1,419 research outputs found
Triple GEM Detectors for the Forward Tracker in STAR
Future measurements of the flavor-separated spin structure of the proton via
parity-violating W boson production at RHIC require an upgrade of the forward
tracking system of the STAR detector. This upgrade will allow the
reconstruction of the charge sign of electrons and positrons produced from
decaying W bosons. A design based on six large area triple GEM disks using GEM
foils produced by Tech-Etch Inc. has emerged as a cost-effective solution to
provide the necessary tracking precision. We report first results from a beam
test of three test detectors using Tech-Etch produced GEM foils and a laser
etched two dimensional strip readout. The detectors show good operational
stability, high efficiency and a spacial resolution of around 70 um or better,
exceeding the requirements for the forward tracking upgrade. The influence of
the angle of incidence of the particles on the spatial resolution of the
detectors has also been studied in detail.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figures, presented at the IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium
in Honolulu, HI, USA, October 27 - November 3, 200
α8β1 integrin regulates nutrient absorption through an Mfge8-PTEN dependent mechanism.
Coordinated gastrointestinal smooth muscle contraction is critical for proper nutrient absorption and is altered in a number of medical disorders. In this work, we demonstrate a critical role for the RGD-binding integrin α8β1 in promoting nutrient absorption through regulation of gastrointestinal motility. Smooth muscle-specific deletion and antibody blockade of α8 in mice result in enhanced gastric antral smooth muscle contraction, more rapid gastric emptying, and more rapid transit of food through the small intestine leading to malabsorption of dietary fats and carbohydrates as well as protection from weight gain in a diet-induced model of obesity. Mechanistically, ligation of α8β1 by the milk protein Mfge8 reduces antral smooth muscle contractile force by preventing RhoA activation through a PTEN-dependent mechanism. Collectively, our results identify a role for α8β1 in regulating gastrointestinal motility and identify α8 as a potential target for disorders characterized by hypo- or hyper-motility
Intrinsic symmetry groups of links with 8 and fewer crossings
We present an elementary derivation of the "intrinsic" symmetry groups for
knots and links of 8 or fewer crossings. The standard symmetry group for a link
is the mapping class group \MCG(S^3,L) or \Sym(L) of the pair .
Elements in this symmetry group can (and often do) fix the link and act
nontrivially only on its complement. We ignore such elements and focus on the
"intrinsic" symmetry group of a link, defined to be the image of
the natural homomorphism \MCG(S^3,L) \rightarrow \MCG(S^3) \cross \MCG(L).
This different symmetry group, first defined by Whitten in 1969, records
directly whether is isotopic to a link obtained from by permuting
components or reversing orientations.
For hyperbolic links both \Sym(L) and can be obtained using the
output of \texttt{SnapPea}, but this proof does not give any hints about how to
actually construct isotopies realizing . We show that standard
invariants are enough to rule out all the isotopies outside for all
links except , and where an additional construction
is needed to use the Jones polynomial to rule out "component exchange"
symmetries. On the other hand, we present explicit isotopies starting with the
positions in Cerf's table of oriented links which generate for each
link in our table. Our approach gives a constructive proof of the
groups.Comment: 72 pages, 66 figures. This version expands the original introduction
into three sections; other minor changes made for improved readabilit
Photochemical mechanism of an atypical algal phytochrome
International audiencePhytochromes are bilin-containing photoreceptors that are typically sensitive to the red/far-red region of the visible spectrum. Recently, phytochromes from certain eukaryotic algae have become attractive targets for optogenetic applications because of their unique ability to respond to multiple wavelengths of light. Herein, a combination of time-resolved spectroscopy and structural approaches across picosecond to second timescales have been used to map photochemical mechanisms and structural changes in this atypical group of phytochromes. The photochemistry of an orange/far-red light-sensitive algal phytochrome from Dolihomastix tenuilepis has been investigated by using a combination of visible, IR and X-ray scattering probes. The entire photocycle, correlated with accompanying structural changes in the cofactor/protein, are reported. This study identifies a complex photocycle for this atypical phytochrome. It also highlights a need to combine outcomes from a range of biophysical approaches to unravel complex photochemical and macromolecular processes in multi-domain photoreceptor proteins that are the basis of biological light-mediated signalling
Free energy and molecular dynamics calculations for the cubic-tetragonal phase transition in zirconia
The high-temperature cubic-tetragonal phase transition of pure stoichiometric
zirconia is studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and within the
framework of the Landau theory of phase transformations. The interatomic forces
are calculated using an empirical, self-consistent, orthogonal tight-binding
(SC-TB) model, which includes atomic polarizabilities up to the quadrupolar
level. A first set of standard MD calculations shows that, on increasing
temperature, one particular vibrational frequency softens. The temperature
evolution of the free energy surfaces around the phase transition is then
studied with a second set of calculations. These combine the thermodynamic
integration technique with constrained MD simulations. The results seem to
support the thesis of a second-order phase transition but with unusual, very
anharmonic behaviour above the transition temperature
Relative energetics and structural properties of zirconia using a self-consistent tight-binding model
We describe an empirical, self-consistent, orthogonal tight-binding model for
zirconia, which allows for the polarizability of the anions at dipole and
quadrupole levels and for crystal field splitting of the cation d orbitals.
This is achieved by mixing the orbitals of different symmetry on a site with
coupling coefficients driven by the Coulomb potentials up to octapole level.
The additional forces on atoms due to the self-consistency and polarizabilities
are exactly obtained by straightforward electrostatics, by analogy with the
Hellmann-Feynman theorem as applied in first-principles calculations. The model
correctly orders the zero temperature energies of all zirconia polymorphs. The
Zr-O matrix elements of the Hamiltonian, which measure covalency, make a
greater contribution than the polarizability to the energy differences between
phases. Results for elastic constants of the cubic and tetragonal phases and
phonon frequencies of the cubic phase are also presented and compared with some
experimental data and first-principles calculations. We suggest that the model
will be useful for studying finite temperature effects by means of molecular
dynamics.Comment: to be published in Physical Review B (1 march 2000
Common carotid intima media thickness and ankle-brachial pressure index correlate with local but not global atheroma burden:a cross sectional study using whole body magnetic resonance angiography
Common carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) and ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI) are used as surrogate marker of atherosclerosis, and have been shown to correlate with arterial stiffness, however their correlation with global atherosclerotic burden has not been previously assessed. We compare CIMT and ABPI with atheroma burden as measured by whole body magnetic resonance angiography (WB-MRA).50 patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease were recruited. CIMT was measured using ultrasound while rest and exercise ABPI were performed. WB-MRA was performed in a 1.5T MRI scanner using 4 volume acquisitions with a divided dose of intravenous gadolinium gadoterate meglumine (Dotarem, Guerbet, FR). The WB-MRA data was divided into 31 anatomical arterial segments with each scored according to degree of luminal narrowing: 0 = normal, 1 = <50%, 2 = 50-70%, 3 = 70-99%, 4 = vessel occlusion. The segment scores were summed and from this a standardized atheroma score was calculated.The atherosclerotic burden was high with a standardised atheroma score of 39.5±11. Common CIMT showed a positive correlation with the whole body atheroma score (β 0.32, p = 0.045), however this was due to its strong correlation with the neck and thoracic segments (β 0.42 p = 0.01) with no correlation with the rest of the body. ABPI correlated with the whole body atheroma score (β -0.39, p = 0.012), which was due to a strong correlation with the ilio-femoral vessels with no correlation with the thoracic or neck vessels. On multiple linear regression, no correlation between CIMT and global atheroma burden was present (β 0.13 p = 0.45), while the correlation between ABPI and atheroma burden persisted (β -0.45 p = 0.005).ABPI but not CIMT correlates with global atheroma burden as measured by whole body contrast enhanced magnetic resonance angiography in a population with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease. However this is primarily due to a strong correlation with ilio-femoral atheroma burden
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