21,686 research outputs found
The Determinants of University Participation in Canada (1977â2003)
The decision to attend university is influenced by the balance of the expected returns and costs of attending university, by liquidity constraints and capital market imperfections that may modify these calculations and, hence, by the family income of prospective students. Family circumstances also play a role. We examine the secular increase in the propensity of children from Canadian families, evident in annual surveys spanning two and a half decades, to attend university. We quantify the importance of these factors taking account of the greater propensity by young women than men to attend university and controlling for secular trends in socioeconomic norms that impinge on these decisions.university participation, parental education, university premium, gender, tuition, income, societal trends
The Gender Imbalance in Participation in Canadian Universities (1977-2005)
More females than males have been attending Canadian universities over the past decade and this gender imbalance in university participation has been increasing. We use the Linear Probability and Logit models to investigate the determinants of attending university and explore the reasons for the increasing gender imbalance. We find that, in gender-specific equations, the values of the coefficients attached to variables and the values of the variables themselves are both important in explaining the rising level of the university participation rate for women and men. The important variables include a time trend to capture the evolving societal norms, the dynamic influence of parental education, the earnings premium for a university degree, tuition fees and real income. The increasing gap between the female and male participation rates (15 percentage points by 2005) can be accounted for equally by differences in the coefficients in female and male participation equations and the widening gap in the university premium for women and men.University participation, individuals, gender, Canada
Single cell performance studies on the Fe/Cr Redox Energy Storage System using mixed reactant solutions at elevated temperature
Experimental studies in a 14.5 sq cm single cell system using mixed reactant solutions at 65 C are described. Systems were tested under isothermal conditions i.e., reactants and the cell were at the same temperature. Charging and discharging performance were evaluted by measuring watt-hour and coulombic efficiencies, voltage-current relationships, hydrogen evolution and membrane resistivity. Watt-hour efficiencies ranged from 86% at 43 ma/sq cm to 75% at 129 ma/sq cm with corresponding coulombic efficiencies of 92% and 97%, respectively. Hydrogen evolution was less than 1% of the charge coulombic capacity during charge-discharge cycling. Bismuth and bismuth-lead catalyzed chromium electrodes maintained reversible performance and low hydrogen evolution under normal and adverse cycling conditions. Reblending of the anode and cathode solutions was successfully demonstrated to compensate for osmotic volume changes. Improved performance was obtained with mixed reactant systems in comparison to the unmixed reactant systems
The spatially resolved Kennicutt-Schmidt relation in the HI dominated regions of spiral and dwarf irregular galaxies
We study the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation between average star formation rate
and average cold gas surface density in the Hi dominated ISM of nearby spiral
and dwarf irregular galaxies. We divide the galaxies into grid cells varying
from sub-kpc to tens of kpc in size. Grid-cell measurements of low SFRs using
H-alpha emission can be biased and scatter may be introduced because of
non-uniform sampling of the IMF or because of stochastically varying star
formation. In order to alleviate these issues, we use far-ultraviolet emission
to trace SFR, and we sum up the fluxes from different bins with the same gas
surface density to calculate the average at a given value of
. We study the resulting Kennicutt-Schmidt relation in 400 pc, 1
kpc and 10 kpc scale grids in nearby massive spirals and in 400 pc scale grids
in nearby faint dwarf irregulars. We find a relation with a power law slope of
1.5 in the HI-dominated regions for both kinds of galaxies. The relation is
offset towards longer gas consumption timescales compared to the molecular
hydrogen dominated centres of spirals, but the offset is an order-of-magnitude
less than that quoted by earlier studies. Our results lead to the surprising
conclusion that conversion of gas to stars is independent of metallicity in the
HI dominated regions of star-forming galaxies. Our observed relations are
better fit by a model of star formation based on thermal and hydrostatic
equilibrium in the ISM, in which feedback driven turbulence sets the thermal
pressure.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS Main
Journal. For the definitive version visit http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org
Myelin figures: the buckling and flow of wet soap
Myelin figures are interfacial structures formed when certain surfactants
swell in excess water. Here, I present data and model calculations suggesting
myelin formation and growth is due to the fluid flow of surfactant, driven by
the hydration gradient at the dry surfactant/water interface; a simple model
based on this idea qualitatively reproduces the various myelin growth behaviors
observed in different experiments. From a detailed experimental observation of
how myelins develop from a planar precursor structure, I identify a mechanical
instability that may underlie myelin formation. These results indicate the
mixed mechanical character of the surfactant lamellar structure, where fluid
and elastic properties coexist, is what enables the formation and growth of
myelins.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. E. Corrected
figures/typo
Can We See Living Structure in a Cell?
Colloid chemistry (Îșολλα: glue, or gelatin) was introduced in 1861 after the discovery of protoplasm which exhibits gelatin-like properties. Some 80 years later, colloid chemistry (and with it, the concept of protoplasm) was largely abandoned. The membrane (pump) theory, according to which cell water and cell solute like K+ are free as in a dilute KCl solution, became dominant. Later studies revealed that rejecting the protoplasmic approach to cell physiology was not justified. Evidence against the membrane (pump) theory, on the other hand, has stood the test of time. In a new theory of the living cell called the association-induction (AI) hypothesis, the three major components of the living cell (water, proteins and K+) are closely associated; together they exist in a high-(negative)-energy-low entropy state called the living state. The bulk of cell water is adsorbed as polarized multilayers on some fully extended protein chains, and K+ is adsorbed singly on ÎČ- and Îł-carboxyl groups carried on aspartic and glutamic residues of cell proteins. Extensive evidence in support of the AI hypothesis is reviewed. From an extension of the basic concepts of the AI hypothesis and the new knowledge on primary structure of the proteins, one begins to understand at long last what distinguishes gelatin from other proteins; in this new light, new definitions of protoplasm and of colloid chemistry have been introduced. With the return of the concept of protoplasm, living structure takes on renewed significance, linking cell anatomy to cell physiology. Finally, evidence is presented showing that electron microscopists have come close to seeing cell structure in its living state
Southern Sky Redshift Survey: Clustering of Local Galaxies
We use the two-point correlation function to calculate the clustering
properties of the recently completed SSRS2 survey. The redshift space
correlation function for the magnitude-limited SSRS2 is given by xi(s)=(s/5.85
h-1 Mpc)^{-1.60} for separations between 2 < s < 11 h-1 Mpc, while our best
estimate for the real space correlation function is xi(r) = (r/5.36 h-1
Mpc)^{-1.86}. Both are comparable to previous measurements using surveys of
optical galaxies over much larger and independent volumes. By comparing the
correlation function calculated in redshift and real space we find that the
redshift distortion on intermediate scales is small. This result implies that
the observed redshift-space distribution of galaxies is close to that in real
space, and that beta = Omega^{0.6}/b < 1, where Omega is the cosmological
density parameter and b is the linear biasing factor for optical galaxies. We
also use the SSRS2 to study the dependence of xi on the internal properties of
galaxies. We confirm earlier results that luminous galaxies (L>L*) are more
clustered than sub-L* galaxies and that the luminosity segregation is
scale-independent. We find that early types are more clustered than late types,
but that in the absence of rich clusters, the relative bias between early and
late types in real space, is not as strong as previously estimated.
Furthermore, both morphologies present a luminosity-dependent bias, with the
early types showing a slightly stronger dependence on luminosity. We also find
that red galaxies are significantly more clustered than blue ones, with a mean
relative bias stronger than that seen for morphology. Finally, we find that the
relative bias between optical and iras galaxies in real space is b_o/b_I
1.4.Comment: 43 pages, uses AASTeX 4.0 macros. Includes 8 tables and 16 Postscript
figures, updated reference
Solute Exclusion by Polymer and Protein-Dominated Water: Correlation with Results of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Calorimetric Studies and Their Significance for the Understanding of the Physical State of Water in Living Cells
According to the polarized multilayer (PM) theory of cell water proteins with their back-bones fully extended and their NHCO groups directly exposed to bulk water, polarize water in multilayers. Experimental testing of the theory led to a new understanding of the uniqueness of gelatin, due to its permanently maintained fully extended conformation and its ability to polarize the bulk phase water in multilayers with reduced solubilities for solutes in a size dependent manner ( size rule ). Other models which behave like gelatin are urea-denatured proteins, synthetic polymers like polyethylene oxide (PEO), and polyvinylpyrrolidine (PVP), but not native proteins. NMR studies showed that the majority of water molecules dominated by these polymers does indeed suffer rotational (and translational) motional restriction as predicted by the PM theory. In conjunction with ultra-high frequency dielectric studies but particularly quasielastic neutron scattering of both model systems (e.g., PEO) and living cells (i.e., brine shrimp cysts and frog muscle), this finding offers confirmation of the PM theory of living cell water and model systems.
Studies of the freezing point depression showed that the presence of as much as 50% of native proteins had no effect on the freezing point of water while inclusion of gelatin, PEO, etc., caused concentration-dependent lowering of the freezing temperature. These findings demonstrate the key role of polarized water in the phenomena of freezing point depression and the unusual ice forms seen in living cells
- âŠ