3,518 research outputs found
Roles of Fast-Cyclotron and Alfven-Cyclotron Waves for the Multi-Ion Solar Wind
Using linear Vlasov theory of plasma waves and quasi-linear theory of
resonant wave-particle interaction, the dispersion relations and the
electromagnetic field fluctuations of fast and Alfven waves are studied for a
low-beta multi-ion plasma in the inner corona. Their probable roles in heating
and accelerating the solar wind via Landau and cyclotron resonances are
quantified. We assume that (1) low-frequency Alfven and fast waves have the
same spectral shape and the same amplitude of power spectral density; (2) these
waves eventually reach ion cyclotron frequencies due to a turbulence cascade;
(3) kinetic wave-particle interaction powers the solar wind. The existence of
alpha particles in a dominant proton/electron plasma can trigger linear mode
conversion between oblique fast-whistler and hybrid alpha-proton cyclotron
waves. The fast-cyclotron waves undergo both alpha and proton cyclotron
resonances. The alpha cyclotron resonance in fast-cyclotron waves is much
stronger than that in Alfven-cyclotron waves. For alpha cyclotron resonance, an
oblique fast-cyclotron wave has a larger left-handed electric field
fluctuation, a smaller wave number, a larger local wave amplitude, and a
greater energization capability than a corresponding Alfven-cyclotron wave at
the same wave propagation angle \theta, particularly at < \theta <
. When Alfven-cyclotron or fast-cyclotron waves are present, alpha
particles are the chief energy recipient. The transition of preferential
energization from alpha particles to protons may be self-modulated by
differential speed and temperature anisotropy of alpha particles via the
self-consistently evolving wave-particle interaction. Therefore, fast-cyclotron
waves as a result of linear mode coupling is a potentially important mechanism
for preferential energization of minor ions in the main acceleration region of
the solar wind.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in Solar
Physic
Multiple Factorizations of Bivariate Linear Partial Differential Operators
We study the case when a bivariate Linear Partial Differential Operator
(LPDO) of orders three or four has several different factorizations.
We prove that a third-order bivariate LPDO has a first-order left and right
factors such that their symbols are co-prime if and only if the operator has a
factorization into three factors, the left one of which is exactly the initial
left factor and the right one is exactly the initial right factor. We show that
the condition that the symbols of the initial left and right factors are
co-prime is essential, and that the analogous statement "as it is" is not true
for LPDOs of order four.
Then we consider completely reducible LPDOs, which are defined as an
intersection of principal ideals. Such operators may also be required to have
several different factorizations. Considering all possible cases, we ruled out
some of them from the consideration due to the first result of the paper. The
explicit formulae for the sufficient conditions for the complete reducibility
of an LPDO were found also
Comparison of Temperature-Dependent Hadronic Current Correlation Functions Calculated in Lattice Simulations of QCD and with a Chiral Lagrangian Model
The Euclidean-time hadronic current correlation functions, and
, of pseudoscalar and vector currents have recently been
calculated in lattice simulations of QCD and have been used to obtain the
corresponding spectral functions. We have used the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL)
model to calculate such spectral functions, as well as the Euclidean-time
correlators, and have made a comparison to the lattice results for the
correlators. We find evidence for the type of temperature dependence of the NJL
coupling parameters that we have used in previous studies of the mesonic
confinement-deconfinement transition. We also see that the spectral functions
obtained when using the maximum-entropy-method (MEM) and the lattice data
differ from the spectral functions that we calculate in our chiral model.
However, our results for the Euclidean-time correlators are in general
agreement with the lattice results, with better agreement when our
temperature-dependent coupling parameters are used than when
temperature-independent parameters are used for the NJL model. We also discuss
some additional evidence for the utility of temperature-dependent coupling
parameters for the NJL model. For example, if the constituent quark mass at T=0
is in the chiral limit, the transition temperature is for the NJL model with a standard momentum cutoff parameter. (If a
Gaussian momentum cutoff is used, we find in the chiral limit,
with at T=0.) The introduction of a weak temperature dependence
for the coupling constant will move the value of into the range 150-170
MeV, which is more in accord with what is found in lattice simulations of QCD
with dynamical quarks
Fully spray-coated organic solar cells on woven polyester cotton fabric for wearable energy harvesting applications
This paper presents the novel use of spray coating to fabricate organic solar cells on fabrics for wearable energy harvesting applications. The surface roughness of standard woven 65/35 polyester cotton fabric used in this work is of the order of 150 µm and this is reduced to few microns by a screen printed interface layer. This pre-treated fabric substrate with reduced surface roughness was used as the target substrate for the spray coated fabric organic solar cells that contains multiple layers of electrodes and active materials. A fully spray coated photovoltaic (PV) devices fabricated on fabric substrates has been successfully demonstrated with comparable power conversion efficiency to the glass based counterparts. All PV devices are characterised under simulated AM 1.5 conditions. Device morphologies were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This approach is potentially suitable for the low cost integration of PV devices into clothing and other decorative textilesThis work was supported by Sensor Platform for HEalthcare in a Residential Environment (SPHERE) project (EP/K031910/1). Professor S. P. Beeby acknowledges EPSRC support through his Fellowship ‘Energy Harvesting Materials for Smart Fabrics and Interactive Textiles’ (EP/I005323/1). Professor P. J. Skabara thanks the Royal Society for a Wolfson Research Merit Award
T Cells Bearing a Chimeric Antigen Receptor against Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Mediate Vascular Disruption and Result in Tumor Regression.
Aberrant blood vessels enable tumor growth, provide a barrier to immune infiltration, and serve as a source of protumorigenic signals. Targeting tumor blood vessels for destruction, or tumor vascular disruption therapy, can therefore provide significant therapeutic benefit. Here, we describe the ability of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-bearing T cells to recognize human prostate-specific membrane antigen (hPSMA) on endothelial targets in vitro as well as in vivo. CAR T cells were generated using the anti-PSMA scFv, J591, and the intracellular signaling domains: CD3ζ, CD28, and/or CD137/4-1BB. We found that all anti-hPSMA CAR T cells recognized and eliminated PSMA(+) endothelial targets in vitro, regardless of the signaling domain. T cells bearing the third-generation anti-hPSMA CAR, P28BBζ, were able to recognize and kill primary human endothelial cells isolated from gynecologic cancers. In addition, the P28BBζ CAR T cells mediated regression of hPSMA-expressing vascular neoplasms in mice. Finally, in murine models of ovarian cancers populated by murine vessels expressing hPSMA, the P28BBζ CAR T cells were able to ablate PSMA(+) vessels, cause secondary depletion of tumor cells, and reduce tumor burden. Taken together, these results provide a strong rationale for the use of CAR T cells as agents of tumor vascular disruption, specifically those targeting PSMA. Cancer Immunol Res; 3(1); 68-84. ©2014 AACR
Ractopamine-induced changes in sarcoplasmic proteome profile of post-rigor pork semimembranosus muscle
Ractopamine is a beta-adrenergic agonist that increases leanness and carcass weight in finishing pigs. Our previous study observed that dietary ractopamine increased the abundance of several glycolytic enzymes in the sarcoplasmic proteome of post-rigor pork longissimus thoracis muscle. Pork semimembranosus is an economically important muscle and demonstrates differences in biochemistry compared with longissimus thoracis. Nonetheless, the effects of ractopamine on sarcoplasmic proteome of semimembranosus have not been evaluated yet. Therefore, this study examined the influence of ractopamine on sarcoplasmic proteome of post-rigor pork semimembranosus. Analyses of sarcoplasmic proteome of semimembranosus muscles from control (CON; diet without ractopamine) and ractopamine-fed (RAC; 7.4 mg/kg for 14 days followed by 10.0 mg/kg for 14 days) barrows revealed that haemoglobin subunit beta, alpha-crystallin B, and titin fragments were over-abundant in CON. In contrast, myosin light chain 1/3 and tripartite motif-containing protein 72 were over-abundant in RAC. The low abundance of haemoglobin subunit beta and alpha crystallin B in RAC could be attributed to fibre type shift (from oxidative to glycolytic) in response to ractopamine. The over-abundance of MLC 1/3 and tripartite motif-containing protein 72 in RAC could be due to the increased myofibrillar protein synthesis and muscle mass in ractopamine-fed pigs. Dietary ractopamine decreased the abundance of sarcoplasmic proteins involved in oxygen transport and chaperone activity, but increased the abundance of proteins involved in muscle contraction and plasma membrane repair in pork semimembranosus muscle.Keywords: Pork, ractopamine, sarcoplasmic proteome, semimembranosu
Remarks on self-interaction correction to black hole radiation
In the work [P. Kraus and F. Wilczek, \textit{Self-interaction correction to
black hole radiation, Nucl. Phys.} B433 (1995) 403], it has been pointed out
that the self-gravitation interaction would modify the black hole radiation so
that it is no longer thermal, where it is, however, corrected in an approximate
way and therefore is not established its relationship with the underlying
unitary theory in quantum theory. In this paper, we revisit the
self-gravitation interaction to Hawking radiation of the general spherically
symmetric black hole, and find that the precisely derived spectrum is not only
deviated from the purely thermal spectrum, but most importantly, is related to
the change of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy and consistent with an underlying
unitary theory.Comment: 14 page
Correlation between centrality metrics and their application to the opinion model
In recent decades, a number of centrality metrics describing network
properties of nodes have been proposed to rank the importance of nodes. In
order to understand the correlations between centrality metrics and to
approximate a high-complexity centrality metric by a strongly correlated
low-complexity metric, we first study the correlation between centrality
metrics in terms of their Pearson correlation coefficient and their similarity
in ranking of nodes. In addition to considering the widely used centrality
metrics, we introduce a new centrality measure, the degree mass. The m order
degree mass of a node is the sum of the weighted degree of the node and its
neighbors no further than m hops away. We find that the B_{n}, the closeness,
and the components of x_{1} are strongly correlated with the degree, the
1st-order degree mass and the 2nd-order degree mass, respectively, in both
network models and real-world networks. We then theoretically prove that the
Pearson correlation coefficient between x_{1} and the 2nd-order degree mass is
larger than that between x_{1} and a lower order degree mass. Finally, we
investigate the effect of the inflexible antagonists selected based on
different centrality metrics in helping one opinion to compete with another in
the inflexible antagonists opinion model. Interestingly, we find that selecting
the inflexible antagonists based on the leverage, the B_{n}, or the degree is
more effective in opinion-competition than using other centrality metrics in
all types of networks. This observation is supported by our previous
observations, i.e., that there is a strong linear correlation between the
degree and the B_{n}, as well as a high centrality similarity between the
leverage and the degree.Comment: 20 page
Supranutritional supplementation of vitamin E influences mitochondrial proteome profile of post-mortem longissimus lumborum from feedlot heifers
Supplementation of vitamin E improves beef colour stability by minimizing lipid oxidation-induced myoglobin oxidation. Mitochondria affect myoglobin redox stability, and dietary vitamin E influences mitochondrial functionality in skeletal muscles. Nonetheless, the influence of vitamin E on the mitochondrial proteome of beef skeletal muscles has yet to be investigated. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the effect of dietary vitamin E on mitochondrial proteome of post-mortem beef longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle. Beef LL muscle samples (24 hours post-mortem) were obtained from the carcasses of nine (n = 9) vitamin E-fed (VITE) (1000 IU vitamin E for 89 days) and nine (n = 9) control (CONT) (diet without supplemental vitamin E) heifers. The mitochondrial proteome was analysed using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, and nine differentially abundant spots were identified. All the differentially abundant spots were over-abundant in CONT, and the proteins were electron transport chain enzymes (NADH dehydrogenase iron-sulphur protein 8, NADH dehydrogenase flavoprotein 2, and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 5B), metabolic enzymes (succinate-CoA ligase (ADP-forming) subunit beta; dihydrolipoyllysine-residue succinyltransferase component of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex; pyruvate dehydrogenase protein X component), and enzymes involved in ATP regeneration (creatine kinase S-type). The low abundance of these proteins in VITE may decrease mitochondrial activity, resulting in low oxidative activity. These findings suggest that the strong antioxidant activity of vitamin E leads to less expression of mitochondrial oxidative enzymes in beef skeletal muscles.Keywords: Beef colour, lipid oxidation, mitochondrial enzyme
Ractopamine-induced changes in the proteome of post-mortem beef longissimus lumborum muscle
Ractopamine is a beta-adrenergic agonist that is approved for use in beef cattle, pigs and turkeys as a repartitioning agent to increase lean muscle deposition and decrease lipogenesis. Although the effects of dietary ractopamine on the proteome profile of post-mortem pork muscles have been examined, its influence on beef muscle proteome has not been studied. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the effect of ractopamine on the proteome profile of post-mortem beef longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle. LL muscle samples were obtained from the carcasses of six (n = 6) steers fed ractopamine (RAC; 400 mg ractopamine hydrochloride for 28 days) and six (n = 6) steers fed no ractopamine (CON). The muscle proteome was analysed using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry. Five differentially abundant spots were identified, and all the spots were over-abundant in RAC. The identified proteins were involved in muscle structure development (F-actin-capping protein subunit beta-2; PDZ and LIM domain protein-3), chaperone activity (heat shock protein beta-1), oxygen transport (myoglobin), and glycolysis (L-lactate dehydrogenase A chain). These results suggested that dietary ractopamine could influence the abundance of enzymes associated with muscle development and muscle fibre type shift in beef LL muscle.Keywords: growth promotants, meat quality, proteomic
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