution does not scale as a function of f/f_{\alpha}, with f_{\alpha}(T)
the relaxation frequency of the liquid. In the high frequency range, when
f/f_{\alpha} >= 1, we find that the heating contribution is damped because the
dipoles cannot follow instantaneously the temperature modulation due to the
heating phenomenon. An estimate of the magnitude of this damping is given.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in Journal of Chemical
Physic
K*(892)0 Production in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 130 GeV
Preliminary results on the K*(892)0 -> pi + K production using the
mixed-event technique are presented. The measurements are performed at
mid-rapidity by the STAR detector in sqrt(s_NN) = 130 GeV Au-Au collisions at
RHIC. The K*0 to negative hadron, kaon and phi ratios are obtained and compared
to the measurements in e+e-, pp and pbarp at various energies.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, proceedings of Strange Quarks in Matter
(SQM2001), Frankfurt am Main, Germany, to be published in J. Phys.
Background discrimination capabilities of a heat and ionization germanium cryogenic detector
The discrimination capabilities of a 70 g heat and ionization Ge bolometer
are studied. This first prototype has been used by the EDELWEISS Dark Matter
experiment, installed in the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane, for direct
detection of WIMPs. Gamma and neutron calibrations demonstrate that this type
of detector is able to reject more than 99.6% of the background while retaining
95% of the signal, provided that the background events distribution is not
biased towards the surface of the Ge crystal. However, the 1.17 kg.day of data
taken in a relatively important radioactive environment show an extra
population slightly overlapping the signal. This background is likely due to
interactions of low energy photons or electrons near the surface of the
crystal, and is somewhat reduced by applying a higher charge-collecting inverse
bias voltage (-6 V instead of -2 V) to the Ge diode. Despite this
contamination, more than 98% of the background can be rejected while retaining
50% of the signal. This yields a conservative upper limit of 0.7
event.day^{-1}.kg^{-1}.keV^{-1}_{recoil} at 90% confidence level in the 15-45
keV recoil energy interval; the present sensitivity appears to be limited by
the fast ambient neutrons. Upgrades in progress on the installation are
summarized.Comment: Submitted to Astroparticle Physics, 14 page
Status of the EDELWEISS Experiment
The status of the EDELWEISS experiment (underground dark matter search with
heat-ionisation bolometers) is reviewed. Auspicious results achieved with a
prototype 70 g Ge heat-ionisation detector under a 2 V reverse bias tension are
discussed. Based on gamma and neutron calibrations, a best-case rejection
factor, over the 15-45 keV range, of 99.7 % for gammas, with an acceptance of
94 % for neutrons, is presented first. Some operational results of physical
interest obtained under poor low radioactivity conditions follow. They include
a raw event rate of around 30 events/day/kg/keV over the same energy range,
and, after rejection of part of the background, lead to a conservative upper
limit on the signal of approximately 1.6 events/day/kg/keV at a 90 % confidence
level. Performance degrading surface effects of the detector are speculated
upon; and planned upgrades are summarized.Comment: 5 pages, 4 eps figures, LaTeX requires espcrc2.sty; Proceedings of
TAUP97, Gran Sasso, Italy, September 7-11, 199
Event categories in the EDELWEISS WIMP search experiment
Four categories of events have been identified in the EDELWEISS-I dark matter
experiment using germanium cryogenic detectors measuring simultaneously charge
and heat signals. These categories of events are interpreted as electron and
nuclear interactions occurring in the volume of the detector, and electron and
nuclear interactions occurring close to the surface of the detectors(10-20 mu-m
of the surface). We discuss the hypothesis that low energy surface nuclear
recoils,which seem to have been unnoticed by previous WIMP searches, may
provide an interpretation of the anomalous events recorded by the UKDMC and
Saclay NaI experiments. The present analysis points to the necessity of taking
into account surface nuclear and electron recoil interactions for a reliable
estimate of background rejection factors.Comment: 11 pages, submitted to Phys. Lett.
Identification of Quantitative Trait Loci responsible for embryonic lethality in mice assessed by ultrasonography.
Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion (RSA) is a frequent pathology affecting 1 to 5% of couples. In approximately 50 % of cases, the aetiology is unknown suggesting a subtle interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Previous attempts to describe genetic factors using the candidate gene approach have been relatively unsuccessful due to the physiological, cellular and genetic complexity of mammalian reproduction. Indeed, fertility can be considered as a quantitative feature resulting from the interaction of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. Herein, we identified Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) associated with diverse embryonic lethality phenotypes and the subsequent embryonic resorption in 39 inter-specific recombinant congenic mice strains, using in vivo ultrasound bio-microscopy. The short chromosomal intervals related to the phenotypes will facilitate the study of a restricted number of candidate genes which are potentially dysregulated in patients affected by RSA
Anisotropy-axis orientation effect on the magnetization of {\gamma}-Fe2O3 frozen ferrofluid
The effect of magnetic anisotropy-axis alignment on the superparamagnetic
(SPM) and superspin glass (SSG) states in a frozen ferrofluid has been
investigated. The ferrofluid studied here consists of maghemite nanoparticles
(\gamma-Fe2O3, mean diameter = 8.6 nm) dispersed in glycerine at a volume
fraction of ~15%. In the high temperature SPM state, the magnetization of
aligned ferrofluid increased by a factor varying between 2 and 4 with respect
to that in the randomly oriented state. The negative interaction energy
obtained from the Curie-Weiss fit to the high temperature susceptibility in the
SPM states as well as the SSG phase onset temperature determined from the
linear magnetization curves were found to be rather insensitive to the
anisotropy axis alignment. The low temperature aging behaviour, explored via
"zero-field cooled magnetization" (ZFCM) relaxation measurements, however, show
distinct difference in the aging dynamics in the anisotropy-axis aligned and
randomly oriented SSG states.Comment: to appear in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physic
SUMOylation of the Forkhead Transcription Factor FOXL2 Promotes Its Stabilization/Activation through Transient Recruitment to PML Bodies
International audienceBACKGROUND: FOXL2 is a transcription factor essential for ovarian development and maintenance. It is mutated in the genetic condition called Blepharophimosis Ptosis Epicantus inversus Syndrome (BPES) and in cases of isolated premature ovarian failure. We and others have previously shown that FOXL2 undergoes several post-translational modifications. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, using cells in culture, we show that interference with FOXL2 SUMOylation leads to a robust inhibition of its transactivation ability, which correlates with a decreased stability. Interestingly, FOXL2 SUMOylation promotes its transient recruitment to subnuclear structures that we demonstrate to be PML (Promyelocytic Leukemia) Nuclear Bodies. Since PML bodies are known to be sites where post-translational modifications of nuclear factors take place, we used tandem mass spectrometry to identify new post-translational modifications of FOXL2. Specifically, we detected four phosphorylated, one sulfated and three acetylated sites. CONCLUSIONS: By analogy with other transcription factors, we propose that PML Nuclear Bodies might transiently recruit FOXL2 to the vicinity of locally concentrated enzymes that could be involved in the post-translational maturation of FOXL2. FOXL2 acetylation, sulfation, phosphorylation as well as other modifications yet to be discovered might alter the transactivation capacity of FOXL2 and/or its stability, thus modulating its global intracellular activity
Central Collisions of Au on Au at 150, 250 and 400 A MeV
Collisions of Au on Au at incident energies of 150, 250 and 400 A MeV were
studied with the FOPI-facility at GSI Darmstadt. Nuclear charge (Z < 16) and
velocity of the products were detected with full azimuthal acceptance at
laboratory angles of 1-30 degrees. Isotope separated light charged particles
were measured with movable multiple telescopes in an angular range of 6-90
degrees. Central collisions representing about 1 % of the reaction cross
section were selected by requiring high total transverse energy, but vanishing
sideflow. The velocity space distributions and yields of the emitted fragments
are reported. The data are analysed in terms of a thermal model including
radial flow. A comparison with predictions of the Quantum Molecular Model is
presented.Comment: LateX text 62 pages, plus six Postscript files with a total of 34
figures, accepted by Nucl.Phys.