553 research outputs found
Productivity response of calcareous nannoplankton to Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2)
© The Author(s), 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Climate of the Past 8 (2012): 977-993, doi:10.5194/cp-8-977-2012.The Early Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2) at ~53.7 Ma is one of multiple hyperthermal events that followed the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ~56 Ma). The negative carbon excursion and deep ocean carbonate dissolution which occurred during the event imply that a substantial amount (103 Gt) of carbon (C) was added to the ocean-atmosphere system, consequently increasing atmospheric CO2(pCO2). This makes the event relevant to the current scenario of anthropogenic CO2 additions and global change. Resulting changes in ocean stratification and pH, as well as changes in exogenic cycles which supply nutrients to the ocean, may have affected the productivity of marine phytoplankton, especially calcifying phytoplankton. Changes in productivity, in turn, may affect the rate of sequestration of excess CO2 in the deep ocean and sediments. In order to reconstruct the productivity response by calcareous nannoplankton to ETM2 in the South Atlantic (Site 1265) and North Pacific (Site 1209), we employ the coccolith Sr/Ca productivity proxy with analysis of well-preserved picked monogeneric populations by ion probe supplemented by analysis of various size fractions of nannofossil sediments by ICP-AES. The former technique of measuring Sr/Ca in selected nannofossil populations using the ion probe circumvents possible contamination with secondary calcite. Avoiding such contamination is important for an accurate interpretation of the nannoplankton productivity record, since diagenetic processes can bias the productivity signal, as we demonstrate for Sr/Ca measurements in the fine (<20 μm) and other size fractions obtained from bulk sediments from Site 1265. At this site, the paleoproductivity signal as reconstructed from the Sr/Ca appears to be governed by cyclic changes, possibly orbital forcing, resulting in a 20–30% variability in Sr/Ca in dominant genera as obtained by ion probe. The ~13 to 21% increase in Sr/Ca above the cyclic background conditions as measured by ion probe in dominating genera may result from a slightly elevated productivity during ETM2. This high productivity phase is probably the result of enhanced nutrient supply either from land or from upwelling. The ion probe results show that calcareous nannoplankton productivity was not reduced by environmental conditions accompanying ETM2 at Site 1265, but imply an overall sustained productivity and potentially a small productivity increase during the extreme climatic conditions of ETM2 in this portion of the South Atlantic. However, in the open oceanic setting of Site 1209, a significant decrease in dominant genera Sr/Ca is observed, indicating reduced productivity.This work was supported by the Darwin Center
for Biogeosciences (MD and PZ), the National Science Foundation
(NSF EAR-0628336 to HMS) and the Spanish Minister of
Science and Innovation (MCINN PK122862 and AD122622)
Current direction induced rectification effect on (integer) quantized Hall plateaus
Current polarization induced rectification of the quantized Hall plateaus
(QHPs) is studied within a Hartree type mean field approximation for
asymmetrically depleted samples. We first investigate the existence of the
current carrying incompressible strips (ISs), by solving the self-consistent
equations, and their influence on magneto-transport (MT) properties. Next, the
widths of the ISs are examined in terms of the steepness of the confining
potential profile considering gate defined Hall bars. The corresponding MT
coefficients are calculated using a local Ohm's law for a large fixed current
and are compared for symmetric and asymmetric depleted samples. We predict
that, the extend of the QHPs strongly depend on the current polarization, in
the out of linear response regime, when considering asymmetrically depleted
samples. Our results, concerning the extend of the QHPs depending on the
current polarization are in contrast to the ones of the conventional theories
of the integer quantized Hall effect (IQHE). We propose certain experimental
conditions to test our theoretical predictions at high mobility, narrow
samples.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Re
Realistic modelling of quantum point contacts subject to high magnetic fields and with current bias at out of linear response regime
The electron and current density distributions in the close proximity of
quantum point contacts (QPCs) are investigated. A three dimensional Poisson
equation is solved self-consistently to obtain the electron density and
potential profile in the absence of an external magnetic field for gate and
etching defined devices. We observe the surface charges and their apparent
effect on the confinement potential, when considering the (deeply) etched QPCs.
In the presence of an external magnetic field, we investigate the formation of
the incompressible strips and their influence on the current distribution both
in the linear response and out of linear response regime. A spatial asymmetry
of the current carrying incompressible strips, induced by the large source
drain voltages, is reported for such devices in the non-linear regime.Comment: 16 Pages, 9 Figures, submitted to PR
Self-consistent Coulomb picture of an electron-electron bilayer system
In this work we implement the self-consistent Thomas-Fermi approach and a
local conductivity model to an electron-electron bilayer system. The presence
of an incompressible strip, originating from screening calculations at the top
(or bottom) layer is considered as a source of an external potential
fluctuation to the bottom (or top) layer. This essentially yields modifications
to both screening properties and the magneto-transport quantities. The effect
of the temperature, inter-layer distance and density mismatch on the density
and the potential fluctuations are investigated. It is observed that the
existence of the incompressible strips plays an important role simply due to
their poor screening properties on both screening and the magneto-resistance
(MR) properties. Here we also report and interpret the observed MR Hysteresis
within our model.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, submitted to PR
Forces During Bacteriophage DNA Packaging and Ejection
The conjunction of insights from structural biology, solution biochemistry,
genetics and single molecule biophysics has provided a renewed impetus for the
construction of quantitative models of biological processes. One area that has
been a beneficiary of these experimental techniques is the study of viruses. In
this paper we describe how the insights obtained from such experiments can be
utilized to construct physical models of processes in the viral life cycle. We
focus on dsDNA bacteriophages and show that the bending elasticity of DNA and
its electrostatics in solution can be combined to determine the forces
experienced during packaging and ejection of the viral genome. Furthermore, we
quantitatively analyze the effect of fluid viscosity and capsid expansion on
the forces experienced during packaging. Finally, we present a model for DNA
ejection from bacteriophages based on the hypothesis that the energy stored in
the tightly packed genome within the capsid leads to its forceful ejection. The
predictions of our model can be tested through experiments in vitro where DNA
ejection is inhibited by the application of external osmotic pressure
An associative memory of Hodgkin-Huxley neuron networks with Willshaw-type synaptic couplings
An associative memory has been discussed of neural networks consisting of
spiking N (=100) Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) neurons with time-delayed couplings, which
memorize P patterns in their synaptic weights. In addition to excitatory
synapses whose strengths are modified after the Willshaw-type learning rule
with the 0/1 code for quiescent/active states, the network includes uniform
inhibitory synapses which are introduced to reduce cross-talk noises. Our
simulations of the HH neuron network for the noise-free state have shown to
yield a fairly good performance with the storage capacity of for the low neuron activity of . This
storage capacity of our temporal-code network is comparable to that of the
rate-code model with the Willshaw-type synapses. Our HH neuron network is
realized not to be vulnerable to the distribution of time delays in couplings.
The variability of interspace interval (ISI) of output spike trains in the
process of retrieving stored patterns is also discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, changed Titl
Spike-Train Responses of a Pair of Hodgkin-Huxley Neurons with Time-Delayed Couplings
Model calculations have been performed on the spike-train response of a pair
of Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) neurons coupled by recurrent excitatory-excitatory
couplings with time delay. The coupled, excitable HH neurons are assumed to
receive the two kinds of spike-train inputs: the transient input consisting of
impulses for the finite duration (: integer) and the sequential input
with the constant interspike interval (ISI). The distribution of the output ISI
shows a rich of variety depending on the coupling strength and the
time delay. The comparison is made between the dependence of the output ISI for
the transient inputs and that for the sequential inputs.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
A Novel Therapeutic and Prophylactic Vaccine (HVJ-Envelope / Hsp65 DNA + IL-12 DNA) against Tuberculosis Using the Cynomolgus Monkey Model
AbstractWe have developed a novel tuberculosis (TB) vaccine; a combination of the DNA vaccines expressing mycobacterial heat shock protein 65 (HSP65) and interleukin 12 (IL-12) delivered by the hemagglutinating virus of Japan (HVJ)-envelope and –liposome (HSP65 + IL-12/HVJ). An IL-12 expression vector (IL-12DNA) encoding single-chain IL-12 proteins comprised of p40 and p35 subunits were constructed. This vaccine provided remarkable protective efficacy in mouse and guinea pig models compared to the BCG vaccine on the basis of C.F.U of number of TB, survival, an induction of the CD8 positive CTL activity and improvement of the histopathological tuberculosis lesions. This vaccine also provided therapeutic efficacy against multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extremely drug resistant TB (XDR-TB) (prolongation of survival time and the decrease in the number of TB in the lung) in murine models. Furthermore, we extended our studies to a cynomolgus monkey model, which is currently the best animal model of human tuberculosis. This novel vaccine provided a higher level of the protective efficacy than BCG based upon the assessment of mortality, the ESR, body weight, chest X-ray findings and immune responses. All monkeys in the control group (saline) died within 8 months, while 50% of monkeys in the HSP65+hIL-12/HVJ group survived more than 14 months post-infection (the termination period of the experiment). Furthermore, the BCG priming and HSP65 + IL-12/HVJ vaccine (booster) by the priming-booster method showed a synergistic effect in the TB-infected cynomolgus monkey (100% survival). In contrast, 33% of monkeys from BCG Tokyo alone group were alive (33% survival). Furthermore, this vaccine exerted therapeutic efficacy (100% survival) and augmentation of immune responses in the TB-infected monkeys. These data indicate that our novel DNA vaccine might be useful against Mycobacterium tuberculosis including XDR-TB and MDR-TB for human therapeutic clinical trials
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