An X-Ray Study of the Supernova Remnant G290.1-0.8

G290.1-0.8 (MSH 11-61A) is a supernova remnant (SNR) whose X-ray morphology is centrally bright. However, unlike the class of X-ray composite SNRs whose centers are dominated by nonthermal emission, presumably driven by a central pulsar, we show that the X-ray emission from G290.1-0.8 is thermal in nature, placing the remnant in an emerging class which includes such remnants as W44, W28, 3C391, and others. The evolutionary sequence which leads to such X-ray properties is not well understood. Here we investigate two scenarios for such emission: evolution in a cloudy interstellar medium, and early-stage evolution of a remnant into the radiative phase, including the effects of thermal conduction. We construct models for these scenarios in an attempt to reproduce the observed center-filled X-ray properties of G290.1-0.8, and we derive the associated age, energy, and ambient density conditions implied by the models. We find that for reasonable values of the explosion energy, the remnant age is of order (1 - 2) x 10^{4} yr. This places a fairly strong constraint on any association between G290.1-0.8 and PSR J1105-610, which would require an anomalously large velocity for the pulsar.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, ApJ, accepte

Virus taxonomy: the database of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV)

The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) is charged with the task of developing, refining, and maintaining a universal virus taxonomy. This task encompasses the classification of virus species and higher-level taxa according to the genetic and biological properties of their members; naming virus taxa; maintaining a database detailing the currently approved taxonomy; and providing the database, supporting proposals, and other virus-related information from an open-access, public web site. The ICTV web site (http://ictv.global) provides access to the current taxonomy database in online and downloadable formats, and maintains a complete history of virus taxa back to the first release in 1971. The ICTV has also published the ICTV Report on Virus Taxonomy starting in 1971. This Report provides a comprehensive description of all virus taxa covering virus structure, genome structure, biology and phylogenetics. The ninth ICTV report, published in 2012, is available as an open-access online publication from the ICTV web site. The current, 10th report (http://ictv.global/report/), is being published online, and is replacing the previous hard-copy edition with a completely open access, continuously updated publication. No other database or resource exists that provides such a comprehensive, fully annotated compendium of information on virus taxa and taxonomy

Achievement goals, self-handicapping, and performance: A 2 × 2 achievement goal perspective

Elliot and colleagues (2006) examined the effects of experimentally induced achievement goals, proposed by the trichotomous model, on self-handicapping and performance in physical education. Our study replicated and extended the work of Elliot et al. by experimentally promoting all four goals proposed by the 262 model (Elliot & McGregor, 2001), measuring the participants’ own situational achievement goals, using a relatively novel task, and testing the participants in a group setting. We used a randomized experimental design with four conditions that aimed to induce one of the four goals advanced by the 262 model. The participants (n¼138) were undergraduates who engaged in a dart-throwing task. The results pertaining to self-handicapping partly replicated Elliot and colleagues’ findings by showing that experimentally promoted performance-avoidance goals resulted in less practice. In contrast, the promotion of mastery-avoidance goals did not result in less practice compared with either of the approach goals. Dart-throwing performance did not differ among the four goal conditions. Personal achievement goals did not moderate the effects of experimentally induced goals on selfhandicapping and performance. The extent to which mastery-avoidance goals are maladaptive is discussed, as well as the interplay between personal and experimentally induced goals

TOPLESS Regulates Apical Embryonic Fate in Arabidopsis

The embryos of seed plants develop with an apical shoot pole and a basal root pole. In Arabidopsis, the topless-1 (tpl-1) mutation transforms the shoot pole into a second root pole. Here, we show that TPL resembles known transcriptional corepressors and that tpl-1 acts as a dominant negative mutation for multiple TPL-related proteins. Mutations in the putative coactivator HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE GNAT SUPERFAMILY1 suppress the tpl-1 phenotype. Mutations in HISTONE DEACETYLASE19, a putative corepressor, increase the penetrance of tpl-1 and display similar apical defects. These data point to a transcriptional repression mechanism that prevents root formation in the shoot pole during Arabidopsis embryogenesis

Road and bridge construction across gypsum karst in England

Gypsum karst problems in the Permian and Triassic sequences of England have caused difficult conditions for bridge and road construction. In Northern England, the Ripon Bypass crosses Permian strata affected by active gypsum karst and severe subsidence problems. Here, the initial borehole site investigation for the road was supplemented by resistivity tomography studies. The roadway was reinforced with two layers of tensile membrane material within the earth embankment. This will prevent dangerous catastrophic collapse, but will allow sagging to show where problems exist. The River Ure Bridge was constructed across an area of subsidence pipes filled with alluvial deposits. It was built with extra strength, larger than normal foundations. If one pier fails, the bridge is designed for adjacent arches to span the gap without collapse. The bridge piers are also fitted with electronic load monitoring to warn of failure. In the Midlands area of England, road construction over Triassic gypsum has required a phase of ground improvement on the Derby Southern Bypass. Here, the gypsum caps a hill where it was formerly mined; it dips through a karstic dissolution zone into an area of complete dissolution and collapse. The road and an associated flyover were built across these ground conditions. A major grouting program before the earthworks began treated the cavities in the mine workings and the cavernous margin of the gypsum mass. Within the karstic dissolution zone, gypsum blocks and cavities along the route were identified by conductivity and resistivity geophysical surveys, excavated and backfilled. In the areas of complete dissolution and collapse, the road foundation was strengthened with vibrated stone columns and a reinforced concrete road deck was used

Cellular Dynamical Mean Field Approach to Strongly Correlated Systems

We propose a cellular version of dynamical-mean field theory which gives a natural generalization of its original single-site construction and is formulated in different sets of variables. We show how non-orthogonality of the tight-binding basis sets enters the problem and prove that the resulting equations lead to manifestly causal self energies.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages, 1 embedded figur

Neuronal clusterin expression is associated with cognitive protection in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Research Funding Medical Research Council. Grant Number: MR/L016400/1 Academy of Medical Sciences. Grant Number: 210JMG 3102 R45620 MND Scotland Motor Neurone Disease Association Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis AssociationPeer reviewedPublisher PD

TOF-Brho Mass Measurements of Very Exotic Nuclides for Astrophysical Calculations at the NSCL

Atomic masses play a crucial role in many nuclear astrophysics calculations. The lack of experimental values for relevant exotic nuclides triggered a rapid development of new mass measurement devices around the world. The Time-of-Flight (TOF) mass measurements offer a complementary technique to the most precise one, Penning trap measurements, the latter being limited by the rate and half-lives of the ions of interest. The NSCL facility provides a well-suited infrastructure for TOF mass measurements of very exotic nuclei. At this facility, we have recently implemented a TOF-Brho technique and performed mass measurements of neutron-rich nuclides in the Fe region, important for r-process calculations and for calculations of processes occurring in the crust of accreting neutron stars.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Journal of Physics G, proceedings of Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics II

Beta-decay of nuclei around Se-90. Search for signatures of a N=56 sub-shell closure relevant the r-process

Nuclear structure plays a significant role on the rapid neutron capture process (r-process) since shapes evolve with the emergence of shells and sub-shells. There was some indication in neighboring nuclei that we might find examples of a new N=56 sub-shell, which may give rise to a doubly magic Se-90 nucleus. Beta-decay half lives of nuclei around Se-90 have been measured to determine if this nucleus has in fact a doubly-magic character. The fragmentation of Xe-136 beam at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University was used to create a cocktail of nuclei in the A=90 region. We have measured the half lives of twenty-two nuclei near the r-process path in the A=90 region. The half lives of As-88 and Se-90 have been measured for the first time. The values were compared with theoretical predictions in the search for nuclear-deformation signatures of a N=56 sub-shell, and its possible role in the emergence of a potential doubly-magic Se-90. The impact of such hypothesis on the synthesis of heavy nuclei, particularly in the production of Sr, Y and Zr elements was investigated with a weak r-process network. The new half lives agree with results obtained from a standard global QRPA model used in r-process calculations, indicating that Se-90 has a quadrupole shape incompatible with a closed N=56 sub-shell in this region. The impact of the measured Se-90 half-life in comparison with a former theoretical predication associated with a spherical half-life on the weak-r-process is shown to be strong