6,647 research outputs found
Empirical constraints on vacuum decay in the stringy landscape
It is generally considered as self evident that the lifetime of our vacuum in
the landscape of string theory cannot be much shorter than the current age of
the universe. Here I show why this lower limit is invalid. A certain type of
``parallel universes'' is a necessary consequence of the string-landscape
dynamics and might well allow us to ``survive'' vacuum decay. As a consequence
our stringy vacuum's lifetime is empirically unconstrained and could be very
short. Based on this counter-intuitive insight I propose a novel type of
laboratory experiment that searches for an apparent violation of the
quantum-mechanical Born rule by gravitational effects on vacuum decay. If the
lifetime of our vacuum should turn out to be shorter than 6 x 10^{-13} seconds
such an experiment is sufficiently sensitive to determine its value with
state-of-the-art equipment.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, proposes a laboratory experimen
Does rotation of B stars depend on metallicity? preliminary results from GIRAFFE spectra
We show the vsini distribution of main sequence B stars in sites of various
metallicities, in the absolute magnitude range -3.34 < Mv < -2.17. These
include Galactic stars in the field measured by Abt et al. (2002), members of
the h & chi Per open clusters measured by North et al. (2004), and five fields
in the SMC and LMC measured at ESO Paranal with the FLAMES-GIRAFFE
spectrograph, within the Geneva-Lausanne guaranteed time. Following the
suggestion by Maeder et al. (1999), we do find a higher rate of rapid rotators
in the Magellanic Clouds than in the Galaxy, but the vsini distribution is the
same in the LMC and in the SMC in spite of their very different metallicities.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, poster presented at the ESO/Arcetri Workshop on
"Chemical abundances and mixing in stars in the Milky Way and its
satellites", 13-17 Sept. 200
The radio lighthouse CU Virginis: the spindown of a single main sequence star
The fast rotating star CU Virginis is a magnetic chemically peculiar star
with an oblique dipolar magnetic field. The continuum radio emission has been
interpreted as gyrosyncrotron emission arising from a thin magnetospheric
layer. Previous radio observations at 1.4 GHz showed that a 100% circular
polarized and highly directive emission component overlaps to the continuum
emission two times per rotation, when the magnetic axis lies in the plane of
the sky. This sort of radio lighthouse has been proposed to be due to cyclotron
maser emission generated above the magnetic pole and propagating
perpendicularly to the magnetic axis. Observations carried out with the
Australia Telescope Compact Array at 1.4 and 2.5 GHz one year after this
discovery show that this radio emission is still present, meaning that the
phenomenon responsible for this process is steady on a timescale of years. The
emitted radiation spans at least 1 GHz, being observed from 1.4 to 2.5 GHz. On
the light of recent results on the physics of the magnetosphere of this star,
the possibility of plasma radiation is ruled out. The characteristics of this
radio lighthouse provides us a good marker of the rotation period, since the
peaks are visible at particular rotational phases. After one year, they show a
delay of about 15 minutes. This is interpreted as a new abrupt spinning down of
the star. Among several possibilities, a quick emptying of the equatorial
magnetic belt after reaching the maximum density can account for the magnitude
of the breaking. The study of the coherent emission in stars like CU Vir, as
well as in pre main sequence stars, can give important insight into the angular
momentum evolution in young stars. This is a promising field of investigation
that high sensitivity radio interferometers such as SKA can exploit.Comment: Accepted to MNRAS, 8 pages, 7 figures, updated versio
The early days of the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy
We present the high resolution spectroscopic study of five -3.9<=[Fe/H]<=-2.5
stars in the Local Group dwarf spheroidal, Sculptor, thereby doubling the
number of stars with comparable observations in this metallicity range. We
carry out a detailed analysis of the chemical abundances of alpha, iron peak,
light and heavy elements, and draw comparisons with the Milky Way halo and the
ultra faint dwarf stellar populations. We show that the bulk of the Sculptor
metal-poor stars follows the same trends in abundance ratios versus metallicity
as the Milky Way stars. This suggests similar early conditions of star
formation and a high degree of homogeneity of the interstellar medium. We find
an outlier to this main regime, which seems to miss the products of the most
massive of the TypeII supernovae. In addition to its value to help refining
galaxy formation models, this star provides clues to the production of cobalt
and zinc. Two of our sample stars have low odd-to-even barium isotope abundance
ratios, suggestive of a fair proportion of s-process; we discuss the
implication for the nucleosynthetic origin of the neutron capture elements.Comment: Replacement after language editio
Conjugated Linoleic Acid Induces Human Adipocyte Delipidation AUTOCRINE/PARACRINE REGULATION OF MEK/ERK SIGNALING BY ADIPOCYTOKINES
Dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) reduces body fat in animals and some humans. Here we show that trans-10, cis-12 CLA, but not cis-9, trans-11 CLA, when added to cultures of stromal vascular cells containing newly differentiated human adipocytes, caused a time-dependent decrease in triglyceride content, insulin-stimulated glucose and fatty acid uptake, incorporation into lipid, and oxidation compared with controls. In parallel, gene expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-? and many of its downstream targets were diminished by trans-10, cis-12 CLA, whereas leptin gene expression was increased. Prior to changes in gene expression and metabolism, trans-10, cis-12 CLA caused a robust and sustained activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular signal-related kinase (MEK/ERK) signaling. Furthermore, the trans-10, cis-12 CLA-mediated activation of MEK/ERK could be attenuated by pretreatment with U0126 and pertussis toxin. In parallel, pretreatment with U0126 blocked the ability of trans-10, cis-12 CLA to alter gene expression and attenuate glucose and fatty acid uptake of the cultures. Intriguingly, the induction by CLA of MEK/ERK signaling was linked to hypersecretion of adipocytokines interleukin-6 and interleukin-8. Collectively, these data demonstrate for the first time that trans-10, cis-12 CLA decreases the triglyceride content of newly differentiated human adipocytes by inducing MEK/ERK signaling through the autocrine/paracrine actions of interleukins-6 and 8
Isomer-Specific Regulation of Metabolism and PPARy Signaling by CLA in Human Preadipocytes
Trans-10,cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) has previously been shown to be the CLA isomer responsible for CLA-induced reductions in body fat in animal models, and we have shown that this isomer, but not the cis-9,trans-11 CLA isomer, specifically decreased triglyceride (TG) accumulation in primary human adiopcytes in vitro. Here we investigated the mechanism behind the isomer-specific, CLA-mediated reduction in TG accumulation in differentiating human preadipocytes. Trans-10,cis-12 CLA decreased insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and oxidation, and reduced insulin-dependent glucose transporter 4 gene expression. Furthermore, trans-10,cis-12 CLA reduced oleic acid uptake and oxidation when compared with all other treatments. In parallel to CLA’s effects on metabolism, trans-10,cis-12 CLA decreased, whereas cis-9,trans-11 CLA increased, the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ? (PPAR?) and several of its downstream target genes when compared with vehicle controls. Transient transfections demonstrated that both CLA isomers antagonized ligand-dependent activation of PPAR?. Collectively, trans-10,cis-12, but not cis-9, trans-11, CLA decreased glucose and lipid uptake and oxidation and preadipocyte differentiation by altering preadipocyte gene transcription in a manner that appeared to be due, in part, to decreased PPAR? expression
Semiconductive and Photoconductive Properties of the Single Molecule Magnets Mn-Acetate and FeBr
Resistivity measurements are reported for single crystals of
Mn-Acetate and FeBr. Both materials exhibit a
semiconductor-like, thermally activated behavior over the 200-300 K range. The
activation energy, , obtained for Mn-Acetate was 0.37 0.05
eV, which is to be contrasted with the value of 0.55 eV deduced from the
earlier reported absorption edge measurements and the range of 0.3-1 eV from
intramolecular density of states calculations, assuming = , the
optical band gap. For FeBr, was measured as 0.73 0.1 eV,
and is discussed in light of the available approximate band structure
calculations. Some plausible pathways are indicated based on the crystal
structures of both lattices. For Mn-Acetate, we also measured
photoconductivity in the visible range; the conductivity increased by a factor
of about eight on increasing the photon energy from 632.8 nm (red) to 488 nm
(blue). X-ray irradiation increased the resistivity, but was insensitive
to exposure.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
Perceived importance of components of asynchronous music in circuit training
This study examined regular exercisers’ perceptions of specific components of music
during circuit training. Twenty-four men (38.8 years, s = 11.8 years) and 31 women
(32.4 years, s = 9.6 years) completed two questionnaires immediately after a circuit
training class. Participants rated the importance of 13 components of music (rhythm,
melody, etc.) in relation to exercise enjoyment, and each completed the Affect Intensity
Measure (Larsen, 1984) to measure emotional reactivity. Independent t tests were used
to evaluate gender differences in perceptions of musical importance. Pearson
correlations were computed to evaluate the relationships between affect intensity, age
and importance of musical components. Consistent with previous research and
theoretical predictions, rhythm response components (rhythm, tempo, beat) were rated
as most important. Women rated the importance of melody significantly higher than did
men, while men gave more importance to music associated with sport. Affect intensity
was found to be positively and significantly related to the perceived importance of
melody, lyrical content, musical style, personal associations and emotional content.
Results suggest that exercise leaders need to be sensitive to personal factors when
choosing music to accompany exercise. Qualitative research that focuses on the
personal meaning of music is encouraged
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