469 research outputs found
Three-body Faddeev Calculation for 11Li with Separable Potentials
The halo nucleus Li is treated as a three-body system consisting of an
inert core of Li plus two valence neutrons. The Faddeev equations are
solved using separable potentials to describe the two-body interactions,
corresponding in the n-Li subsystem to a p resonance plus a
virtual s-wave state. The experimental Li energy is taken as input and
the Li transverse momentum distribution in Li is studied.Comment: 6 pages, RevTeX, 1 figur
Exploration of Resonant Continuum and Giant Resonance in the Relativistic Approach
Single-particle resonant-states in the continuum are determined by solving
scattering states of the Dirac equation with proper asymptotic conditions in
the relativistic mean field theory (RMF). The regular and irregular solutions
of the Dirac equation at a large radius where the nuclear potentials vanish are
relativistic Coulomb wave functions, which are calculated numerically.
Energies, widths and wave functions of single-particle resonance states in the
continuum for ^{120}Sn are studied in the RMF with the parameter set of NL3.
The isoscalar giant octupole resonance of ^{120}Sn is investigated in a fully
consistent relativistic random phase approximation. Comparing the results with
including full continuum states and only those single-particle resonances we
find that the contributions from those resonant-states dominate in the nuclear
giant resonant processes.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure
Particle-unstable nuclei in the Hartree-Fock theory
Ground state energies and decay widths of particle unstable nuclei are
calculated within the Hartree-Fock approximation by performing a complex
scaling of the many-body Hamiltonian. Through this transformation, the wave
functions of the resonant states become square integrable. The method is
implemented with Skyrme effective interactions. Several Skyrme parametrizations
are tested on four unstable nuclei: 10He, 12O, 26O and 28O.Comment: 5 pages, LaTeX, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
A selective sweep in a microsporidian parasite Nosema-tolerant honeybee population, Apis mellifera
Nosema is a microsporidian parasite of the honeybee, which infects the epithelial cells of the gut. In Denmark, honeybee
colonies have been selectively bred for the absence of Nosema over decades, resulting in a breeding line that is tolerant toward
Nosema infections. As the tolerance toward the Nosema infection is a result of artificial selection, we screened chromosome 14
for a selective sweep with microsatellite markers, where a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) had been identified to be
involved in the reduction in Nosema spores in the honeybees. By comparing the genetic variability of 10 colonies of the selected
honeybee strain with a population sample from 22 unselected colonies, a selective sweep was revealed within the previously
identified QTL region. The genetic variability of the swept loci was not only reduced in relation to the flanking markers on
chromosome 14 within the selected strain but also significantly reduced compared with the same region in the unselected
honeybees. This confirmed the results of the previous QTL mapping for reduced Nosema infections. The success of the selective
breeding may have driven the selective sweep found in our study.European Union’s Seventh
Framework Program BeeDoc, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
project DFG SPP 1399 (MO 373/26-1), Romanian
Centre for Bee Biotechnology (RoBeeTech) and China
Scholarship Council.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2052hb201
Four quantitative trait loci associated with low Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) spore load in the honeybee Apis mellifera
Nosema ceranae has been recently introduced into the honeybee Apis mellifera as a novel
microsporidian gut parasite. To locate the genetic region involved in N. ceranae infection tolerance, we fed N.
ceranae spores to haploid drones of a F1 hybrid queen produced from a cross between a queen of a Nosemaresistant
bred strain and drones of susceptible colonies. The spore loads of the infected F1 drones were used as
the phenotype to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with N. ceranae spore load. One hundred
forty-eight infected drones were individually genotyped with microsatellite markers at an average marker
distance of 20 cM along the genome. Four QTLs were significantly associated with low spore load, explaining
20.4 % of total spore load variance. Moreover, a candidate gene Aubergine (Aub) within the major QTL region
was significantly overexpressed in drones with low spore loads than in those with high spore loads. Our results
confirm the genetic basis of Nosema tolerance in the selected strain and show that both additive effects and
epistatic interactions among the QTLs interfere with the tested phenotype.European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant
agreement BEE DOC FP7-KBBE-2009-3 244956CPFP, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Project DFG SPP 1399(MO 373/26-1) and the China Scholarship Council.http://link.springer.com/journal/13592hb201
Fabrication of super-hydrophobic nickel film on copper substrate with improved corrosion inhibition by electrodeposition process
Inspired by the famous “lotus effect”, we have fabricated the super-hydrophobic surfaces with nickel film on copper substrates using a one-step electrodeposition method. By adjusting processing time, water contact angle of as-prepared surfaces can reach as high as 160.3 ± 1.5° with small rolling angle of 3.0 ± 0.5°, showing excellent super-hydrophobicity. After the deposition of nickel coating, the pristine copper surfaces became much rough with packed cauliflower-/thorn-like clusters. This unique surface texture contributed to trapping large amount of air and forming the air cushion underneath the water droplet, which can prevent the liquids contacting the copper substrate. The examination of surface chemical compositions implied that the deposited super-hydrophobic coating consisted of nickel crystals and nickel myristate. In this research, the formation mechanism of the electrodeposited super-hydrophobicity was extensively explained based on the analyses of surface texture and surface chemistry. Moreover, the corrosion resistance of the as-fabricated super-hydrophobic surface was estimated by the potentiodynamic polarization tests as well as the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The results demonstrate that the super-hydrophobic nickel coating showed excellent corrosion inhibition in simulated seawater solution. The existence of the super-hydrophobic coating could be regarded as a barrier and thus provide a perfect air-liquid interface that inhibits the penetration of the corrosive ions. This facile and effective method of electrodeposition process offers a promising approach for mass production of super-hydrophobic surfaces on various metals
Upper limb neuropathy in computer operators? A clinical case study of 21 patients
BACKGROUND: The character of upper limb disorder in computer operators remains obscure and their treatment and prevention have had limited success. Symptoms tend to be mostly perceived as relating to pathology in muscles, tendons or insertions. However, the conception of a neuropathic disorder would be supported by objective findings reflecting the common complaints of pain, subjective weakness, and numbness/tingling. By examining characteristics in terms of symptoms, signs, and course, this study aimed at forming a hypothesis concerning the nature and consequences of the disorder. METHODS: I have studied a consecutive series of 21 heavily exposed and severely handicapped computer-aided designers. Their history was recorded and questionnaire information was collected, encompassing their status 1/2 – 1 1/2 years after the initial clinical contact. The physical examination included an assessment of the following items: Isometric strength in ten upper limb muscles; sensibility in five homonymously innervated territories; and the presence of abnormal tenderness along nerve trunks at 14 locations. RESULTS: Rather uniform physical findings in all patients suggested a brachial plexus neuropathy combined with median and posterior interosseous neuropathy at elbow level. In spite of reduced symptoms at follow-up, the prognosis was serious in terms of work-status and persisting pain. CONCLUSIONS: This small-scale study of a clinical case series suggests the association of symptoms to focal neuropathy with specific locations. The inclusion of a detailed neurological examination would appear to be advantageous with upper limb symptoms in computer operators
Evaluating competition for forage plants between honey bees and wild bees in Denmark
A recurrent concern in nature conservation is the potential competition for forage plants between wild bees and managed honey bees. Specifically, that the highly sophisticated system of recruitment and large perennial colonies of honey bees quickly exhaust forage resources leading to the local extirpation of wild bees. However, different species of bees show different preferences for forage plants. We here summarize known forage plants for honey bees and wild bee species at national scale in Denmark. Our focus is on floral resources shared by honey bees and wild bees, with an emphasis on both threatened wild bee species and foraging specialist species. Across all 292 known bee species from Denmark, a total of 410 plant genera were recorded as forage plants. These included 294 plant genera visited by honey bees and 292 plant genera visited by different species of wild bees. Honey bees and wild bees share 176 plant genera in Denmark. Comparing the pairwise niche overlap for individual bee species, no significant relationship was found between their overlap and forage specialization or conservation status. Network analysis of the bee-plant interactions placed honey bees aside from most other bee species, specifically the module containing the honey bee had fewer links to any other modules, while the remaining modules were more highly inter-connected. Despite the lack of predictive relationship from the pairwise niche overlap, data for individual species could be summarized. Consequently, we have identified a set of operational parameters that, based on a high foraging overlap (>70%) and unfavorable conservation status (Vulnerable+Endangered+Critically Endangered), can guide both conservation actions and land management decisions in proximity to known or suspected populations of these species
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