Test particle acceleration by rotating jet magnetospheres

Centrifugal acceleration of charged test particles at the base of a rotating jet magnetosphere is considered. Based on an analysis of forces we derive the equation for the radial accelerated motion and present an analytical solution. It is shown that for particles moving outwards along rotating magnetic field lines, the energy gain is in particular limited by the breakdown of the bead-on-the-wire approximation which occurs in the vicinity of the light cylinder $r_{L}$. The corresponding upper limit for the maximum Lorentz factor $\gamma_{max}$ for electrons scales $\propto B^{2/3} r_{L}^{2/3}$, with $B$ the magnetic field strength at $r_{L}$, and is at most of the order of a $10^2-10^3$ for the conditions regarded to be typical for BL Lac objects. Such values suggest that this mechanism may provide pre-accelerated seed particles which are required for efficient Fermi-type particle acceleration at larger scales in radio jets.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; to appear in the Proc. of the Heidelberg International Symposium on High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy, Heidelberg, June 26-30, 2000, ed. by H.J. Voelk and F. Aharonian, AIP Conf. Pro

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome: case brief of a rare disease

Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome is a rare X- linked disease due to absence of HPRT enzyme. It leads to hyperuricemia, gout, renal failure, neurological and behavioural disorders, including compulsive self-mutilation. Management includes drugs against hyperuricemia, measures to prevent self-mutilation and behavioural therapy. This case is that of an eight months old child coming for respiratory symptoms and self-mutilation, who was ultimately diagnosed with Lesch- Nyhan syndrome.

UniPROBE, update 2011: expanded content and search tools in the online database of protein-binding microarray data on protein–DNA interactions

The Universal PBM Resource for Oligonucleotide-Binding Evaluation (UniPROBE) database is a centralized repository of information on the DNA-binding preferences of proteins as determined by universal protein-binding microarray (PBM) technology. Each entry for a protein (or protein complex) in UniPROBE provides the quantitative preferences for all possible nucleotide sequence variants (‘words’) of length k (‘k-mers’), as well as position weight matrix (PWM) and graphical sequence logo representations of the k-mer data. In this update, we describe >130% expansion of the database content, incorporation of a protein BLAST (blastp) tool for finding protein sequence matches in UniPROBE, the introduction of UniPROBE accession numbers and additional database enhancements. The UniPROBE database is available at http://uniprobe.org.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant number R01 HG003985

UniPROBE, update 2011: expanded content and search tools in the online database of protein-binding microarray data on protein–DNA interactions

The Universal PBM Resource for Oligonucleotide-Binding Evaluation (UniPROBE) database is a centralized repository of information on the DNA-binding preferences of proteins as determined by universal protein-binding microarray (PBM) technology. Each entry for a protein (or protein complex) in UniPROBE provides the quantitative preferences for all possible nucleotide sequence variants (‘words’) of length k (‘k-mers’), as well as position weight matrix (PWM) and graphical sequence logo representations of the k-mer data. In this update, we describe >130% expansion of the database content, incorporation of a protein BLAST (blastp) tool for finding protein sequence matches in UniPROBE, the introduction of UniPROBE accession numbers and additional database enhancements. The UniPROBE database is available at http://uniprobe.org.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant number R01 HG003985

Parker-Jeans Instability of Gaseous Disks Including the Effect of Cosmic Rays

We use linear analysis to examine the effect of cosmic rays (CRs) on the Parker-Jeans instability of magnetized self-gravitating gaseous disks. We adopt a slab equilibrium model in which the gravity (including self-gravity) is perpendicular to the mid-plane, the magnetic field lies along the slab. CR is described as a fluid and only along magnetic field lines diffusion is considered. The linearised equations are solved numerically. The system is susceptible to Parker-Jeans instability. In general the system is less unstable when the CR diffusion coefficient is smaller (i.e., the coupling between the CRs and plasma is stronger). The system is also less unstable if CR pressure is larger. This is a reminiscence of the fact that Jeans instability and Parker instability are less unstable when the gas pressure is larger (or temperature is higher). Moreover, for large CR diffusion coefficient (or small CR pressure), perturbations parallel to the magnetic field are more unstable than those perpendicular to it. The other governing factor on the growth rate of the perturbations in different directions is the thickness of the disk or the strength of the external pressure on the disk. In fact, this is the determining factor in some parameter regimes.Comment: 19pages, 14figures submitted to Ap

Church and Community in the Diocese of Lyon, 1500-1789 [Book Review]

Connoisseurs of the recent scholarly attention given to the social and cultural impact of the sixteenth-century religious reformations will welcome Hoffman's fine study of the Counter Reformation in the diocese of Lyons, even though much of his story will come as no surprise to readers of Bossy, Delumeau, Perouas and others. The rise of the seminary and the doctrinal "reeducation" of the Catholic clergy; the substitution of the priest as a moral and spiritual être à part in relation to the parish for the priest who had been an essential but barely distinguishable part of the village community; the coming of the new clerically controlled and devotional confraternities at the expense of the purely lay and somewhat festive confraternities that had been nearly congruous with the village; the crabbed campaign against quasi-sacral charivaris, sportive pilgrimages, and irreverent saints' days-the whole promiscuous intermingling of the sacred and the secular-all of these general features of the Catholic Counter Reformation find their particular variants in Hoffman's diocese of Lyons. More committed than his predecessors, however, to the Braudelian longue durée, Hoffman takes nearly the entire Old Regime as his province and carries his story to the onset of dechristianization on the eve of the French Revolution

Transboundary Cooperation and Global Governance for Inclusive Sustainable Development

This book gathers renowned researchers and policymakers from all continents who have accompanied Dirk Messner’s professional life in science and policy advice. Their articles and essays cover topics related to the ideational spheres and practice-oriented spaces which have consistently characterised Dirk Messner’s career. These include steps at the national, regional or global level to effectively accelerate the shift towards planetary sustainability; measures to forge or strengthen cross-sectoral, transboundary, multi-actor alliances for sustainable transformation; and key elements of universal ethics and shared norms which foster transnational cooperation for the global common good. With contributions by Manish Bapna, Lilian Busse, Ani Dasgupta, J. Carlos Domínguez, Ottmar Edenhofer, Jörg Faust, Thomas Fues, Hans Haake, Medelina K. Hendytio, Ariel Macaspac ­Hernandez, Anna-Katharina Hornidge, Adolf Kloke-Lesch, Claus Leggewie, Siddharth Mallavarapu, Simon Maxwell, Dirk Meyer, Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Sabine Nallinger, Andrew Norton, Franz Nuscheler, Jiahua Pan Jürgen Renn, Enrique ­Saravia, Sabine Schlacke, Uwe Schneidewind, Imme Scholz, Svenja Schulze, Zita Sebesvari, Wolfgang Seidel, Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, Achim Steiner, Franziska Wehinger and ­Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul.PublishedThis book gathers renowned researchers and policymakers from all continents who have accompanied Dirk Messner’s professional life in science and policy advice. Their articles and essays cover topics related to the ideational spheres and practice-oriented spaces which have consistently characterised Dirk Messner’s career. These include steps at the national, regional or global level to effectively accelerate the shift towards planetary sustainability; measures to forge or strengthen cross-sectoral, transboundary, multi-actor alliances for sustainable transformation; and key elements of universal ethics and shared norms which foster transnational cooperation for the global common good. With contributions by Manish Bapna, Lilian Busse, Ani Dasgupta, J. Carlos Domínguez, Ottmar Edenhofer, Jörg Faust, Thomas Fues, Hans Haake, Medelina K. Hendytio, Ariel Macaspac ­Hernandez, Anna-Katharina Hornidge, Adolf Kloke-Lesch, Claus Leggewie, Siddharth Mallavarapu, Simon Maxwell, Dirk Meyer, Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Sabine Nallinger, Andrew Norton, Franz Nuscheler, Jiahua Pan Jürgen Renn, Enrique ­Saravia, Sabine Schlacke, Uwe Schneidewind, Imme Scholz, Svenja Schulze, Zita Sebesvari, Wolfgang Seidel, Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, Achim Steiner, Franziska Wehinger and ­Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul