2,761 research outputs found
Molar mass and solution conformation of branched alpha(1 - 4), alpha(1 - 6) Glucans. Part I: Glycogens in water
Solution molar masses and conformations of glycogens from different sources (rabbit, oyster, mussel and bovine) were analysed using sedimentation velocity in the analytical ultracentrifuge, size-exclusion chromatography coupled to multi-angle laser light scattering (SEC-MALLS), size-exclusion chromatography coupled to a differential pressure viscometer and dynamic light scattering. Rabbit, oyster and mussel glycogens consisted of one population of high molar mass (weight averages ranging from 4.6 x 106 to 1.1 x 107 g/mol) as demonstrated by sedimentation velocity and SEC-MALLS, whereas bovine glycogen had a bimodal distribution of significantly lower molar mass (1.0 x 105 and 4.5 x 105 g/mol). The spherical structure of all glycogen molecules was demonstrated in the slopes of the Mark-Houwink-Kuhn-Sakurada-type power-law relations for sedimentation coefficient (s20,wo), intrinsic viscosity ([η]), radius of gyration (rg,z) and radius of hydration (rH,z), respectively, and was further supported by the � (=rg,z/rH,z) function, the fractal dimension and the Perrin function. The degree of branching was estimated to be ∼10% from the shrinking factors, g′ (=[η]branched/[η]linear) and also h (=(f/fo)branched/(f/fo)linear), respectively, where (f/fo) is the translational frictional ratio, consistent with expectation. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Modelling of longitudinal outcomes with highly skewed distributions: applications in the IVAN trial
Temperature distribution in magnetized neutron star crusts
We investigate the influence of different magnetic field configurations on
the temperature distribution in neutron star crusts. We consider axisymmetric
dipolar fields which are either restricted to the stellar crust, ``crustal
fields'', or allowed to penetrate the core, ``core fields''. By integrating the
two-dimensional heat transport equation in the crust, taking into account the
classical (Larmor) anisotropy of the heat conductivity, we obtain the crustal
temperature distribution, assuming an isothermal core. Including quantum
magnetic field effects in the envelope as a boundary condition, we deduce the
corresponding surface temperature distributions. We find that core fields
result in practically isothermal crusts unless the surface field strength is
well above G while for crustal fields with surface strength above a
few times G significant deviations from isothermality occur at core
temperatures inferior or equal to K. At the stellar surface, the cold
equatorial region produced by the quantum suppression of heat transport
perpendicular to the field in the envelope, present for both core and crustal
fields, is significantly extended by the classical suppression at higher
densities in the case of crustal fields. This can result, for crustal fields,
in two small warm polar regions which will have observational consequences: the
neutron star has a small effective thermally emitting area and the X-ray pulse
profiles are expected to have a distinctively different shape compared to the
case of a neutron star with a core field. These features, when compared with
X-ray data on thermal emission of young cooling neutron stars, will open a way
to provide observational evidence in favor, or against, the two radically
different configurations of crustal or core magnetic fields.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, submitted to A&
Data mining: a tool for detecting cyclical disturbances in supply networks.
Disturbances in supply chains may be either exogenous or endogenous. The ability automatically to detect, diagnose, and distinguish between the causes of disturbances is of prime importance to decision makers in order to avoid uncertainty. The spectral principal component analysis (SPCA) technique has been utilized to distinguish between real and rogue disturbances in a steel supply network. The data set used was collected from four different business units in the network and consists of 43 variables; each is described by 72 data points. The present paper will utilize the same data set to test an alternative approach to SPCA in detecting the disturbances. The new approach employs statistical data pre-processing, clustering, and classification learning techniques to analyse the supply network data. In particular, the incremental k-means
clustering and the RULES-6 classification rule-learning algorithms, developed by the present authors’ team, have been applied to identify important patterns in the data set. Results show that the proposed approach has the capability automatically to detect and characterize network-wide cyclical disturbances and generate hypotheses about their root cause
Unidentified EGRET Sources and the Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Background
The large majority of EGRET point sources remain to this day without an
identified low-energy counterpart. Whatever the nature of the EGRET
unidentified sources, faint unresolved objects of the same class must have a
contribution to the diffuse gamma-ray background: if most unidentified objects
are extragalactic, faint unresolved sources of the same class contribute to the
background, as a distinct extragalactic population; on the other hand, if most
unidentified sources are Galactic, their counterparts in external galaxies will
contribute to the unresolved emission from these systems. Understanding this
component of the gamma-ray background, along with other guaranteed
contributions from known sources, is essential in any attempt to use gamma-ray
observations to constrain exotic high-energy physics. Here, we follow an
empirical approach to estimate whether a potential contribution of unidentified
sources to the extragalactic gamma-ray background is likely to be important,
and we find that it is. Additionally, we comment on how the anticipated GLAST
measurement of the diffuse gamma-ray background will change, depending on the
nature of the majority of these sources.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in proceedings of "The Multi-Messenger
Approach to High Energy Gamma-Ray Sources", Barcelona, 4-7 July 2006;
comments welcom
Spin and magnetization effects in plasmas
We give a short review of a number of different models for treating
magnetization effects in plasmas. In particular, the transition between kinetic
models and fluid models is discussed. We also give examples of applications of
such theories. Some future aspects are discussed.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure. To appear in Plasma Physics and Controlled
Fusion, Special Issue for the 37th ICPP, Santiago, Chil
The relative and absolute timing accuracy of the EPIC-pn camera on XMM-Newton, from X-ray pulsations of the Crab and other pulsars
Reliable timing calibration is essential for the accurate comparison of
XMM-Newton light curves with those from other observatories, to ultimately use
them to derive precise physical quantities. The XMM-Newton timing calibration
is based on pulsar analysis. However, as pulsars show both timing noise and
glitches, it is essential to monitor these calibration sources regularly. To
this end, the XMM-Newton observatory performs observations twice a year of the
Crab pulsar to monitor the absolute timing accuracy of the EPIC-pn camera in
the fast Timing and Burst modes. We present the results of this monitoring
campaign, comparing XMM-Newton data from the Crab pulsar (PSR B0531+21) with
radio measurements. In addition, we use five pulsars (PSR J0537-69, PSR
B0540-69, PSR B0833-45, PSR B1509-58 and PSR B1055-52) with periods ranging
from 16 ms to 197 ms to verify the relative timing accuracy. We analysed 38
XMM-Newton observations (0.2-12.0 keV) of the Crab taken over the first ten
years of the mission and 13 observations from the five complementary pulsars.
All the data were processed with the SAS, the XMM-Newton Scientific Analysis
Software, version 9.0. Epoch folding techniques coupled with \chi^{2} tests
were used to derive relative timing accuracies. The absolute timing accuracy
was determined using the Crab data and comparing the time shift between the
main X-ray and radio peaks in the phase folded light curves. The relative
timing accuracy of XMM-Newton is found to be better than 10^{-8}. The strongest
X-ray pulse peak precedes the corresponding radio peak by 306\pm9 \mus, which
is in agreement with other high energy observatories such as Chandra, INTEGRAL
and RXTE. The derived absolute timing accuracy from our analysis is \pm48 \mus.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication on A&
Hydrodynamic modelling of protein conformation in solution: ELLIPS and HYDRO
The last three decades has seen some important
advances in our ability to represent the conformation of
proteins in solution on the basis of hydrodynamic measurements.
Advances in theoretical modeling capabilities have
been matched by commensurate advances in the precision of
hydrodynamic measurements. We consider the advances in
whole-body (simple ellipsoid-based) modeling—still useful
for providing an overall idea of molecular shape, particularly
for those systems where only a limited amount of data is
available—and outline the ELLIPS suite of algorithms
which facilitates the use of this approach. We then focus
on bead modeling strategies, particularly the surface or
shell–bead approaches and the HYDRO suite of algorithms.
We demonstrate how these are providing great insights into
complex issues such as the conformation of immunoglobulins
and other multi-domain complexes
What are the most effective exercise, physical activity and dietary interventions to improve body composition in women diagnosed with or at high-risk of breast cancer? A systematic review and network meta-analysis
Background: Obesity has been recognized as a risk factor in the development and recurrence of breast cancer and is also associated with poor prognostic outcomes. This systematic review and network meta-analysis aimed to identify the most effective exercise, physical activity, and dietary interventions to reduce fat mass, body fat percentage and body weight as well as potentially increase lean mass in women diagnosed with or at high risk of breast cancer. Methods: A systematic search of databases was performed up to May 2022. Eligible randomized controlled trials examined the effects of exercise, physical activity and/or dietary interventions on fat mass and lean mass in women diagnosed with or at high risk of breast cancer. A random-effects network meta-analysis was conducted to determine the effects of different interventions across outcomes when sufficient studies were available. Results: Eighty-four studies (n = 6428) were included in this review. Caloric restriction and combined exercise + caloric restriction significantly reduced fat mass (range, –3.9 to –3.7 kg) and body weight (range, –5.3 to –4.7 kg), whereas physical activity + caloric restriction significantly reduced body fat percentage (–2.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI], –3.4% to –13%) and body mass index (–2.2 kg × m–2; 95% CI, –3.0 to –1.4 kg × m–2) in breast cancer patients. Resistance exercise was the most effective intervention to increase lean mass (0.7 kg; 95% CI, 0.5–1.0 kg) in breast cancer patients. Conclusion: Multimodal exercise and diet programs were the most effective interventions to reduce fat mass, body fat percentage, and body weight and increase and/or preserve lean mass
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GLAST LAT And Pulsars: What Do We Learn from Simulations?
Gamma-ray pulsars are among the best targets for the Large Area Telescope (LAT) aboard the GLAST mission. The higher sensitivity, time and energy resolution of the LAT will provide data of fundamental importance to understand the physics of these fascinating objects. Powerful tools for studying the LAT capabilities for pulsar science are the simulation programs developed within the GLAST Collaboration. Thanks to these simulations it is possible to produce a detailed distribution of gamma-ray photons in energy and phase that can be folded through the LAT Instrument Response Functions (IRFs). Here we present some of the main interesting results from the simulations developed to study the discovery potential of the LAT. In particular we will focus on the capability of the LAT to discover new radio-loud gamma-ray pulsars, on the discrimination between Polar Cap and Outer Gap models, and on the LAT pulsar sensitivity
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