Nuclear forward scattering in particulate matter: dependence of lineshape on particle size distribution

In synchrotron Moessbauer spectroscopy, the nuclear exciton polariton manifests itself in the lineshape of the spectra of nuclear forward scattering (NFS) Fourier-transformed from time domain to frequency domain. This lineshape is generally described by the convolution of two intensity factors. One of them is Lorentzian related to free decay. We derived the expressions for the second factor related to Frenkel exciton polariton effects at propagation of synchrotron radiation in Moessbauer media. Parameters of this Frenkelian shape depend on the spatial configuration of Moessbauer media. In a layer of uniform thickness, this factor is found to be a simple hypergeometric function. Next, we consider the particles spread over a 2D surface or diluted in non-Moessbauer media to exclude an overlap of ray shadows by different particles. Deconvolving the purely polaritonic component of linewidths is suggested as a simple procedure sharpening the experimental NFS spectra in frequency domain. The lineshapes in these sharpened spectra are theoretically expressed via the parameters of the particle size distributions (PSD). Then, these parameters are determined through least-squares fitting of the line shapes.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figure

Solving integral equations in η→3π\eta\to 3\pi

A dispersive analysis of $\eta\to 3\pi$ decays has been performed in the past by many authors. The numerical analysis of the pertinent integral equations is hampered by two technical difficulties: i) The angular averages of the amplitudes need to be performed along a complicated path in the complex plane. ii) The averaged amplitudes develop singularities along the path of integration in the dispersive representation of the full amplitudes. It is a delicate affair to handle these singularities properly, and independent checks of the obtained solutions are demanding and time consuming. In the present article, we propose a solution method that avoids these difficulties. It is based on a simple deformation of the path of integration in the dispersive representation (not in the angular average). Numerical solutions are then obtained rather straightforwardly. We expect that the method also works for $\omega\to 3\pi$.Comment: 11 pages, 10 Figures. Version accepted for publication in EPJC. The ancillary files contain an updated set of fundamental solutions. The numerical differences to the former set are tiny, see the READMEv2 file for detail

On the Numerical Evaluation of Loop Integrals With Mellin-Barnes Representations

An improved method is presented for the numerical evaluation of multi-loop integrals in dimensional regularization. The technique is based on Mellin-Barnes representations, which have been used earlier to develop algorithms for the extraction of ultraviolet and infrared divergencies. The coefficients of these singularities and the non-singular part can be integrated numerically. However, the numerical integration often does not converge for diagrams with massive propagators and physical branch cuts. In this work, several steps are proposed which substantially improve the behavior of the numerical integrals. The efficacy of the method is demonstrated by calculating several two-loop examples, some of which have not been known before.Comment: 13 pp. LaTe

On the Integrand-Reduction Method for Two-Loop Scattering Amplitudes

We propose a first implementation of the integrand-reduction method for two-loop scattering amplitudes. We show that the residues of the amplitudes on multi-particle cuts are polynomials in the irreducible scalar products involving the loop momenta, and that the reduction of the amplitudes in terms of master integrals can be realized through polynomial fitting of the integrand, without any apriori knowledge of the integral basis. We discuss how the polynomial shapes of the residues determine the basis of master integrals appearing in the final result. We present a four-dimensional constructive algorithm that we apply to planar and non-planar contributions to the 4- and 5-point MHV amplitudes in N=4 SYM. The technique hereby discussed extends the well-established analogous method holding for one-loop amplitudes, and can be considered a preliminary study towards the systematic reduction at the integrand-level of two-loop amplitudes in any gauge theory, suitable for their automated semianalytic evaluation.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figure

Wheat-barley hybridization – the last forty years

Abstract Several useful alien gene transfers have been reported from related species into wheat (Triticum aestivum), but very few publications have dealt with the development of wheat/barley (Hordeum vulgare) introgression lines. An overview is given here of wheat 9 barley hybridization over the last forty years, including the development of wheat 9 barley hybrids, and of addition and translocation lines with various barley cultivars. A short summary is also given of the wheat 9 barley hybrids produced with other Hordeum species. The meiotic pairing behaviour of wheat 9 barley hybrids is presented, with special regard to the detection of wheat– barley homoeologous pairing using the molecular cytogenetic technique GISH. The effect of in vitro multiplication on the genome composition of intergeneric hybrids is discussed, and the production and characterization of the latest wheat/barley translocation lines are presented. An overview of the agronomical traits (b-glucan content, earliness, salt tolerance, sprouting resistance, etc.) of the newly developed introgression lines is given. The exploitation and possible use of wheat/barley introgression lines for the most up-to-date molecular genetic studies (transcriptome analysis, sequencing of flow-sorted chromosomes) are also discussed

Conditional Transgenesis Using Dimerizable Cre (DiCre)

Cre recombinase is extensively used to engineer the genome of experimental animals. However, its usefulness is still limited by the lack of an efficient temporal control over its activity. We have recently developed a conceptually new approach to regulate Cre recombinase, that we have called Dimerizable Cre or DiCre. It is based on splitting Cre into two inactive moieties and fusing them to FKBP12 (FK506-binding protein) and FRB (binding domain of the FKBP12-rapamycin associated protein), respectively. These latter can be efficiently hetero-dimerized by rapamycin, leading to the reinstatement of Cre activity. We have been able to show, using in vitro approaches, that this ligand-induced dimerization is an efficient way to regulate Cre activity, and presents a low background activity together with a high efficiency of recombination following dimerization. To test the in vivo performance of this system, we have, in the present work, knocked-in DiCre into the Rosa26 locus of mice. To evaluate the performance of the DiCre system, mice have been mated with indicator mice (Z/EG or R26R) and Cre-induced recombination was examined following activation of DiCre by rapamycin during embryonic development or after birth of progenies. No recombination could be observed in the absence of treatment of the animals, indicating a lack of background activity of DiCre in the absence of rapamycin. Postnatal rapamycin treatment (one to five daily injection, 10 mg/kg i.p) induced recombination in a number of different tissues of progenies such as liver, heart, kidney, muscle, etc. On the other hand, recombination was at a very low level following in utero treatment of DiCre×R26R mice. In conclusion, DiCre has indeed the potentiality to be used to establish conditional Cre-deleter mice. An added advantage of this system is that, contrary to other modulatable Cre systems, it offers the possibility of obtaining regulated recombination in a combinatorial manner, i.e. induce recombination at any desired time-point specifically in cells characterized by the simultaneous expression of two different promoters

Analysis of Y chromosome STR haplotypes in the European part of Russia reveals high diversities but non-significant genetic distances between populations

A total of 17 Y-specific STR loci were studied in 12 districts of the European part of Russia aiming to ascertain the amount of substructure required for the construction of a representative regional database. All groups exhibited high haplotype diversities but low inter-population variance as measured by an analysis of molecular variance. However, when Western Russia is taken as a whole, the genetic distances to the neighbouring populations were significant. Whereas gradual change in the Y chromosome pool exists between Russia and the Slavic-speaking populations to the West, remarkable discontinuities were observed with neighbouring populations in the East, North and South

Evaluation of the prophylactic use of mitomycin-C to inhibit haze formation after photorefractive keratectomy in high myopia: a prospective clinical study

BACKGROUND: To study the effect of prophylactic application of mitomycin-C on haze formation in photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) for high myopia. METHODS: Fifty-four eyes of 28 myopic patients were enrolled in this prospective study. All eyes were operated by PRK followed by 0.02% mitomycin-C application for two minutes and washed with 20 ml normal saline afterwards. All eyes were examined thoroughly on the first 7 days and one month after surgery; 48 eyes (88.9%) at 3 and 6 months postoperatively. Hanna grading (in the scale of 0 to 4+) was used for assessment of corneal haze. RESULTS: The mean spherical equivalent refraction (SE) was -7.08 diopters (D) ± 1.11 (SD) preoperatively. Six months after surgery, 37 eyes (77.1%) achieved an uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) of 20/20 or better, all eyes had a UCVA of 20/40 or better and 45 (93.7%) eyes had an SE within ± 1.00D. One month postoperatively, 2 eyes (3.7%) had grade 0.5+ of haze, while at 3 and 6 months after surgery no visited eye had haze at all. All eyes had a best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/40 or better and there were no lost lines in BCVA by 6 months after surgery. In spatial frequencies of 6 and 12 cycles per degree contrast sensitivity had decreased immediately after PRK and it had increased 1.5 lines by the 6(th )postoperative month compared to the preoperative data. CONCLUSIONS: The results show the efficacy of mitomycin-C in preventing corneal haze after treatment of high myopia with PRK. This method- PRK + mitomycin-C – can be considered an alternative treatment for myopic patients whose corneal thicknesses are inadequate for laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). However, the results should be confirmed in longer follow-ups

Phytochemicals as antibiotic alternatives to promote growth and enhance host health

There are heightened concerns globally on emerging drug-resistant superbugs and the lack of new antibiotics for treating human and animal diseases. For the agricultural industry, there is an urgent need to develop strategies to replace antibiotics for food-producing animals, especially poultry and livestock. The 2nd International Symposium on Alternatives to Antibiotics was held at the World Organization for Animal Health in Paris, France, December 12-15, 2016 to discuss recent scientific developments on strategic antibiotic-free management plans, to evaluate regional differences in policies regarding the reduction of antibiotics in animal agriculture and to develop antibiotic alternatives to combat the global increase in antibiotic resistance. More than 270 participants from academia, government research institutions, regulatory agencies, and private animal industries from >25 different countries came together to discuss recent research and promising novel technologies that could provide alternatives to antibiotics for use in animal health and production; assess challenges associated with their commercialization; and devise actionable strategies to facilitate the development of alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) without hampering animal production. The 3-day meeting consisted of four scientific sessions including vaccines, microbial products, phytochemicals, immune-related products, and innovative drugs, chemicals and enzymes, followed by the last session on regulation and funding. Each session was followed by an expert panel discussion that included industry representatives and session speakers. The session on phytochemicals included talks describing recent research achievements, with examples of successful agricultural use of various phytochemicals as antibiotic alternatives and their mode of action in major agricultural animals (poultry, swine and ruminants). Scientists from industry and academia and government research institutes shared their experience in developing and applying potential antibiotic-alternative phytochemicals commercially to reduce AGPs and to develop a sustainable animal production system in the absence of antibiotics.Fil: Lillehoj, Hyun. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Liu, Yanhong. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Calsamiglia, Sergio. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Fernandez Miyakawa, Mariano Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Patobiología; ArgentinaFil: Chi, Fang. Amlan International; Estados UnidosFil: Cravens, Ron L.. Amlan International; Estados UnidosFil: Oh, Sungtaek. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Gay, Cyril G.. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; Argentin