27,340 research outputs found
Quadrupole ionization gage measures ultrahigh vacuum
Quadrupole system, energized with a 200 MHz electric field, restrains ionizing electrons within the center of the ionization gage. Oscillatory trajectory of the electrons increases the probability of ionizing the gas molecules, lowers background X-ray level, and increases the signal-to-noise ratio
Active elastic dimers: Cells moving on rigid tracks
Experiments suggest that the migration of some cells in the three-dimensional
extra cellular matrix bears strong resemblance to one-dimensional cell
migration. Motivated by this observation, we construct and study a minimal
one-dimensional model cell made of two beads and an active spring moving along
a rigid track. The active spring models the stress fibers with their
myosin-driven contractility and alpha-actinin-driven extendability, while the
friction coefficients of the two beads describe the catch/slip bond behavior of
the integrins in focal adhesions. In the absence of active noise, net motion
arises from an interplay between active contractility (and passive
extendability) of the stress fibers and an asymmetry between the front and back
of the cell due to catch bond behavior of integrins at the front of the cell
and slip bond behavior of integrins at the back. We obtain reasonable cell
speeds with independently estimated parameters. We also study the effects of
hysteresis in the active spring, due to catch bond behavior and the dynamics of
cross-linking, and the addition of active noise on the motion of the cell. Our
model highlights the role of alpha-actinin in three-dimensional cell motility
and does not require Arp2/3 actin filament nucleation for net motion.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure
Formation of small-scale structure in SUSY CDM
The lightest supersymmetric particle, most likely the lightest neutralino, is
one of the most prominent particle candidates for cold dark matter (CDM). We
show that the primordial spectrum of density fluctuations in neutralino CDM has
a sharp cut-off, induced by two different damping mechanisms. During the
kinetic decoupling of neutralinos, non-equilibrium processes constitute
viscosity effects, which damp or even absorb density perturbations in CDM.
After the last scattering of neutralinos, free streaming induces neutralino
flows from overdense to underdense regions of space. Both damping mechanisms
together define a minimal mass scale for perturbations in neutralino CDM,
before the inhomogeneities enter the nonlinear epoch of structure formation. We
find that the very first gravitationally bound neutralino clouds ought to have
masses above 10^{-6} solar masses, which is six orders of magnitude above the
mass of possible axion miniclusters.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, to appear in proceedings of "IDM 2002, 4th
International Workshop on the Identification of Dark Matter
Effects of weak self-interactions in a relativistic plasma on cosmological perturbations
The exact solutions for linear cosmological perturbations which have been
obtained for collisionless relativistic matter within thermal field theory are
extended to a self-interacting case. The two-loop contributions of scalar
theory to the thermal graviton self-energy are evaluated, which
give the corrections in the perturbation equations. The changes
are found to be perturbative on scales comparable to or larger than the Hubble
horizon, but the determination of the large-time damping behavior of subhorizon
perturbations requires a resummation of thermally induced masses.Comment: 11 pages, REVTEX, 4 postscript figures included by epsf.sty -
expanded version (more details on the resummation of thermal masses which is
required for the late-time damping behaviour
Solomon Islands national situation analysis
The CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (CRP AAS) was approved by the CGIAR Fund Council in July, 2011. Solomon Islands, one of five countries targeted by the program, began its rollout with a five month planning phase between August and December of 2011. Subsequent steps of the Program rollout include scoping, diagnosis and design. This report is the first to be produced during the scoping phase in Solomon Islands; it addresses the national setting and provides basic information on the context within which the AAS Program will operate. The macro level subjects of analysis provide initial baselines of national level indicators, policy context, power relationships and other factors relevant to the Program
Novel Symmetry of Non-Einsteinian Gravity in Two Dimensions
The integrability of -gravity with torsion in two dimensions is traced
to an ultralocal dynamical symmetry of constraints and momenta in Hamiltonian
phase space. It may be interpreted as a quadratically deformed
-algebra with the deformation consisting of the Casimir operators of
the undeformed algebra. The locally conserved quantity encountered in the
explicit solution is identified as an element of the centre of this algebra.
Specific contractions of the algebra are related to specific limits of the
explicit solutions of this model.Comment: 17 pages, TUW-92-04 (LaTeX
A framework to combine low- and high-resolution spectroscopy for the atmospheres of transiting exoplanets
Current observations of the atmospheres of close-in exoplanets are
predominantly obtained with two techniques: low-resolution spectroscopy with
space telescopes and high-resolution spectroscopy from the ground. Although the
observables delivered by the two methods are in principle highly complementary,
no attempt has ever been made to combine them, perhaps due to the different
modeling approaches that are typically used in their interpretation. Here we
present the first combined analysis of previously-published dayside spectra of
the exoplanet HD 209458b obtained at low resolution with HST/WFC3 and
Spitzer/IRAC, and at high resolution with VLT/CRIRES. By utilizing a novel
retrieval algorithm capable of computing the joint probability distribution of
low- and high-resolution spectra, we obtain tight constraints on the chemical
composition of the planet's atmosphere. In contrast to the WFC3 data, we do not
confidently detect H2O at high spectral resolution. The retrieved water
abundance from the combined analysis deviates by 1.9 sigma from the
expectations for a solar-composition atmosphere in chemical equilibrium.
Measured relative molecular abundances of CO and H2O strongly favor an
oxygen-rich atmosphere (C/O<1 at 3.5 sigma) for the planet when compared to
equilibrium calculations including O rainout. From the abundances of the seven
molecular species included in this study we constrain the planet metallicity to
0.1-1.0x the stellar value (1 sigma). This study opens the way to coordinated
exoplanet surveys between the flagship ground- and space-based facilities,
which ultimately will be crucial for characterizing potentially-habitable
planets.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL. Section 4
largely updated from previous version, Figure 2 updated to contain
information on the T-p profil
The hepta-β-glucoside elicitor-binding proteins from legumes represent a putative receptor family
The ability of legumes to recognize and respond to β-glucan elicitors by synthesizing phytoalexins is consistent with the existence of a membrane-bound β-glucan-binding site. Related proteins of approximately 75 kDa and the corresponding mRNAs were detected in various species of legumes which respond to beta-glucans. The cDNAs for the beta-glucan-binding proteins of bean and soybean were cloned. The deduced 75-kDa proteins are predominantly hydrophilic and constitute a unique class of glucan-binding proteins with no currently recognizable functional domains. Heterologous expression of the soybean beta-glucan-binding protein in tomato cells resulted in the generation of a high-affinity binding site for the elicitor-active hepta-β-glucoside conjugate (K-d = 4.5 nM). Ligand competition experiments with the recombinant binding sites demonstrated similar ligand specificities when compared with soybean. In both soybean and transgenic tomato, membrane-bound, active forms of the glucan-binding proteins coexist with immunologically detectable, soluble but inactive forms of the proteins. Reconstitution of a soluble protein fraction into lipid vesicles regained beta-glucoside-binding activity but with lower affinity (K-d = 130 nM). We conclude that the beta-glucan elicitor receptors of legumes are composed of the 75 kDa glucan-binding proteins as the critical components for ligand-recognition, and of an as yet unknown membrane anchor constituting the plasma membrane-associated receptor complex
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