Eta electroproduction on nuclei in the nucleon resonance region

We investigate eta electroproduction on nuclei for Q^2=2.4 and 3.6 GeV^2 in the framework of a coupled-channel BUU transport model. We analyze the importance of final state interactions and side feeding and compare with findings drawn from eta photoproduction. It is shown that in contrast to photoproduction the influence of etas stemming from secondary processes becomes important at high Q^2.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

In-medium broadening of nucleon resonances

We analyze the effects of an in-medium broadening of nucleon resonances on the exclusive photoproduction of mesons on nuclei as well as on the total photoabsorption cross sections in a transport calculation. We show that the resonance widths observed in semi-inclusive photoproduction on nuclei are insensitive to an in-medium broadening of nucleon resonances. This is due to a simple effect: the sizeable width of the nuclear surface and Fermi motion.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, minor changes in the tex

A foam model highlights the differences of the macro- and microrheology of respiratory horse mucus

Native horse mucus is characterized with micro- and macrorheology and compared to hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) gel as a model. Both systems show comparable viscoelastic properties on the microscale and for the HEC the macrorheology is in good agreement with the microrheology. For the mucus, the viscoelastic moduli on the macroscale are several orders of magnitude larger than on the microscale. Large amplitude oscillatory shear experiments show that the mucus responds nonlinearly at much smaller deformations than HEC. This behavior fosters the assumption that the mucus has a foam like structure on the microscale compared to the typical mesh like structure of the HEC, a model that is supported by cryogenic-scanning-electron-microscopy (CSEM) images. These images allow also to determine the relative amount of volume that is occupied by the pores and the scaffold. Consequently, we can estimate the elastic modulus of the scaffold. We conclude that this particular foam like microstructure should be considered as a key factor for the transport of particulate matter which plays a central role in mucus function with respect to particle penetration. The mesh properties composed of very different components are responsible for macroscopic and microscopic behavior being part of particles fate after landing.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Material

The triggered behavior of a controlled corona stabilised cascade switch

Corona stabilised switches have been shown to have advantages in pulse power switching applications due to their high repetition rates and low jitter. Work performed in recent years by the High Voltage Technologies Group within the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde has shown that the operating voltage range of such switches can be extended by using a multi-gap cascade configuration. One particular multi-gap topology was shown to operate under pressure at 100 kV with a switching jitter of 2ns. It has since been shown that by modifying the topology of the corona sources on the electrodes, it is possible to control the grading of the voltage distribution across the gaps in the cascade. The voltages across each gap and the self-break behaviour of the cascade were found to be in close agreement with the values predicted from the corona emission characteristics for the tested electrode topologies. This paper reports on a further examination of the behaviour of the corona controlled switching topology, where triggered operation of the switch has been investigated for different voltage distributions across the cascade gaps

Involvement of different protein kinases and phospholipases A2 in phorbol ester (TPA)-induced arachidonic acid liberation in bovine platelets.

The effect of various phospholipase A2 and protein kinase inhibitors on the arachidonic acid liberation in bovine platelets induced by the protein kinase activator 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) was studied. TPA stimulates arachidonic acid release mainly by activating group IV cytosolic PLA2 (cPLA2), since inhibitors of this enzyme markedly inhibited arachidonic acid formation. However, group VI Ca2+-independent PLA2 (iPLA2) seems to contribute to the arachidonic acid liberation too, since the relatively specific iPLA2 inhibitor bromoenol lactone (BEL) decreased arachidonic acid generation in part. The pronounced inhibition of the TPA-induced arachidonic acid release by the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors GF 109203X and Ro 31-82220, respectively, and by the p38 MAP kinase inhibitor SB 202190 suggests that the activation of the PLA2s by TPA is mediated via PKC and p38 MAP kinase

Transport study of charged current interactions in neutrino-nucleus reactions

Within a dynamical transport approach we investigate charged current interactions in neutrino-nucleus reactions for neutrino energies of 0.3 - 1.5 GeV with particular emphasis on resonant pion production channels via the $\Delta_{33}(1232)$ resonance. The final-state-interactions of the resonance as well as of the emitted pions are calculated explicitly for $^{12}C$ and $^{56}Fe$ nuclei and show a dominance of pion suppression at moderate momenta $p_\pi >$ 0.2 GeV/c. A comparison to integrated $\pi^+$ spectra for $\nu_\mu + ^{12}C$ reactions with the available (preliminary) data demonstrates a reasonable agreement.Comment: 13 pages incl. 6 eps-figures; computational error in final state interactions corrected; to be published in Phys. Lett.

The influence of magnetite nano particles on the behavior of insulating oils for pulse power applications

The effects of the addition of magnetite nanoparticles on the breakdown strength of three insulating liquids have been examined. The liquids considered are: a mineral transformer oil; a synthetic ester liquid, Midel 7131, and a specialist high permittivity liquid for pulse power applications THESO. The expected increases in breakdown strength were observed in the mineral oil and synthetic ester liquids. However in the case of the high permittivity liquid no significant changes in the breakdown strength were observed. Possible explanations for the differences in the observed behavior for the THESO insulating liquid are discussed