A binocular-type atmospheric interaction generating sequential exotic features

A cosmic-ray induced nuclear event is presented, which is of clear binocular-type and contains several exotic features through its passage in the atmosphere and the emulsion chamber

A halo event created at 200 m above the Chacaltaya emulsion chamber

The results of analysis on a cosmic-ray induced nuclear event with the total visible energy approx. = 1300 TeV which is characterized by the central (halo) part of a strong energy concentration and the outer part of a large lateral spread are presented. The event (named as P06) was detected in the 18th two-storied emulsion chamber exposed at Chacaltaya by Brasil-Japan Collaboration. As the nuclear emulsion plates were inserted at every layer of the concerned blocks in the upper and the lower chambers together with RR- and N-type X-ray films, it is possible to study the details of the event. Some results on P06 have already been reported 1 based on the general measurement of opacity on N-type X-ray films: (1) the total energy of halo is approx. = 1000 TeV; (2) the shower transition reaches its maximum at approx. 16 cu; and (3) the radius of halo is 6.5 mm (at the level of 10 to the 6th power electrons/sq.cm.). The results in more details will be described

Atmospheric interactions detected in both the upper and the lower chambers at Chacaltaya

The cosmic ray interactions in the energy region 10 to the 13th power to 10 to the 17th power eV were studied by emulsion chambers exposed at Chacaltaya, 5220 m above sea-level. The chambers have a two-storied structure, and the events observed in both chambers give important informations on these phenomena. The first Centauro event was detected as a small shower at the bottom of the upper chamber and as a big fraction of energy deposit in the lower chamber, which indicates a high contribution of hadronic showers. Results of the events with continuation in the rather low energy region are described

Doxorubicin Affects Testicular Lipids with Long-Chain (C18-C22) and Very Long-Chain (C24-C32) Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

Doxorubicin disrupts spermatogenesis by causing apoptosis of spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of this agent on adult rat testicular lipids and their fatty acids. A single dose (7.5 mg/kg) and a multidose regime (3 mg/kg once a week for 4 weeks) were evaluated. Both treatments resulted in the gradual loss of spermatogenic cells and determined a marked reduction in testicular size and weight 9 weeks after their start. Germ cell loss was accompanied by a decrease in phospholipids, including glycerophospholipids and sphingomyelin. Concomitantly, glycerophospholipids lost selectively their major polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), 22:5n-6, and sphingomyelin lost its major very long-chain PUFA (VLCPUFA), 28:4n-6 and 30:5n-6. The molecular species from which the lost polyenes originated were thus a trait of germ cells. A transient peak of 16:0-ceramide was observed 48 h after the single dose. In both doxorubicin regimes, sphingomyelin and ceramide with reduced amounts of VLCPUFA after about 4 weeks and with no VLCPUFA after 9 weeks resulted. By contrast, triglycerides and especially cholesterol esters (CE) tended to accumulate in the testes undergoing germ cell death, probably in the surviving Sertoli cells, their fatty acid patterns suggesting that initially, these lipids retained part of the PUFA coming from, or no longer used for, the synthesis of germ cell glycerophospholipids. As the latter decreased, CE accumulated massively 9 weeks after starting doxorubicin treatment, 20:4n-6 becoming their major PUFA. Part of these CEs may derive from surviving steroidogenic cells.Fil: Zanetti, Samanta Romina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; ArgentinaFil: Maldonado, Eduardo N.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; ArgentinaFil: Aveldaño, Marta Isabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentin

The bias-extension test for the analysis of in-plane shear properties of textile composite reinforcements and prepregs: a review

The bias-extension test is a rather simple experiment aiming to determine in-plane shear properties of textile composite reinforcements. However the mechanics during the test involves fibrous material at large shear strains and large rotations of the fibres. Several aspects are still being studied and are not yet modeled in a consensual manner. The standard analysis of the test is based on two assumptions: inextensibility of the fibers and rotations at the yarn crossovers without slippage. They lead to the development of zones with constant fibre orientations proper to the bias-extension test. Beyond the analysis of the test within these basic assumptions, the paper presents studies that have been carried out on the lack of verification of these hypothesis (slippage, tension in the yarns, effects of fibre bending). The effects of temperature, mesoscopic modeling and tension locking are also considered in the case of the bias-extension test

Drainage Areas of Texas Streams Colorado River Basin

Data on the drainage areas of Texas streams are being appropriately com piled in cooperation with the Texas Department of Water Resources so that information of uniform accuracy and reliability will be available for hydrau lic, hydrologic, or general engineering use. Only recently has large-scale topographic-map coverage of the Colorado River basin been completed. The mapping was largely financed through a cooperative program between the Texas Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey. This report gives the drainage areas as determined by measurements at 429 points within the Colorado River basin. These data are tabulated in table 1, which gives the latitude and longitude of the points of determination, the drainage area in square miles above each point, and the distance in miles from the point to the mouth of the stream.Waller Creek Working Grou

C-Jun N-terminal kinase 2 promotes liver injury via the mitochondrial permeability transition after hemorrhage and resuscitation

Hemorrhagic shock leads to hepatic hypoperfusion and activation of mitogen-activated stress kinases (MAPK) like c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) 1 and 2. Our aim was to determine whether mitochondrial dysfunction leading to hepatic necrosis and apoptosis after hemorrhage/resuscitation (H/R) was dependent on JNK2. Under pentobarbital anesthesia, wildtype (WT) and JNK2 deficient (KO) mice were hemorrhaged to 30 mm Hg for 3 h and then resuscitated with shed blood plus half the volume of lactated Ringer's solution. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), necrosis, apoptosis and oxidative stress were assessed 6 h after resuscitation. Mitochondrial polarization was assessed by intravital microscopy. After H/R, ALT in WT-mice increased from 130 U/L to 4800 U/L. In KO-mice, ALT after H/R was blunted to 1800 U/l (P < 0.05). Necrosis, caspase-3 activity and ROS were all substantially decreased in KO compared to WT mice after H/R. After sham operation, intravital microscopy revealed punctate mitochondrial staining by rhodamine 123 (Rh123), indicating normal mitochondrial polarization. At 4 h after H/R, Rh123 staining became dim and diffuse in 58% of hepatocytes, indicating depolarization and onset of the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT). By contrast, KO mice displayed less depolarization after H/R (23%, P < 0.05). In conclusion, JNK2 contributes to MPT-mediated liver injury after H/R

Linearly independent pure-state decomposition and quantum state discrimination

We put the pure-state decomposition mathematical property of a mixed state to a physical test. We begin by characterizing all the possible decompositions of a rank-two mixed state by means of the complex overlap between two involved states. The physical test proposes a scheme of quantum state recognition of one of the two linearly independent states which arise from the decomposition. We find that the two states associated with the balanced pure-state decomposition have the smaller overlap modulus and therefore the smallest probability of being discriminated conclusively, while in the nonconclusive scheme they have the highest probability of having an error. In addition, we design an experimental scheme which allows to discriminate conclusively and optimally two nonorthogonal states prepared with different a priori probabilities. Thus, we propose a physical implementation for this linearly independent pure-state decomposition and state discrimination test by using twin photons generated in the process of spontaneous parametric down conversion. The information-state is encoded in one photon polarization state whereas the second single-photon is used for heralded detection.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Schizotypy, Alexithymia and Affect as predictors of Facial Emotion Recognition Capability using static and dynamic images

The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the capacity of schizotypy and alexithymia traits, in combination with affectivity to predict facial emotion recognition capability in a sample of nonclinical adults. Consecutive healthy participants (N= 98) were investigated using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences-Reduced Version (O-LIFE-R), and the Positive and NA Schedule (PANAS). A set of validated photographs (static images) and virtual faces (dynamic images) for presenting the basic emotions was used to assess emotion recognition. Pearson correlations were applied to investigate the relationship between the study variables; the amount of variance in emotion recognition capability predicted by OLIFE-R, TAS-20 and PANAS was calculated by using the linear regression model. Results showed that alexithymia was strongly associated with schizotypy and NA; furthermore, alexithymia and NA made a significant contribution to the prediction of emotion recognition capability. The predictive model was fitted for two types of presentations (photographs and virtual reality). The inclusion of virtual faces emerges as a response to the need to consider computer characters as new assessment and treatment material for research and therapy in psychologyEl objetivo principal del presente estudio es investigar la capacidad de predicción de los rasgos de esquizotípia y alexitímia, en combinación con la afectividad, de la habilidad de reconocimiento de emociones en una muestra de adultos sanos. Noventa y ocho pacientes sanos (N =98) fueron evaluados mediante la Escala de Alexitímia Toronto-20 (TAS-20), el Inventario de Sentimientos y Experiencias Oxford-Liverpool-Versión Reducida (O-LIFE-R), y la Escala de Afecto Positivo y Negativo (PANAS). Para la evaluación de la capacidad de reconocimiento de emociones a nivel facial, se utilizó un set validado de fotografías (imágenes estáticas) y caras en realidad virtual (imágenes dinámicas). Para el análisis correlacional de las variables de estudio se aplicó la prueba de correlación de Pearson; para el análisis de predicción de la capacidad de reconocimiento emocional se utilizó un modelo de regresión lineal en el que se incluyeron las variables derivadas de las escalas OLIFE-R, TAS-20 y PANAS. Los resultados mostraron la existencia de una relación significativa entre alexitímia, esquizotípia y afecto negativo; el modelo de regresión reveló una aportación significativa de la alexitímia y el afecto negativo en la predicción de los errores cometidos en la tarea de reconocimiento facial. El modelo predictivo propuesto fue válido para ambos tipos de presentación de las emociones (fotografías y caras virtuales). La inclusión de las caras virtuales surge como respuesta a la necesidad de considerar los personajes computarizados como nuevo material de evaluación y tratamiento para la investigación y psicoterapia en psicología