360 research outputs found
V405 Aurigae: A High Magnetic Field Intermediate Polar
Our simultaneous multicolor (UBVRI) circular polarimetry has revealed nearly
sinusoidal variation over the WD spin cycle, and almost symmetric positive and
negative polarization excursions. Maximum amplitudes are observed in the B and
V bands (+-3 %). This is the first time that polarization peaking in the blue
has been discovered in an IP, and suggests that V405 Aur is the highest
magnetic field IP found so far. The polarized flux spectrum is similar to those
found in polars with magnetic fields in the range B ~ 25-50 MG. Our low
resolution circular spectropolarimetry has given evidence of transient features
which can be fitted by cyclotron harmonics n = 6, 7, and 8, at a field of B =
31.5 +- 0.8 MG, consistent with the broad-band polarized flux spectrum. Timings
of the circular polarization zero crossovers put strict upper limits on WD spin
period changes and indicate that the WD in V405 Aur is currently accreting
closely at the spin equilibrium rate, with very long synchronization
timescales, T_s > 10^9 yr. For the observed spin to orbital period ratio,
P_{spin}/P_{orb} = 0.0365, and P_{orb} ~ 4.15 hr, existing numerical accretion
models predict spin equilibrium condition with B ~ 30 MG if the mass ratio of
the binary components is q_1 ~ 0.4. The high magnetic field makes V405 Aur a
likely candidate as a progenitor of a polar.Comment: To appear in The Astrophysical Journal, September 1 Issue (2008), 9
pages, 10 figure
Alterations in Wnt- and/or STAT3 signaling pathways and the immune microenvironment during metastatic progression
Metastatic breast cancer is an extremely complex disease with limited treatment options due to the lack of information about the major characteristics of metastatic disease. There is an urgent need, therefore, to understand the changes in cellular complexity and dynamics that occur during metastatic progression. In the current study, we analyzed the cellular and molecular differences between primary tumors and paired lung metastases using a syngeneic p53-null mammary tumor model of basal-like breast cancer. Distinct subpopulations driven by the Wnt- and/or STAT3 signaling pathways were detected in vivo using a lentiviral Wnt- and STAT3 signaling reporter system. A significant increase in the overlapping populations driven by both the Wnt- and STAT3 signaling pathways was observed in the lung metastases as compared to the primary tumors. Furthermore, the overlapping populations showed a higher metastatic potential relative to the other populations and pharmacological inhibition of both signaling pathways was shown to markedly reduce the metastatic lesions in established lung metastases. An analysis of the unique molecular features of the lung metastases revealed a significant association with immune response signatures. Specifically, Foxp3 gene expression was markedly increased and elevated levels of Foxp3 + Treg cells were detected in close proximity to lung metastases. Collectively, these studies illustrate the importance of analyzing intratumoral heterogeneity, changes in population dynamics, and the immune microenvironment during metastatic progression
Adenylate effects on protein phosphorylation in the interenvelope lumen of pea chloroplasts
A 64-kilodalton (kDa) protein, situated in the lumen between the inner and outer envelopes of pea (Pisum sativum L.) chloroplasts (Soll and Bennett 1988, Eur. J. Biochem., 175, 301–307) is shown to undergo reversible phosphorylation in isolated mixed envelope vesicles. It is the most conspicuously labelled protein after incubation of envelopes with 33 nmol·1-1 [-32P]ATP whereas incubation with 50 mol·1-1 [-32P]ATP labels most prominently two outer envelope proteins (86 and 23 kDa). Half-maximum velocity for phosphorylation of the 64-kDa protein occurs with 200 nmol·1-1 ATP, and around 40 mol·1-1 ATP for phosphorylation of the 86- and 23-kDa proteins, indicating the operation of two distinct kinases. GGuanosine-, uridine-, cytidine 5-triphosphate and AMP are poor inhibitors of the labelling of the 64-kDa protein with [-32P]ATP. On the other hand, ADP has a potent influence on the extent of labelling (half-maximal inhibition at 1–5 mol·1-1). The ADP-dependent appearance of 32P in ATP indicates that ADP acts by reversal of kinase activity and not as a competitive inhibitor. However, the most rapid loss of 32P from pre-labelled 64-kDa protein occurs when envelope vesicles are incubated with ATP t1/2=15 s at 20 molsd1-1 ATP). This induced turnover of phosphate appears to be responsible for the rapid phosphoryl turnover seen in situ
On the Size of the Dark Side of the Solar Neutrino Parameter Space
We present an analysis of the MSW neutrino oscillation solutions of the solar
neutrino problem in the framework of two-neutrino mixing in the enlarged
parameter space with . Recently, it was pointed out that the allowed region of
parameters from a fit to the measured total rates can extend to values (the so called ``dark side'') when higher confidence levels
are allowed. The purpose of this letter is to reanalize the problem including
all the solar neutrino data available, to discuss the dependence on the
statistical criteria in the determination of the CL of the ``dark side'' and to
extract the corresponding limits on the largest mixing allowed by the data. Our
results show that when the Super-Kamiokande data on the zenith angle
distribution of events and the spectrum information is included, the regions
extend more into the dark side.Comment: 5 pages,latex file using RevTex. Two-layer aproximation for the Earth
density replaced by numerical integration with PREM. Latest parametrization
of the sun matter density (BP2000) is included. Misprints corrected.
Conclusions unchanged. 5 postscript figures (bitmapped for compression). A
full version of the paper can be found at http://ific.uv.es/~penya/papers/ To
appear in Phys. Rev.
A Weyl-Dirac Cosmological Model with DM and DE
In the Weyl-Dirac (W-D) framework a spatially closed cosmological model is
considered. It is assumed that the space-time of the universe has a chaotic
Weylian microstructure but is described on a large scale by Riemannian
geometry. Locally fields of the Weyl connection vector act as creators of
massive bosons having spin 1. It is suggested that these bosons, called
weylons, provide most of the dark matter in the universe. At the beginning the
universe is a spherically symmetric geometric entity without matter. Primary
matter is created by Dirac's gauge function very close to the beginning. In the
early epoch, when the temperature of the universe achieves its maximum,
chaotically oriented Weyl vector fields being localized in micro-cells create
weylons. In the dust dominated period Dirac's gauge function is giving rise to
dark energy, the latter causing the cosmic acceleration at present. This
oscillatory universe has an initial radius identical to the Plank length =
1.616 exp (-33) cm, at present the cosmic scale factor is 3.21 exp (28) cm,
while its maximum value is 8.54 exp (28) cm. All forms of matter are created by
geometrically based functions of the W-D theory.Comment: 25 pages. Submitted to GR
Nuclear Skins and Halos in the Mean-Field Theory
Nuclei with large neutron-to-proton ratios have neutron skins, which manifest
themselves in an excess of neutrons at distances greater than the radius of the
proton distribution. In addition, some drip-line nuclei develop very extended
halo structures. The neutron halo is a threshold effect; it appears when the
valence neutrons occupy weakly bound orbits. In this study, nuclear skins and
halos are analyzed within the self-consistent Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov
and relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theories for spherical shapes. It is
demonstrated that skins, halos, and surface thickness can be analyzed in a
model-independent way in terms of nucleonic density form factors. Such an
analysis allows for defining a quantitative measure of the halo size. The
systematic behavior of skins, halos, and surface thickness in even-even nuclei
is discussed.Comment: 22 RevTeX pages, 22 EPS figures included, submitted to Physical
Review
Status of a Supersymmetric Flavour Violating Solution to the Solar Neutrino Puzzle with Three Generations
We present a general study of a three neutrino flavour transition model based
on the supersymmetric interactions which violate R-parity. These interactions
induce flavour violating scattering reactions between solar matter and
neutrinos. The model does not contain any vacuum mass or mixing angle for the
first generation neutrino. Instead, the effective mixing in the first
generation is induced via the new interactions. The model provides a natural
interpretation of the atmospheric neutrino anomaly, and is consistent with
reactor experiments. We determine all R-parity violating couplings which can
contribute to the effective neutrino oscillations, and summarize the present
laboratory bounds. Independent of the specific nature of the (supersymmetric)
flavour violating model, the experimental data on the solar neutrino rates and
the recoil electron energy spectrum are inconsistent with the theoretical
predictions. The confidence level of the -analysis ranges between and . The incompatibility, is due to the new SNO
results, and excludes the present model. We conclude that a non-vanishing
vacuum mixing angle for the first generation neutrino is necessary in our
model. We expect this also to apply to the solutions based on other flavour
violating interactions having constraints of the same order of magnitude.Comment: 17 pages, Latex fil
Regional distribution of white matter hyperintensities in vascular dementia, Alzheimer's disease and healthy aging
Background: White matter hyperintensities (WMH) on MRI scans indicate lesions of the subcortical fiber system. The regional distribution of WMH may be related to their pathophysiology and clinical effect in vascular dementia (VaD), Alzheimer's disease (AD) and healthy aging. Methods: Regional WMH volumes were measured in MRI scans of 20 VaD patients, 25 AD patients and 22 healthy elderly subjects using FLAIR sequences and surface reconstructions from a three-dimensional MRI sequence. Results: The intraclass correlation coefficient for interrater reliability of WMH volume measurements ranged between 0.99 in the frontal and 0.72 in the occipital lobe. For each cerebral lobe, the WMH index, i.e. WMH volume divided by lobar volume, was highest in VaD and lowest in healthy controls. Within each group, the WMH index was higher in frontal and parietal lobes than in occipital and temporal lobes. Total WMH index and WMH indices in the frontal lobe correlated significantly with the MMSE score in VaD. Category fluency correlated with the frontal lobe WMH index in AD, while drawing performance correlated with parietal and temporal lobe WMH indices in VaD. Conclusions: A similar regional distribution of WMH between the three groups suggests a common (vascular) pathogenic factor leading to WMH in patients and controls. Our findings underscore the potential of regional WMH volumetry to determine correlations between subcortical pathology and cognitive impairment. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel
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