427 research outputs found
Role of dietary concentrates on the venison quality of Sika deer (Cervus nippon)
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of feed concentrate level on carcass characteristics and meat quality of sika deer (Cervus nippon). A total of 16 sika deer (mean bodyweight 30 kg) were randomly assigned to one of two treatments, namely Treatment 1 (T1): fed concentrate at 1.5% of total bodyweight); and Treatment 2 (T2): fed concentrate ad libitum. Both groups had free access to roughage (hay) and water. Each group was fed concentrate twice daily (at 09h00 and 16h00) for eight months. The fat concentration of venison from deer in T2 was significantly greater than that of T1. However, fat loss through cooking, shear force, and pH did not differ significantly between the two groups. Water-binding capacity of venison from deer in T1 was significantly greater (2.83%) than that of T2. Colour parameters a* (redness) and b* (yellowness) were significantly greater for venison from T2 than for deer in T1. Likewise, cholesterol concentration of venison from deer in T2 was significantly greater than for deer in T1. However, the cholesterol concentration in venison from deer that were subjected to both treatments was less than that of meat from other livestock species. In conclusion, the results of this study provide a baseline to estimate fodder cost standards to produce sika deer venison, and would aid commercial deer farmers in developing optimal management strategies for venison production.Keywords: carcass composition, concentrate feeding, meat qualit
Radiative and Collisional Energy Loss, and Photon-Tagged Jets at RHIC
The suppression of single jets at high transverse momenta in a quark-gluon
plasma is studied at RHIC energies, and the additional information provided by
a photon tag is included. The energy loss of hard jets traversing through the
medium is evaluated in the AMY formalism, by consistently taking into account
the contributions from radiative events and from elastic collisions at leading
order in the coupling. The strongly-interacting medium in these collisions is
modelled with (3+1)-dimensional ideal relativistic hydrodynamics. Putting these
ingredients together with a complete set of photon-production processes, we
present a calculation of the nuclear modification of single jets and
photon-tagged jets at RHIC.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, contributed to the 3rd International Conference
on Hard and Electro-Magnetic Probes of High-Energy Nuclear Collisions (Hard
Probes 2008), typos corrected, published versio
Impact of analytic provenance in genome analysis
Many computational methods are available for assembly and annotation of newly sequenced microbial genomes. However, when new genomes are reported in the literature, there is frequently very little critical analysis of choices made during the sequence assembly and gene annotation stages. These choices have a direct impact on the biologically relevant products of a genomic analysis - for instance identification of common and differentiating regions among genomes in a comparison, or identification of enriched gene functional categories in a specific strain. Here, we examine the outcomes of different assembly and analysis steps in typical workflows in a comparison among strains of Vibrio vulnificus
Time and Amplitude of Afterpulse Measured with a Large Size Photomultiplier Tube
We have studied the afterpulse of a hemispherical photomultiplier tube for an
upcoming reactor neutrino experiment. The timing, the amplitude, and the rate
of the afterpulse for a 10 inch photomultiplier tube were measured with a 400
MHz FADC up to 16 \ms time window after the initial signal generated by an LED
light pulse. The time and amplitude correlation of the afterpulse shows several
distinctive groups. We describe the dependencies of the afterpulse on the
applied high voltage and the amplitude of the main light pulse. The present
data could shed light upon the general mechanism of the afterpulse.Comment: 11 figure
Ab initio study of charge doping effect on 1D polymerization of C60
We study the interplay between charge doping and intermolecular distance in
the polymerization of C60 fullerene chains by means of density functional
theory (DFT)-based first principle calculations. The potential energy surface
analysis shows that both the equilibrium intermolecular distance of the
unpolymerized system and the polymerization energy barrier are inversely
proportional to the electron doping of the system. We analyze the origin of
this charge-induced polymerization effect by studying the behavior of the
system's wavefunctions around the Fermi level and the structural modifications
of the molecules as a function of two variables: the distance between the
centers of the molecules and the number of electrons added to the system
Multiplicity Distributions in Canonical and Microcanonical Statistical Ensembles
The aim of this paper is to introduce a new technique for calculation of
observables, in particular multiplicity distributions, in various statistical
ensembles at finite volume. The method is based on Fourier analysis of the
grand canonical partition function. Taylor expansion of the generating function
is used to separate contributions to the partition function in their power in
volume. We employ Laplace's asymptotic expansion to show that any equilibrium
distribution of multiplicity, charge, energy, etc. tends to a multivariate
normal distribution in the thermodynamic limit. Gram-Charlier expansion allows
additionally for calculation of finite volume corrections. Analytical formulas
are presented for inclusion of resonance decay and finite acceptance effects
directly into the system partition function. This paper consolidates and
extends previously published results of current investigation into properties
of statistical ensembles.Comment: 53 pages, 7 figure
Electromagnetic probes
We introduce the seminal developments in the theory and experiments of
electromagnetic probes for the study of the dynamics of relativistic heavy ion
collisions and quark gluon plasma.Comment: 47 pages, 33 Figures; Lectures delivered by Dinesh K. Srivastava at
QGP Winter School (QGPWS08) at Jaipur, India, February 1-3, 200
Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry in the Large Hadron Collider
The matter-antimatter asymmetry is one of the greatest challenges in the
modern physics. The universe including this paper and even the reader
him(her)self seems to be built up of ordinary matter only. Theoretically, the
well-known Sakharov's conditions remain the solid framework explaining the
circumstances that matter became dominant against the antimatter while the
universe cools down and/or expands. On the other hand, the standard model for
elementary particles apparently prevents at least two conditions out of them.
In this work, we introduce a systematic study of the antiparticle-to-particle
ratios measured in various and collisions over the last three
decades. It is obvious that the available experimental facilities turn to be
able to perform nuclear collisions, in which the matter-antimatter asymmetry
raises from at AGS to at LHC. Assuming that the final
state of hadronization in the nuclear collisions takes place along the
freezeout line, which is defined by a constant entropy density, various
antiparticle-to-particle ratios are studied in framework of the hadron
resonance gas (HRG) model. Implementing modified phase space and distribution
function in the grand-canonical ensemble and taking into account the
experimental acceptance, the ratios of antiparticle-to-particle over the whole
range of center-of-mass-energies are very well reproduced by the HRG model.
Furthermore, the antiproton-to-proton ratios measured by ALICE in
collisions is also very well described by the HRG model. It is likely to
conclude that the LHC heavy-ion program will produce the same particle ratios
as the program implying the dynamics and evolution of the system would not
depend on the initial conditions. The ratios of bosons and baryons get very
close to unity indicating that the matter-antimatter asymmetry nearly vanishes
at LHC.Comment: 9 pages, 5 eps-figures, revtex4-styl
Comparing benefits from many possible computed tomography lung cancer screening programs: Extrapolating from the National Lung Screening Trial using comparative modeling
Background: The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) demonstrated that in current and former smokers aged 55 to 74 years, with at least 30 pack-years of cigarette smoking history and who had quit smoking no more than 15 years ago, 3 annual computed tomography (CT) screens reduced lung cancer-specific mortality by 20% relative to 3 annual chest X-ray screens. We compared the benefits achievable with 576 lung cancer screening programs that varied CT screen number and frequency, ages of screening, and eligibility based on smoking. Methods and Findings: We used five independent microsimulation models with lung cancer natural history parameters previously calibrated to the NLST to simulate life histories of the US cohort born in 1950 under all 576 programs. 'Efficient' (within model) programs prevented the greatest number of lung cancer deaths, compared to no screening, for a given number of CT screens. Among 120 'consensus efficient' (identified as efficient across models) programs, the average starting age was 55 years, the stopping age was 80 or 85 years, the average minimum pack-years was 27, and the maximum years since quitting was 20. Among consensus efficient programs, 11% to 40% of the cohort was screened, and 153 to 846 lung cancer deaths were averted per 100,000 people. In all models, annual screening based on age and smoking eligibility in NLST was not efficient; continuing screening to age 80 or 85 years was more efficient. Conclusions: Consensus results from five models identified a set of efficient screening programs that include annual CT lung cancer screening using criteria like NLST eligibility but extended to older ages. Guidelines for screening should also consider harms of screening and individual patient characteristics
Polymer-stable magnesium nanocomposites prepared by laser ablation for efficient hydrogen storage
Hydrogen is a promising alternative energy carrier that can potentially
facilitate the transition from fossil fuels to sources of clean energy because
of its prominent advantages such as high energy density (142 MJ per kg), great
variety of potential sources (for example water, biomass, organic matter), and
low environmental impact (water is the sole combustion product). However, due
to its light weight, the efficient storage of hydrogen is still an issue
investigated intensely. Various solid media have been considered in that
respect among which magnesium hydride stands out as a candidate offering
distinct advantages. Recent theoretical work indicates that MgH2 becomes less
thermodynamically stable as particle diameter decreases below 2 nm. Our DFT
(density functional theory) modeling studies have shown that the smallest
enthalpy change, corresponding to 2 unit-cell thickness (1.6 {\AA} Mg/3.0{\AA}
MgH2) of the film, is 57.7 kJ/molMg. This enthalpy change is over 10 kJ per
molMg smaller than that of the bulk. It is important to note that the range of
enthalpy change for systems that are suitable for mobile storage applications
is 15 to 24 kJ permolH at 298 K. The important key for the development of
air/stable Mg/nanocrystals is the use of PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) as an
encapsulation agent. In our work we use laser ablation, a non-electrochemical
method, for producing well dispersed nanoparticles without the presence of any
long range aggregation. The observed improved hydrogenation characteristics of
the polymer/stable Mg-nanoparticles are associated to the preparation procedure
and in any case the polymer laser ablation is a new approach for the production
of air/protected and inexpensive Mg/nanoparticles.Comment: Hydrogen Storage, Mg - Nanoparticles, Polymer Matrix Composites,
Laser Ablation, to appear in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 201
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