1,658 research outputs found
Absolute Determination of the 22Na(p,g) Reaction Rate in Novae
Gamma-ray telescopes in orbit around the Earth are searching for evidence of
the elusive radionuclide 22Na produced in novae. Previously published
uncertainties in the dominant destructive reaction, 22Na(p,g)23Mg, indicated
new measurements in the proton energy range of 150 to 300 keV were needed to
constrain predictions. We have measured the resonance strengths, energies, and
branches directly and absolutely by using protons from the University of
Washington accelerator with a specially designed beamline, which included beam
rastering and cold vacuum protection of the 22Na implanted targets. The
targets, fabricated at TRIUMF-ISAC, displayed minimal degradation over a ~ 20 C
bombardment as a result of protective layers. We avoided the need to know the
stopping power, and hence the target composition, by extracting resonance
strengths from excitation functions integrated over proton energy. Our
measurements revealed that resonance strengths for E_p = 213, 288, 454, and 610
keV are stronger by factors of 2.4 to 3.2 than previously reported. Upper
limits have been placed on proposed resonances at 198-, 209-, and 232-keV. We
have re-evaluated the 22Na(p,g) reaction rate, and our measurements indicate
the resonance at 213 keV makes the most significant contribution to 22Na
destruction in novae. Hydrodynamic simulations including our rate indicate that
the expected abundance of 22Na ejecta from a classical nova is reduced by
factors between 1.5 and 2, depending on the mass of the white-dwarf star
hosting the nova explosion.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures; shortened paper, accepted in Phys. Rev.
PathOrganic – Risks and Recommendations Regarding Human Pathogens in Organic Vegetable Production Chains
PathOrganic assesses risks associated with the consumption of fresh and minimally
processed vegetables due to the prevalence of bacterial human pathogens in plant
produce. The project evaluates whether organic production poses a risk on food safety,
taking into consideration sources of pathogen transmission (e.g. animal manure).
The project also explores whether organic versus conventional production practices
may reduce the risk of pathogen manifestation. In Europe, vegetable-linked outbreaks
are not well investigated. A conceptual model together with novel sampling strategies
and specifically adjusted methods provides the basis for large-scale surveys of organically
grown plant produce in five European countries. Critical control points are
determined and evaluated and factors contributing to a food safety problem are analyzed
in greenhouse and field experiments. The project aims at developing a quantitative
risk assessment model and at formulating recommendations for improving food
safety in organic vegetable production
Quantum transport through a DNA wire in a dissipative environment
Electronic transport through DNA wires in the presence of a strong
dissipative environment is investigated. We show that new bath-induced
electronic states are formed within the bandgap. These states show up in the
linear conductance spectrum as a temperature dependent background and lead to a
crossover from tunneling to thermal activated behavior with increasing
temperature. Depending on the strength of the electron-bath coupling, the
conductance at the Fermi level can show a weak exponential or even an algebraic
length dependence. Our results suggest a new environmental-induced transport
mechanism. This might be relevant for the understanding of molecular conduction
experiments in liquid solution, like those recently performed on poly(GC)
oligomers in a water buffer (B. Xu et al., Nano Lett 4, 1105 (2004)).Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Nonlinear Elasticity in Biological Gels
Unlike most synthetic materials, biological materials often stiffen as they
are deformed. This nonlinear elastic response, critical for the physiological
function of some tissues, has been documented since at least the 19th century,
but the molecular structure and the design principles responsible for it are
unknown. Current models for this response require geometrically complex ordered
structures unique to each material. In this Article we show that a much simpler
molecular theory accounts for strain stiffening in a wide range of molecularly
distinct biopolymer gels formed from purified cytoskeletal and extracellular
proteins. This theory shows that systems of semi-flexible chains such as
filamentous proteins arranged in an open crosslinked meshwork invariably
stiffen at low strains without the need for a specific architecture or multiple
elements with different intrinsic stiffnesses.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Natur
CARMA Large Area Star Formation Survey: Project Overview with Analysis of Dense Gas Structure and Kinematics in Barnard 1
We present details of the CARMA Large Area Star Formation Survey (CLASSy),
while focusing on observations of Barnard 1. CLASSy is a CARMA Key Project that
spectrally imaged N2H+, HCO+, and HCN (J=1-0 transitions) across over 800
square arcminutes of the Perseus and Serpens Molecular Clouds. The observations
have angular resolution near 7" and spectral resolution near 0.16 km/s. We
imaged ~150 square arcminutes of Barnard 1, focusing on the main core, and the
B1 Ridge and clumps to its southwest. N2H+ shows the strongest emission, with
morphology similar to cool dust in the region, while HCO+ and HCN trace several
molecular outflows from a collection of protostars in the main core. We
identify a range of kinematic complexity, with N2H+ velocity dispersions
ranging from ~0.05-0.50 km/s across the field. Simultaneous continuum mapping
at 3 mm reveals six compact object detections, three of which are new
detections. A new non-binary dendrogram algorithm is used to analyze dense gas
structures in the N2H+ position-position-velocity (PPV) cube. The projected
sizes of dendrogram-identified structures range from about 0.01-0.34 pc.
Size-linewidth relations using those structures show that non-thermal
line-of-sight velocity dispersion varies weakly with projected size, while rms
variation in the centroid velocity rises steeply with projected size. Comparing
these relations, we propose that all dense gas structures in Barnard 1 have
comparable depths into the sky, around 0.1-0.2 pc; this suggests that
over-dense, parsec-scale regions within molecular clouds are better described
as flattened structures rather than spherical collections of gas. Science-ready
PPV cubes for Barnard 1 molecular emission are available for download.Comment: Accepted to The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ), 51 pages, 27 figures
(some with reduced resolution in this preprint); Project website is at
http://carma.astro.umd.edu/class
Fast DNA translocation through a solid-state nanopore
We report translocation experiments on double-strand DNA through a silicon
oxide nanopore. Samples containing DNA fragments with seven different lengths
between 2000 to 96000 basepairs have been electrophoretically driven through a
10 nm pore. We find a power-law scaling of the translocation time versus
length, with an exponent of 1.26 0.07. This behavior is qualitatively
different from the linear behavior observed in similar experiments performed
with protein pores. We address the observed nonlinear scaling in a theoretical
model that describes experiments where hydrodynamic drag on the section of the
polymer outside the pore is the dominant force counteracting the driving. We
show that this is the case in our experiments and derive a power-law scaling
with an exponent of 1.18, in excellent agreement with our data.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Submitted to PR
BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in a population-based study of male breast cancer
Background: The contribution of BRCA1 and BRCA2 to the incidence of male breast cancer (MBC)
in the United Kingdom is not known, and the importance of these genes in the increased risk of female
breast cancer associated with a family history of breast cancer in a male first-degree relative is unclear.
Methods: We have carried out a population-based study of 94 MBC cases collected in the UK. We
screened genomic DNA for mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 and used family history data from these
cases to calculate the risk of breast cancer to female relatives of MBC cases. We also estimated the
contribution of BRCA1 and BRCA2 to this risk.
Results: Nineteen cases (20%) reported a first-degree relative with breast cancer, of whom seven also
had an affected second-degree relative. The breast cancer risk in female first-degree relatives was 2.4
times (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.4–4.0) the risk in the general population. No BRCA1 mutation
carriers were identified and five cases were found to carry a mutation in BRCA2. Allowing for a
mutation detection sensitivity frequency of 70%, the carrier frequency for BRCA2 mutations was 8%
(95% CI = 3–19). All the mutation carriers had a family history of breast, ovarian, prostate or
pancreatic cancer. However, BRCA2 accounted for only 15% of the excess familial risk of breast
cancer in female first-degree relatives.
Conclusion: These data suggest that other genes that confer an increased risk for both female and
male breast cancer have yet to be found
Distances, ages, and epoch of formation of globular clusters
We review the results on distances and absolute ages of galactic globular
clusters (GCs) obtained after the release of the Hipparcos catalogue. Several
methods for the Population II local distance scale are discussed, exploiting
NEW RESULTS for RR Lyraes in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We find that the
so-called Short and Long Distance Scales may be reconciled whether a consistent
reddening scale is adopted for Cepheids and RR Lyrae variables in the LMC.
Distances and ages for the 9 clusters discussed in Paper I are re-derived using
an enlarged sample of local subdwarfs, which includes about 90% of the
metal-poor dwarfs with accurate parallaxes (Delta p/p < 0.12) in the whole
Hipparcos catalogue. On average, our revised distance moduli are decreased by
0.04 mag with respect to Paper I. The corresponding age of the GCs is
t=11.5+-2.6 Gyr (95% confidence range). The relation between Mv(ZAHB) and
metallicity for the nine programme clusters turns out to be
Mv(ZAHB)=(0.18+-0.09)([Fe/H]+1.5)+(0.53+-0.12).Thanks to Hipparcos the major
contribution to the total error budget associated with the subdwarf fitting
technique has been moved from parallaxes to photometric calibrations, reddening
and metallicity scale. This total uncertainty still amounts to about +-0.12
mag. Comparing the corresponding (true) LMC distance modulus 18.64+-0.12 mag
with other existing determinations, we conclude that at present the best
estimate for the distance of the LMC is: 18.54+-0.03+-0.06, suggesting that
distances from the subdwarf fitting method are 1 sigma too long. Consequently,
our best estimate for the age of the GCs is revised to: Age = 12.9+-2.9 Gyr
(95% confidence range). The best relation between Mv(ZAHB) and [Fe/H] is:
Mv(ZAHB) =(0.18+-0.09)([Fe/H]+1.5)+(0.63+-0.07).Comment: 76 pages, 6 encapsulated figures and 6 tables. Latex, uses
aasms4.sty. Revised and improved version, with new data on field RR Lyraes in
LMC. Accepted in the Astrophysical Journa
Measurement of neutron capture on Ca at thermal and thermonuclear energies
At the Karlsruhe pulsed 3.75\,MV Van de Graaff accelerator the thermonuclear
Ca(n,)Ca(8.72\,min) cross section was measured by the
fast cyclic activation technique via the 3084.5\,keV -ray line of the
Ca-decay. Samples of CaCO enriched in Ca by 77.87\,\% were
irradiated between two gold foils which served as capture standards. The
capture cross-section was measured at the neutron energies 25, 151, 176, and
218\,keV, respectively. Additionally, the thermal capture cross-section was
measured at the reactor BR1 in Mol, Belgium, via the prompt and decay
-ray lines using the same target material. The
Ca(n,)Ca cross-section in the thermonuclear and thermal
energy range has been calculated using the direct-capture model combined with
folding potentials. The potential strengths are adjusted to the scattering
length and the binding energies of the final states in Ca. The small
coherent elastic cross section of Ca+n is explained through the nuclear
Ramsauer effect. Spectroscopic factors of Ca have been extracted from
the thermal capture cross-section with better accuracy than from a recent (d,p)
experiment. Within the uncertainties both results are in agreement. The
non-resonant thermal and thermonuclear experimental data for this reaction can
be reproduced using the direct-capture model. A possible interference with a
resonant contribution is discussed. The neutron spectroscopic factors of
Ca determined from shell-model calculations are compared with the values
extracted from the experimental cross sections for Ca(d,p)Ca and
Ca(n,)Ca.Comment: 15 pages (uses Revtex), 7 postscript figures (uses psfig), accepted
for publication in PRC, uuencoded tex-files and postscript-files also
available at ftp://is1.kph.tuwien.ac.at/pub/ohu/Ca.u
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