789 research outputs found
Discrete moving breather collisions in a Klein-Gordon chain of oscillators
We study collision processes of moving breathers with the same frequency,
traveling with opposite directions within a Klein-Gordon chain of oscillators.
Two types of collisions have been analyzed: symmetric and non-symmetric,
head-on collisions. For low enough frequency the outcome is strongly dependent
of the dynamical states of the two colliding breathers just before the
collision. For symmetric collisions, several results can be observed: breather
generation, with the formation of a trapped breather and two new moving
breathers; breather reflection; generation of two new moving breathers; and
breather fusion bringing about a trapped breather. For non-symmetric collisions
the possible results are: breather generation, with the formation of three new
moving breathers; breather fusion, originating a new moving breather; breather
trapping with also breather reflection; generation of two new moving breathers;
and two new moving breathers traveling as a ligand state. Breather annihilation
has never been observed.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figure
Breather trapping and breather transmission in a DNA model with an interface
We study the dynamics of moving discrete breathers in an interfaced piecewise
DNA molecule.
This is a DNA chain in which all the base pairs are identical and there
exists an interface such that the base pairs dipole moments at each side are
oriented in opposite directions.
The Hamiltonian of the Peyrard--Bishop model is augmented with a term that
includes the dipole--dipole coupling between base pairs. Numerical simulations
show the existence of two dynamical regimes. If the translational kinetic
energy of a moving breather launched towards the interface is below a critical
value, it is trapped in a region around the interface collecting vibrational
energy. For an energy larger than the critical value, the breather is
transmitted and continues travelling along the double strand with lower
velocity. Reflection phenomena never occur.
The same study has been carried out when a single dipole is oriented in
opposite direction to the other ones.
When moving breathers collide with the single inverted dipole, the same
effects appear. These results emphasize the importance of this simple type of
local inhomogeneity as it creates a mechanism for the trapping of energy.
Finally, the simulations show that, under favorable conditions, several
launched moving breathers can be trapped successively at the interface region
producing an accumulation of vibrational energy. Moreover, an additional
colliding moving breather can produce a saturation of energy and a moving
breather with all the accumulated energy is transmitted to the chain.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figure
Differential epitope recognition in the immunodominant staphylococcal antigen A of Staphylococcus aureus by mouse versus human IgG antibodies
The immunodominant staphylococcal antigen A (IsaA) is a potential target for active or passive immunization against the important human pathogen _Staphylococcus aureus_. Consistent with this view, monoclonal antibodies against IsaA were previously shown to be protective against _S. aureus_ infections in mouse models. Further, patients with the genetic blistering disease epidermolysis bullosa (EB) displayed high IsaA-specific IgG levels that could potentially be protective. Yet, mice actively immunized with IsaA were not protected against _S. aureus_ infection. The present study was aimed at explaining these differences in IsaA-specific immune responses. By epitope mapping, we show that the protective human monoclonal antibody (humAb) 1D9 recognizes a conserved 62-residue N-terminal domain of IsaA. The same region of IsaA is recognized by IgGs in EB patient sera. Further, we show by immunofluorescence microscopy that this N-terminal IsaA domain is exposed on the _S. aureus_ cell surface. In contrast to the humAb 1D9 and IgGs from EB patients, the non-protective IgGs from mice immunized with IsaA were shown to predominantly bind the C-terminal domain of IsaA. Altogether, these observations focus attention on the N-terminal region of IsaA as a potential target for future immunization against _S. aureus_
Moving breathers in a bent DNA-related model
We study the properties of moving breathers in a bent DNA-related model with
short range interaction, due to the stacking of the base pairs, and long range
interaction, due to the finite dipole moment of the bonds within each base
pair. We show that the movement of a breather is hindered by the bending of the
chain as a particle in a potential barrier. We have also found that the
behaviour of moving breathers in an homogeneous bent chain and in a straight
chain with a small impurity is qualitatively equivalent.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure
Es necesario rotular con más claridad los tubos emisores de luz ultravioleta C para la prevención de lesiones en la piel y los ojos
La queratoconjuntivitis actínica se produce por la exposición del ojo sin protección a los rayos ultravioleta, sobre todo de los tipos B y C (UV-B y UV-C). Consiste en una inflamación superficial del ojo muy molesta, que produce sensación de cuerpo extraño, dolor, lagrimeo y fotofobia, con una duración de 12-24 horas. Normalmente no hay secuelas, aunque en ocasiones pueden producirse úlceras corneales. En la mayoría de los casos se debe al uso de equipos de soldadura o a focos de luz potentes..
Flexibilidad psicológica y autoabandono del tabaco
The prevalence of smoking in the general population remains high in spite of the extended acknowledgement of the well-documented health consequences of smoking and potential benefits of quitting. Only a minority of smokers who attempt to quit seeks professional treatment, yet most of the research on smoking cessation focuses on such form of quitting. Research on self-quitting is scarce, although most smokers who successfully quit, do so on their own. Recently, research has evidenced that psychological flexibility, a core concept in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, is an important variable in predicting successful behavioral change in many clinically relevant areas. The goal of this study was to analyze the relationship between psychological flexibility and successful self-quitting from smoking. 277 participants who had attempted to quit on their own (217 successfully abstinent and 60 still smoking) provided information on their smoking history, quit attempts, nicotine dependence, and demographics, and were assessed with the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II. Abstinence status was measured through self-reports of continuous abstinence and confirmed by concentrations of expired carbon monoxide below 8 ppm. Results show a statistically significant difference (t= -8, 775; p <.01) for the AAQ-II scores of successful (M= 18.39, SD= 7.76) and unsuccessful self-quitters (M= 27.17; SD= 6.88). Only 26% participants with high level of psychological inflexibility quitted successfully, compared to 94% participants with low levels of psychological inflexibility. These results show clear evidence that psychological flexibility is associated to successful self-quitting, and suggest that this variable could facilitate success in attempts to stop smoking without professional help. Implications and limitations of this study are discussed
Search for composite and exotic fermions at LEP 2
A search for unstable heavy fermions with the DELPHI detector at LEP is
reported. Sequential and non-canonical leptons, as well as excited leptons and
quarks, are considered. The data analysed correspond to an integrated
luminosity of about 48 pb^{-1} at an e^+e^- centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV
and about 20 pb^{-1} equally shared between the centre-of-mass energies of 172
GeV and 161 GeV. The search for pair-produced new leptons establishes 95%
confidence level mass limits in the region between 70 GeV/c^2 and 90 GeV/c^2,
depending on the channel. The search for singly produced excited leptons and
quarks establishes upper limits on the ratio of the coupling of the excited
fermio
Search for charginos in e+e- interactions at sqrt(s) = 189 GeV
An update of the searches for charginos and gravitinos is presented, based on
a data sample corresponding to the 158 pb^{-1} recorded by the DELPHI detector
in 1998, at a centre-of-mass energy of 189 GeV. No evidence for a signal was
found. The lower mass limits are 4-5 GeV/c^2 higher than those obtained at a
centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV. The (\mu,M_2) MSSM domain excluded by
combining the chargino searches with neutralino searches at the Z resonance
implies a limit on the mass of the lightest neutralino which, for a heavy
sneutrino, is constrained to be above 31.0 GeV/c^2 for tan(beta) \geq 1.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figure
Search for lightest neutralino and stau pair production in light gravitino scenarios with stau NLSP
Promptly decaying lightest neutralinos and long-lived staus are searched for
in the context of light gravitino scenarios. It is assumed that the stau is the
next to lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP) and that the lightest
neutralino is the next to NLSP (NNLSP). Data collected with the Delphi detector
at centre-of-mass energies from 161 to 183 \GeV are analysed. No evidence of
the production of these particles is found. Hence, lower mass limits for both
kinds of particles are set at 95% C.L.. The mass of gaugino-like neutralinos is
found to be greater than 71.5 GeV/c^2. In the search for long-lived stau,
masses less than 70.0 to 77.5 \GeVcc are excluded for gravitino masses from 10
to 150 \eVcc . Combining this search with the searches for stable heavy leptons
and Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model staus a lower limit of 68.5 \GeVcc
may be set for the stau mas
Hadronization properties of b quarks compared to light quarks in e+e- -> q qbar from 183 to 200 GeV
The DELPHI detector at LEP has collected 54 pb^{-1} of data at a
centre-of-mass energy around 183 GeV during 1997, 158 pb^{-1} around 189 GeV
during 1998, and 187 pb^{-1} between 192 and 200 GeV during 1999. These data
were used to measure the average charged particle multiplicity in e+e- -> b
bbar events, _{bb}, and the difference delta_{bl} between _{bb} and the
multiplicity, _{ll}, in generic light quark (u,d,s) events: delta_{bl}(183
GeV) = 4.55 +/- 1.31 (stat) +/- 0.73 (syst) delta_{bl}(189 GeV) = 4.43 +/- 0.85
(stat) +/- 0.61 (syst) delta_{bl}(200 GeV) = 3.39 +/- 0.89 (stat) +/- 1.01
(syst). This result is consistent with QCD predictions, while it is
inconsistent with calculations assuming that the multiplicity accompanying the
decay of a heavy quark is independent of the mass of the quark itself.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure
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