986 research outputs found
Sing to me, baby: Infants show neural tracking and rhythmic movements to live and dynamic maternal singing
Infant-directed singing has unique acoustic characteristics that may allow even very young infants to respond to the rhythms carried through the caregiverâs voice. The goal of this study was to examine neural and movement responses to live and dynamic maternal singing in 7-month-old infants and their relation to linguistic development. In total, 60 mother-infant dyads were observed during two singing conditions (playsong and lullaby). In Study 1 (n = 30), we measured infant EEG and used an encoding approach utilizing ridge regressions to measure neural tracking. In Study 2 (n =40), we coded infant rhythmic movements. In both studies, we assessed childrenâs vocabulary when they were 20 months old. In Study 1, we found above-threshold neural tracking of maternal singing, with superior tracking of lullabies than playsongs. We also found that the acoustic features of infant-directed singing modulated tracking. In Study 2, infants showed more rhythmic movement to playsongs than lullabies. Importantly, neural coordination (Study 1) and rhythmic movement (Study 2) to playsongs were positively related to infantsâ expressive vocabulary at 20 months. These results highlight the importance of infantsâ brain and movement coordination to their caregiverâs musical presentations, potentially as a function of musical variability
A simple approach to the correlation of rotovibrational states in four-atomic molecules
The problem of correlation between quantum states of four-atomic molecules in
different geometrical configurations is reviewed in detail. A general, still
simple rule is obtained which allows one to correlate states of a linear
four-atomic molecule with those of any kind of non-linear four-atomic molecule.Comment: 16 pages (+8 figures), Postscript (ready to print!
The pre-WDVV ring of physics and its topology
We show how a simplicial complex arising from the WDVV
(Witten-Dijkgraaf-Verlinde-Verlinde) equations of string theory is the
Whitehouse complex. Using discrete Morse theory, we give an elementary proof
that the Whitehouse complex is homotopy equivalent to a wedge of
spheres of dimension . We also verify the Cohen-Macaulay
property. Additionally, recurrences are given for the face enumeration of the
complex and the Hilbert series of the associated pre-WDVV ring.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 2 table
Integrating soil erosion and profitability in the assessment of silvoarable agroforestry at the landscape scale
Thermocapillary actuation of liquid flow on chemically patterned surfaces
We have investigated the thermocapillary flow of a Newtonian liquid on hydrophilic microstripes which are lithographically defined on a hydrophobic surface. The speed of the microstreams is studied as a function of the stripe width w, the applied thermal gradient |dT/dx| and the liquid volume V deposited on a connecting reservoir pad. Numerical solutions of the flow speed as a function of downstream position show excellent agreement with experiment. The only adjustable parameter is the inlet film height, which is controlled by the ratio of the reservoir pressure to the shear stress applied to the liquid stream. In the limiting cases where this ratio is either much smaller or much larger than unity, the rivulet speed shows a power law dependency on w, |dT/dx| and V. In this study we demonstrate that thermocapillary driven flow on chemically patterned surfaces can provide an elegant and tunable method for the transport of ultrasmall liquid volumes in emerging microfluidic technologies
Dragging a polymer chain into a nanotube and subsequent release
We present a scaling theory and Monte Carlo (MC) simulation results for a
flexible polymer chain slowly dragged by one end into a nanotube. We also
describe the situation when the completely confined chain is released and
gradually leaves the tube. MC simulations were performed for a self-avoiding
lattice model with a biased chain growth algorithm, the pruned-enriched
Rosenbluth method. The nanotube is a long channel opened at one end and its
diameter is much smaller than the size of the polymer coil in solution. We
analyze the following characteristics as functions of the chain end position
inside the tube: the free energy of confinement, the average end-to-end
distance, the average number of imprisoned monomers, and the average stretching
of the confined part of the chain for various values of and for the number
of monomers in the chain, . We show that when the chain end is dragged by a
certain critical distance into the tube, the polymer undergoes a
first-order phase transition whereby the remaining free tail is abruptly sucked
into the tube. This is accompanied by jumps in the average size, the number of
imprisoned segments, and in the average stretching parameter. The critical
distance scales as . The transition takes place when
approximately 3/4 of the chain units are dragged into the tube. The theory
presented is based on constructing the Landau free energy as a function of an
order parameter that provides a complete description of equilibrium and
metastable states. We argue that if the trapped chain is released with all
monomers allowed to fluctuate, the reverse process in which the chain leaves
the confinement occurs smoothly without any jumps. Finally, we apply the theory
to estimate the lifetime of confined DNA in metastable states in nanotubes.Comment: 13pages, 14figure
Immunomagnetic t-lymphocyte depletion (ITLD) of rat bone marrow using OX-19 monoclonal antibody
Graft versus host disease (GVHD) may be abrogated and host survival prolonged by in vitro depletion of T lymphocytes from bone marrow (BM) prior to allotransplantation. Using a mouse anti-rat pan T-lymphocyte monoclonal antibody (0Ă19) bound to monosized, magnetic, polymer beads, T lymphocytes were removed in vitro from normal bone marrow. The removal of the T lymphocytes was confirmed by flow cytometry. Injection of the T-lymphocyte-depleted bone marrow into fully allogeneic rats prevents the induction of GVHD and prolongs host survival. A highly efficient technique of T-lymphocyte depletion using rat bone marrow is described. It involves the binding of OX-19, a MoAb directed against all rat thy-mocytes and mature peripheral T lymphocytes, to monosized, magnetic polymer spheres. Magnetic separation of T lymphocytes after mixing the allogeneic bone marrow with the bead/OX-19 complex provides for a simple, rapid depletion of T lymphocytes from the bone marrow. In vitro studies using flow cytometry and the prevention of GVHD in a fully allogeneic rat bone marrow model have been used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the depletion procedure. © 1989 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted
Light-Driven H2 Evolution and CâC or CâO Bond Hydrogenation by Shewanella oneidensis : A Versatile Strategy for Photocatalysis by Nonphotosynthetic Microorganisms
Photocatalytic chemical synthesis by coupling abiotic photosensitizers to purified enzymes provides an effective way to overcome the low conversion efficiencies of natural photosynthesis while exploiting the high catalytic rates and selectivity of enzymes as renewable, earth-abundant electrocatalysts. However, the selective synthesis of multiple products requires more versatile approaches and should avoid the time-consuming and costly processes of enzyme purification. Here we demonstrate a cell-based strategy supporting light-driven H2 evolution or the hydrogenation of CâC and CâO bonds in a nonphotosynthetic microorganism. Methylviologen shuttles photoenergized electrons from water-soluble photosensitizers to enzymes that catalyze H2 evolution and the reduction of fumarate, pyruvate, and CO2 in Shewanella oneidensis. The predominant reaction is selected by the experimental conditions, and the results allow rational development of cell-based strategies to harness natureâs intrinsic catalytic diversity for selective light-driven synthesis of a wide range of products
The writing on the wall: the concealed communities of the East Yorkshire horselads
This paper examines the graffiti found within late nineteenth and early-twentieth century farm buildings in the Wolds of East Yorkshire. It suggests that the graffiti were created by a group of young men at the bottom of the social hierarchy - the horselads â and was one of the ways in which they constructed a distinctive sense of communal identity, at a particular stage in their lives. Whilst it tells us much about changing agricultural regimes and social structures, it also informs us about experiences and attitudes often hidden from official histories and biographies. In this way, the graffiti are argued to inform our understanding, not only of a concealed community, but also about their hidden histor
Numerical study of linear and circular model DNA chains confined in a slit: metric and topological properties
Advanced Monte Carlo simulations are used to study the effect of nano-slit
confinement on metric and topological properties of model DNA chains. We
consider both linear and circularised chains with contour lengths in the
1.2--4.8 m range and slits widths spanning continuously the 50--1250nm
range. The metric scaling predicted by de Gennes' blob model is shown to hold
for both linear and circularised DNA up to the strongest levels of confinement.
More notably, the topological properties of the circularised DNA molecules have
two major differences compared to three-dimensional confinement. First, the
overall knotting probability is non-monotonic for increasing confinement and
can be largely enhanced or suppressed compared to the bulk case by simply
varying the slit width. Secondly, the knot population consists of knots that
are far simpler than for three-dimensional confinement. The results suggest
that nano-slits could be used in nano-fluidic setups to produce DNA rings
having simple topologies (including the unknot) or to separate heterogeneous
ensembles of DNA rings by knot type.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure
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