2,033 research outputs found
Controlling plastic flow in brittle structures
In most oxidation resistant materials, the predominant obstacle to dislocation motion is due to the changes in misfit energy as a dislocation moves, causing them to be brittle. However, at present, there is little understanding of how to design crystal structures to give easy plastic flow. Surprisingly, some hard materials deform readily, but only on a limited number of crystal planes, including ternary carbides and nitrides, such as Ti3SiC2, and compounds such as Nb2Co7, W2B5 and ζ-Ta4C3-x. Using ternary carbides as an example, it is shown that electronegativity differences within a crystal\u27s unit cell enable dislocation line defects to move much more easily, consistent with observations in other structures. Substantial changes appear possible, suggesting that such an approach might be used as a general way of to tailoring plasticity in crystals
Chloramidine/Bisindolylmaleimide-I-Mediated Inhibition of Exosome and Microvesicle Release and Enhanced Efficacy of Cancer Chemotherapy
Microvesicle (MV) release from tumour cells influences drug retention, contributing to cancer drug resistance. Strategically regulating MV release may increase drug retention within cancer cells and allow for lower doses of chemotherapeutic drugs. The contribution of exosomes to drug retention still remains unknown. Potential exosome and MV (EMV) biogenesis inhibitors, tested on human prostate cancer (PC3) cells for their capacity to inhibit EMV release, were also tested on PC3 and MCF-7 (breast cancer) cells for improving chemotherapy. Agents inhibiting EMV release most significantly, whilst maintaining cell viability, were chloramidine (Cl-amidine; 50 µM) and bisindolylmaleimide-I (10 µM). Apoptosis mediated by the chemotherapy drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was significantly enhanced in PC3 cells in the presence of both these EMV inhibitors, resulting in a 62% (Cl-amidine + 5-FU) and 59% (bisindolylmaleimide-I + 5-FU) decrease in numbers of viable PC3 cells compared to 5-FU alone after 24 h. For MCF-7 cells, there were similar increased reductions of viable cells compared to 5-FU treatment alone ranging from 67% (Cl-amidine + 5-FU) to 58% (bisindolylmaleimide-I + 5-FU). Using combinatory treatment, the two EMV inhibitors further reduced the number of viable cancer cells tested. Neither inhibitor affected cell viability. Combining selected EMV inhibitors may pose as a novel strategy to enhance the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drug-mediated apoptosis
Triplet lambs and their dams – a review of current knowledge and management systems
Triplet-bearing ewes and their lambs have the potential to improve flock productivity however, the lack of robust information on optimal nutrition and management is limiting their performance. In comparison to twins, the triplet lamb is; lighter, more metabolically challenged, has lower body temperature, and receives less colostrum and milk which combined results in lower survival rates and weaning weights. While scientifically based management guidelines are available for singletons and twins, guidelines are generally lacking for triplets. Although there is some knowledge on the impacts of nutrition, further studies are required to examine the impacts of varying feeding regimens in pregnancy and lactation, across the body condition range. Characterising the impacts of shelter and other paddock factors, stocking rate, mob size and human intervention would also be of benefit. Future studies must be large enough to allow for evaluation of lamb survival and litter birth weight variation
Years of RXTE Monitoring of Anomalous X-ray Pulsar 4U 0142+61: Long-Term Variability
We report on 10 years of monitoring of the 8.7-s Anomalous X-ray Pulsar 4U
0142+61 using the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). This pulsar exhibited
stable rotation from 2000 March until 2006 February: the RMS phase residual for
a spin-down model which includes nu, nudot, and nuddot is 2.3%. We report a
possible phase-coherent timing solution valid over a 10-yr span extending back
to March 1996. A glitch may have occured between 1998 and 2000, but is not
required by the existing timing data. The pulse profile has been evolving since
2000. In particular, the dip of emission between its two peaks got shallower
between 2002 and 2006, as if the profile were evolving back to its pre-2000
morphology, following an earlier event, which possibly also included the glitch
suggested by the timing data. These profile variations are seen in the 2-4 keV
band but not in 6-8 keV. We also detect a slow increase in the pulsed flux
between 2002 May and 2004 December, such that it has risen by 36+/-3% over 2.6
years in the 2-10 keV band. The pulsed flux variability and the narrow-band
pulse profile changes present interesting challenges to aspects of the magnetar
model.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figures, accepted by Ap
QED can explain the non-thermal emission from SGRs and AXPs : Variability
Owing to effects arising from quantum electrodynamics (QED),
magnetohydrodynamical fast modes of sufficient strength will break down to form
electron-positron pairs while traversing the magnetospheres of strongly
magnetised neutron stars. The bulk of the energy of the fast mode fuels the
development of an electron-positron fireball. However, a small, but potentially
observable, fraction of the energy ( ergs) can generate a
non-thermal distribution of electrons and positrons far from the star. This
paper examines the cooling and radiative output of these particles. Small-scale
waves may produce only the non-thermal emission. The properties of this
non-thermal emission in the absence of a fireball match those of the quiescent,
non-thermal radiation recently observed non-thermal emission from several
anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft-gamma repeaters. Initial estimates of the
emission as a function of angle indicate that the non-thermal emission should
be beamed and therefore one would expect this emission to be pulsed as well.
According to this model the pulsation of the non-thermal emission should be
between 90 and 180 degrees out of phase from the thermal emission from the
stellar surface.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the conference
"Isolated Neutron Stars: from the Interior to the Surface" (April 2006,
London), eds. D. Page, R. Turolla, & S. Zane, Astrophysics & Space Scienc
A spinor approach to Walker geometry
A four-dimensional Walker geometry is a four-dimensional manifold M with a
neutral metric g and a parallel distribution of totally null two-planes. This
distribution has a natural characterization as a projective spinor field
subject to a certain constraint. Spinors therefore provide a natural tool for
studying Walker geometry, which we exploit to draw together several themes in
recent explicit studies of Walker geometry and in other work of Dunajski (2002)
and Plebanski (1975) in which Walker geometry is implicit. In addition to
studying local Walker geometry, we address a global question raised by the use
of spinors.Comment: 41 pages. Typos which persisted into published version corrected,
notably at (2.15
The first multi-wavelength campaign of AXP 4U 0142+61 from radio to hard X-rays
For the first time a quasi-simultaneous multi-wavelength campaign has been
performed on an Anomalous X-ray Pulsar from the radio to the hard X-ray band.
4U 0142+61 was an INTEGRAL target for 1 Ms in July 2005. During these
observations it was also observed in the X-ray band with Swift and RXTE, in the
optical and NIR with Gemini North and in the radio with the WSRT. In this paper
we present the source-energy distribution. The spectral results obtained in the
individual wave bands do not connect smoothly; apparently components of
different origin contribute to the total spectrum. Remarkable is that the
INTEGRAL hard X-ray spectrum (power-law index 0.79 +/- 0.10) is now measured up
to an energy of ~230 keV with no indication of a spectral break. Extrapolation
of the INTEGRAL power-law spectrum to lower energies passes orders of magnitude
underneath the NIR and optical fluxes, as well as the low ~30 microJy (2 sigma)
upper limit in the radio band.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. To be published in the proceedings of the
conference "Isolated Neutron Stars: from the Interior to the Surface" (April
24-28, 2006, London, UK), eds. S. Zane, R. Turolla and D. Pag
Unveiling Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters with INTEGRAL
Thanks to INTEGRAL's long exposures of the Galactic Plane, the two brightest
Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters, SGR 1806-20 and SGR 1900+14, have been monitored and
studied in detail for the first time at hard-X/soft gamma rays.
This has produced a wealth of new scientific results, which we will review
here. Since SGR 1806-20 was particularly active during the last two years, more
than 300 short bursts have been observed with INTEGRAL. and their
characteristics have been studied with unprecedented sensitivity in the 15-200
keV range. A hardness-intensity anticorrelation within the bursts has been
discovered and the overall Number-Intensity distribution of the bursts has been
determined. In addition, a particularly active state, during which ~100 bursts
were emitted in ~10 minutes, has been observed on October 5 2004, indicating
that the source activity was rapidly increasing. This eventually led to the
Giant Flare of December 27th 2004, for which a possible soft gamma-ray (>80
keV) early afterglow has been detected.
The deep observations allowed us to discover the persistent emission in hard
X-rays (20-150 keV) from 1806-20 and 1900+14, the latter being in a quiescent
state, and to directly compare the spectral characteristics of all Magnetars
(two SGRs and three Anomalous X-ray Pulsars) detected with INTEGRAL.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, Presented at the conference "Isolated Neutron
Stars: from the Surface to the Interior", London, UK, 24-28 April 200
Asymptotic Giant Branch Variables in the Galaxy and the Local Group
AGB variables, particularly the large amplitude Mira type, are a vital step
on the distance scale ladder. They will prove particularly important in the era
of space telescopes and extremely large ground-based telescopes with adaptive
optics, which will be optimized for infrared observing. Our current
understanding of the distances to these stars is reviewed with particular
emphasis on improvements that came from Hipparcos as well as on recent work on
Local Group galaxies. In addition to providing the essential calibration for
extragalactic distances Gaia may also provide unprecedented insight into the
poorly understood mass-loss process itself.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Science. From a
presentation at the conference "The Fundamental Cosmic Distance Scale: State
of the Art and Gaia Perspective, Naples May 2011. 8 Pages, 9 Figure
Charge and Current Sum Rules in Quantum Media Coupled to Radiation
This paper concerns the equilibrium bulk charge and current density
correlation functions in quantum media, conductors and dielectrics, fully
coupled to the radiation (the retarded regime). A sequence of static and
time-dependent sum rules, which fix the values of certain moments of the charge
and current density correlation functions, is obtained by using Rytov's
fluctuational electrodynamics. A technique is developed to extract the
classical and purely quantum-mechanical parts of these sum rules. The sum rules
are critically tested in the classical limit and on the jellium model. A
comparison is made with microscopic approaches to systems of particles
interacting through Coulomb forces only (the non-retarded regime). In contrast
with microscopic results, the current-current correlation function is found to
be integrable in space, in both classical and quantum regimes.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figur
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