16,078 research outputs found
{BOAO Photometric Survey of Galactic Open Clusters. II. Physical Parameters of 12 Open Clusters
We have initiated a long-term project, the BOAO photometric survey of open
clusters, to enlarge our understanding of galactic structure using UBVI CCD
photometry of open clusters which have been little studied before. This is the
second paper of the project in which we present the photometry of 12 open
clusters. We have determined the cluster parameters by fitting the Padova
isochrones to the color-magnitude diagrams of the clusters. All the clusters
except for Be 0 and NGC 1348 are found to be intermediate-age to old (0.2 - 4.0
Gyrs) open clusters with a mean metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.0.Comment: 11 page
A heparin-mimicking polymer conjugate stabilizes basic fibroblast growth factor.
Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a protein that plays a crucial role in diverse cellular functions, from wound healing to bone regeneration. However, a major obstacle to the widespread application of bFGF is its inherent instability during storage and delivery. Here, we describe the stabilization of bFGF by covalent conjugation with a heparin-mimicking polymer, a copolymer consisting of styrene sulfonate units and methyl methacrylate units bearing poly(ethylene glycol) side chains. The bFGF conjugate of this polymer retained bioactivity after synthesis and was stable to a variety of environmentally and therapeutically relevant stressors--such as heat, mild and harsh acidic conditions, storage and proteolytic degradation--unlike native bFGF. Following the application of stress, the conjugate was also significantly more active than the control conjugate system in which the styrene sulfonate units were omitted from the polymer structure. This research has important implications for the clinical use of bFGF and for the stabilization of heparin-binding growth factors in general
Muon-Spin-Rotation Measurements of the Penetration Depth in the Infinite-Layer Electron-Doped Cuprate Superconductor Sr0.9La0.1CuO2
Muon spin rotation (mSR) measurements of the in-plane penetration depth
lambda_ab have been performed in the electron-doped infinite layer high-Tc
superconductor (HTS) Sr0.9La0.1CuO2. Absence of the magnetic rare-earth ions in
this compound allowed to measure for the first time the absolute value of
lambda_ab(0) in electron-doped HTS using mSR. We found lambda_ab(0)=116(2) nm.
The zero-temperature depolarization rate sigma(0)?1/lambda_ab(0)^2=4.6(1) MHz
is more than four times higher than expected from the Uemura line. Therefore
this electron-doped HTS does not follow the Uemura relation found for
hole-doped HTS.Comment: to be published in Physical Review Letter
Type II superconductivity in SrPd2Ge2
Previous investigations have shown that SrPd2Ge2, a compound isostructural
with "122" iron pnictides but iron- and pnictogen-free, is a conventional
superconductor with a single s-wave energy gap and a strongly three-dimensional
electronic structure. In this work we reveal the Abrikosov vortex lattice
formed in SrPd2Ge2 when exposed to magnetic field by means of scanning
tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. Moreover, by examining the differential
conductance spectra across a vortex and estimating the upper and lower critical
magnetic fields by tunneling spectroscopy and local magnetization measurements,
we show that SrPd2Ge2 is a strong type II superconductor with \kappa >>
sqrt(2). Also, we compare the differential conductance spectra in various
magnetic fields to the pair breaking model of Maki - de Gennes for dirty limit
type II superconductor in the gapless region. This way we demonstrate that the
type II superconductivity is induced by the sample being in the dirty limit,
while in the clean limit it would be a type I superconductor with \kappa\ <<
sqrt(2), in concordance with our previous study (T. Kim et al., Phys. Rev. B
85, (2012)).Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
An XMM-Newton view of the young open cluster NGC 6231 III. Optically faint X-ray sources
We discuss the properties of the X-ray sources with faint optical
counterparts in the very young open cluster NGC 6231. From their positions in
the H-R diagram, we find that the bulk of these objects probably consists of
low-mass pre-main sequence stars with masses in the range 0.3 to 3.0
M. The age distribution of these objects indicates that low-mass star
formation in NGC 6231 started more than 10 Myr ago and culminated in a
starburst-like event about 1 to 4 Myr ago when the bulk of the low-mass PMS
stars as well as the massive cluster members formed. We find no evidence for a
spatial age gradient that could point towards a sequential star formation
process. Only a few X-ray sources have counterparts with a reddening exceeding
the average value of the cluster or with infrared colours indicating the
presence of a moderate near-IR excess. The X-ray spectra of the brightest PMS
sources are best fitted by rather hard thermal plasma models and a significant
fraction of these sources display flares in their light curve. The X-ray
brightest flaring sources have decay times between 2 and 16 ks. The X-ray
selected PMS stars in NGC 6231 have values that
increase strongly with decreasing bolometric luminosity and can reach a
saturation level () for non-flaring
sources and even more extreme values during flares.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS, 14pages, 19 figure
Phantom Accretion onto the Schwarzschild de-Sitter Black Hole
We deal with phantom energy accretion onto the Schwarzschild de-Sitter black
hole. The energy flux conservation, relativistic Bernoulli equation and mass
flux conservation equation are formulated to discuss the phantom accretion. We
discuss the conditions for critical accretion. It is found that mass of the
black hole decreases due to phantom accretion. There exist two critical points
which lie in the exterior of horizons (black hole and cosmological horizons).
The results for the phantom energy accretion onto the Schwarzschild black hole
can be recovered by taking .Comment: 9 pages, no figur
Charged particle display
An optical shutter based on charged particles is presented. The output light
intensity of the proposed device has an intrinsic dependence on the
interparticle spacing between charged particles, which can be controlled by
varying voltages applied to the control electrodes. The interparticle spacing
between charged particles can be varied continuously and this opens up the
possibility of particle based displays with continuous grayscale.Comment: typographic errors corrected in Eqs (37) and (39); published in
Journal of Applied Physics; doi:10.1063/1.317648
On the distribution of career longevity and the evolution of home run prowess in professional baseball
Statistical analysis is a major aspect of baseball, from player averages to
historical benchmarks and records. Much of baseball fanfare is based around
players exceeding the norm, some in a single game and others over a long
career. Career statistics serve as a metric for classifying players and
establishing their historical legacy. However, the concept of records and
benchmarks assumes that the level of competition in baseball is stationary in
time. Here we show that power-law probability density functions, a hallmark of
many complex systems that are driven by competition, govern career longevity in
baseball. We also find similar power laws in the density functions of all major
performance metrics for pitchers and batters. The use of performance-enhancing
drugs has a dark history, emerging as a problem for both amateur and
professional sports. We find statistical evidence consistent with
performance-enhancing drugs in the analysis of home runs hit by players in the
last 25 years. This is corroborated by the findings of the Mitchell Report [1],
a two-year investigation into the use of illegal steroids in major league
baseball, which recently revealed that over 5 percent of major league baseball
players tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in an anonymous 2003
survey.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 2-column revtex4 format. Revision has change of
title, a figure added, and minor changes in response to referee comment
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