8,909 research outputs found
Micromagnetic simulations of interacting dipoles on a fcc lattice: Application to nanoparticle assemblies
Micromagnetic simulations are used to examine the effects of cubic and axial
anisotropy, magnetostatic interactions and temperature on M-H loops for a
collection of magnetic dipoles on fcc and sc lattices. We employ a simple model
of interacting dipoles that represent single-domain particles in an attempt to
explain recent experimental data on ordered arrays of magnetoferritin
nanoparticles that demonstrate the crucial role of interactions between
particles in a fcc lattice. Significant agreement between the simulation and
experimental results is achieved, and the impact of intra-particle degrees of
freedom and surface effects on thermal fluctuations are investigated.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure
Exposure of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium to High Level Biocide Challenge Can Select Multidrug Resistant Mutants in a Single Step
Biocides are crucial to the prevention of infection by bacteria, particularly with the global emergence of multiply antibiotic resistant strains of many species. Concern has been raised regarding the potential for biocide exposure to select for antibiotic resistance due to common mechanisms of resistance, notably efflux.Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium was challenged with 4 biocides of differing modes of action at both low and recommended-use concentration. Flow cytometry was used to investigate the physiological state of the cells after biocide challenge. After 5 hours exposure to biocide, live cells were sorted by FACS and recovered. Cells recovered after an exposure to low concentrations of biocide had antibiotic resistance profiles similar to wild-type cells. Live cells were recovered after exposure to two of the biocides at in-use concentration for 5 hours. These cells were multi-drug resistant and accumulation assays demonstrated an efflux phenotype of these mutants. Gene expression analysis showed that the AcrEF multidrug efflux pump was de-repressed in mutants isolated from high-levels of biocide.These data show that a single exposure to the working concentration of certain biocides can select for mutant Salmonella with efflux mediated multidrug resistance and that flow cytometry is a sensitive tool for identifying biocide tolerant mutants. The propensity for biocides to select for MDR mutants varies and this should be a consideration when designing new biocidal formulations
From paradox to pattern shift: Conceptualising liminal hotspots and their affective dynamics
This article introduces the concept of liminal hotspots as a specifically psychosocial and sociopsychological type of wicked problem, best addressed in a process-theoretical framework. A liminal hotspot is defined as an occasion characterised by the experience of being trapped in the interstitial dimension between different forms-of-process. The paper has two main aims. First, to articulate a nexus of concepts associated with liminal hotspots that together provide general analytic purchase on a wide range of problems concerning “troubled” becoming. Second, to provide concrete illustrations through examples drawn from the health domain. In the conclusion, we briefly indicate the sense in which liminal hotspots are part of broader and deeper historical processes associated with changing modes for the management and navigation of liminality
Motor and Hippocampal Dependent Spatial Learning and Reference Memory Assessment in a Transgenic Rat Model of Alzheimer\u27s Disease with Stroke
Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease that results in neurodegeneration and memory loss. While age is a major risk factor for AD, stroke has also been implicated as a risk factor and an exacerbating factor. The co-morbidity of stroke and AD results in worsened stroke-related motor control and AD-related cognitive deficits when compared to each condition alone. To model the combined condition of stroke and AD, a novel transgenic rat model of AD, with a mutated form of amyloid precursor protein (a key protein involved in the development of AD) incorporated into its DNA, is given a small unilateral striatal stroke. For a model with the combination of both stroke and AD, behavioral tests that assess stroke-related motor control, locomotion and AD-related cognitive function must be implemented. The cylinder task involves a cost-efficient, multipurpose apparatus that assesses spontaneous forelimb motor use. In this task, a rat is placed in a cylindrical apparatus, where the rat will spontaneously rear and contact the wall of the cylinder with its forelimbs. These contacts are considered forelimb motor use and quantified during video analysis after testing. Another cost-efficient motor task implemented is the beam-walk task, which assesses forelimb control, hindlimb control and locomotion. This task involves a rat walking across a wooden beam allowing for the assessment of limb motor control through analysis of forelimb slips, hindlimb slips and falls. Assessment of learning and memory is completed with Morris water maze for this behavioral paradigm. The protocol starts with spatial learning, whereby the rat locates a stationary hidden platform. After spatial learning, the platform is removed and both short-term and long-term spatial reference memory is assessed. All three of these tasks are sensitive to behavioral differences and completed within 28 days for this model, making this paradigm time-efficient and cost-efficient
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Evaluating the risk of non-point source pollution from biosolids: integrated modelling of nutrient losses at field and catchment scales
International audienceA semi-distributed model, INCA, has been developed to determine the fate and distribution of nutrients in terrestrial and aquatic systems. The model simulates nitrogen and phosphorus processes in soils, groundwaters and river systems and can be applied in a semi-distributed manner at a range of scales. In this study, the model has been applied at field to sub-catchment to whole catchment scale to evaluate the behaviour of biosolid-derived losses of P in agricultural systems. It is shown that process-based models such as INCA, applied at a wide range of scales, reproduce field and catchment behaviour satisfactorily. The INCA model can also be used to generate generic information for risk assessment. By adjusting three key variables: biosolid application rates, the hydrological connectivity of the catchment and the initial P-status of the soils within the model, a matrix of P loss rates can be generated to evaluate the behaviour of the model and, hence, of the catchment system. The results, which indicate the sensitivity of the catchment to flow paths, to application rates and to initial soil conditions, have been incorporated into a Nutrient Export Risk Matrix (NERM)
A relativistic action-at-a-distance description of gravitational interactions?
It is shown that certain aspects of gravitation may be described using a
relativistic action-at-a-distance formulation. The equations of motion of the
model presented are invariant under Lorentz transformations and agree with the
equations of Einstein's theory of General Relativity, at the first
Post-Newtonian approximation, for any number of interacting point masses
Valuing Angling on Reservoirs Using Benefit Transfer
Economic assessments are rarely applied to inland recreational fisheries for management purposes, especially when compared to fish, habitat, and creel assessments, yet economic assessments can provide critical information for management decisions. We provide a brief overview of economic value, key terminology, and existing economic techniques to address these issues. Benefit transfer, a technique used to measure economic value when an original analysis is not practicable, is conducted by drawing on existing estimates of economic value in similar contexts. We describe an application of benefit transfer to measure the economic value of several recreational fisheries in Nebraska, USA. We examine two approaches to benefit transfer—value transfer and function transfer—which we demonstrate estimate similar economic values for fishing site access but substantially different economic values for catch rate improvements at some reservoirs. We encourage agencies that are responsible for inland recreational fisheries management to consider economic assessment, especially benefit transfer, as a critical tool in the management toolbox
‘Deliberate Preparation’ as an evidence-based focus for primary physical education
There is substantial scientific research suggesting the physical and psychological health benefits of a physically active lifestyle. Consequently, governments worldwide prioritize policies, finances, and resources in healthcare, education, and sports sectors to increase mass participation in physical activity. However, practices in physical activity promotion are often not underpinned by evidence-based standardization that is requisite in other domains of epidemiology. The aim of this article is to examine critically the available scientific research on promoting life-long physical activity participation and to propose an evidence-based model for implementation in school physical education. Reasons are discussed as to why programs that integrate physical, psychological, and behavioral skills have been long acknowledged in physical education and physical activity domains but remain lacking in empirical validation. Finally, future directions are suggested that are required to examine the application of this approach to practice in primary-level physical education
A new foundational crisis in mathematics, is it really happening?
The article reconsiders the position of the foundations of mathematics after
the discovery of HoTT. Discussion that this discovery has generated in the
community of mathematicians, philosophers and computer scientists might
indicate a new crisis in the foundation of mathematics. By examining the
mathematical facts behind HoTT and their relation with the existing
foundations, we conclude that the present crisis is not one. We reiterate a
pluralist vision of the foundations of mathematics. The article contains a
short survey of the mathematical and historical background needed to understand
the main tenets of the foundational issues.Comment: Final versio
Neutrino-induced pion production from nuclei at medium energies
We present a fully relativistic formalism for describing neutrino-induced
-mediated single-pion production from nuclei. We assess the ambiguities
stemming from the interactions. Variations in the cross sections of
over 10% are observed, depending on whether or not magnetic-dipole dominance is
assumed to extract the vector form factors. These uncertainties have a direct
impact on the accuracy with which the axial-vector form factors can be
extracted. Different predictions for induce up to 40-50% effects
on the -production cross sections. To describe the nucleus, we turn to
a relativistic plane-wave impulse approximation (RPWIA) using realistic
bound-state wave functions derived in the Hartree approximation to the
- Walecka model. For neutrino energies larger than 1 GeV, we
show that a relativistic Fermi-gas model with appropriate binding-energy
correction produces comparable results as the RPWIA which naturally includes
Fermi motion, nuclear-binding effects and the Pauli exclusion principle.
Including medium modifications yields a 20 to 25% reduction of the
RPWIA cross section. The model presented in this work can be naturally extended
to include the effect of final-state interactions in a relativistic and
quantum-mechanical way. Guided by recent neutrino-oscillation experiments, such
as MiniBooNE and K2K, and future efforts like MINERA, we present ,
, and various semi-inclusive distributions, both for a free nucleon and
carbon, oxygen and iron targets.Comment: 25 pages, 14 figure
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