14,421 research outputs found
Atmospheric chemistry of gas-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: formation of atmospheric mutagens.
The atmospheric chemistry of the 2- to 4-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which exist mainly in the gas phase in the atmosphere, is discussed. The dominant loss process for the gas-phase PAH is by reaction with the hydroxyl radical, resulting in calculated lifetimes in the atmosphere of generally less than one day. The hydroxyl (OH) radical-initiated reactions and nitrate (NO3) radical-initiated reactions often lead to the formation of mutagenic nitro-PAH and other nitropolycyclic aromatic compounds, including nitrodibenzopyranones. These atmospheric reactions have a significant effect on ambient mutagenic activity, indicating that health risk assessments of combustion emissions should include atmospheric transformation products
The geometrically-averaged density of states as a measure of localization
Motivated by current interest in disordered systems of interacting electrons,
the effectiveness of the geometrically averaged density of states,
, as an order parameter for the Anderson transition is
examined. In the context of finite-size systems we examine complications which
arise from finite energy resolution. Furthermore we demonstrate that even in
infinite systems a decline in with increasing disorder
strength is not uniquely associated with localization.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures; revised text and figure
The c axis optical conductivity of layered systems in the superconducting state
In this paper, we discuss the c axis optical conductivity Re [sigma_c(omega)]
in the high T_c superconductors, in the superconducting state. The basic
premise of this work is that electrons travelling along the c axis between
adjacent CuO_2 layers must pass through several intervening layers. In earlier
work we found that, for weak inter-layer coupling, it is preferable for
electrons to travel along the c axis by making a series of interband
transitions rather than to stay within a single (and very narrow) band.
Moreover, we found that many of the properties of the normal state optical
conductivity, including the pseudogap could be explained by interband
transitions. In this work we examine the effect of superconductivity on the
interband conductivity. We find that, while the onset of superconductivity is
clearly evident in the spectrum, there is no clear signature of the symmetry of
the superconducting order parameter.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Antimatter, Lorentz Symmetry, and Gravity
A brief introduction to the Standard-Model Extension (SME) approach to
testing CPT and Lorentz symmetry is provided. Recent proposals for tests with
antimatter are summarized, including gravitational and spectroscopic tests.Comment: Presented at the 12th International Conference on Low Energy
Antiproton Physics, Kanazawa Japan, March 6-11, 2016, Accepted for
publication in JPS Conference Proceeding
On the precision of chiral-dispersive calculations of scattering
We calculate the combination (the Olsson sum rule)
and the scattering lengths and effective ranges , and ,
dispersively (with the Froissart--Gribov representation) using, at
low energy, the phase shifts for scattering obtained by Colangelo,
Gasser and Leutwyler (CGL) from the Roy equations and chiral perturbation
theory, plus experiment and Regge behaviour at high energy, or directly, using
the CGL parameters for s and s. We find mismatch, both among the CGL
phases themselves and with the results obtained from the pion form factor. This
reaches the level of several (2 to 5) standard deviations, and is essentially
independent of the details of the intermediate energy region ( GeV) and, in some cases, of the high energy behaviour assumed. We discuss
possible reasons for this mismatch, in particular in connection with an
alternate set of phase shifts.Comment: Version to appear in Phys. Rev. D. Graphs and sum rule added. Plain
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Nesting symmetries and diffusion in disordered d-wave superconductors
The low-energy density of states (DOS) of disordered 2D d-wave
superconductors is extremely sensitive to details of both the disorder model
and the electronic band structure. Using diagrammatic methods and numerical
solutions of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations, we show that the physical
origin of this sensitivity is the existence of a novel diffusive mode with
momentum close to which is gapless only in systems with a global
nesting symmetry. We find that in generic situations, the DOS vanishes at the
Fermi level. However, proximity to the highly symmetric case may nevertheless
lead to observable non-monotonic behavior of the DOS in the cuprates
Disorder and chain superconductivity in YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-\delta}
The effects of chain disorder on superconductivity in YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-\delta}
are discussed within the context of a proximity model. Chain disorder causes
both pair-breaking and localization. The hybridization of chain and plane
wavefunctions reduces the importance of localization, so that the transport
anisotropy remains large in the presence of a finite fraction of
oxygen vacancies. Penetration depth and specific heat measurements probe the
pair-breaking effects of chain disorder, and are discussed in detail at the
level of the self-consistent T-matrix approximation. Quantitative agreement
with these experiments is found when chain disorder is present.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PRB rapid communication
Primary pulmonary hypertension is associated with reduced pulmonary vascular expression of type II bone morphogenetic protein receptor
BACKGROUND: Mutations in the type II receptor for bone morphogenetic protein (BMPR-II), a receptor member of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily, underlie many familial and sporadic cases of primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH).
METHODS AND RESULTS: Because the sites of expression of BMPR-II in the normal and hypertensive lung are unknown, we studied the cellular localization of BMPR-II and the related type I and II receptors for TGF-beta by immunohistochemistry in lung sections from patients undergoing heart-lung transplantation for PPH (n=11, including 3 familial cases) or secondary pulmonary hypertension (n=6) and from unused donor lungs (n=4). In situ hybridization was performed for BMPR-II mRNA. Patients were screened for the presence of mutations in BMPR2. In normal lungs, BMPR-II expression was prominent on vascular endothelium, with minimal expression in airway and arterial smooth muscle. In pulmonary hypertension cases, the intensity of BMPR-II immunostaining varied between lesions but involved endothelial and myofibroblast components. Image analysis confirmed that expression of BMPR-II was markedly reduced in the peripheral lung of PPH patients, especially in those harboring heterozygous BMPR2 mutations. A less marked reduction was also observed in patients with secondary pulmonary hypertension. In contrast, there was no difference in level of staining for TGF-betaRII or the endothelial marker CD31.
CONCLUSIONS: The cellular localization of BMPR-II is consistent with a role in the formation of pulmonary vascular lesions in PPH, and reduced BMPR-II expression may contribute to the process of vascular obliteration in severe pulmonary hypertension
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