Investigating the Antimicrobial Properties of Cannabinoid Compounds

As bacteria are rapidly developing resistance against existing drugs, cannabinoids present a novel and exciting opportunity as a potential new source of antibiotics. Cannabinoid compounds have become an epicenter of research in recent years with numerous studies elucidating the therapeutic uses of a few of the numerous compounds such as Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabigerol (CBG). This study seeks to investigate the antimicrobial properties of these two aforementioned compounds on a number of gram-negative and gram-positive microbes such as Candida albicans, Streptococcus pyogenes and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Using spread plating methods, various concentrations and mixtures of CBD and CBG were applied to selected microbes in order to observe the effects (if any) on colony formation. Initial results have indicated a strong effect on gram-positive organisms and little to no effect on gram-negative organisms. These early results corroborate published literature reports. Ongoing work includes an investigation into the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) layer found on the gram-negative bacteria. Through enzymatic treatment, LPS layer removal will be facilitated, and testing performed to determine the role this layer plays in the observed decreased antimicrobial activity of these organisms

Investigating the Antimicrobial Properties of Cannabinoid Compounds

As bacteria are rapidly developing resistance against existing drugs, cannabinoids present a novel and exciting opportunity as a potential new source of antibiotics. Cannabinoid compounds have become an epicenter of research in recent years with numerous studies elucidating the therapeutic uses of a few of the numerous compounds such as Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabigerol (CBG). This study seeks to investigate the antimicrobial properties of these two aforementioned compounds on a number of gram-negative and gram-positive microbes such as Candida albicans, Streptococcus pyogenes and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Using spread plating methods, various concentrations and mixtures of CBD and CBG were applied to selected microbes in order to observe the effects (if any) on colony formation. Initial results have indicated a strong effect on gram-positive organisms and little to no effect on gram-negative organisms. These early results corroborate published literature reports. Ongoing work includes an investigation into the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) layer found on the gram-negative bacteria. Through enzymatic treatment, LPS layer removal will be facilitated, and testing performed to determine the role this layer plays in the observed decreased antimicrobial activity of these organisms

Measuring movement fluency during the sit-to-walk task

Restoring movement fluency is a key focus for physical rehabilitation; it's measurement, however, lacks objectivity. The purpose of this study was to find whether measurable movement fluency variables differed between groups of adults with different movement abilities whilst performing the sit-to-walk (STW) movement. The movement fluency variables were: (1) hesitation during movement (reduction in forward velocity of the centre of mass; CoM), (2) coordination (percentage of temporal overlap of joint rotations) and (3) smoothness (number of inflections in the CoM jerk signal)

Description of superdeformed nuclei in the interacting boson model

The interacting boson model is extended to describe the spectroscopy of superdeformed bands. Microscopic structure of the model in the second minimum is discussed and superdeformed bosons are introduced as the new building blocks. Solutions of a quadrupole Hamiltonian are implemented through the $1/N$ expansion method. Effects of the quadrupole parameters on dynamic moment of inertia and electric quadrupole transition rates are discussed and the results are used in a description of superdeformed bands in the Hg-Pb and Gd-Dy regions.Comment: 18 pages revtex, 9 figures available upon reques

Effect of Solar Wind Drag on the Determination of the Properties of Coronal Mass Ejections from Heliospheric Images

The Fixed-\Phi (F\Phi) and Harmonic Mean (HM) fitting methods are two methods to determine the average direction and velocity of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from time-elongation tracks produced by Heliospheric Imagers (HIs), such as the HIs onboard the STEREO spacecraft. Both methods assume a constant velocity in their descriptions of the time-elongation profiles of CMEs, which are used to fit the observed time-elongation data. Here, we analyze the effect of aerodynamic drag on CMEs propagating through interplanetary space, and how this drag affects the result of the F\Phi and HM fitting methods. A simple drag model is used to analytically construct time-elongation profiles which are then fitted with the two methods. It is found that higher angles and velocities give rise to greater error in both methods, reaching errors in the direction of propagation of up to 15 deg and 30 deg for the F\Phi and HM fitting methods, respectively. This is due to the physical accelerations of the CMEs being interpreted as geometrical accelerations by the fitting methods. Because of the geometrical definition of the HM fitting method, it is affected by the acceleration more greatly than the F\Phi fitting method. Overall, we find that both techniques overestimate the initial (and final) velocity and direction for fast CMEs propagating beyond 90 deg from the Sun-spacecraft line, meaning that arrival times at 1 AU would be predicted early (by up to 12 hours). We also find that the direction and arrival time of a wide and decelerating CME can be better reproduced by the F\Phi due to the cancellation of two errors: neglecting the CME width and neglecting the CME deceleration. Overall, the inaccuracies of the two fitting methods are expected to play an important role in the prediction of CME hit and arrival times as we head towards solar maximum and the STEREO spacecraft further move behind the Sun.Comment: Solar Physics, Online First, 17 page

A Compact Beam Stop for a Rare Kaon Decay Experiment

We describe the development and testing of a novel beam stop for use in a rare kaon decay experiment at the Brookhaven AGS. The beam stop is located inside a dipole spectrometer magnet in close proximity to straw drift chambers and intercepts a high-intensity neutral hadron beam. The design process, involving both Monte Carlo simulations and beam tests of alternative beam-stop shielding arrangements, had the goal of minimizing the leakage of particles from the beam stop and the resulting hit rates in detectors, while preserving maximum acceptance for events of interest. The beam tests consisted of measurements of rates in drift chambers, scintilation counter hodoscopes, a gas threshold Cherenkov counter, and a lead glass array. Measurements were also made with a set of specialized detectors which were sensitive to low-energy neutrons, photons, and charged particles. Comparisons are made between these measurements and a detailed Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: 39 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Method

A straw drift chamber spectrometer for studies of rare kaon decays

We describe the design, construction, readout, tests, and performance of planar drift chambers, based on 5 mm diameter copperized Mylar and Kapton straws, used in an experimental search for rare kaon decays. The experiment took place in the high-intensity neutral beam at the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron of Brookhaven National Laboratory, using a neutral beam stop, two analyzing dipoles, and redundant particle identification to remove backgrounds

Microscopic Structure of High-Spin Vibrational Excitations in Superdeformed 190,192,194Hg

Microscopic RPA calculations based on the cranked shell model are performed to investigate the quadrupole and octupole correlations for excited superdeformed bands in 190Hg, 192Hg, and 194Hg. The K=2 octupole vibrations are predicted to be the lowest excitation modes at zero rotational frequency. At finite frequency, however, the interplay between rotation and vibrations produces different effects depending on neutron number: The lowest octupole phonon is rotationally aligned in 190Hg, is crossed by the aligned two-quasiparticle bands in 192Hg, and retains the K=2 octupole vibrational character up to the highest frequency in 194Hg. The gamma vibrations are predicted to be higher in energy and less collective than the octupole vibrations. From a comparison with the experimental dynamic moments of inertia, a new interpretation of the observed excited bands invoking the K=2 octupole vibrations is proposed, which suggests those octupole vibrations may be prevalent in SD Hg nuclei.Comment: 22 pages, REVTeX, 12 postscript figures are available on reques

Origins of the Ambient Solar Wind: Implications for Space Weather

The Sun's outer atmosphere is heated to temperatures of millions of degrees, and solar plasma flows out into interplanetary space at supersonic speeds. This paper reviews our current understanding of these interrelated problems: coronal heating and the acceleration of the ambient solar wind. We also discuss where the community stands in its ability to forecast how variations in the solar wind (i.e., fast and slow wind streams) impact the Earth. Although the last few decades have seen significant progress in observations and modeling, we still do not have a complete understanding of the relevant physical processes, nor do we have a quantitatively precise census of which coronal structures contribute to specific types of solar wind. Fast streams are known to be connected to the central regions of large coronal holes. Slow streams, however, appear to come from a wide range of sources, including streamers, pseudostreamers, coronal loops, active regions, and coronal hole boundaries. Complicating our understanding even more is the fact that processes such as turbulence, stream-stream interactions, and Coulomb collisions can make it difficult to unambiguously map a parcel measured at 1 AU back down to its coronal source. We also review recent progress -- in theoretical modeling, observational data analysis, and forecasting techniques that sit at the interface between data and theory -- that gives us hope that the above problems are indeed solvable.Comment: Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Special issue connected with a 2016 ISSI workshop on "The Scientific Foundations of Space Weather." 44 pages, 9 figure