2,221 research outputs found
Tariff reform: an imperial strategy, 1903-1913
Historians of the Edwardian tariff reform movement have disagreed about its aims. This article examines the motivations of the leadership of the Tariff Reform League, which was by far the most influential organization in the tariff lobby. It argues that the League's leaders were more empire-minded than often allowed, and that it was the preferential tariff which they were most determined to promulgate and defend.
Indeed, attempts by the Balfourite wing of the Unionist party to twist tariff reform away from its imperial origins were strongly resisted by the League, and the forces of protection within the organization were also carefully controlled. When the Tariff Reform League finally gave way on the issue of imperial preference in January 1913, it was not because it had suddenly ceased to be concerned about the unity of the empire. Rather, the widespread public hostility to the imposition of food duties showed no sign of diminishing, thus making it difficult to persuade a critical mass within the Unionist party that tariff reform was a politically viable strategy of imperial federation
Mass Measurement of the W-boson using the ALEPH Detector at LEP
The W-boson mass has been measured using the ALEPH detector at LEP. Preliminary results from data taken in 1998 are added to previous measurements to give mW = 80.411 +- 0.064(stat.) +- 0.037(syst.) +- 0.022(BE-CR) +- 0.018(LEP) GeV/c2
Supernova Neutrinos, Neutrino Oscillations, and the Mass of the Progenitor Star
We investigate the initial progenitor mass dependence of the early-phase
neutrino signal from supernovae taking neutrino oscillations into account. The
early-phase analysis has advantages in that it is not affected by the time
evolution of the density structure of the star due to shock propagation or
whether the remnant is a neutron star or a black hole. The initial mass affects
the evolution of the massive star and its presupernova structure, which is
important for two reasons when considering the neutrino signal. First, the
density profile of the mantle affects the dynamics of neutrino oscillation in
supernova. Second, the final iron core structure determines the features of the
neutrino burst, i.e., the luminosity and the average energy. We find that both
effects are rather small. This is desirable when we try to extract information
on neutrino parameters from future supernova-neutrino observations. Although
the uncertainty due to the progenitor mass is not small for intermediate
(), we
can, nevertheless, determine the character of the mass hierarchy and whether
is very large or very small.Comment: 8 pages, 15 figure
Approaches to Styrenyl Building Blocks for the Synthesis of Polyene Xanthomonadin and its Analogues
A number of aryl building blocks for the synthesis of two xanthomonadin natural product pigments, as well as a related analogue, were accessed using a divergent hydroboration/bromoboration approach from a key alkynyl intermediate. A new approach towards substitution patterns around the ring was adopted following the isolation of an unexpected regioisomer from the bromination reaction. Potential coupling reactions onto these building blocks were explored, with a successful Sonogashira coupling performed on the key alkynyl intermediate, and with the key debrominated styrenyl boronate ester intermediate functionalised both by preliminary SuzukiâMiyaura coupling and by iododeboronation/HeckâMizoroki coupling. Coupling reactions with brominated styrenyl intermediates proved much more challenging due to the instability of the intermediates to crossâcoupling, but some studies have shown promise
Gaussian quantum marginal problem
The quantum marginal problem asks what local spectra are consistent with a
given spectrum of a joint state of a composite quantum system. This setting,
also referred to as the question of the compatibility of local spectra, has
several applications in quantum information theory. Here, we introduce the
analogue of this statement for Gaussian states for any number of modes, and
solve it in generality, for pure and mixed states, both concerning necessary
and sufficient conditions. Formally, our result can be viewed as an analogue of
the Sing-Thompson Theorem (respectively Horn's Lemma), characterizing the
relationship between main diagonal elements and singular values of a complex
matrix: We find necessary and sufficient conditions for vectors (d1, ..., dn)
and (c1, ..., cn) to be the symplectic eigenvalues and symplectic main diagonal
elements of a strictly positive real matrix, respectively. More physically
speaking, this result determines what local temperatures or entropies are
consistent with a pure or mixed Gaussian state of several modes. We find that
this result implies a solution to the problem of sharing of entanglement in
pure Gaussian states and allows for estimating the global entropy of
non-Gaussian states based on local measurements. Implications to the actual
preparation of multi-mode continuous-variable entangled states are discussed.
We compare the findings with the marginal problem for qubits, the solution of
which for pure states has a strikingly similar and in fact simple form.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure, material added, references updated, except from
figure identical with version to appear in Commun. Math. Phy
Evaluating stress physiology and parasite infection parameters in the translocation of critically endangered woylies (Bettongia penicillata)
Translocation can be stressful for wildlife. Stress may be important in fauna translocation because it has been suggested that it can exacerbate the impact of infectious disease on translocated wildlife. However, few studies explore this hypothesis by measuring stress physiology and infection indices in parallel during wildlife translocations. We analysed faecal cortisol metabolite (FCM) concentration and endoparasite parameters (nematodes, coccidians and haemoparasites) in a critically endangered marsupial, the woylie (Bettongia penicillata), 1â3 months prior to translocation, at translocation, and 6 months later. FCM for both translocated and resident woylies was significantly higher after translocation compared to before or at translocation. In addition, body condition decreased with increasing FCM after translocation. These patterns in host condition and physiology may be indicative of translocation stress or stress associated with factors independent of the translocation. Parasite factors also influenced FCM in translocated woylies. When haemoparasites were detected, there was a significant negative relationship between strongyle egg count and FCM. This may reflect the influence of glucocorticoids on the immune response to micro- and macro-parasites. Our results indicate that host physiology and infection patterns can change significantly during translocation, but further investigation is required to determine how these patterns influence translocation success
GLAST Large Area Telescope Multiwavelength Planning
Gamma-ray astrophysics depends in many ways on multiwavelength studies. The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) Large Area Telescope (LAT) Collaboration has started multiwavelength planning well before the scheduled 2007 launch of the observatory. Some of the high-priority multiwavelength needs include: (1) availability of contemporaneous radio and X-ray timing of pulsars; (2) expansion of blazar catalogs, including redshift measurements; (3) improved observations of molecular clouds, especially at high galactic latitudes; (4) simultaneous broad-spectrum blazar monitoring; (5) characterization of gamma-ray transients, including gamma ray bursts; (6) radio, optical, X-ray and TeV counterpart searches for reliable and effective sources identification and characterization. Several of these activities are needed to be in place before launch
The Pauli principle in a three-body cluster model and the momentum distributions after fragmentation of 6He and 11Li
We investigate two simple prescriptions to account for the Pauli principle in
a three-body cluster model employing a new method based on an adiabatic
hyperspherical expansion to solve the Faddeev equations in coordinate space.
The resulting wave functions are computed and compared. They are furthermore
tested on halo nuclei by calculations of momentum distributions and invariant
mass spectra arising after fragmentation of fast He and Li in
collisions with light targets. The prescriptions are very accurate and the
available measured quantities are remarkably well reproduced when final state
interactions are included.Comment: 18 pages, LaTex file, 15 postscript figures included using epsf.st
Phosphate steering by Flap Endonuclease 1 promotes 5ÂŽ-flap specificity and incision to prevent genome instability
DNA replication and repair enzyme Flap Endonuclease 1 (FEN1) is vital for genome integrity, and FEN1 mutations arise in multiple cancers. FEN1 precisely cleaves single-stranded (ss) 50-flaps one nucleotide into duplex (ds) DNA. Yet, how FEN1 selects for but does not incise the ss 50-flap was enigmatic. Here we combine crystallographic, biochemical and genetic analyses to show that two dsDNA binding sites set the 50polarity and to reveal unexpected control of the DNA phosphodiester backbone by electrostatic interactions. Via âphosphate steeringâ, basic residues energetically steer an inverted ss 50-flap through a gateway over FEN1âs active site and shift dsDNA for catalysis. Mutations of these residues cause an 18,000-fold reduction in catalytic rate in vitro and large-scale trinucleotide (GAA)n repeat expansions in vivo, implying failed phosphate-steering promotes an unanticipated lagging-strand template-switch mechanism during replication. Thus, phosphate steering is an unappreciated FEN1 function that enforces 50-flap specificity and catalysis, preventing genomic instability
Phosphate steering by Flap Endonuclease 1 promotes 5ÂŽ-flap specificity and incision to prevent genome instability
DNA replication and repair enzyme Flap Endonuclease 1 (FEN1) is vital for genome integrity, and FEN1 mutations arise in multiple cancers. FEN1 precisely cleaves single-stranded (ss) 50-flaps one nucleotide into duplex (ds) DNA. Yet, how FEN1 selects for but does not incise the ss 50-flap was enigmatic. Here we combine crystallographic, biochemical and genetic analyses to show that two dsDNA binding sites set the 50polarity and to reveal unexpected control of the DNA phosphodiester backbone by electrostatic interactions. Via âphosphate steeringâ, basic residues energetically steer an inverted ss 50-flap through a gateway over FEN1âs active site and shift dsDNA for catalysis. Mutations of these residues cause an 18,000-fold reduction in catalytic rate in vitro and large-scale trinucleotide (GAA)n repeat expansions in vivo, implying failed phosphate-steering promotes an unanticipated lagging-strand template-switch mechanism during replication. Thus, phosphate steering is an unappreciated FEN1 function that enforces 50-flap specificity and catalysis, preventing genomic instability
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