310 research outputs found
D--branes and Spinning Black Holes
We obtain a new class of spinning charged extremal black holes in five
dimensions, considered both as classical configurations and in the
Dirichlet(D)--brane representation. The degeneracy of states is computed from
the D--brane side and the entropy agrees perfectly with that obtained from the
black hole side.Comment: 10 pages, harvmac ``b'' mode (minor changes
The replacement histone H2A.Z in a hyperacetylated form is a feature of active genes in the chicken
The replacement histone H2A.Z is variously reported
as being linked to gene expression and preventing the
spread of heterochromatin in yeast, or concentrated
at heterochromatin in mammals. To resolve this
apparent dichotomy, affinity-purified antibodies
against the N-terminal region of H2A.Z, in both a triacetylatedandnon-
acetylatedstate, areusedin native
chromatin immmuno-precipitation experiments with
mononucleosomes from three chicken cell types. The
hyperacetylated species concentrates at the 50 end of
active genes, both tissue specific and housekeeping
but is absent from inactive genes, while the
unacetylated form is absent from both active and
inactive genes. A concentration of H2A.Z is also
found at insulators under circumstances implying a
link to barrier activity but not to enhancer blocking.
Although acetylated H2A.Z is widespread throughout
the interphase genome, at mitosis its acetylation is
erased, the unmodified form remaining. Thus,
although H2A.Z may operate as an epigenetic marker
for active genes, its N-terminal acetylation does not
The replacement histone H2A.Z in a hyperacetylated form is a feature of active genes in the chicken
The replacement histone H2A.Z is variously reported
as being linked to gene expression and preventing the
spread of heterochromatin in yeast, or concentrated
at heterochromatin in mammals. To resolve this
apparent dichotomy, affinity-purified antibodies
against the N-terminal region of H2A.Z, in both a triacetylatedandnon-
acetylatedstate, areusedin native
chromatin immmuno-precipitation experiments with
mononucleosomes from three chicken cell types. The
hyperacetylated species concentrates at the 50 end of
active genes, both tissue specific and housekeeping
but is absent from inactive genes, while the
unacetylated form is absent from both active and
inactive genes. A concentration of H2A.Z is also
found at insulators under circumstances implying a
link to barrier activity but not to enhancer blocking.
Although acetylated H2A.Z is widespread throughout
the interphase genome, at mitosis its acetylation is
erased, the unmodified form remaining. Thus,
although H2A.Z may operate as an epigenetic marker
for active genes, its N-terminal acetylation does not
Macroscopic and Microscopic Entropy of Near-Extremal Spinning Black Holes
A seven parameter family of five-dimensional black hole solutions depending
on mass, two angular momenta, three charges and the asymptotic value of a
scalar field is constructed. The entropy is computed as a function of these
parameters both from the Bekenstein-Hawking formula and from the degeneracies
of the corresponding D-brane states in string theory. The expressions agree at
and to leading order away from extremality.Comment: 7 pages, harvma
A new wrinkle on the enhancon
We generalize the basic enhancon solution of Johnson, Peet and Polchinski by
constructing solutions without spherical symmetry. A careful consideration of
boundary conditions at the enhancon surface indicates that the interior of the
supergravity solution is still flat space in the general case. We provide some
explicit analytic solutions where the enhancon locus is a prolate or oblate
sphere.Comment: 19 pages, no figure
Four methods for determining the composition of trace radioactive surface contamination of low-radioactivity metal
Four methods for determining the composition of low-level uranium- and
thorium-chain surface contamination are presented. One method is the
observation of Cherenkov light production in water. In two additional methods a
position-sensitive proportional counter surrounding the surface is used to make
both a measurement of the energy spectrum of alpha particle emissions and also
coincidence measurements to derive the thorium-chain content based on the
presence of short-lived isotopes in that decay chain. The fourth method is a
radiochemical technique in which the surface is eluted with a weak acid, the
eluate is concentrated, added to liquid scintillator and assayed by recording
beta-alpha coincidences. These methods were used to characterize two `hotspots'
on the outer surface of one of the He-3 proportional counters in the Neutral
Current Detection array of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory experiment. The
methods have similar sensitivities, of order tens of ng, to both thorium- and
uranium-chain contamination.Comment: 22 pages, 19 figure
Targeting Conservation Investments in Heterogeneous Landscapes: A distance function approach and application to watershed management
To achieve a given level of an environmental amenity at least cost, decision-makers must integrate information about spatially variable biophysical and economic conditions. Although the biophysical attributes that contribute to supplying an environmental amenity are often known, the way in which these attributes interact to produce the amenity is often unknown. Given the difficulty in converting multiple attributes into a unidimensional physical measure of an environmental amenity (e.g., habitat quality), analyses in the academic literature tend to use a single biophysical attribute as a proxy for the environmental amenity (e.g., species richness). A narrow focus on a single attribute, however, fails to consider the full range of biophysical attributes that are critical to the supply of an environmental amenity. Drawing on the production efficiency literature, we introduce an alternative conservation targeting approach that relies on distance functions to cost-efficiently allocate conservation funds across a spatially heterogeneous landscape. An approach based on distance functions has the advantage of not requiring a parametric specification of the amenity function (or cost function), but rather only requiring that the decision-maker identify important biophysical and economic attributes. We apply the distance-function approach empirically to an increasingly common, but little studied, conservation initiative: conservation contracting for water quality objectives. The contract portfolios derived from the distance-function application have many desirable properties, including intuitive appeal, robust performance across plausible parametric amenity measures, and the generation of ranking measures that can be easily used by field practitioners in complex decision-making environments that cannot be completely modeled. Working Paper # 2002-01
Black Rings, Supertubes, and a Stringy Resolution of Black Hole Non-Uniqueness
In order to address the issues raised by the recent discovery of
non-uniqueness of black holes in five dimensions, we construct a solution of
string theory at low energies describing a five-dimensional spinning black ring
with three charges that can be interpreted as D1-brane, D5-brane, and momentum
charges. The solution possesses closed timelike curves (CTCs) and other
pathologies, whose origin we clarify. These pathologies can be avoided by
setting any one of the charges, e.g. the momentum, to zero. We argue that the
D1-D5-charged black ring, lifted to six dimensions, describes the thermal
excitation of a supersymmetric D1-D5 supertube, which is in the same U-duality
class as the D0-F1 supertube. We explain how the stringy microscopic
description of the D1-D5 system distinguishes between a spherical black hole
and a black ring with the same asymptotic charges, and therefore provides a
(partial) resolution of the non-uniqueness of black holes in five dimensions.Comment: 33 pages, 1 figur
Effectiveness of GonaCon as an immunocontraceptive in colony-housed cats
Objectives Non-surgical contraceptive management of free-roaming cat populations is a global goal for public health and humane reasons. The objectives of this study were to measure the duration of contraception following a single intramuscular injection of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone-based vaccine (GonaCon) and to confirm its safe use in female cats living in colony conditions.
Methods GonaCon (0.5 ml/cat) was administered intramuscularly to 20 intact female cats (queens), and saline was administered to 10 queens serving as sham-treated controls. Beginning in late February, 4 months after injection, all cats were housed with fertile male cats in a simulated colony environment. Time to pregnancy, fetal counts and vaccine-elicited injection-site reactions were evaluated.
Results All control cats (n = 10/10) and 60% (n = 12/20) of vaccinated cats became pregnant within 4 months of the introduction of males. Two additional vaccinates became pregnant (70%; n = 14/20) within 1 year of treatment. Average fetal counts were significantly lower in vaccinated cats than in control cats. Vaccinates had a significantly longer (P = 0.0120) median time to conception (212 days) compared with controls (127.5 days). Injection-site reactions ranging from swelling to transient granulomatous masses were observed in 45% (n = 9/20) of vaccinated cats.
Conclusions and relevance A single dose of GonaCon provided contraception lasting for a minimum of 1 year in 30% (n = 6/20) of treated cats. The level of contraception induced by this GonaCon dose and vaccine lot was not sufficiently effective to be recommended for use in free-roaming cats
Effectiveness of GonaCon as an immunocontraceptive in colony-housed cats
Objectives Non-surgical contraceptive management of free-roaming cat populations is a global goal for public health and humane reasons. The objectives of this study were to measure the duration of contraception following a single intramuscular injection of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone-based vaccine (GonaCon) and to confirm its safe use in female cats living in colony conditions.
Methods GonaCon (0.5 ml/cat) was administered intramuscularly to 20 intact female cats (queens), and saline was administered to 10 queens serving as sham-treated controls. Beginning in late February, 4 months after injection, all cats were housed with fertile male cats in a simulated colony environment. Time to pregnancy, fetal counts and vaccine-elicited injection-site reactions were evaluated.
Results All control cats (n = 10/10) and 60% (n = 12/20) of vaccinated cats became pregnant within 4 months of the introduction of males. Two additional vaccinates became pregnant (70%; n = 14/20) within 1 year of treatment. Average fetal counts were significantly lower in vaccinated cats than in control cats. Vaccinates had a significantly longer (P = 0.0120) median time to conception (212 days) compared with controls (127.5 days). Injection-site reactions ranging from swelling to transient granulomatous masses were observed in 45% (n = 9/20) of vaccinated cats.
Conclusions and relevance A single dose of GonaCon provided contraception lasting for a minimum of 1 year in 30% (n = 6/20) of treated cats. The level of contraception induced by this GonaCon dose and vaccine lot was not sufficiently effective to be recommended for use in free-roaming cats
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