255 research outputs found
The detection of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) using loop mediated isothermal amplification in conjunction with a simplified DNA extraction process
Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is a commercially important species of white fish, and one of three species legally identifiable as cod in the UK. Mislabelling of G. morhua does occur, as does the substitution of G. morhua for less expensive species. Sensitive molecular tests based on PCR have been developed for this species, but they have limitations, including the need for expensive thermal cycling equipment, and complex DNA extraction procedures. A loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was designed for the G. morhua cytochrome b gene, which was capable of detecting 0.1% w/w G. morhua in a homogenised raw fish mix. The LAMP assay was also able to detect G. morhua DNA when a rapid sample preparation was used, involving heating 100 mg of fish in a 1 ml aliquot of water and testing the supernatant, showing a higher tolerance of amplification inhibitors than a PCR assay. The LAMP assay did not generate a positive result when challenged with a range of non-target species, including Gadus macrocephalus, and Gadus chalcogrammus, indicating a high level of specificity. Direct detection of a positive reaction using propidium iodide was also demonstrated
Double deeply virtual Compton scattering off the nucleon
We study the double deeply virtual Compton scattering (DDVCS) process off the
nucleon, through the scattering of a spacelike virtual photon with large
virtuality resulting in the production of a timelike virtual photon, decaying
into an e^+ e^- pair. This process is expressed in the Bjorken regime in terms
of generalized parton distributions (GPDs) and it is shown that by varying the
invariant mass of the lepton pair, one can directly extract the GPDs from the
observables. We give predictions for the DDVCS cross section and beam helicity
asymmetry and discuss its experimental feasibility.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Aerial Measurement of Radioxenon Concentration off the West Coast of Vancouver Island following the Fukushima Reactor Accident
In response to the Fukushima nuclear reactor accident, on March 20th, 2011,
Natural Resources Canada conducted aerial radiation surveys over water just off
of the west coast of Vancouver Island. Dose-rate levels were found to be
consistent with background radiation, however a clear signal due to Xe-133 was
observed. Methods to extract Xe-133 count rates from the measured spectra, and
to determine the corresponding Xe-133 volumetric concentration, were developed.
The measurements indicate that Xe-133 concentrations on average lie in the
range of 30 to 70 Bq/m3.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Journal of
Environmental Radioactivit
Color coherent phenomena on nuclei and the QCD evolution equation
We review the phenomenon of color coherence in quantum chromodynamics (QCD),
its implications for hard and soft processes with nuclei, and its experimental
manifestations. The relation of factorization theorems in QCD with color
coherence phenomena in deep inelastic scattering (DIS) and color coherence
phenomena in hard exclusive processes is emphasized. Analyzing numerically the
QCD evolution equation for conventional and skewed parton densities in nuclei,
we study the onset of generalized color transparency and nuclear shadowing of
the sea quark and gluon distributions in nuclei as well as related phenomena.
Such novel results as the dependence of the effective coherence length on
and general trends of the QCD evolution are discussed. The limits of the
applicability of the QCD evolution equation at small Bjorken are estimated
by comparing the inelastic quark-antiquark- and two gluon-nucleon (nucleus)
cross sections, calculated within the DGLAP approximation, with the dynamical
boundaries, which follow from the unitarity of the matrix for purely QCD
interactions. We also demonstrate that principles of color coherence play an
important role in the processes of soft diffraction off nuclei.Comment: 58 pages, 19 figures, Revtex. Minor editor's changes, final version
published in J.Phys. G27 (2001) R23-6
The nucleon form-factors of the energy momentum tensor in the Skyrme model
The nucleon form factors of the energy-momentum tensor are studied in the
large-Nc limit in the framework of the Skyrme model.Comment: 19 pages, 11 Figures, 2 Tables; correction in footnote 2, extension
in App.D, some reformulations, references added, results and conclusions
unchange
I read it on reddit: Exploring the role of online communities in the 2016 US elections news cycle
Reddit has developed into a significant platform for political discussion among Millennials. In this exploratory study, we examine subscription trends on three political sub-forums on Reddit during the 2016 US presidential elections: /The_Donald, /SandersForPresident, and /HillaryClinton. As a theoretical framework, we draw from work on online communitiesâ group identity and cohesion. Concretely, we investigate how subscription dynamics relate to positive, negative and neutral news events occurring during the election cycle. We classify news events using a sentiment analysis of event-related news headlines. We observe that users who supported Sanders displayed no consolidation of support for Clinton after she won the Democratic Partyâs presidential nomination. Secondly, we show that negative news events affected Sanders and Clintons subscription trends negatively, while showing no effect for Donald Trump. This gives empirical credence to Trumpâs controversial claim that he could âstand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and not lose any votersâ. We offer a number of explanations for the observed phenomena: the nature of the content of the three subreddits, their cultural dynamics, and changing dynamics of partisanship. We posit that the âdeath of expertiseâ expresses itself on Reddit as a switch in persuasion tactics from a policy-based to an emotions-based approach, and that group membersâ agreement on policy proved a weak marker for online communitiesâ group identity and cohesion. We also claim that strong partisanship coupled with weak party affiliation among Millennials contributed to the low levels of Democratic support consolidation after Clinton won the nomination
Determination of the Michel Parameters rho, xi, and delta in tau-Lepton Decays with tau --> rho nu Tags
Using the ARGUS detector at the storage ring DORIS II, we have
measured the Michel parameters , , and for
decays in -pair events produced at
center of mass energies in the region of the resonances. Using
as spin analyzing tags, we find , , , , and . In addition, we report
the combined ARGUS results on , , and using this work
und previous measurements.Comment: 10 pages, well formatted postscript can be found at
http://pktw06.phy.tu-dresden.de/iktp/pub/desy97-194.p
Measurement of inclusive D*+- and associated dijet cross sections in photoproduction at HERA
Inclusive photoproduction of D*+- mesons has been measured for photon-proton
centre-of-mass energies in the range 130 < W < 280 GeV and a photon virtuality
Q^2 < 1 GeV^2. The data sample used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of
37 pb^-1. Total and differential cross sections as functions of the D*
transverse momentum and pseudorapidity are presented in restricted kinematical
regions and the data are compared with next-to-leading order (NLO) perturbative
QCD calculations using the "massive charm" and "massless charm" schemes. The
measured cross sections are generally above the NLO calculations, in particular
in the forward (proton) direction. The large data sample also allows the study
of dijet production associated with charm. A significant resolved as well as a
direct photon component contribute to the cross section. Leading order QCD
Monte Carlo calculations indicate that the resolved contribution arises from a
significant charm component in the photon. A massive charm NLO parton level
calculation yields lower cross sections compared to the measured results in a
kinematic region where the resolved photon contribution is significant.Comment: 32 pages including 6 figure
Measurement of event shapes in deep inelastic scattering at HERA
Inclusive event-shape variables have been measured in the current region of
the Breit frame for neutral current deep inelastic ep scattering using an
integrated luminosity of 45.0 pb^-1 collected with the ZEUS detector at HERA.
The variables studied included thrust, jet broadening and invariant jet mass.
The kinematic range covered was 10 < Q^2 < 20,480 GeV^2 and 6.10^-4 < x < 0.6,
where Q^2 is the virtuality of the exchanged boson and x is the Bjorken
variable. The Q dependence of the shape variables has been used in conjunction
with NLO perturbative calculations and the Dokshitzer-Webber non-perturbative
corrections (`power corrections') to investigate the validity of this approach.Comment: 7+25 pages, 6 figure
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