11,980 research outputs found
Mediators of mechanotransduction between bone cells
Mechanical forces are known to regulate the function of tissues in the body, including bone. Bone adapts to its mechanical environment by altering its shape and increasing its size in response to increases in mechanical load associated with exercise, and by decreasing its size in response to decreases in mechanical load associated with microgravity or prolonged bed rest. Changes in bone size and shape are produced by a cooperative action of two main types of the bone cells - osteoclasts that destroy bone and osteoblasts that build bone. These cell types come from different developmental origins, and vary greatly in their characteristics, such as size, shape, and expression of receptor subtypes, which potentially may affect their responses to mechanical stimuli. The objective of this study is to compare the responses of osteoclasts and osteoblasts to mechanical stimulation.
This study has allowed us to conclude the following:
1. A mediator is released from a single source cell.
2. The response to the mediator changes with distance.
3. The value of the apparent diffusion coeficient increases with distance.
4. A plausible proposed mechanism is that ATP is released and degrades to ADP.
5. Future experiments are required to confim that ATP is the mediator as suggested
Variance and Skewness in the FIRST survey
We investigate the large-scale clustering of radio sources in the FIRST
1.4-GHz survey by analysing the distribution function (counts in cells). We
select a reliable sample from the the FIRST catalogue, paying particular
attention to the problem of how to define single radio sources from the
multiple components listed. We also consider the incompleteness of the
catalogue. We estimate the angular two-point correlation function ,
the variance , and skewness of the distribution for the
various sub-samples chosen on different criteria. Both and
show power-law behaviour with an amplitude corresponding a spatial correlation
length of Mpc. We detect significant skewness in the
distribution, the first such detection in radio surveys. This skewness is found
to be related to the variance through , with
, consistent with the non-linear gravitational growth of
perturbations from primordial Gaussian initial conditions. We show that the
amplitude of variance and skewness are consistent with realistic models of
galaxy clustering.Comment: 13 pages, 21 inline figures, to appear in MNRA
The Redshift Distribution of FIRST Radio Sources at 1 mJy
We present spectra for a sample of radio sources from the FIRST survey, and
use them to define the form of the redshift distribution of radio sources at
mJy levels.We targeted 365 sources and obtained 46 redshifts (13 per cent of
the sample). We find that our sample is complete in redshift measurement to R
, corresponding to . Early-type galaxies represent the
largest subset (45 per cent) of the sample and have redshifts 0.15\la z \la
0.5 ; late-type galaxies make up 15 per cent of the sample and have redshifts
0.05\la z \la 0.2; starbursting galaxies are a small fraction ( per
cent), and are very nearby (z\la 0.05). Some 9 per cent of the population
have Seyfert1/quasar-type spectra, all at z\ga 0.8, and there are 4 per cent
are Seyfert2 type galaxies at intermediate redshifts (). Using our
measurements and data from the Phoenix survey, we obtain an estimate for
at mJy and compare this with model predictions. At
variance with previous conclusions, we find that the population of starbursting
objects makes up \la 5 per cent of the radio population at S mJy.Comment: 20 pages, sumbitted to MNRA
Effectiveness of slow motion video compared to real time video in improving the accuracy and consistency of subjective gait analysis in dogs
Objective measures of canine gait quality via force plates, pressure mats or kinematic analysis are considered superior to subjective gait assessment (SGA). Despite research demonstrating that SGA does not accurately detect subtle lameness, it remains the most commonly performed diagnostic test for detecting lameness in dogs. This is largely because the financial, temporal and spatial requirements for existing objective gait analysis equipment makes this technology impractical for
use in general practice. The utility of slow motion video as a potential tool to augment SGA is currently untested. To evaluate a more accessible way to overcome the limitations of SGA, a slow motion video study was undertaken. Three experienced veterinarians reviewed video footage of 30 dogs, 15 with a diagnosis of primary limb lameness based on history and physical examination, and 15 with no indication of limb lameness based on history and physical examination. Four different videos were made for each dog, demonstrating each dog walking and trotting in real time, and then again walking and trotting in 50% slow motion. For each video, the veterinary raters assessed both the degree of lameness, and which limb(s) they felt represented the source of the lameness. Spearmanâs rho, Cramerâs V, and t-tests were performed to determine if slow motion video increased either the accuracy or consistency of ratersâ SGA relative to real time video. Raters demonstrated no significant increase in consistency or accuracy in their SGA of slow motion video relative to real time video. Based on these findings, slow motion video does not increase the consistency or accuracy of SGA values. Further research is required to determine if slow motion video will benefit SGA in other ways
Microwave trap for atoms and molecules
We demonstrate a trap that confines polarizable particles around the antinode of a standing-wave microwave field. The trap relies only on the polarizability of the particles far from any resonances, so can trap a wide variety of atoms and molecules in a wide range of internal states, including the ground state. The trap has a volume of about 10 cmÂł, and a depth approaching 1K for many polar molecules. We measure the trap properties using âˇLi atoms, showing that when the input microwave power is 610W, the atoms remain trapped with a 1/e lifetime of 1.76(12) s, oscillating with an axial frequency of 28.55(5) Hz and a radial frequency of 8.81(8) Hz. The trap could be loaded with slow molecules from a range of available sources, and is particularly well suited to sympathetic cooling and evaporative cooling of molecules
Integrable discretizations of the sine-Gordon equation
The inverse scattering theory for the sine-Gordon equation discretized in
space and both in space and time is considered.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX2
A trap-based pulsed positron beam optimised for positronium laser spectroscopy
We describe a pulsed positron beam that is optimised for positronium (Ps) laser-spectroscopy experiments. The system is based on a two-stage Surko-type buffer gas trap that produces 4 ns wide pulses containing up to 5 Ă 105 positrons at a rate of 0.5-10 Hz. By implanting positrons from the trap into a suitable target material, a dilute positronium gas with an initial density of the order of 107 cmâ3 is created in vacuum. This is then probed with pulsed (ns) laser systems, where various Ps-laser interactions have been observed via changes in Ps annihilation rates using a fast gamma ray detector. We demonstrate the capabilities of the apparatus and detection methodology via the observation of Rydberg positronium atoms with principal quantum numbers ranging from 11 to 22 and the Stark broadening of the n = 2 â 11 transition in electric fields
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