182 research outputs found
Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube
We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles
moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root
relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped
pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of
a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production
associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational
probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Nodavirus colonizes and replicates in the testis of gilthead seabream and European sea bass modulating its immune and reproductive functions
Viruses are threatening pathogens for fish aquaculture. Some of them are transmitted
through gonad fluids or gametes as occurs with nervous necrosis virus (NNV). In order to
be transmitted through the gonad, the virus should colonize and replicate inside some cell
types of this tissue and avoid the subsequent immune response locally. However, whether
NNV colonizes the gonad, the cell types that are infected, and how the immune response in
the gonad is regulated has never been studied. We have demonstrated for the first time the
presence and localization of NNV into the testis after an experimental infection in the European
sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), and in the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), a very
susceptible and an asymptomatic host fish species, respectively. Thus, we localized in the
testis viral RNA in both species using in situ PCR and viral proteins in gilthead seabream by
immunohistochemistry, suggesting that males might also transmit the virus. In addition, we
were able to isolate infective particles from the testis of both species demonstrating that
NNV colonizes and replicates into the testis of both species. Blood contamination of the tissues
sampled was discarded by completely fish bleeding, furthermore the in situ PCR and
immunocytochemistry techniques never showed staining in blood vessels or cells. Moreover,
we also determined how the immune and reproductive functions are affected comparing
the effects in the testis with those found in the brain, the main target tissue of the virus.
Interestingly, NNV triggered the immune response in the European sea bass but not in the
gilthead seabream testis. Regarding reproductive functions, NNV infection alters 17β-estradiol
and 11-ketotestosterone production and the potential sensitivity of brain and testis to
these hormones, whereas there is no disruption of testicular functions according to several
reproductive parameters. Moreover, we have also studied the NNV infection of the testis in
vitro to assess local responses. Our in vitro results show that the changes observed on the expression of immune and reproductive genes in the testis of both species are different to
those observed upon in vivo infections in most of the casesMINECO and FEDER (AGL2010-20801-C02-01; AGL2010-20801-C02-02; AGL2013-43588-P); Fundación Séneca (04538/GERM/06)Versión del editor4,411
First measurement of the |t|-dependence of coherent J/ψ photonuclear production
The first measurement of the cross section for coherent J/ψ photoproduction as a function of |t|, the square of the momentum transferred between the incoming and outgoing target nucleus, is presented. The data were measured with the ALICE detector in ultra-peripheral Pb–Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair sNN=5.02TeV with the J/ψ produced in the central rapidity region |y|<0.8, which corresponds to the small Bjorken-x range (0.3−1.4)×10−3.
The measured |t|-dependence is not described by computations based only on the Pb nuclear form factor, while the photonuclear cross section is better reproduced by models including shadowing according to the leading-twist approximation, or gluon-saturation effects from the impact-parameter dependent Balitsky–Kovchegov equation. These new results are therefore a valid tool to constrain the relevant model parameters and to investigate the transverse gluonic structure at very low Bjorken-x.publishedVersio
First measurement of coherent ρ0 photoproduction in ultra-peripheral Xe–Xe collisions at √sNN = 5.44 TeV
The first measurement of the coherent photoproduction of ρ0 vector mesons in ultra-peripheral Xe–Xe collisions at sNN=5.44 TeV is presented. This result, together with previous HERA γp data and γ–Pb measurements from ALICE, describes the atomic number (A) dependence of this process, which is particularly sensitive to nuclear shadowing effects and to the approach to the black-disc limit of QCD at a semi-hard scale. The cross section of the Xe+Xe→ρ0+Xe+Xe process, measured at midrapidity through the decay channel ρ0→π+π−, is found to be dσ/dy=131.5±5.6(stat.)−16.9+17.5(syst.) mb. The ratio of the continuum to resonant contributions for the production of pion pairs is also measured. In addition, the fraction of events accompanied by electromagnetic dissociation of either one or both colliding nuclei is reported. The dependence on A of cross section for the coherent ρ0 photoproduction at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon of the γA system of WγA,n=65 GeV is found to be consistent with a power-law behaviour σ(γA→ρ0A)∝Aα with a slope α=0.96±0.02(syst.). This slope signals important shadowing effects, but it is still far from the behaviour expected in the black-disc limit.publishedVersio
Resolving the strange behavior of extraterrestrial potassium in the upper atmosphere
It has been known since the 1960s that the layers of Na and K atoms, which occur between 80 and 105 km in the Earth's atmosphere as a result of meteoric ablation, exhibit completely different seasonal behavior. In the extratropics Na varies annually, with a pronounced wintertime maximum and summertime minimum. However, K varies semiannually with a small summertime maximum and minima at the equinoxes. This contrasting behavior has never been satisfactorily explained. Here we use a combination of electronic structure and chemical kinetic rate theory to determine two key differences in the chemistries of K and Na. First, the neutralization of K+ ions is only favored at low temperatures during summer. Second, cycling between K and its major neutral reservoir KHCO3 is essentially temperature independent. A whole atmosphere model incorporating this new chemistry, together with a meteor input function, now correctly predicts the seasonal behavior of the K layer
Flow Dominance and Factorization of Transverse Momentum Correlations in Pb-Pb Collisions at the LHC
We present the first measurement of the two-particle transverse momentum differential correlation function, P2≡ ΔpTΔpT/ pT2, in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV. Results for P2 are reported as a function of the relative pseudorapidity (Δη) and azimuthal angle (Δφ) between two particles for different collision centralities. The Δφ dependence is found to be largely independent of Δη for |Δη|≥0.9. In the 5% most central Pb-Pb collisions, the two-particle transverse momentum correlation function exhibits a clear double-hump structure around Δφ=π (i.e., on the away side), which is not observed in number correlations in the same centrality range, and thus provides an indication of the dominance of triangular flow in this collision centrality. Fourier decompositions of P2, studied as a function of the collision centrality, show that correlations at |Δη|≥0.9 can be well reproduced by a flow ansatz based on the notion that measured transverse momentum correlations are strictly determined by the collective motion of the system
K*(892)(0) and phi(1020)meson production at high transverse momentum in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at root sNN=2.76 TeV
The production of K∗(892)0 and φ(1020) mesons in proton-proton (pp) and lead-lead (Pb-Pb) collisions
at √sNN = 2.76 TeV has been analyzed using a high luminosity data sample accumulated in 2011 with the
ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Transverse momentum (pT) spectra have been measured
for K∗(892)0 and φ(1020) mesons via their hadronic decay channels for pT up to 20 GeV/c. The measurements
in pp collisions have been compared to model calculations and used to determine the nuclear modification factor
and particle ratios. The K∗(892)0/K ratio exhibits significant reduction from pp to central Pb-Pb collisions,
consistent with the suppression of the K∗(892)0 yield at low pT due to rescattering of its decay products in
the hadronic phase. In central Pb-Pb collisions the pT dependent φ(1020)/π and K∗(892)0/π ratios show an
enhancement over pp collisions for pT ≈ 3 GeV/c, consistent with previous observations of strong radial flow.
At high pT, particle ratios in Pb-Pb collisions are similar to those measured in pp collisions. In central Pb-Pb
collisions, the production of K∗(892)0 and φ(1020) mesons is suppressed for pT > 8 GeV/c. This suppression is
similar to that of charged pions, kaons, and protons, indicating that the suppression does not depend on particle
mass or flavor in the light quark sector
- …