7,327 research outputs found
A validation study of a smartphone application for functional mobility assessment of the elderly
Background: To minimize the reaction time and position judgment error using stopwatch-timed measures, we developed a smartphone application to measure performance in the five-time sit-to-stand (FTSTS) and timed up-and-go (TUG) tests. Objective: This study aimed to validate this smartphone application by comparing its measurement with a laboratory-based reference condition. Methods: Thirty-two healthy elderly people were asked to perform the FTSTS and TUG tests in a randomized sequence. During the tests, their performance was concurrently measured by the smartphone application and a force sensor installed in the backrest of a chair. The intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC(2,1)] and Blande-Altman analysis were used to calculate the measurement consistency and agreement, respectively, between these two methods. Results: The smartphone application demonstrated excellent measurement consistency with the lab-based reference condition for the FTSTS test [ICC(2,1) = 0.988] and TUG test [ICC(2,1) = 0.946]. We observed a positive bias of 0.27 seconds (95% limits of agreement, -1.22 to 1.76 seconds) for the FTSTS test and 0.48 seconds (95% limits of agreement, -1.66 to 2.63 seconds) for the TUG test. Conclusion: We cross-validated the newly developed smartphone application with the laboratory-based reference condition during the examination of FTSTS and TUG test performance in healthy elderly
Discovery of Gamma-ray Pulsations from the Transitional Redback PSR J1227-4853
The 1.69 ms spin period of PSR J1227-4853 was recently discovered in radio
observations of the low-mass X-ray binary XSS J12270-4859 following the
announcement of a possible transition to a rotation-powered millisecond pulsar
state, inferred from decreases in optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray flux from the
source. We report the detection of significant (5) gamma-ray pulsations
after the transition, at the known spin period, using ~1 year of data from the
Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The
gamma-ray light curve of PSR J1227-4853 can be fit by one broad peak, which
occurs at nearly the same phase as the main peak in the 1.4 GHz radio profile.
The partial alignment of light-curve peaks in different wavebands suggests that
at least some of the radio emission may originate at high altitude in the
pulsar magnetosphere, in extended regions co-located with the gamma-ray
emission site. We folded the LAT data at the orbital period, both pre- and
post-transition, but find no evidence for significant modulation of the
gamma-ray flux. Analysis of the gamma-ray flux over the mission suggests an
approximate transition time of 2012 November 30. Continued study of the pulsed
emission and monitoring of PSR J1227-4853, and other known redback systems, for
subsequent flux changes will increase our knowledge of the pulsar emission
mechanism and transitioning systems.Comment: 5 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ, updated to
reflect accepted version and add additional coautho
A Crucial Test for Color-Octet Production Mechanism in Z^0 Decays
The direct production rates of -wave charmonia in the decays of is
evaluated. The color-octet production processes are shown to have distinctively large branching ratios, the same order
of magnitude as that of prodution, as compared with other -wave
charmonium production mechanisms. This may suggest a crucial channel to test
the color-octet mechanism as well as to observe the -wave charmonium states
in decays. In addition, a signal for the charmonium as strong as
or with large transverse momentum at the Tevatron should
also be observed.Comment: 14 pages in LaTex (3 figures in PS-file
Hadronic Production of S-wave and P-wave Charmed Beauty Mesons via Heavy Quark Fragmentation
At hadron colliders the dominant production mechanism of mesons
with large transverse momentum is due to parton fragmentation. We compute the
rates and transverse momentum spectra for production of S-wave and P-wave
mesons at the Tevatron via the direct fragmentation of the bottom
antiquark as well as the Altarelli-Parisi induced gluon fragmentation. Since
all the radially and orbitally excited mesons below the
flavor threshold will cascade into the pseudoscalar ground state through
electromagnetic and/or hadronic transitions, they all contribute to the
inclusive production of . The contributions of the excited S-wave and
P-wave states to the inclusive production of are 58 and 23\%,
respectively, and hence significant.Comment: Changes are made in the Discussio
Gluon fragmentation to ^3D_J quarkonia
We present a calculation of the leading order QCD fragmentation functions for
gluons to split into spin-triplet D-wave quarkonia. We apply them to evaluate
the gluon fragmentation contributions to inclusive ^3D_J quarkonium production
at large transverse momentum processes like the Tevatron and find that the
D-wave quarkonia, especially the charmonium 2^{--} state, could be observed
through color-octet mechanism with present luminosity. Since there are
distinctively large gaps between the contributions of two different (i.e,
color-singlet and color-octet) quarkonium production mechanisms, our results
may stand as a unique test to NRQCD color-octet quarkonium production
mechanism.Comment: 15 pages in LaTex (2 figures in PS-file
A Chinese Herbal Decoction, Danggui Buxue Tang, Stimulates Proliferation, Differentiation and Gene Expression of Cultured Osteosarcoma Cells: Genomic Approach to Reveal Specific Gene Activation
Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese herbal decoction used to treat ailments in women, contains Radix Astragali (Huangqi; RA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui; RAS). When DBT was applied onto cultured MG-63 cells, an increase of cell proliferation and differentiation of MG-63 cell were revealed: both of these effects were significantly higher in DBT than RA or RAS extract. To search for the biological markers that are specifically regulated by DBT, DNA microarray was used to reveal the gene expression profiling of DBT in MG-63 cells as compared to that of RA- or RAS-treated cells. Amongst 883 DBT-regulated genes, 403 of them are specifically regulated by DBT treatment, including CCL-2, CCL-7, CCL-8, and galectin-9. The signaling cascade of this DBT-regulated gene expression was also elucidated in cultured MG-63 cells. The current results reveal the potential usage of this herbal decoction in treating osteoporosis and suggest the uniqueness of Chinese herbal decoction that requires a well-defined formulation. The DBT-regulated genes in the culture could serve as biological responsive markers for quality assurance of the herbal preparation
Color-Octet Contributions to Photoproduction
We have calculated the leading color-octet contributions to the production of
particles in photon-proton collisions. Using the values for the
color-octet matrix elements extracted from fits to prompt data at the
Tevatron, we demonstrate that distinctive color-octet signatures should be
visible in photoproduction. However, these predictions appear at
variance with recent experimental data obtained at HERA, indicating that the
phenomenological importance of the color-octet contributions is smaller than
expected from theoretical considerations and suggested by the Tevatron fits.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX, epsfig, 4 figure
Danggui Buxue Tang – A Chinese herbal decoction activates the phosphorylations of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and estrogen receptor α in cultured MCF-7 cells
AbstractDanggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese herbal decoction used to treat ailments in women, contains Radix Astragali (Huangqi; RA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui; RAS). The weight ratio of RA to RAS used in DBT must be 5:1 as stipulated as early as AD 1247; however, DBT’s mechanism of action has never been described. Here, the estrogenic effects of DBT were investigated by determining the phosphorylations of estrogen receptor α (ERα) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2) in cultured MCF-7 cells. The application of DBT triggered the phosphorylation of ERα and Erk1/2 in a time-dependent manner. In contrast to the effect of estrogen, DBT triggered ERα phosphorylation at both S118 and S167. This DBT-specific phosphorylation was not triggered by an extract of one of the individual herbs, or by mixing the extracts of RA and RAS. DBT-induced downstream signals are described here. These signals suggest the uniqueness of this Chinese herbal decoction that requires a well-defined formulation
Charmonium Production via Fragmentation at DESY HERA
The cross section for the photoproduction of large-p_T J/psi mesons at HERA
is calculated at next-to-leading order, adopting a perturbative approach to
describe the fragmentation of charm quarks and gluons into J/psi mesons. We
treat the charm quark according to the massless factorization scheme, where it
is assumed to be one of the active flavours inside the proton and the resolved
photon. We present inclusive distributions in transverse momentum and rapidity,
including the contributions due to direct and resolved photons. The importance
of the colour-octet components of the J/psi wave function, which contribute to
the fragmentation process, is emphasized. In addition to prompt J/psi
production, we consider also the production of chi_{cJ} states followed by
radiative decays to J/psi mesons, both in the colour-singlet and colour-octet
channels.Comment: 32 pages (Latex), 12 figures (Postscript
Binary orbits as the driver of γ-ray emission and mass ejection in classical novae
Classical novae are the most common astrophysical thermonuclear explosions, occurring on the surfaces of white dwarf stars accreting gas from companions in binary star systems. Novae typically expel �10,000 solar masses of material at velocities exceeding 1,000 km/s. However, the mechanism of mass ejection in novae is poorly understood, and could be dominated by the impulsive flash of the thermonuclear runaway, prolonged optically thick winds, or binary interaction with the nova envelope. Classical novae are now routinely detected in GeV gamma-rays, suggesting that relativistic particles are accelerated by strong shocks in nova ejecta. Here we present high-resolution imaging of the gamma-ray-emitting nova V959 Mon at radio wavelengths, showing that its ejecta were shaped by binary motion: some gas was expelled rapidly along the poles as a wind from the white dwarf, while denser material drifted out along the equatorial plane, propelled by orbital motion. At the interface between the equatorial and polar regions, we observe synchrotron emission indicative of shocks and relativistic particle acceleration, thereby pinpointing the location of gamma-ray production. Binary shaping of the nova ejecta and associated internal shocks are expected to be widespread among novae, explaining why many novae are gamma-ray emitters
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