6,082 research outputs found
The Uncertainty in Newton's Constant and Precision Predictions of the Primordial Helium Abundance
The current uncertainty in Newton's constant, G_N, is of the order of 0.15%.
For values of the baryon to photon ratio consistent with both cosmic microwave
background observations and the primordial deuterium abundance, this
uncertainty in G_N corresponds to an uncertainty in the primordial 4He mass
fraction, Y_P, of +-1.3 x 10^{-4}. This uncertainty in Y_P is comparable to the
effect from the current uncertainty in the neutron lifetime, which is often
treated as the dominant uncertainty in calculations of Y_P. Recent measurements
of G_N seem to be converging within a smaller range; a reduction in the
estimated error on G_N by a factor of 10 would essentially eliminate it as a
source of uncertainty in the calculation of the primordial 4He abundance.Comment: 3 pages, no figures, fixed typos, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Expansion of magnetic clouds in the outer heliosphere
A large amount of magnetized plasma is frequently ejected from the Sun as
coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Some of these ejections are detected in the
solar wind as magnetic clouds (MCs) that have flux rope signatures. Magnetic
clouds are structures that typically expand in the inner heliosphere. We derive
the expansion properties of MCs in the outer heliosphere from one to five
astronomical units to compare them with those in the inner heliosphere. We
analyze MCs observed by the Ulysses spacecraft using insitu magnetic field and
plasma measurements. The MC boundaries are defined in the MC frame after
defining the MC axis with a minimum variance method applied only to the flux
rope structure. As in the inner heliosphere, a large fraction of the velocity
profile within MCs is close to a linear function of time. This is indicative
of} a self-similar expansion and a MC size that locally follows a power-law of
the solar distance with an exponent called zeta. We derive the value of zeta
from the insitu velocity data. We analyze separately the non-perturbed MCs
(cases showing a linear velocity profile almost for the full event), and
perturbed MCs (cases showing a strongly distorted velocity profile). We find
that non-perturbed MCs expand with a similar non-dimensional expansion rate
(zeta=1.05+-0.34), i.e. slightly faster than at the solar distance and in the
inner heliosphere (zeta=0.91+-0.23). The subset of perturbed MCs expands, as in
the inner heliosphere, at a significantly lower rate and with a larger
dispersion (zeta=0.28+-0.52) as expected from the temporal evolution found in
numerical simulations. This local measure of the expansion also agrees with the
distribution with distance of MC size,mean magnetic field, and plasma
parameters. The MCs interacting with a strong field region, e.g. another MC,
have the most variable expansion rate (ranging from compression to
over-expansion)
In vivo activation of invariant natural killer T cells induces systemic and local alterations in Tâ cell subsets prior to preterm birth
Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137689/1/cei12968.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137689/2/cei12968_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137689/3/cei12968-sup-0001-suppinfo1.pd
From Predicting Solar Activity to Forecasting Space Weather: Practical Examples of Research-to-Operations and Operations-to-Research
The successful transition of research to operations (R2O) and operations to
research (O2R) requires, above all, interaction between the two communities. We
explore the role that close interaction and ongoing communication played in the
successful fielding of three separate developments: an observation platform, a
numerical model, and a visualization and specification tool. Additionally, we
will examine how these three pieces came together to revolutionize
interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) arrival forecasts. A discussion of
the importance of education and training in ensuring a positive outcome from
R2O activity follows. We describe efforts by the meteorological community to
make research results more accessible to forecasters and the applicability of
these efforts to the transfer of space-weather research.We end with a
forecaster "wish list" for R2O transitions. Ongoing, two-way communication
between the research and operations communities is the thread connecting it
all.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, Solar Physics in pres
In vivo Tâ cell activation by a monoclonal αCD3ε antibody induces preterm labor and birth
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134074/1/aji12562.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134074/2/aji12562_am.pd
Childhood sleep disturbance and risk of psychotic experiences at 18 : UK birth cohort
BACKGROUND:
Sleep disturbances are commonly reported in the psychosis prodrome, but rarely explored in relation to psychotic experiences.
AIMS:
To investigate the relationship between specific parasomnias (nightmares, night terrors and sleepwalking) in childhood and later adolescent psychotic experiences.
METHOD:
The sample comprised 4720 individuals from a UK birth cohort. Mothers reported on children's experience of regular nightmares at several time points between 2 and 9 years. Experience of nightmares, night terrors and sleepwalking was assessed using a semi-structured interview at age 12. Psychotic experiences were assessed at ages 12 and 18 using a semi-structured clinical interview.
RESULTS:
There was a significant association between the presence of nightmares at 12 and psychotic experiences at 18 when adjusted for possible confounders and psychotic experiences at 12 (OR = 1.62, 95% CI 1.19-2.20). The odds ratios were larger for those who reported persistent psychotic experiences.
CONCLUSIONS:
The presence of nightmares might be an early risk indicator for psychosis
Gac two-component system in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci is required for virulence but not for hypersensitive reaction
Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605 causes wildfire disease on host tobacco plants. To investigate the regulatory mechanism of the expression of virulence, Gac two-Component system-defective mutants, Delta gacA and Delta gacS, and a double mutant, Delta gacA Delta gacS, were generated. These mutants produced smaller amounts of N-acyl homoserine lactones required for quorum sensing, had lost swarming motility, and had reduced expression of virulence-related hrp genes and the algT gene required for exopolysaccharide production. The ability of the mutants to cause disease symptoms in their host tobacco plant was remarkably reduced, while they retained the ability to induce hypersensitive reaction (HR) in the nonhost plants. These results indicated that the Gac two-component system of P. syringae pv. tabaci 6605 is indispensable for virulence on the host plant, but not for HR induction in the nonhost plants.</p
The role of glucocorticoids in the induction of zinc-α2-glycoprotein expression in adipose tissue in cancer cachexia
Loss of adipose tissue in cancer cachexia in mice bearing the MAC16 tumour arises from an increased lipid mobilisation through increased expression of zinc-α2-glycoprotein (ZAG) in white (WAT) and brown (BAT) adipose tissue. Glucocorticoids have been suggested to increase ZAG expression, and this study examines their role in cachexia and the mechanisms involved. In mice bearing the MAC16 tumour, serum cortisol concentrations increased in parallel with weight loss, and the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU38486 (25 mg kg−1) attenuated both the loss of body weight and ZAG expression in WAT. Dexamethasone (66 μg kg−1) administration to normal mice produced a six-fold increase in ZAG expression in both WAT and BAT, which was also attenuated by RU38486. In vitro studies using 3T3-L1 adipocytes showed dexamethasone (1.68 μM) to stimulate lipolysis and increase ZAG expression, and both were attenuated by RU38486 (10 μM), anti-ZAG antibody (1 μgml−1), and the β3-adrenoreceptor (β3-AR) antagonist SR59230A (10 μM). Zinc-α2-glycoprotein also increased its own expression and this was attenuated by SR59230A, suggesting that it was mediated through the β3-AR. This suggests that glucocorticoids stimulate lipolysis through an increase in ZAG expression, and that they are responsible for the increase in ZAG expression seen in adipose tissue of cachectic mice
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