Subpixel Temperature Measurements in Plasma Jet Environments Using High-Speed Multispectral Pyrometry

A high-speed (2 kHz) near-infrared (1.0-1.65 mu m) multispectral pyrometer was used for noninvasive measurements of the subpixel temperature distribution near the sharp leading edge of a wing exposed to a supersonic plasma jet. The multispectral pyrometer operating in the field measurement mode was able to measure the spatial temperature distribution. Multiple spectra were used to determine the temperature distributions in the measurement region. The spatial resolution of the multispectral pyrometer was not restricted to one &quot;pixel&quot; but was extended to subpixel accuracy (the temperature distribution inside one pixel in the image space corresponding to the point region in the object space). Thus, this system gives high-speed, multichannel, and long working time spatial temperature measurements with a small data stream from high-speed multispectral pyrometers. The temperature distribution of the leading edge of a ceramic wing was investigated with the leading edge exposed to extreme convective heating from a high-enthalpy plasma flow. Simultaneous measurements with a multispectral pyrometer and an imaging pyrometer verify the measurement accuracy of the subpixel temperature distribution. Thus, this multispectral pyrometry can provide in situ noninvasive temperature diagnostics in supersonic plasma jet environments.</p

The marginally stable Bethe lattice spin glass revisited

Bethe lattice spins glasses are supposed to be marginally stable, i.e. their equilibrium probability distribution changes discontinuously when we add an external perturbation. So far the problem of a spin glass on a Bethe lattice has been studied only using an approximation where marginally stability is not present, which is wrong in the spin glass phase. Because of some technical difficulties, attempts at deriving a marginally stable solution have been confined to some perturbative regimes, high connectivity lattices or temperature close to the critical temperature. Using the cavity method, we propose a general non-perturbative approach to the Bethe lattice spin glass problem using approximations that should be hopeful consistent with marginal stability.Comment: 23 pages Revised version, hopefully clearer that the first one: six pages longe

Supersymmetric Decays of the Z' Boson

The decay of the Z' boson into supersymmetric particles is studied. We investigate how these supersymmetric modes affect the current limits from the Tevatron and project the expected sensitivities at the LHC. Employing three representative supersymmetric Z' models, namely, E_6, U(1)_{B-L}, and the sequential model, we show that the current limits of the Z' mass from the Tevatron could be reduced substantially due to the weakening of the branching ratio into leptonic pairs. The mass reach for the E_6 Z' bosons is about 1.3-1.5 TeV at the LHC-7 (1 fb^{-1}), about 2.5 - 2.6 TeV at the LHC-10 (10 fb^{-1}), and about 4.2 - 4.3 TeV at the LHC-14 (100 fb^{-1}). A similar mass reach for the U(1)_{B-L} Z' is also obtained. We also examine the potential of identifying various supersymmetric decay modes of the Z' boson because it may play a crucial role in the detailed dynamics of supersymmetry breaking.Comment: 30 pages, including 13 figures. improvements to the presentation and references adde

Generating MHV super-vertices in light-cone gauge

We constructe the $\mathcal{N}=1$ SYM lagrangian in light-cone gauge using chiral superfields instead of the standard vector superfield approach and derive the MHV lagrangian. The canonical transformations of the gauge field and gaugino fields are summarised by the transformation condition of chiral superfields. We show that $\mathcal{N}=1$ MHV super-vertices can be described by a formula similar to that of the $\mathcal{N}=4$ MHV super-amplitude. In the discussions we briefly remark on how to derive Nair's formula for $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory directly from light-cone lagrangian.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, JHEP3 style; v2: references added, some typos corrected; Clarification on the condition used to remove one Grassmann variabl

CMIP5 climate model analyses: Climate extremes in the United States

Given the increases in spatial resolution and other improvements in climate modeling capabilities over the last decade since the CMIP3 simulations were completed, CMIP5 provides a unique opportunity to assess scientific understanding of climate variability and change over a range of historical and future conditions. With participation from over 20 modeling groups and more than 40 global models, CMIP5 represents the latest and most ambitious coordinated international climate model intercomparison exercise to date. Observations dating back to 1900 show that the temperatures in the twenty-first century have the largest spatial extent of record breaking and much above normal mean monthly maximum and minimum temperatures. The 20-yr return value of the annual maximum or minimum daily temperature is one measure of changes in rare temperature extremes

Modelling and simulating change in reforesting mountain landscapes using a social-ecological framework

Natural reforestation of European mountain landscapes raises major environmental and societal issues. With local stakeholders in the Pyrenees National Park area (France), we studied agricultural landscape colonisation by ash (Fraxinus excelsior) to enlighten its impacts on biodiversity and other landscape functions of importance for the valley socio-economics. The study comprised an integrated assessment of land-use and land-cover change (LUCC) since the 1950s, and a scenario analysis of alternative future policy. We combined knowledge and methods from landscape ecology, land change and agricultural sciences, and a set of coordinated field studies to capture interactions and feedback in the local landscape/land-use system. Our results elicited the hierarchically-nested relationships between social and ecological processes. Agricultural change played a preeminent role in the spatial and temporal patterns of LUCC. Landscape colonisation by ash at the parcel level of organisation was merely controlled by grassland management, and in fact depended on the farmer's land management at the whole-farm level. LUCC patterns at the landscape level depended to a great extent on interactions between farm household behaviours and the spatial arrangement of landholdings within the landscape mosaic. Our results stressed the need to represent the local SES function at a fine scale to adequately capture scenarios of change in landscape functions. These findings orientated our modelling choices in the building an agent-based model for LUCC simulation (SMASH - Spatialized Multi-Agent System of landscape colonization by ASH). We discuss our method and results with reference to topical issues in interdisciplinary research into the sustainability of multifunctional landscapes

A Heuristic Solution of the Identifiability Problem of the Age-Period-Cohort Analysis of Cancer Occurrence: Lung Cancer Example

Background: The Age–Period–Cohort (APC) analysis is aimed at estimating the following effects on disease incidence: (i) the age of the subject at the time of disease diagnosis; (ii) the time period, when the disease occurred; and (iii) the date of birth of the subject. These effects can help in evaluating the biological events leading to the disease, in estimating the influence of distinct risk factors on disease occurrence, and in the development of new strategies for disease prevention and treatment. Methodology/Principal Findings: We developed a novel approach for estimating the APC effects on disease incidence rates in the frame of the Log-Linear Age-Period-Cohort (LLAPC) model. Since the APC effects are linearly interdependent and cannot be uniquely estimated, solving this identifiability problem requires setting four redundant parameters within a set of unknown parameters. By setting three parameters (one of the time-period and the birth-cohort effects and the corresponding age effect) to zero, we reduced this problem to the problem of determining one redundant parameter and, used as such, the effect of the time-period adjacent to the anchored time period. By varying this identification parameter, a family of estimates of the APC effects can be obtained. Using a heuristic assumption that the differences between the adjacent birth-cohort effects are small, we developed a numerical method for determining the optimal value of the identification parameter, by which a unique set of all APC effects is determined and the identifiability problem is solved

Efficacy of vitamin D3-fortified-yogurt drink on anthropometric, metabolic, inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers according to vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms in type 2 diabetic patients: a study protocol for a randomized controlled clinical trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is determined by the interactions of genetic and environmental factors. This study was designed to evaluate the possible role of VDR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on different aspects of diabetic host response (anthropometric, metabolic, oxidative stress and inflammatory) to daily intake of vitamin D through fortified yogurt drink for 12 weeks.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This study comprises two parts: (i) a case-control study; and (ii) an intervention trial. In the first part, VDR polymorphisms <it>(Taq1</it>, <it>FokI</it>, <it>Apa1</it>, <it>Bsm1</it>, and <it>Cdx2) </it>are determined in 350 T2DM patients and 350 non-diabetic subjects. In the second part, the possible effects of daily intake of two servings of vitamin D3-fortified yogurt drink (FYD; 500 IU vitamin D/250 mL) on some selected metabolic (including insulin resistance), inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers in 135 T2DM patients are assessed. To relate the resulted changes in the biomarkers to vitamin D replenishment, another group of diabetic patients (n = 45) are also included in the study who receive 2 servings of plain yogurt drink (PYD) a day. The primary outcome is serum level of 25(OH) D, which it is expected to be elevated only in FYD group. Secondary outcomes include improvements in glycemic, metabolic, inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers in FYD group compared to PYD group. Three VDR <it>FokI </it>polymorphisms are determined only in FYD group followed by comparison of changes in the biomarkers among these genotypic variants.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The present study, at least in part, elucidates the discrepancies in the results of different vitamin D-diabetes studies pertaining to the genetic variations of the population. If VDR polymorphisms are found to influence the response to our intervention, then knowing distribution of VDR polymorphisms in both diabetic and non-diabetic populations can give a picture of the proportion of the community in whom up to 1000 IU/d vitamin D may not be effective enough to improve insulin resistance and related morbidities. Therefore, they should ideally receive further nutritional support according to their genotype.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01236846">NCT01236846</a></p

Expressions of glutathione S-transferase alpha, mu, and pi in brains of medically intractable epileptic patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) play an important role in metabolizing anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) in liver. Expressions of GSTs in brain, which may result in poor efficacy of AEDs, have not been well studied. Using clinical cortex specimen from 32 intractable epileptic subjects and 8 non-epileptic controls, the present study investigated the correlation between GSTs and intractable epilepsy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three different GST isoforms (α, μ, and π) were detected with immunohistochemistry. GST-α expression was not seen in any cortex specimens. Sixty three percent (63%) of control and 53% of intractible epileptic specimens showed GST-μ immunoreactivity. No significant difference in intensity of GST-μ staining was observed between these two groups. GST-π expression was found in endothelial cells and glial cells/astrocytes. Fifty percent (50%) of the control patients and 66% of the epileptic patients were GST-π positive. The grading of epileptic patients was significantly higher than that of control patients (<it>p </it>< 0.01).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>High levels of GST-π in endothelial cells and glial cells/astrocyte correlate to medical intractable epilepsy, suggesting that GST-π contributes to resistance to AED treatment.</p

The concept of RNA-assisted protein folding: the role of tRNA

We suggest that tRNA actively participates in the transfer of 3D information from mRNA to peptides - in addition to its well-known, "classical" role of translating the 3-letter RNA codes into the one letter protein code. The tRNA molecule displays a series of thermodynamically favored configurations during translation, a movement which places the codon and coded amino acids in proximity to each other and make physical contact between some amino acids and their codons possible. This specific codon-amino acid interaction of some selected amino acids is necessary for the transfer of spatial information from mRNA to coded proteins, and is known as RNA-assisted protein folding