Laboratory oscillator strengths of Sc I in the near-infrared region for astrophysical applications

Context. Atomic data is crucial for astrophysical investigations. To understand the formation and evolution of stars, we need to analyse their observed spectra. Analysing a spectrum of a star requires information about the properties of atomic lines, such as wavelengths and oscillator strengths. However, atomic data of some elements are scarce, particularly in the infrared region, and this paper is part of an effort to improve the situation on near-IR atomic data. Aims. This paper investigates the spectrum of neutral scandium, Sc i, from laboratory measurements and improves the atomic data of Sc i lines in the infrared region covering lines in R, I, J, and K bands. Especially, we focus on measuring oscillator strengths for Sc i lines connecting the levels with 4p and 4s configurations. Methods. We combined experimental branching fractions with radiative lifetimes from the literature to derive oscillator strengths (f - values). Intensity-calibrated spectra with high spectral resolution were recorded with Fourier transform spectrometer from a hollow cathode discharge lamp. The spectra were used to derive accurate oscillator strengths and wavelengths for Sc i lines, with emphasis on the infrared region. Results. This project provides the first set of experimental Sc i lines in the near-infrared region for accurate spectral analysis of astronomical objects. We derived 63 log(g f ) values for the lines between 5300{\AA} and 24300{\AA}. The uncertainties in the f -values vary from 5% to 20%. The small uncertainties in our values allow for an increased accuracy in astrophysical abundance determinations.Comment: Accepted on 25 August 2015 by A&

Spectral splits of neutrinos as a BCS-BEC crossover type phenomenon

We show that the spectral split of a neutrino ensemble which initially consists of electron type neutrinos, is analogous to the BCS-BEC crossover already observed in ultra cold atomic gas experiments. Such a neutrino ensemble mimics the deleptonization burst of a core collapse supernova. Although these two phenomena belong to very different domains of physics, the propagation of neutrinos from highly interacting inner regions of the supernova to the vacuum is reminiscent of the evolution of Cooper pairs between weak and strong interaction regimes during the crossover. The Hamiltonians and the corresponding many-body states undergo very similar transformations if one replaces the pair quasispin of the latter with the neutrino isospin of the former.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Pollen characteristics and in vitro pollen germination of Cedrus libani A. Rich.

This study aims to determine the germination characteristics, pollen tube developments, effects of germination media and temperature and incubation durations of the pollens obtained from the four clones (11342, 11344, 11345 and 11351) of Cedrus libani A. Rich. (Lebanon Cedrus) obtained from clonalseed orchard (with national registration no: Eskisehir 117) between 2004 and 2006 as well as of those taken from clone no: 11351 in 2004. They were stored at 3°C for 13 months till they were investigated experimentally. MS medium was preferred for pollen germination for its relative superiority. Three-day incubation period at 33°C temperature, in dark was applied along with the MS medium. The highest germination rate in MS medium was achieved in clone no.11342 with 84.77% among the pollen samplesof 2005. On the other hand the germination rate of the pollens taken from clone no: 11351 was determined as 49.95%

Spectra and Symmetry in Nuclear Pairing

We apply the algebraic Bethe ansatz technique to the nuclear pairing problem with orbit dependent coupling constants and degenerate single particle energy levels. We find the exact energies and eigenstates. We show that for a given shell, there are degeneracies between the states corresponding to less and more than half full shell. We also provide a technique to solve the equations of Bethe ansatz.Comment: 15 pages of REVTEX with 2 eps figure

Investigation of Parameters Affecting Axial Load in an End Suction Centrifugal Pump by Numerical Analysis

The total force produced in the axial direction on a pump is called axial load and is caused by the pressure difference between the front and rear of the impeller and the hydrostatic force in the suction direction. In a centrifugal pump, 3D computer-aided analysis programs are used to design and reduce R&D and manufacturing costs. In this study, parameters affecting axial load of the centrifugal pump with a single suction and closed impeller were investigated by using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method. In this context, the flow rate and the some physical properties such as the back gap of the impeller, wear ring and balancing holes, of the centrifugal pump were investigated to determine how much affected the axial load. The results showed that the wear ring and the balancing holes give rise to effective results on the axial load, while the back gap of the impeller does not affect the large extent. With the design changes made with these parameterizations, the axial force was reduced by up to 60%, whereas the efficiency was decreased by 5%. The loss of efficiency due to this decrease in axial force is negligible. However, higher efficiency values were also found at a different point from the working point where the axial load is lowest

CHANGES OF THYROID HORMONES IN DIFFERENT PHYSIOLOGICAL PERIODS IN WHITE GOATS

ABSTRACT The levels of thyroid hormones are important indicator of metabolic activity. The knowledge of the metabolic activity in different physiological periods, animals readjusted dietary regimen. Therefore, in this study, changes of triiodotironine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) hormones in the blood serum of female (n=14) and male (n=9) white goats were studied for a duration of one year through different physiological periods [breeding (September-October), gestation (November to March), postpartum-sucking (April-May) and milking (June to August)]. Results show that the differences in T3 and T4 hormone levels between sexes are statistically unimportant in breeding, gestation, postpartum-sucking and milking periods, while the changes for each sex between the physiological periods are important (p<0.05). Also, it has been found out that the thyroid hormone levels in different physiological periods are under the influence of the environmental temperature changes

Exploring the characteristics and most bothersome symptoms in MECP2 duplication syndrome to pave the path toward developing parent-oriented outcome measures

BACKGROUND: MECP2 Duplication Syndrome (MDS), resulting from the duplication of Xq28 region, including MECP2, is a rare disorder with a nascent understanding in clinical features and severity. Studies using antisense oligonucleotides revealed a broad phenotypic rescue in transgenic mice. With human clinical trials on the horizon, there is a need to develop clinical outcome measures for MDS. METHODS: We surveyed caregivers of MDS individuals to explore the frequency and severity of MDS clinical features, and identify the most meaningful symptoms/domains that need to be included in the outcome measure scales. RESULTS: A total of 101 responses were eligible for the survey. The top six most meaningful symptoms to caregivers in descending order included epilepsy, gross motor, fine motor, communication, infection, and constipation problems. Epilepsy was present in 58.4% of the subjects and 75% were drug‐resistant, Furthermore, ~12% required intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Infections were present in 55% of the subjects, and one‐fourth of them required ICU admission. Constipation was present in ~85% of the subjects and one‐third required enemas/suppositories. CONCLUSION: Our study is one of the largest cohorts conducted on MDS individuals characterizing the frequency and severity of MDS symptoms. Additionally, these study results will contribute to establishing a foundation to develop parent‐reported outcomes in MDS

Functional biology of the Steel syndrome founder allele and evidence for clan genomics derivation of COL27A1 pathogenic alleles worldwide

© 2020, The Author(s). Previously we reported the identification of a homozygous COL27A1 (c.2089G\u3eC; p.Gly697Arg) missense variant and proposed it as a founder allele in Puerto Rico segregating with Steel syndrome (STLS, MIM #615155); a rare osteochondrodysplasia characterized by short stature, congenital bilateral hip dysplasia, carpal coalitions, and scoliosis. We now report segregation of this variant in five probands from the initial clinical report defining the syndrome and an additional family of Puerto Rican descent with multiple affected adult individuals. We modeled the orthologous variant in murine Col27a1 and found it recapitulates some of the major Steel syndrome associated skeletal features including reduced body length, scoliosis, and a more rounded skull shape. Characterization of the in vivo murine model shows abnormal collagen deposition in the extracellular matrix and disorganization of the proliferative zone of the growth plate. We report additional COL27A1 pathogenic variant alleles identified in unrelated consanguineous Turkish kindreds suggesting Clan Genomics and identity-by-descent homozygosity contributing to disease in this population. The hypothesis that carrier states for this autosomal recessive osteochondrodysplasia may contribute to common complex traits is further explored in a large clinical population cohort. Our findings auNorthwell Healthnt our understanding of COL27A1 biology and its role in skeletal development; and expand the functional allelic architecture in this gene underlying both rare and common disease phenotypes

The neutrino signal at HALO: learning about the primary supernova neutrino fluxes and neutrino properties

Core-collapse supernova neutrinos undergo a variety of phenomena when they travel from the high neutrino density region and large matter densities to the Earth. We perform analytical calculations of the supernova neutrino fluxes including collective effects due to the neutrino-neutrino interactions, the Mikheev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein (MSW) effect due to the neutrino interactions with the background matter and decoherence of the wave packets as they propagate in space. We predict the numbers of one- and two-neutron charged and neutral-current electron-neutrino scattering on lead events. We show that, due to the energy thresholds, the ratios of one- to two-neutron events are sensitive to the pinching parameters of neutrino fluxes at the neutrinosphere, almost independently of the presently unknown neutrino properties. Besides, such events have an interesting sensitivity to the spectral split features that depend upon the presence/absence of energy equipartition among neutrino flavors. Our calculations show that a lead-based observatory like the Helium And Lead Observatory (HALO) has the potential to pin down important characteristics of the neutrino fluxes at the neutrinosphere, and provide us with information on the neutrino transport in the supernova core.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figures, 6 tables, minor correction