625 research outputs found
On Whose Watch? The Silent Separation of American Children from Their Fathers
Within two generations, the primary reason that American children were deprived of a father shifted from a father\u27s death to a woman\u27s choice. That is, prior to the 1960s, the major cause of fatherlessness was the death of the father through illness or accident. After the 1960s, the children became deprived of fathers primarily because of women\u27s decisions to petition for a divorce or to become a single parent mother. The path of the shift is examined, and the consequences writ small per child and writ large for the commonweal are examined
Response of the mantle to flat slab evolution: Insights from local splitting beneath Peru
The dynamics of flat subduction, particularly the interaction between a flat slab and the overriding plate, are poorly understood. Here we study the (seismically) anisotropic properties and deformational regime of the mantle directly above the Peruvian flat slab. We analyze shear wave splitting from 370 local S events at 49 stations across southern Peru. We find that the mantle above the flat slab appears to be anisotropic, with modest average delay times (~0.28?s) that are consistent with ~4% anisotropy in a ~30?km thick mantle layer. The most likely mechanism is the lattice-preferred orientation of olivine, which suggests that the observed splitting pattern preserves information about the mantle deformation. We observe a pronounced change in anisotropy along strike, with predominately trench-parallel fast directions in the north and more variable orientations in the south, which we attribute to the ongoing migration of the Nazca Ridge through the flat slab system
Prenatal hypoxia induces increased cardiac contractility on a background of decreased capillary density.
Background: Chronic hypoxia in utero (CHU) is one of the most common insults to fetal development and may be associated with poor cardiac recovery from ischaemia-reperfusion injury,yet the effects on normal cardiac mechanical performance are poorly understood.
Methods: Pregnant female wistar rats were exposed to hypoxia (12% oxygen, balance nitrogen)for days 10–20 of pregnancy. Pups were born into normal room air and weaned normally. At 10 weeks of age, hearts were excised under anaesthesia and underwent retrograde 'Langendorff' perfusion. Mechanical performance was measured at constant filling pressure (100 cm H2O) with intraventricular balloon. Left ventricular free wall was dissected away and capillary density estimated following alkaline phosphatase staining. Expression of SERCA2a and Nitric Oxide Synthases (NOS) proteins were estimated by immunoblotting.
Results: CHU significantly increased body mass (P < 0.001) compared with age-matched control rats but was without effect on relative cardiac mass. For incremental increases in left ventricular balloon volume, diastolic pressure was preserved. However, systolic pressure was significantly greater following CHU for balloon volume = 50 μl (P < 0.01) and up to 200 μl (P < 0.05). For higher balloon volumes systolic pressure was not significantly different from control. Developed pressures were correspondingly increased relative to controls for balloon volumes up to 250 μl (P < 0.05).Left ventricular free wall capillary density was significantly decreased in both epicardium (18%; P <0.05) and endocardium (11%; P < 0.05) despite preserved coronary flow. Western blot analysis revealed no change to the expression of SERCA2a or nNOS but immuno-detectable eNOS protein was significantly decreased (P < 0.001) in cardiac tissue following chronic hypoxia in utero.
Conclusion: These data offer potential mechanisms for poor recovery following ischaemia, including decreased coronary flow reserve and impaired angiogenesis with subsequent detrimental effects of post-natal cardiac performance
Limits on WWgamma and WWZ Couplings from W Boson Pair Production
The results of a search for W boson pair production in pbar-p collisions at
sqrt{s}=1.8 TeV with subsequent decay to emu, ee, and mumu channels are
presented. Five candidate events are observed with an expected background of
3.1+-0.4 events for an integrated luminosity of approximately 97 pb^{-1}.
Limits on the anomalous couplings are obtained from a maximum likelihood fit of
the E_T spectra of the leptons in the candidate events. Assuming identical
WWgamma and WWZ couplings, the 95 % C.L. limits are -0.62<Delta_kappa<0.77
(lambda = 0) and -0.53<lambda<0.56 (Delta_kappa = 0) for a form factor scale
Lambda = 1.5 TeV.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Physical Review
Comparison of large-angle production of charged pions with incident protons on cylindrical long and short targets
The HARP collaboration has presented measurements of the double-differential
pi+/pi- production cross-section in the range of momentum 100 MeV/c <= p 800
MeV/c and angle 0.35 rad <= theta <= 2.15 rad with proton beams hitting thin
nuclear targets. In many applications the extrapolation to long targets is
necessary. In this paper the analysis of data taken with long (one interaction
length) solid cylindrical targets made of carbon, tantalum and lead is
presented. The data were taken with the large acceptance HARP detector in the
T9 beam line of the CERN PS. The secondary pions were produced by beams of
protons with momenta 5 GeV/c, 8 GeV/c and 12 GeV/c. The tracking and
identification of the produced particles were performed using a small-radius
cylindrical time projection chamber (TPC) placed inside a solenoidal magnet.
Incident protons were identified by an elaborate system of beam detectors.
Results are obtained for the double-differential yields per target nucleon d2
sigma / dp dtheta. The measurements are compared with predictions of the MARS
and GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: 43 pages, 20 figure
Forward production of charged pions with incident on nuclear targets measured at the CERN PS
Measurements of the double-differential production cross-section
in the range of momentum 0.5 \GeVc \leq p \le 8.0 \GeVc and angle 0.025 \rad
\leq \theta \le 0.25 \rad in interactions of charged pions on beryllium,
carbon, aluminium, copper, tin, tantalum and lead are presented. These data
represent the first experimental campaign to systematically measure forward
pion hadroproduction. The data were taken with the large acceptance HARP
detector in the T9 beam line of the CERN PS. Incident particles, impinging on a
5% nuclear interaction length target, were identified by an elaborate system of
beam detectors. The tracking and identification of the produced particles was
performed using the forward spectrometer of the HARP detector. Results are
obtained for the double-differential cross-sections mainly at four incident pion beam
momenta (3 \GeVc, 5 \GeVc, 8 \GeVc and 12 \GeVc). The measurements are compared
with the GEANT4 and MARS Monte Carlo simulationComment: to be published on Nuclear Physics
Absolute Momentum Calibration of the HARP TPC
In the HARP experiment the large-angle spectrometer is using a cylindrical
TPC as main tracking and particle identification detector. The momentum scale
of reconstructed tracks in the TPC is the most important systematic error for
the majority of kinematic bins used for the HARP measurements of the
double-differential production cross-section of charged pions in proton
interactions on nuclear targets at large angle. The HARP TPC operated with a
number of hardware shortfalls and operational mistakes. Thus it was important
to control and characterize its momentum calibration. While it was not possible
to enter a direct particle beam into the sensitive volume of the TPC to
calibrate the detector, a set of physical processes and detector properties
were exploited to achieve a precise calibration of the apparatus. In the
following we recall the main issues concerning the momentum measurement in the
HARP TPC, and describe the cross-checks made to validate the momentum scale. As
a conclusion, this analysis demonstrates that the measurement of momentum is
correct within the published precision of 3%.Comment: To be published by JINS
Large-angle production of charged pions by 3 GeV/c - 12 GeV/c protons on carbon, copper and tin targets
A measurement of the double-differential production cross-section
in proton--carbon, proton--copper and proton--tin collisions in the range of
pion momentum 100 \MeVc \leq p < 800 \MeVc and angle 0.35 \rad \le \theta
<2.15 \rad is presented. The data were taken with the HARP detector in the T9
beam line of the CERN PS. The pions were produced by proton beams in a momentum
range from 3 \GeVc to 12 \GeVc hitting a target with a thickness of 5% of a
nuclear interaction length. The tracking and identification of the produced
particles was done using a small-radius cylindrical time projection chamber
(TPC) placed in a solenoidal magnet. An elaborate system of detectors in the
beam line ensured the identification of the incident particles. Results are
shown for the double-differential cross-sections at four incident proton beam
momenta (3 \GeVc, 5 \GeVc, 8 \GeVc and 12 \GeVc)
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