350 research outputs found
The flatness problem and
By way of a complete integration of the Friedmann equations, in terms of
observables, it is shown that for the cosmological constant there
exist non-flat FLRW models for which the total density parameter
remains throughout the entire history of the universe. Further, it is
shown that in a precise quantitative sense these models are not finely tuned.
When observations are brought to bear on the theory, and in particular the WMAP
observations, they confirm that we live in just such a universe. The conclusion
holds when the classical notion of is extended to dark energy.Comment: Final form to appear in Physical Review Letters. Further information
at http://grtensor.org/Robertson
Challenging fear: Chemical alarm signals are not causing morphology changes in crucian carp (Carassius carassius)
Crucian carp develops a deep body in the presence of chemical cues from predators, which makes the fish less vulnerable to gape-limited predators. The active components originate in conspecifics eaten by predators, and are found in the filtrate of homogenised conspecific skin. Chemical alarm signals, causing fright reactions, have been the suspected inducers of such morphological changes. We improved the extraction procedure of alarm signals by collecting the supernatant after centrifugation of skin homogenates. This removes the minute particles that normally make a filtered sample get turbid. Supernatants were subsequently diluted and frozen into ice-cubes. Presence of alarm signals was confirmed by presenting thawed ice-cubes to crucian carp in behaviour tests at start of laboratory growth experiments. Frozen extracts were added further on three times a week. Altogether, we tested potential body-depth-promoting properties of alarm signals twice in the laboratory and once in the field. Each experiment lasted for a minimum of 50 days. Despite growth of crucian carp in all experiments, no morphology changes were obtained. Accordingly, we conclude that the classical alarm signals that are releasing instant fright reactions are not inducing morphological changes in this species. The chemical signals inducing a body-depth increase are suspected to be present in the particles removed during centrifugation (i.e., in the precipitate). Tissue particles may be metabolized by bacteria in the intestine of predators, resulting in water-soluble cues. Such latent chemical signals have been found in other aquatic organisms, but hitherto not reported in fishe
Evolution of density perturbations in a realistic universe
Prompted by the recent more precise determination of the basic cosmological
parameters and growing evidence that the matter-energy content of the universe
is now dominated by dark energy and dark matter we present the general solution
of the equation that describes the evolution of density perturbations in the
linear approximation. It turns out that as in the standard CDM model the
density perturbations grow very slowly during the radiation dominated epoch and
their amplitude increases by a factor of about 4000 in the matter and later
dark energy dominated epoch of expansion of the universe.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
Homogeneous cosmologies with cosmological constant
Spatially homogeneous cosmological models with a positive cosmological
constant are investigated, using dynamical systems methods. We focus on the
future evolution of these models. In particular, we address the question
whether there are models within this class that are de Sitter-like in the
future, but are tilted.Comment: 10 pages, 13 eps-figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
A Dynamical Study of the Friedmann Equations
Cosmology is an attracting subject for students but usually difficult to deal
with if general relativity is not known. In this article, we first recall the
Newtonian derivation of the Friedmann equations which govern the dynamics of
our universe and discuss the validity of such a derivation. We then study the
equations of evolution of the universe in terms of a dynamical system. This
sums up the different behaviors of our universe and enables to address some
cosmological problems.Comment: Needs IOP LaTeX class; 17 pages, 9 figure
The Effect of Yellow Tinted Intraocular Lenses on the Result of Frequency Doubling Perimetry after Cataract Surgery
The Moby Dick architecture
This document is deliverable II.3.1, and presents the the MobyDick architecture. The introduction outlines the main areas of use and the main characteristics of the Pocket Companion, and ends up with the overall demands we put on the architecture. In chapter 2 Quality of Service (QoS) as we use it in MobyDick QoS is presented. It gives the foundation the adaptability used in the chapters to follow. In chapter 3 an overview of the software architecture of the Pocket Companion is presented. The security architecture of the Pocket Companion is presented in chapter 4, and the consistency architecture is presented in chapter 5. In chapter 6, the system\ud
architecture of the Pocket Companion is outlined
Rapid, Specific Detection of Alphaviruses from Tissue Cultures Using a Replicon-Defective Reporter Gene Assay
We established a rapid, specific technique for detecting alphaviruses using a replicon-defective reporter gene assay derived from the Sindbis virus XJ-160. The pVaXJ expression vector containing the XJ-160 genome was engineered to form the expression vectors pVaXJ-EGFP expressing enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) or pVaXJ-GLuc expressing Gaussia luciferase (GLuc). The replicon-defective reporter plasmids pVaXJ-EGFPΔnsp4 and pVaXJ-GLucΔnsp4 were constructed by deleting 1139 bp in the non-structural protein 4 (nsP4) gene. The deletion in the nsP4 gene prevented the defective replicons from replicating and expressing reporter genes in transfected BHK-21 cells. However, when these transfected cells were infected with an alphavirus, the non-structural proteins expressed by the alphavirus could act on the defective replicons in trans and induce the expression of the reporter genes. The replicon-defective plasmids were used to visualize the presence of alphavirus qualitatively or detect it quantitatively. Specificity tests showed that this assay could detect a variety of alphaviruses from tissue cultures, while other RNA viruses, such as Japanese encephalitis virus and Tahyna virus, gave negative results with this system. Sensitivity tests showed that the limit of detection (LOD) of this replicon-defective assay is between 1 and 10 PFU for Sindbis viruses. These results indicate that, with the help of the replicon-defective alphavirus detection technique, we can specifically, sensitively, and rapidly detect alphaviruses in tissue cultures. The detection technique constructed here may be well suited for use in clinical examination and epidemiological surveillance, as well as for rapid screening of potential viral biological warfare agents
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