1,174 research outputs found
Genetic Disenhancement and Xenotransplantation: Diminishing Pigs’ Capacity to Experience Suffering through Genetic Engineering
One objection to xenotransplantation is that it will
require the large-scale breeding, raising and killing
of genetically modified pigs. The pigs will need to
be raised in designated pathogen-free facilities and
undergo a range of medical tests before having their
organs removed and being euthanised. As a result,
they will have significantly shortened life expectancies,
will experience pain and suffering and be subject to
a degree of social and environmental deprivation. To
minimise the impact of these factors, we propose the
following option for consideration—ethically defensible
xenotransplantation should entail the use of genetic
disenhancement if it becomes possible to do so and if
that pain and suffering cannot be eliminated by other
means. Despite not being a morally ideal 'solution’, it is
morally better to prevent unavoidable pain until a viable
non-animal alternative becomes available
Shaping electron wave functions in a carbon nanotube with a parallel magnetic field
A magnetic field, through its vector potential, usually causes measurable
changes in the electron wave function only in the direction transverse to the
field. Here we demonstrate experimentally and theoretically that in carbon
nanotube quantum dots, combining cylindrical topology and bipartite hexagonal
lattice, a magnetic field along the nanotube axis impacts also the longitudinal
profile of the electronic states. With the high (up to 17T) magnetic fields in
our experiment the wave functions can be tuned all the way from "half-wave
resonator" shape, with nodes at both ends, to "quarter-wave resonator" shape,
with an antinode at one end. This in turn causes a distinct dependence of the
conductance on the magnetic field. Our results demonstrate a new strategy for
the control of wave functions using magnetic fields in quantum systems with
nontrivial lattice and topology.Comment: 5 figure
Anaerobic digestion of whole-crop winter wheat silage for renewable energy production
With biogas production expanding across Europe in response to renewable energy incentives, a wider variety of crops need to be considered as feedstock. Maize, the most commonly used crop at present, is not ideal in cooler, wetter regions, where higher energy yields per hectare might be achieved with other cereals. Winter wheat is a possible candidate because, under these conditions, it has a good biomass yield, can be ensiled, and can be used as a whole crop material. The results showed that, when harvested at the medium milk stage, the specific methane yield was 0.32 m3 CH4 kg–1 volatile solids added, equal to 73% of the measured calorific value. Using crop yield values for the north of England, a net energy yield of 146–155 GJ ha–1 year–1 could be achieved after taking into account both direct and indirect energy consumption in cultivation, processing through anaerobic digestion, and spreading digestate back to the land. The process showed some limitations, however: the relatively low density of the substrate made it difficult to mix the digester, and there was a buildup of soluble chemical oxygen demand, which represented a loss in methane potential and may also have led to biofoaming. The high nitrogen content of the wheat initially caused problems, but these could be overcome by acclimatization. A combination of these factors is likely to limit the loading that can be applied to the digester when using winter wheat as a substrat
Differential expression of the brassinosteroid receptor-encoding BRI1 gene in Arabidopsis
Abstract Brassinosteroid (BR)-regulated growth and
development in Arabidopsis depends on BRASSINOSTEROID
INSENSITIVE 1 (BRI1), the BR receptor that
is responsible for initiating the events of BR signalling.
We analysed the temporal and spatial regulation of BRI1
expression using stable transgenic lines that carried BRI1
promoter:reporter fusions. In both seedlings and mature
plants the tissues undergoing elongation or differentiation
showed elevated BRI1 gene activity, and it could be
demonstrated that in the hypocotyl this was accompanied
by accumulation of the BRI1 transcript and its receptor
protein product. In seedlings the BRI1 promoter was also
found to be under diurnal regulation, determined primarily
by light repression and a superimposed circadian control.
To determine the functional importance of transcriptional
regulation we complemented the severely BR insensitive
bri1-101 mutant with a BRI1-luciferase fusion construct
that was driven by promoters with contrasting specificities.
Whereas the BRI1 promoter-driven transgene fully restored the wild phenotype, expression from the photosynthesisassociated
CAB3 and the vasculature-specific SUC2 and
ATHB8 promoters resulted in plants with varying morphogenic
defects. Our results reveal complex differential regulation
of BRI1 expression, and suggest that by influencing
the distribution and abundance of the receptor this regulation
can enhance or attenuate BR signalling
The origin of large molecules in primordial autocatalytic reaction networks
Large molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids are crucial for life, yet
their primordial origin remains a major puzzle. The production of large
molecules, as we know it today, requires good catalysts, and the only good
catalysts we know that can accomplish this task consist of large molecules.
Thus the origin of large molecules is a chicken and egg problem in chemistry.
Here we present a mechanism, based on autocatalytic sets (ACSs), that is a
possible solution to this problem. We discuss a mathematical model describing
the population dynamics of molecules in a stylized but prebiotically plausible
chemistry. Large molecules can be produced in this chemistry by the coalescing
of smaller ones, with the smallest molecules, the `food set', being buffered.
Some of the reactions can be catalyzed by molecules within the chemistry with
varying catalytic strengths. Normally the concentrations of large molecules in
such a scenario are very small, diminishing exponentially with their size.
ACSs, if present in the catalytic network, can focus the resources of the
system into a sparse set of molecules. ACSs can produce a bistability in the
population dynamics and, in particular, steady states wherein the ACS molecules
dominate the population. However to reach these steady states from initial
conditions that contain only the food set typically requires very large
catalytic strengths, growing exponentially with the size of the catalyst
molecule. We present a solution to this problem by studying `nested ACSs', a
structure in which a small ACS is connected to a larger one and reinforces it.
We show that when the network contains a cascade of nested ACSs with the
catalytic strengths of molecules increasing gradually with their size (e.g., as
a power law), a sparse subset of molecules including some very large molecules
can come to dominate the system.Comment: 49 pages, 17 figures including supporting informatio
Statistical signatures of critical behavior in small systems
The cluster distributions of different systems are examined to search for
signatures of a continuous phase transition. In a system known to possess such
a phase transition, both sensitive and insensitive signatures are present;
while in systems known not to possess such a phase transition, only insensitive
signatures are present. It is shown that nuclear multifragmentation results in
cluster distributions belonging to the former category, suggesting that the
fragments are the result of a continuous phase transition.Comment: 31 pages, two columns with 30 figure
Isolation of Flow and Nonflow Correlations by Two- and Four-Particle Cumulant Measurements of Azimuthal Harmonics in 200 GeV Au+Au Collisions
A data-driven method was applied to measurements of Au+Au collisions at
200 GeV made with the STAR detector at RHIC to isolate
pseudorapidity distance -dependent and -independent
correlations by using two- and four-particle azimuthal cumulant measurements.
We identified a component of the correlation that is -independent,
which is likely dominated by anisotropic flow and flow fluctuations. It was
also found to be independent of within the measured range of
pseudorapidity . The relative flow fluctuation was found to be for particles of transverse momentum
less than GeV/. The -dependent part may be attributed to
nonflow correlations, and is found to be relative to the
flow of the measured second harmonic cumulant at
Charged-to-neutral correlation at forward rapidity in Au+Au collisions at =200 GeV
Event-by-event fluctuations of the ratio of inclusive charged to photon
multiplicities at forward rapidity in Au+Au collision at =200
GeV have been studied. Dominant contribution to such fluctuations is expected
to come from correlated production of charged and neutral pions. We search for
evidences of dynamical fluctuations of different physical origins. Observables
constructed out of moments of multiplicities are used as measures of
fluctuations. Mixed events and model calculations are used as baselines.
Results are compared to the dynamical net-charge fluctuations measured in the
same acceptance. A non-zero statistically significant signal of dynamical
fluctuations is observed in excess to the model prediction when charged
particles and photons are measured in the same acceptance. We find that, unlike
dynamical net-charge fluctuation, charge-neutral fluctuation is not dominated
by correlation due to particle decay. Results are compared to the expectations
based on the generic production mechanism of pions due to isospin symmetry, for
which no significant (<1%) deviation is observed.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
Model-independent source imaging using two-pion correlations in 2 to 8A GeV Au + Au collisions
We report a particle source imaging analysis based on two-pion correlations
in high multiplicity Au + Au collisions at beam energies between 2 and 8A GeV.
We apply the imaging technique introduced by Brown and Danielewicz, which
allows a model-independent extraction of source functions with useful accuracy
out to relative pion separations of about 20 fm. The extracted source functions
have Gaussian shapes. Values of source functions at zero separation are almost
constant across the energy range under study. Imaging results are found to be
consistent with conventional source parameters obtained from a multidimensional
HBT analysis.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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