CGC and initial state effects in Heavy Ion Collisions

A brief review of the phenomenological studies in the field of heavy ion collisions based on the Color Glass Condensate theory and, in particular, of those relying in the use of the BK equation including running coupling effects is presented.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Contribution to the proceedings of the Hot Quarks 2010 Conference. June 21-26, La Londe Les Maures, Franc

Initial and Final State Interaction Effects in Small-x Quark Distributions

We study the initial and final state interaction effects in the transverse momentum dependent parton distributions in the small-$x$ saturation region. In particular, we discuss the quark distributions in the semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering, Drell-Yan lepton pair production and dijet-correlation processes in $pA$ collisions. We calculate the quark distributions in the scalar-QED model and then extend to the color glass condensate formalism in QCD. The quark distributions are found universal between the DIS and Drell-Yan processes. On the other hand, the quark distribution from the $qq'\to qq'$ channel contribution to the dijet-correlation process is not universal. However, we find that it can be related to the quark distribution in DIS process by a convolution with the normalized unintegrated gluon distribution in the color glass condensate formalism in the large $N_c$ limit.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure

Relationships between population traits, nonstructural carbohydrates, and elevation in alpine stands of Vaccinium myrtillus

Premise: Despite great attention given to the relationship between plant growth and carbon balance in alpine tree species, little is known about shrubs at the treeline. We hypothesized that the pattern of main nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs) across elevations depends on the interplay between phenotypic trait plasticity, plant\u2013plant interaction, and elevation. Methods: We studied the pattern of NSCs (i.e., glucose, fructose, sucrose, and starch) in alpine stands of Vaccinium myrtillus (above treeline) across an elevational gradient. In the same plots, we measured key growth traits (i.e., anatomical stem features) and shrub cover, evaluating putative relationships with NSCs. Results: Glucose content was positively related with altitude, but negatively related with shrub cover. Sucrose decreased at high altitude and in older populations and increased with higher percentage of vascular tissue. Starch content increased at middle and high elevations and in stands with high shrub cover. Moreover, starch content was negatively related with the number of xylem rings and the percentage of phloem tissue, but positively correlated with the percentage of xylem tissue. Conclusions: We found that the increase in carbon reserves across elevations was uncoupled from plant growth, supporting the growth limitation hypothesis, which postulates NSCs accumulate at high elevation as a consequence of low temperature. Moreover, the response of NSC content to the environmental stress caused by elevation was buffered by phenotypic plasticity of plant traits, suggesting that, under climate warming conditions, shrub expansion due to enhanced plant growth would be pronounced in old but sparse stands

Bioactive Polyphenols Modulate Enzymes Involved in Grapevine Pathogenesis and Chitinase Activity at Increasing Complexity Levels

The reduction of synthetic chemistry use in modern viticulture relies on either the biological control of microorganisms or the induction of pathogenesis-related proteins. In the present study, the effects of hydro-alcoholic plant extracts (PEs) (i.e., by-products of Vitis vinifera L., leaves of Olea europaea L. and Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle) were tested on purified enzymes activity involved in plant-pathogen interactions. The polyphenolic composition was assayed and analyzed to characterize the extract profiles. In addition, suspension cell cultures of grapevine were treated with PEs to study their modulation of chitinase activity. Application of grape marc\u2019s PE enhanced chitinase activity at 4 g L 121. Additionally, foliar treatment of grape marc\u2019s PE at two doses (4 g L 121 and 800 g L 121 ) on grapevine cuttings induced a concentration-dependent stimulation of chitinase activity. The obtained results showed that the application of bioactive compounds based on PEs, rich in phenolic compounds, was effective both at in vitro and ex/in vivo level. The overall effects of PEs on plant-pathogen interaction were further discussed by applying a multi-criteria decision analysis, showing that grape marc was the most effective extrac

Identification and localization of the bilitranslocase homologue in white grape berries (Vitis vinifera L.) during ripening

A homologue of the mammalian bilirubin transporter bilitranslocase (BTL) (TCDB 2.A.65.1.1), able to perform an apparent secondary active transport of flavonoids, has previously been found in carnation petals and red grape berries. In the present work, a BTL homologue was also shown in white berries from Vitis vinifera L. cv. Tocai/Friulano, using anti-sequence antibodies specific for rat liver BTL. This transporter, similarly to what found in red grape, was localized in the first layers of the epidermal tissue and in the vascular bundle cells of the mesocarp. In addition, a strong immunochemical reaction was detected in the placental tissue and particularly in peripheral integuments of the seed. The protein was expressed during the last maturation stages in both skin and pulp tissues and exhibited an apparent molecular mass of c. 31 kDa. Furthermore, the transport activity of such a carrier, measured as bromosulphophthalein (BSP) uptake, was detected in berry pulp microsomes, where it was inhibited by specific anti-BTL antibodies. The BTL homologue activity exhibited higher values, for both Km and Vmax, than those found in the red cultivar. Moreover, two non-pigmented flavonoids, such as quercetin (a flavonol) and eriodictyol (a flavanone), inhibited the uptake of BSP in an uncompetitive manner. Such results strengthen the hypothesis that this BTL homologue acts as a carrier involved also in the membrane transport of colourless flavonoids and demonstrate the presence of such a carrier in different organs and tissues

Evaluation of selected characteristics in industrial hemp after phytohormonal treatment

Plant growth and development is significantly influenced by phytohormones \u2013 endogenous molecules present naturally in plants. The best known plant hormones are auxins and cytokinins. This study examined the possible effect of externally applied plant hormone analogues (growth regulators): 1-naphthyl acetic acid (NAA) and 6-benzyl aminopurine (BAP) on industrial fibre hemp (Cannabis sativa L., variety Bialobrzeskie). Plants were treated with three different concentrations of NAA (5, 10 and 20 mg/l) and three different concentrations of BAP (10, 25 and 50 mg/l). Morphological and physiological characteristics, such as apical dominance, shoot branching, fibre properties, and flavonoid content were evaluated. The chosen variety of hemp had a significant response to exogenous application of growth regulators, as has been observed with other plant species. Most notably completely understood and controlled synthetic auxin treatment has a potential to increase the bark fibre yield of hemp

Long-Range Rapidity Correlations in Heavy Ion Collisions at Strong Coupling from AdS/CFT

We use AdS/CFT correspondence to study two-particle correlations in heavy ion collisions at strong coupling. Modeling the colliding heavy ions by shock waves on the gravity side, we observe that at early times after the collision there are long-range rapidity correlations present in the two-point functions for the glueball and the energy-momentum tensor operators. We estimate rapidity correlations at later times by assuming that the evolution of the system is governed by ideal Bjorken hydrodynamics, and find that glueball correlations in this state are suppressed at large rapidity intervals, suggesting that late-time medium dynamics can not "wash out" the long-range rapidity correlations that were formed at early times. These results may provide an insight on the nature of the "ridge" correlations observed in heavy ion collision experiments at RHIC and LHC, and in proton-proton collisions at LHC.Comment: 32 pages, 2 figures; v2: typos corrected, references adde

An Experimental Exploration of the QCD Phase Diagram: The Search for the Critical Point and the Onset of De-confinement

The QCD phase diagram lies at the heart of what the RHIC Physics Program is all about. While RHIC has been operating very successfully at or close to its maximum energy for almost a decade, it has become clear that this collider can also be operated at lower energies down to 5 GeV without extensive upgrades. An exploration of the full region of beam energies available at the RHIC facility is imperative. The STAR detector, due to its large uniform acceptance and excellent particle identification capabilities, is uniquely positioned to carry out this program in depth and detail. The first exploratory beam energy scan (BES) run at RHIC took place in 2010 (Run 10), since several STAR upgrades, most importantly a full barrel Time of Flight detector, are now completed which add new capabilities important for the interesting physics at BES energies. In this document we discuss current proposed measurements, with estimations of the accuracy of the measurements given an assumed event count at each beam energy.Comment: 59 pages, 78 figure

Systematic Measurements of Identified Particle Spectra in pp, d+Au and Au+Au Collisions from STAR

Identified charged particle spectra of $\pi^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, $p$ and \pbar at mid-rapidity ($|y|<0.1$) measured by the \dedx method in the STAR-TPC are reported for $pp$ and d+Au collisions at \snn = 200 GeV and for Au+Au collisions at 62.4 GeV, 130 GeV, and 200 GeV. ... [Shortened for arXiv list. Full abstract in manuscript.]Comment: 58 pages, 46 figures, 37 table