Electric dipole response of 6^6He: Halo-neutron and core excitations

Electric dipole ($E1$) response of $^{6}$He is studied with a fully microscopic six-body calculation. The wave functions for the ground and excited states are expressed as a superposition of explicitly correlated Gaussians (CG). Final state interactions of three-body decay channels are explicitly taken into account. The ground state properties and the low-energy $E1$ strength are obtained consistently with observations. Two main peaks as well as several small peaks are found in the $E1$ strength function. The peak at the high-energy region indicates a typical macroscopic picture of the giant dipole resonance, the out-of-phase proton-neutron motion. The transition densities of the lower-lying peaks exhibit in-phase proton-neutron motion in the internal region, out-of-phase motion near the surface region, and spatially extended neutron oscillation, indicating a soft-dipole mode (SDM) and its vibrationally excited mode.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Epigenomic views of innate lymphoid cells

The discovery of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) with selective production of cytokines typically attributed to subsets of T helper cells forces immunologists to reassess the mechanisms by which selective effector functions arise. The parallelism between ILCs and T cells extends beyond these two cell types and comprises other innate-like T lymphocytes. Beyond the recognition of specialized effector functionalities in diverse lymphocytes, features typical of T cells, such as plasticity and memory, are also relevant for innate lymphocytes. Herein, we review what we have learned in terms of the molecular mechanisms underlying these shared functions, focusing on insights provided by next generation sequencing technologies. We review data on the role of lineage-defining- and signal-dependent transcription factors (TFs). ILC regulomes emerge developmentally whereas the much of the open chromatin regions of T cells are generated acutely, in an activation-dependent manner. And yet, these regions of open chromatin in T cells and ILCs have remarkable overlaps, suggesting that though accessibility is acquired by distinct modes, the end result is that convergent signaling pathways may be involved. Although much is left to be learned, substantial progress has been made in understanding how TFs and epigenomic status contribute to ILC biology in terms of differentiation, specification, and plasticity

Crown architecture and leaf traits of understory saplings of Macaranga semiglobosa in a tropical montane forest in Indonesia

The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.comArticlePLANT SPECIES BIOLOGY. 23(3):202-211 (2008)journal articl

A weak relationship between crown architectural and leaf traits in saplings of eight tropical rain-forest species in Indonesia

ArticleJOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY.24:425-432(2008)journal articl

A novel route to phase formation of cobalt oxyhydrates using KMnO4 as an oxidizing agent

We have first succeefully synthesized the sodium cobalt oxyhydrate superconductors using KMnO4 as a de-intercalating and oxidizing agent. It is a novel route to form the superconductive phase of NaxCoO2.yH2O without resorting to the commonly used Br2/CH3CN solution. The role of the KMnO4 is to de-intercalate the Na+ from the parent compound Na0.7CoO2 and oxidize the Co ion as a result. The higher molar ratio of KMnO4 relative to the sodium content tends to remove more Na+ from the parent compound and results in a slight expansion of the c-axis in the unit cell. The superconducting transition temperature is 4.6-3.8 K for samples treated by the aqueous KMnO4 solution with the molar ratio of KMnO4 relative to the sodium content in the range of 0.3 and 2.29.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Evaluation of a multi-component and multi-agent intervention to improve classroom social relationships among early elementary school-age children

We present the preliminary evaluation of a comprehensive, multi-component and multi-agent 2-year classroom intervention to enhance children's relationships with their peers and teachers among early elementary school students in Spain. The intervention contained universal components directed to the whole class plus targeted components for children with peer problems. Using a quasi-experimental design, 229 children (in 10 classrooms) formed a comparison group whose teachers engaged in their typical practices, followed the next year by 214 children (in 9 classrooms) who received the intervention. Children completed a sociometric procedure, and reported their self-perceptions of peer functioning and their relationship quality with teachers at the beginning of 1st grade (pretest) and the end of 2nd grade (posttest; 93% retention). After statistical control of pretest functioning, by posttest those in the intervention group received fewer negative sociometric nominations, perceived themselves to receive fewer negative sociometric nominations and to have greater overall peer acceptance, and reported their teachers to have greater warmth and organization, compared to children in the comparison group. However, intervention group children also received fewer positive sociometric nominations (as well as perceived themselves to receive fewer positive nominations) than comparison group children. Target children, selected for being disliked by peers, received accentuated benefits from the intervention on the outcome variables of fewer negative nominations received and greater teacher warmth. Implications for practice are discussed

Semi-automatic tool to identify heterogeneity zones in lge-cmr and incorporate the result into a 3d model of the left ventricle

Fatal scar-related arrhythmias are caused by an abnormal electrical wave propagation around non conductive scarred tissue and through viable channels of reduced conductivity. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is the gold-standard procedure used to differentiate the scarred tissue from the healthy, highlighting the dead cells. The border regions responsible for creating the feeble channels are visible as gray zones. Identifying and monitoring (as they may evolve) these areas may predict the risk of arrhythmias that may lead to cardiac arrest. The main goal of this project is the development of a system able to aid the user in the extraction of geometrical and physiological information from LGE images and the replication of myocardial heterogeneities onto a three-dimensional (3D) structure, built by the methods described by our team in another publication, able to undergo electro-physiologic simulations. The system components were developed in MATLAB R2019b the first is a semi-automatic tool, to identify and segment the myocardial scars and gray zones in every two-dimensional (2D) slice of a LGE CMR dataset. The second component takes these results and assembles different sections while setting different conductivity values for each. At this point, the resulting parts are incorporated into the functional 3D model of the left ventricle, and therefore the chosen values and regions can be validated and redefined until a satisfactory result is obtained. As preliminary results we present the first steps of building one functional Left ventricle (LV) model with scarred zones.authorsversionpublishe

An Application of the Multicanonical Monte Carlo Method to the Bulk Water System

Abstract Motivation. Powerful Monte Carlo algorithm may solve the multiple-minima problem for the bulk water system. Method. The multicanonical algorithm is based on a non-Boltzman weight factor and produces flat probability distribution of potential energy artificially. The method allows the system to rove through the complex potential energy surface without getting trapped in a local minimum state, and has been proven to be efficient for studying first-order phase transitions of complex systems such as spin glasses and proteins. One of the features of the method is that the expectation values of thermodynamic properties can be calculated as a function of temperature by applying the histogram-reweighting techniques to the results of one long production run. Results. In the present study, we determined the multicanonical weight factor that can produce flat probability distribution of potential energy corresponding to the temperature range from 170 to 630 K. From the peak of the heat capacity, we found a phase transition at 190 K. The lower energy structures and oxygen-oxygen radial distribution functions imply that the structure at lower temperatures is irregular. However, the average number of hydrogen bonds per water molecule is nearly equal to four at low temperatures, which suggests the formation of amorphous ice. Conclusions. We conclude that the phase transition we found in the present study is the one between liquid water and amorphous ice. In order to study first-order phase transition between water and crystalline ice with the multicanonical algorithm, we have to obtain more precise multicanonical weight factor in the low energy region

Seleção de óleos essenciais repelentes à predadores e seletivos ao parasitoide Telenomus podisi (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae).

Em programas de controle biológico com parasitoides, uma das dificuldades na liberação dos parasitoides está relacionada com a predação dos ovos parasitados. O objetivo do trabalho foi selecionar repelentes aos predadores que sejam seletivos ao parasitoide Telenomus podisi. Para verificar a repelência foram confeccionadas cartelas de ovos de Euschistus heros e aplicados óleos essenciais. As cartelas foram distribuídas em cultivo de soja e retiradas após 24 hs. A avaliação foi realizada, contabilizando-se os ovos remanescentes nas cartelas. Como o óleo de canela-folha [100%] apresentou maior repelência aos predadores (75 a 96,6%), este foi aplicado, em diferentes concentrações, sobre as pupas do parasitoide e avaliou-se a sua emergência. As concentrações utilizadas foram 0, 25, 50, 75 e 100% do óleo, diluídos em solução de 30% de tween. Foi observado que o óleo afetou a emergência dos parasitoides em concentração-dependente. Mesmo a menor concentração causou mortalidade de 30%. Desse modo, como alternativa para utilização do óleo de canela-folha foram realizados testes com cápsulas de gelatina. Testes iniciais foram realizados, pois não há informações básicas sobre a liberação de parasitoides nestas condições. Foram realizados testes com as cápsulas com diferentes cores, tamanhos das cápsulas e quantidade de pupas/cápsula. A cápsula de tamanho 0 com 50% de ovos parasitados apresentou maior número de insetos emergidos; a cor presentou pouca influência na emergência dos parasitoides. Realizou-se teste a campo, para observar a proteção que as cápsulas exercem contra predadores. Assim, cápsulas com pupas foram distribuídas em cultivo de soja e recolhidas após 24 hs. Avaliou-se as pupas remanescentes (peso inicial – final) nas cápsulas. As cápsulas não apresentaram eficiência contra predadores, independente das cores utilizadas, e são extremamente sensíveis a umidade, deformando-se facilmente. Outras alternativas deverão ser estudadas para viabilizar a liberação dos parasitoides de ovos