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Sample records for black band disease

  1. Selective feeding by coral reef fishes on coral lesions associated with brown band and black band disease

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    Chong-Seng, K. M.; Cole, A. J.; Pratchett, M. S.; Willis, B. L.

    2011-06-01

    Recent studies have suggested that corallivorous fishes may be vectors for coral disease, but the extent to which fishes actually feed on and thereby potentially transmit coral pathogens is largely unknown. For this study, in situ video observations were used to assess the level to which fishes fed on diseased coral tissues at Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef. Surveys conducted at multiple locations around Lizard Island revealed that coral disease prevalence, especially of brown band disease (BrB), was higher in lagoon and backreef locations than in exposed reef crests. Accordingly, video cameras were deployed in lagoon and backreef habitats to record feeding by fishes during 1-h periods on diseased sections of each of 44 different coral colonies. Twenty-five species from five fish families (Blennidae, Chaetodontidae, Gobiidae, Labridae and Pomacentridae) were observed to feed on infected coral tissues of staghorn species of Acropora that were naturally infected with black band disease (BBD) or brown band disease (BrB). Collectively, these fishes took an average of 18.6 (±5.6 SE) and 14.3 (±6.1 SE) bites per hour from BBD and BrB lesions, respectively. More than 40% (408/948 bites) and nearly 25% (314/1319 bites) of bites were observed on lesions associated with BBD and BrB, respectively, despite these bands each representing only about 1% of the substratum available. Moreover, many corallivorous fishes ( Labrichthys unilineatus, Chaetodon aureofasciatus, C. baronessa, C. lunulatus, C. trifascialis, Cheiloprion labiatus) selectively targeted disease lesions over adjacent healthy coral tissues. These findings highlight the important role that reef fishes may play in the dynamics of coral diseases, either as vectors for the spread of coral disease or in reducing coral disease progression through intensive and selective consumption of diseased coral tissues.

  2. The presence of the cyanobacterial toxin microcystin in black band disease of corals.

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    Richardson, Laurie L; Sekar, Raju; Myers, Jamie L; Gantar, Miroslav; Voss, Joshua D; Kaczmarsky, Longin; Remily, Elizabeth R; Boyer, Gregory L; Zimba, Paul V

    2007-07-01

    Black band disease (BBD) is a migrating, cyanobacterial dominated, sulfide-rich microbial mat that moves across coral colonies lysing coral tissue. While it is known that BBD sulfate-reducing bacteria contribute to BBD pathogenicity by production of sulfide, additional mechanisms of toxicity may be involved. Using HPLC/MS, the cyanotoxin microcystin was detected in 22 field samples of BBD collected from five coral species on nine reefs of the wider Caribbean (Florida Keys and Bahamas). Two cyanobacterial cultures isolated from BBD, Geitlerinema and Leptolyngbya sp. contained microcystin based on HPLC/MS, with toxic activity confirmed using the protein phosphatase inhibition assay. The gene mcyA from the microcystin synthesis complex was detected in two field samples and from both BBD cyanobacterial cultures. Microcystin was not detected in six BBD samples from a different area of the Caribbean (St Croix, USVI) and the Philippines, suggesting regional specificity for BBD microcystin. This is the first report of the presence of microcystin in a coral disease.

  3. First record of black band disease in the Hawaiian archipelago: response, outbreak status, virulence, and a method of treatment.

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    Greta S Aeby

    Full Text Available A high number of coral colonies, Montipora spp., with progressive tissue loss were reported from the north shore of Kaua'i by a member of the Eyes of the Reef volunteer reporting network. The disease has a distinct lesion (semi-circular pattern of tissue loss with an adjacent dark band that was first observed in Hanalei Bay, Kaua'i in 2004. The disease, initially termed Montipora banded tissue loss, appeared grossly similar to black band disease (BBD, which affects corals worldwide. Following the initial report, a rapid response was initiated as outlined in Hawai'i's rapid response contingency plan to determine outbreak status and investigate the disease. Our study identified the three dominant bacterial constituents indicative of BBD (filamentous cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, sulfide-oxidizing bacteria in coral disease lesions from Kaua'i, which provided the first evidence of BBD in the Hawaiian archipelago. A rapid survey at the alleged outbreak site found disease to affect 6-7% of the montiporids, which is higher than a prior prevalence of less than 1% measured on Kaua'i in 2004, indicative of an epizootic. Tagged colonies with BBD had an average rate of tissue loss of 5.7 cm2/day over a two-month period. Treatment of diseased colonies with a double band of marine epoxy, mixed with chlorine powder, effectively reduced colony mortality. Within two months, treated colonies lost an average of 30% less tissue compared to untreated controls.

  4. MICROBIAL COMMUNITY OF BLACK BAND DISEASE ON INFECTION, HEALTHY, AND DEAD PART OF SCLERACTINIAN Montipora sp. COLONY AT SERIBU ISLANDS, INDONESIA

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    Ofri Johan

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available It is crucial to understand the microbial community associated with the host when attempting to discern the pathogen responsible for disease outbreaks in scleractinian corals. This study determines changes in the bacterial community associated with Montipora sp. in response to black band disease in Indonesian waters. Healthy, diseased, and dead Montipora sp. (n = 3 for each sample type per location were collected from three different locations (Pari Island, Pramuka Island, and Peteloran Island. DGGE (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis was carried out to identify the bacterial community associated with each sample type and histological analysis was conducted to identify pathogens associated with specific tissues. Various Desulfovibrio species were found as novelty to be associated with infection samples, including Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, Desulfovibrio magneticus, and Desulfovibrio gigas, Bacillus benzoevorans, Bacillus farraginis in genus which previously associated with pathogenicity in corals. Various bacterial species associated with uninfected corals were lost in diseased and dead samples. Unlike healthy samples, coral tissues such as the epidermis, endodermis, zooxanthellae were not present on dead samples under histological observation. Liberated zooxanthellae and cyanobacteria were found in black band diseased Montipora sp. samples.

  5. Molecular Detection and Ecological Significance of the Cyanobacterial Genera Geitlerinema and Leptolyngbya in Black Band Disease of Corals▿ †

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    Myers, Jamie L.; Sekar, Raju; Richardson, Laurie L.

    2007-01-01

    Black band disease (BBD) is a pathogenic, sulfide-rich microbial mat dominated by filamentous cyanobacteria that infect corals worldwide. We isolated cyanobacteria from BBD into culture, confirmed their presence in the BBD community by using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and demonstrated their ecological significance in terms of physiological sulfide tolerance and photosynthesis-versus-irradiance values. Twenty-nine BBD samples were collected from nine host coral species, fo...

  6. Microcystin production and ecological physiology of Caribbean black band disease cyanobacteria.

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    Stanić, Dina; Oehrle, Stuart; Gantar, Miroslav; Richardson, Laurie L

    2011-04-01

    Molecular studies of black band disease (BBD), a coral disease found on tropical and subtropical reefs worldwide, have shown that one 16S rRNA gene sequence is ubiquitous. This sequence has been reported to be a member of the cyanobacterial genus Oscillatoria. In this study, extracts of two cultured laboratory strains of BBD Oscillatoria, and for comparison two strains of BBD Geitlerinema, all isolated from reefs of the wider Caribbean, were analysed using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Quad Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The cyanotoxin microcystin-LR (MC-LR) was found in all strains, and one Geitlerinema strain additionally produced MC-YR. Growth experiments that monitored toxin production using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that BBD Oscillatoria produced yields of MC-LR equivalent (0.02-0.04 mg g(-1)) independent of biomass and culture conditions (varying temperature, pH, light and organic carbon). This pattern is different from BBD Geitlerinema, which increased production of MC-LR equivalent in the presence of organic carbon in the light and dark and at a relatively lower temperature. These results indicate that different species and strains of BBD cyanobacteria, which can occur in the same BBD infection, may contribute to BBD pathobiology by producing different toxins and different amounts of toxin at different stages in the disease process. This is the first detailed study of laboratory cultures of the ubiquitous BBD cyanobacterium Oscillatoria sp. isolated from Caribbean reefs. © 2010 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  7. Antibacterial Activity of Marine and Black Band Disease Cyanobacteria against Coral-Associated Bacteria

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    Gantar, Miroslav; Kaczmarsky, Longin T.; Stanić, Dina; Miller, Aaron W.; Richardson, Laurie L.

    2011-01-01

    Black band disease (BBD) of corals is a cyanobacteria-dominated polymicrobial disease that contains diverse populations of heterotrophic bacteria. It is one of the most destructive of coral diseases and is found globally on tropical and sub-tropical reefs. We assessed ten strains of BBD cyanobacteria, and ten strains of cyanobacteria isolated from other marine sources, for their antibacterial effect on growth of heterotrophic bacteria isolated from BBD, from the surface mucopolysaccharide layer (SML) of healthy corals, and three known bacterial coral pathogens. Assays were conducted using two methods: co-cultivation of cyanobacterial and bacterial isolates, and exposure of test bacteria to (hydrophilic and lipophilic) cyanobacterial cell extracts. During co-cultivation, 15 of the 20 cyanobacterial strains tested had antibacterial activity against at least one of the test bacterial strains. Inhibition was significantly higher for BBD cyanobacteria when compared to other marine cyanobacteria. Lipophilic extracts were more active than co-cultivation (extracts of 18 of the 20 strains were active) while hydrophilic extracts had very limited activity. In some cases co-cultivation resulted in stimulation of BBD and SML bacterial growth. Our results suggest that BBD cyanobacteria are involved in structuring the complex polymicrobial BBD microbial community by production of antimicrobial compounds. PMID:22073011

  8. Spatio-temporal transmission patterns of black-band disease in a coral community.

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    Assaf Zvuloni

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Transmission mechanisms of black-band disease (BBD in coral reefs are poorly understood, although this disease is considered to be one of the most widespread and destructive coral infectious diseases. The major objective of this study was to assess transmission mechanisms of BBD in the field based on the spatio-temporal patterns of the disease. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 3,175 susceptible and infected corals were mapped over an area of 10x10 m in Eilat (northern Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea and the distribution of the disease was examined monthly throughout almost two full disease cycles (June 2006-December 2007. Spatial and spatio-temporal analyses were applied to infer the transmission pattern of the disease and to calculate key epidemiological parameters such as (basic reproduction number. We show that the prevalence of the disease is strongly associated with high water temperature. When water temperatures rise and disease prevalence increases, infected corals exhibit aggregated distributions on small spatial scales of up to 1.9 m. Additionally, newly-infected corals clearly appear in proximity to existing infected corals and in a few cases in direct contact with them. We also present and test a model of water-borne infection, indicating that the likelihood of a susceptible coral becoming infected is defined by its spatial location and by the relative spatial distribution of nearby infected corals found in the site. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results provide evidence that local transmission, but not necessarily by direct contact, is likely to be an important factor in the spread of the disease over the tested spatial scale. In the absence of potential disease vectors with limited mobility (e.g., snails, fireworms in the studied site, water-borne infection is likely to be a significant transmission mechanism of BBD. Our suggested model of water-borne transmission supports this hypothesis. The spatio-temporal analysis also points

  9. Geographic and temporal differences in band reporting rates for American black ducks

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    Conroy, M.J.; Blandin, W.W.

    1984-01-01

    Recoveries of reward- and standard-banded American black ducks (Anas rubripes) were used to estimate band reporting rates and to investigate geographic and temporal variability in reporting rate for 1978-80. Reporting rates were higher close ( 20 km) to the parent banding site in 3 of 42 samples and were higher close to the nearest black duck banding site in 3 of 35 samples., Reporting rates were higher P 0.05) in Canada than in the Atlantic Flyway for the pre-huntIng season 1980-banded sample, but were otherwise similar among regions. Temporal differences over the duration of the study occured, but there were no consistent trends over time. The small number of rejections suggests that there is little evidence of differences in band reporting rate by proximity to banding sites, geographic location, or over time. Thus, the best estimate of band reporting rate for black ducks is a constant 0.43. This estimate should be used with caution, because we believe that it overestimates reporting rate due to the unknown proportion of reward bands found that were not reported.

  10. Temporal dynamics of black band disease affecting pillar coral ( Dendrogyra cylindrus) following two consecutive hyperthermal events on the Florida Reef Tract

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    Lewis, Cynthia L.; Neely, Karen L.; Richardson, Laurie L.; Rodriguez-Lanetty, Mauricio

    2017-06-01

    Black band disease (BBD) affects many coral species worldwide and is considered a major contributor to the decline of reef-building coral. On the Florida Reef Tract BBD is most prevalent during summer and early fall when water temperatures exceed 29 °C. BBD is rarely reported in pillar coral ( Dendrogyra cylindrus) throughout the Caribbean, and here we document for the first time the appearance of the disease in this species on Florida reefs. The highest monthly BBD prevalence in the D. cylindrus population were 4.7% in 2014 and 6.8% in 2015. In each year, BBD appeared immediately following a hyperthermal bleaching event, which raises concern as hyperthermal seawater anomalies become more frequent.

  11. Cyanotoxins from black band disease of corals and from other coral reef environments.

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    Gantar, Miroslav; Sekar, Raju; Richardson, Laurie L

    2009-11-01

    Many cyanobacteria produce cyanotoxins, which has been well documented from freshwater environments but not investigated to the same extent in marine environments. Cyanobacteria are an obligate component of the polymicrobial disease of corals known as black band disease (BBD). Cyanotoxins were previously shown to be present in field samples of BBD and in a limited number of BBD cyanobacterial cultures. These toxins were suggested as one of the mechanisms contributing to BBD-associated coral tissue lysis and death. In this work, we tested nine cyanobacterial isolates from BBD and additionally nine isolated from non-BBD marine sources for their ability to produce toxins. The presence of toxins was determined using cell extracts of laboratory grown cyanobacterial cultures using ELISA and the PP2A assay. Based on these tests, it was shown that cyanobacterial toxins belonging to the microcystin/nodularin group were produced by cyanobacteria originating from both BBD and non-BBD sources. Several environmental factors that can be encountered in the highly dynamic microenvironment of BBD were tested for their effect on both cyanobacterial growth yield and rate of toxin production using two of the BBD isolates of the genera Leptolyngbya and Geitlerinema. While toxin production was the highest under mixotrophic conditions (light and glucose) for the Leptolyngbya isolate, it was highest under photoautotrophic conditions for the Geitlerinema isolate. Our results show that toxin production among marine cyanobacteria is more widespread than previously documented, and we present data showing three marine cyanobacterial genera (Phormidium, Pseudanabaena, and Spirulina) are newly identified as cyanotoxin producers. We also show that cyanotoxin production by BBD cyanobacteria can be affected by environmental factors that are present in the microenvironment associated with this coral disease.

  12. Size and strain tunable band alignment of black-blue phosphorene lateral heterostructures.

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    Li, Yan; Ma, Fei

    2017-05-17

    Single-element lateral heterostructures composed of black and blue phosphorene are not only free from lattice mismatch but also exhibit rich physical properties related to the seamlessly stitched interfaces, providing the building blocks for designing atomically thin devices. Using first-principles calculations, we investigate the influence of interface structure, size effect and strain engineering on the electronic structure, effective masses and band alignment of black-blue phosphorene lateral heterostructures. The lateral heterostructure with an octatomic-ring interface presents a strong metallic feature due to the interface states, while a metal-semiconductor transition takes place in the system with a hexatomic-ring interface upon hydrogen passivation. Following a reciprocal scaling law, the band gap is tuned in a wide energy range by synchronously increasing the widths of black and blue phosphorene or by only widening that of black phosphorene. Moreover, type-II band alignment is observed in the width ranges of 2.0-3.1 nm and 3.7-4.2 nm, out of which it is type-I. However, the band gap and effective masses show small changes if only the width of blue phosphorene is altered. When the lateral heterostructure is tensile loaded, the effective mass ratio of hole to electron is enlarged by an order of magnitude at a strain of 4% along the zigzag direction. Meanwhile, the band alignment undergoes a crossover from type-I to type-II at a strain of 2%, facilitating efficient electron-hole separation for light detection and harvesting.

  13. Band reporting probablilities of mallards, American black ducks, and wood ducks in eastern North America

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    Garrettson, Pamela R.; Raftovich, Robert V.; Hines, James; Zimmerman, Guthrie S.

    2014-01-01

    Estimates of band reporting probabilities are used for managing North American waterfowl to convert band recovery probabilities into harvest probabilities, which are used to set harvest regulations. Band reporting probability is the probability that someone who has shot and retrieved a banded bird will report the band. This probability can vary relative to a number of factors, particularly the inscription on the band and the ease with which it can be reported. Other factors, such as geographic reporting region, and species and sex of the bird may also play a role. We tested whether reporting probabilities of wood ducks (Aix sponsa) and American black ducks (black ducks; Anas rubripes) differed from those of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and whether band reporting varied geographically or by the sex of the banded bird. In the analysis of spatially comparable wood duck and mallard data, a band reporting probability of 0.73 (95% CI = 0.67–0.78) was appropriate for use across species, sex, and reporting region within the United States. In the black duck–mallard comparison, the band reporting probability of black ducks in Eastern Canada (0.50, 95% CI = 0.44–0.57) was lower than in the Eastern United States (0.73, 95% CI = 0.62–0.83). These estimates reflected an increase in overall band reporting probability following the addition of a toll-free telephone number to band inscriptions. Lower reporting in Eastern Canada may be because of cultural, linguistic, or logistical barriers.

  14. Characterisation of an atypical manifestation of black band disease on Porites lutea in the Western Indian Ocean

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    Mathieu Séré

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Recent surveys conducted on Reunion Island coral reefs revealed an atypical manifestation of black band disease on the main framework building coral, Porites lutea. This BBD manifestation (PorBBD presented a thick lighter-colored band, which preceded the typical BBD lesion. Whilst BBD aetiology has been intensively described worldwide, it remains unclear if corals with apparently similar lesions across coral reefs are affected by the same pathogens. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach involving field surveys, gross lesion monitoring, histopathology and 454-pyrosequencing was employed to provide the first comprehensive characterization of this particular manifestation. Surveys conducted within two geomorphological zones over two consecutive summers and winters showed spatial and seasonal patterns consistent with those found for typical BBD. Genetic analyses suggested an uncharacteristically high level of Vibrio spp. bacterial infection within PorBBD. However, microscopic analysis revealed high densities of cyanobacteria, penetrating the compromised tissue as well as the presence of basophilic bodies resembling bacterial aggregates in the living tissue, adjacent to the bacterial mat. Additionally, classical BBD-associated cyanobacterial strains, genetically related to Pseudoscillatoria coralii and Roseofilum reptotaenium were identified and isolated and the presence of sulfate-reducers or sulfide-oxidizers such as Desulfovibrio and Arcobacter, previously shown to be associated with anoxic microenvironment within typical BBD was also observed, confirming that PorBBD is a manifestation of classical BBD.

  15. Adaptation of cyanobacteria to the sulfide-rich microenvironment of black band disease of coral.

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    Myers, Jamie L; Richardson, Laurie L

    2009-02-01

    Black band disease (BBD) is a cyanobacteria-dominated microbial mat that migrates across living coral colonies lysing coral tissue and leaving behind exposed coral skeleton. The mat is sulfide-rich due to the presence of sulfate-reducing bacteria, integral members of the BBD microbial community, and the sulfide they produce is lethal to corals. The effect of sulfide, normally toxic to cyanobacteria, on the photosynthetic capabilities of five BBD cyanobacterial isolates of the genera Geitlerinema (3), Leptolyngbya (1), and Oscillatoria (1) and six non-BBD cyanobacteria of the genera Leptolyngbya (3), Pseudanabaena (2), and Phormidium (1) was examined. Photosynthetic experiments were performed by measuring the photoincorporation of [(14)C] NaHCO(3) under the following conditions: (1) aerobic (no sulfide), (2) anaerobic with 0.5 mM sulfide, and (3) anaerobic with 0.5 mM sulfide and 10 microM 3-(3',4'-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU). All five BBD cyanobacterial isolates tolerated sulfide by conducting sulfide-resistant oxygenic photosynthesis. Five of the non-BBD cyanobacterial isolates did not tolerate sulfide, although one Pseudanabaena isolate continued to photosynthesize in the presence of sulfide at a considerably reduced rate. None of the isolates conducted anoxygenic photosynthesis with sulfide as an electron donor. This is the first report on the physiology of a culture of Oscillatoria sp. found globally in BBD.

  16. Nibelung-Kaoline-Black band fluit clay - the new key-horizon in the carboniferous system of the Ruhr coal field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burger, K.; Otte, M.U. (Bergbau A.G. Lippe, Gelsenkirchen (Germany, F.R.). Abt. Markscheidewesen); Pfisterer, W. (Bergbau A.G. Lippe, Herne (Germany, F.R.). Hauptlaboratorium)

    1979-10-01

    Based upon the stratigraphic distribution of the kaoline-black-band flint clay in the carbon strata of the Ruhr, the Nibelung-Kaoline-black-band flint clay found in the upper Westphal C (Dorsten strata) is defined to be the new keyhorizon. The position of the discoveries of the kaoline-black-band flint clay, its stratigraphic positions as well as its macroscopic and microscopic characteristics together with the chemical composition are given. Investigations of the structure and minerals content show that the Nibelung-Kaolin-black-band flint clay is a new keyhorizon and is of great importance for the stratigraphy of the upper Westfal C. Its position within the system is represented by strata sections.

  17. Cyanotoxins are not implicated in the etiology of coral black band disease outbreaks on Pelorus Island, Great Barrier Reef.

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    Glas, Martin S; Motti, Cherie A; Negri, Andrew P; Sato, Yui; Froscio, Suzanne; Humpage, Andrew R; Krock, Bernd; Cembella, Allan; Bourne, David G

    2010-07-01

    Cyanobacterial toxins (i.e. microcystins) produced within the microbial mat of coral black band disease (BBD) have been implicated in disease pathogenicity. This study investigated the presence of toxins within BBD lesions and other cyanobacterial patch (CP) lesions, which, in some instances ( approximately 19%), facilitated the onset of BBD, from an outbreak site at Pelorus Island on the inshore, central Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Cyanobacterial species that dominated the biomass of CP and BBD lesions were cultivated and identified, based on morphology and 16S rRNA gene sequences, as Blennothrix- and Oscillatoria-affiliated species, respectively, and identical to cyanobacterial sequences retrieved from previous molecular studies from this site. The presence of the cyanotoxins microcystin, cylindrospermopsin, saxitoxin, nodularin and anatoxin and their respective gene operons in field samples of CP and BBD lesions and their respective culture isolations was tested using genetic (PCR-based screenings), chemical (HPLC-UV, FTICR-MS and LC/MS(n)) and biochemical (PP2A) methods. Cyanotoxins and cyanotoxin synthetase genes were not detected in any of the samples. Cyanobacterial species dominant within CP and BBD lesions were phylogenetically distinct from species previously shown to produce cyanotoxins and isolated from BBD lesions. The results from this study demonstrate that cyanobacterial toxins appear to play no role in the pathogenicity of CP and BBD at this site on the GBR.

  18. Black lung: the social production of disease.

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    Smith, B E

    1981-01-01

    The black lung movement that erupted in West Virginia in 1968 was not simply a struggle for recognition of an occupational disease; it grew into a bitter controversy over who would control the definition of that disease. This article examines the historical background and medical politics of that controversy, arguing that black lung was socially produced and defined on several different levels. As a medical construct, the changing definitions of this disease can be traced to major shifts in the political economy of the coal industry. As an occupational disease, the history of black lung is internally related to the history of the workplace in which it is produced. As the object of a mass movement, black lung acquired a political definition that grew out of the collective experience of miners and their families. The definition of disease with which black lung activists challenged the medical establishment has historical roots and justification; their experience suggests that other health advocates may need to redefine the diseases they hope to eradicate.

  19. Anomalous Temperature Dependence of the Band Gap in Black Phosphorus

    OpenAIRE

    Villegas, Cesar E. P.; Rocha, A. R.; Marini, Andrea

    2016-01-01

    Black Phosphorus (BP) has gained renewed attention due to its singular anisotropic electronic and optical properties that might be exploited for a wide range of technological applications. In this respect, the thermal properties are particularly important both to predict its room temperature operation and to determine its thermoelectric potential. From this point of view, one of the most spectacular and poorly understood phenomena is, indeed, the BP temperature-induced band-gap opening: when ...

  20. Black lung disease

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramani, R.V.; Frantz, R.L. [Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA (United States)

    1995-12-31

    Coal workers` pneumoconiosis (CWP), often called Black Lung Disease is a occupational disease which results from inhalation of coal mine dust which usually contains small amounts of free crystalline silica. This chapter reviews the current knowledge of the epidemiology and clinical aspects of CWP and how it has been controlled in the USA through the 1969 Coal Mine Act and dust level standards. It describes the sampling methods used. Medical control methods and engineering control of the disease is discussed. Work of the Generic Mineral Technology Center for Respirable Dust is described. 28 refs., 6 figs.

  1. Band 3 in aging and neurological disease.

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    Kay, M M

    1991-01-01

    Senescent cell antigen appears on old cells and marks them for death by initiating the binding of IgG autoantibody and subsequent removal by phagocytes in mammals and other vertebrates. We have created a synthetic aging antigen that blocks binding of IgG to senescent cells in vitro. Synthetic senescent cell antigen might be effective in preventing cellular destruction in vivo in certain diseases, and can be used to manipulate cellular life span in situ. Senescent cell antigen is generated by the modification of an important structural and transport membrane molecule, protein band 3. Band 3 is present in cellular, nuclear, Golgi, and mitochondrial membranes as well as in cell membranes. Band 3 proteins in nucleated cells participate in cell surface patching and capping. Band 3 maintains acid-base balance by mediating the exchange of anions (e.g., chloride, bicarbonate), and is the binding site for glycolytic enzymes. It is responsible for CO2 exchange in all tissues and organs. Thus, it is the most heavily used anion transport system in the body. Band 3 is a major transmembrane structural protein which attaches the plasma membrane to the internal cell cytoskeleton by binding to band 2.1 (ankyrin). Oxidation generates senescent cell antigen in situ. Band 3 is present in the central nervous system, and differences have been described in band 3 between young and aging brain tissue. One autosomal recessive neurological disease, choreoacanthocytosis, is associated with band 3 abnormalities. The 150 residues of the carboxyl terminus segment of band 3 appear to be altered. In brains from Alzheimer's disease patients, antibodies to aged band 3 label the amyloid core of classical plaques and the microglial cells located in the middle of the plaque in tissue sections, and an abnormal band 3 in immunoblots. Band 3 protein(s) in mammalian brain performs the same functions as that of erythroid band 3. These functions is anion transport, ankyrin binding, and generation of

  2. CRISPR-Cas Defense System and Potential Prophages in Cyanobacteria Associated with the Coral Black Band Disease.

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    Buerger, Patrick; Wood-Charlson, Elisha M; Weynberg, Karen D; Willis, Bette L; van Oppen, Madeleine J H

    2016-01-01

    Understanding how pathogens maintain their virulence is critical to developing tools to mitigate disease in animal populations. We sequenced and assembled the first draft genome of Roseofilum reptotaenium AO1, the dominant cyanobacterium underlying pathogenicity of the virulent coral black band disease (BBD), and analyzed parts of the BBD-associated Geitlerinema sp. BBD_1991 genome in silico . Both cyanobacteria are equipped with an adaptive, heritable clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas defense system type I-D and have potential virulence genes located within several prophage regions. The defense system helps to prevent infection by viruses and mobile genetic elements via identification of short fingerprints of the intruding DNA, which are stored as templates in the bacterial genome, in so-called "CRISPRs." Analysis of CRISPR target sequences (protospacers) revealed an unusually high number of self-targeting spacers in R. reptotaenium AO1 and extraordinary long CRIPSR arrays of up to 260 spacers in Geitlerinema sp. BBD_1991. The self-targeting spacers are unlikely to be a form of autoimmunity; instead these target an incomplete lysogenic bacteriophage. Lysogenic virus induction experiments with mitomycin C and UV light did not reveal an actively replicating virus population in R. reptotaenium AO1 cultures, suggesting that phage functionality is compromised or excision could be blocked by the CRISPR-Cas system. Potential prophages were identified in three regions of R. reptotaenium AO1 and five regions of Geitlerinema sp. BBD_1991, containing putative BBD relevant virulence genes, such as an NAD-dependent epimerase/dehydratase (a homolog in terms of functionality to the third and fourth most expressed gene in BBD), lysozyme/metalloendopeptidases and other lipopolysaccharide modification genes. To date, viruses have not been considered to be a component of the BBD consortium or a contributor to the virulence of R. reptotaenium AO1

  3. Molecular detection and ecological significance of the cyanobacterial genera Geitlerinema and Leptolyngbya in black band disease of corals.

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    Myers, Jamie L; Sekar, Raju; Richardson, Laurie L

    2007-08-01

    Black band disease (BBD) is a pathogenic, sulfide-rich microbial mat dominated by filamentous cyanobacteria that infect corals worldwide. We isolated cyanobacteria from BBD into culture, confirmed their presence in the BBD community by using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and demonstrated their ecological significance in terms of physiological sulfide tolerance and photosynthesis-versus-irradiance values. Twenty-nine BBD samples were collected from nine host coral species, four of which have not previously been investigated, from reefs of the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, St. Croix, and the Philippines. From these samples, seven cyanobacteria were isolated into culture. Cloning and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene using universal primers indicated that four isolates were related to the genus Geitlerinema and three to the genus Leptolyngbya. DGGE results, obtained using Cyanobacteria-specific 16S rRNA primers, revealed that the most common BBD cyanobacterial sequence, detected in 26 BBD field samples, was related to that of an Oscillatoria sp. The next most common sequence, 99% similar to that of the Geitlerinema BBD isolate, was present in three samples. One Leptolyngbya- and one Phormidium-related sequence were also found. Laboratory experiments using isolates of BBD Geitlerinema and Leptolyngbya revealed that they could carry out sulfide-resistant oxygenic photosynthesis, a relatively rare characteristic among cyanobacteria, and that they are adapted to the sulfide-rich, low-light BBD environment. The presence of the cyanotoxin microcystin in these cultures and in BBD suggests a role in BBD pathogenicity. Our results confirm the presence of Geitlerinema in the BBD microbial community and its ecological significance, which have been challenged, and provide evidence of a second ecologically significant BBD cyanobacterium, Leptolyngbya.

  4. Higher cardiovascular disease prevalence and mortality among younger blacks compared to whites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jolly, Stacey; Vittinghoff, Eric; Chattopadhyay, Arpita; Bibbins-Domingo, Kirsten

    2010-09-01

    Blacks have higher rates of cardiovascular disease than whites. The age at which these differential rates emerge has not been fully examined. We examined cardiovascular disease prevalence and mortality among black and white adults across the adult age spectrum and explored potential mediators of these differential disease prevalence rates. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 1999-2006. We estimated age-adjusted and age-specific prevalence ratios (PR) for cardiovascular disease (heart failure, stroke, or myocardial infarction) for blacks versus whites in adults aged 35 years and older and examined potential explanatory factors. From the National Compressed Mortality File 5-year aggregate file of 1999-2003, we determined age-specific cardiovascular disease mortality rates. In young adulthood, cardiovascular disease prevalence was higher in blacks than whites (35-44 years PR 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-3.4). The black-white PR decreased with each decade of advancing age (P for trend=.04), leading to a narrowing of the racial gap at older ages (65-74 years PR 1.2; 95% CI, 0.8-1.6; > or =75 years PR 1.0; 95% CI, 0.7-1.4). Clinical and socioeconomic factors mediated some, but not all, of the excess cardiovascular disease prevalence among young to middle-aged blacks. Over a quarter (28%) of all cardiovascular disease deaths among blacks occurred in those aged <65 years, compared with 13% among whites. Reducing black/white disparities in cardiovascular disease will require a focus on young and middle-aged blacks.

  5. Contemporary white-band disease in Caribbean corals driven by climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Randall, C. J.; van Woesik, R.

    2015-04-01

    Over the past 40 years, two of the dominant reef-building corals in the Caribbean, Acropora palmata and Acropora cervicornis, have experienced unprecedented declines. That loss has been largely attributed to a syndrome commonly referred to as white-band disease. Climate change-driven increases in sea surface temperature (SST) have been linked to several coral diseases, yet, despite decades of research, the attribution of white-band disease to climate change remains unknown. Here we hindcasted the potential relationship between recent ocean warming and outbreaks of white-band disease on acroporid corals. We quantified eight SST metrics, including rates of change in SST and contemporary thermal anomalies, and compared them with records of white-band disease on A. palmata and A. cervicornis from 473 sites across the Caribbean, surveyed from 1997 to 2004. The results of our models suggest that decades-long climate-driven changes in SST, increases in thermal minima, and the breach of thermal maxima have all played significant roles in the spread of white-band disease. We conclude that white-band disease has been strongly coupled with thermal stresses associated with climate change, which has contributed to the regional decline of these once-dominant reef-building corals.

  6. Huntington\\'s disease: Genetic heterogeneity in black African patients

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective. Huntington's disease (HD) has been reported to occur rarely in black patients. A new genetic variant– Huntington's disease-like 2 (HDL2) – occurring more frequently in blacks, has recently been described. The absence of an expanded trinucleotide repeat at the chromosome 4 HD locus was previously regarded ...

  7. Motor neuron disease in blacks | Cosnett | South African Medical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A series of 86 black, Indian and white patients with motor neuron disease were analysed retrospectively. Although the material does not allow statistically valid conclusions, there are sufficient cases among blacks to allow two prima facie observations in this population group: (i) motor neuron disease has an earlier age of ...

  8. Biological control of banana black Sigatoka disease with Trichoderma

    OpenAIRE

    Poholl Adan Sagratzki Cavero; Rogério Eiji Hanada; Luadir Gasparotto; Rosalee Albuquerque Coelho Neto; Jorge Teodoro de Souza

    2015-01-01

    Black Sigatoka disease caused by Mycosphaerella fijiensis is the most severe banana disease worldwide. The pathogen is in an invasive phase in Brazil and is already present in most States of the country. The potential of 29 isolates of Trichoderma spp. was studied for the control of black Sigatoka disease under field conditions. Four isolates were able to significantly reduce disease severity and were further tested in a second field experiment. Isolate 2.047 showed the best results in both f...

  9. Biological control of banana black Sigatoka disease with Trichoderma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Poholl Adan Sagratzki Cavero

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Black Sigatoka disease caused by Mycosphaerella fijiensis is the most severe banana disease worldwide. The pathogen is in an invasive phase in Brazil and is already present in most States of the country. The potential of 29 isolates of Trichoderma spp. was studied for the control of black Sigatoka disease under field conditions. Four isolates were able to significantly reduce disease severity and were further tested in a second field experiment. Isolate 2.047 showed the best results in both field experiments and was selected for fungicide sensitivity tests and mass production. This isolate was identified as Trichoderma atroviride by sequencing fragments of the ITS region of the rDNA and tef-1α of the RNA polymerase. Trichoderma atroviride was as effective as the fungicide Azoxystrobin, which is recommended for controlling black Sigatoka. This biocontrol agent has potential to control the disease and may be scaled-up for field applications on rice-based solid fermentation

  10. Molecular Detection and Ecological Significance of the Cyanobacterial Genera Geitlerinema and Leptolyngbya in Black Band Disease of Corals▿ †

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, Jamie L.; Sekar, Raju; Richardson, Laurie L.

    2007-01-01

    Black band disease (BBD) is a pathogenic, sulfide-rich microbial mat dominated by filamentous cyanobacteria that infect corals worldwide. We isolated cyanobacteria from BBD into culture, confirmed their presence in the BBD community by using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and demonstrated their ecological significance in terms of physiological sulfide tolerance and photosynthesis-versus-irradiance values. Twenty-nine BBD samples were collected from nine host coral species, four of which have not previously been investigated, from reefs of the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, St. Croix, and the Philippines. From these samples, seven cyanobacteria were isolated into culture. Cloning and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene using universal primers indicated that four isolates were related to the genus Geitlerinema and three to the genus Leptolyngbya. DGGE results, obtained using Cyanobacteria-specific 16S rRNA primers, revealed that the most common BBD cyanobacterial sequence, detected in 26 BBD field samples, was related to that of an Oscillatoria sp. The next most common sequence, 99% similar to that of the Geitlerinema BBD isolate, was present in three samples. One Leptolyngbya- and one Phormidium-related sequence were also found. Laboratory experiments using isolates of BBD Geitlerinema and Leptolyngbya revealed that they could carry out sulfide-resistant oxygenic photosynthesis, a relatively rare characteristic among cyanobacteria, and that they are adapted to the sulfide-rich, low-light BBD environment. The presence of the cyanotoxin microcystin in these cultures and in BBD suggests a role in BBD pathogenicity. Our results confirm the presence of Geitlerinema in the BBD microbial community and its ecological significance, which have been challenged, and provide evidence of a second ecologically significant BBD cyanobacterium, Leptolyngbya. PMID:17601818

  11. Speech characteristics of miners with black lung disease (pneumoconiosis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilbert, H R

    1975-06-01

    Speech samples were obtained from 10 miners with diagnosed black lung disease and 10 nonminers who had never worked in a dusty environment and who had no history of respiratory diseases. Frequency, intensity and durational measures were used as a basis upon which to compare the two groups. Results indicated that four of the six pausal measures, vowel duration, vowel intensity variation and vowel perturbation differentiated the miners from the nonminers. The results indicate that black lung disease may affect not only respiratory physiology associated with speech production but also laryngeal physiology.

  12. Black-white differences in infectious disease mortality in the United States

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J.H. Richardus (Jan Hendrik); A.E. Kunst (Anton)

    2001-01-01

    textabstractOBJECTIVES: This study determined the degree to which Black-White differences in infectious disease mortality are explained by income and education and the extent to which infectious diseases contribute to Black-White differences in all-cause mortality. METHODS: A

  13. Gaucher's disease in a black child in South Africa. A case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, R; MacDougall, L G

    1984-09-01

    A 7-year-old Black boy presented with massive splenomegaly and a tendency to haemorrhage due to type 1 Gaucher's disease. After splenectomy he became asymptomatic and the haematological parameters returned to normal. Although type 1 Gaucher's disease has been described in adult Blacks, it has not been reported previously in a Black child in southern Africa.

  14. Black-white differences in infectious disease mortality in the United States

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Richardus, J. H.; Kunst, A. E.

    2001-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: This study determined the degree to which Black-White differences in infectious disease mortality are explained by income and education and the extent to which infectious diseases contribute to Black-White differences in all-cause mortality. METHODS: A sample population of the National

  15. Unraveling the Physiological Roles of the Cyanobacterium Geitlerinema sp. BBD and Other Black Band Disease Community Members through Genomic Analysis of a Mixed Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Den Uyl, Paul A.; Richardson, Laurie L.; Jain, Sunit

    2016-01-01

    Black band disease (BBD) is a cyanobacterial-dominated polymicrobial mat that propagates on and migrates across coral surfaces, necrotizing coral tissue. Culture-based laboratory studies have investigated cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria isolated from BBD, but the metabolic potential of various BBD microbial community members and interactions between them remain poorly understood. Here we report genomic insights into the physiological and metabolic potential of the BBD-associated cyanobacterium Geitlerinema sp. BBD 1991 and six associated bacteria that were also present in the non-axenic culture. The essentially complete genome of Geitlerinema sp. BBD 1991 contains a sulfide quinone oxidoreductase gene for oxidation of sulfide, suggesting a mechanism for tolerating the sulfidic conditions of BBD mats. Although the operon for biosynthesis of the cyanotoxin microcystin was surprisingly absent, potential relics were identified. Genomic evidence for mixed-acid fermentation indicates a strategy for energy metabolism under the anaerobic conditions present in BBD during darkness. Fermentation products may supply carbon to BBD heterotrophic bacteria. Among the six associated bacteria in the culture, two are closely related to organisms found in culture-independent studies of diseased corals. Their metabolic pathways for carbon and sulfur cycling, energy metabolism, and mechanisms for resisting coral defenses suggest adaptations to the coral surface environment and biogeochemical roles within the BBD mat. Polysulfide reductases were identified in a Flammeovirgaceae genome (Bacteroidetes) and the sox pathway for sulfur oxidation was found in the genome of a Rhodospirillales bacterium (Alphaproteobacteria), revealing mechanisms for sulfur cycling, which influences virulence of BBD. Each genomic bin possessed a pathway for conserving energy from glycerol degradation, reflecting adaptations to the glycerol-rich coral environment. The presence of genes for detoxification

  16. Unraveling the Physiological Roles of the Cyanobacterium Geitlerinema sp. BBD and Other Black Band Disease Community Members through Genomic Analysis of a Mixed Culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Den Uyl, Paul A; Richardson, Laurie L; Jain, Sunit; Dick, Gregory J

    2016-01-01

    Black band disease (BBD) is a cyanobacterial-dominated polymicrobial mat that propagates on and migrates across coral surfaces, necrotizing coral tissue. Culture-based laboratory studies have investigated cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria isolated from BBD, but the metabolic potential of various BBD microbial community members and interactions between them remain poorly understood. Here we report genomic insights into the physiological and metabolic potential of the BBD-associated cyanobacterium Geitlerinema sp. BBD 1991 and six associated bacteria that were also present in the non-axenic culture. The essentially complete genome of Geitlerinema sp. BBD 1991 contains a sulfide quinone oxidoreductase gene for oxidation of sulfide, suggesting a mechanism for tolerating the sulfidic conditions of BBD mats. Although the operon for biosynthesis of the cyanotoxin microcystin was surprisingly absent, potential relics were identified. Genomic evidence for mixed-acid fermentation indicates a strategy for energy metabolism under the anaerobic conditions present in BBD during darkness. Fermentation products may supply carbon to BBD heterotrophic bacteria. Among the six associated bacteria in the culture, two are closely related to organisms found in culture-independent studies of diseased corals. Their metabolic pathways for carbon and sulfur cycling, energy metabolism, and mechanisms for resisting coral defenses suggest adaptations to the coral surface environment and biogeochemical roles within the BBD mat. Polysulfide reductases were identified in a Flammeovirgaceae genome (Bacteroidetes) and the sox pathway for sulfur oxidation was found in the genome of a Rhodospirillales bacterium (Alphaproteobacteria), revealing mechanisms for sulfur cycling, which influences virulence of BBD. Each genomic bin possessed a pathway for conserving energy from glycerol degradation, reflecting adaptations to the glycerol-rich coral environment. The presence of genes for detoxification

  17. Unraveling the Physiological Roles of the Cyanobacterium Geitlerinema sp. BBD and Other Black Band Disease Community Members through Genomic Analysis of a Mixed Culture.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul A Den Uyl

    Full Text Available Black band disease (BBD is a cyanobacterial-dominated polymicrobial mat that propagates on and migrates across coral surfaces, necrotizing coral tissue. Culture-based laboratory studies have investigated cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria isolated from BBD, but the metabolic potential of various BBD microbial community members and interactions between them remain poorly understood. Here we report genomic insights into the physiological and metabolic potential of the BBD-associated cyanobacterium Geitlerinema sp. BBD 1991 and six associated bacteria that were also present in the non-axenic culture. The essentially complete genome of Geitlerinema sp. BBD 1991 contains a sulfide quinone oxidoreductase gene for oxidation of sulfide, suggesting a mechanism for tolerating the sulfidic conditions of BBD mats. Although the operon for biosynthesis of the cyanotoxin microcystin was surprisingly absent, potential relics were identified. Genomic evidence for mixed-acid fermentation indicates a strategy for energy metabolism under the anaerobic conditions present in BBD during darkness. Fermentation products may supply carbon to BBD heterotrophic bacteria. Among the six associated bacteria in the culture, two are closely related to organisms found in culture-independent studies of diseased corals. Their metabolic pathways for carbon and sulfur cycling, energy metabolism, and mechanisms for resisting coral defenses suggest adaptations to the coral surface environment and biogeochemical roles within the BBD mat. Polysulfide reductases were identified in a Flammeovirgaceae genome (Bacteroidetes and the sox pathway for sulfur oxidation was found in the genome of a Rhodospirillales bacterium (Alphaproteobacteria, revealing mechanisms for sulfur cycling, which influences virulence of BBD. Each genomic bin possessed a pathway for conserving energy from glycerol degradation, reflecting adaptations to the glycerol-rich coral environment. The presence of genes

  18. The roles of temperature and light in black band disease (BBD) progression on corals of the genus Diploria in Bermuda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuehl, Kristin; Jones, Ross; Gibbs, David; Richardson, Laurie

    2011-03-01

    On Bermuda reefs the brain coral Diploria labyrinthiformis is rarely documented with black band disease (BBD), while BBD-affected colonies of Diploria strigosa are common. D. labyrinthiformis on these reefs may be more resistant to BBD or less affected by prevailing environmental conditions that potentially diminish host defenses. To determine whether light and/or temperature influence BBD differently on these two species, infection experiments were conducted under the following experimental treatments: (1) 26 °C, ambient light; (2) 30 °C, ambient light; (3) 30 °C, low light; and (4) 30 °C, high light. A digital photograph of the affected area of each coral was taken each day for 7 days and analyzed with ImageJ image processing software. The final affected area was not significantly different between species in any of the four treatments. BBD lesions were smaller on both species infected under ambient light at 26 °C versus 30 °C. Low light at 30 °C significantly reduced the lesion size on both species when compared to colonies infected at the same temperature under ambient light. Under high light at 30 °C, BBD lesions were larger on colonies of D. strigosa and smaller on colonies of D. labyrinthiformis when compared to colonies infected under ambient light at the same temperature. The responses of both species suggests that BBD progression on both D. strigosa and D. labyrinthiformis is similarly influenced by a combination of light and temperature and that other factors present before infections become established likely contribute to the difference in BBD prevalence in Bermuda. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. “Nothing Better or Worse than Being Black, Gay, and in the Band”: A Qualitative Examination of Gay Undergraduates Participating in Historically Black College or University Marching Bands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Bruce Allen

    2013-01-01

    This collective case study examined the experiences of four African American gay band students attending historically Black colleges or universities (HCBUs) in the southern United States. This study explored influences that shaped the participants' identities as they negotiated numerous complex sociocultural discourses pervasive and challenging to…

  20. Bacterial community structure associated with white band disease in the elkhorn coral Acropora palmata determined using culture-independent 16S rRNA techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pantos, Olga; Bythell, John C

    2006-03-23

    Culture-independent molecular (16S ribosomal RNA) techniques showed distinct differences in bacterial communities associated with white band disease (WBD) Type I and healthy elkhorn coral Acropora palmata. Differences were apparent at all levels, with a greater diversity present in tissues of diseased colonies. The bacterial community associated with remote, non-diseased coral was distinct from the apparently healthy tissues of infected corals several cm from the disease lesion. This demonstrates a whole-organism effect from what appears to be a localised disease lesion, an effect that has also been recently demonstrated in white plague-like disease in star coral Montastraea annularis. The pattern of bacterial community structure changes was similar to that recently demonstrated for white plague-like disease and black band disease. Some of the changes are likely to be explained by the colonisation of dead and degrading tissues by a micro-heterotroph community adapted to the decomposition of coral tissues. However, specific ribosomal types that are absent from healthy tissues appear consistently in all samples of each of the diseases. These ribotypes are closely related members of a group of alpha-proteobacteria that cause disease, notably juvenile oyster disease, in other marine organisms. It is clearly important that members of this group are isolated for challenge experiments to determine their role in the diseases.

  1. Synthesis and design of waveguide band-stop filters without out-of-band spurious responses for plasma diagnosis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Montejo-Garai, Jose R., E-mail: jr@etc.upm.es [Departamento de Electromagnetismo y Teoria de Circuitos, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Madrid 20840 (Spain); Leal-Sevillano, Carlos A. [Departamento de Electromagnetismo y Teoria de Circuitos, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Madrid 20840 (Spain); Ruiz-Cruz, Jorge A. [Escuela Politecnica Superior, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, C/Fco. Tomas y Valiente 11, Madrid 28409 (Spain); Rebollar, Jesus M. [Departamento de Electromagnetismo y Teoria de Circuitos, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Madrid 20840 (Spain); Estrada, Teresa [T. Laboratorio Nacional de Fusion, Asociacion Euratom-CIEMAT, Madrid 28040 (Spain)

    2012-09-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A rigorous systematic design process based on circuit synthesis is proposed for band-stop filters. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The new compact E-plane waveguide structure reduces drastically the unwanted resonances in a very large pass band. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The manufacturing process together with the computation effort is significantly reduced. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Experimental results validate the state-of-art electrical responses. - Abstract: Band-stop or notch filters play a crucial role in plasma diagnosis systems to protect receivers from the stray radiation. In this work, a rigorous design process based on circuit synthesis in addition to an extremely compact E-plane waveguide structure is proposed for this kind of filters. On the one hand, the transfer function verifying the rejection specification is analytically obtained, fixing the minimum number of required cavities. On the other hand, a coupling structure that reduces drastically the unwanted resonances in filters with a very large pass band requirement, is presented. This coupling between the rejection cavities and the main rectangular waveguide has additional advantages; (a) unlike typical inductive irises, large coupling coefficients can be implemented (b) a pure E-plane configuration is achieved, which simplifies the manufacturing and also reduces significantly the computational effort. Experimental validation is demonstrated by two pseudo-elliptic fifth-order band-stop filters fabricated and measured in Ka and V bands. In both cases, the filters are free of spurious resonances in their total operation bands.

  2. Heart Disease Death Rates Among Blacks and Whites Aged ≥35 Years - United States, 1968-2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Dyke, Miriam; Greer, Sophia; Odom, Erika; Schieb, Linda; Vaughan, Adam; Kramer, Michael; Casper, Michele

    2018-03-30

    Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. In 2015, heart disease accounted for approximately 630,000 deaths, representing one in four deaths in the United States. Although heart disease death rates decreased 68% for the total population from 1968 to 2015, marked disparities in decreases exist by race and state. 1968-2015. The National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) data on deaths in the United States were abstracted for heart disease using diagnosis codes from the eighth, ninth, and tenth revisions of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-8, ICD-9, and ICD-10) for 1968-2015. Population estimates were obtained from NVSS files. National and state-specific heart disease death rates for the total population and by race for adults aged ≥35 years were calculated for 1968-2015. National and state-specific black-white heart disease mortality ratios also were calculated. Death rates were age standardized to the 2000 U.S. standard population. Joinpoint regression was used to perform time trend analyses. From 1968 to 2015, heart disease death rates decreased for the total U.S. population among adults aged ≥35 years, from 1,034.5 to 327.2 per 100,000 population, respectively, with variations in the magnitude of decreases by race and state. Rates decreased for the total population an average of 2.4% per year, with greater average decreases among whites (2.4% per year) than blacks (2.2% per year). At the national level, heart disease death rates for blacks and whites were similar at the start of the study period (1968) but began to diverge in the late 1970s, when rates for blacks plateaued while rates for whites continued to decrease. Heart disease death rates among blacks remained higher than among whites for the remainder of the study period. Nationwide, the black-white ratio of heart disease death rates increased from 1.04 in 1968 to 1.21 in 2015, with large increases occurring during the 1970s and 1980s followed by small but steady

  3. Variable intertidal temperature explains why disease endangers black abalone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben-Horin, Tal; Lenihan, Hunter S.; Lafferty, Kevin D.

    2013-01-01

    Epidemiological theory suggests that pathogens will not cause host extinctions because agents of disease should fade out when the host population is driven below a threshold density. Nevertheless, infectious diseases have threatened species with extinction on local scales by maintaining high incidence and the ability to spread efficiently even as host populations decline. Intertidal black abalone (Haliotis cracherodii), but not other abalone species, went extinct locally throughout much of southern California following the emergence of a Rickettsiales-like pathogen in the mid-1980s. The rickettsial disease, a condition known as withering syndrome (WS), and associated mortality occur at elevated water temperatures. We measured abalone body temperatures in the field and experimentally manipulated intertidal environmental conditions in the laboratory, testing the influence of mean temperature and daily temperature variability on key epizootiological processes of WS. Daily temperature variability increased the susceptibility of black abalone to infection, but disease expression occurred only at warm water temperatures and was independent of temperature variability. These results imply that high thermal variation of the marine intertidal zone allows the pathogen to readily infect black abalone, but infected individuals remain asymptomatic until water temperatures periodically exceed thresholds modulating WS. Mass mortalities can therefore occur before pathogen transmission is limited by density-dependent factors.

  4. Detection, Occurrence, and Survey of Rice Stripe and Black-Streaked Dwarf Diseases in Zhejiang Province, China

    OpenAIRE

    Heng-mu ZHANG; Hua-di WANG; Jian YANG; Michael J ADAMS; Jian-ping CHEN

    2013-01-01

    The major viral diseases that occur on rice plants in Zhejiang Province, eastern China, are stripe and rice black-streaked dwarf diseases. Rice stripe disease is only caused by rice stripe tenuivirus (RSV), while rice black-streaked dwarf disease can be caused by rice black-streaked dwarf fijivirus (RBSDV) and/or southern rice black-streaked dwarf fijivirus (SRBSDV). Here we review the characterization of these viruses, methods for their detection, and extensive surveys showing their occurren...

  5. Mutant of Japanese pear resistant to Black Spot Disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanada, T.; Nishida, T.; Ikeda, F.

    1987-01-01

    Full text: Nijisseike is one of the leading cultivars of Japanese pear (Pyrus serotinea Rehd.), but susceptible to black spot disease. Farmers try to prevent this disease by wrapping the fruit with a paper bag and by repeated spraying of fungicides. The disease is caused by a Japanese pear pathotype of Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler. Susceptibility is controlled by a single dominant gene. In 1962, grafted trees of this cultivar were planted at a distance between 53 and 93 m from the 60 Co source in the gamma-field (daily dose 15-4 rad). One branch on a tree planted at 53 m was detected as resistant in 1981. Under field conditions, black spots were observed on many fruits and leaves of the original trees by natural infection in early July, however, they were not observed on the mutant. To examine the resistance of the mutant, artificial inoculations were made using spores of the pathogen and the host specific toxin produced by germinating spores. When some drops of the spore suspension are placed on leaves, the formation of black spots depends upon the leaf age. In a resistant cv. as Chojuro, black spot symptoms are formed only when inoculated on young leaves. An intermediate reaction was observed in the mutant, whereas the original Nijisseiki showed severe symptoms. When inoculation was made on matured fruit skins, no black spot was formed on the mutant just like on the resistant cv. Chojuro, while many small black spots were formed and grew into large spots overlapping each other on the susceptible cv. Nijisseiki. In case of the crude toxin inoculation (4-0.04 ppm) of cv. Nijisseiki black spots were formed on the surface of the susceptible fruit skin, and necrotic lesions at the cut end of detached small pieces of leaves, although reaction on fruit skins was weaker compared with inoculation by spores. However, no symptoms were observed from the toxin application on the mutant and the resistant cv. Chojuro. That the resistance of the mutant is classified as

  6. Black Americans' Perspectives of Barriers and Facilitators of Community Screening for Kidney Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umeukeje, Ebele M; Wild, Marcus G; Maripuri, Saugar; Davidson, Teresa; Rutherford, Margaret; Abdel-Kader, Khaled; Lewis, Julia; Wilkins, Consuelo H; Cavanaugh, Kerri

    2018-04-06

    Incidence of ESKD is three times higher in black Americans than in whites, and CKD prevalence continues to rise among black Americans. Community-based kidney disease screening may increase early identification and awareness of black Americans at risk, but it is challenging to implement. This study aimed to identify participants' perspectives of community kidney disease screening. The Health Belief Model provides a theoretic framework for conceptualization of these perspectives and optimization of community kidney disease screening activities. Researchers in collaboration with the Tennessee Kidney Foundation conducted three focus groups of adults in black American churches in Nashville, Tennessee. Questions examined views on CKD information, access to care, and priorities of kidney disease health. Content analysis was used. Guided by the Health Belief Model, a priori themes were generated, and additional themes were derived from the data using an inductive approach. Thirty-two black Americans completed the study in 2014. Participants were mostly women (79%) with a mean age of 56 years old (range, 24-78). Two major categories of barriers to kidney disease screening were identified: ( 1 ) participant factors, including limited kidney disease knowledge, spiritual/religious beliefs, emotions, and culture of the individual; and ( 2 ) logistic factors, including lack of convenience and incentives and poor advertisement. Potential facilitators of CKD screening included provision of CKD education, convenience of screening activities, and use of culturally sensitive and enhanced communication strategies. Program recommendations included partnering with trusted community members, selecting convenient locations, tailored advertising, and provision of compensation. Findings of this study suggest that provider-delivered culturally sensitive education and stakeholder engagement are critical to increase trust, decrease fear, and maximize participation and early identification of

  7. Heart Disease Death Rates Among Blacks and Whites Aged ≥35 Years — United States, 1968–2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Dyke, Miriam; Greer, Sophia; Odom, Erika; Schieb, Linda; Vaughan, Adam; Kramer, Michael; Casper, Michele

    2018-01-01

    Problem/Condition Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. In 2015, heart disease accounted for approximately 630,000 deaths, representing one in four deaths in the United States. Although heart disease death rates decreased 68% for the total population from 1968 to 2015, marked disparities in decreases exist by race and state. Period Covered 1968–2015. Description of System The National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) data on deaths in the United States were abstracted for heart disease using diagnosis codes from the eighth, ninth, and tenth revisions of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-8, ICD-9, and ICD-10) for 1968–2015. Population estimates were obtained from NVSS files. National and state-specific heart disease death rates for the total population and by race for adults aged ≥35 years were calculated for 1968–2015. National and state-specific black-white heart disease mortality ratios also were calculated. Death rates were age standardized to the 2000 U.S. standard population. Joinpoint regression was used to perform time trend analyses. Results From 1968 to 2015, heart disease death rates decreased for the total U.S. population among adults aged ≥35 years, from 1,034.5 to 327.2 per 100,000 population, respectively, with variations in the magnitude of decreases by race and state. Rates decreased for the total population an average of 2.4% per year, with greater average decreases among whites (2.4% per year) than blacks (2.2% per year). At the national level, heart disease death rates for blacks and whites were similar at the start of the study period (1968) but began to diverge in the late 1970s, when rates for blacks plateaued while rates for whites continued to decrease. Heart disease death rates among blacks remained higher than among whites for the remainder of the study period. Nationwide, the black-white ratio of heart disease death rates increased from 1.04 in 1968 to 1.21 in 2015, with large increases

  8. efficient screening procedure for black sigatoka disease of banana

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ACSS

    3 University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Science, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, ... procedure for black sigatoka disease in order to provide a reliable controlled environment ..... Inoculation of emerging leaves, on average.

  9. Low temperature intermediate band metallic behavior in Ti implanted Si

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olea, Javier, E-mail: oleaariza@fis.ucm.es; Pastor, David; Garcia-Hemme, Eric; Garcia-Hernansanz, Rodrigo; Prado, Alvaro del; Martil, Ignacio; Gonzalez-Diaz, German

    2012-08-31

    Si samples implanted with very high Ti doses and subjected to Pulsed-Laser Melting (PLM) have been electrically analyzed in the scope of a two-layer model previously reported based on the Intermediate Band (IB) theory. Conductivity and Hall effect measurements using the van der Pauw technique suggest that the insulator-metal transition takes place for implantation doses in the 10{sup 14}-10{sup 16} cm{sup -2} range. Results of the sample implanted with the 10{sup 16} cm{sup -2} dose show a metallic behavior at low temperature that is explained by the formation of a p-type IB out of the Ti deep levels. This suggests that the IB would be semi-filled, which is essential for IB photovoltaic devices. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We fabricated high dose Ti implanted Si samples for intermediate band research. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We measured the electronic transport properties in the 7-300 K range. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We show an insulator to metallic transition when the intermediate band is formed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The intermediate band is semi-filled and populated by holes. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We satisfactorily explain the electrical behavior by an intermediate band model.

  10. Black leaf streak disease affects starch metabolism in banana fruit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saraiva, Lorenzo de Amorim; Castelan, Florence Polegato; Shitakubo, Renata; Hassimotto, Neuza Mariko Aymoto; Purgatto, Eduardo; Chillet, Marc; Cordenunsi, Beatriz Rosana

    2013-06-12

    Black leaf streak disease (BLSD), also known as black sigatoka, represents the main foliar disease in Brazilian banana plantations. In addition to photosynthetic leaf area losses and yield losses, this disease causes an alteration in the pre- and postharvest behavior of the fruit. The aim of this work was to investigate the starch metabolism of fruits during fruit ripening from plants infected with BLSD by evaluating carbohydrate content (i.e., starch, soluble sugars, oligosaccharides, amylose), phenolic compound content, phytohormones, enzymatic activities (i.e., starch phosphorylases, α- and β-amylase), and starch granules. The results indicated that the starch metabolism in banana fruit ripening is affected by BLSD infection. Fruit from infested plots contained unusual amounts of soluble sugars in the green stage and smaller starch granules and showed a different pattern of superficial degradation. Enzymatic activities linked to starch degradation were also altered by the disease. Moreover, the levels of indole-acetic acid and phenolic compounds indicated an advanced fruit physiological age for fruits from infested plots.

  11. Identification of two new races of Diplocarpon rosae Wolf, the causal agent of rose black spot disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    The fungal pathogen, Diplocarpon rosae Wolf, infects only roses (Rosa spp.) and leads to rose black spot disease. Rose black spot is the most problematic disease of outdoor grown roses worldwide, due to the potential for rapid leaf yellowing and defoliation. Plants repeatedly defoliated from black ...

  12. Rubber band ligation and infrared photocoagulation for the outpatient treatment of hemorrhoidal disease

    OpenAIRE

    Ricci,Maurício Pichler; Matos,Délcio; Saad,Sarhan Sydney

    2008-01-01

    PURPOSE: To compare the results of rubber band ligation and infrared photocoagulation for the treatment of hemorrhoidal disease through the analysis of the incidence of complications after each treatment and respective success rate. METHODS: Forty-eight patients with first, second or third degree hemorrhoidal disease were randomized to recieve treatment with either rubber band ligation (n=23) or infrared photocoagulation (n=25). Each patient was assessed at 1 week and 4 week intervals after t...

  13. The resistance response of sunflower genotypes to black stem disease under controlled conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza DARVISHZADEH

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Phoma black stem, caused by Phoma macdonaldii, is one of the most important diseases of sunflower in the world. The sources of resistance to Phoma black stem were investigated. A total of 184 genotypes, including some recombinant inbred lines (RILs, several M6 mutant lines obtained by gamma irradiation of seed of the genotype AS 613, and other genotypes from different countries, were evaluated against an aggressive French isolate (MP6 in controlled conditions. The study was carried out in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Each replicate consisted of 10–12 seedlings. Twenty μL of spore suspension (106 pycnidiospores mL-1 were deposited on the intersection of the cotyledon petiole and the hypocotyl of sunflower plantlets at the two-leaf stage. The percentage of the area exhibiting disease symptoms was scored on the two cotyledon petioles of each of the plantlets three, five and seven days after inoculation. The disease progress rate (rd, as the slope of the regression line for disease severity against time, was also calculated. Analysis of variance detected significant differences among sunflower genotypes for disease severity 7 days after inoculation,as well as for the disease progress rate. A strong correlation (r=0.96, P<0.01 was found between disease severity 7 days after inoculation and the disease progress rate. The inbred lines F1250/03 (origin: Hungary, M5-54-1, M6-862-1 (mutant lines, SDR 18 (origin: USA and two wild Helianthus accessions, 1012 Nebraska and 211 Illinois, (wild type were highly resistant to Phoma black stem. These findings will assist breeders in choosing parent plants for breeding durable resistance to Phoma black stem.

  14. Black Musicians Leading the Way.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Music Educators Journal, 1982

    1982-01-01

    Describes the careers and musical achievements of Blacks who were forerunners in jazz, blues, gospel, music, spirituals, band music, classical music, ragtime, and opera. The list was compiled to provide teachers with historical background information for "Black History Month." (AM)

  15. Increased theta band EEG power in sickle cell disease patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Case M

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Michelle Case,1 Sina Shirinpour,1 Huishi Zhang,1 Yvonne H Datta,2 Stephen C Nelson,3 Karim T Sadak,4 Kalpna Gupta,2 Bin He1,5 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, 2Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, 3Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, 4Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, 5Institute for Engineering in Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA Objective: Pain is a major issue in the care of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD. The mechanisms behind pain and the best way to treat it are not well understood. We studied how electroencephalography (EEG is altered in SCD patients. Methods: We recruited 20 SCD patients and compared their resting state EEG to that of 14 healthy controls. EEG power was found across frequency bands using Welch’s method. Electrophysiological source imaging was assessed for each frequency band using the eLORETA algorithm. Results: SCD patients had increased theta power and decreased beta2 power compared to controls. Source localization revealed that areas of greater theta band activity were in areas related to pain processing. Imaging parameters were significantly correlated to emergency department visits, which indicate disease severity and chronic pain intensity. Conclusion: The present results support the pain mechanism referred to as thalamocortical dysrhythmia. This mechanism causes increased theta power in patients. Significance: Our findings show that EEG can be used to quantitatively evaluate differences between controls and SCD patients. Our results show the potential of EEG to differentiate between different levels of pain in an unbiased setting, where specific frequency bands could be used as biomarkers for chronic pain. Keywords: sickle cell disease, electroencephalography, chronic pain, electrophysiological source imaging, thalamocortical dysrhythmia

  16. Disease limits populations: plague and black-tailed prairie dogs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cully, Jack F.; Johnson, T.; Collinge, S.K.; Ray, C.

    2010-01-01

    Plague is an exotic vector-borne disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis that causes mortality rates approaching 100% in black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). We mapped the perimeter of the active portions of black-tailed prairie dog colonies annually between 1999 and 2005 at four prairie dog colony complexes in areas with a history of plague, as well as at two complexes that were located outside the distribution of plague at the time of mapping and had therefore never been affected by the disease. We hypothesized that the presence of plague would significantly reduce overall black-tailed prairie dog colony area, reduce the sizes of colonies on these landscapes, and increase nearest-neighbor distances between colonies. Within the region historically affected by plague, individual colonies were smaller, nearest-neighbor distances were greater, and the proportion of potential habitat occupied by active prairie dog colonies was smaller than at plague-free sites. Populations that endured plague were composed of fewer large colonies (>100 ha) than populations that were historically plague free. We suggest that these differences among sites in colony size and isolation may slow recolonization after extirpation. At the same time, greater intercolony distances may also reduce intercolony transmission of pathogens. Reduced transmission among smaller and more distant colonies may ultimately enhance long-term prairie dog population persistence in areas where plague is present.

  17. Rubber band ligation and infrared photocoagulation for the outpatient treatment of hemorrhoidal disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ricci, Maurício Pichler; Matos, Délcio; Saad, Sarhan Sydney

    2008-01-01

    To compare the results of rubber band ligation and infrared photocoagulation for the treatment of hemorrhoidal disease through the analysis of the incidence of complications after each treatment and respective success rate. Forty-eight patients with first, second or third degree hemorrhoidal disease were randomized to receive treatment with either rubber band ligation (n=23) or infrared photocoagulation (n=25). Each patient was assessed at 1 week and 4 week intervals after treatment. We compared the incidence of complications and efficiency of each treatment modality and Qui-square, Fisher's Exact Test and Student's t Test were used to statistical analysis. Bleeding occured in eight (34,7%) patients treated with rubber band ligation and in four (16,0%) after infrared photocoagulation (p=0,243). Thirteen (52,0%) patients felt pain during infrared photocoagulation and 9 (39,1%) after rubber band ligation (p=0,546). After rubber band ligation, 14 (60,8%) required medication for pain relief. One patient (4,0%) required medication after infrared photocoagulation (prubber band ligator and 1 (4,0%) treated with infrared photocoagulation had symptomatic mucosal ulcers. Perianal dermatitis occured in two (8,0%) patients treated with infrared photocoagulation and one patient (4,3%) was observed to have prolapsed thrombosed piles after rubber band ligation. One month after treatment, 17 of 23 patients treated with rubber band ligation (73,9%) and 18 of 25 patients treated with infrared photocoagulation were asymptomatic. Rubber band ligation treated bleeding and prolapse in 90,0% and 82,4% respectively. Infrared photocoagulation treats bleeding and prolapse in 93,7% and 87,5% respectively. Those differences are not significant. Rubber band ligation causes significantly more pain than infrared photocoagulation during the first week after the procedures and their success rate are not different after four weeks of treatment.

  18. Experience of rubber band ligation for haemorrhoidal disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hadi, A.; Aman, Z.; Anwar, F.; Khan, M.; Iqbal, Z.

    2011-01-01

    Objectives: To assess symptomatic relief in haemorrhoidal disease using rubber band ligation. Settings and duration: Surgical unit, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar from July 2007 to June 2009. Patients and Methods: All patients presenting with rectal bleeding or prolapse underwent proto copy to determine the cause of bleeding. Only patients with first, second and third degree haemorrhoids (bleeding and prolapse) were selected for the study and they underwent rubber band ligation in two sessions, 6 weeks apart. Patients were followed in the OPD at 3 months and one year when their subjective and objective symptoms were noted followed by rectal examination and proctoscopy. Therapeutic response was assessed by symptomatic improvement in bleeding and prolapse of hemorrhoids and any complications. Results: A total of 105 patients underwent rubber band ligation. There were 65(62%) males and 40(38%) females with a male to female ratio of 1.6:1. Age of the patients ranged from 21-65 years (+- 2.4 SD). Twenty three (21.9%) patients had first degree, 50(47.6%) had second degree and 32(30.5%) had third degree haemorrhoids. Forty-eight patients (45.7%) presented with degree, 50(47.6%) had second prolapse, 33(31.4%) had both bleeding and prolapse and 23(21.9%) had bleeding only. At 3 months of follow up rubber band ligation cured 76(72.4%) patients, improved 13(12.4%) and failed in 7(6.7%) patients. At one year follow up, recurrence of bleeding and prolapse occurred in 16(15.2%) patients having third degree haemorrhoids. Overall success was third achieved in 89(84.8%) cases. Complications were seen in 20(19.1%) patients which were of mild to moderate nature and no serious/ life threatening complications were noted. Conclusion: Rubber band legislation is a rapid and safe procedure for testing first, second and and early third degree Conclusions: Rubber band ligation is a rapid and safe non operative procedure for treating first, second and third degree haemorrhoids on out

  19. Few-layer black phosphorus nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sofer, Zdenek; Bouša, Daniel; Luxa, Jan; Mazanek, Vlastimil; Pumera, Martin

    2016-01-28

    Herein, black phosphorus quantum dots and nanoparticles of a few layer thickness were prepared and characterized using STEM, AFM, dynamic light scattering, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence. Impact electrochemistry of the induvidual black phosphorus nanoparticles allows their size determination. The centrifugation of colloidal black phosphorus nanoparticles allowed separation of quantum dots with sizes up to 15 nm. These black phosphorus nanoparticles exhibit a large band gap and are expected to find a wide range of applications from semiconductors to biomolecule tags. The use of black phosphorus nanoparticles for vapour sensing was successfully demonstrated.

  20. Risk factors for coronary heart disease in the black population of the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A cross-sectional study of risk factors for ischaemic heart disease (IHO) in a random sample of 986 black people aged 15 - 64 years living in the Cape ... In addition, schools should promote a healthy lifestyle and the prevention of chronic degenerative diseases should be incorporated into the evolving primary health care ...

  1. Reduced disease in black abalone following mass mortality: Phage therapy and natural selection

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanBlaricom, Glenn R.

    2014-01-01

    Black abalone, Haliotis cracherodii, populations along the NE Pacific ocean have declined due to the rickettsial disease withering syndrome (WS). Natural recovery on San Nicolas Island (SNI) of Southern California suggested the development of resistance in island populations. Experimental challenges in one treatment demonstrated that progeny of disease-selected black abalone from SNI survived better than did those from naïve black abalone from Carmel Point in mainland coastal central California. Unexpectedly, the presence of a newly observed bacteriophage infecting the WS rickettsia (WS-RLO) had strong effects on the survival of infected abalone. Specifically, presence of phage-infected RLO (RLOv) reduced the host response to infection, RLO infection loads, and associated mortality. These data suggest that the black abalone: WS-RLO relationship is evolving through dual host mechanisms of resistance to RLO infection in the digestive gland via tolerance to infection in the primary target tissue (the post-esophagus) coupled with reduced pathogenicity of the WS-RLO by phage infection, which effectively reduces the infection load in the primary target tissue by half. Sea surface temperature patterns off southern California, associated with a recent hiatus in global-scale ocean warming, do not appear to be a sufficient explanation for survival patterns in SNI black abalone. These data highlight the potential for natural recovery of abalone populations over time and that further understanding of mechanisms governing host–parasite relationships will better enable us to manage declining populations.

  2. Reduced disease in black abalone following mass mortality: Phage therapy and natural selection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carolyn S Friedman

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Black abalone, Haliotis cracherodii, populations along the NE Pacific ocean have declined due to the rickettsial disease withering syndrome (WS. Natural recovery on San Nicolas Island (SNI off Southern California suggested the development of resistance in island populations. Experimental challenges in one treatment demonstrated that progeny of disease-selected black abalone from SNI survived better than did those from naïve black abalone from Carmel Point (CP in mainland coastal central California. Unexpectedly, the presence of a newly observed bacteriophage infecting the WS rickettsia (WS-RLO had strong effects on the survival of infected abalone. Specifically, presence of phage-infected RLO (RLOv reduced the host response to infection, RLO infection loads, and associated mortality. These data suggest that the black abalone: WS-RLO relationship is evolving through dual host mechanisms of resistance to RLO infection in the digestive gland via tolerance to infection in the primary target tissue (the post-esophagus coupled with reduced pathogenicity of the WS-RLO by phage infection, which effectively reduces the infection load in the primary target tissue by half. Sea surface temperature patterns off southern California, associated with a recent hiatus in global-scale ocean warming, do not appear to be a sufficient explanation for survival patterns in SNI black abalone. These data highlight the potential for natural recovery of abalone populations over time and that further understanding of mechanisms governing host-parasite relationships will better enable us to manage declining populations.

  3. Reduced disease in black abalone following mass mortality: phage therapy and natural selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, Carolyn S; Wight, Nathan; Crosson, Lisa M; Vanblaricom, Glenn R; Lafferty, Kevin D

    2014-01-01

    Black abalone, Haliotis cracherodii, populations along the NE Pacific ocean have declined due to the rickettsial disease withering syndrome (WS). Natural recovery on San Nicolas Island (SNI) of Southern California suggested the development of resistance in island populations. Experimental challenges in one treatment demonstrated that progeny of disease-selected black abalone from SNI survived better than did those from naïve black abalone from Carmel Point in mainland coastal central California. Unexpectedly, the presence of a newly observed bacteriophage infecting the WS rickettsia (WS-RLO) had strong effects on the survival of infected abalone. Specifically, presence of phage-infected RLO (RLOv) reduced the host response to infection, RLO infection loads, and associated mortality. These data suggest that the black abalone: WS-RLO relationship is evolving through dual host mechanisms of resistance to RLO infection in the digestive gland via tolerance to infection in the primary target tissue (the post-esophagus) coupled with reduced pathogenicity of the WS-RLO by phage infection, which effectively reduces the infection load in the primary target tissue by half. Sea surface temperature patterns off southern California, associated with a recent hiatus in global-scale ocean warming, do not appear to be a sufficient explanation for survival patterns in SNI black abalone. These data highlight the potential for natural recovery of abalone populations over time and that further understanding of mechanisms governing host-parasite relationships will better enable us to manage declining populations.

  4. Foot-and-mouth disease in Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Officer, Kirsty; Lan, Nguyen Thi; Wicker, Leanne; Hoa, Nguyen Thi; Weegenaar, Annemarie; Robinson, Jill; Ryoji, Yamaguchi; Loukopoulos, Panayiotis

    2014-09-01

    Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious, debilitating, and globally significant viral disease typically affecting cloven-hoofed hosts. The diagnosis of FMD in bears in Vietnam is described. The current study describes a confirmed case of FMD in a bear species, and the clinical signs compatible with FMD in a Malayan sun bear. Thirteen Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) and 1 Malayan sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) were apparently affected. In August 2011, an adult bear became lethargic, and developed footpad vesicles. Over 15 days, 14 out of 17 bears developed similar signs; the remaining 3 co-housed bears and another 57 resident bears did not. All affected bears developed vesicles on all footpads, and most were lethargic for 24-48 hr. Nasal and oral lesions were noted in 6 and 3 cases, respectively. Within 1 month, all looked normal. Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, classified as serotype O, and isolated by virus isolation techniques. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated clustering of 3 bear isolates, in a branch distinct from other FMDV type O isolates. The outbreak likely occurred due to indirect contact with livestock, and was facilitated by the high density of captive bears. It showed that Asiatic black bears are capable of contracting FMDV and developing clinical disease, and that the virus spreads easily between bears in close contact. © 2014 The Author(s).

  5. Primordial environment of supermassive black holes. II. Deep Y- and J-band images around the z 6.3 quasar SDSS J1030+0524

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balmaverde, B.; Gilli, R.; Mignoli, M.; Bolzonella, M.; Brusa, M.; Cappelluti, N.; Comastri, A.; Sani, E.; Vanzella, E.; Vignali, C.; Vito, F.; Zamorani, G.

    2017-10-01

    Many cosmological studies predict that early supermassive black holes (SMBHs) can only form in the most massive dark matter halos embedded within large-scale structures marked by galaxy overdensities that may extend up to 10 physical Mpc. This scenario, however, has not been confirmed observationally, as the search for galaxy overdensities around high-z quasars has returned conflicting results. The field around the z = 6.31 quasar SDSSJ1030+0524 (J1030) is unique for multi-band coverage and represents an excellent data legacy for studying the environment around a primordial SMBH. In this paper we present wide-area ( 25' × 25') Y- and J-band imaging of the J1030 field obtained with the near infrared camera WIRCam at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). We built source catalogs in the Y- and J-band, and matched those with our photometric catalog in the r, z, and I bands presented in our previous paper and based on sources with zAB4σ. The overdensity value and its significance are higher than those found in our previous paper and we interpret this as evidence of an improved LBG selection.

  6. Histopathology of crustose coralline algae affected by white band and white patch diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gaëlle Quéré

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Crustose coralline algae (CCA are major benthic calcifiers that play crucial roles in marine ecosystems, particularly coral reefs. Over the past two decades, epizootics have been reported for several CCA species on coral reefs worldwide. However, their causes remain often unknown in part because few studies have investigated CCA pathologies at a microscopic scale. We studied the cellular changes associated with two syndromes: Coralline White Band Syndrome (CWBS and Coralline White Patch Disease (CWPD from samples collected in Curaçao, southern Caribbean. Healthy-looking tissue of diseased CCA did not differ from healthy tissue of healthy CCA. In diseased tissues of both pathologies, the three characteristic cell layers of CCA revealed cells completely depleted of protoplasmic content, but presenting an intact cell wall. In addition, CWBS showed a transition area between healthy and diseased tissues consisting of cells partially deprived of protoplasmic material, most likely corresponding to the white band characterizing the disease at the macroscopic level. This transition area was absent in CWPD. Regrowth at the lesion boundary were sometimes observed in both syndromes. Tissues of both healthy and diseased CCA were colonised by diverse boring organisms. Fungal infections associated with the diseased cells were not seen. However, other bioeroders were more abundant in diseased vs healthy CCA and in diseased vs healthy-looking tissues of diseased CCA. Although their role in the pathogenesis is unclear, this suggests that disease increases CCA susceptibility to bioerosion. Further investigations using an integrated approach are needed to carry out the complete diagnosis of these diseases.

  7. The cardiovascular status of the black stroke patient

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joubert, J.; Van Gelder, A.L.; Pilloy, W.J.; Darazs, B.

    1989-01-01

    The cardiac status of 102 consecutive black stroke patients entered to the Medunsa Stroke Databank was determined. Cardiological examination, echocardiography and a gated blood pool scan revealed structural and/or functional cardiac abnormalities in 73,6% of patients. Rheumatic heart disease was diagnosed in 15,6%, mitral valve prolapse in 5,8% and mitral annulus calcification in 4,9% of cases. 'Possible' cardiac sources of cerebral embolism were detected in 22,5% and 'definite' sources in 23,5% of patients. Hypertensive heart disease was diagnosed in 35,2% and cardiomyopathy in 13,7% of the study population. Ischaemic heart disease was present in 6,86%. Ultrasonography revealed ventricular bands in 29,4% of patients. The high incidence of structural cardiac abnormalities detected by non-invasive means is in keeping with recent studies in white stroke patients. 32 refs., 11 tabs., 2 figs

  8. Cytomegalovirus infection and risk of Alzheimer disease in older black and white individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, Lisa L; Capuano, Ana W; Aiello, Alison E; Turner, Arlener D; Yolken, Robert H; Torrey, E Fuller; Bennett, David A

    2015-01-15

    Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is prevalent in older adults and has been implicated in many chronic diseases of aging. This study investigated the relation between CMV and the risk of Alzheimer disease (AD). Data come from 3 cohort studies that included 849 participants (mean age [±SD], 78.6 ± 7.2 years; mean education duration [±SD], 15.4 ± 3.3 years; 25% black). A solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used for detecting type-specific immunoglobulin G antibody responses to CMV and herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) measured in archived serum samples. Of 849 participants, 73.4% had serologic evidence of exposure to CMV (89.0% black and 68.2% white; P risk of AD (relative risk, 2.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.42-3.27) and a faster rate of decline in global cognition (estimate [±standard error], -0.02 ± 0.01; P = .03) in models that controlled for age, sex, education duration, race, vascular risk factors, vascular diseases, and apolipoprotein ε4 level. Results were similar in black and white individuals for both incident AD and change in cognitive function and were independent of HSV-1 status. These results suggest that CMV infection is associated with an increased risk of AD and a faster rate of cognitive decline in older diverse populations. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Disease and stress-induced mortality of corals in Indian reefs and observations on bleaching of corals in the Andamans

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Ravindran, J.; Raghukumar, C.; Raghukumar, S.

    A study was carried out in the Lakshadweep and Andaman islands and the Gulf of Kutch to assess the health of corals in Indian reefs. Disease, predation and stress were the major factors of coral mortality. Death caused by diseases - the black band...

  10. Combating a Global Threat to a Clonal Crop : Banana Black Sigatoka Pathogen Pseudocercospora fijiensis (Synonym Mycosphaerella fijiensis) Genomes Reveal Clues for Disease Control

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Arango Isaza, Rafael E.; Diaz-Trujillo, Caucasella; Dhillon, Braham; Aerts, Andrea; Carlier, Jean; Crane, Charles F.; de Jong, Tristan V.; de Vries, Ineke; Dietrich, Robert; Farmer, Andrew D.; Fereira, Claudia Fortes; Garcia, Suzana; Guzman, Mauricio; Hamelin, Richard C.; Lindquist, Erika A.; Mehrabi, Rahim; Quiros, Olman; Schmutz, Jeremy; Shapiro, Harris; Reynolds, Elizabeth; Scalliet, Gabriel; Souza, Manoel; Stergiopoulos, Ioannis; Van der Lee, Theo A. J.; De Wit, Pierre J. G. M.; Zapater, Marie-Francoise; Zwiers, Lute-Harm; Grigoriev, Igor V.; Goodwin, Stephen B.; Kema, Gert H. J.

    2016-01-01

    Black Sigatoka or black leaf streak disease, caused by the Dothideomycete fungus Pseudocercospora fijiensis (previously: Mycosphaerella fijiensis), is the most significant foliar disease of banana worldwide. Due to the lack of effective host resistance, management of this disease requires frequent

  11. An investigation of diverticular disease among black patients undergoing colonoscopy at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vally, M; Koto, M Z; Govender, M

    2017-01-30

    Diverticular disease was previously thought to be non-existent in the black African population. Studies over the past four decades, however, have shown a steady increase in the prevalence of the disease. To report on the profile and current prevalence of diverticular disease in the black South African (SA) population at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, Pretoria, SA. A retrospective descriptive study was performed in black SA patients who were diagnosed with diverticular disease by colonoscopy between 1 January and 31 December 2015. Of 348 patients who had undergone colonoscopies and who were eligible for inclusion in this study, 47 were diagnosed with diverticular disease - a prevalence of 13.50% (95% confidence interval 10.30 - 17.50). The greatest number of patients diagnosed were in their 7th and 8th decades, with an age range of 46 - 86 (mean 67) years. There was a female predominance of 57.45%. Lower gastrointestinal bleeding was the most common (65.96%) indication for colonoscopy. The left colon was most commonly involved (72.34%), followed by the right colon (55.31%). A substantial number of patients had pancolonic involvement (27.65%). This retrospective study suggests that there has been a considerable increase in the prevalence of diverticular disease among black South Africans, possibly owing to changes in dietary habits and socioeconomic status.

  12. An investigation of diverticular disease among black patients undergoing colonoscopy at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Vally

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Background. Diverticular disease was previously thought to be non-existent in the black African population. Studies over the past four decades, however, have shown a steady increase in the prevalence of the disease. Objective. To report on the profile and current prevalence of diverticular disease in the black South African (SA population at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, Pretoria, SA. Methods. A retrospective descriptive study was performed in black SA patients who were diagnosed with diverticular disease by colonoscopy between 1 January and 31 December 2015. Results. Of 348 patients who had undergone colonoscopies and who were eligible for inclusion in this study, 47 were diagnosed with diverticular disease – a prevalence of 13.50% (95% confidence interval 10.30 - 17.50. The greatest number of patients diagnosed were in their 7th and 8th decades, with an age range of 46 - 86 (mean 67 years. There was a female predominance of 57.45%. Lower gastrointestinal bleeding was the most common (65.96% indication for colonoscopy. The left colon was most commonly involved (72.34%, followed by the right colon (55.31%. A substantial number of patients had pancolonic involvement (27.65%. Conclusion. This retrospective study suggests that there has been a considerable increase in the prevalence of diverticular disease among black South Africans, possibly owing to changes in dietary habits and socioeconomic status.

  13. The Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Black Diaspora.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillum, Richard F

    2018-03-19

    For over four decades the National Medical Association (NMA) and the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) have sought to bring to national attention the disparate burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among African Americans. However, systematic inquiry has been inadequate into the burden of CVD in the poor countries of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the African diaspora in the Americas outside the USA. However, recently, the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) has offered new tools for such inquiry. Several initial efforts in that direction using 2010 data have been published. This article highlights some new findings for SSA for 2016. It also suggests that NMA and ABC further this effort by direct advocacy and collaboration with the GBD to make estimates of CVD burden in African Americans and South American Blacks explicitly available in future iterations.

  14. Updating movement estimates for American black ducks (Anas rubripes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orin J. Robinson

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Understanding migratory connectivity for species of concern is of great importance if we are to implement management aimed at conserving them. New methods are improving our understanding of migration; however, banding (ringing data is by far the most widely available and accessible movement data for researchers. Here, we use band recovery data for American black ducks (Anas rubripes from 1951–2011 and analyze their movement among seven management regions using a hierarchical Bayesian framework. We showed that black ducks generally exhibit flyway fidelity, and that many black ducks, regardless of breeding region, stopover or overwinter on the Atlantic coast of the United States. We also show that a non-trivial portion of the continental black duck population either does not move at all or moves to the north during the fall migration (they typically move to the south. The results of this analysis will be used in a projection modeling context to evaluate how habitat or harvest management actions in one region would propagate throughout the continental population of black ducks. This analysis may provide a guide for future research and help inform management efforts for black ducks as well as other migratory species.

  15. Drifting black aurorae?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schoute-Vanneck, H.; Scourfield, M.W.J.; Nielsen, E.

    1990-01-01

    Characteristics of eastward drifting forms, previously described in the literature as black aurorae, have been identified in low-light level TV camera data. The TV field of view was within the field of view of STARE and that of an all-sky camera. On the basis of these observations the authors propose that these auroral forms are a manifestation of folds or waves on the borders of auroral bands propagating along the dark regions between neighboring auroral bands. Conditions under which the folds or waves occur are compatible with their formation by the Kelvin-Helmholtz electrostatic instability

  16. Black thread disease, control measures and yield stimulation in Hevea brasiliensis in Liberia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schreurs, J.

    1972-01-01

    Described are investigations, carried out in 1963 to 1971 in Hevea brasiliensis at the Firestone Plantation at Harbel in Liberia. Studied was the tapping panel disease, black thread, caused by the fungus Phytophthora palmivora. The emphasis of the

  17. Two regimes of HIV/AIDS: The MMWR and the socio-political construction of HIV/AIDS as a 'black disease'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moseby, Kevin M

    2017-09-01

    Over the course of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, black Americans have become a central target of US public health prevention efforts. And today, HIV/AIDS is understood to disproportionately affect black Americans. This markedly contrasts with knowledge about the disease and efforts to prevent it in the first decade of the epidemic in the US, when expert and lay understandings and responses centred on white gay males. This article demonstrates that explaining these historical reversals as purely reflective of epidemiological data - or best knowledge available - is insufficient. Drawing on the concept disease regimes and utilising a discursive analysis of epidemiological results and editorial commentary published from 1981 to 1994 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR), this article argues for a socio-political explanation for the changing colour of HIV/AIDS. That is, it scrutinises institutional and discursive practices that within the HIV/AIDS prevention field and disease discourse constituted a 'regime of black American exclusion' (1981-1992) and a 'regime of black American inclusion (1993-present day). © 2017 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

  18. Pseudo-Jahn-Teller Distortion in Two-Dimensional Phosphorus: Origin of Black and Blue Phases of Phosphorene and Band Gap Modulation by Molecular Charge Transfer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chowdhury, Chandra; Jahiruddin, Sheik; Datta, Ayan

    2016-04-07

    Phosphorene (Pn) is stabilized as a layered material like graphite, yet it possess a natural direct band gap (Eg = 2.0 eV). Interestingly, unlike graphene, Pn exhibits a much richer phase diagram which includes distorted forms like the stapler-clip (black Pn, α form) and chairlike (blue Pn, β form) structures. The existence of these phases is attributed to pseudo-Jahn-Teller (PJT) instability of planar hexagonal P6(6-) rings. In both cases, the condition for vibronic instability of the planar P6(6-) rings is satisfied. Doping with electron donors like tetrathiafulvalene and tetraamino-tetrathiafulvalene and electron acceptors like tetracyanoquinodimethane and tetracyanoethylene convert blue Pn into N-type and black Pn into efficient P-type semiconductors, respectively. Interestingly, pristine blue Pn, an indirect gap semiconductor, gets converted into a direct gap semiconductor on electron or hole doping. Because of comparatively smaller undulation in blue Pn (with respect to black Pn), the van der Waals interactions between the dopants and blue Pn is stronger. PJT distortions for two-dimensional phosphorus provides a unified understanding of structural features and chemical reactivity in its different phases.

  19. Black stain root disease studies on ponderosa pine parameters and disturbance treatments affecting infection and mortality

    Science.gov (United States)

    W.J. Otrosina; J.T. Kliejunas; S. Smith; D.R. Cluck; S.S. Sung; C.D. Cook

    2007-01-01

    Black stain root disease of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Doug. Ex Laws.), caused by Leptographium wageneri var. ponderosum (Harrington & Cobb) Harrington & Cobb, is increasing on many eastside Sierra Nevada pine stands in northeastern California. The disease is spread from tree to tree via root...

  20. Multi-gene analysis and morphology reveal novel Ilyonectria species associated with black foot disease of grapevines

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cabral, A.; Rego, C.; Nascimento, T.; Oliveira, H.; Groenewald, J.Z.; Crous, P.W.

    2012-01-01

    Black foot is an important disease of grapevines, which has in recent years been recorded with increased incidence and severity throughout the world, affecting grapevines both in nurseries and young vineyards. In the past the disease has been associated with infections by Ilyonectria macrodidyma,

  1. Toward The identification Of candidate genes involved in black pod disease resistance in Theobroma cacao L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Increasing yield, quality and disease resistance are important objectives for cacao breeding programs. Some of the diseases, such as black pod rot (Phytophtora spp), frosty pod (Moniliophthora roreri) and witches’ broom (M. perniciosa), produce significant losses in all or in some of the various pro...

  2. Biokinetics of copper in black-banded rainbowfish (Melanotaenia nigrans) tolerant to elevated copper concentrations, using the radioisotope 64Cu

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gale, S.; Jeffree, R.; Smith, S.; Lim, R.

    2000-01-01

    Full text: For over 40 years black-banded rainbowfish (Melanotaenia nigrans) living in the East Branch of the Finniss River, Northern Territory have been exposed to elevated copper concentrations due to mine waste from the Rum Jungle uranium/copper mine. In the 1970s prior to remediation of the mine, fish kills were observed along the length of the East Branch. While copper concentrations remain comparatively high (up to 2000 μg/L) in the East Branch since remediation of the mine site, M. nigrans have been observed in the area. It was, therefore, hypothesised that due to selective pressure of lethal exposure, the population of black-banded rainbowfish in the East Branch have developed a tolerance to elevated copper concentrations. This project aimed to demonstrate copper tolerance and evaluate possible mechanism(s). In May 2000, fish were collected from the East Branch (exposed fish) and from a catchment previously unexposed to elevated metal concentrations (reference fish). The 96-hour EC 50 , fish imbalance (i.e. the concentration of copper that affects 50% of fish over 96 hours) for the exposed fish was over 8 times higher than the reference fish. Using the radioisotope, 64 Cu, the biokinetics of newly accumulated copper was traced in exposed and reference fish at low and elevated copper concentrations. The uptake rate, and therefore body burden, were significantly (p=0.000) lower in exposed fish, at both low and elevated copper concentrations compared to reference fish. Possible mechanisms of reducing copper uptake will be discussed. Tolerance was not lost when fish were maintained in relatively low copper concentrations in the laboratory. Also, the two populations of fish were genetically dissimilar based on allozyme analysis, which suggests that the mechanism is genetically mediated. The outcome of this project will be important in assisting accurate risk assessment and the development of environmental management strategies for the conservation of biota. The

  3. Comparing self-reported disease outcomes, diet, and lifestyles in a national cohort of black and white Seventh-day Adventists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montgomery, Susanne; Herring, Patti; Yancey, Antronette; Beeson, Larry; Butler, Terry; Knutsen, Synnove; Sabate, Joan; Chan, Jacqueline; Preston-Martin, Susan; Fraser, Gary

    2007-07-01

    Few epidemiologic cohort studies on the etiology of chronic disease are powerful enough to distinguish racial and ethnic determinants from socioeconomic determinants of health behaviors and observed disease patterns. The Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2), with its large number of respondents and the variation in lifestyles of its target populations, promises to shed light on these issues. This paper focuses on some preliminary baseline analyses of responses from the first group of participants recruited for AHS-2. We administered a validated and pilot-tested questionnaire on various lifestyle practices and health outcomes to 56,754 respondents to AHS-2, comprising 14,376 non-Hispanic blacks and 42,378 non-Hispanic whites. We analyzed cross-sectional baseline data adjusted for age and sex and performed logistic regressions to test differences between responses from the two racial groups. In this Seventh-day Adventist (Adventist) cohort, blacks were less likely than whites to be lifelong vegetarians and more likely to be overweight or obese. Exercise levels were lower for blacks than for whites, but blacks were as likely as whites not to currently smoke or drink. Blacks reported higher rates of hypertension and diabetes than did whites but lower rates of high serum cholesterol, myocardial infarction, emphysema, and all cancers. After we eliminated skin cancer from the analysis, the age-adjusted prevalence of cancer remained significantly lower for black than for white women. The prevalence of prostate cancer was 47% higher for black men than for white men. The profile of health habits for black Adventists is better than that for blacks nationally. Given the intractable nature of many other contributors to health disparities, including racism, housing segregation, employment discrimination, limited educational opportunity, and poorer health care, the relative advantage for blacks of the Adventist lifestyle may hold promise for helping to close the gap in health status

  4. Research on mechanism of the large-amplitude and narrow-band vibration of a flexible flat plate in the rectangular channel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu Lifang, E-mail: liu_lifang1106@yahoo.cn [School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Zhuxinzhuang, Dewai, Beijing 102206 (China); State Nuclear Power Software Development Center, Building 1, Compound No. 29, North Third Ring Road, Xicheng District, Beijing 100029 (China); Lu Daogang [School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Zhuxinzhuang, Dewai, Beijing 102206 (China)

    2012-09-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The large amplitude and narrow-band vibration experiment was performed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The added mass theory was used to analyze the test plates' natural vibration characteristics in static water. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The occurring condition of the large amplitude and narrow band vibration was investigated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The large amplitude and narrow-band vibration mechanism was investigated. - Abstract: Further experiments and theoretical analysis were performed to investigate mechanism of the large-amplitude and narrow-band vibration behavior of a flexible flat plate in a rectangular channel. Test plates with different thicknesses were adopted in the FIV experiments. The natural vibration characteristics of the flexible flat plates in air were tested, and the added mass theory of column was used to analyze the flexible flat plates' natural vibration characteristics in static water. It was found that the natural vibration frequency of a certain test plate in static water is approximately within the main vibration frequency band of the plate when it was induced to vibrate with the large-amplitude and narrow-band in the rectangular channel. It can be concluded that the harmonic between the flowing fluid and the vibrating plate is one of the key reasons to induce the large-amplitude and narrow-band vibration phenomenon. The occurring condition of the phenomenon and some important narrow-band vibration characteristics of a foursquare fix-supported flexible flat plate were investigated.

  5. Combating a Global Threat to a Clonal Crop: Banana Black Sigatoka Pathogen Pseudocercospora fijiensis (Synonym Mycosphaerella fijiensis) Genomes Reveal Clues for Disease Control

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Arango Isaza, Rafael E.; Diaz-Trujillo, Caucasella; Dhillon, Braham; Aerts, Andrea; Carlier, Jean; Crane, Charles F.; V. de Jong, Tristan; de Vries, Ineke; Dietrich, Robert; Farmer, Andrew D.; Fortes Fereira, Claudia; Garcia, Suzana; Guzman, Mauricio; Hamelin, Richard C.; Lindquist, Erika A.; Mehrabi, Rahim; Quiros, Olman; Schmutz, Jeremy; Shapiro, Harris; Reynolds, Elizabeth; Scalliet, Gabriel; Souza Manoel, Jr.; Stergiopoulos, Ioannis; Van der Lee, Theo A. J.; De Wit, Pierre J. G. M.; Zapater, Marie-Françoise; Zwiers, Lute-Harm; Grigoriev, Igor V.; Goodwin, Stephen B.; Kema, Gert H. J.

    2016-01-01

    Black Sigatoka or black leaf streak disease, caused by the ascomycete fungus Pseudocercospora fijiensis, inflicts huge costs on banana producers, due to crop losses and expenses for disease control. The global banana export trade relies on Cavendish clones that are highly susceptible to P.

  6. Distinguishing Between Formation Channels for Binary Black Holes with LISA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breivik, Katelyn; Rodriguez, Carl L.; Larson, Shane L.; Kalogera, Vassiliki; Rasio, Frederic A.

    2017-01-01

    The recent detections of GW150914 and GW151226 imply an abundance of stellar-mass binary-black-hole mergers in the local universe. While ground-based gravitational-wave detectors are limited to observing the final moments before a binary merges, space-based detectors, such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), can observe binaries at lower orbital frequencies where such systems may still encode information about their formation histories. In particular, the orbital eccentricity and mass of binary black holes in the LISA frequency band can be used together to discriminate between binaries formed in isolation in galactic fields and those formed in dense stellar environments such as globular clusters. In this letter, we explore the orbital eccentricity and mass of binary-black-hole populations as they evolve through the LISA frequency band. Overall we find that there are two distinct populations discernible by LISA. We show that up to ~90% of binaries formed either dynamically or in isolation have eccentricities measurable by LISA. Finally, we note how measured eccentricities of low-mass binary black holes evolved in isolation could provide detailed constraints on the physics of black-hole natal kicks and common-envelope evolution.

  7. Atypical features of hyperthyroidism in Blacks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalk, W.J.

    1980-01-01

    Hyperthyroidism is reportedly uncommon in the indigenous populations of Africa. The presenting symptoms volunteered, the symptoms elicited by direct questioning, and the results of physical examination were therefore prospectively compared in 60 Black and 56 White patients with thyrotoxicosis attending a single thyroid clinic. Fewer Blacks than Whites volunteered information about weight loss, while more Blacks complained only of the presence of a goitre. A 'chance' diagnosis of hyperthyroidism was made more frequently in Blacks. Symptomatology elicited by direct questioning and findings on physical examination were generally similar in each group, except that Blacks presented more frequently with complicated disease (cardiac failure and overt myopathy) and infiltrative ophthalmopathy. The frequency with which hyperthyroidism presents 'atypically' in Black compared with White patients may reflect educational, socio-economic and cultural differences in the Black and White populations, and may partly explain the infrequency with which this disease is diagnosed in Blacks

  8. The Bone Black Pigment Identification by Noninvasive, In Situ Infrared Reflection Spectroscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessia Daveri

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Two real case studies, an oil painting on woven paper and a cycle of mural paintings, have been presented to validate the use of infrared reflection spectroscopy as suitable technique for the identification of bone black pigment. By the use of the sharp weak band at 2013 cm−1, it has been possible to distinguish animal carbon-based blacks by a noninvasive method. Finally, an attempt for an eventual assignment for the widely used sharp band at 2013 cm−1 is discussed.

  9. The renaissance of black phosphorus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, Xi; Wang, Han; Huang, Shengxi; Xia, Fengnian; Dresselhaus, Mildred S

    2015-04-14

    One hundred years after its first successful synthesis in the bulk form in 1914, black phosphorus (black P) was recently rediscovered from the perspective of a 2D layered material, attracting tremendous interest from condensed matter physicists, chemists, semiconductor device engineers, and material scientists. Similar to graphite and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), black P has a layered structure but with a unique puckered single-layer geometry. Because the direct electronic band gap of thin film black P can be varied from 0.3 eV to around 2 eV, depending on its film thickness, and because of its high carrier mobility and anisotropic in-plane properties, black P is promising for novel applications in nanoelectronics and nanophotonics different from graphene and TMDs. Black P as a nanomaterial has already attracted much attention from researchers within the past year. Here, we offer our opinions on this emerging material with the goal of motivating and inspiring fellow researchers in the 2D materials community and the broad readership of PNAS to discuss and contribute to this exciting new field. We also give our perspectives on future 2D and thin film black P research directions, aiming to assist researchers coming from a variety of disciplines who are desirous of working in this exciting research field.

  10. Black hole state degeneracy in loop quantum gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agullo, Ivan; Diaz-Polo, Jacobo; Fernandez-Borja, Enrique

    2008-01-01

    The combinatorial problem of counting the black hole quantum states within the isolated horizon framework in loop quantum gravity is analyzed. A qualitative understanding of the origin of the band structure shown by the degeneracy spectrum, which is responsible for the black hole entropy quantization, is reached. Even when motivated by simple considerations, this picture allows to obtain analytical expressions for the most relevant quantities associated to this effect

  11. Physico-chemical characterization of banana varieties resistant to black leaf streak disease for industrial purposes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rossana Catie Bueno de Godoy

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Cultivated bananas have very low genetic diversity making them vulnerable to diseases such as black-Sigatoka leaf spot. However, the decision to adopt a new banana variety needs to be based on a robust evaluation of agronomical and physical-chemical characteristics. Here, we characterize new banana varieties resistant to black-Sigatoka leaf spot and compare them to the most widely used traditional variety (Grand Naine. Each variety was evaluated for a range of physic-chemical attributes associated with industrial processing and flavor: pH, TTA, TSS/TTA, total sugars, reducing sugars and non-reducing sugars, humidity, total solids and yield. The Thap Maeo variety had the highest potential as a substitute for the Grand Naine variety, having higher levels of total soluble solids, reducing sugars, total sugars and humidity. The Caipira and FHIA 2 varieties also performed well in comparison with the Grand Naine variety. Cluster analysis indicated that the Grand Naine variety was closely associated with varieties from the Gross Michel subgroup (Bucaneiro, Ambrosia and Calipso and the Caipira variety, all of which come from the same AAA genomic group. It was concluded that several of the new resistant varieties could potentially substitute the traditional variety in areas affected by black-Sigatoka leaf spot disease.

  12. Management of high blood pressure in Blacks: an update of the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks consensus statement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flack, John M; Sica, Domenic A; Bakris, George; Brown, Angela L; Ferdinand, Keith C; Grimm, Richard H; Hall, W Dallas; Jones, Wendell E; Kountz, David S; Lea, Janice P; Nasser, Samar; Nesbitt, Shawna D; Saunders, Elijah; Scisney-Matlock, Margaret; Jamerson, Kenneth A

    2010-11-01

    Since the first International Society on Hypertension in Blacks consensus statement on the "Management of High Blood Pressure in African American" in 2003, data from additional clinical trials have become available. We reviewed hypertension and cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment guidelines, pharmacological hypertension clinical end point trials, and blood pressure-lowering trials in blacks. Selected trials without significant black representation were considered. In this update, blacks with hypertension are divided into 2 risk strata, primary prevention, where elevated blood pressure without target organ damage, preclinical cardiovascular disease, or overt cardiovascular disease for whom blood pressure consistently secondary prevention, where elevated blood pressure with target organ damage, preclinical cardiovascular disease, and/or a history of cardiovascular disease, for whom blood pressure consistently blood pressure is ≤10 mm Hg above target levels, monotherapy with a diuretic or calcium channel blocker is preferred. When blood pressure is >15/10 mm Hg above target, 2-drug therapy is recommended, with either a calcium channel blocker plus a renin-angiotensin system blocker or, alternatively, in edematous and/or volume-overload states, with a thiazide diuretic plus a renin-angiotensin system blocker. Effective multidrug therapeutic combinations through 4 drugs are described. Comprehensive lifestyle modifications should be initiated in blacks when blood pressure is ≥115/75 mm Hg. The updated International Society on Hypertension in Blacks consensus statement on hypertension management in blacks lowers the minimum target blood pressure level for the lowest-risk blacks, emphasizes effective multidrug regimens, and de-emphasizes monotherapy.

  13. Inheritance of black sigatoka disease resistance in plantain-banana (Musa spp.) hybrids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortiz, R; Vuylsteke, D

    1994-10-01

    Black sigatoka (Mycosphaerella fijiensis Morelet), an airborne fungal leaf-spot disease, is a major constraint to plantain and banana (Musa spp.) production world-wide. Gaining further knowledge of the genetics of host-plant resistance will enhance the development of resistant cultivars, which is considered to be the most appropriate means to achieve stable production. Genetic analysis was conducted on 101 euploid (2x, 3x and 4x) progenies, obtained from crossing two susceptible triploid plantain cultivars with the resistant wild diploid banana 'Calcutta 4'. Segregating progenies, and a susceptible reference plantain cultivar, were evaluated over 2 consecutive years. Three distinct levels of host response to black sigatoka were defined as follows: susceptible ( 10). Segregation ratios for resistance at the 2x level fitted a genetic model having one major recessive resistance allele (bs 1) and two independent alleles with additive effects (bsr 2 and bsr 3). A similar model explains the results at the 4x level assuming that the favourable resistance alleles have a dosage effect when four copies of them are present in their respective loci (bs i (4) ). The proposed model was further validated by segregation data of S 1 progenies. Mechanisms of black sigatoka resistance are discussed in relation to the genetic model.

  14. [Mixed connective tissue disease: prevalence and clinical characteristics in African black, study of 7 cases in Gabon and review of the literature].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Missounga, Landry; Ba, Josaphat Iba; Nseng Nseng Ondo, Ingrid Rosalie; Nziengui Madjinou, Maria Ines Carine; Malekou, Doris; Mouendou Mouloungui, Emeline Gracia; Nzengue, Emmanuel Ecke; Boguikouma, Jean Bruno; Kombila, Moussavou

    2017-01-01

    The literature reports that mixed connective tissue disease seems more frequent in the black population and among Asians. This study aims to determine the prevalence of mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) among connective tissue disorders and all rheumatologic pathologies in a hospital population in Gabon as well as to describe the clinical features of this disease. We conducted a retrospective study by reviewing the medical records of patients treated for mixed connective tissue disease (Kasukawa criteria) and other entities of connective tissue disorders (ACR criteria) in the Division of Rheumatology at the University Hospital in Libreville between January 2010 and December 2015. For each case of MCTD the parameters studied were articular and extra-articular manifestations, anti-U1RNP antibodies levels, patient's evolution. Over a period of 6 years, data were collected by medical records of 7 patients out of 6050 patients and 67 cases of connective tissue disorders, reflecting a prevalence of 0.11% and 10.44% respectively. the 7 patients were women (100%), with an average age of 39.5 years. Articular manifestations included: polyarthritis, myalgias, chubby fingers and Raynaud's phenomenon in 87.5%, 87.5%, 28.6% and 14% respectively. The 7 patients had high anti-U1RNP antibodies levels, ranging between 5 and 35N (N≤ 7 IU). A case of death due to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) was certified. This is the largest case series of MCTD reported in Black Africa. The disease seems to be rare among the black Africans; the reason could be genetic. The demographic and clinical aspects appear similar to those in Caucasians, Asians and Blacks except for a low frequency of Raynaud?s phenomenon among Blacks.

  15. Component Analysis and Identification of Black Tahitian Cultured Pearls From the Oyster Pinctada margaritifera Using Spectroscopic Techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, L.; Wang, Y.; Liu, X.; Mao, J.

    2018-03-01

    Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared (UV-Vis-NIR) reflectance spectroscopy, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy were used to characterize black Tahitian cultured pearls and imitations of these saltwater cultured pearls produced by γ-irradiation, and by coloring of cultured pearls with silver nitrate or organic dyes. Raman spectra indicated that aragonite was the major constituent of these four types of pearl. Using Raman spectroscopy at an excitation wavelength of 514 nm, black Tahitian cultured pearls exhibited characteristic 1100-1700 cm-1 bands. These bands were attributed to various organic components, including conchiolin and other black biological pigments. The peaks shown by saltwater cultured pearls colored with organic dyes varied with the type of dye used. Tahitian cultured and organic-dye-treated saltwater cultured pearls were easily identified by Raman spectroscopy. UV-Vis-NIR reflectance spectra showed bands at 408, 497, and 700 nm derived from porphyrin pigment and other black pigments. The spectra of dye-treated black saltwater pearls showed absorption peaks at 216, 261, 300, and 578 nm. The 261-nm absorption band disappeared from the spectra of γ-irradiated saltwater cultured pearls. This suggests the degradation of conchiolin in the γ-irradiated saltwater cultured pearls. XRF analysis revealed the presence of Ag on the surface of silver nitrate-dyed saltwater cultured pearls.

  16. Spin properties of black phosphorus and phosphorene, and their prospects for spincalorics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurpas, Marcin; Gmitra, Martin; Fabian, Jaroslav

    2018-05-01

    Semiconducting black phosphorus attracts a lot of attention due to its extraordinary electronic properties. Its application to spincalorics requires the knowledge about the spin and thermal properties. Here, we describe first principles calculations of the spin–orbit coupling and spin scattering in phosphorene and bulk black phosphorus. We find that the intrinsic spin–orbit coupling is of the order of 20 meV for the valence and conduction band, both for phosphorene and bulk black phosphorus, and induces spin mixing with the probability b2 ≈ 10-5 –10‑4. A strong anisotropy of b 2 is observed. The calculated Elliott–Yafet spin relaxation times reach nanoseconds for realistic values of the momentum relaxation times. The extrinsic spin–orbit coupling, enabling the D’yakonov–Perel’ spin relaxation mechanism, is studied for phosphorene by application of a transverse electric field. We observe a strong anisotropy of the extrinsic effects for the valence band and much weaker for the conduction band. It is shown, that for small enough electric fields the spin relaxation is dominated by the Elliott–Yafet mechanism, while the D’yakonov–Perel’ matters for higher electric fields. Our theoretical results stay in a good agreement with the experimental findings, and indicates that long spin lifetimes in black phosphorus and phosphorene makes them prospective materials for spincalorics and spintronics.

  17. Catalytic mechanism of sodium compounds in black liquor during gasification of coal black liquor slurry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuang Jianping; Zhou Junhu; Zhou Zhijun; Liu Jianzhong; Cen Kefa

    2008-01-01

    The coal black liquor slurry (CBLS) was composed of coal and black pulping liquor, which has plenty of sodium compounds, lignin and cellulose. The sodium compounds have a catalytic effect on the gasification process of coal black liquor slurry, while lignin and cellulose enhance the heat value. Alkali-catalyzed gasification experiments of CBLS and CWS (coal water slurry) are investigated on the thermobalance and fixed bed reactor. The residues of the gasification of CBLS and CWS are analyzed by XRD, SEM and FT-IR. It is found that many micro- and mesopores and zigzag faces exist in the surface of the CBLS coke, which play a key role in the catalytic gasification. Sodium can enhance the reaction potential, weaken the bond of C-O and improve the gasification reaction rate. XRD results show that sodium aluminum silicate and nepheline are the main crystal components of the CBLS and CWS. The C-O stretching vibration peak in the 1060 cm -1 band in the CBLS shifts to 995.65 cm -1 in the CBLS coke after partial gasification. This means that the energy of the C-O stretching vibration in the CBLS carbon matrix decreases, so the structure of the carbon matrix is more liable to react with an oxygen ion or hydroxide ion. The amplitude of the C-O stretching vibration peak is augmented step by step due to the ground-excited level jump of the C-O band

  18. Animal vectors of eastern dwarf mistletoe of black spruce.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael E. Ostry; Thomas H. Nicholls; D.W. French

    1983-01-01

    Describes a study to determine the importance of animals in the spread of eastern dwarf mistletoe of black spruce. Radio telemetry, banding, and color-marking techniques were used to study vectors of this forest pathogen.

  19. Continuous creation of matter across the black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manjunath, R

    2006-01-01

    The mass distribution in a galaxy that gets evolved around a black hole exhibits a certain degree of deterministic abstraction. The present work is based on the outcome of this abstraction. A black hole or a neutron star at the centre of a galaxy emits radiation when the edge of the galaxy gets disintegrated by getting absorbed in to another black hole or becomes a member of another galactic distribution. This is necessary for the existence of the black hole to counter for the surrounding structure with its own internal formation. The radiation is emitted as self similar pulses that exactly resemble the pattern of absorption of the rim of the galaxy. This concept is based on information geometry. An additional term that accounts for the feedback energy is appended to the energy momentum tensor. It has been shown that the mass around the black hole is distributed in bands that exhibit multiple resolutions. This translates on to self similarity in the emission pattern from the black hole. The recent emission of radiation from a neutron star is interpreted as one such phenomenon

  20. Black and White Differentials in Mortality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rene, Antonio A.; Clifford, Patrick R.

    1986-01-01

    Overviews vital statistics data, emphasizing differences in health status between the Black and White populations with respect to specific diseases and mortality. Discusses major causes of death among US Blacks. (GC)

  1. Simultaneous high crystallinity and sub-bandgap optical absorptance in hyperdoped black silicon using nanosecond laser annealing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Franta, Benjamin, E-mail: bafranta@gmail.com; Pastor, David; Gandhi, Hemi H.; Aziz, Michael J.; Mazur, Eric [School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States); Rekemeyer, Paul H.; Gradečak, Silvija [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

    2015-12-14

    Hyperdoped black silicon fabricated with femtosecond laser irradiation has attracted interest for applications in infrared photodetectors and intermediate band photovoltaics due to its sub-bandgap optical absorptance and light-trapping surface. However, hyperdoped black silicon typically has an amorphous and polyphasic polycrystalline surface that can interfere with carrier transport, electrical rectification, and intermediate band formation. Past studies have used thermal annealing to obtain high crystallinity in hyperdoped black silicon, but thermal annealing causes a deactivation of the sub-bandgap optical absorptance. In this study, nanosecond laser annealing is used to obtain high crystallinity and remove pressure-induced phases in hyperdoped black silicon while maintaining high sub-bandgap optical absorptance and a light-trapping surface morphology. Furthermore, it is shown that nanosecond laser annealing reactivates the sub-bandgap optical absorptance of hyperdoped black silicon after deactivation by thermal annealing. Thermal annealing and nanosecond laser annealing can be combined in sequence to fabricate hyperdoped black silicon that simultaneously shows high crystallinity, high above-bandgap and sub-bandgap absorptance, and a rectifying electrical homojunction. Such nanosecond laser annealing could potentially be applied to non-equilibrium material systems beyond hyperdoped black silicon.

  2. eLISA eccentricity measurements as tracers of binary black hole formation

    OpenAIRE

    Nishizawa, Atsushi; Berti, Emanuele; Klein, Antoine; Sesana, Alberto

    2016-01-01

    Up to hundreds of black hole binaries individually resolvable by eLISA will coalesce in the Advanced LIGO/Virgo band within ten years, allowing for multi-band gravitational wave observations. Binaries formed via dynamical interactions in dense star clusters are expected to have eccentricities $e_0\\sim 10^{-3}$-$10^{-1}$ at the frequencies $f_0=10^{-2}$ Hz where eLISA is most sensitive, while binaries formed in the field should have negligible eccentricity in both frequency bands. We estimate ...

  3. Fruits of Black Chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa in the Prevention of Chronic Diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tunde Jurikova

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, growing attention has been focused on the utilization of natural sources of antioxidants in the prevention of chronic diseases. Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa represents a lesser known fruit species utilized mainly as juices, purees, jams, jellies and wine, as important food colorants or nutritional supplements. The fruit is valued as a great source of antioxidants, especially polyphenols, such as phenolic acids (neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acids and flavonoids (anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, flavanols and flavonols, particularly cyanidin-3-galactoside and cyanidin-3-arabinoside, as well as (−-epicatechin units. The berries of A. melanocarpa, due to the presence and the high content of these bioactive components, exhibit a wide range of positive effects, such as strong antioxidant activity and potential medicinal and therapeutic benefits (gastroprotective, hepatoprotective, antiproliferative or anti-inflammatory activities. They could be also contributory toward the prevention of chronic diseases including metabolic disorders, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, because of supportive impacts on lipid profiles, fasting plasma glucose and blood pressure levels.

  4. Short- and long-term black tea consumption reverses endothelial dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duffy, S J; Keaney , J F; Holbrook, M; Gokce, N; Swerdloff, P L; Frei, B; Vita, J A

    2001-07-10

    Epidemiological studies suggest that tea consumption decreases cardiovascular risk, but the mechanisms of benefit remain undefined. Endothelial dysfunction has been associated with coronary artery disease and increased oxidative stress. Some antioxidants have been shown to reverse endothelial dysfunction, and tea contains antioxidant flavonoids. Methods and Results-- To test the hypothesis that tea consumption will reverse endothelial dysfunction, we randomized 66 patients with proven coronary artery disease to consume black tea and water in a crossover design. Short-term effects were examined 2 hours after consumption of 450 mL tea or water. Long-term effects were examined after consumption of 900 mL tea or water daily for 4 weeks. Vasomotor function of the brachial artery was examined at baseline and after each intervention with vascular ultrasound. Fifty patients completed the protocol and had technically suitable ultrasound measurements. Both short- and long-term tea consumption improved endothelium- dependent flow-mediated dilation of the brachial artery, whereas consumption of water had no effect (Peffect on endothelium-independent nitroglycerin-induced dilation. An equivalent oral dose of caffeine (200 mg) had no short-term effect on flow-mediated dilation. Plasma flavonoids increased after short- and long-term tea consumption. Short- and long-term black tea consumption reverses endothelial vasomotor dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease. This finding may partly explain the association between tea intake and decreased cardiovascular disease events.

  5. Band Gap Modulated by Electronic Superlattice in Blue Phosphorene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhuang, Jincheng; Liu, Chen; Gao, Qian; Liu, Yani; Feng, Haifeng; Xu, Xun; Wang, Jiaou; Zhao, Jijun; Dou, Shi Xue; Hu, Zhenpeng; Du, Yi

    2018-05-22

    Exploring stable two-dimensional materials with appropriate band gaps and high carrier mobility is highly desirable due to the potential applications in optoelectronic devices. Here, the electronic structures of phosphorene on a Au(111) substrate are investigated by scanning tunneling spectroscopy, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The substrate-induced phosphorene superstructure gives a superlattice potential, leading to a strong band folding effect of the sp band of Au(111) on the band structure. The band gap could be clearly identified in the ARPES results after examining the folded sp band. The value of the energy gap (∼1.1 eV) and the high charge carrier mobility comparable to that of black phosphorus, which is engineered by the tensile strain, are revealed by the combination of ARPES results and DFT calculations. Furthermore, the phosphorene layer on the Au(111) surface displays high surface inertness, leading to the absence of multilayer phosphorene. All these results suggest that the phosphorene on Au(111) could be a promising candidate, not only for fundamental research but also for nanoelectronic and optoelectronic applications.

  6. The occurence of black spot disease in Astyanax aff. fasciatus(characiformes: characidae in the Guaíba Lake basin, RS, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F Flores-Lopes

    Full Text Available Black spot disease is common in freshwater fish and is usually caused by the metacercaria stage of digenetic trematodes, normally from the Diplostomidae family. The present study evaluated the prevalence and intensity of this disease in Astyanax aff. fasciatus(Teleostei: Characiformes in the Guaíba Lake basin (RS, Brazil, including body parts assessment and the points of sampling with higher occurrence of black spots. Fish samples were taken seasonally from December 2002 until October 2004. The samples were collected with the use of a seine net at eleven points. The specimens were fixed in 10% formalin and stored in 70% ethanol. Black spot disease showed a low frequency in the Guaíba lake basin (2.07% and no specificity to the species Astyanax aff. fasciatus was observed. A high prevalence among the individuals and high intensity of infection levels was found in the ventral and dorsal regions in relation to other body parts (e.g., pectoral, pelvic and anal regions. Among the sampling points studied, we observed a higher prevalence on samples collected at points Gasômetro, Saco da Alemoa and Sinos, located in open areas with less occurrence of mollusks.

  7. [An example of partnership cooperation. Cantonal League against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases/Association "Das Band"].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michaelis, E

    1984-01-01

    Together with the Cantonal League against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases of Zurich, the Association "Das Band" has organized a first course for parents of children with asthma. The course is a component of the associations new "Prophylaxis Program for Children with Asthma and Their Parents". By exchanging ideas, the parents should become able to reflect their situation, characterized by excessive protectionism, aggressiveness, and guiltiness, and they also should learn to accept the disease as a part of their daily life. The first course, which meanwhile is followed by a second one, provided a first base for the solution of the many problems.

  8. The late inspiral of supermassive black hole binaries with circumbinary gas discs in the LISA band

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Yike; Haiman, Zoltán; MacFadyen, Andrew

    2018-05-01

    We present the results of 2D, moving-mesh, viscous hydrodynamical simulations of an accretion disc around a merging supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB). The simulation is pseudo-Newtonian, with the BHs modelled as point masses with a Paczynski-Wiita potential, and includes viscous heating, shock heating, and radiative cooling. We follow the gravitational inspiral of an equal-mass binary with a component mass Mbh = 106 M⊙ from an initial separation of 60rg (where rg ≡ GMbh/c2 is the gravitational radius) to the merger. We find that a central, low-density cavity forms around the binary, as in previous work, but that the BHs capture gas from the circumbinary disc and accrete efficiently via their own minidiscs, well after their inspiral outpaces the viscous evolution of the disc. The system remains luminous, displaying strong periodicity at twice the binary orbital frequency throughout the entire inspiral process, all the way to the merger. In the soft X-ray band, the thermal emission is dominated by the inner edge of the circumbinary disc with especially clear periodicity in the early inspiral. By comparison, harder X-ray emission is dominated by the minidiscs, and the light curve is initially more noisy but develops a clear periodicity in the late inspiral stage. This variability pattern should help identify the electromagnetic counterparts of SMBHBs detected by the space-based gravitational-wave detector LISA.

  9. Diseases and parasites of laboratory reared and wild population of banded pearl spot Etroplus suratensis (Cichlidae) in Goa

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Rattan, P.; Parulekar, A.H.

    Banded Pearl spot Etroplus suratensis, the inhabitant of coastal backwaters and lagoons is one among the few finfish species identified for brackishwater farming. Common diseases and parasites from the wild population of Goa and from the laboratory...

  10. Effect of dietary pigment on growth performance and disease resistance in black tiger shrimp post larva (Penaeus monodon, Fabricius

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boonyaratpalin, M.

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available Effects of dietary pigment on survival and disease (white spot syndrome virus: WSSV resistance in black tiger shrimp post larva (Penaeus monodon, Fabricius (PL15 for a 30-day period were studied. The results showed that not only was mean survival of black tiger shrimp (PL15 fed with supplementation of Lucarotene or Betatene at 125 mg/kg diet significantly higher (P<0.05 but also the body color was increased. There were no effects of dietary pigment on mean weight, percent weight gain and WSSV resistance. However, mean WSSV resistance of black tiger shrimp (PL15 fed diet containing Lucantin pink 50 mg/kg diet, Spirulina 30 g/kg diet or Betatene 125 mg/kg diet was higher than that of control.

  11. Combating a global threat to a clonal crop: banana black sigatoka pathogen pseudocercospora fijiensis (synonym mycosphaerella fijiensis) genomes reveal clues for disease control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mycosphaerella fijiensis is the fungal pathogen that causes black Sigatoka or leaf streak disease of banana. Control of this disease requires weekly applications of fungicides in most cultivation areas. Major problems for disease management are fungicide resistance and the lack of effective genes fo...

  12. The mass of the black hole in 1A 0620-00, revisiting the ellipsoidal light curve modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Grunsven, Theo F. J.; Jonker, Peter G.; Verbunt, Frank W. M.; Robinson, Edward L.

    2017-12-01

    The mass distribution of stellar-mass black holes can provide important clues to supernova modelling, but observationally it is still ill constrained. Therefore, it is of importance to make black hole mass measurements as accurate as possible. The X-ray transient 1A 0620-00 is well studied, with a published black hole mass of 6.61 ± 0.25 M⊙, based on an orbital inclination i of 51.0° ± 0.9°. This was obtained by Cantrell et al. (2010) as an average of independent fits to V-, I- and H-band light curves. In this work, we perform an independent check on the value of i by re-analysing existing YALO/SMARTS V-, I- and H-band photometry, using different modelling software and fitting strategy. Performing a fit to the three light curves simultaneously, we obtain a value for i of 54.1° ± 1.1°, resulting in a black hole mass of 5.86 ± 0.24 M⊙. Applying the same model to the light curves individually, we obtain 58.2° ± 1.9°, 53.6° ± 1.6° and 50.5° ± 2.2° for V-, I- and H-band, respectively, where the differences in best-fitting i are caused by the contribution of the residual accretion disc light in the three different bands. We conclude that the mass determination of this black hole may still be subject to systematic effects exceeding the statistical uncertainty. Obtaining more accurate masses would be greatly helped by continuous phase-resolved spectroscopic observations simultaneous with photometry.

  13. A toy model of black hole complementarity

    CERN Document Server

    Banerjee, Souvik; Papadodimas, Kyriakos; Raju, Suvrat

    2016-01-01

    We consider the algebra of simple operators defined in a time band in a CFT with a holographic dual. When the band is smaller than the light crossing time of AdS, an entire causal diamond in the center of AdS is separated from the band by a horizon. We show that this algebra obeys a version of the Reeh-Schlieder theorem: the action of the algebra on the CFT vacuum can approximate any low energy state in the CFT arbitrarily well, but no operator within the algebra can exactly annihilate the vacuum. We show how to relate local excitations in the complement of the central diamond to simple operators in the band. Local excitations within the diamond are invisible to the algebra of simple operators in the band by causality, but can be related to complicated operators called "precursors". We use the Reeh-Schlieder theorem to write down a simple and explicit formula for these precursors on the boundary. We comment on the implications of our results for black hole complementarity and the emergence of bulk locality fr...

  14. White plague disease outbreak in a coral reef at Los Roques National Park, Venezuela.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Croquer, Aldo; Pauls, Sheila M; Zubillaga, Ainhoa L

    2003-06-01

    Coral diseases have been reported as a major problem affecting Caribbean coral reefs. During August 2000, a coral mortality event of White Plague Disease-II (WPD-II) was observed at Madrizqui Reef in Los Roques National Park, Venezuela. This disease was identified as the major cause of coral mortality, affecting 24% of all colonies surveyed (n = 1 439). Other diseases such as Black Band Disease (BBD), Yellow Blotch Disease (YBD), Dark Spots Disease (DSD) and White Band Disease (WBD) were also recorded, but showed a lower incidence (0.14-0.97%). Two depth intervals, D1 (5.5-6.5 m) and D2 (9-9.5 m) were surveyed with two sets of three band transects 50 x 2 m long, placed parallel to the long axis of the reef. All healthy and injured corals, along each band transect, were counted and identified to species level. Additionally, all diseases and recent mortality that were still identifiable on each colony also were recorded. The incidence of colonies affected by WPD-II ranged from 12.8 to 33% among transects, where thirteen species of scleractinian corals showed several degrees of mortality. The species most affected were Montastraea annularis (39.13%), M. faveolata (26.67%), M. franksi (9.86%), Stephanocoenia intersepta (7.25%), Colpophyllia natans (6.96%), Diploria labyrinthiformis (2.99%), Mycetophyllia aliciae (2.03%), M. cavernosa (1.74%), and D. strigosa (1.45%). WPD-II was more common in the deeper strata (9-9.5 m), where 63% of the surveyed colonies were affected, although the disease was present along the entire reef. Presently, it is imperative to determine how fast the disease is spreading across the reef, how the disease spreads across the affected colonies and what the long-term effects on the reef will be.

  15. Efficacy of Heat Treatment for the Thousand Cankers Disease Vector and Pathogen in Small Black Walnut Logs

    Science.gov (United States)

    A. E. Mayfield; S. W. Fraedrich; A. Taylor; P. Merten; S. W. Myers

    2014-01-01

    Thousand cankers disease, caused by the walnut twig beetle (Pityophthorus juglandis Blackman) and an associated fungal pathogen (Geosmithia morbida M. Kolarõ´k, E. Freeland, C. Utley, and N. Tisserat), threatens the health and commercial use of eastern black walnut (Juglans nigra L.), one of the most economically...

  16. Molecular characterization of Iranian black cumin ( Nigella sativa L. accessions using RAPD marker

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahmoud Ghorbanzadeh Neghab

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Nigella sativa L. (2n = 12 is an annual flowering plant belonging to the family Ranunculaceae known for medicinal properties demonstrating valuable components that are widely used in food and pharmaceutical industries. Nine Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA markers (RAPD were used in this study, in order to characterize the genetic variation of 16 black cumin varieties collected from Iran’s different regions. The amplification reaction produced 95 bands with sizes ranging from about 100 to 500 bp. The average frequency of bands was 20 while the averages of polymorphism were about 8.11 per primer. The Jaccard similarity coefficient and the Unweighted Pair-Group Method Analysis (UPGMA clustering algorithm were applied to the RAPD data sets in order to understand the genetic relationships among the tested accessions. The accessions were categorized into three groups using cluster analysis. The results were supported by the Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA cluster analysis. The results showed that the tested black cumin genotypes had a high genetic diversity and could be used in black cumin germplasm conservation programs. Moreover, the RAPD is a versatile approach to the diversity analysis of native accessions of black cumin.

  17. The white band disease type II pathogen in Puerto Rico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. L Gil-Agudelo

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available The white band disease type I (WBD-I epizootic event of the early 1980’s resulted in significant changes in the structure and composition of coral communities throughout the wider Caribbean. The disease decimated populations of acroporid corals throughout their geographic distribution and it is still affecting the surviving and recovering populations of these corals in a number of localities in the wider Caribbean. The putative pathogen for this syndrome (WBD-I was never identified. A second pattern of white band was described later as white band type II (WBD-II. A potential pathogen named Vibrio charchariae was identified but Koch’s postulates were never fulfilled. In this work, we present results of a preliminary approach to confirm the identity of the pathogen of WBD-II. During the fall months of 2004, samples of Acropora cervicornis with signs of WBD-II were collected from a small population in Mario reef, an isolated patch reef off La Parguera, southwest coast of Puerto Rico. Bacteria extracted from these samples were isolated in TCBS agar, grown in Glycerol Seawater agar, and then used to inoculate separated, healthy-looking colonies of the same population in the same reef. Isolation, culture, and inoculations of bacteria were conducted under controlled conditions within hours of collection, and no microorganisms that were not already in the reef community were introduced with these experiments. Some of the newly inoculated colonies developed the disease signs within 24 hr. These were subsequently sampled and bacterial re-isolated to be identified, thus complying with the first steps to fulfill Koch ’s postulates for this disease. Rates of advance of the disease signs varied between 0.5 and 2 cm/day. Preliminary analyses indicated that the potential cause of WBD-II is a Vibrio species very close to Vibrio harveyi, a synonymy of V. charchariae. All inoculated coral colonies that developed the signs of WBD-II, behaved as the naturally

  18. Field Effect Optoelectronic Modulation of Quantum-Confined Carriers in Black Phosphorus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitney, William S; Sherrott, Michelle C; Jariwala, Deep; Lin, Wei-Hsiang; Bechtel, Hans A; Rossman, George R; Atwater, Harry A

    2017-01-11

    We report measurements of the infrared optical response of thin black phosphorus under field-effect modulation. We interpret the observed spectral changes as a combination of an ambipolar Burstein-Moss (BM) shift of the absorption edge due to band-filling under gate control, and a quantum confined Franz-Keldysh (QCFK) effect, phenomena that have been proposed theoretically to occur for black phosphorus under an applied electric field. Distinct optical responses are observed depending on the flake thickness and starting carrier concentration. Transmission extinction modulation amplitudes of more than two percent are observed, suggesting the potential for use of black phosphorus as an active material in mid-infrared optoelectronic modulator applications.

  19. Black Teenage Pregnancy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loretta I. Winters

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This article examines the relative importance of race and socioeconomic status (SES in determining whether Black and White teenagers report having ever been pregnant. Data gathered from 1999 to 2006 by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention included 1,580 Black and White females aged 15 to 19 years. Results supported the effects of race and SES, with SES having the stronger effect. However, the effects of race and SES differ when controlling for the state of the economy. No difference between Blacks and Whites was found during better economic times. During 2003-2004, the period of greatest economic stress, race was determined to be the only predictor of teenage pregnancy. In particular, during 2005-2006, the reduction in pregnancy rates for Black minors (15-17 fell below those for White minors within their respective SES categories. Policy implications are discussed in light of these findings.

  20. Black phosphorus saturable absorber for ultrashort pulse generation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sotor, J., E-mail: jaroslaw.sotor@pwr.edu.pl; Sobon, G.; Abramski, K. M. [Laser and Fiber Electronics Group, Wroclaw University of Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, Wroclaw 50-370 (Poland); Macherzynski, W.; Paletko, P. [Faculty of Microsystem Electronics and Photonics, Wroclaw University of Technology, Janiszewskiego 11/17, Wroclaw 50-372 (Poland)

    2015-08-03

    Low-dimensional materials, due to their unique and versatile properties, are very interesting for numerous applications in electronics and optoelectronics. Recently rediscovered black phosphorus, with a graphite-like layered structure, can be effectively exfoliated up to the single atomic layer called phosphorene. Contrary to graphene, it possesses a direct band gap controllable by the number of stacked atomic layers. For those reasons, black phosphorus is now intensively investigated and can complement or replace graphene in various photonics and electronics applications. Here, we demonstrate that black phosphorus can serve as a broadband saturable absorber and can be used for ultrashort optical pulse generation. The mechanically exfoliated ∼300 nm thick layers of black phosphorus were transferred onto the fiber core, and under pulsed excitation at 1560 nm wavelength, its transmission increases by 4.6%. We have demonstrated that the saturable absorption of black phosphorus is polarization sensitive. The fabricated device was used to mode-lock an Er-doped fiber laser. The generated optical solitons with the 10.2 nm bandwidth and 272 fs duration were centered at 1550 nm. The obtained results unambiguously show that black phosphorus can be effectively used for ultrashort pulse generation with performances similar or even better than currently used graphene or carbon nanotubes. This application of black phosphorus proves its great potential to future practical use in photonics.

  1. Predation scars may influence host susceptibility to pathogens: evaluating the role of corallivores as vectors of coral disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicolet, K J; Chong-Seng, K M; Pratchett, M S; Willis, B L; Hoogenboom, M O

    2018-03-27

    Infectious diseases not regulated by host density, such as vector-borne diseases, have the potential to drive population declines and extinctions. Here we test the vector potential of the snail Drupella sp. and butterflyfish Chaetodon plebeius for two coral diseases, black band (BBD) and brown band (BrB) disease. Drupella transmitted BrB to healthy corals in 40% of cases immediately following feeding on infected corals, and even in 12% of cases 12 and 24 hours following feeding. However, Drupella was unable to transmit BBD in either transmission treatment. In a field experiment testing the vector potential of naturally-occurring fish assemblages, equivalent numbers of caged and uncaged coral fragments became infected with either BrB, BBD or skeletal eroding band, indicating that corallivorous fish were unlikely to have caused transmission. In aquaria, C. plebeius did not transmit either BBD or BrB, even following extended feeding on both infected and healthy nubbins. A literature review confirmed only four known coral disease vectors, all invertebrates, corroborating our conclusion that polyp-feeding fishes are unlikely to be vectors of coral diseases. This potentially because polyp-feeding fishes produce shallow lesions, not allowing pathogens to invade coral tissues. In contrast, corallivorous invertebrates that create deeper feeding scars increase pathogens transmission.

  2. Polarized Gamma-Ray Emission from the Galactic Black Hole Cygnus X-1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laurent, P.; Rodriquez, J.; Wilms, J.; Bel, M. Cadolle; Pottschmidt, K.; Grinberg, V.

    2011-01-01

    Because of their inherently high flux allowing the detection of clear signals, black hole X-ray binaries are interesting candidates for polarization studies, even if no polarization signals have been observed from them before. Such measurements would provide further detailed insight into these sources' emission mechanisms. We measured the polarization of the gamma-ray emission from the black hole binary system Cygnus X-I with the INTEGRAL/IBIS telescope. Spectral modeling ofthe data reveals two emission mechanisms: The 250-400 keY data are consistent with emission dominated by Compton scattering on thermal electrons and are weakly polarized. The second spectral component seen in the 400keV-2MeV band is by contrast strongly polarized, revealing that the MeV emission is probably related to the jet first detected in the radio band.

  3. Strongly anisotropic in-plane thermal transport in single-layer black phosphorene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Ankit; McGaughey, Alan J H

    2015-02-17

    Using first principles calculations, we predict the thermal conductivity of the two-dimensional materials black phosphorene and blue phosphorene. Black phosphorene has an unprecedented thermal conductivity anisotropy ratio of three, with predicted values of 110 W/m-K and 36 W/m-K along its armchair and zigzag directions at a temperature of 300 K. For blue phosphorene, which is isotropic with a zigzag structure, the predicted value is 78 W/m-K. The two allotropes show strikingly different thermal conductivity accumulation, with phonons of mean free paths between 10 nm and 1 μm dominating in black phosphorene, while a much narrower band of mean free paths (50-200 nm) dominate in blue phosphorene. Black phosphorene shows intriguing potential for strain-tuning of its thermal conductivity tensor.

  4. Black phosphorus-based one-dimensional photonic crystals and microcavities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kriegel, Ilka; Toffanin, Stefano; Scotognella, Francesco

    2016-11-10

    The latest achievements in the fabrication of thin layers of black phosphorus (BP), toward the technological breakthrough of a phosphorene atomically thin layer, are paving the way for their use in electronics, optics, and optoelectronics. In this work, we have simulated the optical properties of one-dimensional photonic structures, i.e., photonic crystals and microcavities, in which few-layer BP is one of the components. The insertion of the 5-nm black phosphorous layers leads to a photonic band gap in the photonic crystals and a cavity mode in the microcavity that is interesting for light manipulation and emission enhancement.

  5. Black women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have increased risk for metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease compared with white women with PCOS [corrected].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hillman, Jennifer K; Johnson, Lauren N C; Limaye, Meghana; Feldman, Rebecca A; Sammel, Mary; Dokras, Anuja

    2014-02-01

    To determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) and Framingham cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in white and black adolescents and adult women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) compared with controls. Retrospective cohort study. Center for PCOS. Subjects with PCOS with data on race and cardiometabolic risk (n = 519). Controls were age and race matched from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) population (1999-2006). None. MetSyn, coronary heart disease risk, and general CVD risk. Black adolescents and young adults with PCOS had an increased prevalence of MetSyn compared with their white counterparts (adolescents relative risk 2.65 [95% confidence interval 1.29-5.4], adults relative risk 1.44 [95% confidence interval 1.21-2.6]). In contrast, there was no difference in risk of MetSyn between black and white adolescents and adult women in the NHANES dataset. After controlling for age and body mass index, black women with PCOS had a significantly increased prevalence of low high-density lipoprotein and high glucose. The general CVD risk was significantly increased in black adults with PCOS. This is the first study to comprehensively demonstrate increased risk of MetSyn in both black adolescents and adult women with PCOS compared with white subjects with PCOS. This racial disparity was not present in the NHANES controls. Longitudinal studies are needed to assess the independent impact of PCOS and race on CVD risk in women. Copyright © 2014 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Immunostimulation and yellow head virus (YHV) disease resistance induced by a lignin-based pulping by-product in black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon Linn.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srisapoome, Prapansak; Hamano, Kaoru; Tsutsui, Isao; Iiyama, Kenji

    2018-01-01

    Yellow head virus (YHV) is classified as one of the most serious pathogens causing a harmful disease in many penaeids, especially black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon), with high economic loss. To determine a potent and practical prophylactic strategy for controlling this disease, the toxicity of the by-product kraft lignin and its ability to control severe YHV infection were investigated in juvenile black tiger shrimp (15.9 ± 1.2 g body weight). The median lethal dosage at 96 h (96-hrs LD 50 ) of lignin in shrimp was 297 mg/L. Lignin was further added to shrimp diets via top-dressing to assess its ability to elicit immune stimulation activity. At 14 days after feeding, shrimp fed 1, 3, 5 and 10 g of lignin/kg of diet exhibited significantly higher levels of phagocytic activity (PA) than the control group (P  0.05). Additionally, lignin supplementation at 1-10 g/kg for 14 days failed to protect experimental shrimp against YHV infection. The antiviral activity of lignin against YHV in black tiger shrimp was notable in vitro because compared to control shrimp (96.7 ± 5.8%; P by-product kraft lignin efficiently inhibits YHV infection in black tiger shrimp. This information will facilitate the development of practical methods to control yellow head disease in the marine shrimp culture industry. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Black to Black

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Langkjær, Michael Alexander

    2012-01-01

    Pop musicians performing in black stage costume take advantage of cultural traditions relating to matters black. Stylistically, black is a paradoxical color: although a symbol of melancholy, pessimism, and renunciation, black also expresses minimalist modernity and signifies exclusivity (as is hi...

  8. Characterizing and identifying black spot resistance genes in polyploid roses

    Science.gov (United States)

    The ornamental quality of outdoor grown roses (Rosa hybrida) is under constant threat from foliar diseases, such as black spot caused by Diplocarpon rosae. Fungicides are primarily used to manage black spot; however, there is a high consumer demand for disease resistant roses which eliminate the nee...

  9. THE M BH-L SPHEROID RELATION AT HIGH AND LOW MASSES, THE QUADRATIC GROWTH OF BLACK HOLES, AND INTERMEDIATE-MASS BLACK HOLE CANDIDATES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Graham, Alister W.; Scott, Nicholas

    2013-01-01

    From a sample of 72 galaxies with reliable supermassive black hole masses M bh , we derive the M bh -(host spheroid luminosity, L) relation for (1) the subsample of 24 core-Sérsic galaxies with partially depleted cores, and (2) the remaining subsample of 48 Sérsic galaxies. Using K s -band Two Micron All Sky Survey data, we find the near-linear relation M bh ∝L 1.10±0.20 K s for the core-Sérsic spheroids thought to be built in additive dry merger events, while we find the relation M bh ∝L 2.73±0.55 K s for the Sérsic spheroids built from gas-rich processes. After converting literature B-band disk galaxy magnitudes into inclination- and dust-corrected bulge magnitudes, via a useful new equation presented herein, we obtain a similar result. Unlike with the M bh -(velocity dispersion) diagram, which is also updated here using the same galaxy sample, it remains unknown whether barred and non-barred Sérsic galaxies are offset from each other in the M bh -L diagram. While black hole feedback has typically been invoked to explain what was previously thought to be a nearly constant M bh /M Spheroid mass ratio of ∼0.2%, we advocate that the near-linear M bh -L and M bh -M Spheroid relations observed at high masses may have instead arisen largely from the additive dry merging of galaxies. We argue that feedback results in a dramatically different scaling relation, such that black hole mass scales roughly quadratically with the spheroid mass in Sérsic galaxies. We therefore introduce a revised cold-gas 'quasar' mode feeding equation for semi-analytical models to reflect what we dub the quadratic growth of black holes in Sérsic galaxies built amidst gas-rich processes. Finally, we use our new Sérsic M bh -L equations to predict the masses of candidate intermediate mass black holes in almost 50 low-luminosity spheroids containing active galactic nuclei, finding many masses between that of stellar mass black holes and supermassive black holes.

  10. A black body absorber from vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mizuno, Kohei; Ishii, Juntaro; Kishida, Hideo; Hayamizu, Yuhei; Yasuda, Satoshi; Futaba, Don N.; Yumura, Motoo; Hata, Kenji

    2009-01-01

    Among all known materials, we found that a forest of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes behaves most similarly to a black body, a theoretical material that absorbs all incident light. A requirement for an object to behave as a black body is to perfectly absorb light of all wavelengths. This important feature has not been observed for real materials because materials intrinsically have specific absorption bands because of their structure and composition. We found a material that can absorb light almost perfectly across a very wide spectral range (0.2–200 μm). We attribute this black body behavior to stem from the sparseness and imperfect alignment of the vertical single-walled carbon nanotubes. PMID:19339498

  11. Genetic Signature of Resistance to White Band Disease in the Caribbean Staghorn Coral Acropora cervicornis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Libro

    Full Text Available Coral reefs are declining worldwide due to multiple factors including rising sea surface temperature, ocean acidification, and disease outbreaks. Over the last 30 years, White Band Disease (WBD alone has killed up to 95% of the Caribbean`s dominant shallow-water corals--the staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis and the elkhorn coral A. palmata. Both corals are now listed on the US Endangered Species Act, and while their recovery has been slow, recent transmission surveys indicate that more than 5% of staghorn corals are disease resistant. Here we compared transcriptome-wide gene expression between resistant and susceptible staghorn corals exposed to WBD using in situ transmission assays. We identified constitutive gene expression differences underlying disease resistance that are independent from the immune response associated with disease exposure. Genes involved in RNA interference-mediated gene silencing, including Argonaute were up-regulated in resistant corals, whereas heat shock proteins (HSPs were down-regulated. Up-regulation of Argonaute proteins indicates that post-transcriptional gene silencing plays a key, but previously unsuspected role in coral immunity and disease resistance. Constitutive expression of HSPs has been linked to thermal resilience in other Acropora corals, suggesting that the down-regulation of HSPs in disease resistant staghorn corals may confer a dual benefit of thermal resilience.

  12. Genetic Signature of Resistance to White Band Disease in the Caribbean Staghorn Coral Acropora cervicornis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Libro, Silvia; Vollmer, Steven V

    2016-01-01

    Coral reefs are declining worldwide due to multiple factors including rising sea surface temperature, ocean acidification, and disease outbreaks. Over the last 30 years, White Band Disease (WBD) alone has killed up to 95% of the Caribbean`s dominant shallow-water corals--the staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis and the elkhorn coral A. palmata. Both corals are now listed on the US Endangered Species Act, and while their recovery has been slow, recent transmission surveys indicate that more than 5% of staghorn corals are disease resistant. Here we compared transcriptome-wide gene expression between resistant and susceptible staghorn corals exposed to WBD using in situ transmission assays. We identified constitutive gene expression differences underlying disease resistance that are independent from the immune response associated with disease exposure. Genes involved in RNA interference-mediated gene silencing, including Argonaute were up-regulated in resistant corals, whereas heat shock proteins (HSPs) were down-regulated. Up-regulation of Argonaute proteins indicates that post-transcriptional gene silencing plays a key, but previously unsuspected role in coral immunity and disease resistance. Constitutive expression of HSPs has been linked to thermal resilience in other Acropora corals, suggesting that the down-regulation of HSPs in disease resistant staghorn corals may confer a dual benefit of thermal resilience.

  13. Perancangan Prototipe Receiver Beacon Black Box Locator Acoustic 37,5 kHz Pingers

    OpenAIRE

    RUSTAMAJI RUSTAMAJI; PAULINE RAHMIATI; SARAH PERMATASARI

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRAK Ketika suatu pesawat terbang mengalami kecelakaan terjatuh ke dalam air, maka lokasi keberadaannya dapat dideteksi oleh alat yang disebut receiver beacon black box locator acoustic (pingers receiver). Pingers receiver berfungsi untuk menerima sinyal dengan frekuensi 37,5 kHz ± 1 kHz dari pingers transmitter atau Underwater Locator Beacon (ULB) yang berada pada black box pesawat. Dalam penelitian ini dibuat perancangan pingers receiver yang tersusun dari rangkaian Band Pass Filter (BPF...

  14. Effect of climate variables on cocoa black pod incidence in Sabah using ARIMAX model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling Sheng Chang, Albert; Ramba, Haya; Mohd. Jaaffar, Ahmad Kamil; Kim Phin, Chong; Chong Mun, Ho

    2016-06-01

    Cocoa black pod disease is one of the major diseases affecting the cocoa production in Malaysia and also around the world. Studies have shown that the climate variables have influenced the cocoa black pod disease incidence and it is important to quantify the black pod disease variation due to the effect of climate variables. Application of time series analysis especially auto-regressive moving average (ARIMA) model has been widely used in economics study and can be used to quantify the effect of climate variables on black pod incidence to forecast the right time to control the incidence. However, ARIMA model does not capture some turning points in cocoa black pod incidence. In order to improve forecasting performance, other explanatory variables such as climate variables should be included into ARIMA model as ARIMAX model. Therefore, this paper is to study the effect of climate variables on the cocoa black pod disease incidence using ARIMAX model. The findings of the study showed ARIMAX model using MA(1) and relative humidity at lag 7 days, RHt - 7 gave better R square value compared to ARIMA model using MA(1) which could be used to forecast the black pod incidence to assist the farmers determine timely application of fungicide spraying and culture practices to control the black pod incidence.

  15. Clustering of 18 Local Black Rice Base on Total Anthocyanin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristamtini Kristamtini

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Black rice has a high anthocyanin content in the pericarp layer, which provides a dark purple color. Anthocyanin serve as an antioxidant that control cholesterol level in the blood, prevent anemia, potentially improve the body's resistance to disease, improve damage to liver cells (hepatitis and chirrosis, prevent impaired kidney function, prevent cancer/tumors, slows down antiaging, and prevent atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Exploration results at AIAT Yogyakarta, Indonesia from 2011 to 2014 obtained 18 cultivar of local black rice Indonesia. The names of the rice are related to the color (black, red or purple formed by anthocyanin deposits in the pericarp layer, seed coat or aleuron. The objective of the study was to classify several types of local black rice from explorations based on the total anthocyanin content. The study was conducted by clustering analyzing the total anthocyanin content of 18 local black rice cultivars in Indonesia. Cluster analysis of total anthocyanin content were done using SAS ver. 9.2. Clustering dendogram shows that there were 4 groups of black rice cultivars based on the total anthocyanin content. Group I consists of Melik black rice, Patalan black rice, Yunianto black rice, Muharjo black rice, Ngatijo black rice, short life of Tugiyo black rice, Andel hitam 1, Jlitheng, and Sragen black rice. Group II consists of Pari ireng, Magelang black hairy rice, Banjarnegara-Wonosobo black rice, and Banjarnegara black rice. Group III consists of NTT black rice, Magelang non hairy black rice, Sembada hitam, and longevity Tugiyo black rice. Group IV consist only one type of black rice namely Cempo ireng. The grouping result indicate the existence of duplicate names among the black rice namely Patalan with Yunianto black rice, and short life Tugiyo with Andel hitam 1 black rice.

  16. Spatiotemporal patterns of coral disease prevalence on Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haapkylä, J.; Melbourne-Thomas, J.; Flavell, M.; Willis, B. L.

    2010-12-01

    Despite increasing research effort on coral diseases, little is known about factors driving disease dynamics on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). This is the first study to investigate the temporal patterns of coral disease prevalence and potential drivers of disease around Heron Island, in the southern Capricorn Bunker sector of the GBR. Surveys were conducted in two austral summers and three winters between November 2007 and August 2009 on six sites around the island. Six diseases were detected: brown band syndrome (BrB), growth anomalies (GA), ulcerative white spots (UWS), white syndrome (WS), skeletal eroding band disease (SEB) and black band disease (BBD). The lowest overall mean disease prevalence was 1.87 ± 0.75% (mean ± SE) in November 2007 and the highest 4.22 ± 1.72% in August 2008. There was evidence of seasonality for two diseases: BrB and UWS. This is the first study to report a higher prevalence of BrB in the winter. BrB had a prevalence of 3.29 ± 0.58% in August 2008 and 1.53 ± 0.28% in August 2009, while UWS was the most common syndrome in the summer with a prevalence of 1.12 ± 0.31% in November 2007 and 2.67 ± 0.52% prevalence in January 2008. The prevalence of GAs and SEB did not depend on the season, although the prevalence of GAs increased throughout the study period. WS had a slightly higher prevalence in the summer, but its overall prevalence was low (disease prevalence (12% of Acropora and 3.3% of Montipora species were diseased respectively). These results highlight the correlations between coral disease prevalence, seasonally varying environmental parameters and coral community composition. Given that diseases are likely to reduce the resilience of corals, seasonal patterns in disease prevalence deserve further research.

  17. Dancing around the Black Hole

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-08-01

    , however, and will soon disrupt. At some moment, many of those young stars may get too close to the monster in the centre and suffer an unhappy fate... PR Photo 25a/01 : The active galaxy NGC 1097 (R-band image) PR Photo 25b/01 : The active galaxy NGC 1808 (H-band image) PR Photo 25c/01 : The active galaxy NGC 5728 (K-band image) PR Photo 25d/01 : Schematic drawing of the various structural components mentioned in the text. PR Photo 25e/01 : ISAAC spectrum (2.3 µm) of the central region of NGC 1808 PR Photo 25f/01 : Stellar motions at the centre of NGC 1808 Central black holes in galaxies ESO PR Photo 25a/01 ESO PR Photo 25a/01 [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 489 pix - 39k] [Normal - JPEG: 800 x 977 pix - 296k] ESO PR Photo 25b/01 ESO PR Photo 25b/01 [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 499 pix - 40k] [Normal - JPEG: 800 x 997 pix - 168k] ESO PR Photo 25c/01 ESO PR Photo 25c/01 [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 488 pix - 47k] [Normal - JPEG: 800 x 975 pix - 384k] Caption : Photos of three active galaxies that were observed with ISAAC during the present programme. They show NGC 1097 (R-band; Photo 25a/01) and the central areas of NGC 1808 (H-band; Photo 25b/01) and NGC 5728 (K-band; Photo 25c/01). The bar-like structures and the luminous centres where the Black Holes are located are well visible - they are discussed in the text. The distances to these galaxies are approximately 55, 35 and 120 million light-years, respectively; the local scales are indicated in the photos. Technical information about these photos is available below. Recent research with space- and ground-based astronomical telescopes indicate that there are very heavy Black Holes at the centres of most galaxies. There is also general agreement among scientists that many of the closest neighbours of our own Milky Way Galaxy, for example the large spiral Andromeda Galaxy and the peculiar Centaurus A galaxy (cf. ESO PR 04/01 ), do contain central black holes with masses from millions to billions of solar masses [2]. Black Holes have an

  18. [Black urine or black sclera of the eyes? Consider alkaptonuria].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gubbels, Nanda P; Sijbrand, Merijn H; Onstenk, Ron

    2014-01-01

    Alkaptonuria is a rare metabolic disorder due to a defect in the gene for homogentisic acid oxidase. This results in an accumulation of homogentisic acid, which leads to the deposit of pigment in the connective tissue in the body. This causes problems and symptoms in various organ systems, such as early artropathy, dark-coloured urine, black sclerae, dark-coloured aortic valves and an increased risk of kidney stones and gall stones. Various specialists may see patients with this disease. The diagnosis is often missed. We describe a 69-year-old woman who underwent surgery due to joint problems, which showed up black cartilage. It turned out that for many years she had also had eye and heart problems. Not until later in life was she diagnosed with alkaptonuria. There is no curative treatment for alkaptonuria at the moment. Early recognition of the disease can increase the quality of life. Preventative check-ups and guidance are also therefore necessary.

  19. Mutation breeding against black pod (Phytophthora pod rot) disease of cacao (Theobroma cacao)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Opeke, L.K.

    1977-01-01

    Black pod rot disease, caused by Phytophthora palmivora, is an important disease of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) in Nigeria and other cacao producing countries of West Africa and Latin America. A naturally occurring source of genetic resistance to the disease has not been found. This paper completes the report, the first part of which was published in Induced Mutations in Vegetatively Propagated Plants, IAEA, Vienna (1973). The survivors of the irradiated seedlings reported on in this publication were transplanted to the field along with their controls. When the Phytophthora pod disease season began in 1973, all experimental plants along with the controls were sprayed with active and freshly prepared dense sporangial suspension of P. palmivora. Observations on Phytophthora infection were recorded at two-weekly intervals for three months. Results were pooled for each set of experimental plants, after having confirmed that no marked difference appeared among individual plants of each group. Contrary to the observations recorded at the nursery stage, all experimental plants that showed no infection indicated disease infection levels normally characteristic of the F 3 Amazon cultivar of Cacao in Nigeria. Although the nursery and the field data are difficult to reconcile and interpret, it is suggested that probably temporary disease tolerance/resistance, which some irradiated plants showed at the nursery (seedling) stage, was lost as the plants matured, thus suggesting different resistance factor systems for juvenile and mature cacao trees. (author)

  20. Free Will, Black Swans and Addiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fenton, Ted; Wiers, Reinout W

    2017-01-01

    The current dominant perspective on addiction as a brain disease has been challenged recently by Marc Lewis, who argued that the brain-changes related to addiction are similar to everyday changes of the brain. From this alternative perspective, addictions are bad habits that can be broken, provided that people are motivated to change. In that case, autonomous choice or "free will" can overcome bad influences from genes and or environments and brain-changes related to addiction. Even though we concur with Lewis that there are issues with the brain disease perspective, we also argue that pointing to black swans can be important, that is: there can be severe cases where addiction indeed tips over into the category of brain disease, but obviously that does not prove that every case of addiction falls into the disease category, that all swans are black. We argue that, for example, people suffering from Korsakoff's syndrome, can be described as having a brain disease, often caused by alcohol addiction. Moreover, the brain changes occurring with addiction are related to choice-behaviour (and the related notions of willed action), habit formation and insight, hence essential mental abilities to break the addiction. We argue for a more graded perspective, where both black swans (severe brain disease which makes recovery virtually impossible) and white swans (unaffected brain) are rare, and most cases of addiction come as geese in different shades of gray.

  1. Diffusion properties of band 3 in human erythrocytes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spector, Jeffrey O.

    The plasma membrane of the human erythrocyte (RBC) is a six fold symmetric network held together at various pinning points by several multi-protein complexes. This unique architecture is what gives the RBC its remarkable material properties and any disruptions to the network can have severe consequences for the cell. Band 3 is a major transmembrane protein that plays the role of linking the fluid lipid bilayer to the cytoskeletal network. To interrogate the structural integrity of the RBC membrane we have tracked individual band 3 molecules in RBCs displaying a variety of pathologies that are all a consequence of membrane or network related defects. These diseases are spherocytosis, elliptocytosis, and pyropokilocytosis. We have also investigated the protein related diseases sickle cell, and south east asian ovalocytosis. To assess the impact that the network has on the dynamic organization of the cell we have also studied the mobility of band 3 in RBC progenitor cells. Individual band 3 molecules were imaged at 120 frames/second and their diffusion coefficients and compartment sizes recorded. The distributions of the compartment sizes combined with the information about the short and long time diffusion of band 3 has given us insight into the architecture of the membrane in normal and diseased cells. The observation that different membrane pathologies can be distinguished, even to the point of different molecular origins of the same disease, implies that the mobility of transmembrane proteins may be a useful tool for characterizing the "health" of the membrane.

  2. Terra MODIS Band 27 Electronic Crosstalk Effect and Its Removal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Junqiang; Xiong, Xiaoxiong; Madhavan, Sriharsha; Wenny, Brian

    2012-01-01

    The MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is one of the primary instruments in the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS). The first MODIS instrument was launched in December, 1999 on-board the Terra spacecraft. MODIS has 36 bands, covering a wavelength range from 0.4 micron to 14.4 micron. MODIS band 27 (6.72 micron) is a water vapor band, which is designed to be insensitive to Earth surface features. In recent Earth View (EV) images of Terra band 27, surface feature contamination is clearly seen and striping has become very pronounced. In this paper, it is shown that band 27 is impacted by electronic crosstalk from bands 28-30. An algorithm using a linear approximation is developed to correct the crosstalk effect. The crosstalk coefficients are derived from Terra MODIS lunar observations. They show that the crosstalk is strongly detector dependent and the crosstalk pattern has changed dramatically since launch. The crosstalk contributions are positive to the instrument response of band 27 early in the mission but became negative and much larger in magnitude at later stages of the mission for most detectors of the band. The algorithm is applied to both Black Body (BB) calibration and MODIS L1B products. With the crosstalk effect removed, the calibration coefficients of Terra MODIS band 27 derived from the BB show that the detector differences become smaller. With the algorithm applied to MODIS L1B products, the Earth surface features are significantly removed and the striping is substantially reduced in the images of the band. The approach developed in this report for removal of the electronic crosstalk effect can be applied to other MODIS bands if similar crosstalk behaviors occur.

  3. Black lung: anatomy of a public health disaster

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Derickson, A. [Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA (United States)

    1998-07-01

    In the 19th century, physicians diagnosed coal miners who spit up black ink and suffered lack of breath with the occupational disease of 'miner's asthma'. Beginning in the first decades of the 20th century, miner's asthma petered out of existence. Medical experts now attributed black sputum and shortness of breath to tuberculosis, smoking, and poor personal hygiene. Then, beginning in the 1960s, a new occupational disease of miners, 'black lung' was understood to produce their inky sputum and disordered respiration. The book illustrates the principle of the social construction of disease. Derickson documents a conscious campaign by 20th century coal main operators to 'disappear' miner's asthma. Their motive was financial. Operator negligence killed miners in their midlives, but to prevent the expenses of prevention and compensation, operators refuted the existence of an industrial disease among coal miners. With the assistance of many medical scientists, the operators successfully repressed social knowledge of miners' maladies.

  4. Spontaneous Scalarization of Black Holes and Compact Stars from a Gauss-Bonnet Coupling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Hector O; Sakstein, Jeremy; Gualtieri, Leonardo; Sotiriou, Thomas P; Berti, Emanuele

    2018-03-30

    We identify a class of scalar-tensor theories with coupling between the scalar and the Gauss-Bonnet invariant that exhibit spontaneous scalarization for both black holes and compact stars. In particular, these theories formally admit all of the stationary solutions of general relativity, but these are not dynamically preferred if certain conditions are satisfied. Remarkably, black holes exhibit scalarization if their mass lies within one of many narrow bands. We find evidence that scalarization can occur in neutron stars as well.

  5. A rare combination of amniotic constriction band with osteogenesis imperfecta.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Krupa Hitesh; Shah, Hitesh

    2015-11-11

    Amniotic constriction bands and osteogenesis imperfecta are disorders arising from a collagen defect. We report a rare association of amniotic bands with osteogenesis imperfecta in a child. The child was born with multiple amniotic bands involving the right leg, both hands and both feet. Multiple fractures of long bones of lower limbs occurred in childhood due to trivial trauma. Deformities of the femur and tibia due to malunion with osteopenia and blue sclerae were present. The patient was treated with z plasty of constriction band of the right tibia and bisphosphonate for osteogenesis imperfecta. This rare association of both collagen diseases may provide further insight for the pathogenesis of these diseases. 2015 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

  6. Dissecting black spot resistance in polyploid hybrid roses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devastating foliar diseases, such as black spot caused by Diplocarpon rosae, pose constant threats to the ornamental quality of outdoor grown roses. Black spot is primarily managed though the use of fungicides, however, there is a high demand for resistant roses which require low chemical inputs. To...

  7. Assessment of bird populations in a high quality savanna/woodland: a banding approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilmore, Sandra L.; Glowacki, Gary A.; Grundel, Ralph

    2005-01-01

    Between 1999 and 2004, Save the Dunes Conservation Fund's Miller Woods Bird Banding Program monitored migrating and breeding bird populations within a high quality black oak, dry-mesic sand savanna/woodland with ridge and swale topography. The objectives of this program were to collect consistent and reliable demographic and abundance data on the bird populations, to investigate long-term population trends, and to contribute to improved land management decisions at regional and national scales. The technique employed involved capturing birds in mist nets that were deployed for set periods of time at 17 net sites in two banding areas in Miller Woods.

  8. Stacking dependence of carrier transport properties in multilayered black phosphorous

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sengupta, A.; Audiffred, M.; Heine, T.; Niehaus, T. A.

    2016-02-01

    We present the effect of different stacking orders on carrier transport properties of multi-layer black phosphorous. We consider three different stacking orders AAA, ABA and ACA, with increasing number of layers (from 2 to 6 layers). We employ a hierarchical approach in density functional theory (DFT), with structural simulations performed with generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and the bandstructure, carrier effective masses and optical properties evaluated with the meta-generalized gradient approximation (MGGA). The carrier transmission in the various black phosphorous sheets was carried out with the non-equilibrium green’s function (NEGF) approach. The results show that ACA stacking has the highest electron and hole transmission probabilities. The results show tunability for a wide range of band-gaps, carrier effective masses and transmission with a great promise for lattice engineering (stacking order and layers) in black phosphorous.

  9. Investigating Pigment Radicals in Black Rice Using HPLC and Multi-EPR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakagawa, Kouichi; Maeda, Hayato

    2017-01-01

    We investigated the location and distribution of paramagnetic species in black and white rice using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), X-band (9 GHz) EPR imaging (EPRI), and HPLC. EPR primarily detected two paramagnetic species in black rice, which were identified as a stable radical and Mn 2+ species, based on the g values and hyperfine components of the EPR signals. The signal from the stable radical appeared at g ≈ 2.00 and was relatively strong and stable. Subsequent noninvasive two-dimensional (2D) EPRI revealed that this stable radical was primarily located in the pigmented region of black rice, while very few radicals were observed in the rice interior. Pigments extracted from black rice were analyzed using HPLC; the major compound was found to be cyanidin-3-glucoside. EPR and HPLC results indicate that the stable radical was only found within the pigmented region of the rice, and that it could either be cyanidin-3-glucoside, or one of its oxidative decomposition products.

  10. Atomic and electronic structure of exfoliated black phosphorus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Ryan J.; Topsakal, Mehmet; Jeong, Jong Seok; Wentzcovitch, Renata M.; Mkhoyan, K. Andre; Low, Tony; Robbins, Matthew C.; Haratipour, Nazila; Koester, Steven J.

    2015-01-01

    Black phosphorus, a layered two-dimensional crystal with tunable electronic properties and high hole mobility, is quickly emerging as a promising candidate for future electronic and photonic devices. Although theoretical studies using ab initio calculations have tried to predict its atomic and electronic structure, uncertainty in its fundamental properties due to a lack of clear experimental evidence continues to stymie our full understanding and application of this novel material. In this work, aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and ab initio calculations are used to study the crystal structure of few-layer black phosphorus. Directly interpretable annular dark-field images provide a three-dimensional atomic-resolution view of this layered material in which its stacking order and all three lattice parameters can be unambiguously identified. In addition, electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) is used to measure the conduction band density of states of black phosphorus, which agrees well with the results of density functional theory calculations performed for the experimentally determined crystal. Furthermore, experimental EELS measurements of interband transitions and surface plasmon excitations are also consistent with simulated results. Finally, the effects of oxidation on both the atomic and electronic structure of black phosphorus are analyzed to explain observed device degradation. The transformation of black phosphorus into amorphous PO 3 or H 3 PO 3 during oxidation may ultimately be responsible for the degradation of devices exposed to atmosphere over time

  11. Perancangan Prototipe Receiver Beacon Black Box Locator Acoustic 37,5 kHz Pingers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    RUSTAMAJI RUSTAMAJI

    2016-01-01

    When an aircraft caught in an accident and crashes into the water, its location can be detected using a device called a receiver beacon black box locator acoustic (pingers receiver. The pingers receiver functioned as a reciever signal with 37,5 kHz ± 1 kHz frequency from trnasmitter pingers or Underwater Locator Beacon (ULB which is on air plane black blox. In this research made design pingers receiver composed of a series of  Band Pass Filter (BPF, envelope detector, audio amplifier, and loud speaker. The signal of 37,5 kHz ± 1 kHz  frequency sent by pingers transmitter will bereceived by pingers receiver, after which the signal will be processed by the Band Pass Filter (BPF circuit before being detected by envelope detector for take back the signal information which like pulse signal with 10ms width and 1 second interval as pingers signal tha can  be to  be heard by human ear. Based on the  design that  was made, the signal ouput generated by the prototype has a 14 ms width with 1 second interval. Keywords: pingers receiver, band pass filter (BPF, envelope detector, loud speaker.

  12. Identification and prevalence of coral diseases on three Western Indian Ocean coral reefs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Séré, Mathieu G; Chabanet, Pascale; Turquet, Jean; Quod, Jean-Pascal; Schleyer, Michael H

    2015-06-03

    Coral diseases have caused a substantial decline in the biodiversity and abundance of reef-building corals. To date, more than 30 distinct diseases of scleractinian corals have been reported, which cause progressive tissue loss and/or affect coral growth, reproductive capacity, recruitment, species diversity and the abundance of reef-associated organisms. While coral disease research has increased over the last 4 decades, very little is known about coral diseases in the Western Indian Ocean. Surveys conducted at multiple sites in Reunion, South Africa and Mayotte between August 2010 and June 2012 revealed the presence of 6 main coral diseases: black band disease (BBD), white syndrome (WS), pink line syndrome (PLS), growth anomalies (GA), skeleton eroding band (SEB) and Porites white patch syndrome (PWPS). Overall, disease prevalence was higher in Reunion (7.5 ± 2.2%; mean ± SE) compared to South Africa (3.9 ± 0.8%) and Mayotte (2.7 ± 0.3%). Across locations, Acropora and Porites were the genera most susceptible to disease. Spatial variability was detected in both Reunion and South Africa, with BBD and WS more prevalent on shallow than deep reefs. There was also evidence of seasonality in 2 diseases: the prevalence of BBD and WS was higher in summer than winter. This was the first study to investigate the ecology of coral diseases, providing both qualitative and quantitative data, on Western Indian Ocean reefs, and surveys should be expanded to confirm these patterns.

  13. Band structure, band offsets, substitutional doping, and Schottky barriers of bulk and monolayer InSe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Yuzheng; Robertson, John

    2017-09-01

    We present a detailed study of the electronic structure of the layered semiconductor InSe. We calculate the band structure of the monolayer and bulk material using density functional theory, hybrid functionals, and G W . The band gap of the monolayer InSe is calculated to be 2.4 eV in screened exchange hybrid functional, close to the experimental photoluminescence gap. The electron affinities and band offsets are calculated for vertical stacked-layer heterostructures, and are found to be suitable for tunnel field effect transistors (TFETs) in combination with WS e2 or similar. The valence-band edge of InSe is calculated to lie 5.2 eV below the vacuum level, similar to that for the closed shell systems HfS e2 or SnS e2 . Hence InSe would be suitable to act as a p -type drain in the TFET. The intrinsic defects are calculated. For Se-rich layers, the Se adatom (interstitial) is found to be the most stable defect, whereas for In-rich layers, the Se vacancy is the most stable for the neutral state. Antisites tend to have energies just above those of vacancies. The Se antisite distorts towards a bond-breaking distortion as in the EL2 center of GaAs. Both substitutional donors and acceptors are calculated to be shallow, and effective dopants. They do not reconstruct to form nondoping configurations as occurs in black phosphorus. Finally, the Schottky barriers of metals on InSe are found to be strongly pinned by metal induced gap states (MIGS) at ˜0.5 eV above the valence-band edge. Any interfacial defects would lead to a stronger pinning at a similar energy. Overall, InSe is an effective semiconductor combining the good features of 2D (lack of dangling bonds, etc.) with the good features of 3D (effective doping), which few others achieve.

  14. Biological control of Black Pod Disease and Seedling Blight of cacao caused by Phytophthora Species using Trichoderma from Aceh Sumatra

    Science.gov (United States)

    The cocoa tree, Theobroma cacao L., suffers large yield losses in Aceh Indonesia to the disease black pod rot, caused by Phytophthora spp. Despite having the largest area under cacao production in Sumatra, farmers in the Aceh region have low overall production because of losses to insect pests and b...

  15. Comparison of equations for estimating glomerular filtration rate in screening for chronic kidney disease in asymptomatic black Africans: a cross sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omuse, Geoffrey; Maina, Daniel; Mwangi, Jane; Wambua, Caroline; Kanyua, Alice; Kagotho, Elizabeth; Amayo, Angela; Ojwang, Peter; Erasmus, Rajiv

    2017-12-20

    Several equations have been developed to estimate glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). The common equations used were derived from populations predominantly comprised of Caucasians with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Some of the equations provide a correction factor for African-Americans due to their relatively increased muscle mass and this has been extrapolated to black Africans. Studies carried out in Africa in patients with CKD suggest that using this correction factor for the black African race may not be appropriate. However, these studies were not carried out in healthy individuals and as such the extrapolation of the findings to an asymptomatic black African population is questionable. We sought to compare the proportion of asymptomatic black Africans reported as having reduced eGFR using various eGFR equations. We further compared the association between known risk factors for CKD with eGFR determined using the different equations. We used participant and laboratory data collected as part of a global reference interval study conducted by the Committee of Reference Intervals and Decision Limits (C-RIDL) under the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC). Serum creatinine values were used to calculate eGFR using the Cockcroft-Gault (CG), re-expressed 4 variable modified diet in renal disease (4v-MDRD), full age spectrum (FAS) and chronic kidney disease epidemiology collaboration equations (CKD-EPI). CKD classification based on eGFR was determined for every participant. A total of 533 participants were included comprising 273 (51.2%) females. The 4v-MDRD equation without correction for race classified the least number of participants (61.7%) as having an eGFR equivalent to CKD stage G1 compared to 93.6% for CKD-EPI with correction for race. Only age had a statistically significant linear association with eGFR across all equations after performing multiple regression analysis. The multiple correlation coefficients for CKD risk factors were higher for

  16. Coral transcriptome and bacterial community profiles reveal distinct Yellow Band Disease states in Orbicella faveolata

    KAUST Repository

    Closek, Collin J.

    2014-06-20

    Coral diseases impact reefs globally. Although we continue to describe diseases, little is known about the etiology or progression of even the most common cases. To examine a spectrum of coral health and determine factors of disease progression we examined Orbicella faveolata exhibiting signs of Yellow Band Disease (YBD), a widespread condition in the Caribbean. We used a novel combined approach to assess three members of the coral holobiont: the coral-host, associated Symbiodinium algae, and bacteria. We profiled three conditions: (1) healthy-appearing colonies (HH), (2) healthy-appearing tissue on diseased colonies (HD), and (3) diseased lesion (DD). Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis revealed health state-specific diversity in Symbiodinium clade associations. 16S ribosomal RNA gene microarrays (PhyloChips) and O. faveolata complimentary DNA microarrays revealed the bacterial community structure and host transcriptional response, respectively. A distinct bacterial community structure marked each health state. Diseased samples were associated with two to three times more bacterial diversity. HD samples had the highest bacterial richness, which included components associated with HH and DD, as well as additional unique families. The host transcriptome under YBD revealed a reduced cellular expression of defense- and metabolism-related processes, while the neighboring HD condition exhibited an intermediate expression profile. Although HD tissue appeared visibly healthy, the microbial communities and gene expression profiles were distinct. HD should be regarded as an additional (intermediate) state of disease, which is important for understanding the progression of YBD. © 2014 International Society for Microbial Ecology. All rights reserved.

  17. Perceived Racism and Coping: Joint Predictors of Blood Pressure in Black Americans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singleton, Gwendolyn James; Robertson, Jermaine; Robinson, Jackie Collins; Austin, Candice; Edochie, Valencia

    2008-01-01

    Black Americans suffer disproportionate incidences of severe complications associated with hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Psychosocial factors and subsequent coping responses have been implicated in the etiology of disease. Perceived racism has been identified as a source of stress for Blacks and is related to anger, hostility, paranoia,…

  18. Cardiovascular benefits of black cumin (Nigella sativa).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shabana, Adel; El-Menyar, Ayman; Asim, Mohammad; Al-Azzeh, Hiba; Al Thani, Hassan

    2013-03-01

    Black Cumin (Nigella sativa), which belongs to the botanical family of Ranunculaceae, commonly grows in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Western Asia. Its ripe fruit contains tiny black seeds, known as "Al-Habba Al-Sauda" and "Al-Habba Al-Barakah" in Arabic and black seed or black cumin in English. Seeds of Nigella sativa are frequently used in folk medicine in the Middle East and some Asian countries for the promotion of good health and the treatment of many ailments. However, data for the cardiovascular benefits of black cumin are not well-established. We reviewed the literature from 1960 to March 2012 by using the following key words: "Nigella sativa," "black seeds," and "thymoquinone." Herein, we discussed the most relevant articles to find out the role of Nigella sativa in the cardiovascular diseases spectrum especially when there is a paucity of information and need of further studies in human to establish the utility of Nigella sativa in cardiovascular system protection.

  19. The Draft Genome Sequence of Mycosphaerella fijiensis, the Black Sigatoka Pathogen of Banana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mycosphaerella fijiensis is a fungal pathogen of banana and the causal agent of the devastating Black Sigatoka or black leaf streak disease. Its control requires weekly fungicide applications when bananas are grown under disease-conducive conditions, which mostly represent precarious tropical enviro...

  20. Beta-band intermuscular coherence: a novel biomarker of upper motor neuron dysfunction in motor neuron disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Karen M.; Zaaimi, Boubker; Williams, Timothy L.; Baker, Stuart N.

    2012-01-01

    In motor neuron disease, the focus of therapy is to prevent or slow neuronal degeneration with neuroprotective pharmacological agents; early diagnosis and treatment are thus essential. Incorporation of needle electromyographic evidence of lower motor neuron degeneration into diagnostic criteria has undoubtedly advanced diagnosis, but even earlier diagnosis might be possible by including tests of subclinical upper motor neuron disease. We hypothesized that beta-band (15–30 Hz) intermuscular coherence could be used as an electrophysiological marker of upper motor neuron integrity in such patients. We measured intermuscular coherence in eight patients who conformed to established diagnostic criteria for primary lateral sclerosis and six patients with progressive muscular atrophy, together with 16 age-matched controls. In the primary lateral sclerosis variant of motor neuron disease, there is selective destruction of motor cortical layer V pyramidal neurons and degeneration of the corticospinal tract, without involvement of anterior horn cells. In progressive muscular atrophy, there is selective degeneration of anterior horn cells but a normal corticospinal tract. All patients with primary lateral sclerosis had abnormal motor-evoked potentials as assessed using transcranial magnetic stimulation, whereas these were similar to controls in progressive muscular atrophy. Upper and lower limb intermuscular coherence was measured during a precision grip and an ankle dorsiflexion task, respectively. Significant beta-band coherence was observed in all control subjects and all patients with progressive muscular atrophy tested, but not in the patients with primary lateral sclerosis. We conclude that intermuscular coherence in the 15–30 Hz range is dependent on an intact corticospinal tract but persists in the face of selective anterior horn cell destruction. Based on the distributions of coherence values measured from patients with primary lateral sclerosis and control

  1. Search for Binary Black Hole Candidates from the VLBI Images of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2016-01-27

    Jan 27, 2016 ... We have searched the core-jet pairs in the VLBI scales (< 1 kpc), from several VLBI catalogues, and found out 5 possible Binary Black Hole (BBH) candidates. We present here the search results and analyse the candidates preliminarily. We plan to study with multi-band VLBI observation. We also plan to ...

  2. Recent advances on bioactivities of black rice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dias, Aécio L de S; Pachikian, Barbara; Larondelle, Yvan; Quetin-Leclercq, Joëlle

    2017-11-01

    Black rice has been consumed for centuries in Asian countries such as China, Korea or Japan. Nowadays, extracts and derivatives are considered as beneficial functional foods because of their high content in several bioactive molecules such as anthocyanins, other phenolics and terpenoids. The purpose of this review is to summarize and discuss recent developments on black rice bioactivities. Some sterols and triterpenoids with potential anticancer properties already tested in vitro and in vivo have been isolated and identified from bran extracts of black rice. Protection against osteoporosis has been suggested for the first time for black rice extracts. Because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, black rice also protects liver and kidney from injuries. One clinical study reported the interest of black rice in case of alcohol withdrawal. Several advances have been recently achieved on the understanding of the potential biological effects of black rice and its derivatives. They further confirm that black rice should be considered as a promising source of health-promoting functional foods targeting a large set of noninfectious diseases. However, more clinical studies are needed to support the findings highlighted in this review.

  3. Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease and Type 2 Diabetes Risk Factors in Blacks and Whites: Dissecting Racial Paradox of Metabolic Syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwame Osei

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Cardiovascular diseases (CVD remain as the leading cause of mortality in the western world and have become a major health threat for developing countries. There are several risk factors that account for the CVD and the associated mortality. These include genetics, type 2 diabetes (T2DM, obesity, physical inactivity, hypertension, and abnormal lipids and lipoproteins. The constellation of these risk factors has been termed metabolic syndrome (MetS. MetS varies among racial and ethnic populations. Thus, race and ethnicity account for some of the differences in the MetS and the associated CVD and T2DM. Furthermore, the relationships among traditional metabolic parameters and CVD differ, especially when comparing Black and White populations. In this regard, the greater CVD in Blacks than Whites have been partly attributed to other non-traditional CVD risk factors, such as subclinical inflammation (C-reactive protein, homocysteine, increased low-density lipoprotein oxidation, lipoprotein a, adiponectin, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, etc. Thus, to understand CVD and T2DM differences in Blacks and Whites with MetS, it is essential to explore the contributions of both traditional and non-traditional CVD and T2DM risk factors in Blacks of African ancestry and Whites of Europoid ancestry. Therefore, in this mini review, we propose that non-traditional risk factors should be integrated in defining MetS as a predictor of CVD and T2DM in Blacks in the African diaspora in future studies.

  4. Prediction of phonon-mediated superconductivity in hole-doped black phosphorus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Yanqing; Sun, Hongyi; Sun, Junhui; Lu, Zhibin; You, Yong

    2018-01-10

    We study the conventional electron-phonon mediated superconducting properties of hole-doped black phosphorus by density functional calculations and get quite a large electron-phonon coupling (EPC) constant λ ~ 1.0 with transition temperature T C ~ 10 K, which is comparable to MgB 2 when holes are doped into the degenerate and nearly flat energy bands around the Fermi level. We predict that the softening of low-frequency [Formula: see text] optical mode and its phonon displacement, which breaks the lattice nonsymmorphic symmetry of gliding plane and lifts the band double degeneracy, lead to a large EPC. These factors are favorable for BCS superconductivity.

  5. Prediction of phonon-mediated superconductivity in hole-doped black phosphorus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Yanqing; Sun, Hongyi; Sun, Junhui; Lu, Zhibin; You, Yong

    2018-01-01

    We study the conventional electron-phonon mediated superconducting properties of hole-doped black phosphorus by density functional calculations and get quite a large electron-phonon coupling (EPC) constant λ ~ 1.0 with transition temperature T C ~ 10 K, which is comparable to MgB2 when holes are doped into the degenerate and nearly flat energy bands around the Fermi level. We predict that the softening of low-frequency B3g1 optical mode and its phonon displacement, which breaks the lattice nonsymmorphic symmetry of gliding plane and lifts the band double degeneracy, lead to a large EPC. These factors are favorable for BCS superconductivity.

  6. Black yeast-like fungi in skin and nail

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Saunte, D M; Tarazooie, B; Arendrup, M C

    2011-01-01

    Black yeast-like fungi are rarely reported from superficial infections. We noticed a consistent prevalence of these organisms as single isolations from mycological routine specimens. To investigate the prevalence of black yeast-like fungi in skin, hair and nail specimens and to discuss...... the probability of these species to be involved in disease. Slow-growing black yeast-like fungi in routine specimens were prospectively collected and identified. A questionnaire regarding patient information was sent to physicians regarding black yeast-like fungus positive patients. A total of 20 746...... dermatological specimens were examined by culture. Black yeast-like fungi accounted for 2.2% (n = 108) of the positive cultures. Only 31.0% of the samples, culture positive for black yeast-like fungi were direct microscopy positive when compared with overall 68.8% of the culture positive specimens. The most...

  7. ON THE HIGH-FREQUENCY QUASI-PERIODIC OSCILLATIONS FROM BLACK HOLES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erkut, M. Hakan

    2011-01-01

    We apply the global mode analysis, which has been recently developed for the modeling of kHz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) from neutron stars, to the inner region of an accretion disk around a rotating black hole. Within a pseudo-Newtonian approach that keeps the ratio of the radial epicyclic frequency κ to the orbital frequency Ω the same as the corresponding ratio for a Kerr black hole, we determine the innermost disk region where the hydrodynamic modes grow in amplitude. We find that the radiation flux emerging from the inner disk has the highest values within the same region. Using the flux-weighted averages of the frequency bands over this region we identify the growing modes with highest frequency branches Ω + κ and Ω to be the plausible candidates for the high-frequency QPO pairs observed in black hole systems. The observed frequency ratio around 1.5 can therefore be understood naturally in terms of the global free oscillations in the innermost region of a viscous accretion disk around a black hole without invoking a particular resonance to produce black hole QPOs. Although the frequency ratio (Ω + κ)/(Ω) is found to be not sensitive to the black hole's spin which is good for explaining the high-frequency QPOs, it may work as a limited diagnostic of the spin parameter to distinguish black holes with very large spin from the slowly rotating ones. Within our model we estimate the frequency ratio of a high-frequency QPO pair to be greater than 1.5 if the black hole is a slow rotator. For fast rotating black holes, we expect the same ratio to be less than 1.5.

  8. Looking for the invisible universe - Black matter, black energy, black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elbaz, David

    2016-01-01

    As the discovery of the expansion of the universe and of black holes put the study of cosmology into question again because it now refers to invisible things such as black holes, black energy and black matter, the author proposes an other view on the universe within such a context. He first discusses these three enigmas of black matter, black energy and black holes. In a second part, he addresses, discusses and comments five illusions: the Uranian illusion (questions of the existence of an anti-world, of black matter temperature), the Mercurian illusion (quantum gravity, the string theory), the Martian illusion (a patchwork universe, the illusion of the infinite), the cosmic Maya (the John Wheeler's cup, the holographic universe), and the narcissistic illusion

  9. Temporal Sampling of White Band Disease Infected Corals Reveals Complex and Dynamic Bacterial Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gignoux-Wolfsohn, S.; Vollmer, S. V.; Aronson, F. M.

    2016-02-01

    White band disease (WBD) is a coral disease that is currently decimating populations of the endangered staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis and elkhorn coral, A. palmata across the Caribbean. Since it was first reported in 1979, WBD has killed 95% of these critical reef-building Caribbean corals. WBD is infectious; it can be transmitted through the water column or by a corallivorous snail. While previous research shows that WBD is likely caused by bacteria, identification of a specific pathogen or pathogens has remained elusive. Much of the difficulty of understanding the etiology of the disease comes from a lack of information about how existing bacterial communities respond to disease and separating initial from secondary colonizers. In order to address this lack of information, we performed a fully-crossed tank infection experiment. We exposed healthy corals from two different sites to disease and healthy (control) homogenates from both sites, replicating genotype across tanks. We sampled every coral at three time points: before inoculation with the homogenate, after inoculation, and when the coral showed signs of disease. We then performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing on the Illumina HiSeq 2000. We saw significant differences between time points and disease state. Interestingly, at the first time point (time one) we observed differences between genotypes: every fragment from some genotypes was dominated by Endozoicomonas, while other genotypes were not dominated by one family. At time two we saw an increase in abundance of Alteromonadaceae and Flavobacteriaceae in all corals, and a larger increase in disease-exposed corals. At time three, we saw another increase in Flavobacteriaceae abundance in diseased corals, as well as an introduction of Francisella to diseased corals. While Flavobacteriaceae and Francisella were proposed as potential pathogens, their increase at time three suggests they may be secondary colonizers or opportunists. In genotypes that were

  10. Does the Environment Exacerbate Effects of Stress on Black ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Diet and obesity are major risk factors for a large number of non-communicable diseases, for which black women experience disproportionately high morbidity and mortality. Psychosocial stress and the food environment have emerged as two potentially important influences on black women's food choices. The combination ...

  11. Spontaneous emission spectrum from a V-type three-level atom in a double-band photonic crystal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Han Zhuang; Tang Sing Hai; Dong Po; He Jun

    2002-01-01

    The spontaneous emission spectrum from a V-type three-level atom embedded in a double-band photonic band gap (PBG) material has been investigated for the first time. Most interestingly it is shown that there is not only a black dark line, but also a narrow spontaneous line near the edges of the double photonic band. The positions of the dark line and narrow spontaneous line are near the transition from an empty upper level to a lower level. The lines stem from destructive and constructive quantum interferences, which induce population transfer between the two upper levels, in the PBG reservoirs. The effects of system parameters on the interference have been discussed in detail

  12. Black GE based on crystalline/amorphous core/shell nanoneedle arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Javey, Ali; Chueh, Yu-Lun; Fan, Zhiyong

    2014-03-04

    Direct growth of black Ge on low-temperature substrates, including plastics and rubber is reported. The material is based on highly dense, crystalline/amorphous core/shell Ge nanoneedle arrays with ultrasharp tips (.about.4 nm) enabled by the Ni catalyzed vapor-solid-solid growth process. Ge nanoneedle arrays exhibit remarkable optical properties. Specifically, minimal optical reflectance (<1%) is observed, even for high angles of incidence (.about.75.degree.) and for relatively short nanoneedle lengths (.about.1 .mu.m). Furthermore, the material exhibits high optical absorption efficiency with an effective band gap of .about.1 eV. The reported black Ge can have important practical implications for efficient photovoltaic and photodetector applications on nonconventional substrates.

  13. Gravitational Wave Astrophysics in the Mid-band: progenitors and advanced localizations of Advanced LIGO/Virgo binary-merger events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, Chi C. Teddy; Hogan, Jason; Graham, Peter; Kasevich, Mark; Rajendran, Surjeet; Saif, Babak; Kerr, Matthew T.; Lovellette, Michael; Wood, Kent S.; Michelson, Peter; MAGIS Team

    2018-01-01

    We consider the scientific potential of gravitational wave (GW) observations in the ~30 mHz to 3 Hz frequency range with the Mid-band Atomic Gravitational-wave Interferometric Sensor (MAGIS). MAGIS is a probe-class space-mission concept, using an atom-based gravitational wave detector, that will provide all-sky strain sensitivities of ~10^-21 sqrt(Hz) and better (1-year) in the GW-frequency mid-band between the LISA/L3 detector (planned 2034 launch) and ground-based Advanced LIGO/Virgo interferometers. Primary gravitational wave astrophysics science in the mid-band include GW observations of the binary black hole population discovered by Advanced LIGO/Virgo at higher-frequencies, prior to their merger stage. For such systems, MAGIS will observe the binaries in their inspiral phase, where system parameters such as eccentricities are most easily constrained, and will provide advanced, degree-scale localizations that would enable electromagnetic observations of possible precursor emission 1-week to 1-month prior to their mergers as well as prompt post-merger transient emission. Joint GW-observations with MAGIS and Advanced LIGO/Virgo covering all stages of binary coalescence will further reduce uncertainties in the GW- localizations and distances, and will be powerful paired with galaxy catalogs, to enable unique galaxy counterpart identifications in the case black hole binary mergers are completely absent of detectable electromagnetic precursor or transient signals. These possibilities for MAGIS extend to neutron star binary systems (black hole - neutron star, neutron star - neutron star), and mid-band prospects for such systems will also be considered.The MAGIS team is a collaboration between institutes in the U.S. including Stanford, AOSense, Harvard, NASA/GSFC, NASA/JPL, NIST, NRL, and UC Berkeley, and international partners at Birmingham, Bordeaux, CNRS, Dusseldorf, Ecole Normale Superieure, Florence, Hannover, and Ulm University.

  14. Atomic and electronic structure of exfoliated black phosphorus

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Ryan J.; Topsakal, Mehmet; Jeong, Jong Seok; Wentzcovitch, Renata M.; Mkhoyan, K. Andre, E-mail: mkhoyan@umn.edu [Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 (United States); Low, Tony; Robbins, Matthew C.; Haratipour, Nazila; Koester, Steven J. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 (United States)

    2015-11-15

    Black phosphorus, a layered two-dimensional crystal with tunable electronic properties and high hole mobility, is quickly emerging as a promising candidate for future electronic and photonic devices. Although theoretical studies using ab initio calculations have tried to predict its atomic and electronic structure, uncertainty in its fundamental properties due to a lack of clear experimental evidence continues to stymie our full understanding and application of this novel material. In this work, aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and ab initio calculations are used to study the crystal structure of few-layer black phosphorus. Directly interpretable annular dark-field images provide a three-dimensional atomic-resolution view of this layered material in which its stacking order and all three lattice parameters can be unambiguously identified. In addition, electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) is used to measure the conduction band density of states of black phosphorus, which agrees well with the results of density functional theory calculations performed for the experimentally determined crystal. Furthermore, experimental EELS measurements of interband transitions and surface plasmon excitations are also consistent with simulated results. Finally, the effects of oxidation on both the atomic and electronic structure of black phosphorus are analyzed to explain observed device degradation. The transformation of black phosphorus into amorphous PO{sub 3} or H{sub 3}PO{sub 3} during oxidation may ultimately be responsible for the degradation of devices exposed to atmosphere over time.

  15. The Crisis in Black and Black.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchinson, Earl Ofari

    These essays explore why the historic conflict between blacks and whites in the United States has become a crisis that divides many African Americans. The changing racial dynamic is not marked by conflicts. between the black middle class and the poor, black men and women, the black intellectual elite and rappers, black politicians and the urban…

  16. Clinical and radiological features of rheumatoid arthritis in British black Africans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravindran, Vinod; Seah, May-Ai; Elias, David A; Choy, Ernest H; Scott, David L; Gordon, Patrick A

    2008-01-01

    The objective of this study was to determine whether radiographic damage is different in British black African patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared to Caucasian patients. Data on demographics, disease- and disability-related variables were obtained from all black African patients and their age-, gender- and disease-duration-matched Caucasian controls. After all features identifying the patients were concealed, X-rays of hands and feet were scored by using the Sharp/van der Heijde method. Data were analysed using Mann-Whitney U test, t test and chi (2) test. Sixty-four patients (32 in each ethnic group) were studied. The median age was 52 years and median disease duration 6 years. Seventy-two percent of patients were female. Black Africans and Caucasians did not differ significantly in rheumatoid factor positivity, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and biological treatment use. British black African patients had significantly more tender joints and disability. Joint space narrowing was significantly greater in Caucasian patients [48 (27-85) vs 56 (34-107), p = 0.01]. Caucasian patients had more number of erosions (172 vs 220) and higher erosion score; however, the difference in the erosion scores was not statistically significant [2 (0-48) vs 4.5 (0-46), p = 0.17]. Radiographic damage was less severe in black African patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared to their age-, gender- and disease-duration-matched Caucasian controls. A large prospective study is required to confirm the findings of this study and to establish the factors which might be accountable for any differences in the expression of rheumatoid arthritis in this ethnic group.

  17. Post-Newtonian Dynamics in Dense Star Clusters: Highly Eccentric, Highly Spinning, and Repeated Binary Black Hole Mergers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, Carl L; Amaro-Seoane, Pau; Chatterjee, Sourav; Rasio, Frederic A

    2018-04-13

    We present models of realistic globular clusters with post-Newtonian dynamics for black holes. By modeling the relativistic accelerations and gravitational-wave emission in isolated binaries and during three- and four-body encounters, we find that nearly half of all binary black hole mergers occur inside the cluster, with about 10% of those mergers entering the LIGO/Virgo band with eccentricities greater than 0.1. In-cluster mergers lead to the birth of a second generation of black holes with larger masses and high spins, which, depending on the black hole natal spins, can sometimes be retained in the cluster and merge again. As a result, globular clusters can produce merging binaries with detectable spins regardless of the birth spins of black holes formed from massive stars. These second-generation black holes would also populate any upper mass gap created by pair-instability supernovae.

  18. Post-Newtonian Dynamics in Dense Star Clusters: Highly Eccentric, Highly Spinning, and Repeated Binary Black Hole Mergers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, Carl L.; Amaro-Seoane, Pau; Chatterjee, Sourav; Rasio, Frederic A.

    2018-04-01

    We present models of realistic globular clusters with post-Newtonian dynamics for black holes. By modeling the relativistic accelerations and gravitational-wave emission in isolated binaries and during three- and four-body encounters, we find that nearly half of all binary black hole mergers occur inside the cluster, with about 10% of those mergers entering the LIGO/Virgo band with eccentricities greater than 0.1. In-cluster mergers lead to the birth of a second generation of black holes with larger masses and high spins, which, depending on the black hole natal spins, can sometimes be retained in the cluster and merge again. As a result, globular clusters can produce merging binaries with detectable spins regardless of the birth spins of black holes formed from massive stars. These second-generation black holes would also populate any upper mass gap created by pair-instability supernovae.

  19. Metabolic syndrome in Black people of the African diaspora: the paradox of current classification, definition and criteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaillard, Trudy; Schuster, Dara; Osei, Kwame

    2009-01-01

    According to the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, African Americans have a lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome than do Whites. Recent reports in Blacks in other regions have confirmed these observations, but the rates vary. This lower rate of metabolic syndrome in Blacks can be partly ascribed to the lower prevalent rates of some major components of metabolic syndrome, namely serum triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in Blacks. This is in contrast with the higher prevalence of obesity (waist circumference) and blood pressure that meet National Cholesterol Education Program criteria in Blacks. Despite these seemingly favorable lipids and lipoprotein profiles, Blacks continue to have higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and morbidity, even in the absence of diabetes, than do Whites. Insulin resistance is more prevalent in Blacks than in Whites. However, the relationships among insulin resistance and CVD risk factors such as hypertension, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides are weak in contrast with Whites. The paradox of more favorable lipid profile and conversely the higher rates of unfavorable blood pressure in Blacks calls into question the validity of the current criteria for metabolic syndrome in Blacks. Thus, it can be argued that each of the components of the metabolic syndrome carry different CVD risk factors in Blacks. The greater CVD mortality and morbidity in Blacks appear to be multifactorial. With the emerging epidemic of noncommunicable diseases, chronic kidney diseases due to both diabetes and hypertension have emerged as major CVD risks that are associated with increasing mortality and morbidity in Blacks. We need to emphasize specific components of metabolic syndrome, specifically blood pressure and chronic kidney disease, that carry higher CVD risk with associated greater morbidity and mortality for primary prevention of CVD and type 2 diabetes in Blacks. To this end, we

  20. Isolation and characterization of the mating type locus of Mycosphaerella fijiensis, the causal agent of black leaf streak disease of banana

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Conde, L.; Waalwijk, C.; Canto-Canché, B.B.; Kema, G.H.J.; Crous, P.W.; James, A.C.; Abeln, E.C.A.

    2007-01-01

    Idiomorphs mat1-1 and mat1-2 from Mycosphaerella fijiensis, the causal agent of black leaf streak disease of banana, were isolated. Degenerate oligos were used to amplify the HMG box of the mat1-2 idiomorph from M. fijiensis, showing homology with the HMG box of Mycosphaerella graminicola. Using a

  1. Electric field modulation of electronic structures in InSe and black phosphorus heterostructure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Yi-min; Shi, Jun-jie; Zhang, Min; Xia, Congxin; Wu, Meng; Wang, Hui; Cen, Yu-lang; Pan, Shu-hang

    2018-01-01

    The electronic structures of InSe and black phosphorus (BP) heterostructure modulated by an external electric field (E⊥) have been investigated based on first-principles calculations. We find that InSe/BP has type II band offset with a direct band gap of 0.39 eV, and the electrons (holes) are spatially located in InSe (BP) layer. Meanwhile, the band structures of InSe/BP can be effectively modulated by E⊥. The band gap shows linear variation with E⊥ and its maximum of 0.69 eV is observed when E⊥ is 0.4 V / Å. The InSe/BP experiences a transition from semiconductor to metal with E⊥ of -0.6 and 0.8 V / Å. The band offsets are also modulated by E⊥, resulting in different spatial distribution of electron-hole pairs. Most importantly, the high carrier mobility can be preserved well under E⊥. Our results show that the novel InSe/BP heterostructure has great potential application in electronic and optoelectronic devices.

  2. AN ENERGETIC AGN OUTBURST POWERED BY A RAPIDLY SPINNING SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE OR AN ACCRETING ULTRAMASSIVE BLACK HOLE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McNamara, B. R.; Kazemzadeh, F.; Kirkpatrick, C. C.; Rafferty, D. A.; Birzan, L.; Nulsen, P. E. J.; Wise, M. W.

    2009-01-01

    Powering the 10 62 erg nuclear outburst in the MS0735.6+7421 cluster central galaxy by accretion with a 10% mass-to-energy conversion efficiency implies that its putative supermassive black hole (SMBH) grew by ∼6 x 10 8 M sun over the past 100 Myr. Guided by data at several wavelengths, we place upper limits on the amount of cold gas and star formation near the nucleus of 9 M sun and sun yr -1 , respectively. These limits imply that an implausibly large fraction of the preexisting cold gas in the inner several kpc must have been consumed by its SMBH at the rate of ∼3-5 M sun yr -1 during the past 100 Myr while leaving no trace of star formation. Such a high accretion rate would be difficult to maintain by stellar accretion or the Bondi mechanism, unless the black hole mass approaches 10 11 M sun . Furthermore, its feeble nuclear luminosities in the UV, I, and X-ray bands compared to its enormous mechanical power are inconsistent with rapid accretion onto a ∼5 x 10 9 M sun black hole. We suggest instead that the active galactic nucleus (AGN) outburst is powered by angular momentum released from a rapidly spinning black hole. The rotational energy and power available from a spinning black hole are consistent with the cavity and shock energetics inferred from X-ray observations. A maximally spinning 10 9 M sun black hole contains enough rotational energy, ∼10 62 erg, to quench a cooling flow over its lifetime and to contribute significantly to the excess entropy found in the hot atmospheres of groups and clusters. Two modes of AGN feedback may be quenching star formation in elliptical galaxies centered in cooling halos at late times. An accretion mode that operates in gas-rich systems, and a spin mode operating at modest accretion rates. The spin conjecture may be avoided in MS0735 by appealing to Bondi accretion onto a central black hole whose mass greatly exceeds 10 10 M sun . The host galaxy's unusually large 3.8 kpc stellar core radius (light deficit) may

  3. FEASTING BLACK HOLE BLOWS BUBBLES

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-01-01

    A monstrous black hole's rude table manners include blowing huge bubbles of hot gas into space. At least, that's the gustatory practice followed by the supermassive black hole residing in the hub of the nearby galaxy NGC 4438. Known as a peculiar galaxy because of its unusual shape, NGC 4438 is in the Virgo Cluster, 50 million light-years from Earth. These NASA Hubble Space Telescope images of the galaxy's central region clearly show one of the bubbles rising from a dark band of dust. The other bubble, emanating from below the dust band, is barely visible, appearing as dim red blobs in the close-up picture of the galaxy's hub (the colorful picture at right). The background image represents a wider view of the galaxy, with the central region defined by the white box. These extremely hot bubbles are caused by the black hole's voracious eating habits. The eating machine is engorging itself with a banquet of material swirling around it in an accretion disk (the white region below the bright bubble). Some of this material is spewed from the disk in opposite directions. Acting like high-powered garden hoses, these twin jets of matter sweep out material in their paths. The jets eventually slam into a wall of dense, slow-moving gas, which is traveling at less than 223,000 mph (360,000 kph). The collision produces the glowing material. The bubbles will continue to expand and will eventually dissipate. Compared with the life of the galaxy, this bubble-blowing phase is a short-lived event. The bubble is much brighter on one side of the galaxy's center because the jet smashed into a denser amount of gas. The brighter bubble is 800 light-years tall and 800 light-years across. The observations are being presented June 5 at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Rochester, N.Y. Both pictures were taken March 24, 1999 with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. False colors were used to enhance the details of the bubbles. The red regions in the picture denote the hot gas

  4. Validation of inverse seasonal peak mortality in medieval plagues, including the Black Death, in comparison to modern Yersinia pestis-variant diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welford, Mark R; Bossak, Brian H

    2009-12-22

    Recent studies have noted myriad qualitative and quantitative inconsistencies between the medieval Black Death (and subsequent "plagues") and modern empirical Y. pestis plague data, most of which is derived from the Indian and Chinese plague outbreaks of A.D. 1900+/-15 years. Previous works have noted apparent differences in seasonal mortality peaks during Black Death outbreaks versus peaks of bubonic and pneumonic plagues attributed to Y. pestis infection, but have not provided spatiotemporal statistical support. Our objective here was to validate individual observations of this seasonal discrepancy in peak mortality between historical epidemics and modern empirical data. We compiled and aggregated multiple daily, weekly and monthly datasets of both Y. pestis plague epidemics and suspected Black Death epidemics to compare seasonal differences in mortality peaks at a monthly resolution. Statistical and time series analyses of the epidemic data indicate that a seasonal inversion in peak mortality does exist between known Y. pestis plague and suspected Black Death epidemics. We provide possible explanations for this seasonal inversion. These results add further evidence of inconsistency between historical plagues, including the Black Death, and our current understanding of Y. pestis-variant disease. We expect that the line of inquiry into the disputed cause of the greatest recorded epidemic will continue to intensify. Given the rapid pace of environmental change in the modern world, it is crucial that we understand past lethal outbreaks as fully as possible in order to prepare for future deadly pandemics.

  5. Resonance Raman and UV-visible spectroscopy of black dyes on textiles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, Laurence C; Batchelor, Stephen N; Smith, John R Lindsay; Moore, John N

    2010-10-10

    Resonance Raman and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra were recorded from samples of cotton, viscose, polyester, nylon, and acrylic textile swatches dyed black with one of seven single dyes, a mixture of two dyes, or one of seven mixtures of three dyes. The samples generally gave characteristic Raman spectra of the dyes, demonstrating that the technique is applicable for the forensic analysis of dyed black textiles. Survey studies of the widely used dye Reactive Black 5 show that essentially the same Raman spectrum is obtained on bulk sampling from the dye in solution, on viscose, on cotton at different uptakes, and on microscope sampling from the dye in cotton threads and single fibres. The effects of laser irradiation on the Raman bands and emission backgrounds from textile samples with and without dye are also reported. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Do black lives matter in public health research and training?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Molly Rosenberg

    Full Text Available To examine whether investments made in public health research align with the health burdens experienced by white and black Americans.In this cross-sectional study of all deaths in the United States in 2015, we compared the distribution of potential years of life lost (PYLL across 39 causes of death by race and identified key differences. We examined the relationship between cause-of-death-specific PYLL and key indicators of public health investment (federal funding and number of publications by race using linear spline models. We also compared the number of courses available at the top schools of public health relevant to the top causes of death contributor to PYLL for black and white Americans.Homicide was the number one contributor to PYLL among black Americans, while ischemic heart disease was the number one contributor to PYLL among white Americans. Firearm-related violence accounted for 88% of black PYLL attributed to homicide and 71% of white PYLL attributed to homicide. Despite the high burden of PYLL, homicide research was the focus of few federal grants or publications. In comparison, ischemic heart disease garnered 341 grants and 594 publications. The number of public health courses available relevant to homicide (n = 9 was similar to those relevant to ischemic heart disease (n = 10.Black Americans are disproportionately affected by homicide, compared to white Americans. For both black and white Americans, the majority of PYLL due to homicide are firearm-related. Yet, homicide research is dramatically underrepresented in public health research investments in terms of grant funding and publications, despite available public health training opportunities. If left unchecked, the observed disproportionate distribution of investments in public health resources threatens to perpetuate a system that disadvantages black Americans.

  7. Do black lives matter in public health research and training?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenberg, Molly; Ranapurwala, Shabbar I; Townes, Ashley; Bengtson, Angela M

    2017-01-01

    To examine whether investments made in public health research align with the health burdens experienced by white and black Americans. In this cross-sectional study of all deaths in the United States in 2015, we compared the distribution of potential years of life lost (PYLL) across 39 causes of death by race and identified key differences. We examined the relationship between cause-of-death-specific PYLL and key indicators of public health investment (federal funding and number of publications) by race using linear spline models. We also compared the number of courses available at the top schools of public health relevant to the top causes of death contributor to PYLL for black and white Americans. Homicide was the number one contributor to PYLL among black Americans, while ischemic heart disease was the number one contributor to PYLL among white Americans. Firearm-related violence accounted for 88% of black PYLL attributed to homicide and 71% of white PYLL attributed to homicide. Despite the high burden of PYLL, homicide research was the focus of few federal grants or publications. In comparison, ischemic heart disease garnered 341 grants and 594 publications. The number of public health courses available relevant to homicide (n = 9) was similar to those relevant to ischemic heart disease (n = 10). Black Americans are disproportionately affected by homicide, compared to white Americans. For both black and white Americans, the majority of PYLL due to homicide are firearm-related. Yet, homicide research is dramatically underrepresented in public health research investments in terms of grant funding and publications, despite available public health training opportunities. If left unchecked, the observed disproportionate distribution of investments in public health resources threatens to perpetuate a system that disadvantages black Americans.

  8. POLYMORPHISMS OF GROWTH HORMONE GENE IN HARINGHATA BLACK CHICKEN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Saikhom

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The present study was carried out with an aim to investigate the genetic variability of growth hormone gene in Haringhata Black chicken. Blood samples were collected from 82 experimental birds and genomic DNA was extracted using the modified high salt method. Amplification of specific DNA fragment of intron 4 of growth hormone gene yielded a product size of 713 bp and was analyzed for polymorphism using PCR-SSCP technique. The banding pattern of present investigation revealed two SSCP variants AA and BB genotype in all experimental birds. In the analysed flock of Haringhata Black Chicken, the genotype frequencies were found to be 0.915 for AA and 0.085 for BB genotype. The frequencies of A and B alleles were 0.915 and 0.085 respectively which indicated A allele was predominant in the studied Haringhata Black Chicken population of the farm. The Chi Square Test revealed that studied population was not in accordance with Hardy Weinberg equilibrium with respect to intron 4 of Growth hormone gene.

  9. Characteristics of genetics-related news content in Black weekly newspapers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caburnay, C A; Babb, P; Kaphingst, K A; Roberts, J; Rath, S

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND/AIMS/OBJECTIVES: The media are an important source of health information, especially for those with less access to regular health care. Black news outlets such as Black newspapers are a source of health information for African Americans. This study characterized media coverage of genetics-related information in Black weekly newspapers and general audience newspapers from the same communities. All health stories in a sample of 24 Black weekly newspapers and 12 general audience newspapers from January 2004 to December 2007 were reviewed for genetics-related stories. These stories were further coded for both journalistic and public health variables. Of all health-related stories identified, only 2% (n = 357) were considered genetics related. Genetics-related stories in Black newspapers - compared to those in general audience newspapers - were larger, more locally and racially relevant, and more likely to contain recommendations or action steps to improve health or reduce disease risks and to mention the importance of knowing one's family history. Stories in general audience newspapers were more likely to discuss causes of disease, mention genetic testing or therapy, and suggest a high/moderate degree of genetic determinism. Black newspapers are a viable communication channel to disseminate findings and implications of human genome research to African American audiences.

  10. Development of VNTR Markers to Assess Genetic Diversity of Mycosphaerella Fijiensis, the Causal Agent of Black Leaf Streak Disease in Bananas (Musa spp.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mycosphaerella fijiensis is the causal agent of black leaf streak (BLS) disease in bananas. This pathogen threatens global banana production as the main export cultivars are highly susceptible. As a consequence, commercial banana plantations must be protected chemically with fungicides; up to 40 app...

  11. The corallivorous invertebrate Drupella aids in transmission of brown band disease on the Great Barrier Reef

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicolet, K. J.; Hoogenboom, M. O.; Gardiner, N. M.; Pratchett, M. S.; Willis, B. L.

    2013-06-01

    Brown band disease (BrB) is an increasingly prevalent coral disease in the Indo-Pacific, but although the macroscopic signs of BrB have been associated with the ciliate Philaster guamensis, many aspects of its ecology remain unknown, particularly how the disease is transmitted among coral colonies. The aim of this study was to assess biotic factors affecting BrB transmission, explicitly testing whether corallivorous species contribute to disease spread. Several fish species were observed feeding on diseased tissue in the field, but did not influence either the progression or transmission rates of BrB on coral colonies in situ. In aquarium-based experiments, the butterflyfish Chaetodon aureofasciatus neither aided nor hindered the transmission of BrB from infected to uninfected corals. In contrast, the coral-feeding gastropod Drupella sp. was a highly effective vector of BrB, infecting more than 40 % of experimental colonies. This study also demonstrated the importance of injury in facilitating BrB infection, supporting the hypothesis that the BrB pathogen invades compromised coral tissue. In conclusion, disturbances and corallivorous activities that injure live corals are likely to contribute to increased occurrence of BrB provided that feeding scars create entry wounds sufficiently extensive to facilitate infection. These findings increase the understanding of the ecology of BrB, enabling better predictions of the prevalence and severity of this disease, and informing strategies for managing the impact of BrB on coral reefs.

  12. Black-body anomaly: analysis of temperature offsets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szopa, M.; Hofmann, R.; Schwarz, M.; Giacosa, F.

    2008-01-01

    Based on the postulate that photon propagation is governed by a dynamically broken SU(2) gauge symmetry (scale ∝10 -4 eV) we make predictions for temperature offsets due to a low-temperature (a few times the present CMB temperature) spectral anomaly at low frequencies. Temperature offsets are extracted from least-square fits of the anomalous black-body spectra to their conventional counterparts. We discuss statistical errors, compare our results with those obtained from calibration data of the FIRAS instrument, and point out that our predicted offsets are screened by experimental errors given the frequency range used by FIRAS to perform their spectral fits. We also make contact with the WMAP observation by blueshifting their frequency bands. Although our results hint towards a strong dynamical component in the CMB dipole and an explanation of low-l suppression, it is important in view of its particle-physics implications that the above postulate be verified/falsified by an independent low-temperature black-body precision experiment. (orig.)

  13. Leading Causes of Death Contributing to Decrease in Life Expectancy Gap Between Black and White Populations: United States, 1999-2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kochanek, Kenneth D; Anderson, Robert N; Arias, Elizabeth

    2015-11-01

    Life expectancy at birth has increased steadily since 1900 to a record 78.8 years in 2013. But differences in life expectancy between the white and black populations still exist, despite a decrease in the life expectancy gap from 5.9 years in 1999 to 3.6 years in 2013. Differences in the change over time in the leading causes of death for the black and white populations have contributed to this decrease in the gap in life expectancy. Between 1999 and 2013, the decrease in the life expectancy gap between the black and white populations was mostly due to greater decreases in mortality from heart disease, cancer, HIV disease, unintentional injuries, and perinatal conditions among the black population. Similarly, the decrease in the gap between black and white male life expectancy was due to greater decreases in death rates for HIV disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, heart disease, and perinatal conditions in black males. For black females, greater decreases in diabetes death rates, combined with decreased rates for heart disease and HIV disease, were the major causes contributing to the decrease in the life expectancy gap with white females. The decrease in the gap in life expectancy between the white and black populations would have been larger than 3.6 years if not for increases in death rates for the black population for aortic aneurysm, Alzheimer’s disease, and maternal conditions. For black males, the causes that showed increases in death rates over white males were hypertension, aortic aneurysm, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and kidney disease, while the causes that showed increases in death rates for black females were Alzheimer’s disease, maternal conditions, and atherosclerosis. This NCHS Data Brief is the second in a series of data briefs that explore the causes of death contributing to differences in life expectancy between detailed ethnic and racial populations in the United States. The first data brief focused on the racial differences in life

  14. Is prostate cancer different in black men? Answers from 3 natural history models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsodikov, Alex; Gulati, Roman; de Carvalho, Tiago M; Heijnsdijk, Eveline A M; Hunter-Merrill, Rachel A; Mariotto, Angela B; de Koning, Harry J; Etzioni, Ruth

    2017-06-15

    Black men in the United States have substantially higher prostate cancer incidence rates than the general population. The extent to which this incidence disparity is because prostate cancer is more prevalent, more aggressive, and/or more frequently diagnosed in black men is unknown. The authors estimated 3 independently developed models of prostate cancer natural history in black men and in the general population using an updated reconstruction of prostate-specific antigen screening, based on the National Health Interview Survey in 2005 and on prostate cancer incidence data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program during 1975 through 2000. By using the estimated models, the natural history of prostate cancer was compared between black men and the general population. The models projected that from 30% to 43% (range across models) of black men develop preclinical prostate cancer by age 85 years, a risk that is (relatively) 28% to 56% higher than that in the general population. Among men who had preclinical disease onset, black men had a similar risk of diagnosis (range, 35%-49%) compared with the general population (32%-44%), but their risk of progression to metastatic disease by the time of diagnosis was from 44% to 75% higher than that in the general population. Prostate cancer incidence patterns implicate higher incidence of preclinical disease and higher risk of metastatic progression among black men. The findings suggest screening black men earlier than white men and support further research into the benefit-harm tradeoffs of more aggressive screening policies for black men. Cancer 2017;123:2312-2319. © 2017 American Cancer Society. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

  15. Demographic characteristics and infectious diseases of a population of American black bears in Humboldt County, California.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephenson, Nicole; Higley, J Mark; Sajecki, Jaime L; Chomel, Bruno B; Brown, Richard N; Foley, Janet E

    2015-02-01

    American black bears (Ursus americanus) are common, widely distributed, and broad-ranging omnivorous mammals in northern California forests. Bears may be susceptible to pathogens infecting both domestic animals and humans. Monitoring bear populations, particularly in changing ecosystems, is important to understanding ecological features that could affect bear population health and influence the likelihood that bears may cause adverse impacts on humans. In all, 321 bears were captured between May, 2001, and October, 2003, and blood samples were collected and tested for multiple zoonotic and vector-borne diseases. We found a PCR prevalence of 10% for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and a seroprevalence of 28% for Toxoplasma gondii, 26% for Borrelia burgdorferi, 26% for A. phagocytophilum, 8% for Trichinella spiralis, 8% for Francisella tularensis and 1% for Yersinia pestis. In addition, we tested bears for pathogens of domestic dogs and found a seroprevalence of 15% for canine distemper virus and 0.6% for canine parvovirus. Our findings show that black bears can become infected with pathogens that are an important public health concern, as well as pathogens that can affect both domestic animals and other wildlife species.

  16. Validation of inverse seasonal peak mortality in medieval plagues, including the Black Death, in comparison to modern Yersinia pestis-variant diseases.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark R Welford

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Recent studies have noted myriad qualitative and quantitative inconsistencies between the medieval Black Death (and subsequent "plagues" and modern empirical Y. pestis plague data, most of which is derived from the Indian and Chinese plague outbreaks of A.D. 1900+/-15 years. Previous works have noted apparent differences in seasonal mortality peaks during Black Death outbreaks versus peaks of bubonic and pneumonic plagues attributed to Y. pestis infection, but have not provided spatiotemporal statistical support. Our objective here was to validate individual observations of this seasonal discrepancy in peak mortality between historical epidemics and modern empirical data. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We compiled and aggregated multiple daily, weekly and monthly datasets of both Y. pestis plague epidemics and suspected Black Death epidemics to compare seasonal differences in mortality peaks at a monthly resolution. Statistical and time series analyses of the epidemic data indicate that a seasonal inversion in peak mortality does exist between known Y. pestis plague and suspected Black Death epidemics. We provide possible explanations for this seasonal inversion. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results add further evidence of inconsistency between historical plagues, including the Black Death, and our current understanding of Y. pestis-variant disease. We expect that the line of inquiry into the disputed cause of the greatest recorded epidemic will continue to intensify. Given the rapid pace of environmental change in the modern world, it is crucial that we understand past lethal outbreaks as fully as possible in order to prepare for future deadly pandemics.

  17. Detection and quantification of Leptographium wageneri, the cause of black-stain root disease, from bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in North California using regular and real-time PCR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolfgang Schweigkofler; William J. Otrosina; Sheri L. Smith; Daniel R. Cluck; Kevin Maeda; Kabir G. Peay; Matteo Garbelotto

    2005-01-01

    Black-stain root disease is a threat to conifer forests in western North America. The disease is caused by the ophiostomatoid fungus Leptographium wageneri (W.B. Kendr.) M.J. Wingf., which is associated with a number of bark beetle (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) and weevil species (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). We developed a polymerase chain reaction test...

  18. The hierarchically organized splitting of chromosome bands into sub-bands analyzed by multicolor banding (MCB).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehrer, H; Weise, A; Michel, S; Starke, H; Mrasek, K; Heller, A; Kuechler, A; Claussen, U; Liehr, T

    2004-01-01

    To clarify the nature of chromosome sub-bands in more detail, the multicolor banding (MCB) probe-set for chromosome 5 was hybridized to normal metaphase spreads of GTG band levels at approximately 850, approximately 550, approximately 400 and approximately 300. It could be observed that as the chromosomes became shorter, more of the initial 39 MCB pseudo-colors disappeared, ending with 18 MCB pseudo-colored bands at the approximately 300-band level. The hierarchically organized splitting of bands into sub-bands was analyzed by comparing the disappearance or appearance of pseudo-color bands of the four different band levels. The regions to split first are telomere-near, centromere-near and in 5q23-->q31, followed by 5p15, 5p14, and all GTG dark bands in 5q apart from 5q12 and 5q32 and finalized by sub-band building in 5p15.2, 5q21.2-->q21.3, 5q23.1 and 5q34. The direction of band splitting towards the centromere or the telomere could be assigned to each band separately. Pseudo-colors assigned to GTG-light bands were resistant to band splitting. These observations are in concordance with the recently proposed concept of chromosome region-specific protein swelling. Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel

  19. Impurity-induced anisotropic semiconductor-semimetal transition in monolayer biased black phosphorus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bui, D. H.; Yarmohammadi, Mohsen

    2018-07-01

    Taking into account the electron-impurity interaction within the continuum approximation of tight-binding model, the Born approximation, and the Green's function method, the main features of anisotropic electronic phase transition are investigated in monolayer biased black phosphorus (BP). To this end, we concentrated on the disordered electronic density of states (DOS), which gives useful information for electro-optical devices. Increasing the impurity concentration in both unbiased and biased impurity-infected single-layer BP, in addition to the decrease of the band gap, independent of the direction, leads to the midgap states and an extra Van Hove singularity inside and outside of the band gap, respectively. Furthermore, strong impurity scattering potentials lead to a semiconductor-semimetal transition and one more Van Hove singularity in x-direction of unbiased BP and surprisingly, this transition does not occur in biased BP. We found that there is no phase transition in y-direction. Since real applications require structures with modulated band gaps, we have studied the influence of different bias voltages on the disordered DOS in both directions, resulting in the increase of the band gap.

  20. Black bark as an indicator of bird peck defect in sugar maple

    Science.gov (United States)

    John H. Ohman; K.J., Jr. Kessler

    1964-01-01

    Portions of the lower bole of occasional sugar maples (Acer saccharum Marsh.) in Lake States northern hardwood stands are sooty black in sharp contrast to the normal gray. The blackened areas may encircle the entire stem or be confined to a narrow band; they have been observed as high as 25 feet but generally extend about 15 feet above the ground....

  1. [Role of black bean Phaseolus vulgaris on the nutritional status of Guatemalan population].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serrano, José; Goñi, Isabel

    2004-03-01

    Guatemala provides an example of epidemiological superposition, in which health problems typical of developed countries and developing countries are both observed. Nutritional deficiencies in some micronutrients like vitamin A and iron coexist alongside chronic diseases such as diabetes type II and cardiovascular diseases. The importance of black beans in the normal Guatemala diet is well known:70g per capita of black beans are consumed daily. Black beans are an important sources of protein and energy in the diet. They contain "lente" digestion carbohydrates and a high proportion of non-digested carbohydrates that may be fermented in the large intestine. Theses types of carbohydrates are associated with a low glycemic response, low serum cholesterol levels, and a decrease of colon cancer risk factors. These physiological effects may be related to colonic fermentation end products (propionic and butyric acids). Black beans also contain several antinutritional compounds (enzymatic inhibitors, haemaglutenins, saponins and phytic acid, etc.), some of them thermolabiles that are partially eliminated during culinary processes and may modify the nutritional quality of beans. Black beans play a crucial role in the etiology of several diseases in Guatemala.

  2. Prospective study of bacteremia rate after elective band ligation and sclerotherapy with cyanoacrylate for esophageal varices in patients with advanced liver disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonilha, Danielle Queiroz; Correia, Lucianna Motta; Monaghan, Marie; Lenz, Luciano; Santos, Marcus; Libera, Ermelindo Della

    2011-01-01

    Band ligation (BL) is the most appropriate endoscopic treatment for acute bleeding or prophylaxis of esophageal variceal bleeding. Sclerotherapy with N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate (CY) can be an alternative for patients with advanced liver disease. Bacteremia is an infrequent complication after BL while the bacteremia rate following treatment with CY for esophageal varices remains unknown. To evaluate and compare the incidence of transient bacteremia between cirrhotic patients submitted to diagnostic endoscopy, CY and BL for treatment of esophageal varices. A prospective study comprising the period from 2004 to 2007 was conducted at Hospital of Universidade Federal de São Paulo, UNIFESP, SP, Brazil. Cirrhotic patients with advanced liver disease (Child-Pugh B or C) were enrolled. The patients were divided into two groups according treatment: BL Group (patients undergoing band ligation, n = 20) and CY Group (patients receiving cyanoacrylate injection for esophageal variceal, n = 18). Cirrhotic patients with no esophageal varices or without indication for endoscopic treatment were recruited as control (diagnostic group n = 20). Bacteremia was evaluated by blood culture at baseline and 30 minutes after the procedure. After 137 scheduled endoscopic procedures, none of the 58 patients had fever or any sign suggestive of infection. All baseline cultures were negative. No positive cultures were observed after CY or in the control group - diagnostic endoscopy. Three (4.6 %) positive cultures were found out of the 65 sessions of band ligation (P = 0.187). Two of these samples were positive for coagulase-negative staphylococcus, which could be regarded as a contaminant. The isolated microorganism in the other case was Klebsiella oxytoca. The patient in this case presented no evidence of immunodeficiency except liver disease. There was no significant difference in bacteremia rate between these three groups. BL or CY injection for non-bleeding esophageal varices may be considered

  3. Black rice as a functional food in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rarastoeti Pratiwi

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available There are many local black rice cultivars in Indonesia, yet only a few of these are formally describedin the literature.It has been reportedthat black rice has many phytochemicalvariants which may contribute to its use as a functional food, including nutraceuticals andsecondary metabolites such as anthocyanin, oryzanol,and more.The purpose of this article wasto review literature describing black rice cultivars from Indonesia, with a particular focuson its potential use as a functional food.Our literature search revealed several articles that describe black rice in relation to its nutraceuticalproperties and its role in reducing non-communicable diseases. Other studies describe the diversity of local pigmented rice and its potentialfor lowering the risk of hyperlipidemia,hyperglycemia,and for cancer prevention. Black rice has been described as a functional food in several countries;however,there is great diversity among cultivars and further research on Indonesian varieties will determine whether local variants are candidates as well for the development of functional foods.

  4. An efficient method for evaluating black walnut for resistance to walnut anthracnose in filed plots and the identification of resistant genotypes

    Science.gov (United States)

    K.E. Woeste; W.F. Beineke

    2001-01-01

    Black walnut is native to the eastern USA and prized for its high-quality timber. Walnut anthracnose, the most important foliar disease of black walnut, is caused by Gnomonia leptostyla. There is no germplasm available that is resistant to the disease. Ramets of 42 black walnut clones, comprising about one-third of the Midwestern USA black walnut...

  5. Left ventricular structure and function in black normotensive type 2 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Keywords: Black normotensive patients, left ventricular function, type 2 DM. Résumé ... sickle cell disease and structural heart disease were excluded ... Pulmonary venous flow (PVF) velocity ... had abnormal ECG pattern compared with 30%.

  6. Stellar binary black holes in the LISA band: a new class of standard sirens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Pozzo, Walter; Sesana, Alberto; Klein, Antoine

    2018-04-01

    The recent Advanced LIGO detections of coalescing black hole binaries (BHBs) imply a large population of such systems emitting at milli-Hz frequencies, accessible to the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). We show that these systems provide a new class of cosmological standard sirens. Direct LISA luminosity distance - Dl - measurements, combined with the inhomogeneous redshift - z - distribution of possible host galaxies provide an effective way to populate the Dl-z diagram at z arm-length, respectively.

  7. Test the mergers of the primordial black holes by high frequency gravitational-wave detector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Xin; Wang, Li-Li; Li, Jin [Chongqing University, Department of Physics, Chongqing (China)

    2017-09-15

    The black hole could have a primordial origin if its mass is less than 1M {sub CircleDot}. The mergers of these black hole binaries generate stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB). We investigate the SGWB in high frequency band 10{sup 8}-10{sup 10} Hz. It can be detected by high frequency gravitational-wave detector. Energy density spectrum and amplitude of the SGWB are derived. The upper limit of the energy density spectrum is around 10{sup -7}. Also, the upper limit of the amplitude ranges from 10{sup -31.5} to 10{sup -29.5}. The fluctuation of spacetime origin from gravitational wave could give a fluctuation of the background electromagnetic field in a high frequency gravitational-wave detector. The signal photon flux generated by the SGWB in the high frequency band 10{sup 8}-10{sup 10} Hz is derived, which ranges from 1 to 10{sup 2} s{sup -1}. The comparison between the signal photon flux generated by relic gravitational waves (RGWs) and the SGWB is also discussed in this paper. It is shown that the signal photon flux generated by the RGW, which is predicted by the canonical single-field slow-roll inflation models, is sufficiently lower than the one generated by the SGWB in the high frequency band 10{sup 8}-10{sup 10} Hz. Our results indicate that the SGWB in the high frequency band 10{sup 8}-10{sup 10} Hz is more likely to be detected by the high frequency gravitational-wave detector. (orig.)

  8. Experimental antibiotic treatment identifies potential pathogens of white band disease in the endangered Caribbean coral Acropora cervicornis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweet, M J; Croquer, A; Bythell, J C

    2014-08-07

    Coral diseases have been increasingly reported over the past few decades and are a major contributor to coral decline worldwide. The Caribbean, in particular, has been noted as a hotspot for coral disease, and the aptly named white syndromes have caused the decline of the dominant reef building corals throughout their range. White band disease (WBD) has been implicated in the dramatic loss of Acropora cervicornis and Acropora palmata since the 1970s, resulting in both species being listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red list. The causal agent of WBD remains unknown, although recent studies based on challenge experiments with filtrate from infected hosts concluded that the disease is probably caused by bacteria. Here, we report an experiment using four different antibiotic treatments, targeting different members of the disease-associated microbial community. Two antibiotics, ampicillin and paromomycin, arrested the disease completely, and by comparing with community shifts brought about by treatments that did not arrest the disease, we have identified the likely candidate causal agent or agents of WBD. Our interpretation of the experimental treatments is that one or a combination of up to three specific bacterial types, detected consistently in diseased corals but not detectable in healthy corals, are likely causal agents of WBD. In addition, a histophagous ciliate (Philaster lucinda) identical to that found consistently in association with white syndrome in Indo-Pacific acroporas was also consistently detected in all WBD samples and absent in healthy coral. Treatment with metronidazole reduced it to below detection limits, but did not arrest the disease. However, the microscopic disease signs changed, suggesting a secondary role in disease causation for this ciliate. In future studies to identify a causal agent of WBD via tests of Henle-Koch's postulates, it will be vital to experimentally control for populations

  9. Molecular identification of black-pigmented bacteria from subgingival samples of cats suffering from periodontal disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Salcedo, L; Laguna, E; Sánchez, M C; Marín, M J; O'Connor, A; González, I; Sanz, M; Herrera, D

    2015-04-01

    To characterise the black-pigmented bacterial species found in the subgingival samples of cats with periodontal disease using molecular-based microbiological techniques. Sixty-five subgingival samples obtained from 50 cats with periodontal disease were analysed by polymerase chain reaction amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis and cloning and sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes. Among the 65 subgingival samples, eight phylogenetic profiles were obtained, of which the most prevalent species were: Porphyromonas gulae (40%), P. gingivalis/P. gulae (36 · 9%), P. gulae/Porphyromonas sp. UQD 406 (9 · 2%), Odoribacter denticanis (6 · 2%), P. gulae/Porphyromonas sp. UQD 348 (1 · 5%) and P. circumdentaria (1 · 5%). When compared with the species resulting from biochemical diagnosis, the identification of P. gulae was congruent in 70% of the cases, while colonies identified as P. intermedia-like corresponded in 80% of cases to P. gulae. The use of molecular-based microbiological diagnostic techniques resulted in a predominance of Porphyromonas spp. in the subgingival plaque of cats suffering from periodontal disease. Further characterisation of these bacteria identified P. gulae, O. denticanis and P. circumdentaria. The more frequently detected phylogenetic profiles corresponded to P. gingivalis and P. gulae. © 2015 British Small Animal Veterinary Association.

  10. Black Silicon Solar Cells with Black Ribbons

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Davidsen, Rasmus Schmidt; Tang, Peter Torben; Mizushima, Io

    2016-01-01

    We present the combination of mask-less reactive ion etch (RIE) texturing and blackened interconnecting ribbons as a method for obtaining all-black solar panels, while using conventional, front-contacted solar cells. Black silicon made by mask-less reactive ion etching has total, average...... in the range 15.7-16.3%. The KOH-textured reference cell had an efficiency of 17.9%. The combination of black Si and black interconnecting ribbons may result in aesthetic, all-black panels based on conventional, front-contacted silicon solar cells....... reflectance below 0.5% across a 156x156 mm2 silicon (Si) wafer. Black interconnecting ribbons were realized by oxidizing copper resulting in reflectance below 3% in the visible wavelength range. Screen-printed Si solar cells were realized on 156x156 mm2 black Si substrates with resulting efficiencies...

  11. Evidence for the possible occurrence of Grave's disease in a blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quintard, Benoît; Giorgiadis, Marine; Feirrera, Xavier; Lefaux, Brice; Schohn, Christophe; Lemberger, Karin

    2018-03-01

    The blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons) is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as critically endangered. A 23-year-old male housed at Mulhouse Zoo presented with lethargy, polyphagia, alopecia, and chronic weight loss. Clinical examination suggested an endocrine pathology such as hyperthyroidism. Secondary examinations included cervical ultrasound, thyroid biopsy, and scintigraphy. The latter revealed elevated thyroid activity. Blood analysis was performed to measure the level of anti-receptor thyroid-stimulating hormone antibodies, which allowed us to test the autoimmune hypothesis. The high level of antibodies together with levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone and the scintigraphy images led to the diagnosis of Grave's disease. Carbimazole treatment followed by thyroidectomy resulted in a quick weight gain and general improvement in health status. The following breeding season, the treated individual sired an offspring. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of likely Grave's disease in a non-human primate.

  12. Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura in Black People: Impact of Ethnicity on Survival and Genetic Risk Factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martino, Suella; Jamme, Mathieu; Deligny, Christophe; Busson, Marc; Loiseau, Pascale; Azoulay, Elie; Galicier, Lionel; Pène, Frédéric; Provôt, François; Dossier, Antoine; Saheb, Samir; Veyradier, Agnès; Coppo, Paul

    2016-01-01

    Black people are at increased risk of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Whether clinical presentation of TTP in Black patients has specific features is unknown. We assessed here differences in TTP presentation and outcome between Black and White patients. Clinical presentation was comparable between both ethnic groups. However, prognosis differed with a lower death rate in Black patients than in White patients (2.7% versus 11.6%, respectively, P = .04). Ethnicity, increasing age and neurologic involvement were retained as risk factors for death in a multivariable model (P Black patients had a better survival than White patients (P = .03). Salvage therapies were similarly performed between both groups, suggesting that disease severity was comparable. The comparison of HLA-DRB1*11, -DRB1*04 and -DQB1*03 allele frequencies between Black patients and healthy Black individuals revealed no significant difference. However, the protective allele against TTP, HLA-DRB1*04, was dramatically decreased in Black individuals in comparison with White individuals. Black people with TTP may have a better survival than White patients despite a comparable disease severity. A low natural frequency of HLA-DRB1*04 in Black ethnicity may account for the greater risk of TTP in this population.

  13. Variable number of tandem repeat markers in the genome sequence of Mycosphaerella fijiensis, the causal agent of black leaf streak disease of banana (Musa spp)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Garcia, S.A.L.; Lee, van der T.A.J.; Ferreira, C.F.; Lintel Hekkert, te B.; Zapater, M.F.; Goodwin, S.B.; Guzmán, M.; Kema, G.H.J.; Souza, M.T.

    2010-01-01

    ABSTRACT. We searched the genome of Mycosphaerella fijiensis for molecular markers that would allow population genetics analysis of this plant pathogen. M. fijiensis, the causal agent of banana leaf streak disease, also known as black Sigatoka, is the most devastating pathogen attacking bananas

  14. BLOOD PROTEIN TRANSFERRIN POLYMOROPHISM IN BLACK BENGAL GOAT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajesh Paul

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The present investigation was carried out with an aim to explore the polymorphism of a blood protein tranferrin using starch gel electrophoresis technique in a total of unrelated 199 Black Bengal goats available in four different districts of West Bengal, India. Banding patterns of transferrin in starch gel revealed six phenovariants TfAA, TfAB, TfBC, TfBB, TfAC and TfCC comprising of three allelomorphs, TfA, TfB and TfC. The genotype frequencies were found to be observed 0.211, 0.347, 0.136, 0.106, 0.136 and 0.065 for six genotypes and the allelic frequencies were 0.452, 0.347 and 0.201 for three alleles, respectively. Result of Chi-square test revealed that the population under study was in Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium. There were polymorphism in Transferrin protein and the presence of differences among the frequencies of the three alleles by categories could be a source of genetic variation in Black Bengal goat.

  15. QPO detection in superluminal black hole GRS 1915+105

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhulla, Yashpal; Jaaffrey, S. N. A.

    2018-05-01

    We report on the first superluminal Black Hole GRS 1915+105 observed by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer - Proportion Counter Array (RXTE/PCA). We detect the Quasi Periodic Oscillations (QPOs) in the Power Density Spectrum (PDS) of source which have luminosity very near to Eddington limit and long variability in X-ray light curve. In power density spectrum, we deal with the study of highly variability amplitude, time evolution of the characteristic timescale, Quality Factor and Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM). We find significant QPOs in 15 different observation IDs with frequency around 67 Hz although quality factor nearly 20 but in two IDs frequency is found just double. Typical fractional rms for GRS 1915+105 is dominating the hard band increasing steeply with energy more than 13% at 20-40 keV band.

  16. Early Changes in Alpha Band Power and DMN BOLD Activity in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Simultaneous Resting State EEG-fMRI Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katharina Brueggen

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Simultaneous resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI–resting state electroencephalography (rsEEG studies in healthy adults showed robust positive associations of signal power in the alpha band with BOLD signal in the thalamus, and more heterogeneous associations in cortical default mode network (DMN regions. Negative associations were found in occipital regions. In Alzheimer’s disease (AD, rsfMRI studies revealed a disruption of the DMN, while rsEEG studies consistently reported a reduced power within the alpha band. The present study is the first to employ simultaneous rsfMRI-rsEEG in an AD sample, investigating the association of alpha band power and BOLD signal, compared to healthy controls (HC. We hypothesized to find reduced positive associations in DMN regions and reduced negative associations in occipital regions in the AD group. Simultaneous resting state fMRI–EEG was recorded in 14 patients with mild AD and 14 HC, matched for age and gender. Power within the EEG alpha band (8–12 Hz, 8–10 Hz, and 10–12 Hz was computed from occipital electrodes and served as regressor in voxel-wise linear regression analyses, to assess the association with the BOLD signal. Compared to HC, the AD group showed significantly decreased positive associations between BOLD signal and occipital alpha band power in clusters in the superior, middle and inferior frontal cortex, inferior temporal lobe and thalamus (p < 0.01, uncorr., cluster size ≥ 50 voxels. This group effect was more pronounced in the upper alpha sub-band, compared to the lower alpha sub-band. Notably, we observed a high inter-individual heterogeneity. Negative associations were only reduced in the lower alpha range in the hippocampus, putamen and cerebellum. The present study gives first insights into the relationship of resting-state EEG and fMRI characteristics in an AD sample. The results suggest that positive associations between alpha band power and BOLD

  17. Distribution of ectomycorrhizal and pathogenic fungi in soil along a vegetational change from Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) to black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taniguchi, Takeshi; Kataoka, Ryota; Tamai, Shigenobu; Yamanaka, Norikazu; Futai, Kazuyoshi

    2009-04-01

    The nitrogen-fixing tree black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) seems to affect ectomycorrhizal (ECM) colonization and disease severity of Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii Parl.) seedlings. We examined the effect of black locust on the distribution of ECM and pathogenic fungi in soil. DNA was extracted from soil at depths of 0-5 and 5-10 cm, collected from the border between a Japanese black pine- and a black locust-dominated forest, and the distribution of these fungi was investigated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. The effect of soil nutrition and pH on fungal distribution was also examined. Tomentella sp. 1 and Tomentella sp. 2 were not detected from some subplots in the Japanese black pine-dominated forest. Ectomycorrhizas formed by Tomentella spp. were dominant in black locust-dominated subplots and very little in the Japanese black pine-dominated forest. Therefore, the distribution may be influenced by the distribution of inoculum potential, although we could not detect significant relationships between the distribution of Tomentella spp. on pine seedlings and in soils. The other ECM fungi were detected in soils in subplots where the ECM fungi was not detected on pine seedlings, and there was no significant correlation between the distribution of the ECM fungi on pine seedlings and in soils. Therefore, inoculum potential seemed to not always influence the ECM community on roots. The distribution of Lactarius quieticolor and Tomentella sp. 2 in soil at a depth of 0-5 cm positively correlated with soil phosphate (soil P) and that of Tomentella sp. 2 also positively correlated with soil nitrogen (soil N). These results suggest the possibility that the distribution of inoculum potential of the ECM fungi was affected by soil N and soil P. Although the mortality of the pine seedlings was higher in the black locust-dominated area than in the Japanese black pine-dominated area, a pathogenic fungus of pine seedlings, Cylindrocladium pacificum, was

  18. SINGLE-BAND, TRIPLE-BAND, OR MULTIPLE-BAND HUBBARD MODELS

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    ESKES, H; SAWATZKY, GA

    1991-01-01

    The relevance of different models, such as the one-band t-J model and the three-band Emery model, as a realistic description of the electronic structure of high-T(c) materials is discussed. Starting from a multiband approach using cluster calculations and an impurity approach, the following

  19. Variable Number of Tandem Repeat Markers in the Genome Sequence of Mycosphaerella Fijiensis, the Causal Agent of Black Leaf Streak Disease of Banana (Musa spp.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mycosphaerella fijiensis, the causal agent of banana leaf streak disease (commonly known as black Sigatoka), is the most devastating pathogen attacking bananas (Musa spp). Recently the whole genome sequence of M. fijiensis became available. This sequence was screened for the presence of Variable Num...

  20. Black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feast, M.W.

    1981-01-01

    This article deals with two questions, namely whether it is possible for black holes to exist, and if the answer is yes, whether we have found any yet. In deciding whether black holes can exist or not the central role in the shaping of our universe played by the forse of gravity is discussed, and in deciding whether we are likely to find black holes in the universe the author looks at the way stars evolve, as well as white dwarfs and neutron stars. He also discusses the problem how to detect a black hole, possible black holes, a southern black hole, massive black holes, as well as why black holes are studied

  1. OPTICAL VARIABILITY OF THE ACCRETION DISK AROUND THE INTERMEDIATE-MASS BLACK HOLE ESO 243-49 HLX-1 DURING THE 2012 OUTBURST

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Webb, N. A.; Godet, O.; Barret, D. [Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP, Toulouse (France); Wiersema, K. [University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH (United Kingdom); Lasota, J.-P. [Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, UMR 7095, CNRS, UPMC Université Paris 06, 98bis Boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris (France); Farrell, S. A. [Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Maccarone, T. J. [Department of Physics, Box 41051, Texas Tech University, Lubbock TX 79409-1051 (United States); Servillat, M., E-mail: natalie.webb@irap.omp.eu [Laboratoire AIM (CEA/DSM/IRFU/SAp, CNRS, Université Paris Diderot), CEA Saclay, Bat. 709, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

    2014-01-01

    We present dedicated quasi-simultaneous X-ray (Swift) and optical (Very Large Telescope, V-, and R-band) observations of the intermediate-mass black hole candidate HLX-1 before and during the 2012 outburst. We show that the V-band magnitudes vary with time, thus proving that a portion of the observed emission originates in the accretion disk. Using the first quiescent optical observations of HLX-1, we show that the stellar population surrounding HLX-1 is fainter than V ∼ 25.1 and R ∼ 24.2. We show that the optical emission may increase before the X-ray emission consistent with the scenario proposed by Lasota et al. in which the regular outbursts could be related to the passage at periastron of a star circling the intermediate-mass black hole in an eccentric orbit, which triggers mass transfer into a quasi-permanent accretion disk around the black hole. Further, if there is indeed a delay in the X-ray emission we estimate the mass-transfer delivery radius to be ∼10{sup 11} cm.

  2. Black silicon with black bus-bar strings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Davidsen, Rasmus Schmidt; Tang, Peter Torben; Mizushima, Io

    2016-01-01

    We present the combination of black silicon texturing and blackened bus-bar strings as a potential method for obtaining all-black solar panels, while using conventional, front-contacted solar cells. Black silicon was realized by mask-less reactive ion etching resulting in total, average reflectance...... below 0.5% across a 156x156 mm2 silicon wafer. Black bus-bars were realized by oxidized copper resulting in reflectance below 3% in the entire visible wavelength range. The combination of these two technologies may result in aesthetic, all-black panels based on conventional, front-contacted solar cells...

  3. The soft spectral state of the black hole candidate IGR J17091-3624 observed by INTEGRAL and Swift

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Del Santo, M.; Kuulkers, E.; Bozzo, E.

    2011-01-01

    The currently on-going outburst of the black hole candidate (BHC) IGR J17091-3624 (ATel #3144, #3159, #3167) has been recently observed simultaneously with INTEGRAL and Swift. The source was in the IBIS FOV on 2011 Feb. 28 from 17:45 to 21:23 (UTC; exposure time 7.7 ks) during the Galactic Bulge......, a better description of the spectrum (confirmed by the F-test) can be obtained adding a disk black-body component (red. chi^2=1.1 (302 d.o.f.)). The fit of the joint XRT+IBIS/ISGRI broad-band spectrum (0.8-200 keV) gives an absorption column density of N_H=1.00+/-0.06, a disc black-body temperature of 1...

  4. Lidov–Kozai Cycles with Gravitational Radiation: Merging Black Holes in Isolated Triple Systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silsbee, Kedron; Tremaine, Scott

    2017-01-01

    We show that a black-hole binary with an external companion can undergo Lidov–Kozai cycles that cause a close pericenter passage, leading to a rapid merger due to gravitational-wave emission. This scenario occurs most often for systems in which the companion has a mass comparable to the reduced mass of the binary and the companion orbit has a semimajor axis within a factor of ∼10 of the binary semimajor axis. Using a simple population-synthesis model and three-body simulations, we estimate the rate of mergers in triple black-hole systems in the field to be about six per Gpc 3 per year in the absence of natal kicks during black-hole formation. This value is within the low end of the 90% credible interval for the total black hole–black hole merger rate inferred from the current LIGO results. There are many uncertainties in these calculations, the largest of which is the unknown distribution of natal kicks. Even modest natal kicks of 40 km s −1 will reduce the merger rate by a factor of 40. A few percent of these systems will have eccentricity greater than 0.999 when they first enter the frequency band detectable by aLIGO (above 10 Hz).

  5. Lidov–Kozai Cycles with Gravitational Radiation: Merging Black Holes in Isolated Triple Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silsbee, Kedron [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Tremaine, Scott, E-mail: ksilsbee@astro.princeton.edu, E-mail: tremaine@ias.edu [Institute for Advanced Study, 1 Einstein Drive Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States)

    2017-02-10

    We show that a black-hole binary with an external companion can undergo Lidov–Kozai cycles that cause a close pericenter passage, leading to a rapid merger due to gravitational-wave emission. This scenario occurs most often for systems in which the companion has a mass comparable to the reduced mass of the binary and the companion orbit has a semimajor axis within a factor of ∼10 of the binary semimajor axis. Using a simple population-synthesis model and three-body simulations, we estimate the rate of mergers in triple black-hole systems in the field to be about six per Gpc{sup 3} per year in the absence of natal kicks during black-hole formation. This value is within the low end of the 90% credible interval for the total black hole–black hole merger rate inferred from the current LIGO results. There are many uncertainties in these calculations, the largest of which is the unknown distribution of natal kicks. Even modest natal kicks of 40 km s{sup −1} will reduce the merger rate by a factor of 40. A few percent of these systems will have eccentricity greater than 0.999 when they first enter the frequency band detectable by aLIGO (above 10 Hz).

  6. Phase Transition between Black and Blue Phosphorenes: A Quantum Monte Carlo Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Lesheng; Yao, Yi; Reeves, Kyle; Kanai, Yosuke

    Phase transition of the more common black phosphorene to blue phosphorene is of great interest because they are predicted to exhibit unique electronic and optical properties. However, these two phases are predicted to be separated by a rather large energy barrier. In this work, we study the transition pathway between black and blue phosphorenes by using the variable cell nudge elastic band method combined with density functional theory calculation. We show how diffusion quantum Monte Carlo method can be used for determining the energetics of the phase transition and demonstrate the use of two approaches for removing finite-size errors. Finally, we predict how applied stress can be used to control the energetic balance between these two different phases of phosphorene.

  7. Studies on black stain root disease in ponderosa pine. pp. 236-240. M. Garbelotto & P. Gonthier (Editors). Proceedings 12th International Conference on Root and Butt Rots of Forest Trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    W. J. Otrosina; J. T. Kliejunas; S. S. Sung; S. Smith; D. R. Cluck

    2008-01-01

    Black stain root disease of ponderosa pine, caused by Lepfographium wageneri var. ponderosum (Harrington & Cobb) Harrington & Cobb, is increasing on many eastside pine stands in northeastern California. The disease is spread from tree to tree via root contacts and grafts but new infections are likely vectored by root...

  8. Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura in Black People: Impact of Ethnicity on Survival and Genetic Risk Factors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suella Martino

    Full Text Available Black people are at increased risk of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP. Whether clinical presentation of TTP in Black patients has specific features is unknown. We assessed here differences in TTP presentation and outcome between Black and White patients. Clinical presentation was comparable between both ethnic groups. However, prognosis differed with a lower death rate in Black patients than in White patients (2.7% versus 11.6%, respectively, P = .04. Ethnicity, increasing age and neurologic involvement were retained as risk factors for death in a multivariable model (P < .05 all. Sixty-day overall survival estimated by the Kaplan-Meier curves and compared with the Log-Rank test confirmed that Black patients had a better survival than White patients (P = .03. Salvage therapies were similarly performed between both groups, suggesting that disease severity was comparable. The comparison of HLA-DRB1*11, -DRB1*04 and -DQB1*03 allele frequencies between Black patients and healthy Black individuals revealed no significant difference. However, the protective allele against TTP, HLA-DRB1*04, was dramatically decreased in Black individuals in comparison with White individuals. Black people with TTP may have a better survival than White patients despite a comparable disease severity. A low natural frequency of HLA-DRB1*04 in Black ethnicity may account for the greater risk of TTP in this population.

  9. Strongly anisotropic RKKY interaction in monolayer black phosphorus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zare, Moslem; Parhizgar, Fariborz; Asgari, Reza

    2018-06-01

    We theoretically study the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction in two-dimensional black phosphorus, phosphorene. The RKKY interaction enhances significantly for the low levels of hole doping owing to the nearly valence flat band. Remarkably, for the hole-doped phosphorene, the highest RKKY interaction occurs when two impurities located along the zigzag direction and it tends to a minimum value with changing the direction from the zigzag to the armchair direction. We show that the interaction is highly anisotropic and the magnetic ground-state of two magnetic adatoms can be tuned by changing the rotational configuration of impurities. Owing to the anisotropic band dispersion, the oscillatory behavior with respect to the angle of the rotation and the distance of two magnetic impurities, R is well-described by sin (2kF R) , where the Fermi wavelength kF changes in different directions. We also find that the tail of the RKKY oscillations falls off as 1 /R2 at large distances.

  10. Mesoarchean Banded Iron Formation sequences in Dixon Island-Cleaverville Formation, Pilbara Australia: Oxygenic signal from DXCL project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiyokawa, S.; Ito, T.; Ikehara, M.; Yamaguchi, K. E.; Naraoka, H.; Onoue, T.; Horie, K.; Sakamoto, R.; Aihara, Y.; Miki, T.

    2013-12-01

    The 3.2-3.1 Ga Dixon island-Cleaverville formations are well-preserved Banded Iron Formation (BIF) within hydrothermal oceanic sequence at oceanic island arc setting (Kiyokawa et al., 2002, 2006, 2012). The stratigraphy of the Dixon Island (3195+15Ma) -Cleaverville (3108+13Ma) formations shows the well preserved environmental condition at the Mesoarchean ocean floor. The stratigraphy of these formations are formed about volcano-sedimentary sequences with hydrothermal chert, black shale and banded iron formation to the top. Based on the scientific drilling of DXCL project at 2007 and 2011, detail lithology between BIF sequence was clearly understood. Four drilling holes had been done at coastal sites; the Dixon Island Formation is DX site (100m) and the Cleaverville Formation is CL2 (40m), CL1 (60m) and CL3 (200m) sites and from stratigraphic bottom to top. Coarsening and thickening upward black shale-BIF sequences are well preserved of the stratigraphy form the core samples. The Dixon Island Formation consists komatiite-rhyolite sequences with many hydrothermal veins and very fine laminated cherty rocks above them. The Cleaverville Formation contains black shale, fragments-bearing pyroclastic beds, white chert, greenish shale and BIF. The CL3 core, which drilled through BIF, shows siderite-chert beds above black shale identified before magnetite lamination bed. U-Pb SHRIMP data of the tuff in lower Dixon Island Formation is 3195+15 Ma and the pyroclastic sequence below the Cleaverville BIF is 3108+13 Ma. Sedimentation rate of these sequence is 2-8 cm/ 1000year. The hole section of the organic carbon rich black shales below BIF are similar amount of organic content and 13C isotope (around -30per mill). There are very weak sulfur MIF signal (less 0.2%) in these black shale sequence. Our result show that thick organic rich sediments may be triggered to form iron rich siderite and magnetite iron beds. The stratigraphy in this sequence quite resemble to other Iron

  11. The rising star of 2D black phosphorus beyond graphene: synthesis, properties and electronic applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Pengfei; Li, Neng; Chen, Xingzhu; Ong, Wee-Jun; Zhao, Xiujian

    2018-01-01

    Black phosphorus, which is a relatively rare allotrope of phosphorus, was first discovered by Bridgman in 1914. Since the advent of two-dimensional (2D) black phosphorus (which is known as phosphorene due to its resembling graphene sheets) in early 2014, research interest in the arena of black phosphorus was reignited in the scientific and technological communities. Henceforth, a myriad of research studies on this new member of the 2D world have been extensively emerged. Fascinatingly, 2D black phosphorus exhibits a distinctive wrinkled structure with the high hole mobility up to 1000 cm2 V-1 s-1, excellent mechanical properties, tunable band structures, anisotropic thermal, electrical and optical properties, thus leading to its marvelous prospects in device applications. This review firstly introduces the state-of-the-art development, structural properties and preparation routes of black phosphorus. In particular, anisotropy involved in mechanical properties, thermal conductivity, carrier transport as well as optical properties is comprehensively discussed. Apart from discussing the recent progress in black phosphorus which is applied to devices (i.e. field effect transistors and optoelectronic), the review also highlights the bottlenecks encountered by the society and finally casts an invigorating perspective and insightful outlook on the future direction of the next-generation 2D black phosphorus by harnessing its remarkable characteristics for energy production.

  12. Black rings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Emparan, Roberto; Reall, Harvey S

    2006-01-01

    A black ring is a five-dimensional black hole with an event horizon of topology S 1 x S 2 . We provide an introduction to the description of black rings in general relativity and string theory. Novel aspects of the presentation include a new approach to constructing black ring coordinates and a critical review of black ring microscopics. (topical review)

  13. "Black Like Me": Reframing Blackness for Decolonial Politics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dei, George J. Sefa

    2018-01-01

    From a particular vantage point, as an African-born scholar with a politics to affirm my Black subjectivity and Indigeneity in a diasporic context, my article engages a (re)theorization of Blackness for decolonial politics. Building on existing works of how Black scholars, themselves, have theorized Blackness, and recognizing the fluid,…

  14. L-band brightness temperature disaggregation for use with S-band and C-band radiometer data for WCOM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, P.; Shi, J.; Zhao, T.; Cosh, M. H.; Bindlish, R.

    2017-12-01

    There are two passive microwave sensors onboard the Water Cycle Observation Mission (WCOM), which includes a synthetic aperture radiometer operating at L-S-C bands and a scanning microwave radiometer operating from C- to W-bands. It provides a unique opportunity to disaggregate L-band brightness temperature (soil moisture) with S-band C-bands radiometer data. In this study, passive-only downscaling methodologies are developed and evaluated. Based on the radiative transfer modeling, it was found that the TBs (brightness temperature) between the L-band and S-band exhibit a linear relationship, and there is an exponential relationship between L-band and C-band. We carried out the downscaling results by two methods: (1) downscaling with L-S-C band passive measurements with the same incidence angle from payload IMI; (2) downscaling with L-C band passive measurements with different incidence angle from payloads IMI and PMI. The downscaling method with L-S bands with the same incident angle was first evaluated using SMEX02 data. The RMSE are 2.69 K and 1.52 K for H and V polarization respectively. The downscaling method with L-C bands is developed with different incident angles using SMEX03 data. The RMSE are 2.97 K and 2.68 K for H and V polarization respectively. These results showed that high-resolution L-band brightness temperature and soil moisture products could be generated from the future WCOM passive-only observations.

  15. Gamma band oscillations: a key to understanding schizophrenia symptoms and neural circuit abnormalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNally, James M; McCarley, Robert W

    2016-05-01

    We review our current understanding of abnormal γ band oscillations in schizophrenia, their association with symptoms and the underlying cortical circuit abnormality, with a particular focus on the role of fast-spiking parvalbumin gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons in the disease state. Clinical electrophysiological studies of schizophrenia patients and pharmacological models of the disorder show an increase in spontaneous γ band activity (not stimulus-evoked) measures. These findings provide a crucial link between preclinical and clinical work examining the role of γ band activity in schizophrenia. MRI-based experiments measuring cortical GABA provides evidence supporting impaired GABAergic neurotransmission in schizophrenia patients, which is correlated with γ band activity level. Several studies suggest that stimulation of the cortical circuitry, directly or via subcortical structures, has the potential to modulate cortical γ activity, and improve cognitive function. Abnormal γ band activity is observed in patients with schizophrenia and disease models in animals, and is suggested to underlie the psychosis and cognitive/perceptual deficits. Convergent evidence from both clinical and preclinical studies suggest the central factor in γ band abnormalities is impaired GABAergic neurotransmission, particularly in a subclass of neurons which express parvalbumin. Rescue of γ band abnormalities presents an intriguing option for therapeutic intervention.

  16. GW150914: Implications for the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background from Binary Black Holes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, B P; Abbott, R; Abbott, T D; Abernathy, M R; Acernese, F; Ackley, K; Adams, C; Adams, T; Addesso, P; Adhikari, R X; Adya, V B; Affeldt, C; Agathos, M; Agatsuma, K; Aggarwal, N; Aguiar, O D; Aiello, L; Ain, A; Ajith, P; Allen, B; Allocca, A; Altin, P A; Anderson, S B; Anderson, W G; Arai, K; Araya, M C; Arceneaux, C C; Areeda, J S; Arnaud, N; Arun, K G; Ascenzi, S; Ashton, G; Ast, M; Aston, S M; Astone, P; Aufmuth, P; Aulbert, C; Babak, S; Bacon, P; Bader, M K M; Baker, P T; Baldaccini, F; Ballardin, G; Ballmer, S W; Barayoga, J C; Barclay, S E; Barish, B C; Barker, D; Barone, F; Barr, B; Barsotti, L; Barsuglia, M; Barta, D; Bartlett, J; Bartos, I; Bassiri, R; Basti, A; Batch, J C; Baune, C; Bavigadda, V; Bazzan, M; Behnke, B; Bejger, M; Bell, A S; Bell, C J; Berger, B K; Bergman, J; Bergmann, G; Berry, C P L; Bersanetti, D; Bertolini, A; Betzwieser, J; Bhagwat, S; Bhandare, R; Bilenko, I A; Billingsley, G; Birch, J; Birney, R; Biscans, S; Bisht, A; Bitossi, M; Biwer, C; Bizouard, M A; Blackburn, J K; Blair, C D; Blair, D G; Blair, R M; Bloemen, S; Bock, O; Bodiya, T P; Boer, M; Bogaert, G; Bogan, C; Bohe, A; Bojtos, P; Bond, C; Bondu, F; Bonnand, R; Boom, B A; Bork, R; Boschi, V; Bose, S; Bouffanais, Y; Bozzi, A; Bradaschia, C; Brady, P R; Braginsky, V B; Branchesi, M; Brau, J E; Briant, T; Brillet, A; Brinkmann, M; Brisson, V; Brockill, P; Brooks, A F; Brown, D D; Brown, N M; Buchanan, C C; Buikema, A; Bulik, T; Bulten, H J; Buonanno, A; Buskulic, D; Buy, C; Byer, R L; Cadonati, L; Cagnoli, G; Cahillane, C; Bustillo, J Calderón; Callister, T; Calloni, E; Camp, J B; Cannon, K C; Cao, J; Capano, C D; Capocasa, E; Carbognani, F; Caride, S; Diaz, J Casanueva; Casentini, C; Caudill, S; Cavaglià, M; Cavalier, F; Cavalieri, R; Cella, G; Cepeda, C B; Baiardi, L Cerboni; Cerretani, G; Cesarini, E; Chakraborty, R; Chalermsongsak, T; Chamberlin, S J; Chan, M; Chao, S; Charlton, P; Chassande-Mottin, E; Chen, H Y; Chen, Y; Cheng, C; Chincarini, A; Chiummo, A; Cho, H S; Cho, M; Chow, J H; Christensen, N; Chu, Q; Chua, S; Chung, S; Ciani, G; Clara, F; Clark, J A; Cleva, F; Coccia, E; Cohadon, P-F; Colla, A; Collette, C G; Cominsky, L; Constancio, M; Conte, A; Conti, L; Cook, D; Corbitt, T R; Cornish, N; Corsi, A; Cortese, S; Costa, C A; Coughlin, M W; Coughlin, S B; Coulon, J-P; Countryman, S T; Couvares, P; Cowan, E E; Coward, D M; Cowart, M J; Coyne, D C; Coyne, R; Craig, K; Creighton, J D E; Cripe, J; Crowder, S G; Cumming, A; Cunningham, L; Cuoco, E; Canton, T Dal; Danilishin, S L; D'Antonio, S; Danzmann, K; Darman, N S; Dattilo, V; Dave, I; Daveloza, H P; Davier, M; Davies, G S; Daw, E J; Day, R; DeBra, D; Debreczeni, G; Degallaix, J; De Laurentis, M; Deléglise, S; Del Pozzo, W; Denker, T; Dent, T; Dereli, H; Dergachev, V; DeRosa, R T; De Rosa, R; DeSalvo, R; Dhurandhar, S; Díaz, M C; Di Fiore, L; Di Giovanni, M; Di Lieto, A; Di Pace, S; Di Palma, I; Di Virgilio, A; Dojcinoski, G; Dolique, V; Donovan, F; Dooley, K L; Doravari, S; Douglas, R; Downes, T P; Drago, M; Drever, R W P; Driggers, J C; Du, Z; Ducrot, M; Dwyer, S E; Edo, T B; Edwards, M C; Effler, A; Eggenstein, H-B; Ehrens, P; Eichholz, J; Eikenberry, S S; Engels, W; Essick, R C; Etzel, T; Evans, M; Evans, T M; Everett, R; Factourovich, M; Fafone, V; Fair, H; Fairhurst, S; Fan, X; Fang, Q; Farinon, S; Farr, B; Farr, W M; Favata, M; Fays, M; Fehrmann, H; Fejer, M M; Ferrante, I; Ferreira, E C; Ferrini, F; Fidecaro, F; Fiori, I; Fiorucci, D; Fisher, R P; Flaminio, R; Fletcher, M; Fournier, J-D; Franco, S; Frasca, S; Frasconi, F; Frei, Z; Freise, A; Frey, R; Frey, V; Fricke, T T; Fritschel, P; Frolov, V V; Fulda, P; Fyffe, M; Gabbard, H A G; Gair, J R; Gammaitoni, L; Gaonkar, S G; Garufi, F; Gatto, A; Gaur, G; Gehrels, N; Gemme, G; Gendre, B; Genin, E; Gennai, A; George, J; Gergely, L; Germain, V; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S; Giaime, J A; Giardina, K D; Giazotto, A; Gill, K; Glaefke, A; Goetz, E; Goetz, R; Gondan, L; González, G; Castro, J M Gonzalez; Gopakumar, A; Gordon, N A; Gorodetsky, M L; Gossan, S E; Gosselin, M; Gouaty, R; Graef, C; Graff, P B; Granata, M; Grant, A; Gras, S; Gray, C; Greco, G; Green, A C; Groot, P; Grote, H; Grunewald, S; Guidi, G M; Guo, X; Gupta, A; Gupta, M K; Gushwa, K E; Gustafson, E K; Gustafson, R; Hacker, J J; Hall, B R; Hall, E D; Hammond, G; Haney, M; Hanke, M M; Hanks, J; Hanna, C; Hannam, M D; Hanson, J; Hardwick, T; Haris, K; Harms, J; Harry, G M; Harry, I W; Hart, M J; Hartman, M T; Haster, C-J; Haughian, K; Heidmann, A; Heintze, M C; Heitmann, H; Hello, P; Hemming, G; Hendry, M; Heng, I S; Hennig, J; Heptonstall, A W; Heurs, M; Hild, S; Hoak, D; Hodge, K A; Hofman, D; Hollitt, S E; Holt, K; Holz, D E; Hopkins, P; Hosken, D J; Hough, J; Houston, E A; Howell, E J; Hu, Y M; Huang, S; Huerta, E A; Huet, D; Hughey, B; Husa, S; Huttner, S H; Huynh-Dinh, T; Idrisy, A; Indik, N; Ingram, D R; Inta, R; Isa, H N; Isac, J-M; Isi, M; Islas, G; Isogai, T; Iyer, B R; Izumi, K; Jacqmin, T; Jang, H; Jani, K; Jaranowski, P; Jawahar, S; Jiménez-Forteza, F; Johnson, W W; Jones, D I; Jones, R; Jonker, R J G; Ju, L; Kalaghatgi, C V; Kalogera, V; Kandhasamy, S; Kang, G; Kanner, J B; Karki, S; Kasprzack, M; Katsavounidis, E; Katzman, W; Kaufer, S; Kaur, T; Kawabe, K; Kawazoe, F; Kéfélian, F; Kehl, M S; Keitel, D; Kelley, D B; Kells, W; Kennedy, R; Key, J S; Khalaidovski, A; Khalili, F Y; Khan, I; Khan, S; Khan, Z; Khazanov, E A; Kijbunchoo, N; Kim, C; Kim, J; Kim, K; Kim, Nam-Gyu; Kim, Namjun; Kim, Y-M; King, E J; King, P J; Kinzel, D L; Kissel, J S; Kleybolte, L; Klimenko, S; Koehlenbeck, S M; Kokeyama, K; Koley, S; Kondrashov, V; Kontos, A; Korobko, M; Korth, W Z; Kowalska, I; Kozak, D B; Kringel, V; Królak, A; Krueger, C; Kuehn, G; Kumar, P; Kuo, L; Kutynia, A; Lackey, B D; Landry, M; Lange, J; Lantz, B; Lasky, P D; Lazzarini, A; Lazzaro, C; Leaci, P; Leavey, S; Lebigot, E O; Lee, C H; Lee, H K; Lee, H M; Lee, K; Lenon, A; Leonardi, M; Leong, J R; Leroy, N; Letendre, N; Levin, Y; Levine, B M; Li, T G F; Libson, A; Littenberg, T B; Lockerbie, N A; Logue, J; Lombardi, A L; Lord, J E; Lorenzini, M; Loriette, V; Lormand, M; Losurdo, G; Lough, J D; Lück, H; Lundgren, A P; Luo, J; Lynch, R; Ma, Y; MacDonald, T; Machenschalk, B; MacInnis, M; Macleod, D M; Magaña-Sandoval, F; Magee, R M; Mageswaran, M; Majorana, E; Maksimovic, I; Malvezzi, V; Man, N; Mandel, I; Mandic, V; Mangano, V; Mansell, G L; Manske, M; Mantovani, M; Marchesoni, F; Marion, F; Márka, S; Márka, Z; Markosyan, A S; Maros, E; Martelli, F; Martellini, L; Martin, I W; Martin, R M; Martynov, D V; Marx, J N; Mason, K; Masserot, A; Massinger, T J; Masso-Reid, M; Matichard, F; Matone, L; Mavalvala, N; Mazumder, N; Mazzolo, G; McCarthy, R; McClelland, D E; McCormick, S; McGuire, S C; McIntyre, G; McIver, J; McManus, D J; McWilliams, S T; Meacher, D; Meadors, G D; Meidam, J; Melatos, A; Mendell, G; Mendoza-Gandara, D; Mercer, R A; Merilh, E; Merzougui, M; Meshkov, S; Messenger, C; Messick, C; Meyers, P M; Mezzani, F; Miao, H; Michel, C; Middleton, H; Mikhailov, E E; Milano, L; Miller, J; Millhouse, M; Minenkov, Y; Ming, J; Mirshekari, S; Mishra, C; Mitra, S; Mitrofanov, V P; Mitselmakher, G; Mittleman, R; Moggi, A; Mohan, M; Mohapatra, S R P; Montani, M; Moore, B C; Moore, C J; Moraru, D; Moreno, G; Morriss, S R; Mossavi, K; Mours, B; Mow-Lowry, C M; Mueller, C L; Mueller, G; Muir, A W; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, D; Mukherjee, S; Mukund, N; Mullavey, A; Munch, J; Murphy, D J; Murray, P G; Mytidis, A; Nardecchia, I; Naticchioni, L; Nayak, R K; Necula, V; Nedkova, K; Nelemans, G; Neri, M; Neunzert, A; Newton, G; Nguyen, T T; Nielsen, A B; Nissanke, S; Nitz, A; Nocera, F; Nolting, D; Normandin, M E N; Nuttall, L K; Oberling, J; Ochsner, E; O'Dell, J; Oelker, E; Ogin, G H; Oh, J J; Oh, S H; Ohme, F; Oliver, M; Oppermann, P; Oram, Richard J; O'Reilly, B; O'Shaughnessy, R; Ottaway, D J; Ottens, R S; Overmier, H; Owen, B J; Pai, A; Pai, S A; Palamos, J R; Palashov, O; Palomba, C; Pal-Singh, A; Pan, H; Pankow, C; Pannarale, F; Pant, B C; Paoletti, F; Paoli, A; Papa, M A; Paris, H R; Parker, W; Pascucci, D; Pasqualetti, A; Passaquieti, R; Passuello, D; Patricelli, B; Patrick, Z; Pearlstone, B L; Pedraza, M; Pedurand, R; Pekowsky, L; Pele, A; Penn, S; Perreca, A; Phelps, M; Piccinni, O; Pichot, M; Piergiovanni, F; Pierro, V; Pillant, G; Pinard, L; Pinto, I M; Pitkin, M; Poggiani, R; Popolizio, P; Post, A; Powell, J; Prasad, J; Predoi, V; Premachandra, S S; Prestegard, T; Price, L R; Prijatelj, M; Principe, M; Privitera, S; Prodi, G A; Prokhorov, L; Puncken, O; Punturo, M; Puppo, P; Pürrer, M; Qi, H; Qin, J; Quetschke, V; Quintero, E A; Quitzow-James, R; Raab, F J; Rabeling, D S; Radkins, H; Raffai, P; Raja, S; Rakhmanov, M; Rapagnani, P; Raymond, V; Razzano, M; Re, V; Read, J; Reed, C M; Regimbau, T; Rei, L; Reid, S; Reitze, D H; Rew, H; Reyes, S D; Ricci, F; Riles, K; Robertson, N A; Robie, R; Robinet, F; Rocchi, A; Rolland, L; Rollins, J G; Roma, V J; Romano, J D; Romano, R; Romanov, G; Romie, J H; Rosińska, D; Rowan, S; Rüdiger, A; Ruggi, P; Ryan, K; Sachdev, S; Sadecki, T; Sadeghian, L; Salconi, L; Saleem, M; Salemi, F; Samajdar, A; Sammut, L; Sanchez, E J; Sandberg, V; Sandeen, B; Sanders, J R; Sassolas, B; Sathyaprakash, B S; Saulson, P R; Sauter, O; Savage, R L; Sawadsky, A; Schale, P; Schilling, R; Schmidt, J; Schmidt, P; Schnabel, R; Schofield, R M S; Schönbeck, A; Schreiber, E; Schuette, D; Schutz, B F; Scott, J; Scott, S M; Sellers, D; Sentenac, D; Sequino, V; Sergeev, A; Serna, G; Setyawati, Y; Sevigny, A; Shaddock, D A; Shah, S; Shahriar, M S; Shaltev, M; Shao, Z; Shapiro, B; Shawhan, P; Sheperd, A; Shoemaker, D H; Shoemaker, D M; Siellez, K; Siemens, X; Sigg, D; Silva, A D; Simakov, D; Singer, A; Singer, L P; Singh, A; Singh, R; Singhal, A; Sintes, A M; Slagmolen, B J J; Smith, J R; Smith, N D; Smith, R J E; Son, E J; Sorazu, B; Sorrentino, F; Souradeep, T; Srivastava, A K; Staley, A; Steinke, M; Steinlechner, J; Steinlechner, S; Steinmeyer, D; Stephens, B C; Stone, R; Strain, K A; Straniero, N; Stratta, G; Strauss, N A; Strigin, S; Sturani, R; Stuver, A L; Summerscales, T Z; Sun, L; Sutton, P J; Swinkels, B L; Szczepańczyk, M J; Tacca, M; Talukder, D; Tanner, D B; Tápai, M; Tarabrin, S P; Taracchini, A; Taylor, R; Theeg, T; Thirugnanasambandam, M P; Thomas, E G; Thomas, M; Thomas, P; Thorne, K A; Thorne, K S; Thrane, E; Tiwari, S; Tiwari, V; Tokmakov, K V; Tomlinson, C; Tonelli, M; Torres, C V; Torrie, C I; Töyrä, D; Travasso, F; Traylor, G; Trifirò, D; Tringali, M C; Trozzo, L; Tse, M; Turconi, M; Tuyenbayev, D; Ugolini, D; Unnikrishnan, C S; Urban, A L; Usman, S A; Vahlbruch, H; Vajente, G; Valdes, G; van Bakel, N; van Beuzekom, M; van den Brand, J F J; Van Den Broeck, C; Vander-Hyde, D C; van der Schaaf, L; van Heijningen, J V; van Veggel, A A; Vardaro, M; Vass, S; Vasúth, M; Vaulin, R; Vecchio, A; Vedovato, G; Veitch, J; Veitch, P J; Venkateswara, K; Verkindt, D; Vetrano, F; Viceré, A; Vinciguerra, S; Vine, D J; Vinet, J-Y; Vitale, S; Vo, T; Vocca, H; Vorvick, C; Voss, D; Vousden, W D; Vyatchanin, S P; Wade, A R; Wade, L E; Wade, M; Walker, M; Wallace, L; Walsh, S; Wang, G; Wang, H; Wang, M; Wang, X; Wang, Y; Ward, R L; Warner, J; Was, M; Weaver, B; Wei, L-W; Weinert, M; Weinstein, A J; Weiss, R; Welborn, T; Wen, L; Weßels, P; Westphal, T; Wette, K; Whelan, J T; White, D J; Whiting, B F; Williams, R D; Williamson, A R; Willis, J L; Willke, B; Wimmer, M H; Winkler, W; Wipf, C C; Wittel, H; Woan, G; Worden, J; Wright, J L; Wu, G; Yablon, J; Yam, W; Yamamoto, H; Yancey, C C; Yap, M J; Yu, H; Yvert, M; Zadrożny, A; Zangrando, L; Zanolin, M; Zendri, J-P; Zevin, M; Zhang, F; Zhang, L; Zhang, M; Zhang, Y; Zhao, C; Zhou, M; Zhou, Z; Zhu, X J; Zucker, M E; Zuraw, S E; Zweizig, J

    2016-04-01

    The LIGO detection of the gravitational wave transient GW150914, from the inspiral and merger of two black holes with masses ≳30M_{⊙}, suggests a population of binary black holes with relatively high mass. This observation implies that the stochastic gravitational-wave background from binary black holes, created from the incoherent superposition of all the merging binaries in the Universe, could be higher than previously expected. Using the properties of GW150914, we estimate the energy density of such a background from binary black holes. In the most sensitive part of the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo band for stochastic backgrounds (near 25 Hz), we predict Ω_{GW}(f=25  Hz)=1.1_{-0.9}^{+2.7}×10^{-9} with 90% confidence. This prediction is robustly demonstrated for a variety of formation scenarios with different parameters. The differences between models are small compared to the statistical uncertainty arising from the currently poorly constrained local coalescence rate. We conclude that this background is potentially measurable by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors operating at their projected final sensitivity.

  17. Quasiparticle energies, excitons, and optical spectra of few-layer black phosphorus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tran, Vy; Fei, Ruixiang; Yang, Li

    2015-01-01

    We report first-principles GW–Bethe–Salpeter-equation (BSE) studies of excited-state properties of few-layer black phosphorus (BP) (phosphorene). With improved GW computational methods, we obtained converged quasiparticle band gaps and optical absorption spectra by the single-shot (G 0 W 0 ) procedure. Moreover, we reveal fine structures of anisotropic excitons, including the series of one-dimensional like wave functions, spin singlet–triplet splitting, and electron–hole binding energy spectra by solving BSE. An effective-mass model is employed to describe these electron–hole pairs, shedding light on estimating the exciton binding energy of anisotropic two-dimensional semiconductors without expensive ab initio simulations. Finally, the anisotropic optical response of BP is explained by using optical selection rules based on the projected single-particle density of states at band edges. (paper)

  18. Black Alcoholism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watts, Thomas D.; Wright, Roosevelt

    1988-01-01

    Examines some aspects of the problem of alcoholism among Blacks, asserting that Black alcoholism can best be considered in an ecological, environmental, sociocultural, and public health context. Notes need for further research on alcoholism among Blacks and for action to reduce the problem of Black alcoholism. (NB)

  19. Racial discrimination & cardiovascular disease risk: my body my story study of 1005 US-born black and white community health center participants (US.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nancy Krieger

    Full Text Available To date, limited and inconsistent evidence exists regarding racial discrimination and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD.Cross-sectional observational study of 1005 US-born non-Hispanic black (n = 504 and white (n = 501 participants age 35-64 randomly selected from community health centers in Boston, MA (2008-2010; 82.4% response rate, using 3 racial discrimination measures: explicit self-report; implicit association test (IAT, a time reaction test for self and group as target vs. perpetrator of discrimination; and structural (Jim Crow status of state of birth, i.e. legal racial discrimination prior 1964.Black and white participants both had adverse cardiovascular and socioeconomic profiles, with black participants most highly exposed to racial discrimination. Positive crude associations among black participants occurred for Jim Crow birthplace and hypertension (odds ratio (OR 1.92, 95% confidence interval (CI 1.28, 2.89 and for explicit self-report and the Framingham 10 year CVD risk score (beta = 0.04; 95% CI 0.01, 0.07; among white participants, only negative crude associations existed (for IAT for self, for lower systolic blood pressure (SBP; beta = -4.86; 95% CI -9.08, -0.64 and lower Framingham CVD score (beta = -0.36, 95% CI -0.63, -0.08. All of these associations were attenuated and all but the white IAT-Framingham risk score association were rendered null in analyses that controlled for lifetime socioeconomic position and additional covariates. Controlling for racial discrimination, socioeconomic position, and other covariates did not attenuate the crude black excess risk for SBP and hypertension and left unaffected the null excess risk for the Framingham CVD score.Despite worse exposures among the black participants, racial discrimination and socioeconomic position were not associated, in multivariable analyses, with risk of CVD. We interpret results in relation to constrained variability of exposures and outcomes and discuss

  20. Tissue mortality by Caribbean ciliate infection and white band disease in three reef-building coral species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandra Verde

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Caribbean ciliate infection (CCI and white band disease (WBD are diseases that affect a multitude of coral hosts and are associated with rapid rates of tissue losses, thus contributing to declining coral cover in Caribbean reefs. In this study we compared tissue mortality rates associated to CCI in three species of corals with different growth forms: Orbicella faveolata (massive-boulder, O. annularis (massive-columnar and Acropora cervicornis (branching. We also compared mortality rates in colonies of A. cervicornis bearing WBD and CCI. The study was conducted at two locations in Los Roques Archipelago National Park between April 2012 and March 2013. In A. cervicornis, the rate of tissue loss was similar between WBD (0.8 ± 1 mm/day, mean ± SD and CCI (0.7 ± 0.9 mm/day. However, mortality rate by CCI in A. cervicornis was faster than in the massive species O. faveolata (0.5 ± 0.6 mm/day and O. annularis (0.3 ± 0.3 mm/day. Tissue regeneration was at least fifteen times slower than the mortality rates for both diseases regardless of coral species. This is the first study providing coral tissue mortality and regeneration rates associated to CCI in colonies with massive morphologies, and it highlights the risks of further cover losses of the three most important reef-building species in the Caribbean.

  1. Mapping a new black spot resistance locus in rose [abstract

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose black spot, caused by Diplocarpon rosae, is one of the most devastating foliar diseases of cultivated roses (Rosa hybrida). The pathogen is globally distributed and has the potential to cause large economic losses in the outdoor rose industry. Genetic resistance is the most economical disease m...

  2. High-throughput sequencing of black pepper root transcriptome

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is one of the most popular spices in the world. It is used in cooking and the preservation of food and even has medicinal properties. Losses in production from disease are a major limitation in the culture of this crop. The major diseases are root rot and foot rot, which are results of root infection by Fusarium solani and Phytophtora capsici, respectively. Understanding the molecular interaction between the pathogens and the host’s root region is important for obtaining resistant cultivars by biotechnological breeding. Genetic and molecular data for this species, though, are limited. In this paper, RNA-Seq technology has been employed, for the first time, to describe the root transcriptome of black pepper. Results The root transcriptome of black pepper was sequenced by the NGS SOLiD platform and assembled using the multiple-k method. Blast2Go and orthoMCL methods were used to annotate 10338 unigenes. The 4472 predicted proteins showed about 52% homology with the Arabidopsis proteome. Two root proteomes identified 615 proteins, which seem to define the plant’s root pattern. Simple-sequence repeats were identified that may be useful in studies of genetic diversity and may have applications in biotechnology and ecology. Conclusions This dataset of 10338 unigenes is crucially important for the biotechnological breeding of black pepper and the ecogenomics of the Magnoliids, a major group of basal angiosperms. PMID:22984782

  3. High-throughput sequencing of black pepper root transcriptome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gordo Sheila MC

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Black pepper (Piper nigrum L. is one of the most popular spices in the world. It is used in cooking and the preservation of food and even has medicinal properties. Losses in production from disease are a major limitation in the culture of this crop. The major diseases are root rot and foot rot, which are results of root infection by Fusarium solani and Phytophtora capsici, respectively. Understanding the molecular interaction between the pathogens and the host’s root region is important for obtaining resistant cultivars by biotechnological breeding. Genetic and molecular data for this species, though, are limited. In this paper, RNA-Seq technology has been employed, for the first time, to describe the root transcriptome of black pepper. Results The root transcriptome of black pepper was sequenced by the NGS SOLiD platform and assembled using the multiple-k method. Blast2Go and orthoMCL methods were used to annotate 10338 unigenes. The 4472 predicted proteins showed about 52% homology with the Arabidopsis proteome. Two root proteomes identified 615 proteins, which seem to define the plant’s root pattern. Simple-sequence repeats were identified that may be useful in studies of genetic diversity and may have applications in biotechnology and ecology. Conclusions This dataset of 10338 unigenes is crucially important for the biotechnological breeding of black pepper and the ecogenomics of the Magnoliids, a major group of basal angiosperms.

  4. A Novel Ku-Band/Ka-Band and Ka-Band/E-Band Multimode Waveguide Couplers for Power Measurement of Traveling-Wave Tube Amplifier Harmonic Frequencies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wintucky, Edwin G.; Simons, Rainee N.

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents the design, fabrication and test results for a novel waveguide multimode directional coupler (MDC). The coupler, fabricated from two dissimilar frequency band waveguides, is capable of isolating power at the second harmonic frequency from the fundamental power at the output port of a traveling-wave tube (TWT) amplifier. Test results from proof-of-concept demonstrations are presented for a Ku-band/Ka-band MDC and a Ka-band/E-band MDC. In addition to power measurements at harmonic frequencies, a potential application of the MDC is in the design of a satellite borne beacon source for atmospheric propagation studies at millimeter-wave (mm-wave) frequencies (Ka-band and E-band).

  5. A REVERBERATION-BASED BLACK HOLE MASS FOR MCG-06-30-15

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bentz, Misty C.; Crenshaw, D. Michael; Ou-Yang, Benjamin; Cackett, Edward M.; Horne, Keith; Street, Rachel

    2016-01-01

    We present the results of a reverberation campaign targeting MGC-06-30-15. Spectrophotometric monitoring and broad-band photometric monitoring over the course of four months in spring 2012 allowed a determination of a time delay in the broad H β emission line of τ = 5.3 ± 1.8 days in the rest frame of the active galactic nucleus (AGN). Combined with the width of the variable portion of the emission line, we determine a black hole mass of M BH = (1.6 ± 0.4) × 10 6 M ⊙ . Both the H β time delay and the black hole mass are in good agreement with expectations from the R BLR – L and M BH – σ ⋆ relationships for other reverberation-mapped AGNs. The H β time delay is also in good agreement with the relationship between H β and broad-band near-IR delays, in which the effective size of the broad-line region is ∼4–5 times smaller than the inner edge of the dust torus. Additionally, the reverberation-based mass is in good agreement with estimates from the scaling relationship of the break in the X-ray power spectral density, and with constraints based on stellar kinematics derived from integral field spectroscopy of the inner ∼0.5 kpc of the galaxy.

  6. A REVERBERATION-BASED BLACK HOLE MASS FOR MCG-06-30-15

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bentz, Misty C.; Crenshaw, D. Michael; Ou-Yang, Benjamin [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303 (United States); Cackett, Edward M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University, 666 W. Hancock St., Detroit, MI 48201 (United States); Horne, Keith [SUPA Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS (United Kingdom); Street, Rachel, E-mail: bentz@astro.gsu.edu [Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740B Cortona Drive, Goleta, CA 93117 (United States)

    2016-10-20

    We present the results of a reverberation campaign targeting MGC-06-30-15. Spectrophotometric monitoring and broad-band photometric monitoring over the course of four months in spring 2012 allowed a determination of a time delay in the broad H β emission line of τ = 5.3 ± 1.8 days in the rest frame of the active galactic nucleus (AGN). Combined with the width of the variable portion of the emission line, we determine a black hole mass of M {sub BH} = (1.6 ± 0.4) × 10{sup 6} M {sub ⊙}. Both the H β time delay and the black hole mass are in good agreement with expectations from the R {sub BLR}– L and M {sub BH}– σ {sub ⋆} relationships for other reverberation-mapped AGNs. The H β time delay is also in good agreement with the relationship between H β and broad-band near-IR delays, in which the effective size of the broad-line region is ∼4–5 times smaller than the inner edge of the dust torus. Additionally, the reverberation-based mass is in good agreement with estimates from the scaling relationship of the break in the X-ray power spectral density, and with constraints based on stellar kinematics derived from integral field spectroscopy of the inner ∼0.5 kpc of the galaxy.

  7. Study of CD variation caused by the black border effect and out-of-band radiation in extreme ultraviolet lithography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Weimin; Niroomand, Ardavan; Lorusso, Gian F.; Boone, Robert; Lucas, Kevin; Demmerle, Wolfgang

    2014-04-01

    Although extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) remains a promising candidate for semiconductor device manufacturing of the 1× nm half pitch node and beyond, many technological burdens have to be overcome. The "field edge effect" in EUVL is one of them. The image border region of an EUV mask, also known as the "black border" (BB), reflects a few percent of the incident EUV light, resulting in a leakage of light into neighboring exposure fields, especially at the corner of the field where three adjacent exposures take place. This effect significantly impacts on critical dimension (CD) uniformity (CDU) across the exposure field. To avoid this phenomenon, a light-shielding border is introduced by etching away the entire absorber and multilayer at the image border region of the EUV mask. We present a method of modeling the field edge effect (also called the BB effect) by using rigorous lithography simulation with a calibrated resist model. An additional "flare level" at the field edge is introduced on top of the exposure tool flare map to account for the BB effect. The parameters in this model include the reflectivity and the width of the BB, which are mainly determining the leakage of EUV light and its influence range, respectively. Another parameter is the transition width which represents the half shadow effect of the reticle masking blades. By setting the corresponding parameters, the simulation results match well the experimental results obtained at the IMEC's NXE:3100 EUV exposure tool. Moreover, these results indicate that the out-of-band (OoB) radiation also contributes to the CDU. Using simulation, we can also determine the OoB effect rigorously using the methodology of an "effective mask blank." The study demonstrates that the impact of BB and OoB effects on CDU can be well predicted by simulations.

  8. Black holes

    OpenAIRE

    Brügmann, B.; Ghez, A. M.; Greiner, J.

    2001-01-01

    Recent progress in black hole research is illustrated by three examples. We discuss the observational challenges that were met to show that a supermassive black hole exists at the center of our galaxy. Stellar-size black holes have been studied in x-ray binaries and microquasars. Finally, numerical simulations have become possible for the merger of black hole binaries.

  9. The phase structure of higher-dimensional black rings and black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Emparan, Roberto; Harmark, Troels; Niarchos, Vasilis; Obers, Niels A.; RodrIguez, Maria J.

    2007-01-01

    We construct an approximate solution for an asymptotically flat, neutral, thin rotating black ring in any dimension D ≥ 5 by matching the near-horizon solution for a bent boosted black string, to a linearized gravity solution away from the horizon. The rotating black ring solution has a regular horizon of topology S 1 x S D-3 and incorporates the balancing condition of the ring as a zero-tension condition. For D = 5 our method reproduces the thin ring limit of the exact black ring solution. For D ≥ 6 we show that the black ring has a higher entropy than the Myers-Perry black hole in the ultra-spinning regime. By exploiting the correspondence between ultra-spinning black holes and black membranes on a two-torus, we take steps towards qualitatively completing the phase diagram of rotating blackfolds with a single angular momentum. We are led to propose a connection between MP black holes and black rings, and between MP black holes and black Saturns, through merger transitions involving two kinds of 'pinched' black holes. More generally, the analogy suggests an infinite number of pinched black holes of spherical topology leading to a complicated pattern of connections and mergers between phases

  10. On the Charter Question: Black Marxism and Black Nationalism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stern, Mark; Hussain, Khuram

    2015-01-01

    This article brings two black intellectual traditions to bear on the question of charter schools: black Marxism and black nationalism. The authors examine the theoretical and rhetorical devices used to talk about charters schools by focusing on how notions of "black liberation" are deployed by the charter movement, and to what end. The…

  11. "Be Real Black for Me": Imagining BlackCrit in Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dumas, Michael J.; ross, kihana miraya

    2016-01-01

    The authors put forward a theorization of a Black Critical Theory, or what might be called BlackCrit, within, and in response to, Critical Race Theory, and then outline ways that BlackCrit in education helps us to more incisively analyze how the specificity of (anti)blackness matters in explaining how Black bodies become marginalized, disregarded,…

  12. Temporal trends in cardiovascular disease risk factors among white, South Asian, Chinese and black groups in Ontario, Canada, 2001 to 2012: a population-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, Maria; Maclagan, Laura C; Tu, Jack V; Shah, Baiju R

    2015-08-10

    To determine ethnic-specific temporal trends in cardiovascular risk factors in Ontario between 2001 and 2012. A population-based repeated cross-sectional study. Ontario, Canada. 219,276 participants of the Canadian Community Health Survey (205,326 white, 5620 South Asian, 4368 Chinese and 3962 black) during the period 2001 to 2012. Age-standardised ethnic-sex-specific prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors for three time periods: 2001-2004, 2005-2008 and 2009-2012 among Canada's four major ethnic groups: white, South Asian, Chinese and black. During the study period, the prevalence of diabetes increased 2.3-fold (p = 0.0001) among South Asian males and 1.9-fold (p = 0.02) among black females. The prevalence of obesity (body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m(2)) increased over time across all ethnic groups, with the largest relative increases observed among males of Chinese (2.1-fold increase, p = 0.04) and black (1.7-fold increase, p = 0.06) descent. The prevalence of hypertension increased the most among black females. Smoking prevalence decreased by more than 20% among South Asian, Chinese and white females. Overall, South Asian males and black males and females showed the greatest declines in cardiovascular health over the study period. We observed important ethnic differences in the temporal trends in cardiovascular risk factor profiles in Ontario. Awareness of the direction and magnitude of these risk factor trends may be useful in informing targeted strategies for preventing cardiovascular diseases in multiethnic populations. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  13. Black hole astrophysics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blandford, R.D.; Thorne, K.S.

    1979-01-01

    Following an introductory section, the subject is discussed under the headings: on the character of research in black hole astrophysics; isolated holes produced by collapse of normal stars; black holes in binary systems; black holes in globular clusters; black holes in quasars and active galactic nuclei; primordial black holes; concluding remarks on the present state of research in black hole astrophysics. (U.K.)

  14. Vacuum birefringence and the x-ray polarization from black-hole accretion disks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caiazzo, Ilaria; Heyl, Jeremy

    2018-04-01

    In the next decade, x-ray polarimetry will open a new window on the high-energy Universe, as several missions that include an x-ray polarimeter are currently under development. Observations of the polarization of x rays coming from the accretion disks of stellar-mass and supermassive black holes are among the new polarimeters' major objectives. In this paper, we show that these observations can be affected by the quantum electrodynamic (QED) effect of vacuum birefringence: after an x-ray photon is emitted from the accretion disk, its polarization changes as the photon travels through the accretion disk's magnetosphere, as a result of the vacuum becoming birefringent in the presence of a magnetic field. We show that this effect can be important for black holes in the energy band of the upcoming polarimeters and has to be taken into account in a complete model of the x-ray polarization that we expect to detect from black-hole accretion disks, both for stellar mass and for supermassive black holes. We find that, for a chaotic magnetic field in the disk, QED can significantly decrease the linear polarization fraction of edge-on photons, depending on the spin of the hole and on the strength of the magnetic field. This effect can provide, for the first time, a direct way to probe the magnetic field strength close to the innermost stable orbit of black-hole accretion disks and to study the role of magnetic fields in astrophysical accretion in general.

  15. Combating a Global Threat to a Clonal Crop: Banana Black Sigatoka Pathogen Pseudocercospora fijiensis (Synonym Mycosphaerella fijiensis) Genomes Reveal Clues for Disease Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arango Isaza, Rafael E; Diaz-Trujillo, Caucasella; Dhillon, Braham; Aerts, Andrea; Carlier, Jean; Crane, Charles F; V de Jong, Tristan; de Vries, Ineke; Dietrich, Robert; Farmer, Andrew D; Fortes Fereira, Claudia; Garcia, Suzana; Guzman, Mauricio; Hamelin, Richard C; Lindquist, Erika A; Mehrabi, Rahim; Quiros, Olman; Schmutz, Jeremy; Shapiro, Harris; Reynolds, Elizabeth; Scalliet, Gabriel; Souza, Manoel; Stergiopoulos, Ioannis; Van der Lee, Theo A J; De Wit, Pierre J G M; Zapater, Marie-Françoise; Zwiers, Lute-Harm; Grigoriev, Igor V; Goodwin, Stephen B; Kema, Gert H J

    2016-08-01

    Black Sigatoka or black leaf streak disease, caused by the Dothideomycete fungus Pseudocercospora fijiensis (previously: Mycosphaerella fijiensis), is the most significant foliar disease of banana worldwide. Due to the lack of effective host resistance, management of this disease requires frequent fungicide applications, which greatly increase the economic and environmental costs to produce banana. Weekly applications in most banana plantations lead to rapid evolution of fungicide-resistant strains within populations causing disease-control failures throughout the world. Given its extremely high economic importance, two strains of P. fijiensis were sequenced and assembled with the aid of a new genetic linkage map. The 74-Mb genome of P. fijiensis is massively expanded by LTR retrotransposons, making it the largest genome within the Dothideomycetes. Melting-curve assays suggest that the genomes of two closely related members of the Sigatoka disease complex, P. eumusae and P. musae, also are expanded. Electrophoretic karyotyping and analyses of molecular markers in P. fijiensis field populations showed chromosome-length polymorphisms and high genetic diversity. Genetic differentiation was also detected using neutral markers, suggesting strong selection with limited gene flow at the studied geographic scale. Frequencies of fungicide resistance in fungicide-treated plantations were much higher than those in untreated wild-type P. fijiensis populations. A homologue of the Cladosporium fulvum Avr4 effector, PfAvr4, was identified in the P. fijiensis genome. Infiltration of the purified PfAVR4 protein into leaves of the resistant banana variety Calcutta 4 resulted in a hypersensitive-like response. This result suggests that Calcutta 4 could carry an unknown resistance gene recognizing PfAVR4. Besides adding to our understanding of the overall Dothideomycete genome structures, the P. fijiensis genome will aid in developing fungicide treatment schedules to combat this

  16. Combating a Global Threat to a Clonal Crop: Banana Black Sigatoka Pathogen Pseudocercospora fijiensis (Synonym Mycosphaerella fijiensis Genomes Reveal Clues for Disease Control.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael E Arango Isaza

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Black Sigatoka or black leaf streak disease, caused by the Dothideomycete fungus Pseudocercospora fijiensis (previously: Mycosphaerella fijiensis, is the most significant foliar disease of banana worldwide. Due to the lack of effective host resistance, management of this disease requires frequent fungicide applications, which greatly increase the economic and environmental costs to produce banana. Weekly applications in most banana plantations lead to rapid evolution of fungicide-resistant strains within populations causing disease-control failures throughout the world. Given its extremely high economic importance, two strains of P. fijiensis were sequenced and assembled with the aid of a new genetic linkage map. The 74-Mb genome of P. fijiensis is massively expanded by LTR retrotransposons, making it the largest genome within the Dothideomycetes. Melting-curve assays suggest that the genomes of two closely related members of the Sigatoka disease complex, P. eumusae and P. musae, also are expanded. Electrophoretic karyotyping and analyses of molecular markers in P. fijiensis field populations showed chromosome-length polymorphisms and high genetic diversity. Genetic differentiation was also detected using neutral markers, suggesting strong selection with limited gene flow at the studied geographic scale. Frequencies of fungicide resistance in fungicide-treated plantations were much higher than those in untreated wild-type P. fijiensis populations. A homologue of the Cladosporium fulvum Avr4 effector, PfAvr4, was identified in the P. fijiensis genome. Infiltration of the purified PfAVR4 protein into leaves of the resistant banana variety Calcutta 4 resulted in a hypersensitive-like response. This result suggests that Calcutta 4 could carry an unknown resistance gene recognizing PfAVR4. Besides adding to our understanding of the overall Dothideomycete genome structures, the P. fijiensis genome will aid in developing fungicide treatment schedules

  17. Diversity and activity of biosurfactant-producing Pseudomonas in the rhizosphere of black pepper in Vietnam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, H; Kruijt, M; Raaijmakers, J M

    2008-03-01

    Phytophthora capsici is a major pathogen of black pepper and zoospores play an important role in the infection process. Fluorescent pseudomonads that produce biosurfactants with zoosporicidal activities were isolated from the black pepper rhizosphere in Vietnam, and their genotypic diversity and potential to control Phy. capsici root rot was determined. Biosurfactant-producing pseudomonads were genotypically and biochemically characterized by BOX-polymerase chain reaction (PCR), 16S-rDNA sequencing, reverse-phase-high-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses. Biosurfactant-producing fluorescent pseudomonads make up c. 1.3% of the culturable Pseudomonas population in the rhizosphere of black pepper. Although BOX-PCR revealed substantial genotypic diversity, the isolates were shown to produce the same biosurfactants and were all identified as Pseudomonas putida. When applied to black pepper stem cuttings, several of the biosurfactant-producing strains provided significant disease control. In absence of the disease, several of the bacterial strains promoted shoot and root growth of black pepper stem cuttings. Biosurfactant-producing pseudomonads indigenous to the rhizosphere of black pepper plants are genotypically diverse and provide a novel resource for the control of Phy. capsici root rot and growth promotion of black pepper stem cuttings. The results of this study provide a strong basis for further development of supplementary strategies with antagonistic bacteria to control foot and root rot of black pepper and to promote plant growth.

  18. A new gene deletion in the alpha-like globin gene cluster as the molecular basis for the rare alpha-thalassemia-1(--/alpha alpha) in blacks: HbH disease in sickle cell trait.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinberg, M H; Coleman, M B; Adams, J G; Hartmann, R C; Saba, H; Anagnou, N P

    1986-02-01

    A novel deletion of at least 26 kilobase of DNA, including both alpha-globin genes, the psi alpha- and psi zeta-globin genes, but sparing the functional zeta-gene was found in a 10-year-old black boy with HbH disease and sickle cell trait. This particular deletion has not previously been described in blacks. Its existence makes it likely that the absence of Hb Barts hydrops fetalis in blacks is due to the rarity of the chromosome lacking two alpha-globin genes rather than a result of early embryonic death due to the failure to synthesize embryonic hemoglobins because of deletion of functional zeta-globin genes.

  19. Trace-element and multi-isotope geochemistry of Late-Archean black shales in the Carajas iron-ore district, Brazil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cabral, A. R.; Creaser, R. A.; Naegler, T.

    2013-01-01

    The 250-300-m-thick Carajas Formation in the Carajas mineral province, northern Brazil, consists of banded iron formation (including giant high-grade iron-ore deposits) and minor black shale, overlying a thick pile (2-3 km) of about 2.75-Ga-old metabasalt. Carbonaceous shale with pyrite-and local...

  20. Race Differences in Diet Quality of Urban Food-Insecure Blacks and Whites Reveals Resiliency in Blacks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Allyssa J; Kuczmarski, Marie Fanelli; Evans, Michele K; Zonderman, Alan B; Waldstein, Shari R

    2016-12-01

    Evidence from epidemiological studies shows a link between food insecurity and diet intake or quality. However, the moderating effect of race in this relation has not yet been studied. Food insecurity (USDA Food Security Module) and diet quality (Healthy Eating Index-2010; HEI) were measured in 1741 participants from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study. Data were collected from 2004 to 2009 and analyzed in 2014. Multivariable regression assessed the interaction of race and food insecurity on HEI scores, adjusting for age, sex, poverty status, single parent status, drug, alcohol and cigarette use, and comorbid diseases. The interaction of food insecurity and race was significantly associated with diet quality (p = 0.001). In the absence of food insecurity, HEI scores were similar across race. However, with each food insecurity item endorsed, HEI scores were substantially lower for Whites compared to Blacks. An ad hoc analysis revealed that Blacks were more likely than Whites to participate in SNAP (p race stratified analyses revealed that Blacks participating in SNAP showed diminished associations of food insecurity with diet quality. Study findings provide the first evidence that the influence of food insecurity on diet quality may be potentiated for Whites, but not Blacks. Additionally, results show that Blacks are more likely to participate in SNAP and show attendant buffering of the effects of food insecurity on diet quality. These findings may have important implications for understanding how food insecurity affects diet quality differentially by race.

  1. Efficacy of screening methods used in breeding for black pod ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The disease affects the pods, beans, flower cushions, leaves, stems and roots. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of resistance screening methods used in breeding black pod disease resistance in cocoa. The resistance of cocoa leaves and pods to Phytophthora palmivora was investigated in twenty five ...

  2. Barriers to early diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer: a qualitative study of Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women living in the UK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Claire E L; Maben, Jill; Lucas, Grace; Davies, Elizabeth A; Jack, Ruth H; Ream, Emma

    2015-01-01

    Objectives Understanding barriers to early diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer among Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women in the UK. Design In-depth qualitative interviews using grounded theory methods to identify themes. Findings validated through focus groups. Participants 94 women aged 33–91 years; 20 Black African, 20 Black Caribbean and 20 White British women diagnosed with symptomatic breast cancer were interviewed. Fourteen Black African and 20 Black Caribbean women with (n=19) and without (n=15) breast cancer participated in six focus groups. Setting Eight cancer centres/hospital trusts in London (n=5), Somerset (n=1), West Midlands (n=1) and Greater Manchester (n=1) during 2012–2013. Results There are important differences and similarities in barriers to early diagnosis of breast cancer between Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women in the UK. Differences were influenced by country of birth, time spent in UK and age. First generation Black African women experienced most barriers and longest delays. Second generation Black Caribbean and White British women were similar and experienced fewest barriers. Absence of pain was a barrier for Black African and Black Caribbean women. Older White British women (≥70 years) and first generation Black African and Black Caribbean women shared conservative attitudes and taboos about breast awareness. All women viewed themselves at low risk of the disease, and voiced uncertainty over breast awareness and appraising non-lump symptoms. Focus group findings validated and expanded themes identified in interviews. Conclusions Findings challenged reporting of Black women homogenously in breast cancer research. This can mask distinctions within and between ethnic groups. Current media and health promotion messages need reframing to promote early presentation with breast symptoms. Working with communities and developing culturally appropriate materials may lessen taboos and stigma

  3. Barriers to early diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer: a qualitative study of Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women living in the UK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Claire E L; Maben, Jill; Lucas, Grace; Davies, Elizabeth A; Jack, Ruth H; Ream, Emma

    2015-03-13

    Understanding barriers to early diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer among Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women in the UK. In-depth qualitative interviews using grounded theory methods to identify themes. Findings validated through focus groups. 94 women aged 33-91 years; 20 Black African, 20 Black Caribbean and 20 White British women diagnosed with symptomatic breast cancer were interviewed. Fourteen Black African and 20 Black Caribbean women with (n=19) and without (n=15) breast cancer participated in six focus groups. Eight cancer centres/hospital trusts in London (n=5), Somerset (n=1), West Midlands (n=1) and Greater Manchester (n=1) during 2012-2013. There are important differences and similarities in barriers to early diagnosis of breast cancer between Black African, Black Caribbean and White British women in the UK. Differences were influenced by country of birth, time spent in UK and age. First generation Black African women experienced most barriers and longest delays. Second generation Black Caribbean and White British women were similar and experienced fewest barriers. Absence of pain was a barrier for Black African and Black Caribbean women. Older White British women (≥70 years) and first generation Black African and Black Caribbean women shared conservative attitudes and taboos about breast awareness. All women viewed themselves at low risk of the disease, and voiced uncertainty over breast awareness and appraising non-lump symptoms. Focus group findings validated and expanded themes identified in interviews. Findings challenged reporting of Black women homogenously in breast cancer research. This can mask distinctions within and between ethnic groups. Current media and health promotion messages need reframing to promote early presentation with breast symptoms. Working with communities and developing culturally appropriate materials may lessen taboos and stigma, raise awareness, increase discussion of breast cancer and promote

  4. Radiotracers in the Black Sea: A Tool for Marine Environmental Assessments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gulin, S.B.; Egorov, V.N.; Polikarpov, G.G.; Stokozov, N.A.; Mirzoeva, N.Yu.; Tereshenko, N.N.; Gulina, L.V.; Proskurnin, V.Yu.; Osvath, I.

    2011-01-01

    Owing to its geographical location, the Black Sea has been one of the marine basins most contaminated with artificial radioactivity. During the pre-Chernobyl period, the main source of radioactive contamination of the Black Sea was the global fallout from the atmospheric nuclear weapon tests, which peaked in 1962 before the 1963 Test Ban Treaty was signed between the main nuclear states. As maximum global fallout was observed within the 40-50 o N latitude band that runs exactly across the Black Sea, this semi enclosed water body received high levels of the fallout radionuclides derived from the atmospheric weapons testing. Being a closest marine body to the Chernobyl site, the Black Sea and its broad drainage areas have received substantial amounts of the long-lived artificial radionuclides, particularly 90 Sr, 137 Cs, and plutonium isotopes, released into the atmosphere from the damaged nuclear reactor and delivered with the air masses moving south- and westward from the accident area. Besides direct atmospheric deposition, the Black Sea received (and continues to receive) additional radioactive input by river runoff, particularly to its northwestern area from the Danube and Dnieper Rivers. Resulting from contribution of the above-mentioned sources of radioactive contamination of the Black Sea, the 90 Sr concentration in its water ranks second after the Irish Sea, and third after the Baltic Sea with respect to 137 Cs concentration in seawater. Overview of results. Extensive radioecological studies performed during the last decades have showed that post-Chernobyl evolution and levels of man-made radioactivity in the Black Sea were governed, except radioactive decay, by the large-scale oceanographic, biogeochemical and ecological processes, which control the self-cleaning of the Black Sea environments against the radioactive contamination: first of all the vertical water mixing, which dilutes the surface radionuclide concentrations, the loss through the Bosporus

  5. Characterization and Comparison of Photocatalytic Activity Silver Ion doped on TiO2(TiO2/Ag+) and Silver Ion doped on Black TiO2(Black TiO2/Ag+)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jin Yi; Sim, Ho Hyung; Song, Sinae; Noh, Yeoung Ah; Lee, Hong Woon; Taik Kim, Hee

    2018-03-01

    Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is one of the representative ceramic materials containing photocatalyst, optic and antibacterial activity. The hydroxyl radical in TiO2 applies to the intensive oxidizing agent, hence TiO2 is suitable to use photocatalytic materials. Black TiO2was prepared through reduction of amorphous TiO2 conducting under H2 which leads to color changes. Its black color is proven that absorbs 100% light across the whole-visible light, drawing enhancement of photocatalytic property. In this study, we aimed to compare the photocatalytic activity of silver ion doped on TiO2(TiO2/Ag+) and silver ion doped on black TiO2(black TiO2/Ag+) under visible light range. TiO2/Ag+ was fabricated following steps. 1) TiO2 was synthesized by a sol-gel method from Titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP). 2) Then AgNO3 was added during an aging process step for silver ion doping on the surface of TiO2. Moreover, Black TiO2/Ag+ was obtained same as TiO2/Ag+ except for calcination under H2. The samples were characterized X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible reflectance (UV-vis DRS), and Methylene Blue degradation test. XRD analysis confirmed morphology of TiO2. The band gap of black TiO2/Ag+ was confirmed (2.6 eV) through UV-vis DRS, which was lower than TiO2/Ag+ (2.9 eV). The photocatalytic effect was conducted by methylene blue degradation test. It demonstrated that black TiO2/Ag+ had a photocatalytic effect under UV light also visible light.

  6. BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF BANDED LEAF AND SHEATH BLIGHT DISEASE (Rhizoctonia solani KUHN IN CORN WITH FORMULATED Bacillus subtilis BR23

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amran Muis

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn. causing banded leaf and sheath blight diseases is one of the important fungi of corn world wide. The fungus is commonly controlled by using fungicide because no resistant variety available. The objective of the study was to develop a seed treatment formulation of the selected Bacillus subtilis to control R. solani in corn. The study was conducted in the Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines Los Bañòs, College, Laguna from May 2004 to August 2005, using sweet corn var. IPB Supersweet as test plant. Corn seeds were surface sterilized for 10 minutes in 1% sodium hypochlorite solution and 5% ethanol, washed thrice with sterile distilled water and air-dried. The seeds were coated with formulated B. subtilis BR23 and used for several experiments, such as evaluation for their germination and growth in the laboratory, effectively on R. solani in the baked and nonbaked field soil under greenhouse condition, and in the microplots artificially infested with R. solani. The treatment was compared with other standard seed treatment of synthetic fungicides such as captan (10 g per kg seeds and metalaxyl (10 g per kg seeds. The experiments were designed in a completely random design with three replications. Parameters observed were seed germination, plant height, disease scores, and plant yield. Laboratory formulated B. subtilis BR23 used as seed treatment had no detrimental effects on seed germination and seedling vigor. In microplots artificially infested with a selected highly virulent R. solani, seed treatment with the same formulation increased grain yield by 27% compared to that of the control captan seed treatment with 14.4%. The studies showed the potential of B. subtilis BR23 for commercialization as a seed treatment for the control of banded leaf and sheath blight disease (R. solani in corn.

  7. EPR imaging and HPLC characterization of the pigment-based organic free radical in black soybean seeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakagawa, Kouichi; Maeda, Hayato

    2017-02-01

    We investigated the location and distribution of paramagnetic species in dry black, brown, and yellow (normal) soybean seeds using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), X-band (9 GHz) EPR imaging (EPRI), and HPLC. EPR primarily detected two paramagnetic species in black soybean. These two different radical species were assigned as stable organic radical and Mn 2+  species based on the g values and hyperfine structures. The signal from the stable radical was noted at g ≈ 2.00 and was relatively strong and stable. Subsequent noninvasive two-dimensional (2D) EPRI of the radical present in black soybean revealed that the stable radical was primarily located in the pigmented region of the soybean coat, with very few radicals observed in the soybean cotyledon (interior). Pigments extracted from black soybean were analyzed using HPLC. The major compound was found to be cyanidin-3-glucoside. Multi-EPR and HPLC results indicate that the stable radical was only found within the pigmented region of the soybean coat, and it could be cyanidin-3-glucoside or an oxidative decomposition product.

  8. Electromagnetic properties of carbon black and barium titanate composite materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Guiqin; Chen Xiaodong; Duan Yuping; Liu Shunhua

    2008-01-01

    Nanocrystalline carbon black/barium titanate compound particle (CP) was synthesized by sol-gel method. The phase structure and morphology of compound particle were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Raman spectrum measurements, the electroconductivity was test by trielectrode arrangement and the precursor powder was followed by differential scanning calorimetric measurements (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). In addition, the complex relative permittivity and permeability of compound particle were investigated by reflection method. The compound particle/epoxide resin composite (CP/EP) with different contents of CP were measured. The results show barium titanate crystal is tetragonal phase and its grain is oval shape with 80-100 nm which was coated by carbon black film. As electromagnetic (EM) complex permittivity, permeability and reflection loss (RL) shown that the compound particle is mainly a kind of electric and dielectric lossy materials and exhibits excellent microwave absorption performance in the X- and Ku-bands

  9. Contemporary Black Theatre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Pearl

    The distinguishable black theatre in America, mirroring a distinguishable black experience, is an artistic product which demands audience involvement. Both the Afro-American oral tradition and the art of gesture are integral aspects of black theatre. In addition, the tragedy found black theatre is not tragedy in the classic sense, as blacks feel…

  10. Probing 2D black phosphorus by quantum capacitance measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuiri, Manabendra; Kumar, Chandan; Chakraborty, Biswanath; Gupta, Satyendra N; Naik, Mit H; Jain, Manish; Sood, A K; Das, Anindya

    2015-01-01

    Two-dimensional materials and their heterostructures have emerged as a new class of materials, not only for fundamental physics but also for electronic and optoelectronic applications. Black phosphorus (BP) is a relatively new addition to this class of materials. Its strong in-plane anisotropy makes BP a unique material for making conceptually new types of electronic devices. However, the global density of states (DOS) of BP in device geometry has not been measured experimentally. Here, we report the quantum capacitance measurements together with the conductance measurements on an hBN-protected few-layer BP (∼six layers) in a dual-gated field effect transistor (FET) geometry. The measured DOS from our quantum capacitance is compared with density functional theory (DFT). Our results reveal that the transport gap for quantum capacitance is smaller than that in conductance measurements due to the presence of localized states near the band edge. The presence of localized states is confirmed by the variable range hopping seen in our temperature dependence conductivity. A large asymmetry is observed between the electron and hole side. This asymmetric nature is attributed to the anisotropic band dispersion of BP. Our measurements establish the uniqueness of quantum capacitance in probing the localized states near the band edge, hitherto not seen in conductance measurements. (paper)

  11. ESR study on the interaction between carbon blacks and oxygen molecules; ESR ho ni yoru carbon black to sanso bunshi tono sogo sayo no kenkyu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Okazaki, M.; Toriyama, K.; Konishi, Y. [National Industrial Research Institute of Nagoya, Nagoya (Japan)

    2000-02-24

    Interaction between carbon blacks and oxygen molecules has been studied by means of electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The ESR spectra of the carbon blacks appears at the g-value of free spin, which are contributed by both isolated electrons and conduction electrons. Upon introducing oxygen to the system the ESR linewidth was broadened in proportion to the partial pressure of oxygen. In case of lampblack (LB 101, Degussa) the interaction was not so strong that it took a tong time at 77K for the linewidth to reach the maxmum value. In case of gassblack (P 140 V, Degussa), on the other hand, the oxygen was easily adsorbed at 298K and the linewidth at 77K became its maximum immediately after cooling. The number of unpaired electrons decreased when the system was kept at 298 K and the decrease was prominent for the local spins. These phenomena have been explained with a simple band model for the electron. (author)

  12. Caged black holes: Black holes in compactified spacetimes. I. Theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kol, Barak; Sorkin, Evgeny; Piran, Tsvi

    2004-01-01

    In backgrounds with compact dimensions there may exist several phases of black objects including a black hole and a black string. The phase transition between them raises questions and touches on fundamental issues such as topology change, uniqueness, and cosmic censorship. No analytic solution is known for the black hole, and moreover one can expect approximate solutions only for very small black holes, while phase transition physics happens when the black hole is large. Hence we turn to numerical solutions. Here some theoretical background to the numerical analysis is given, while the results will appear in a subsequent paper. The goals for a numerical analysis are set. The scalar charge and tension along the compact dimension are defined and used as improved order parameters which put both the black hole and the black string at finite values on the phase diagram. The predictions for small black holes are presented. The differential and the integrated forms of the first law are derived, and the latter (Smarr's formula) can be used to estimate the 'overall numerical error'. Field asymptotics and expressions for physical quantities in terms of the numerical values are supplied. The techniques include the 'method of equivalent charges', free energy, dimensional reduction, and analytic perturbation for small black holes

  13. Takayasu's disease in a young black boy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oguntona, S A

    2010-12-01

    Takayusu's disease is a rare disease affecting women predominantly during the child- bearing age. It is a primary vasculitis condition of large-vessels that responds well to steroid therapy. Immunosuppressives and vascular reconstruction may be needed as necessary. Reference was made to the case note of this young boy who was being co-managed by cardiology and vascular clinics. The diagnosis of Takayasu's disease was confirmed by the rheumatology unit and appropriate literature search was done. Takayusu's disease responds well to steroid therapy as exemplified by this patient. There was no relapse of the active inflammation after six months of steroid therapy. A high index of suspicion must be exercise in diagnosing Takayasu's disease. It could be difficult to have a clue early in the disease process because of non-specific presentations. Appropriate referral should however be made to Rheumatologist when the diagnosis is suspected. This will go a long way in delaying the morbidity that is associated with this rare disease.

  14. Primary black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novikov, I.; Polnarev, A.

    1981-01-01

    Proves are searched for of the formation of the so-called primary black holes at the very origin of the universe. The black holes would weigh less than 10 13 kg. The formation of a primary black hole is conditional on strong fluctuations of the gravitational field corresponding roughly to a half of the fluctuation maximally permissible by the general relativity theory. Only big fluctuations of the gravitational field can overcome the forces of the hot gas pressure and compress the originally expanding matter into a black hole. Low-mass black holes have a temperature exceeding that of the black holes formed from stars. A quantum process of particle formation, the so-called evaporation takes place in the strong gravitational field of a black hole. The lower the mass of the black hole, the shorter the evaporation time. The analyses of processes taking place during the evaporation of low-mass primary black holes show that only a very small proportion of the total mass of the matter in the universe could turn into primary black holes. (M.D.)

  15. Three-Dimensional Integration of Black Phosphorus Photodetector with Silicon Photonics and Nanoplasmonics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Che; Youngblood, Nathan; Peng, Ruoming; Yoo, Daehan; Mohr, Daniel A; Johnson, Timothy W; Oh, Sang-Hyun; Li, Mo

    2017-02-08

    We demonstrate the integration of a black phosphorus photodetector in a hybrid, three-dimensional architecture of silicon photonics and metallic nanoplasmonics structures. This integration approach combines the advantages of the low propagation loss of silicon waveguides, high-field confinement of a plasmonic nanogap, and the narrow bandgap of black phosphorus to achieve high responsivity for detection of telecom-band, near-infrared light. Benefiting from an ultrashort channel (∼60 nm) and near-field enhancement enabled by the nanogap structure, the photodetector shows an intrinsic responsivity as high as 10 A/W afforded by internal gain mechanisms, and a 3 dB roll-off frequency of 150 MHz. This device demonstrates a promising approach for on-chip integration of three distinctive photonic systems, which, as a generic platform, may lead to future nanophotonic applications for biosensing, nonlinear optics, and optical signal processing.

  16. 77 FR 70423 - Black Bear Hydro Partners, LLC and Black Bear Development Holdings, LLC and Black Bear SO, LLC...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-26

    ... Bear Hydro Partners, LLC and Black Bear Development Holdings, LLC and Black Bear SO, LLC; Notice of..., 2012, Black Bear Hydro Partners, LLC, sole licensee (transferor) and Black Bear Development Holdings, LLC and Black Bear SO, LLC (transferees) filed an application for the partial the transfer of licenses...

  17. Phase transition for black holes with scalar hair and topological black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Myung, Yun Soo

    2008-01-01

    We study phase transitions between black holes with scalar hair and topological black holes in asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes. As the ground state solutions, we introduce the non-rotating BTZ black hole in three dimensions and topological black hole with hyperbolic horizon in four dimensions. For the temperature matching only, we show that the phase transition between black hole with scalar hair (Martinez-Troncoso-Zanelli black hole) and topological black hole is second-order by using differences between two free energies. However, we do not identify what order of the phase transition between scalar and non-rotating BTZ black holes occurs in three dimensions, although there exists a possible decay of scalar black hole to non-rotating BTZ black hole

  18. From binary black hole simulation to triple black hole simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bai Shan; Cao Zhoujian; Han, Wen-Biao; Lin, Chun-Yu; Yo, Hwei-Jang; Yu, Jui-Ping

    2011-01-01

    Black hole systems are among the most promising sources for a gravitational wave detection project. Now, China is planning to construct a space-based laser interferometric detector as a follow-on mission of LISA in the near future. Aiming to provide some theoretical support to this detection project on the numerical relativity side, we focus on black hole systems simulation in this work. Considering the globular galaxy, multiple black hole systems also likely to exist in our universe and play a role as a source for the gravitational wave detector we are considering. We will give a progress report in this paper on our black hole system simulation. More specifically, we will present triple black hole simulation together with binary black hole simulation. On triple black hole simulations, one novel perturbational method is proposed.

  19. The stressors of being young and Black: Cardiovascular health and Black young adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Anna K; Corneille, Maya A; Hall, Naomi M; Yancu, Cecile N; Myers, Micha

    2016-05-01

    To examine the impact of stressors relevant to the lives of Black young adults including racial, financial, occupational, and general stress and psychological distress on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Specifically, this study examined the relationship between multiple psychosocial stressors and two CVD risk indicators (i.e. obesity and blood pressure). This study used a quantitative design which included surveys, the collection of anthropometric and blood pressure (BP) measures. Participants were 124 Black college students aged 18 to 27 years old. Participants completed measures to assess psychological distress, general, occupational, financial and racial stress. Measures of body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and BP were collected to assess CVD risk. Findings indicated a significant effect of internalised racism on BMI and a significant effect of individual racial stress on diastolic BP. Also, depression was significantly associated with systolic BP. There were no significant results for WHR. Findings suggested that the relationship among racial stress, psychological distress and CVD be further explored.

  20. Surface geometry of 5D black holes and black rings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frolov, Valeri P.; Goswami, Rituparno

    2007-01-01

    We discuss geometrical properties of the horizon surface of five-dimensional rotating black holes and black rings. Geometrical invariants characterizing these 3D geometries are calculated. We obtain a global embedding of the 5D rotating black horizon surface into a flat space. We also describe the Kaluza-Klein reduction of the black ring solution (along the direction of its rotation) which, though it is nakedly singular, relates this solution to the 4D metric of a static black hole distorted by the presence of external scalar (dilaton) and vector ('electromagnetic') fields. The properties of the reduced black hole horizon and its embedding in E 3 are briefly discussed

  1. Physical fitness and health risk assessment of urban black females ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Whereas coronary heart disease was not a major cause of death among black populations of South Africa in the past, the situation is fast changing. Health and fitness providers should give special attention to the modifiable risk factors of coronary heart disease for all populations. The aim of the present study was to identify ...

  2. Black Holes

    OpenAIRE

    Townsend, P. K.

    1997-01-01

    This paper is concerned with several not-quantum aspects of black holes, with emphasis on theoretical and mathematical issues related to numerical modeling of black hole space-times. Part of the material has a review character, but some new results or proposals are also presented. We review the experimental evidence for existence of black holes. We propose a definition of black hole region for any theory governed by a symmetric hyperbolic system of equations. Our definition reproduces the usu...

  3. Black silicon solar cells with black bus-bar strings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Davidsen, Rasmus Schmidt; Tang, Peter Torben; Mizushima, Io

    2016-01-01

    We present the combination of black silicon texturing and blackened bus-bar strings as a potential method for obtaining all-black solar panels, while using conventional, front-contacted solar cells. Black silicon was realized by maskless reactive ion etching resulting in total, average reflectance...... below 0.5% across a 156x156 mm2 silicon wafer. Four different methods to obtain blackened bus-bar strings were compared with respect to reflectance, and two of these methods (i.e., oxidized copper and etched solder) were used to fabricate functional allblack solar 9-cell panels. The black bus-bars (e.......g., by oxidized copper) have a reflectance below 3% in the entire visible wavelength range. The combination of black silicon cells and blackened bus-bars results in aesthetic, all-black panels based on conventional, front-contacted solar cells without compromising efficiency....

  4. Forbidden energy band gap in diluted a-Ge{sub 1-x}Si{sub x}:N films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guarneros, C.; Rebollo-Plata, B. [Posgrado en Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Fisico-Matematicas, Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Blvd. 14 Sur 6301, Col. San Manuel, 72570, Puebla (Mexico); Lozada-Morales, R., E-mail: rlozada@fcfm.buap.mx [Posgrado en Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Fisico-Matematicas, Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Blvd. 14 Sur 6301, Col. San Manuel, 72570, Puebla (Mexico); Espinosa-Rosales, J.E. [Posgrado en Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Fisico-Matematicas, Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Blvd. 14 Sur 6301, Col. San Manuel, 72570, Puebla (Mexico); Portillo-Moreno, J. [Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Blvd. 14 Sur 6301, Col. San Manuel, 72570, Puebla (Mexico); Zelaya-Angel, O. [Departamento de Fisica, Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, PO Box 14-740, Mexico 07360 D.F. (Mexico)

    2012-06-01

    By means of electron gun evaporation Ge{sub 1-x}Si{sub x}:N thin films, in the entire range 0 {<=} x {<=} 1, were prepared on Si (100) and glass substrates. The initial vacuum reached was 6.6 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -4} Pa, then a pressure of 2.7 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -2} Pa of high purity N{sub 2} was introduced into the chamber. The deposition time was 4 min. Crucible-substrate distance was 18 cm. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that all the films were amorphous (a-Ge{sub 1-x}Si{sub x}:N). The nitrogen concentration was of the order of 1 at% for all the films. From optical absorption spectra data and by using the Tauc method the energy band gap (E{sub g}) was calculated. The Raman spectra only reveal the presence of Si-Si, Ge-Ge, and Si-Ge bonds. Nevertheless, infrared spectra demonstrate the existence of Si-N and Ge-N bonds. The forbidden energy band gap (E{sub g}) as a function of x in the entire range 0 {<=} x {<=} 1 shows two well defined regions: 0 {<=} x {<=} 0.67 and 0.67 {<=} x {<=} 1, due to two different behaviors of the band gap, where for x > 0.67 exists an abruptly change of E{sub g}(x). In this case E{sub g}(x) versus x is different to the variation of E{sub g} in a-Ge{sub 1-x}Si{sub x} and a-Ge{sub 1-x}Si{sub x}:H. This fact can be related to the formation of Ge{sub 3}N{sub 4} and GeSi{sub 2}N{sub 4} when x {<=} 0.67, and to the formation of Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} and GeSi{sub 2}N{sub 4} for 0.67 {<=} x. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Nitrogen doped amorphous Ge{sub 1-x}Si{sub x} thin films are grown by electron gun technique. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Nitrogen atoms on E{sub g} of the a-Ge{sub 1-x}Si{sub x} films in the 0 Pound-Sign x Pound-Sign 1 range are analyzed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Variation in 0 Pound-Sign x Pound-Sign 1 range shows a warped change of E{sub g} in 1.0 - 3.6 eV range. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The change in E{sub g}(x) behavior when x {approx} 0.67 was associated with Ge{sub 2}SiN{sub 4

  5. Reward banding to determine reporting rate of recovered mourning dove bands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomlinson, R.E.

    1968-01-01

    Reward bands placed on the other leg of certain regularly banded immature mourning doves (Zenaidura macroura) were used to develop information on reporting rates of recovered dove bands. Reports from 15 widely separated sections of the United States showed considerable variation in recovery rate of doves both with and without reward bands. The overall percentages of banded doves that were reported as recovered were 9.69% for those with reward bands and 3.83% for controls. The bandreporting rate for states influenced by publicity was 66%; that for states not influenced was 32%.

  6. Measuring the spin of black holes in binary systems using gravitational waves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vitale, Salvatore; Lynch, Ryan; Veitch, John; Raymond, Vivien; Sturani, Riccardo

    2014-06-27

    Compact binary coalescences are the most promising sources of gravitational waves (GWs) for ground-based detectors. Binary systems containing one or two spinning black holes are particularly interesting due to spin-orbit (and eventual spin-spin) interactions and the opportunity of measuring spins directly through GW observations. In this Letter, we analyze simulated signals emitted by spinning binaries with several values of masses, spins, orientations, and signal-to-noise ratios, as detected by an advanced LIGO-Virgo network. We find that for moderate or high signal-to-noise ratio the spin magnitudes can be estimated with errors of a few percent (5%-30%) for neutron star-black hole (black hole-black hole) systems. Spins' tilt angle can be estimated with errors of 0.04 rad in the best cases, but typical values will be above 0.1 rad. Errors will be larger for signals barely above the threshold for detection. The difference in the azimuth angles of the spins, which may be used to check if spins are locked into resonant configurations, cannot be constrained. We observe that the best performances are obtained when the line of sight is perpendicular to the system's total angular momentum and that a sudden change of behavior occurs when a system is observed from angles such that the plane of the orbit can be seen both from above and below during the time the signal is in band. This study suggests that direct measurement of black hole spin by means of GWs can be as precise as what can be obtained from x-ray binaries.

  7. MODELS OF KILONOVA/MACRONOVA EMISSION FROM BLACK HOLE–NEUTRON STAR MERGERS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawaguchi, Kyohei; Shibata, Masaru; Kyutoku, Koutarou; Tanaka, Masaomi

    2016-01-01

    Black hole–neutron star (BH–NS) mergers are among the most promising gravitational-wave sources for ground-based detectors, and gravitational waves from BH–NS mergers are expected to be detected in the next few years. The simultaneous detection of electromagnetic counterparts with gravitational waves would provide rich information about merger events. Among the possible electromagnetic counterparts from BH–NS mergers is the so-called kilonova/macronova, emission powered by the decay of radioactive r-process nuclei, which is one of the best targets for follow-up observations. We derive fitting formulas for the mass and the velocity of ejecta from a generic BH–NS merger based on recently performed numerical-relativity simulations. We combine these fitting formulas with a new semi-analytic model for a BH–NS kilonova/macronova lightcurve, which reproduces the results of radiation-transfer simulations. Specifically, the semi-analytic model reproduces the results of each band magnitude obtained by the previous radiation-transfer simulations within ∼1 mag. By using this semi-analytic model we found that, at 400 Mpc, the kilonova/macronova is as bright as 22–24 mag for cases with a small chirp mass and a high black hole spin, and >28 mag for a large chirp mass and a low black hole spin. We also apply our model to GRB 130603B as an illustration, and show that a BH–NS merger with a rapidly spinning black hole and a large neutron star radius is favored.

  8. Epigenetic basis of neuronal plasticity: Association with R/G-band boundaries on human chromosomes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshihisa Watanabe

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Epigenetic mechanisms have been suggested to have roles in neuroplasticity, in particular with regard to learning and memory formation, and in a range of neural diseases. In addition to epigenetic marks, the human genome also contains large-scale compartmentalized structures that might also influence neuroplasticity and neural disease. These structures result from variations in the amounts of GC% and in the timing of DNA replication and give rise to longitudinal differentiation (light and dark bands along chromosomes after the appropriate staining. Here we describe our current understanding of the biological importance of the boundaries between these light and dark bands (the so-called R/G boundaries. We propose that the R/G-band boundaries on human chromosomes can be altered by epigenetic mechanisms, and that these changes may affect neuroplasticity, which is important to memory and learning, and may also have a role in the development of neural diseases associated with genomic instability.

  9. Monitoring the Black Hole Binary GRS 1758-258 with INTEGRAL and RXTE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pottschmidt, Katja; Chernyakova, Masha; Lubinski, Piotr; Migliari, Simone; Smith, David M.; Zdziarski, Andrzej A.; Tomsick, John A.; Bezayiff, N.; Kreykenbohm, Ingo; Kretschmar, Peter; hide

    2008-01-01

    The microquasar GRS 1758-258 is one of only three persistent black hole binaries that spend most of their time in the hard spectral state, the other two being Cyg X-l and 1E 1741.7-2942. It therefore provides the rare opportunity for an extensive long term study of this important black hole state which is associated with strong variability and radio jet emission. INTEGRAL has been monitoring the source since the first Galactic Center Deep Exposure season in spring 2003 during two 2-3 months long Galactic Center viewing epochs each year, amounting to 11 epochs including spring of 2008. With the exception of the last epoch quasi-simultaneous RXTE monitoring observations are available as well. Here we present an analysis of the epoch averaged broad band spectra which display considerable long term variability, most notably the occurrence of two soft/off states, extreme examples for the hysteretic behavior of black hole binaries. The hard source spectrum and long exposures allow us to extend the analysis for several epochs to approximately 800 keV using PICsIT data and address the question of the presence of a non-thermal Comptonization component.

  10. Distortion of Schwarzschild-anti-de Sitter black holes to black strings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tomimatsu, Akira

    2005-01-01

    Motivated by the existence of black holes with various topologies in four-dimensional spacetimes with a negative cosmological constant, we study axisymmetric static solutions describing any large distortions of Schwarzschild-anti-de Sitter black holes parametrized by the mass m. Under the approximation such that m is much larger than the anti-de Sitter radius, it is found that a cylindrically symmetric black string is obtained as a special limit of distorted spherical black holes. Such a prolonged distortion of the event horizon connecting a Schwarzschild-anti-de Sitter black hole to a black string is allowed without violating both the usual black hole thermodynamics and the hoop conjecture for the horizon circumference

  11. Heart Disease and African Americans

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Minority Population Profiles > Black/African American > Heart Disease Heart Disease and African Americans Although African American adults are ... were 30 percent more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic whites. African American women are ...

  12. Beliefs, knowledge and attitudes towards Parkinson's disease among a Xhosa speaking black population in South Africa: A cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mokaya, Jolynne; Gray, William K; Carr, Jonathan

    2017-08-01

    Many patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are thought to be undiagnosed and untreated, leading to poor health outcomes. Increasing rates of diagnosis and treatment, with consequent improvements in the quality of life of people with PD in SSA requires an understanding of how PD is perceived and conceptualized within communities. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a group of Xhosa speaking black South Africans. The survey involved the administration of questionnaires on beliefs, knowledge and attitudes about PD to the public, people with PD (PwPD) and traditional healers (THs). 18% of the participants could identify PD through its symptoms. Mental illness, other diseases, stress, expressing strong emotions, consumption of certain foods or drinks and witchcraft were identified as possible causes of PD. PwPD and THs had a greater knowledge of PD than the public and greater age was a significant predictor of greater knowledge. The public and THs had a greater degree of concern about a range of symptoms of PD compared to PwPD. There is a striking lack of knowledge about PD amongst black South Africans. Almost half the members of the general public interviewed felt that PwPD should not live amongst their community, and a third considered that witchcraft could be a cause of PD. Finding ways to effectively educate members of a community about PD would make it easier for PwPD to adapt to their condition within their communities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Low-mass black holes as the remnants of primordial black hole formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greene, Jenny E

    2012-01-01

    Bridging the gap between the approximately ten solar mass 'stellar mass' black holes and the 'supermassive' black holes of millions to billions of solar masses are the elusive 'intermediate-mass' black holes. Their discovery is key to understanding whether supermassive black holes can grow from stellar-mass black holes or whether a more exotic process accelerated their growth soon after the Big Bang. Currently, tentative evidence suggests that the progenitors of supermassive black holes were formed as ∼10(4)-10(5) M(⊙) black holes via the direct collapse of gas. Ongoing searches for intermediate-mass black holes at galaxy centres will help shed light on this formation mechanism.

  14. Liquor oligoclonal bands assay: interpretation, correlation with other laboratory assays and importance for diagnostics of neurological disorders

    OpenAIRE

    Bagdonas, Dovydas

    2017-01-01

    Aim: to analyse the possible relationship between liquor IgG oligoclonal bands assay and other laboratory assays in neurological patients. Objectives: to determine the frequency of oligoclonal bands in neurological patients; to compare the results between serum and liquor laboratory assays in dependence of oligoclonal bands assay results; to evaluate the relationships between oligoclonal bands assay and serological-immunological assays for infectious diseases, gender, age and neurological ...

  15. Black Teenage Pregnancy in South Africa: Some Considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunningham, Peter W.; Boult, Brenda E.

    1996-01-01

    Asserts black teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in South Africa are at threatening levels. Outlines selected consequences based on the assertion that teenage pregnancy is multi-causational. Hypothesizes teenage pregnancy needs reexamination in terms of the pheronomal climate's impact on prepuberial girls; and nature's way of…

  16. Black Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela Khristin Brown

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The migration of blacks in North America through slavery became united.  The population of blacks past downs a tradition of artist through art to native born citizens. The art tradition involved telling stories to each generation in black families. The black culture elevated by tradition created hope to determine their personal freedom to escape from poverty of enslavement and to establish a way of life through tradition. A way of personal freedoms was through getting a good education that lead to a better foundation and a better way of life.

  17. Magnetized black holes and black rings in the higher dimensional dilaton gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yazadjiev, Stoytcho S.

    2006-01-01

    In this paper we consider magnetized black holes and black rings in the higher dimensional dilaton gravity. Our study is based on exact solutions generated by applying a Harrison transformation to known asymptotically flat black hole and black ring solutions in higher dimensional spacetimes. The explicit solutions include the magnetized version of the higher dimensional Schwarzschild-Tangherlini black holes, Myers-Perry black holes, and five-dimensional (dipole) black rings. The basic physical quantities of the magnetized objects are calculated. We also discuss some properties of the solutions and their thermodynamics. The ultrarelativistic limits of the magnetized solutions are briefly discussed and an explicit example is given for the D-dimensional magnetized Schwarzschild-Tangherlini black holes

  18. RACE DIFFERENCES IN DIET QUALITY OF URBAN FOOD-INSECURE BLACKS AND WHITES REVEALS RESLIENCY IN BLACKS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Allyssa J.; Kuczmarski, Marie Fanelli; Evans, Michele K.; Zonderman, Alan B.; Waldstein, Shari R.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction Evidence from epidemiological studies shows a link between food insecurity and diet intake or quality. However, the moderating effect of race in this relation has not yet been studied. Methods Food insecurity (USDA Food Security Module) and diet quality (Healthy Eating Index-2010; HEI) were measured in 1,741 participants from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study. Data were collected from 2004–2009 and analyzed in 2014. Multivariable regression assessed the interaction of race and food insecurity on HEI scores, adjusting for age, sex, poverty status, single parent status, drug, alcohol, and cigarette use, and co-morbid diseases. Results The interaction of food insecurity and race was significantly associated with diet quality (p=.001). In the absence of food insecurity, HEI scores were similar across race. However, with each food insecurity item endorsed, HEI scores were substantially lower for Whites compared to Blacks. An ad-hoc analysis revealed that Blacks were more likely than Whites to participate in SNAP (p quality. Conclusions Study findings provide the first evidence that the influence of food insecurity on diet quality may be potentiated for Whites, but not Blacks. Additionally, results show that Blacks are more likely to participate in SNAP, and show attendant buffering of the effects of food insecurity on diet quality. These findings may have important implications for understanding how food insecurity affects diet quality differentially by race. PMID:27294760

  19. Life with a Gastric Band. Long-Term Outcomes of Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding-a Retrospective Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kowalewski, Piotr K; Olszewski, Robert; Kwiatkowski, Andrzej; Gałązka-Świderek, Natalia; Cichoń, Krzysztof; Paśnik, Krzysztof

    2017-05-01

    Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) is the third most popular bariatric procedure worldwide. Various authors present ambivalent long-term follow up results. We revised records of the patients who underwent LAGB between 2003 and 2006 along with history of additional check-ins. Patients with outdated details were tracked with the national health insurance database and social media (Facebook). An online survey was sent. The patients who did not have their band removed were included in this study. We calculated the percent total weight loss (%TWL) and percent excess weight loss (%EWL), along with changes in body mass index (ΔBMI). Satisfactory weight loss was set at >50% EWL (for BMI = 25 kg/m 2 ). Since eight patients gained weight, we decided to include negative values of %TWL, %EWL, and ΔBMI. One hundred seven patients underwent LAGB from 2003 to 2006. The mean follow-up time was 11.2 (±1.2) years. Eleven percent of patients were lost to follow up (n = 12). There was one perioperative death. Fifty-four of the patients (n = 57) had their band removed. Thirty-seven patients still have the band (39%) and were included in the study. The mean %EWL was 27% (-56-112%) and %TWL was 11% (-19-53%). Twelve patients achieved %EWL > 50% (32%). Thiry-two patients still suffer from obesity, with BMI over 30 kg/m 2 . Eight patients (22%) gained additional weight. Patients with %EWL > 50% suffered less from gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms than those with EWL < 50% (p < 0.05). Out of 107 cases, only 11.2% of patients with gastric band (n = 12) achieved satisfactory %EWL. Twenty-two percent of patients regained their weight or even exceeded it. Overall results suggest that LAGB is not an effective bariatric procedure in long term observation.

  20. Survival advantage in black versus white men with CKD: effect of estimated GFR and case mix.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovesdy, Csaba P; Quarles, L Darryl; Lott, Evan H; Lu, Jun Ling; Ma, Jennie Z; Molnar, Miklos Z; Kalantar-Zadeh, Kamyar

    2013-08-01

    Black dialysis patients have significantly lower mortality compared with white patients, in contradistinction to the higher mortality seen in blacks in the general population. It is unclear whether a similar paradox exists in patients with non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (CKD), and if it does, what its underlying reasons are. Historical cohort. 518,406 white and 52,402 black male US veterans with non-dialysis-dependent CKD stages 3-5. Black race. We examined overall and CKD stage-specific all-cause mortality using parametric survival models. The effect of sociodemographic characteristics, comorbid conditions, and laboratory characteristics on the observed differences was explored in multivariable models. During a median follow-up of 4.7 years, 172,093 patients died (mortality rate, 71.0 [95% CI, 70.6-71.3] per 1,000 patient-years). Black race was associated with significantly lower crude mortality (HR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.94-0.97; P case-mix and laboratory characteristics occurring during the course of kidney disease. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the National Kidney Foundation, Inc.

  1. Probing the Accretion Geometry of Black Holes with X-Ray Polarization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnitman, Jeremy D.

    2011-01-01

    In the coming years, new space missions will be able to measure X-ray polarization at levels of 1% or better in the approx.1-10 keV energy band. In particular, X-ray polarization is an ideal tool for determining the nature of black hole (BH) accretion disks surrounded by hot coronae. Using a Monte Carlo radiation transport code in full general relativity, we calculate the spectra and polarization features of these BH systems. At low energies, the signal is dominated by the thermal flux coming directly from the optically thick disk. At higher energies, the thermal seed photons have been inverse-Compton scattered by the corona, often reflecting back off the disk before reaching the observer, giving a distinctive polarization signature. By measuring the degree and angle of this X-ray polarization, we can infer the BH inclination, the emission geometry of the accretion flow, and also determine the spin of the black hole.

  2. Gravitational Waveforms in the Early Inspiral of Binary Black Hole Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barkett, Kevin; Kumar, Prayush; Bhagwat, Swetha; Brown, Duncan; Scheel, Mark; Szilagyi, Bela; Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes Collaboration

    2015-04-01

    The inspiral, merger and ringdown of compact object binaries are important targets for gravitational wave detection by aLIGO. Detection and parameter estimation will require long, accurate waveforms for comparison. There are a number of analytical models for generating gravitational waveforms for these systems, but the only way to ensure their consistency and correctness is by comparing with numerical relativity simulations that cover many inspiral orbits. We've simulated a number of binary black hole systems with mass ratio 7 and a moderate, aligned spin on the larger black hole. We have attached these numerical waveforms to analytical waveform models to generate long hybrid gravitational waveforms that span the entire aLIGO frequency band. We analyze the robustness of these hybrid waveforms and measure the faithfulness of different hybrids with each other to obtain an estimate on how long future numerical simulations need to be in order to ensure that waveforms are accurate enough for use by aLIGO.

  3. Echocardiographic strain and mortality in Black Americans with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pressman, Gregg S; Seetha Rammohan, Harish Raj; Romero-Corral, Abel; Fumo, Peter; Figueredo, Vincent M; Gorcsan, John

    2015-11-15

    End-stage renal disease (ESRD) presents a significant health burden and is associated with high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This is particularly true in African Americans who generally have higher rates of cardiovascular mortality. Outcomes in ESRD are related to extent of cardiovascular disease, but markers for outcome are not clearly established. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) has emerged as an important measure of left ventricular systolic function that is additive to traditional ejection fraction (EF). It can be measured on routine digital echocardiography and is reproducible. This study tested the hypothesis that GLS is associated with mortality in black Americans with ESRD and preserved EF. Forty-eight outpatients undergoing hemodialysis, 59.4 ± 13.3 years, with EF ≥50% were prospectively enrolled. GLS, measured by an offline speckle tracking algorithm, ranged from -8.6% to -22.0% with a mean of -13.4%, substantially below normal (-16% or more negative). The prevalence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction, as determined by GLS, was 89%. Patients were followed for an average of 1.9 years; all-cause mortality was 19% (9 deaths). GLS was significantly associated with mortality (hazard ratio 1.15, 95% confidence interval 1.02 to 1.30, p = 0.02), whereas EF was not. After adjustment for multiple potential confounders (age, gender, race, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, coronary disease, heart failure, and EF), GLS remained strongly associated with mortality (hazard ratio 1.30, 95% confidence interval 1.10 to 1.56, p = 0.002). In conclusion, GLS is an important index in patients with ESRD, which is additive to EF as a marker for mortality in this high-risk group. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Variation in immune parameters and disease prevalence among Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus sp. with different migratory strategies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Arriero

    Full Text Available The ability to control infections is a key trait for migrants that must be balanced against other costly features of the migratory life. In this study we explored the links between migration and disease ecology by examining natural variation in parasite exposure and immunity in several populations of Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus with different migratory strategies. We found higher activity of natural antibodies in long distance migrants from the nominate subspecies L.f.fuscus. Circulating levels of IgY showed large variation at the population level, while immune parameters associated with antimicrobial activity showed extensive variation at the individual level irrespective of population or migratory strategy. Pathogen prevalence showed large geographical variation. However, the seroprevalence of one of the gull-specific subtypes of avian influenza (H16 was associated to the migratory strategy, with lower prevalence among the long-distance migrants, suggesting that migration may play a role in disease dynamics of certain pathogens at the population level.

  5. Monitoring Disaster-Related Power Outages Using NASA Black Marble Nighttime Light Product

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Z.; Román, M. O.; Sun, Q.; Molthan, A. L.; Schultz, L. A.; Kalb, V. L.

    2018-04-01

    Timely and accurate monitoring of disruptions to the electricity grid, including the magnitude, spatial extent, timing, and duration of net power losses, is needed to improve situational awareness of disaster response and long-term recovery efforts. Satellite-derived Nighttime Lights (NTL) provide an indication of human activity patterns and have been successfully used to monitor disaster-related power outages. The global 500 m spatial resolution National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Black Marble NTL daily standard product suite (VNP46) is generated from Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB) onboard the NASA/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi- NPP) satellite, which began operations on 19 January 2012. With its improvements in product accuracy (including critical atmospheric and BRDF correction routines), the VIIRS daily Black Mable product enables systematic monitoring of outage conditions across all stages of the disaster management cycle.

  6. [Photodrugtherapy of psoriasis with oral psoralen and black light therapy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corrales Padilla, H

    1975-01-01

    Oral 4, 5', 8 trimethoxypsoralen (TMP) or 8-M-methoxypsoralen (8 MP) plus black light therapy of psoriasis produced disappearing of lesions in 6 out of 8 pacients treated with TMP and in 6 out of 7 treated with 8 MP. In three patients treated with the first drug, a paired comparision demonstrated that the ingestion of it, when followed of black exposure, is more effective than the exposure to conventional ultraviolet light. Parrish et al. have shown this for oral methoxalen and long wave ultraviolet light. Combined TMP or 8-MP and black light therapy inhibits epidermal DNA synthesis and this is the scientific base of its application in the therapy of psoriasis, disease in which an accelerated celular cicle and DNA synthesis has been postulated.

  7. On the Hybrid F1 Characteristics of Physiology, Biochemistry, Product Quality and Resistance to Black Shank in Oriental Tobacco

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen X

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Experiments were conducted from 1996 to 1998 at the Hefei Institute of Economics and Technology and at the Oriental Experimental Station of the Zhejiang Province (China. Seven F1 hybrids and three parental varieties of Oriental tobaccos were evaluated for the characteristics of photosynthetic and transpiration rates, esterase isozymes, resistance to black shank, quality and product potential from the 1996-1998 growing seasons. Tobacco leaves had higher photosynthetic rates and many differences among genotypes in the early stage of plant vigorous growth compared with more mature leaves. However, transpiration rates were lower in the younger leaves and greater in the more mature leaves. All the entries had four common bands (B1, B3, B4 and B6 of the esterase isoenzymes. Differences between entries resulted from in having or not having the B2 and B5 bands and color intensity differences of all the bands. These differences could be used to identify individual entries. The F1hybrids Samsun X Toy and Samsun X Argjiro, compared with the CK Samsun control, had obvious heterotic vigor in the characteristics of product, for yield, quality and resistance to black shank. The F1 hybrid Samsun X Toy maintained higher photosynthetic and transpiration rates in the two growth stages compared to other entries. However, the F1hybrid Samsun X Argjiro had higher photosynthetic rates and lower transpiration rates in the early growth stage and the two rates were lower in the later stage, but it maintained higher photosynthetic rates for the whole growth stage. Net photosynthetic rates had a significant positive correlation with yield product, quality and resistance to black shank of the Oriental tobacco F1hybrids.

  8. Black Lung Benefits Act: standards for chest radiographs. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-04-17

    Physicians and adjudicators use chest radiographs (X-rays) as a tool in evaluating whether a coal miner suffers from pneumoconiosis (black lung disease). Accordingly, the Department's regulations implementing the Black Lung Benefits Act allow the submission of radiographs in connection with benefit claims and set out quality standards for administering and interpreting film-based chest radiographs. This final rule updates the Department's existing film-radiograph standards and provides parallel standards for digital radiographs. This rule also updates outdated terminology and removes certain obsolete provisions.

  9. The role of black rice (Oryza sativa L.) in the control of hypercholesterolemia in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salgado, Jocelem Mastrodi; Oliveira, Anderson Giovanni Candido de; Mansi, Débora Niero; Donado-Pestana, Carlos M; Bastos, Candido Ricardo; Marcondes, Fernanda Klein

    2010-12-01

    Cardiovascular disease is a serious public health problem; it is the first "cause of death" in Brazil and in developed countries. Thus, it is essential to search for alternative sources such as some functional foods to prevent and control the risks of this disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the lipidemic parameters in hypercholesterolemic rats fed diets containing black rice variety IAC 600 or unrefined rice. Adult male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus var. albinos) were used, weighing about 200-220 g. The animals were divided into four groups: the first received a control casein diet, the second received hypercholesterolemic diet, and the other two groups, after induction of hypercholesterolemia, received the test diets, the first containing 20% black rice and the second 20% unrefined, for 30 days. It was observed that diet containing black rice reduced the level of plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein. For high-density lipoprotein values, the diet that provided an increase in the levels was the black rice. The diet containing black rice was more effective in controlling the lipidemia in rats compared with the whole rice diet.

  10. The Black Lives Matter Movement and Historically Black Colleges and Universities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gasman, Marybeth

    2017-01-01

    This article looks at the Black Lives Matter Movement and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) continue to play an important role in society. However, what the Black Lives Matter movement shows consistently is that predominantly White institutions need to change, to step up and embrace…

  11. Hemoglobin C, S-C, and E Diseases

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... quickly than others, resulting in chronic anemia. Hemoglobin C disease Hemoglobin C disease occurs mostly in blacks. ... a common complication of hemoglobin C disease. Hemoglobin S-C disease Hemoglobin S-C disease occurs in people who ...

  12. Dual-band frequency selective surface with large band separation and stable performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Hang; Qu, Shao-Bo; Peng, Wei-Dong; Lin, Bao-Qin; Wang, Jia-Fu; Ma, Hua; Zhang, Jie-Qiu; Bai, Peng; Wang, Xu-Hua; Xu, Zhuo

    2012-05-01

    A new technique of designing a dual-band frequency selective surface with large band separation is presented. This technique is based on a delicately designed topology of L- and Ku-band microwave filters. The two band-pass responses are generated by a capacitively-loaded square-loop frequency selective surface and an aperture-coupled frequency selective surface, respectively. A Faraday cage is located between the two frequency selective surface structures to eliminate undesired couplings. Based on this technique, a dual-band frequency selective surface with large band separation is designed, which possesses large band separation, high selectivity, and stable performance under various incident angles and different polarizations.

  13. Barriers to HIV testing for migrant black Africans in Western Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fakoya, I; Reynolds, R; Caswell, G; Shiripinda, I

    2008-07-01

    Migrant black Africans are disproportionately affected by HIV in Western Europe; we discuss the barriers to HIV testing for sub-Saharan migrants, with particular emphasis on the UK and the Netherlands. Cultural, social and structural barriers to testing, such as access to testing and care, fear of death and disease and fear of stigma and discrimination in the community, can be identified. Lack of political will, restrictive immigration policies and the absence of African representation in decision-making processes are also major factors preventing black Africans from testing. HIV testing strategies need to be grounded in outreach and community mobilisation, addressing fear of diagnosis, highlighting the success of treatment and tackling HIV-related stigma among black African migrant communities.

  14. Black esophagus: exploring the dark

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Forster

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Black esophagus is a rare but underdiagnosed disease. It occurs most frequently in severely ill patients and carries a high mortality rate. Cause of death is usually attributed to the comorbid conditions. Treatment is directed at the underlying cause, acid suppression and keeping the patient nil-per-os. Surgery is needed in complicated cases and stenosis is the most feared longterm sequel. In the present article, two cases are described and literature is reviewed.

  15. Illicit Drug Use and the Social Context of HIV/AIDS in Alabama's Black Belt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lichtenstein, Bronwen

    2007-01-01

    Context: The rural Black Belt of Alabama is among the poorest areas of the nation. Poverty, lack of health infrastructure, and health disparities involving HIV/AIDS and other diseases reflect the lower life expectancy of people in the region. The Black Belt region has the highest HIV rates in rural America. Purpose: Using Alabama as a case…

  16. Family Income Reduces Risk of Obesity for White but Not Black Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shervin Assari

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: Although the protective effects of socioeconomic status (SES on obesity and cardiovascular disease are well established, these effects may differ across racial and ethnic groups. Aims: Using a national sample, this study investigated racial variation in the association between family income and childhood obesity in White and Black families. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH, 2003–2004, a nationally representative survey in the United States. This analysis included 76,705 children 2–17 years old who were either White (n = 67,610, 88.14% or Black (n = 9095, 11.86%. Family income to needs ratio was the independent variable. Childhood obesity was the outcome. Race was the focal moderator. Logistic regression was used for data analysis. Results: Overall, higher income to needs ratio was protective against childhood obesity. Race, however, interacted with income to needs ratio on odds of childhood obesity, indicating smaller effects for Black compared to White families. Race stratified logistic regressions showed an association between family income and childhood obesity for White but not Black families. Conclusions: The protective effect of income against childhood obesity is smaller for Blacks than Whites. Merely equalizing population access to SES and economic resources would not be sufficient for elimination of racial disparities in obesity and related cardiovascular disease in the United States. Policies should go beyond access to SES and address structural barriers in the lives of Blacks which result in a diminished health return of very same SES resources for them. As the likely causes are multi-level barriers, multi-level interventions are needed to eliminate racial disparities in childhood obesity.

  17. Black hole levitron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arsiwalla, Xerxes D.; Verlinde, Erik P.

    2010-01-01

    We study the problem of spatially stabilizing four dimensional extremal black holes in background electric/magnetic fields. Whilst looking for stationary stable solutions describing black holes placed in external fields we find that taking a continuum limit of Denef et al.'s multicenter supersymmetric black hole solutions provides a supergravity description of such backgrounds within which a black hole can be trapped within a confined volume. This construction is realized by solving for a levitating black hole over a magnetic dipole base. We comment on how such a construction is akin to a mechanical levitron.

  18. Black Holes

    OpenAIRE

    Horowitz, Gary T.; Teukolsky, Saul A.

    1998-01-01

    Black holes are among the most intriguing objects in modern physics. Their influence ranges from powering quasars and other active galactic nuclei, to providing key insights into quantum gravity. We review the observational evidence for black holes, and briefly discuss some of their properties. We also describe some recent developments involving cosmic censorship and the statistical origin of black hole entropy.

  19. SHARPENDING OF THE VNIR AND SWIR BANDS OF THE WIDE BAND SPECTRAL IMAGER ONBOARD TIANGONG-II IMAGERY USING THE SELECTED BANDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Q. Liu

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The Tiangong-II space lab was launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center of China on September 15, 2016. The Wide Band Spectral Imager (WBSI onboard the Tiangong-II has 14 visible and near-infrared (VNIR spectral bands covering the range from 403–990 nm and two shortwave infrared (SWIR bands covering the range from 1230–1250 nm and 1628–1652 nm respectively. In this paper the selected bands are proposed which aims at considering the closest spectral similarities between the VNIR with 100 m spatial resolution and SWIR bands with 200 m spatial resolution. The evaluation of Gram-Schmidt transform (GS sharpening techniques embedded in ENVI software is presented based on four types of the different low resolution pan band. The experimental results indicated that the VNIR band with higher CC value with the raw SWIR Band was selected, more texture information was injected the corresponding sharpened SWIR band image, and at that time another sharpened SWIR band image preserve the similar spectral and texture characteristics to the raw SWIR band image.

  20. The development of a dense SNP-based consensus map and QTL detection for black spot resistance in five diploid rose populations [abstract

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black spot (BS) disease (Diplocarpon rosae (Lib.) Wolf) of rose is the most important leaf disease of garden roses in warm humid areas. Although the partial (horizontal) resistance to black spot has been shown to be moderately heritable, the responsible quantitative trait loci (QTL) remain unidentif...

  1. Search for black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cherepashchuk, Anatolii M

    2003-01-01

    Methods and results of searching for stellar mass black holes in binary systems and for supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei of different types are described. As of now (June 2002), a total of 100 black hole candidates are known. All the necessary conditions Einstein's General Relativity imposes on the observational properties of black holes are satisfied for candidate objects available, thus further assuring the existence of black holes in the Universe. Prospects for obtaining sufficient criteria for reliably distinguishing candidate black holes from real black holes are discussed. (reviews of topical problems)

  2. Noncommutative black holes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lopez-DomInguez, J C [Instituto de Fisica de la Universidad de Guanajuato PO Box E-143, 37150 Leoen Gto. (Mexico); Obregon, O [Instituto de Fisica de la Universidad de Guanajuato PO Box E-143, 37150 Leoen Gto. (Mexico); RamIrez, C [Facultad de Ciencias FIsico Matematicas, Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, PO Box 1364, 72000 Puebla (Mexico); Sabido, M [Instituto de Fisica de la Universidad de Guanajuato PO Box E-143, 37150 Leoen Gto. (Mexico)

    2007-11-15

    We study noncommutative black holes, by using a diffeomorphism between the Schwarzschild black hole and the Kantowski-Sachs cosmological model, which is generalized to noncommutative minisuperspace. Through the use of the Feynman-Hibbs procedure we are able to study the thermodynamics of the black hole, in particular, we calculate Hawking's temperature and entropy for the 'noncommutative' Schwarzschild black hole.

  3. Dual-band frequency selective surface with large band separation and stable performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Hang; Qu Shao-Bo; Lin Bao-Qin; Wang Jia-Fu; Ma Hua; Zhang Jie-Qiu; Peng Wei-Dong; Bai Peng; Wang Xu-Hua; Xu Zhuo

    2012-01-01

    A new technique of designing a dual-band frequency selective surface with large band separation is presented. This technique is based on a delicately designed topology of L- and Ku-band microwave filters. The two band-pass responses are generated by a capacitively-loaded square-loop frequency selective surface and an aperture-coupled frequency selective surface, respectively. A Faraday cage is located between the two frequency selective surface structures to eliminate undesired couplings. Based on this technique, a dual-band frequency selective surface with large band separation is designed, which possesses large band separation, high selectivity, and stable performance under various incident angles and different polarizations. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

  4. Analysis of the quality of image data acquired by the LANDSAT-4 Thematic Mapper (TM) of the Black Hills area, South Dakota

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colwell, R. N. (Principal Investigator)

    1983-01-01

    The structure, format, and quality of the LANDSAT-4 TM and MSS photographic and digital products for one scene covering the Black Hills area of South Dakota were assessed and the extent to which major resource categories can be detected and identified on various photographic products generated from a subset of TM spectral bands and from all bands of the MSS was determined. The overall spectral, spatial, and radiometric quality of the TM data was found to be excellent. Agricultural fields of variable shape, size, and orientation were detected with relative ease. The addition of the short-wave infrared band (TM5) has significantly improved the ability to detect and identify crop types on single date imagery.

  5. Black hole critical phenomena without black holes

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    large values of Ф, black holes do form and for small values the scalar field ... on the near side of the ridge ultimately evolve to form black holes while those configu- ... The inset shows a bird's eye view looking down on the saddle point.

  6. Black widow spider

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002858.htm Black widow spider To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. The black widow spider (Latrodectus) has a shiny black body with a ...

  7. Recombinant F1-V fusion protein protects black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) against virulent Yersinia pestis infection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocke, Tonie E.; Mencher, J.; Smith, Susan; Friedlander, A.M.; Andrews, G.P.; Baeten, L.A.

    2004-01-01

    Black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) are highly susceptible to sylvatic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, and this disease has severely hampered efforts to restore ferrets to their historic range. A study was conducted to assess the efficacy of vaccination of black-footed ferrets against plague using a recombinant protein vaccine, designated F1-V, developed by personnel at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Seven postreproductive black-footed ferrets were immunized with the vaccine, followed by two booster immunizations on days 23 and 154; three control black-footed ferrets received a placebo. After the second immunization, antibody titers to both F1 and V antigen were found to be significantly higher in vaccinates than controls. On challenge with 7,800 colony-forming units of virulent plague by s.c. injection, the three control animals died within 3 days, but six of seven vaccinates survived with no ill effects. The seventh vaccinate died on day 8. These results indicate that black-footed ferrets can be immunized against plague induced by the s.c. route, similar to fleabite injection.

  8. A Dancing Black Hole

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shoemaker, Deirdre; Smith, Kenneth; Schnetter, Erik; Fiske, David; Laguna, Pablo; Pullin, Jorge

    2002-04-01

    Recently, stationary black holes have been successfully simulated for up to times of approximately 600-1000M, where M is the mass of the black hole. Considering that the expected burst of gravitational radiation from a binary black hole merger would last approximately 200-500M, black hole codes are approaching the point where simulations of mergers may be feasible. We will present two types of simulations of single black holes obtained with a code based on the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura formulation of the Einstein evolution equations. One type of simulations addresses the stability properties of stationary black hole evolutions. The second type of simulations demonstrates the ability of our code to move a black hole through the computational domain. This is accomplished by shifting the stationary black hole solution to a coordinate system in which the location of the black hole is time dependent.

  9. Photoreceptor inner segment ellipsoid band integrity on spectral domain optical coherence tomography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saxena S

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Sandeep Saxena,1 Khushboo Srivastav,1 Chui M Cheung,2 Joanne YW Ng,3 Timothy YY Lai3 1Retina Service, Department of Ophthalmology, King George’s Medical University Lucknow, India; 2Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore; 3Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Abstract: Spectral domain optical coherence tomography cross-sectional imaging of the macula has conventionally been resolved into four bands. However, some doubts were raised regarding authentication of the existence of these bands. Recently, a number of studies have suggested that the second band appeared to originate from the inner segment ellipsoids of the foveal cone photoreceptors, and therefore the previously called inner segment-outer segment junction is now referred to as inner segment ellipsoidband. Photoreceptor dysfunction may be a significant predictor of visual acuity in a spectrum of surgical and medical retinal diseases. This review aims to provide an overview and summarizes the role of the photoreceptor inner segment ellipsoid band in the management and prognostication of various vitreoretinal diseases. Keywords: spectral domain optical coherence tomography, inner segment-outer segment junction, external limiting membrane, macular hole, diabetic macular edema, age relate macular degeneration

  10. Anthracnose Diseases of Eastern Hardwoods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frederick H. Berry

    1985-01-01

    Anthracnose diseases of hardwood trees are widespread throughout the Eastern United States. The most common symptom of these diseases is dead areas or blotches on the leaves. Because of the brown and black, scorched appearance of the leaves, the diseases are sometimes called leaf blight.

  11. A Passive Microwave L-Band Boreal Forest Freeze/Thaw and Vegetation Phenology Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, A.; Sonnentag, O.; Pappas, C.; Mavrovic, A.; Royer, A.; Berg, A. A.; Rowlandson, T. L.; Lemay, J.; Helgason, W.; Barr, A.; Black, T. A.; Derksen, C.; Toose, P.

    2016-12-01

    The boreal forest is the second largest land biome in the world and thus plays a major role in the global and regional climate systems. The extent, timing and duration of seasonal freeze/thaw (F/T) state influences vegetation developmental stages (phenology) and, consequently, constitute an important control on how boreal forest ecosystems exchange carbon, water and energy with the atmosphere. The effective retrieval of seasonal F/T state from L-Band radiometry was demonstrated using satellite mission. However, disentangling the seasonally differing contributions from forest overstory and understory vegetation, and the soil surface to the satellite signal remains challenging. Here we present initial results from a radiometer field campaign to improve our understanding of the L-Band derived boreal forest F/T signal and vegetation phenology. Two L-Band surface-based radiometers (SBR) are installed on a micrometeorological tower at the Southern Old Black Spruce site in central Saskatchewan over the 2016-2017 F/T season. One radiometer unit is installed on the flux tower so it views forest including all overstory and understory vegetation and the moss-covered ground surface. A second radiometer unit is installed within the boreal forest overstory, viewing the understory and the ground surface. The objectives of our study are (i) to disentangle the L-Band F/T signal contribution of boreal forest overstory from the understory and ground surface, (ii) to link the L-Band F/T signal to related boreal forest structural and functional characteristics, and (iii) to investigate the use of the L-Band signal to characterize boreal forest carbon, water and energy fluxes. The SBR observations above and within the forest canopy are used to retrieve the transmissivity (γ) and the scattering albedo (ω), two parameters that describe the emission of the forest canopy though the F/T season. These two forest parameters are compared with boreal forest structural and functional

  12. MONITORING DISASTER-RELATED POWER OUTAGES USING NASA BLACK MARBLE NIGHTTIME LIGHT PRODUCT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. Wang

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Timely and accurate monitoring of disruptions to the electricity grid, including the magnitude, spatial extent, timing, and duration of net power losses, is needed to improve situational awareness of disaster response and long-term recovery efforts. Satellite-derived Nighttime Lights (NTL provide an indication of human activity patterns and have been successfully used to monitor disaster-related power outages. The global 500 m spatial resolution National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Black Marble NTL daily standard product suite (VNP46 is generated from Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB onboard the NASA/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi- NPP satellite, which began operations on 19 January 2012. With its improvements in product accuracy (including critical atmospheric and BRDF correction routines, the VIIRS daily Black Mable product enables systematic monitoring of outage conditions across all stages of the disaster management cycle.

  13. Can black-hole MACHO binaries be detected by the Brazilian spherical antenna?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Araujo, J C N de; Miranda, O D; Castro, C S; Paleo, B W; Aguiar, O D

    2004-01-01

    Different studies show that dark matter of non-baryonic origin might exist. There is experimental evidence that at least one form of dark matter has been detected through microlensing effects. This form of dark matter is named MACHOs (massive astrophysical compact halo objects). The MACHO collaboration estimated that the masses of these objects are to be in the range 0.15-0.95M o-dot , where the most probable mass is of 0.5M o-dot . Some authors argue that MACHOs could be black holes, and that they could form binary systems, BHMACHO binaries. As is well known, binary systems are sources of gravitational waves. The Brazilian spherical antenna will operate in the frequency band of 3.0-3.4 kHz, sensitive to binaries of a pair of 0.5M o-dot black holes just before coalescing. In the present work we study the detectability of these putative BHMACHO binaries by the Brazilian spherical antenna Mario Schenberg

  14. Graphene/black phosphorus heterostructured photodetector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jiao; Song, Young Jae; Park, Jin-Hong; Lee, Sungjoo

    2018-06-01

    Graphene photodetectors exhibit a low photoresponsivity due to their weak light absorbance. In this study, we fabricated a graphene/black phosphorus (BP) heterostructure, in which the multilayer BP flake with a ∼0.3 eV direct band gap functions as an enhanced light-absorption material. Further, the photoexcited electrons are trapped in the trap states of the BP, which creates a photogating effect and causes holes to flow into the graphene layer driven by the built-in potential between BP and graphene. The photocarrier lifetime is therefore prolonged by trapping, and as a result of the high carrier mobility of graphene, the holes that transfer into the graphene channel can travel through the circuit before they recombine with trapped electrons. These combined effects result in a high photoresponsivity: 55.75 A/W at λ = 655 nm, 1.82 A/W at λ = 785 nm, and 0.66 A/W at λ = 980 nm.

  15. Oesophageal variceal band ligation using a Saeed Six-Shooter ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Oesophageal varices are common sequelae of cirrhosis, which when they bleed can be difficult to control. Oesophageal variceal band ligation, being the best modality for controlling variceal bleeding has not been common practice in West Africa, a region recognized to have a high prevalence of liver diseases.

  16. The influence of exposure to ultraviolet radiation in simulated sunlight on ascospores causing Black Sigatoka disease of banana and plantain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parnell, Mark; Burt, P. J. A.; Wilson, Kate

    The influence of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in simulated natural sunlight on the viability of ascospores of Mycosphaerella fijiensis, the cause of Black Sigatoka disease in banana and plantain, has been investigated as part of a study to assess the windborne spread of this pathogen from mainland Central and South America into the Caribbean. Spores were killed following continuous exposure to UV radiation for periods of 6 h or over. This relatively short exposure time suggests that the distances over which viable spores can be transported will be determined not only by the speed of the wind but also the amount of cloud cover and the time off day that spore release occurs. On this basis, wind dispersal of viable spores over distances greater than a few hundred kilometres is unlikely. These conclusions are reinforced by an examination of historical reports of the arrival of the disease in previously uninfected areas of the Americas and Africa.

  17. Increased Pre- and Post-Meal Free Fatty Acid Levels in Black, Obese Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cazeau, Rachel-Marie; Rauch, Lindsey; Huang, Hong; Bauer, John A; Hoffman, Robert P

    2016-09-01

    Black adolescents are at increased risk of cardiometabolic disease but have lower fasting triglyceride, which is usually associated with decreased risk. No one has studied racial differences in triglycerides or free fatty acids (FFAs) after a high-fat meal. Oral glucose tolerance testing was used to assess insulin secretion, sensitivity, and disposition index (DI). Endothelial function, triglycerides, FFA, c-reactive protein, interleukin 6 (IL6), and adiponectin were measured both pre- and 3 hr postprandially (McDonald's Big Breakfast(®) and 12 ounce Sprite(®)) in obese adolescents (10-13 years, 9 black and 7 white). Endothelial function was assessed using reactive hyperemic changes in forearm vascular resistance (FVR). Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) showed no difference in insulin sensitivity, but blacks tended to have (P = 0.08) higher insulin secretion and had increased DI (P = 0.003). After a high-fat meal, triglycerides increased in both groups (P < 0.001), tended to be lower in blacks compared with whites preprandially (64 ± 33 mg/dL vs 110 ± 80, P = 0.064), and was lower postprandially (112 ± 63 vs 188 ± 112, P = 0.039). Pre- and postprandial FFA (Black: 0.58 ± 0.15 and 0.39 ± 0.18 vs. white: 0.44 ± 0.14 and 0.26 ± 0.06, P = 0.020) and adiponectin (P = 0.002) were increased in blacks. FFA decreased in both groups postprandially (P = 0.002). IL6 increased after the meal (P = 0.022). Endothelial function decreased postprandially (P < 0.02), but this was due to a decrease in preocclusion FVR. These results indicate that differences in fat metabolism are present in both black and white obese adolescents. How these differences explain higher rates of cardiometabolic disease in blacks is unclear.

  18. Band structure of semiconductors

    CERN Document Server

    Tsidilkovski, I M

    2013-01-01

    Band Structure of Semiconductors provides a review of the theoretical and experimental methods of investigating band structure and an analysis of the results of the developments in this field. The book presents the problems, methods, and applications in the study of band structure. Topics on the computational methods of band structure; band structures of important semiconducting materials; behavior of an electron in a perturbed periodic field; effective masses and g-factors for the most commonly encountered band structures; and the treatment of cyclotron resonance, Shubnikov-de Haas oscillatio

  19. Racial differences in motor neuron disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gundogdu, Betul; Al-Lahham, Tawfiq; Kadlubar, Fred; Spencer, Horace; Rudnicki, Stacy A

    2014-03-01

    Our objective was to compare and contrast clinical features of black and white patients seen in the UAMS ALS/Motor Neuron Disease (MND) clinic from January 2001 to December 2010. Death certificate information was reviewed to determine race of Arkansans who died of ALS/MND between 1999 and 2006. We used a retrospective chart review of patients with ALS/MND seen at least once in our clinic and reviewed state death certificate data. Results showed that from 1999 to 2006, 466 Arkansas deaths were attributed (immediate or contributory) to ALS/MND; 17 (3.6%) were black, four (0.9%) other, and 445 (95.5%) white. During this period, the proportion of black Arkansans was 17%. From 2001 to 2010, we saw 330 patients with ALS/MND: 30 (9.1%) black, six (1.8%) other, 294 (89.1%) white. Average onset age for whites was 58.1 + 12.4 years, for blacks 52.8 + 13.0 (p = 0.038). Gender, onset site, time from symptom onset to first clinic visit and initial vital capacity were similar between the groups. Initial ALSFRS-R was 37.5 + 7.2 for whites and 30.8 + 8.5 (p = 0.004) for blacks. A first or second degree relative with ALS/MND was reported by 8.1% of whites and by none of the black patients (p = 0.15). Riluzole, PEG and non-invasive ventilation use was similar between the groups. Median tracheostomy-free survival was 36 months for white and 40 months for black patients (p = 0.475). In conclusion, although blacks appear relatively spared from ALS/MND, they present at an earlier age and are functionally worse at their first visit. Investigating the genetic make-up of blacks with the disease may help identify genes that modify risk of developing ALS/MND.

  20. Racial differences in motor neuron disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    GUNDOGDU, BETUL; AL-LAHHAM, TAWFIQ; SPENCER, HORACE; RUDNICKI, STACY A.

    2014-01-01

    Our objective was to compare and contrast clinical features of black and white patients seen in the UAMS ALS/Motor Neuron Disease (MND) clinic from January 2001 to December 2010. Death certificate information was reviewed to determine race of Arkansans who died of ALS/MND between 1999 and 2006. We used a retrospective chart review of patients with ALS/MND seen at least once in our clinic and reviewed state death certificate data. Results showed that from 1999 to 2006, 466 Arkansas deaths were attributed (immediate or contributory) to ALS/MND; 17 (3.6%) were black, four (0.9%) other, and 445 (95.5%) white. During this period, the proportion of black Arkansans was 17%. From 2001 to 2010, we saw 330 patients with ALS/MND: 30 (9.1%) black, six (1.8%) other, 294 (89.1%) white. Average onset age for whites was 58.1 ± 12.4 years, for blacks 52.8 ± 13.0 (p = 0.038). Gender, onset site, time from symptom onset to first clinic visit and initial vital capacity were similar between the groups. Initial ALSFRS-R was 37.5 ± 7.2 for whites and 30.8 ± 8.5 (p = 0.004) for blacks. A first or second degree relative with ALS/MND was reported by 8.1% of whites and by none of the black patients (p = 0.15). Riluzole, PEG and non-invasive ventilation use was similar between the groups. Median tracheostomy-free survival was 36 months for white and 40 months for black patients (p = 0.475). In conclusion, although blacks appear relatively spared from ALS/MND, they present at an earlier age and are functionally worse at their first visit. Investigating the genetic make-up of blacks with the disease may help identify genes that modify risk of developing ALS/MND. PMID:24067242

  1. Astrophysical black holes

    CERN Document Server

    Gorini, Vittorio; Moschella, Ugo; Treves, Aldo; Colpi, Monica

    2016-01-01

    Based on graduate school lectures in contemporary relativity and gravitational physics, this book gives a complete and unified picture of the present status of theoretical and observational properties of astrophysical black holes. The chapters are written by internationally recognized specialists. They cover general theoretical aspects of black hole astrophysics, the theory of accretion and ejection of gas and jets, stellar-sized black holes observed in the Milky Way, the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes in galactic centers and quasars as well as their influence on the dynamics in galactic nuclei. The final chapter addresses analytical relativity of black holes supporting theoretical understanding of the coalescence of black holes as well as being of great relevance in identifying gravitational wave signals. With its introductory chapters the book is aimed at advanced graduate and post-graduate students, but it will also be useful for specialists.

  2. pattern of interstitial lung disease as seen by high resolution

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2012-09-01

    Sep 1, 2012 ... Black and white bands (so called “Hurricane artifact”) are seen on HRCT due to difference in attenuation of structures like blood vessels and adjacent lung. Motion artifact may also be a problem in dyspnoeic patients undergoing volumetric imaging. This can mitigate against by doing axial incremental.

  3. Clustering of 18 Local Black Rice Base on Total Anthocyanin

    OpenAIRE

    Kristamtini Kristamtini; Endang Wisnu Wiranti

    2017-01-01

    Black rice has a high anthocyanin content in the pericarp layer, which provides a dark purple color. Anthocyanin serve as an antioxidant that control cholesterol level in the blood, prevent anemia, potentially improve the body's resistance to disease, improve damage to liver cells (hepatitis and chirrosis), prevent impaired kidney function, prevent cancer/tumors, slows down antiaging, and prevent atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Exploration results at AIAT Yogyakarta, Indonesia fro...

  4. Hawking's bid to save quantum theory from black holes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Adrian

    2018-03-01

    When Albert Einstein died in 1955, he had spent lonely decades trying in vain to unify the theories of gravity and electromagnetism. Stephen Hawking, the great British physicist who died last week at age 76, also worked until the end. But he focused on perhaps the most important problem in his area of physics, one his own work had posed: How do black holes preserve information encoded in the material that falls into them? Hawking realized in 1974 that through a subtle quantum effect a black hole can radiate energy and evaporate. But then a black hole should destroy any infalling information, which cannot come back out in the random radiation. Such information loss would wreck quantum mechanics, and Hawking spent much of his later years trying to figure out how a black hole could preserve information after all, even as the degenerative nerve disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis rendered him immobile and able to speak only through a computerized voice synthesizer. Ironically, Hawking's disability may have helped him avoid the isolation that enveloped Einstein, as Hawking had to rely on collaborators to flesh out his ideas and so remained connected to his peers.

  5. Lumpy AdS5× S5 black holes and black belts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dias, Óscar J.C.; Santos, Jorge E.; Way, Benson

    2015-01-01

    Sufficiently small Schwarzschild black holes in global AdS 5 ×S 5 are Gregory-Laflamme unstable. We construct new families of black hole solutions that bifurcate from the onset of this instability and break the full SO(6) symmetry group of the S 5 down to SO(5). These new “lumpy" solutions are labelled by the harmonics ℓ. We find evidence that the ℓ=1 branch never dominates the microcanonical/canonical ensembles and connects through a topology-changing merger to a localised black hole solution with S 8 topology. We argue that these S 8 black holes should become the dominant phase in the microcanonical ensemble for small enough energies, and that the transition to Schwarzschild black holes is first order. Furthermore, we find two branches of solutions with ℓ=2. We expect one of these branches to connect to a solution containing two localised black holes, while the other branch connects to a black hole solution with horizon topology S 4 ×S 4 which we call a “black belt”.

  6. Black holes in binary stars

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijers, R.A.M.J.

    1996-01-01

    Introduction Distinguishing neutron stars and black holes Optical companions and dynamical masses X-ray signatures of the nature of a compact object Structure and evolution of black-hole binaries High-mass black-hole binaries Low-mass black-hole binaries Low-mass black holes Formation of black holes

  7. Gammaherpesvirus carrier status of black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou in South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.A. Pretorius

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF is an economically important disease primarily of domestic cattle with a high case fatality rate. It is caused by either alcelaphine herpesvirus type 1 (AlHV-1 or ovine herpesvirus type 2 (OvHV-2. The major reservoir host of AlHV-1 is the blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus, but it is generally accepted that the black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou is also a reservoir host. No viral studies in the black wildebeest have been reported and the carrier status of black wildebeest has not been documented. Specimens were collected from several game farms and conservation areas in central South Africa representing the geographical area historically linked to the natural habitat of the black wildebeest. Specimens were obtained from 304 black wildebeest of different ages and sex, as well as 51 black wildebeest foetuses at different stages of gestation. Virus was isolated from a black wildebeest calf. Morphological features and antigenic characteristics suggested it to be a gammaherpesvirus closely related to AlHV-1. All serum samples tested positive with a competitive inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CI-ELISA for group-specific malignant catarrhal fever virus antibody. ASYBR Green real-time PCR assay was developed for the detection of gammaherpesviral DNA. Only 15.8 % of the animals tested positive with the real-time PCR assay whereas 90 % of the foetuses tested positive. This finding suggests that, unlike OvHV-2 infection in lambs in which the infection takes place after weaning, the virus in black wildebeest is mainly transmitted in utero or soon after birth. The results suggest that black wildebeest are latent carriers of a gammaherpesvirus similar or closely related to AlHV-1 present in blue wildebeest and that it is likely that all black wildebeest are persistently infected.

  8. The mitochondrial activation of silicate and its role in silicosis, black lung disease and lung cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadler, H I; Cook, G L

    1979-01-01

    Silicate substitutes for phosphate in the transitory uncoupling of rat liver mitochondria induced by hydrazine when beta-hydroxy-butyrate is the substrate. Uncoupling is blocked by rutamycin. Just as in the case when phosphate is combined with hydrazine, ATP, ADP, PPi, and Mg++ protect against hydrazine when silicate is combined with hydrazine. A high level of ADP in the absence of added phosphate, but in the presence of silicate, induces a pseudo state three of the mitochondria. Silicate, like sulfate and arsenate which have been reported previously, is activated by the enzymes which mediate oxidative phosphorylation. These results serve to explain a role for silicate in silicosis, black lung disease, and cancer. In addition, since there is suggestive evidence in the literature that lung tissue solubilizes asbestos fibers, these results not only expand the confluence between oxidative phosphorylation and chemical carcinogenesis but are correlated with the synergistic carcinogenicity of asbestos and smoking observed by epidemiologists.

  9. Black Interpretation, Black American Literature, and Grey Audiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washington, Earl M.

    1981-01-01

    Defines and illustrates language techniques used by Black authors writing to and for Blacks in the 1960s and 1970s. Suggests how language and theme barriers of such literature might be overcome in a contemporary integrated oral interpretation classroom. (PD)

  10. #BlackBabiesMatter: Analyzing Black Religious Media in Conservative and Progressive Evangelical Communities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monique Moultrie

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This article explores how conservative and progressive black Protestants interrogate the theological theme of the sacrality of black life through digital media. The innovations of religious media in black evangelical communities remain an understudied phenomenon in African American religion, making this an apt arena for further discovery. This current intervention into the study of African American Religion examines digital activism through examples of religious media produced by blacks for black audiences. This article begins its interrogation of the sacrality of black life by juxtaposing those who contend that Black Babies Matter as pro-birth-oriented, religiously motivated activists with those religious opponents asserting Black Lives Matter who present an intersectional pro-life approach. The comparison of views relies on womanist cultural analysis as its main methodology to analyze and interpret digital media and explore its ramifications for African American Religion.

  11. Black holes. Chapter 6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Penrose, R.

    1980-01-01

    Conditions for the formation of a black hole are considered, and the properties of black holes. The possibility of Cygnus X-1 as a black hole is discussed. Einstein's theory of general relativity in relation to the formation of black holes is discussed. (U.K.)

  12. Pathogenicity and Host Range of Pathogen Causing Black Raspberry (Rubus coreanus) Anthracnose in Korea

    OpenAIRE

    Uh Seong Jeong; Ju Hee Kim; Ki Kwon Lee; Seong Soo Cheong; Wang Hyu Lee

    2013-01-01

    The strains of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, C. coccodes, C. acutatum isolated from black raspberry werepathogenic to apple and strawberry after dropping inoculation, but showed weak pathogenicity in hot-pepperand tomato. The anthracnose pathogens of C. gloeosporioides, C. orbiculare, C. acutatum isolated from apple,hot-pepper and pumpkin showed pathogenicity in black raspberry. Moreover, the anthracnose pathogensisolated from apple caused disease symptoms in non-wounded inoculation.

  13. A rapid method of accurate detection and differentiation of Newcastle disease virus pathotypes by demonstrating multiple bands in degenerate primer based nested RT-PCR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desingu, P A; Singh, S D; Dhama, K; Kumar, O R Vinodh; Singh, R; Singh, R K

    2015-02-01

    A rapid and accurate method of detection and differentiation of virulent and avirulent Newcastle disease virus (NDV) pathotypes was developed. The NDV detection was carried out for different domestic avian field isolates and pigeon paramyxo virus-1 (25 field isolates and 9 vaccine strains) by using APMV-I "fusion" (F) gene Class II specific external primer A and B (535bp), internal primer C and D (238bp) based reverses transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). The internal degenerative reverse primer D is specific for F gene cleavage position of virulent strain of NDV. The nested RT-PCR products of avirulent strains showed two bands (535bp and 424bp) while virulent strains showed four bands (535bp, 424bp, 349bp and 238bp) on agar gel electrophoresis. This is the first report regarding development and use of degenerate primer based nested RT-PCR for accurate detection and differentiation of NDV pathotypes by demonstrating multiple PCR band patterns. Being a rapid, simple, and economical test, the developed method could serve as a valuable alternate diagnostic tool for characterizing NDV isolates and carrying out molecular epidemiological surveillance studies for this important pathogen of poultry. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Atomic-Monolayer MoS2 Band-to-Band Tunneling Field-Effect Transistor

    KAUST Repository

    Lan, Yann Wen

    2016-09-05

    The experimental observation of band-to-band tunneling in novel tunneling field-effect transistors utilizing a monolayer of MoS2 as the conducting channel is demonstrated. Our results indicate that the strong gate-coupling efficiency enabled by two-dimensional materials, such as monolayer MoS2, results in the direct manifestation of a band-to-band tunneling current and an ambipolar transport.

  15. Black ringoids: spinning balanced black objects in d≥5 dimensions — the codimension-two case

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kleihaus, Burkhard; Kunz, Jutta; Radu, Eugen

    2015-01-01

    We propose a general framework for the study of asymptotically flat black objects with k+1 equal magnitude angular momenta in d≥5 spacetime dimensions (with 0≤k≤[((d−5)/2)]). In this approach, the dependence on all angular coordinates but one is factorized, which leads to a codimension-two problem. This framework can describe black holes with spherical horizon topology, the simplest solutions corresponding to a class of Myers-Perry black holes. A different set of solutions describes balanced black objects with S"n"+"1×S"2"k"+"1 horizon topology. The simplest members of this family are the black rings (k=0). The solutions with k>0 are dubbed black ringoids. Based on the nonperturbative numerical results found for several values of (n,k), we propose a general picture for the properties and the phase diagram of these solutions and the associated black holes with spherical horizon topology: n=1 black ringoids repeat the k=0 pattern of black rings and Myers-Perry black holes in 5 dimensions, whereas n>1 black ringoids follow the pattern of higher dimensional black rings associated with ‘pinched’ black holes and Myers-Perry black holes.

  16. Black theology in South Africa – A theology of human dignity and black identity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timothy van Aarde

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Black theology in South Africa is still relevant 20 years after the apartheid regime ended. It is a theology that gave to Black South Africans human dignity and a black identity. Black theology in South Africa confronted the imbalances of power and abusive power structures through an affirmation of human dignity and the uniqueness of the identity of black people. The biblical narrative of the Exodus is a definitive narrative in American black theology and liberation theology in overcoming oppression understood as political victimisation. Black theology in South Africa is not primarily about power and economics but also about the rediscovery of human dignity and black identity and to a lesser extent about victimisation. A third generation of black theology in South Africa will gain impetus through a rediscovery of human dignity and identity as its core values instead of a Black American liberation theology of victimisation or a Marxist liberation theology of the eradication of all power or economic imbalances.

  17. Characterization of intestinal bacteria in wild and domesticated adult black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wanilada Rungrassamee

    Full Text Available The black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon is a marine crustacean of economic importance in the world market. To ensure sustainability of the shrimp industry, production capacity and disease outbreak prevention must be improved. Understanding healthy microbial balance inside the shrimp intestine can provide an initial step toward better farming practice and probiotic applications. In this study, we employed a barcode pyrosequencing analysis of V3-4 regions of 16S rRNA genes to examine intestinal bacteria communities in wild-caught and domesticated P. monodon broodstock. Shrimp faeces were removed from intestines prior to further analysis in attempt to identify mucosal bacterial population. Five phyla, Actinobacteria, Fusobacteria, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, were found in all shrimp from both wild and domesticated environments. The operational taxonomic unit (OTU was assigned at 97% sequence identity, and our pyrosequencing results identified 18 OTUs commonly found in both groups. Sequences of the shared OTUs were similar to bacteria in three phyla, namely i Proteobacteria (Vibrio, Photobacterium, Novosphingobium, Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas and Undibacterium, ii Firmicutes (Fusibacter, and iii Bacteroidetes (Cloacibacterium. The shared bacterial members in P. monodon from two different habitats provide evidence that the internal environments within the host shrimp also exerts selective pressure on bacterial members. Intestinal bacterial profiles were compared using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE. The sequences from DGGE bands were similar to those of Vibrio and Photobacterium in all shrimp, consistent with pyrosequencing results. This work provides the first comprehensive report on bacterial populations in the intestine of adult black tiger shrimp and reveals some similar bacterial members between the intestine of wild-caught and domesticated shrimp.

  18. Black hole hair removal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banerjee, Nabamita; Mandal, Ipsita; Sen, Ashoke

    2009-01-01

    Macroscopic entropy of an extremal black hole is expected to be determined completely by its near horizon geometry. Thus two black holes with identical near horizon geometries should have identical macroscopic entropy, and the expected equality between macroscopic and microscopic entropies will then imply that they have identical degeneracies of microstates. An apparent counterexample is provided by the 4D-5D lift relating BMPV black hole to a four dimensional black hole. The two black holes have identical near horizon geometries but different microscopic spectrum. We suggest that this discrepancy can be accounted for by black hole hair - degrees of freedom living outside the horizon and contributing to the degeneracies. We identify these degrees of freedom for both the four and the five dimensional black holes and show that after their contributions are removed from the microscopic degeneracies of the respective systems, the result for the four and five dimensional black holes match exactly.

  19. Relationship between estimated cardiovascular disease risk and insulin resistance in a black African population living with HIV: a cross-sectional study from Cameroon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noumegni, Steve Raoul; Bigna, Jean Joel; Ama Moor Epse Nkegoum, Vicky Jocelyne; Nansseu, Jobert Richie; Assah, Felix K; Jingi, Ahmadou Musa; Guewo-Fokeng, Magellan; Leumi, Steve; Katte, Jean-Claude; Dehayem, Mesmin Y; Mfeukeu Kuate, Liliane; Kengne, Andre Pascal; Sobngwi, Eugene

    2017-08-11

    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and metabolic diseases are growing concerns among patients with HIV infection as a consequence of the improving survival of this population. We aimed to assess the relationship between CVD risk and insulin resistance in a group of black African individuals with HIV infection. This cross-sectional study involved patients with HIV infection aged 30-74 years and followed up at the Yaoundé Central Hospital, Cameroon. Absolute CVD risk was calculated using the Framingham and the DAD CVD risk equations while the HOMA-IR index was used to assess insulin resistance (index ≥2.1). A total of 452 patients (361 women; 80%) were screened. The mean age was 44.4 years and most of the respondents were on antiretroviral therapy (88.5%). The median 5-year cardiovascular risk was 0.7% (25th-75th percentiles: 0.2-2.0) and 0.6% (0.3-1.3) according to the Framingham and DAD equations respectively. Of all participants, 47.3% were insulin resistant. The Framingham equation derived absolute CVD risk was significantly associated with insulin resistance; while no linear association was found using the DAD equation. The relationship between cardiovascular risk and insulin resistance in black African patients with HIV infection seems to depend on the cardiovascular risk equation used. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  20. Phytochemistry, pharmacology, and therapeutic uses of black seed (Nigella sativa).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kooti, Wesam; Hasanzadeh-Noohi, Zahra; Sharafi-Ahvazi, Naim; Asadi-Samani, Majid; Ashtary-Larky, Damoon

    2016-10-01

    Black seed (Nigella sativa) is an annual flowering plant from Ranunculaceae family, native to southwest Asia. This plant has many food and medicinal uses. The use of its seeds and oil is common for treatment of many diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, inflammatory diseases, diabetes and digestive diseases. The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive review on the scientific reports that have been published about N. sativa. The facts and statistics presented in this review article were gathered from the journals accessible in creditable databases such as Science Direct, Medline, PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, EMBASE, SID and IranMedex. The keywords searched in Persian and English books on medicinal plants and traditional medicine, as well as the above reputable databases were "Black seed", "Nigella sativa", "therapeutic effect", and "medicinal plant". The results showed that N. sativa has many biological effects such as anti-inflammatory, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-microbial, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive, and wound healing activities. It also has effects on reproductive, digestive, immune and central nervous systems, such as anticonvulsant and analgesic activities. In summary, it can be used as a valuable plant for production of new drugs for treatment of many diseases. Copyright © 2016 China Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopter (UH-60M Black Hawk)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-12-01

    Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) RCS: DD-A&T(Q&A)823-341 UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopter (UH-60M Black Hawk ) As of FY 2017 President’s Budget Defense...Acquisition Management Information Retrieval (DAMIR) March 21, 2016 18:25:45 UNCLASSIFIED UH-60M Black Hawk December 2015 SAR March 21, 2016 18...Operational Requirements Document OSD - Office of the Secretary of Defense O&S - Operating and Support PAUC - Program Acquisition Unit Cost UH-60M Black Hawk

  2. Hematological consequences of a FANCG founder mutation in Black South African patients with Fanconi anemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feben, Candice; Kromberg, Jennifer; Wainwright, Rosalind; Stones, David; Poole, Janet; Haw, Tabitha; Krause, Amanda

    2015-03-01

    Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare disorder of DNA repair, associated with various somatic abnormalities but characterized by hematological disease that manifests as bone marrow aplasia and malignancy. The mainstay of treatment, in developed nations, is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with subsequent surveillance for solid organ and non-hematological malignancies. In South Africa, FA in the Black population is caused by a homozygous deletion mutation in the FANCG gene in more than 80% of cases. Many affected patients are not diagnosed until late in the disease course when severe cytopenia and bone marrow aplasia are already present. Most patients are not eligible for HSCT at this late stage of the disease, even when it is available in the state health care system. In this study, the hematological presentation and disease progression in 30 Black South African patients with FA, confirmed to have the FANCG founder mutation, were evaluated and compared to those described in other FA cohorts. Our results showed that patients, homozygous for the FANCG founder mutation, present with severe cytopenia but progress to bone marrow failure at similar ages to other individuals affected with FA of heterogeneous genotype. Further, the incidence of myelodysplastic syndrome is similar to that which has been previously described in other FA cohorts. Although severe cytopenia at presentation may be predicted by a higher number of somatic anomalies, the recognition of the physical FA phenotype in Black South African patients is challenging and may not be useful in expediting referral of suspected FA patients for tertiary level investigations and care. Given the late but severe hematological presentation of FA in Black South African patients, an investigative strategy is needed for earlier recognition of affected individuals to allow for possible HSCT and management of bone marrow disease. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Black American and Nigerian Pentecostalism: A Black Religious ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Black American and Nigerian Pentecostalism: A Black Religious Schizophrenia, 1910-2010. ... in American and African Pentecostalism as is related to social crisis, the dislocation of masses brought on by economic deprivation, urbanization, the break up of traditional society and consequence loss of traditional values.

  4. Black Tea

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... mental alertness as well as learning, memory, and information processing skills. It is also used for treating headache; ... of carbamazepine. Since black tea contains caffeine, in theory taking black tea with carbamazepine might decrease the ...

  5. Diseases and partial mortality in Montastraea annularis species complex in reefs with differing environmental conditions (NW Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordán-Dahlgren, Eric; Maldonado, Miguel Angel; Rodríguez-Martínez, Rosa Elisa

    2005-01-25

    We documented the prevalence of diseases, syndromes and partial mortality in colonies of the Montastraea annularis species complex on 3 reefs, and tested the assumption that a higher prevalence of these parameters occurs when reefs are closer to point-sources of pollution. One reef was isolated from the impact of local factors with the exception of fishing, 1 potentially influenced by local industrial pollutants, and 1 influenced by local urban pollution. Two reefs were surveyed in 1996 and again in 2001 and 1 in 1998 and again in 2001. In 2001, colonies on all reefs had a high prevalence of the yellow-band syndrome and a relatively high degree of recent partial mortality, while the prevalence of black-band and white-plague diseases was low although a new sign, that we named the thin dark line, had relatively high prevalence in all reefs. As no direct relationship was found between disease prevalence and local environmental quality, our results open the possibility that regional and/or global factors may already be playing an important role in the prevalence of coral disease in the Caribbean, and contradict the theory that coral disease prevalence is primarily related to local environmental degradation. Reasons that may partially explain these findings are the high level of potential pathogen connectivity within the Caribbean as a result of its circulation patterns coupled to the large land-derived pollutants and pathogens input into this Mediterranean sea, together with the surface water warming effects which stress corals and enhance pathogen activity.

  6. Band-notched spiral antenna

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeon, Jae; Chang, John

    2018-03-13

    A band-notched spiral antenna having one or more spiral arms extending from a radially inner end to a radially outer end for transmitting or receiving electromagnetic radiation over a frequency range, and one or more resonance structures positioned adjacent one or more segments of the spiral arm associated with a notch frequency band or bands of the frequency range so as to resonate and suppress the transmission or reception of electromagnetic radiation over said notch frequency band or bands.

  7. Persistent suppression of subthalamic beta-band activity during rhythmic finger tapping in Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joundi, Raed A; Brittain, John-Stuart; Green, Alex L; Aziz, Tipu Z; Brown, Peter; Jenkinson, Ned

    2013-03-01

    The function of synchronous oscillatory activity at beta band (15-30Hz) frequencies within the basal ganglia is unclear. Here we sought support for the hypothesis that beta activity has a global function within the basal ganglia and is not directly involved in the coding of specific biomechanical parameters of movement. We recorded local field potential activity from the subthalamic nuclei of 11 patients with Parkinson's disease during a synchronized tapping task at three different externally cued rates. Beta activity was suppressed during tapping, reaching a minimum that differed little across the different tapping rates despite an increase in velocity of finger movements. Thus beta power suppression was independent of specific motor parameters. Moreover, although beta oscillations remained suppressed during all tapping rates, periods of resynchronization between taps were markedly attenuated during high rate tapping. As such, a beta rebound above baseline between taps at the lower rates was absent at the high rate. Our results demonstrate that beta desynchronization in the region of the subthalamic nucleus is independent of motor parameters and that the beta resynchronization is differentially modulated by rate of finger tapping, These findings implicate consistent beta suppression in the facilitation of continuous movement sequences. Copyright © 2012 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Binary particle swarm optimization for frequency band selection in motor imagery based brain-computer interfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Qingguo; Wei, Zhonghai

    2015-01-01

    A brain-computer interface (BCI) enables people suffering from affective neurological diseases to communicate with the external world. Common spatial pattern (CSP) is an effective algorithm for feature extraction in motor imagery based BCI systems. However, many studies have proved that the performance of CSP depends heavily on the frequency band of EEG signals used for the construction of covariance matrices. The use of different frequency bands to extract signal features may lead to different classification performances, which are determined by the discriminative and complementary information they contain. In this study, the broad frequency band (8-30 Hz) is divided into 10 sub-bands of band width 4 Hz and overlapping 2 Hz. Binary particle swarm optimization (BPSO) is used to find the best sub-band set to improve the performance of CSP and subsequent classification. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieved an average improvement of 6.91% in cross-validation accuracy when compared to broad band CSP.

  9. The Black Rock Forest Consortium: A narrative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buzzetto-More, Nicole Antoinette

    The Black Rock Forest is a 3,785-acre wilderness area whose richly forested landscape represents the splendor of the Hudson Valley Region of New York State. Although originally intended to become the home of wealthy banker James Stillman, it was his son Ernest whose love of conservation caused him to embrace the then new and revolutionary practice of sustainable forestry and establish Black Rock in 1928. Due to Ernest Stillman's foresight, the property was protected from development and bequeathed to Harvard University following his death for the establishment of an experimental forest. The modern environmental movement in America began when the Black Rock Forest was threatened with development by Consolidated Edison, and the people of the surrounding community banded together, battling tirelessly for over 17 years to stop the degradation of this historic forest. The outcome of this crusade marked a hallmark win for the environment leaving an illustrious and inveterate legacy. The campaign resulted in the watershed legislation the National Environmental Policy Act, the formation of several environmental advocacy groups, the creation of the Council on Environmental Quality of the Executive Office of the President, as well as set a precedent for communities to initiate and win cases against major corporations in order to safeguard natural resources. In the midst of the controversy it became apparent that alternative futures for the Forest needed to be explored. As a result of a committee report and one man's vision, the idea emerged to create a consortium that would purchase and steward the Forest. With a formation that took nearly fifteen years, the Black Rock Forest Consortium was formed, a unique amalgamation of K--12 public and private schools, colleges and universities, and science and cultural centers that successfully collaborate to enhance scientific research, environmental conservation, and education. The Consortium works to bridge the gaps between learners

  10. Body mass index and all-cause mortality in a large prospective cohort of white and black U.S. Adults.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alpa V Patel

    Full Text Available Remaining controversies on the association between body mass index (BMI and mortality include the effects of smoking and prevalent disease on the association, whether overweight is associated with higher mortality rates, differences in associations by race and the optimal age at which BMI predicts mortality. To assess the relative risk (RR of mortality by BMI in Whites and Blacks among subgroups defined by smoking, prevalent disease, and age, 891,572 White and 38,119 Black men and women provided height, weight and other information when enrolled in the Cancer Prevention Study II in 1982. Over 28 years of follow-up, there were 434,400 deaths in Whites and 18,702 deaths in Blacks. Cox proportional-hazards regression was used to estimate multivariable-adjusted relative risks (RR and 95% confidence intervals (CI. Smoking and prevalent disease status significantly modified the BMI-mortality relationship in Whites and Blacks; higher BMI was most strongly associated with higher risk of mortality among never smokers without prevalent disease. All levels of overweight and obesity were associated with a statistically significantly higher risk of mortality compared to the reference category (BMI 22.5-24.9 kg/m2, except among Black women where risk was elevated but not statistically significant in the lower end of overweight. Although absolute mortality rates were higher in Blacks than Whites within each BMI category, relative risks (RRs were similar between race groups for both men and women (p-heterogeneity by race  = 0.20 for men and 0.23 for women. BMI was most strongly associated with mortality when reported before age 70 years. Results from this study demonstrate for the first time that the BMI-mortality relationship differs for men and women who smoke or have prevalent disease compared to healthy never-smokers. These findings further support recommendations for maintaining a BMI between 20-25 kg/m2 for optimal health and longevity.

  11. Precambrian-Cambrian boundary in the Tal formation of Garhwal Lesser Himalaya : Rb-Sr age evidence from black shales underlying phosphorites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, K.K.; Rameshwar Rao, D.; Azmi, R.J.; Gopalan, K.; Pantulu, G.V.C.

    1991-01-01

    The recently reported faunal evidence for placing the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary within the main phosphorite unit of the Chert-Phosphorite Member of the Tal Formation, Garhwal Lesser Himalaya, is supported by the present report of 626 ± 13 myr for the whole-rock Rb-Sr isochron age of the black shales directly underlying the phosphorite band. (author). 15 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab

  12. Black holes are warm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ravndal, F.

    1978-01-01

    Applying Einstein's theory of gravitation to black holes and their interactions with their surroundings leads to the conclusion that the sum of the surface areas of several black holes can never become less. This is shown to be analogous to entropy in thermodynamics, and the term entropy is also thus applied to black holes. Continuing, expressions are found for the temperature of a black hole and its luminosity. Thermal radiation is shown to lead to explosion of the black hole. Numerical examples are discussed involving the temperature, the mass, the luminosity and the lifetime of black mini-holes. It is pointed out that no explosions corresponding to the prediction have been observed. It is also shown that the principle of conservation of leptons and baryons is broken by hot black holes, but that this need not be a problem. The related concept of instantons is cited. It is thought that understanding of thermal radiation from black holes may be important for the development of a quantified gravitation theory. (JIW)

  13. Is It because I'm Black? A Black Female Research Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maylor, Uvanney

    2009-01-01

    This article examines what it means to be a Black female researcher in contemporary Britain. Drawing on Black feminist theory and critical race theory (CRT), this article seeks to highlight some of the experiences and challenges that Black female researchers face when undertaking research, particularly research that has diversity, equality or…

  14. Sexual Stereotypes Ascribed to Black Men Who Have Sex with Men: An Intersectional Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calabrese, Sarah K; Earnshaw, Valerie A; Magnus, Manya; Hansen, Nathan B; Krakower, Douglas S; Underhill, Kristen; Mayer, Kenneth H; Kershaw, Trace S; Betancourt, Joseph R; Dovidio, John F

    2018-01-01

    Sexual stereotypes may adversely affect the health of Black men who have sex with men (MSM). Greater understanding of the nature and nuances of these stereotypes is needed. This online, survey-based study used an inductive, intersectional approach to characterize the sexual stereotypes ascribed to Black MSM by the U.S. general public, their distinctiveness from those ascribed to Black men and MSM in general, and their relative prototypicality as compared to dominant subgroups. Members of the public, recruited in 2014-2015, were randomly assigned to survey conditions that varied systematically by race (Black, White, or unspecified) and sexual orientation (gay, heterosexual, or unspecified) of a designated social group. Participants (n = 285) reported stereotypes of their assigned group that they perceived to exist in U.S. culture in an open-response format. Cross-condition comparisons revealed that, overall, Black gay male stereotypes were non-prototypical of Black men or gay men. Rather, stereotypes of Black men were more similar to Black heterosexual men and stereotypes of gay men were more similar to White gay men. Nonetheless, 11 of the 15 most frequently reported Black gay male stereotypes overlapped with stereotypes of Black men (e.g., large penis), gay men (e.g., deviant), or both (e.g., promiscuous). Four stereotypes were unique relative to both Black men and gay men: down low, diseased, loud, and dirty. Findings suggest that Black MSM face multiple derogatory sexual stereotypes, several of which are group-specific. These stereotypes are consistent with cultural (mis)representations of Black MSM and suggest a need for more accurate portrayals of existing sexual diversity within this group.

  15. The stable problem of the black-hole connected region in the Schwarzschild black hole

    OpenAIRE

    Tian, Guihua

    2005-01-01

    The stability of the Schwarzschild black hole is studied. Using the Painlev\\'{e} coordinate, our region can be defined as the black-hole-connected region(r>2m, see text) of the Schwarzschild black hole or the white-hole-connected region(r>2m, see text) of the Schwarzschild black hole. We study the stable problems of the black-hole-connected region. The conclusions are: (1) in the black-hole-connected region, the initially regular perturbation fields must have real frequency or complex frequen...

  16. Suicide rates in five-year age-bands after the age of 60 years

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shah, Ajit; Bhat, Ravi; Zarate-Escudero, Sofia

    2016-01-01

    -79 years) and the oldest old (80+ years) age groups. METHODS: Data on the number of suicides (International Classification of Diseases - ICD-10 codes, X60-84) in each of the eight five-year age-bands between the age-bands 60-64 years and 95-99 years in both gender for as many years as possible from 2000...... were ascertained from three sources: colleagues with access to national data, national statisics office websites and email contact with the national statistics offices. The population size for the corresponding years and age-bands was estimated for each country using data provided by the United Nations......BACKGROUND: There is paucity of studies examining suicide rates in narrow five-year age-bands after the age of 60 years. This study examined suicide rates in eight five-year age-bands between the age of 60 and 99 years because this will allow more precise comparison between the young old (60...

  17. Quantum aspects of black holes

    CERN Document Server

    2015-01-01

    Beginning with an overview of the theory of black holes by the editor, this book presents a collection of ten chapters by leading physicists dealing with the variety of quantum mechanical and quantum gravitational effects pertinent to black holes. The contributions address topics such as Hawking radiation, the thermodynamics of black holes, the information paradox and firewalls, Monsters, primordial black holes, self-gravitating Bose-Einstein condensates, the formation of small black holes in high energetic collisions of particles, minimal length effects in black holes and small black holes at the Large Hadron Collider. Viewed as a whole the collection provides stimulating reading for researchers and graduate students seeking a summary of the quantum features of black holes.

  18. Identification of Morphological Character and Esterase Isozyme Pattern in Second-Generation Black Rice Plant Irradiated to Gamma Rays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartanti, R. S.; Putri, T. A. N.; Zulfa, F.; Sutarno; Suranto

    2017-04-01

    Black rice is one of the functional foods due to its high anthocyanin content. Black rice grain was irradiated by gamma rays with a dose of 200 Gy and 300 Gy. The main purpose of this irradiation is to induce mutation to the black rice plant in order to achieve the improved organism. This study was undertaken to elucidate the morphological character and esterase isozyme pattern of black rice plant after irradiated by gamma rays. There were morphological differences on leaves, stems and grains between irradiated and non irradiated black rice plant. Gamma radiation dose of 200 Gy showed the significant influence of the length of the stem, number of internodes, and length of leaves. The radiation dose of 300 Gy showed the significant influence of the decrease value of diameter of 3rd internodes, number of branches and width of leaves. Flowering time is getting faster as increasing radiation dose. At the age of 74 days after planting there are 9.15% plants of 200 Gy radiation dose that have flowered faster than normal plants. This value increased into 11.45% at the dose of radiation 300 Gy. There were differences in the esterase banding pattern between radiation dose of 200 Gy and 300 Gy than the control plants, indicated that randomly mutation has occurred.

  19. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV types Western blot (WB band profiles as potential surrogate markers of HIV disease progression and predictors of vertical transmission in a cohort of infected but antiretroviral therapy naïve pregnant women in Harare, Zimbabwe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chirenje Mike Z

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Expensive CD4 count and viral load tests have failed the intended objective of enabling access to HIV therapy in poor resource settings. It is imperative to develop simple, affordable and non-subjective disease monitoring tools to complement clinical staging efforts of inexperienced health personnel currently manning most healthcare centres because of brain drain. Besides accurately predicting HIV infection, sequential appearance of specific bands of WB test offers a window of opportunity to develop a less subjective tool for monitoring disease progression. Methods HIV type characterization was done in a cohort of infected pregnant women at 36 gestational weeks using WB test. Student-t test was used to determine maternal differences in mean full blood counts and viral load of mothers with and those without HIV gag antigen bands. Pearson Chi-square test was used to assess differences in lack of bands appearance with vertical transmission and lymphadenopathy. Results Among the 64 HIV infected pregnant women, 98.4% had pure HIV-1 infection and one woman (1.7% had dual HIV-1/HIV-2 infections. Absence of HIV pol antigen bands was associated with acute infection, p = 0.002. All women with chronic HIV-1 infection had antibody reactivity to both the HIV-1 envelope and polymerase antigens. However, antibody reactivity to gag antigens varied among the women, being 100%, 90%, 70% and 63% for p24, p17, p39 and p55, respectively. Lack of antibody reactivity to gag p39 antigen was associated with disease progression as confirmed by the presence of lymphadenopathy, anemia, higher viral load, p = 0.010, 0.025 and 0.016, respectively. Although not statistically significant, women with p39 band missing were 1.4 times more likely to transmit HIV-1 to their infants. Conclusion Absence of antibody reactivity to pol and gag p39 antigens was associated with acute infection and disease progression, respectively. Apart from its use in HIV disease

  20. Variable number of tandem repeat markers in the genome sequence of Mycosphaerella fijiensis, the causal agent of black leaf streak disease of banana (Musa spp).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, S A L; Van der Lee, T A J; Ferreira, C F; Te Lintel Hekkert, B; Zapater, M-F; Goodwin, S B; Guzmán, M; Kema, G H J; Souza, M T

    2010-11-09

    We searched the genome of Mycosphaerella fijiensis for molecular markers that would allow population genetics analysis of this plant pathogen. M. fijiensis, the causal agent of banana leaf streak disease, also known as black Sigatoka, is the most devastating pathogen attacking bananas (Musa spp). Recently, the entire genome sequence of M. fijiensis became available. We screened this database for VNTR markers. Forty-two primer pairs were selected for validation, based on repeat type and length and the number of repeat units. Five VNTR markers showing multiple alleles were validated with a reference set of isolates from different parts of the world and a population from a banana plantation in Costa Rica. Polymorphism information content values varied from 0.6414 to 0.7544 for the reference set and from 0.0400 and 0.7373 for the population set. Eighty percent of the polymorphism information content values were above 0.60, indicating that the markers are highly informative. These markers allowed robust scoring of agarose gels and proved to be useful for variability and population genetics studies. In conclusion, the strategy we developed to identify and validate VNTR markers is an efficient means to incorporate markers that can be used for fungicide resistance management and to develop breeding strategies to control banana black leaf streak disease. This is the first report of VNTR-minisatellites from the M. fijiensis genome sequence.

  1. DISCOVERY OF Fe Kα X-RAY REVERBERATION AROUND THE BLACK HOLES IN MCG-5-23-16 AND NGC 7314

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zoghbi, A.; Reynolds, C.; Cackett, E. M.; Miniutti, G.; Kara, E.; Fabian, A. C.

    2013-01-01

    Several X-ray observations have recently revealed the presence of reverberation time delays between spectral components in active galactic nuclei. Most of the observed lags are between the power-law Comptonization component, seen directly, and the soft excess produced by reflection in the vicinity of the black hole. NGC 4151 was the first object to show these lags in the iron K band. Here, we report the discovery of reverberation lags in the Fe K band in two other sources: MCG-5-23-16 and NGC 7314. In both objects, the 6-7 keV band, where the Fe Kα line peaks, lags the bands at lower and higher energies with a time delay of ∼1 ks. These lags are unlikely to be due to the narrow Fe Kα line. They are fully consistent with reverberation of the relativistically broadened iron Kα line. The measured lags, their time scale, and spectral modeling indicate that most of the radiation is emitted at ∼5 and 24 gravitational radii for MCG-5-23-16 and NGC 7314, respectively.

  2. Experimental analysis of the Schottky barrier height of metal contacts in black phosphorus field-effect transistors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Hsun-Ming; Fan, Kai-Lin; Charnas, Adam; Ye, Peide D.; Lin, Yu-Ming; Wu, Chih-I.; Wu, Chao-Hsin

    2018-04-01

    Compared to graphene and MoS2, studies on metal contacts to black phosphorus (BP) transistors are still immature. In this work, we present the experimental analysis of titanium contacts on BP based upon the theory of thermionic emssion. The Schottky barrier height (SBH) is extracted by thermionic emission methods to analyze the properties of Ti-BP contact. To examine the results, the band gap of BP is extracted followed by theoretical band alignment by Schottky-Mott rule. However, an underestimated SBH is found due to the hysteresis in electrical results. Hence, a modified SBH extraction for contact resistance that avoids the effects of hysteresis is proposed and demonstrated, showing a more accurate SBH that agrees well with theoretical value and results of transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy.

  3. Congenital Constriction Band Syndrome

    OpenAIRE

    Rajesh Gupta, Fareed Malik, Rishabh Gupta, M.A.Basit, Dara Singh

    2008-01-01

    Congenital constriction bands are anomalous bands that encircle a digit or an extremity. Congenitalconstriction band syndrome is rare condition and is mostly associated with other musculoskeletaldisorders.We report such a rare experience.

  4. Black holes and beyond

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2002-02-01

    Belief in the existence of black holes is the ultimate act of faith for a physicist. First suggested by the English clergyman John Michell in the year 1784, the gravitational pull of a black hole is so strong that nothing - not even light - can escape. Gravity might be the weakest of the fundamental forces but black-hole physics is not for the faint-hearted. Black holes present obvious problems for would-be observers because they cannot, by definition, be seen with conventional telescopes - although before the end of the decade gravitational-wave detectors should be able to study collisions between black holes. Until then astronomers can only infer the existence of a black hole from its gravitational influence on other matter, or from the X-rays emitted by gas and dust as they are dragged into the black hole. However, once this material passes through the 'event horizon' that surrounds the black hole, we will never see it again - not even with X-ray specs. Despite these observational problems, most physicists and astronomers believe that black holes do exist. Small black holes a few kilometres across are thought to form when stars weighing more than about two solar masses collapse under the weight of their own gravity, while supermassive black holes weighing millions of solar masses appear to be present at the centre of most galaxies. Moreover, some brave physicists have proposed ways to make black holes - or at least event horizons - in the laboratory. The basic idea behind these 'artificial black holes' is not to compress a large amount of mass into a small volume, but to reduce the speed of light in a moving medium to less than the speed of the medium and so create an event horizon. The parallels with real black holes are not exact but the experiments could shed new light on a variety of phenomena. The first challenge, however, is to get money for the research. One year on from a high-profile meeting on artificial black holes in London, for

  5. Complicated Contradictions Amid Black Feminism and Millennial Black Women Teachers Creating Curriculum for Black Girls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyachae, Tiffany M.

    2016-01-01

    Millennial Black women teachers wrestle with two simultaneous burdens: disrupting the racist and sexist status quo of schooling through curriculum, and employing tactics to survive school politics among their majority White women colleagues. This article describes how the "Sisters of Promise" (SOP) curriculum aligned with Black feminism…

  6. Field Plot Techniques for Black Sigatoka Evaluation in East African Highland Bananas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Okoro, JU.

    1997-01-01

    Full Text Available Number of plants per experimental unit and number of replications for the efficient and precise assessment of black sigatoka leaf spot disease caused by Mycosphaerella fijiensis in East African Highland bananas were determined. Two representative cultivars were used. Host response to black sigatoka infection was measured by recording the youngest leaf with necrotic spots. The number of plants per experimental unit was determined, using the methods of maximum curvature and comparison of variances, while the number of replications was estimated by Hatheway's method. The optimum experimental plot size was 3 plants (18 m2 for the beer banana cultivar 'Igitsiri', and 30 plants (180 m2 for the cooking banana cultivar 'Igisahira Gisanzwe', using the comparison of variances method. However, the optimum plot size was 15 plants (90 m2 for both cultivars using the method of maximum curvature. The latter statistical method was preferred because of the low precision of the estimates in the former method. Unreplicated trials with plots of 15 plants could be adequate to assess black sigatoka response in East African bananas if uniform disease pressure exists.

  7. Inferior outcomes for black children with high risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia and the impact of socioeconomic variables.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Alexandra; Chewning, Joseph; Li, Xuelin; Dai, Chen; Whelan, Kimberly; Madan-Swain, Avi; Waterbor, John; Baskin, Monica L; Goldman, Frederick D

    2017-02-01

    While significant improvements have been made for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in the United States over the past 20 years, black patients continue to have inferior outcomes. The full impact of socioeconomic variables on outcomes in this minority population is not entirely understood. Disease characteristics, demographic, and socioeconomic status (SES) variables were collected on black (n = 44) and white (n = 178) patients diagnosed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to evaluate the influence of SES and insurance status on survival. As a cohort, 5-year overall survival (OS) was 87% (82-91%), with a median follow-up of 99 months. In univariable analysis, black race was not significantly associated with a higher risk of death or relapse and death. White and black patients with standard-risk leukemia had excellent outcomes, with 97% (91-99%) and 96% (75-99%) 5-year OS, respectively. In contrast, for high-risk disease, white patients had a statistically significant improved 5-year OS rates compared with black patients (79% [68-87%] vs. 52% [28-72%]). Black children were more likely to have public insurance, and, in multivariable analysis, this was associated with a trend toward an improved outcome. Black patients also had poorer census tract-level SES parameters, but these variables were not associated with survival. Our study demonstrates significantly inferior outcomes for black children with high-risk leukemia. These outcome disparities were not related to SES variables, including poverty or private insurance coverage, suggesting the involvement of other factors and highlighting the need for a prospective investigative analysis. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Ghost Remains After Black Hole Eruption

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-05-01

    NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has found a cosmic "ghost" lurking around a distant supermassive black hole. This is the first detection of such a high-energy apparition, and scientists think it is evidence of a huge eruption produced by the black hole. This discovery presents astronomers with a valuable opportunity to observe phenomena that occurred when the Universe was very young. The X-ray ghost, so-called because a diffuse X-ray source has remained after other radiation from the outburst has died away, is in the Chandra Deep Field-North, one of the deepest X-ray images ever taken. The source, a.k.a. HDF 130, is over 10 billion light years away and existed at a time 3 billion years after the Big Bang, when galaxies and black holes were forming at a high rate. "We'd seen this fuzzy object a few years ago, but didn't realize until now that we were seeing a ghost", said Andy Fabian of the Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. "It's not out there to haunt us, rather it's telling us something - in this case what was happening in this galaxy billions of year ago." Fabian and colleagues think the X-ray glow from HDF 130 is evidence for a powerful outburst from its central black hole in the form of jets of energetic particles traveling at almost the speed of light. When the eruption was ongoing, it produced prodigious amounts of radio and X-radiation, but after several million years, the radio signal faded from view as the electrons radiated away their energy. HDF 130 Chandra X-ray Image of HDF 130 However, less energetic electrons can still produce X-rays by interacting with the pervasive sea of photons remaining from the Big Bang - the cosmic background radiation. Collisions between these electrons and the background photons can impart enough energy to the photons to boost them into the X-ray energy band. This process produces an extended X-ray source that lasts for another 30 million years or so. "This ghost tells us about the black hole's eruption long after

  9. High prevalence of primary dyslipidaemia in black South African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In South Africa (SA), premature deaths due to heart and blood vessel diseases in people of working age (35 - 64 years) have been predicted to increase by 41% between 2007 ... To assess the burden and prevalence of dyslipidaemia in the SA black population at Dr George Mukhari Hospital in the north region of Gauteng.

  10. Taxonomy, virulence and epidemiology of black-pigmented Bacteroides species in relation to oral infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Steenbergen, T J; van Winkelhoff, A J; van der Velden, U; de Graaff, J

    1989-01-01

    Black-pigmented Bacteroides species are recognized as suspected pathogens of oral infections. Developments in the taxonomy of this group include description of a new asaccharolytic species, Bacteroides salivosus, and proposal for the reclassification of the asaccharolytic species into a separate genus, Porphyromonas. Studies on the pathogenicity and virulence of black-pigmented Bacteroides species have identified Bacteroides gingivalis as the most virulent species. B. gingivalis and Bacteroides intermedius have been associated with periodontal diseases; Bacteroides endodontalis is isolated specifically from infections in the oral cavity, and other black-pigmented Bacteroides species are recovered from oral mucous sites. DNA restriction endonuclease analysis was adapted for typing of B. gingivalis and B. intermedius.

  11. Rotating black holes at future colliders. III. Determination of black hole evolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ida, Daisuke; Oda, Kin-ya; Park, Seong Chan

    2006-01-01

    TeV scale gravity scenario predicts that the black hole production dominates over all other interactions above the scale and that the Large Hadron Collider will be a black hole factory. Such higher-dimensional black holes mainly decay into the standard model fields via the Hawking radiation whose spectrum can be computed from the greybody factor. Here we complete the series of our work by showing the greybody factors and the resultant spectra for the brane-localized spinor and vector field emissions for arbitrary frequencies. Combining these results with the previous works, we determine the complete radiation spectra and the subsequent time evolution of the black hole. We find that, for a typical event, well more than half a black hole mass is emitted when the hole is still highly rotating, confirming our previous claim that it is important to take into account the angular momentum of black holes

  12. Physiologic Reference Ranges for Captive Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keckler, M Shannon; Gallardo-Romero, Nadia F; Langham, Gregory L; Damon, Inger K; Karem, Kevin L; Carroll, Darin S

    2010-01-01

    The black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) is a member of the order Rodentia and the family Sciuridae. Ecologically, prairie dogs are a keystone species in prairie ecology. This species is used as an animal model for human gallbladder disease and diseases caused by infection with Clostridium difficile, Yersinia pestis, Francisella tularensis, and most recently, Orthopoxvirus. Despite increasing numbers of prairie dogs used in research and kept as pets, few data are available on their baseline physiology in animal facility housing conditions. To establish baseline physiologic reference ranges, we designed a study using 18 wild-caught black-tailed prairie dogs. Telemetry data were analyzed to establish circadian rhythms for activity and temperature. In addition, hematologic and serum chemistry analyses were performed. Baseline measurements were used to establish the mean for each animal, which then were compiled and analyzed to determine the reference ranges. Here we present physiologic data on serum chemistry and hematology profiles, as well as weight, core body temperature, and daily activity patterns for black-tailed prairie dogs. These results reflect the use of multiple measurements from species- and age-matched prairie dogs and likely will be useful to ecologists, scientists interested in using this animal model in research, and veterinarians caring for pet prairie dogs. PMID:20587156

  13. Same Disease—different research strategies: Bananas and Black Sigatoka in Brazil

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cordoba, D.M.; Jansen, K.

    2014-01-01

    Fungal disease epidemics have the potential to bring about drastic innovations. However, in the case of the Black Sigatoka (Mycosphaerella fijiensis) fungus in bananas, producers and international traders are still awaiting a breakthrough in crop protection research. Using the cases of Brazil and

  14. BlackBerry For Dummies

    CERN Document Server

    Kao, Robert

    2010-01-01

    Get the most juice out of your BlackBerry handheld!. Feature-rich and complex, the BlackBerry is the number one smartphone in the corporate world is among the most popular handhelds for business users. This new and updated edition includes all the latest and greatest information on new and current BlackBerry mobile devices. Covering a range of valuable how-to topics, this helpful guide explores the BlackBerry's most useful features, techniques for getting the most out of your BlackBerry, and practical information about power usage.: Covers all aspects of the number one smartphone in the corpor

  15. Single-Band and Dual-Band Infrared Detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ting, David Z. (Inventor); Gunapala, Sarath D. (Inventor); Soibel, Alexander (Inventor); Nguyen, Jean (Inventor); Khoshakhlagh, Arezou (Inventor)

    2017-01-01

    Bias-switchable dual-band infrared detectors and methods of manufacturing such detectors are provided. The infrared detectors are based on a back-to-back heterojunction diode design, where the detector structure consists of, sequentially, a top contact layer, a unipolar hole barrier layer, an absorber layer, a unipolar electron barrier, a second absorber, a second unipolar hole barrier, and a bottom contact layer. In addition, by substantially reducing the width of one of the absorber layers, a single-band infrared detector can also be formed.

  16. Rose parental characterization and population development for the identification of novel rose black spot resistance genes [abstract

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose black spot disease, caused by the pathogen Diplocarpon rosae Wolf, is one of the most widespread and serious diseases of outdoor-grown roses worldwide. Defoliation caused by the disease compromises ornamental value, and repeated defoliation events weakens plants and can lead to plant death. Bot...

  17. High macro rubber band ligature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José A. Reis Neto

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The goal of a rubber band ligature is to promote fibrosis of the submucosa with subsequent fixation of the anal epithelium to the underlying sphincter. Following this principle, a new technique of ligature was developed based on two aspects: 1. macro banding: to have a better fibrosis and fixation by banding a bigger volume of mucosa and 2. higher ligature: to have this fixation at the origin of the hemorrhoidal cushion displacement. Methods: 1634 patients with internal hemorrhoidal disease grade II or III were treated by the technique called high macro rubber band. There was no distinction as to age, gender or race. To perform this technique a new hemorrhoidal device was specially designed with a larger diameter and a bigger capacity for mucosal volume aspiration. It is recommended to utilize a longer and wider anoscope to obtain a better view of the anal canal, which will facilitate the injection of submucosa higher in the anal canal and the insertion of the rubber band device. The hemorrhoidal cushion must be banded higher in the anal canal (4 cm above the pectinate line. It is preferable to treat all the hemorrhoids in one single session (maximum of three areas banded. Results: The analysis was retrospective without any comparison with conventional banding. The period of evaluation extended from one to twelve years. The analysis of the results showed perianal edema in 1.6% of the patients, immediate tenesmus in 0.8%, intense pain (need for parenteral analgesia in 1.6%, urinary retention in 0.1% of the patients and a symptomatic recurrence rate of 4.2%. All patients with symptomatic recurrence were treated with a new session of macro rubber banding. None of the patients developed anal or rectal sepsis. Small post-ligature bleeding was observed only in 0.8% of the patients. Conclusions: The high macro rubber banding technique represents an alternative method for the treatment of hemorrhoidal disease grades II or III, with good

  18. Banding pattern indicative of echinococcosis in a commercial cysticercosis western blot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tappe D

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objective A commercial cysticercosis Western blot was evaluated for serological cross-reactivity of sera from patients with alveolar (AE and cystic echinococcosis (CE. Methods A total of 161 sera were examined, including 31 sera from AE-patients, 11 sera from CE-patients, 9 sera from patients with other parasitic diseases and 109 sera from patients with unrelated medical conditions. All AE-and CE-sera were also examined by the echinococcosis Western blot. Results More sera from patients with AE than with CE showed cross-reactivity in the form of ladder-like patterns ("Mikado aspect" and untypical bands at 6-8 kDa (71% and 77.4% versus 27.3% and 45.5%, respectively. In contrast, triplets of bands in the area above 50 kDa and between 24 and 39-42 kDa were more frequent in CE than in AE sera. The fuzzy band at 50-55 kDa typical for cysticercosis was absent in all AE and CE sera. Conclusions Atypical banding patterns in the cysticercosis Western blot should raise the suspicion of a metacestode infection different from Taenia solium, i.e. Echinococcus multilocularis or E. granulosus, especially when the Mikado aspect and an altered 6-8 kDa band is visible in the absence of a fuzzy 50-55 kDa band.

  19. Hidden Pair of Supermassive Black Holes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2015-08-01

    Could a pair of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) be lurking at the center of the galaxy Mrk 231? A recent study finds that this may be the case and the unique spectrum of this galaxy could be the key to discovering more hidden binary SMBH systems.Where Are the Binary Supermassive Black Holes?Its believed that most, if not all, galaxies have an SMBH at their centers. As two galaxies merge, the two SMBHs should evolve into a closely-bound binary system before they eventually merge. Given the abundance of galaxy mergers, we would expect to see the kinematic and visual signatures of these binary SMBHs among observed active galactic nuclei yet such evidence for sub-parsec binary SMBH systems remains scarce and ambiguous. This has led researchers to wonder: is there another way that we might detect these elusive systems?A collaboration led by Chang-Shuo Yan (National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences) thinks that there is. The group suggests that these systems might have distinct signatures in their optical-to-UV spectra, and they identify a system that might be just such a candidate: Mrk 231.A Binary CandidateProposed model of Mrk 231. Two supermassive black holes, each with their own mini-disk, orbit each other in the center of a circumbinary disk. The secondary black hole has cleared gap in the circumbinary disk as a result of its orbit around the primary black hole. [Yan et al. 2015]Mrk 231 is a galaxy with a disturbed morphology and tidal tails strong clues that it might be in the final stages of a galactic merger. In addition to these signs, Mrk 231 also has an unusual spectrum for a quasar: its continuum emission displays an unexpected drop in the near-UV band.Yan and her collaborators propose that the odd behavior of Mrk 231s spectrum can be explained if the center of the galaxy houses a pair of SMBHs each with its own mini accretion disk surrounded by a circumbinary accretion disk. As the secondary SMBH orbits the primary SMBH (with a

  20. A study of Huntington disease-like syndromes in black South African patients reveals a single SCA2 mutation and a unique distribution of normal alleles across five repeat loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baine, Fiona K; Peerbhai, Nabeelah; Krause, Amanda

    2018-07-15

    Huntington disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, characterised by a triad of movement disorder, emotional and behavioural disturbances and cognitive impairment. The underlying cause is an expanded CAG repeat in the huntingtin gene. For a small proportion of patients presenting with HD-like symptoms, the mutation in this gene is not identified and they are said to have a HD "phenocopy". South Africa has the highest number of recorded cases of an African-specific phenocopy, Huntington disease-like 2 (HDL2), caused by a repeat expansion in the junctophilin-3 gene. However, a significant proportion of black patients with clinical symptoms suggestive of HD still test negative for HD and HDL2. This study thus aimed to investigate five other loci associated with HD phenocopy syndromes - ATN1, ATXN2, ATXN7, TBP and C9orf72. In a sample of patients in whom HD and HDL2 had been excluded, a single expansion was identified in the ATXN2 gene, confirming a diagnosis of Spinocerebellar ataxia 2. The results indicate that common repeat expansion disorders do not contribute significantly to the HD-like phenotype in black South African patients. Importantly, allele sizing reveals unique distributions of normal repeat lengths across the associated loci in the African population studied. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Black Hole Area Quantization rule from Black Hole Mass Fluctuations

    OpenAIRE

    Schiffer, Marcelo

    2016-01-01

    We calculate the black hole mass distribution function that follows from the random emission of quanta by Hawking radiation and with this function we calculate the black hole mass fluctuation. From a complete different perspective we regard the black hole as quantum mechanical system with a quantized event horizon area and transition probabilities among the various energy levels and then calculate the mass dispersion. It turns out that there is a perfect agreement between the statistical and ...

  2. Framing black boys: parent, teacher, and student narratives of the academic lives of black boys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowley, Stephanie J; Ross, Latisha; Lozada, Fantasy T; Williams, Amber; Gale, Adrian; Kurtz-Costes, Beth

    2014-01-01

    The discourse on Black boys tends to suggest that Black boys are in complete peril. We begin with evidence that Black boys are excelling in certain contexts (i.e., in certain states, in certain schools, and in certain courses). We then discuss the ways in which the narratives used by parents, teachers, and Black boys themselves may serve to further reinforce views that Black boys are beyond hope. Research on Black parents suggests that they tend to view their sons as vulnerable and have lower expectations for sons than for daughters. Studies of teachers show that they tend to view Black boys as unteachable, as social problems, and as scary. Research on Black boys shows that they are sometimes complicit in supporting these narratives by engaging in negative or ste reotypical behavior. We also include recent research that includes counter-narratives of Black boys. We end with suggestions for future research.

  3. Solar Photothermal Disinfection using Broadband-Light Absorbing Gold Nanoparticles and Carbon Black.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loeb, Stephanie; Li, Chuanhao; Kim, Jae-Hong

    2018-01-02

    A simple heat treatment, perhaps the most globally recognized point-of-use water sterilization method, is seemingly effective against all major pathogens of concern, but bulk water boiling is not energy efficient or sustainable. Herein, we present the first application of solar-to-thermal converting nanomaterials for the direct inactivation of bacteria and viruses in drinking water through the application of Au nanorods, carbon black, and Au nanorod-carbon black composite materials as light absorbers. With broad absorption bands spanning the visible and near-infrared wavelengths, at sufficient concentrations, these nanoparticles induce multiple scattering events, increasing photon absorption probability and concentrating the light within a small spatial domain, leading to localized, intense heating that inactivates microorganisms in close proximity. Moving toward practical device design, we have developed a facile silane immobilization approach to fabricate films with densely packed layers of photothermal nanomaterials. Our results suggest that upon irraditaion with simulated solar light, these films can thermally inactivate bacteria and viruses, as demonstrated through the inactivation of surrogate organisms Escherichia coli K-12, and bacteriophages MS2 and PR772.

  4. Cosmological evolution of supermassive black holes in galactic centers unveiled by hard X-ray observations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ueda, Yoshihiro

    2015-01-01

    We review the current understanding of the cosmological evolution of supermassive black holes in galactic centers elucidated by X-ray surveys of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Hard X-ray observations at energies above 2 keV are the most efficient and complete tools to find "obscured" AGNs, which are dominant populations among all AGNs. Combinations of surveys with various flux limits and survey area have enabled us to determine the space number density and obscuration properties of AGNs as a function of luminosity and redshift. The results have essentially solved the origin of the X-ray background in the energy band below ∼10 keV. The downsizing (or anti-hierarchical) evolution that more luminous AGNs have the space-density peak at higher redshifts has been discovered, challenging theories of galaxy and black hole formation. Finally, we summarize unresolved issues on AGN evolution and prospects for future X-ray missions.

  5. The Black Family as Educator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, Joan

    The black family is the primary socializing agent of the black child and, thus, the primary educator. The culture of blacks in America, in which the child is steeped, is unique, complex and rich-the result of a convergence and fusion of African, American, and European influences. In its education of the black child, the black family must deal,…

  6. Monopole Black Hole Skyrmions

    OpenAIRE

    Moss, Ian G; Shiiki, N; Winstanley, E

    2000-01-01

    Charged black hole solutions with pion hair are discussed. These can be\\ud used to study monopole black hole catalysis of proton decay.\\ud There also exist\\ud multi-black hole skyrmion solutions with BPS monopole behaviour.

  7. Cerebrospinal fluid oligoclonal bands and progression of disability in multiple sclerosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koch, M.; Heersema, D.; Mostert, J.; Teelken, A.; De Keyser, J.

    Antibody-mediated inflammation is believed to contribute to tissue injury in multiple sclerosis (MS). The majority of patients with MS have oligoclonal bands (OCB), corresponding to antibodies against a variety of antigens, in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The relation of CSF OCB and disease

  8. Jet Power and Black Hole Assortment Revealed in New Chandra Image

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-01-01

    acceleration in this part of the jet is unknown. Hundreds of point-like sources are also seen in the Chandra image. Many of these are X-ray binaries that contain a stellar-mass black hole and a companion star in orbit around one another. Determining the population and properties of these black holes should help scientists better understand the evolution of massive stars and the formation of black holes. Another surprise was the detection of two particularly bright X-ray binaries. These sources may contain stellar mass black holes that are unusually massive, and this Chandra observation might have caught them gobbling up material at a high rate. In this image, low-energy X-rays are colored red, intermediate-energy X-rays are green, and the highest-energy X-rays detected by Chandra are blue. The dark green and blue bands running almost perpendicular to the jet are dust lanes that absorb X-rays. This dust lane was created when Centaurus A merged with another galaxy perhaps 100 million years ago. This research was presented at the American Astronomical Society meeting on January 9th by Gregory Sivakoff (The Ohio State University). Other team members include Ralph Kraft (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), Martin Hardcastle (University of Hertfordshire), Diana Worrall (University of Bristol), and Andres Jordan (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory). NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass.

  9. Skyrmion black hole hair: Conservation of baryon number by black holes and observable manifestations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dvali, Gia [Arnold Sommerfeld Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, 80333 München (Germany); Max-Planck-Institut für Physik, Werner-Heisenberg-Institut, 80805 München (Germany); Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003 (United States); Gußmann, Alexander, E-mail: alexander.gussmann@physik.uni-muenchen.de [Arnold Sommerfeld Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, 80333 München (Germany)

    2016-12-15

    We show that the existence of black holes with classical skyrmion hair invalidates standard proofs that global charges, such as the baryon number, cannot be conserved by a black hole. By carefully analyzing the standard arguments based on a Gedankenexperiment in which a black hole is seemingly-unable to return the baryon number that it swallowed, we identify inconsistencies in this reasoning, which does not take into the account neither the existence of skyrmion black holes nor the baryon/skyrmion correspondence. We then perform a refined Gedankenexperiment by incorporating the new knowledge and show that no contradiction with conservation of baryon number takes place at any stage of black hole evolution. Our analysis also indicates no conflict between semi-classical black holes and the existence of baryonic gauge interaction arbitrarily-weaker than gravity. Next, we study classical cross sections of a minimally-coupled massless probe scalar field scattered by a skyrmion black hole. We investigate how the skyrmion hair manifests itself by comparing this cross section with the analogous cross section caused by a Schwarzschild black hole which has the same ADM mass as the skyrmion black hole. Here we find an order-one difference in the positions of the characteristic peaks in the cross sections. The peaks are shifted to smaller scattering angles when the skyrmion hair is present. This comes from the fact that the skyrmion hair changes the near horizon geometry of the black hole when compared to a Schwarzschild black hole with same ADM mass. We keep the study of this second aspect general so that the qualitative results which we obtain can also be applied to black holes with classical hair of different kind.

  10. Statistical black-hole thermodynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bekenstein, J.D.

    1975-01-01

    Traditional methods from statistical thermodynamics, with appropriate modifications, are used to study several problems in black-hole thermodynamics. Jaynes's maximum-uncertainty method for computing probabilities is used to show that the earlier-formulated generalized second law is respected in statistically averaged form in the process of spontaneous radiation by a Kerr black hole discovered by Hawking, and also in the case of a Schwarzschild hole immersed in a bath of black-body radiation, however cold. The generalized second law is used to motivate a maximum-entropy principle for determining the equilibrium probability distribution for a system containing a black hole. As an application we derive the distribution for the radiation in equilibrium with a Kerr hole (it is found to agree with what would be expected from Hawking's results) and the form of the associated distribution among Kerr black-hole solution states of definite mass. The same results are shown to follow from a statistical interpretation of the concept of black-hole entropy as the natural logarithm of the number of possible interior configurations that are compatible with the given exterior black-hole state. We also formulate a Jaynes-type maximum-uncertainty principle for black holes, and apply it to obtain the probability distribution among Kerr solution states for an isolated radiating Kerr hole

  11. An examination of black/white differences in the rate of age-related mortality increase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Fenelon

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND The rate of mortality increase with age among adults is typically used as a measure of the rate of functional decline associated with aging or senescence. While black and white populations differ in the level of mortality, mortality also rises less rapidly with age for blacks than for whites, leading to the well-known black/white mortality "crossover". OBJECTIVE This paper investigates black/white differences in the rate of mortality increase with age for major causes of death in order to examine the factors responsible for the black/white crossover. METHODS The analysis considers two explanations for the crossover: selective survival and age misreporting. Mortality is modeled using a Gompertz model for 11 causes of death from ages 50-84 among blacks and whites by sex. RESULTS Mortality increases more rapidly with age for whites than for blacks for nearly all causes of death considered. The all-cause mortality rate of mortality increase is nearly two percentage points higher for whites. The analysis finds evidence for both selective survival and age misreporting, although age misreporting is a more prominent explanation among women. CONCLUSIONS The black/white mortality crossover reflects large differences in the rate of age-related mortality increase. Instead of reflecting the impact of specific causes of death, this pattern exists across many disparate disease conditions, indicating the need for a broad explanation.

  12. Evaluation of energy and macronutrient intake of black women in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2008-11-19

    Nov 19, 2008 ... pre-menopausal black women living in Bloemfontein in South Africa. .... nity health worker explained the purpose of the study to possible participants. .... was almost three times higher than the RDA of 130 g/day. .... The beneficial metabolic effects of a ... disease viewpoint, excessive dietary fat intake may be.

  13. Black holes without firewalls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larjo, Klaus; Lowe, David A.; Thorlacius, Larus

    2013-05-01

    The postulates of black hole complementarity do not imply a firewall for infalling observers at a black hole horizon. The dynamics of the stretched horizon, that scrambles and reemits information, determines whether infalling observers experience anything out of the ordinary when entering a large black hole. In particular, there is no firewall if the stretched horizon degrees of freedom retain information for a time of the order of the black hole scrambling time.

  14. Fear of a Black femme: The existential conundrum of embodying a Black femme identity while being a professor of Black, queer, and feminist studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Story, Kaila Adia

    2017-10-02

    Although a Black femme identity has been defined and embodied by many as an identity with Black feminist roots and revolutionary potentials, Black femmes are still rendered hypervisible and invisible through racist and heteronormative politics. Similarly, embodying a Black femme identity as a professor in academia often engenders these same pretenses of hypervisibility and invisibility. This essay explores what this existential conundrum has been for me as both a Black femme and professor of Black queer and feminist studies, while illuminating the mix of forces within academia that have attempted to stifle my chosen sexual identity and gendered performance.

  15. Variant Branching of the Common Femoral Artery in a Black Kenyan ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Branching pattern of common femoral artery is important during artery catheterization, orthopaedic, plastic and general surgery in the proximal thigh. Frequency of variant branching shows ethnic variation but there are no data for black African populations. Since atherosclerotic diseases are increasing and femoral artery ...

  16. Band Edge Dynamics and Multiexciton Generation in Narrow Band Gap HgTe Nanocrystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Livache, Clément; Goubet, Nicolas; Martinez, Bertille; Jagtap, Amardeep; Qu, Junling; Ithurria, Sandrine; Silly, Mathieu G; Dubertret, Benoit; Lhuillier, Emmanuel

    2018-04-11

    Mercury chalcogenide nanocrystals and especially HgTe appear as an interesting platform for the design of low cost mid-infrared (mid-IR) detectors. Nevertheless, their electronic structure and transport properties remain poorly understood, and some critical aspects such as the carrier relaxation dynamics at the band edge have been pushed under the rug. Some of the previous reports on dynamics are setup-limited, and all of them have been obtained using photon energy far above the band edge. These observations raise two main questions: (i) what are the carrier dynamics at the band edge and (ii) should we expect some additional effect (multiexciton generation (MEG)) as such narrow band gap materials are excited far above the band edge? To answer these questions, we developed a high-bandwidth setup that allows us to understand and compare the carrier dynamics resonantly pumped at the band edge in the mid-IR and far above the band edge. We demonstrate that fast (>50 MHz) photoresponse can be obtained even in the mid-IR and that MEG is occurring in HgTe nanocrystal arrays with a threshold around 3 times the band edge energy. Furthermore, the photoresponse can be effectively tuned in magnitude and sign using a phototransistor configuration.

  17. DISCOVERY OF Fe K{alpha} X-RAY REVERBERATION AROUND THE BLACK HOLES IN MCG-5-23-16 AND NGC 7314

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zoghbi, A.; Reynolds, C. [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421 (United States); Cackett, E. M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University, 666 W. Hancock St, Detroit, MI 48201 (United States); Miniutti, G. [Centro de Astrobiologia (CSIC-INTA), Dep. de Astrosica, P.O. Box 78, E-28691 Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid (Spain); Kara, E.; Fabian, A. C., E-mail: azoghbi@astro.umd.edu [Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA (United Kingdom)

    2013-04-20

    Several X-ray observations have recently revealed the presence of reverberation time delays between spectral components in active galactic nuclei. Most of the observed lags are between the power-law Comptonization component, seen directly, and the soft excess produced by reflection in the vicinity of the black hole. NGC 4151 was the first object to show these lags in the iron K band. Here, we report the discovery of reverberation lags in the Fe K band in two other sources: MCG-5-23-16 and NGC 7314. In both objects, the 6-7 keV band, where the Fe K{alpha} line peaks, lags the bands at lower and higher energies with a time delay of {approx}1 ks. These lags are unlikely to be due to the narrow Fe K{alpha} line. They are fully consistent with reverberation of the relativistically broadened iron K{alpha} line. The measured lags, their time scale, and spectral modeling indicate that most of the radiation is emitted at {approx}5 and 24 gravitational radii for MCG-5-23-16 and NGC 7314, respectively.

  18. Mycosphaerella fijiensis, the black leaf streak pathogen of banana: progress towards understanding pathogen biology and detection, disease development, and the challenges of control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Churchill, Alice C L

    2011-05-01

    Banana (Musa spp.) is grown throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The fruits are a key staple food in many developing countries and a source of income for subsistence farmers. Bananas are also a major, multibillion-dollar export commodity for consumption primarily in developed countries, where few banana cultivars are grown. The fungal pathogen Mycosphaerella fijiensis causes black leaf streak disease (BLSD; aka black Sigatoka leaf spot) on the majority of edible banana cultivars grown worldwide. The fact that most of these cultivars are sterile and unsuitable for the breeding of resistant lines necessitates the extensive use of fungicides as the primary means of disease control. BLSD is a significant threat to the food security of resource-poor populations who cannot afford fungicides, and increases the environmental and health hazards where large-acreage monocultures of banana (Cavendish subgroup, AAA genome) are grown for export. Mycosphaerella fijiensis M. Morelet is a sexual, heterothallic fungus having Pseudocercospora fijiensis (M. Morelet) Deighton as the anamorph stage. It is a haploid, hemibiotrophic ascomycete within the class Dothideomycetes, order Capnodiales and family Mycosphaerellaceae. Its taxonomic placement is based on DNA phylogeny, morphological analyses and cultural characteristics. Mycosphaerella fijiensis is a leaf pathogen that causes reddish-brown streaks running parallel to the leaf veins, which aggregate to form larger, dark-brown to black compound streaks. These streaks eventually form fusiform or elliptical lesions that coalesce, form a water-soaked border with a yellow halo and, eventually, merge to cause extensive leaf necrosis. The disease does not kill the plants immediately, but weakens them by decreasing the photosynthetic capacity of leaves, causing a reduction in the quantity and quality of fruit, and inducing the premature ripening of fruit harvested from infected plants. Although Musa spp. are the

  19. Noise exposure in marching bands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keefe, Joseph

    2005-09-01

    Previous studies involving orchestras have shown that music ensembles can produce hazardous noise levels. There are no similar data for marching bands and pep bands. In order to evaluate the noise levels produced by marching and pep bands, 1/3-octave-band sound-pressure levels were measured while these groups rehearsed and performed. Data were collected while marching with the bands to ensure a realistic environment. Comparing these data to OSHA and NIOSH criteria, marching and pep band exposures often exceed safe values. For typical exposures, OSHA doses range from 11% to 295%, while NIOSH doses range from 35% to 3055%. Exposures that would be considered hazardous in the workplace are common in marching and pep bands; students and band directors should take steps to recognize the risk posed by various instruments and various locations, and should implement hearing conservation efforts.

  20. Black Lives Matter of Black Identity Extremist? : The FBI, Black Activists and the Struggle for Victimhood

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mutsaers, Paul

    2017-01-01

    The question 'who is the victim?' is an important social directive that shapes the struggles for victimhood in which Black Lives Matters, U.S. police forces and their various (counter)publics are currently engaging. This column begins with a controversial FBI report on so-called Black Identity

  1. Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet metrics: black holes, black strings and a staticity theorem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bogdanos, C.; Charmousis, C.; Gouteraux, B.; Zegers, R.

    2009-01-01

    We find the general solution of the 6-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet equations in a large class of space and time-dependent warped geometries. Several distinct families of solutions are found, some of which include black string metrics, space and time-dependent solutions and black holes with exotic horizons. Among these, some are shown to verify a Birkhoff type staticity theorem, although here, the usual assumption of maximal symmetry on the horizon is relaxed, allowing exotic horizon geometries. We provide explicit examples of such static exotic black holes, including ones whose horizon geometry is that of a Bergman space. We find that the situation is very different from higher-dimensional general relativity, where Einstein spaces are admissible black hole horizons and the associated black hole potential is not even affected. In Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory, on the contrary, the non-trivial Weyl tensor of such exotic horizons is exposed to the bulk dynamics through the higher order Gauss-Bonnet term, severely constraining the allowed horizon geometries and adding a novel charge-like parameter to the black hole potential. The latter is related to the Euler characteristic of the four-dimensional horizon and provides, in some cases, additional black hole horizons.

  2. Accreting Black Holes

    OpenAIRE

    Begelman, Mitchell C.

    2014-01-01

    I outline the theory of accretion onto black holes, and its application to observed phenomena such as X-ray binaries, active galactic nuclei, tidal disruption events, and gamma-ray bursts. The dynamics as well as radiative signatures of black hole accretion depend on interactions between the relatively simple black-hole spacetime and complex radiation, plasma and magnetohydrodynamical processes in the surrounding gas. I will show how transient accretion processes could provide clues to these ...

  3. Naked black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horowitz, G.T.; Ross, S.F.

    1997-01-01

    It is shown that there are large static black holes for which all curvature invariants are small near the event horizon, yet any object which falls in experiences enormous tidal forces outside the horizon. These black holes are charged and near extremality, and exist in a wide class of theories including string theory. The implications for cosmic censorship and the black hole information puzzle are discussed. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

  4. Nutraceutical Value of Black Cherry Prunus serotina Ehrh. Fruits: Antioxidant and Antihypertensive Properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco J. Luna-Vázquez

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available In Mexico black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh. fruits are consumed fresh, dried or prepared in jam. Considering the evidence that has linked intake of fruits and vegetables rich in polyphenols to cardiovascular risk reduction, the aim of this study was to characterize the phenolic profile of black cherry fruits and to determine their antioxidant, vasorelaxant and antihypertensive effects. The proximate composition and mineral contents of these fruits were also assessed. Black cherry fruits possess a high content of phenolic compounds and display a significant antioxidant capacity. High-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric analysis indicated that hyperoside, anthocyanins and chlorogenic acid were the main phenolic compounds found in these fruits. The black cherry aqueous extract elicited a concentration-dependent relaxation of aortic rings and induced a significant reduction on systolic blood pressure in L-NAME induced hypertensive rats after four weeks of treatment. Proximate analysis showed that black cherry fruits have high sugar, protein, and potassium contents. The results derived from this study indicate that black cherry fruits contain phenolic compounds which elicit significant antioxidant and antihypertensive effects. These findings suggest that these fruits might be considered as functional foods useful for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

  5. B(M1) values in the band-crossing of shears bands in 197Pb

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krücken, R.; Cooper, J. R.; Beausang, C. W.; Novak, J. R.; Dewald, A.; Klug, T.; Kemper, G.; von Brentano, P.; Carpenter, M.; Wiedenhöver, I.

    We present details of the band crossing mechanism of shears bands using the example of 197Pb. Absolute reduced matrix elements B(M1) were determined by means of a RDM lifetime measurement in one of the shears bands in 197Pb. The experiment was performed using the New Yale Plunger Device (NYPD) in conjunction with the Gammasphere array. Band mixing calculations on the basis of the semi-classical model of the shears mechanism are used to describe the transition matrix elements B(M1) and energies throughout the band-crossing regions. Good agreement with the data was obtained and the detailed composition of the states in the shears band are discussed.

  6. Enhancement of hole mobility in InSe monolayer via an InSe and black phosphorus heterostructure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Yi-Min; Shi, Jun-Jie; Xia, Congxin; Zhang, Min; Du, Juan; Huang, Pu; Wu, Meng; Wang, Hui; Cen, Yu-Lang; Pan, Shu-Hang

    2017-10-05

    To enhance the low hole mobility (∼40 cm 2 V -1 s -1 ) of InSe monolayer, a novel two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals heterostructure made of InSe and black phosphorus (BP) monolayers with high hole mobility (∼10 3 cm 2 V -1 s -1 ) has been constructed and its structural and electronic properties are investigated using first-principles calculations. We find that the InSe/BP heterostructure exhibits a direct band gap of 1.39 eV and type-II band alignment with electrons (holes) located in the InSe (BP) layer. The band offsets of InSe and BP are 0.78 eV for the conduction band minimum and 0.86 eV for the valence band maximum, respectively. Surprisingly, the hole mobility in the InSe/BP heterostructure exceeds 10 4 cm 2 V -1 s -1 , which is one order of magnitude larger than the hole mobility of BP and three orders larger than that of the InSe monolayer. The electron mobility is also increased to 3 × 10 3 cm 2 V -1 s -1 . The physical reason has been analyzed deeply, and a universal method is proposed to improve the carrier mobility of 2D materials by forming heterostructures with them and other 2D materials with complementary properties. The InSe/BP heterostructure can thus be widely used in nanoscale InSe-based field-effect transistors, photodetectors and photovoltaic devices due to its type-II band alignment and high carrier mobility.

  7. Legitimizing Blacks in Philosophy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jameliah Shorter-Bourhanou

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In its efforts toward improving diversity, the discipline of philosophy has tended to focus on increasing the number of black philosophers. One crucial issue that has received less attention is the extent to which black philosophers are delegitimized in the discipline because their philosophical contributions challenge the status quo. A systematic problem that bars black philosophers from equal and full participation, this delegitimization precludes the emergence of genuine diversity and reveals the importance of interrogating broader attitudes toward black philosophical contributions. In this essay, I argue for radical systematic changes to disciplinary hallmarks of professionalization such as pedagogy, mentoring, publishing, and hiring practices with the aim of legitimizing black philosophers and their contributions.

  8. Precipitation Estimation Using L-Band and C-Band Soil Moisture Retrievals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koster, Randal D.; Brocca, Luca; Crow, Wade T.; Burgin, Mariko S.; De Lannoy, Gabrielle J. M.

    2016-01-01

    An established methodology for estimating precipitation amounts from satellite-based soil moisture retrievals is applied to L-band products from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) and Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite missions and to a C-band product from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) mission. The precipitation estimates so obtained are evaluated against in situ (gauge-based) precipitation observations from across the globe. The precipitation estimation skill achieved using the L-band SMAP and SMOS data sets is higher than that obtained with the C-band product, as might be expected given that L-band is sensitive to a thicker layer of soil and thereby provides more information on the response of soil moisture to precipitation. The square of the correlation coefficient between the SMAP-based precipitation estimates and the observations (for aggregations to approximately100 km and 5 days) is on average about 0.6 in areas of high rain gauge density. Satellite missions specifically designed to monitor soil moisture thus do provide significant information on precipitation variability, information that could contribute to efforts in global precipitation estimation.

  9. Black holes are hot

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gibbons, G.

    1976-01-01

    Recent work, which has been investigating the use of the concept of entropy with respect to gravitating systems, black holes and the universe as a whole, is discussed. The resulting theory of black holes assigns a finite temperature to them -about 10 -7 K for ordinary black holes of stellar mass -which is in complete agreement with thermodynamical concepts. It is also shown that black holes must continuously emit particles just like ordinary bodies which have a certain temperature. (U.K.)

  10. GW151226: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a 22-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Abbott, T. D.; Abernathy, M. R.; Acernese, F.; Ackley, K.; Adams, C.; Adams, T.; Addesso, P.; Camp, Jordan B.; hide

    2016-01-01

    We report the observation of a gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of two stellar-mass black holes. The signal, GW151226, was observed by the twin detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) on December 26, 2015 at 03:38:53 UTC. The signal was initially identified within 70 s by an online matched-filter search targeting binary coalescences. Subsequent off-line analyses recovered GW151226 with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 13 and a significance greater than 5(sigma). The signal persisted in the LIGO frequency band for approximately 1 s, increasing in frequency and amplitude over about 55 cycles from 35 to 450 Hz, and reached a peak gravitational strain of 3.4(+0.7/-0.9) x 10(exp -22). The inferred source-frame initial black hole masses are 14.2(+8.3/-3.7 Stellar Mass and 7.5(+2.3/-2.3) Stellar Mass, and the final black hole mass is 20.8(+6.1/-1.7) Stellar Mass. We find that at least one of the component black holes has spin greater than 0.2. This source is located at a luminosity distance of 440(+180/-190) Mpc corresponding to a redshift of 0.090(+.030/-0.04). All uncertainties define a 90% credible interval. This second gravitational-wave observation provides improved constraints on stellar populations and on deviations from general relativity.

  11. GW151226: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a 22-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, B P; Abbott, R; Abbott, T D; Abernathy, M R; Acernese, F; Ackley, K; Adams, C; Adams, T; Addesso, P; Adhikari, R X; Adya, V B; Affeldt, C; Agathos, M; Agatsuma, K; Aggarwal, N; Aguiar, O D; Aiello, L; Ain, A; Ajith, P; Allen, B; Allocca, A; Altin, P A; Anderson, S B; Anderson, W G; Arai, K; Araya, M C; Arceneaux, C C; Areeda, J S; Arnaud, N; Arun, K G; Ascenzi, S; Ashton, G; Ast, M; Aston, S M; Astone, P; Aufmuth, P; Aulbert, C; Babak, S; Bacon, P; Bader, M K M; Baker, P T; Baldaccini, F; Ballardin, G; Ballmer, S W; Barayoga, J C; Barclay, S E; Barish, B C; Barker, D; Barone, F; Barr, B; Barsotti, L; Barsuglia, M; Barta, D; Bartlett, J; Bartos, I; Bassiri, R; Basti, A; Batch, J C; Baune, C; Bavigadda, V; Bazzan, M; Bejger, M; Bell, A S; Berger, B K; Bergmann, G; Berry, C P L; Bersanetti, D; Bertolini, A; Betzwieser, J; Bhagwat, S; Bhandare, R; Bilenko, I A; Billingsley, G; Birch, J; Birney, R; Birnholtz, O; Biscans, S; Bisht, A; Bitossi, M; Biwer, C; Bizouard, M A; Blackburn, J K; Blair, C D; Blair, D G; Blair, R M; Bloemen, S; Bock, O; Boer, M; Bogaert, G; Bogan, C; Bohe, A; Bond, C; Bondu, F; Bonnand, R; Boom, B A; Bork, R; Boschi, V; Bose, S; Bouffanais, Y; Bozzi, A; Bradaschia, C; Brady, P R; Braginsky, V B; Branchesi, M; Brau, J E; Briant, T; Brillet, A; Brinkmann, M; Brisson, V; Brockill, P; Broida, J E; Brooks, A F; Brown, D A; Brown, D D; Brown, N M; Brunett, S; Buchanan, C C; Buikema, A; Bulik, T; Bulten, H J; Buonanno, A; Buskulic, D; Buy, C; Byer, R L; Cabero, M; Cadonati, L; Cagnoli, G; Cahillane, C; Calderón Bustillo, J; Callister, T; Calloni, E; Camp, J B; Cannon, K C; Cao, J; Capano, C D; Capocasa, E; Carbognani, F; Caride, S; Casanueva Diaz, J; Casentini, C; Caudill, S; Cavaglià, M; Cavalier, F; Cavalieri, R; Cella, G; Cepeda, C B; Cerboni Baiardi, L; Cerretani, G; Cesarini, E; Chamberlin, S J; Chan, M; Chao, S; Charlton, P; Chassande-Mottin, E; Cheeseboro, B D; Chen, H Y; Chen, Y; Cheng, C; Chincarini, A; Chiummo, A; Cho, H S; Cho, M; Chow, J H; Christensen, N; Chu, Q; Chua, S; Chung, S; Ciani, G; Clara, F; Clark, J A; Cleva, F; Coccia, E; Cohadon, P-F; Colla, A; Collette, C G; Cominsky, L; Constancio, M; Conte, A; Conti, L; Cook, D; Corbitt, T R; Cornish, N; Corsi, A; Cortese, S; Costa, C A; Coughlin, M W; Coughlin, S B; Coulon, J-P; Countryman, S T; Couvares, P; Cowan, E E; Coward, D M; Cowart, M J; Coyne, D C; Coyne, R; Craig, K; Creighton, J D E; Cripe, J; Crowder, S G; Cumming, A; Cunningham, L; Cuoco, E; Dal Canton, T; Danilishin, S L; D'Antonio, S; Danzmann, K; Darman, N S; Dasgupta, A; Da Silva Costa, C F; Dattilo, V; Dave, I; Davier, M; Davies, G S; Daw, E J; Day, R; De, S; DeBra, D; Debreczeni, G; Degallaix, J; De Laurentis, M; Deléglise, S; Del Pozzo, W; Denker, T; Dent, T; Dergachev, V; De Rosa, R; DeRosa, R T; DeSalvo, R; Devine, R C; Dhurandhar, S; Díaz, M C; Di Fiore, L; Di Giovanni, M; Di Girolamo, T; Di Lieto, A; Di Pace, S; Di Palma, I; Di Virgilio, A; Dolique, V; Donovan, F; Dooley, K L; Doravari, S; Douglas, R; Downes, T P; Drago, M; Drever, R W P; Driggers, J C; Ducrot, M; Dwyer, S E; Edo, T B; Edwards, M C; Effler, A; Eggenstein, H-B; Ehrens, P; Eichholz, J; Eikenberry, S S; Engels, W; Essick, R C; Etzel, T; Evans, M; Evans, T M; Everett, R; Factourovich, M; Fafone, V; Fair, H; Fairhurst, S; Fan, X; Fang, Q; Farinon, S; Farr, B; Farr, W M; Favata, M; Fays, M; Fehrmann, H; Fejer, M M; Fenyvesi, E; Ferrante, I; Ferreira, E C; Ferrini, F; Fidecaro, F; Fiori, I; Fiorucci, D; Fisher, R P; Flaminio, R; Fletcher, M; Fong, H; Fournier, J-D; Frasca, S; Frasconi, F; Frei, Z; Freise, A; Frey, R; Frey, V; Fritschel, P; Frolov, V V; Fulda, P; Fyffe, M; Gabbard, H A G; Gair, J R; Gammaitoni, L; Gaonkar, S G; Garufi, F; Gaur, G; Gehrels, N; Gemme, G; Geng, P; Genin, E; Gennai, A; George, J; Gergely, L; Germain, V; Ghosh, Abhirup; Ghosh, Archisman; Ghosh, S; Giaime, J A; Giardina, K D; Giazotto, A; Gill, K; Glaefke, A; Goetz, E; Goetz, R; Gondan, L; González, G; Gonzalez Castro, J M; Gopakumar, A; Gordon, N A; Gorodetsky, M L; Gossan, S E; Gosselin, M; Gouaty, R; Grado, A; Graef, C; Graff, P B; Granata, M; Grant, A; Gras, S; Gray, C; Greco, G; Green, A C; Groot, P; Grote, H; Grunewald, S; Guidi, G M; Guo, X; Gupta, A; Gupta, M K; Gushwa, K E; Gustafson, E K; Gustafson, R; Hacker, J J; Hall, B R; Hall, E D; Hamilton, H; Hammond, G; Haney, M; Hanke, M M; Hanks, J; Hanna, C; Hannam, M D; Hanson, J; Hardwick, T; Harms, J; Harry, G M; Harry, I W; Hart, M J; Hartman, M T; Haster, C-J; Haughian, K; Healy, J; Heidmann, A; Heintze, M C; Heitmann, H; Hello, P; Hemming, G; Hendry, M; Heng, I S; Hennig, J; Henry, J; Heptonstall, A W; Heurs, M; Hild, S; Hoak, D; Hofman, D; Holt, K; Holz, D E; Hopkins, P; Hough, J; Houston, E A; Howell, E J; Hu, Y M; Huang, S; Huerta, E A; Huet, D; Hughey, B; Husa, S; Huttner, S H; Huynh-Dinh, T; Indik, N; Ingram, D R; Inta, R; Isa, H N; Isac, J-M; Isi, M; Isogai, T; Iyer, B R; Izumi, K; Jacqmin, T; Jang, H; Jani, K; Jaranowski, P; Jawahar, S; Jian, L; Jiménez-Forteza, F; Johnson, W W; Johnson-McDaniel, N K; Jones, D I; Jones, R; Jonker, R J G; Ju, L; K, Haris; Kalaghatgi, C V; Kalogera, V; Kandhasamy, S; Kang, G; Kanner, J B; Kapadia, S J; Karki, S; Karvinen, K S; Kasprzack, M; Katsavounidis, E; Katzman, W; Kaufer, S; Kaur, T; Kawabe, K; Kéfélian, F; Kehl, M S; Keitel, D; Kelley, D B; Kells, W; Kennedy, R; Key, J S; Khalili, F Y; Khan, I; Khan, S; Khan, Z; Khazanov, E A; Kijbunchoo, N; Kim, Chi-Woong; Kim, Chunglee; Kim, J; Kim, K; Kim, N; Kim, W; Kim, Y-M; Kimbrell, S J; King, E J; King, P J; Kissel, J S; Klein, B; Kleybolte, L; Klimenko, S; Koehlenbeck, S M; Koley, S; Kondrashov, V; Kontos, A; Korobko, M; Korth, W Z; Kowalska, I; Kozak, D B; Kringel, V; Krishnan, B; Królak, A; Krueger, C; Kuehn, G; Kumar, P; Kumar, R; Kuo, L; Kutynia, A; Lackey, B D; Landry, M; Lange, J; Lantz, B; Lasky, P D; Laxen, M; Lazzarini, A; Lazzaro, C; Leaci, P; Leavey, S; Lebigot, E O; Lee, C H; Lee, H K; Lee, H M; Lee, K; Lenon, A; Leonardi, M; Leong, J R; Leroy, N; Letendre, N; Levin, Y; Lewis, J B; Li, T G F; Libson, A; Littenberg, T B; Lockerbie, N A; Lombardi, A L; London, L T; Lord, J E; Lorenzini, M; Loriette, V; Lormand, M; Losurdo, G; Lough, J D; Lousto, C O; Lück, H; Lundgren, A P; Lynch, R; Ma, Y; Machenschalk, B; MacInnis, M; Macleod, D M; Magaña-Sandoval, F; Magaña Zertuche, L; Magee, R M; Majorana, E; Maksimovic, I; Malvezzi, V; Man, N; Mandel, I; Mandic, V; Mangano, V; Mansell, G L; Manske, M; Mantovani, M; Marchesoni, F; Marion, F; Márka, S; Márka, Z; Markosyan, A S; Maros, E; Martelli, F; Martellini, L; Martin, I W; Martynov, D V; Marx, J N; Mason, K; Masserot, A; Massinger, T J; Masso-Reid, M; Mastrogiovanni, S; Matichard, F; Matone, L; Mavalvala, N; Mazumder, N; McCarthy, R; McClelland, D E; McCormick, S; McGuire, S C; McIntyre, G; McIver, J; McManus, D J; McRae, T; McWilliams, S T; Meacher, D; Meadors, G D; Meidam, J; Melatos, A; Mendell, G; Mercer, R A; Merilh, E L; Merzougui, M; Meshkov, S; Messenger, C; Messick, C; Metzdorff, R; Meyers, P M; Mezzani, F; Miao, H; Michel, C; Middleton, H; Mikhailov, E E; Milano, L; Miller, A L; Miller, A; Miller, B B; Miller, J; Millhouse, M; Minenkov, Y; Ming, J; Mirshekari, S; Mishra, C; Mitra, S; Mitrofanov, V P; Mitselmakher, G; Mittleman, R; Moggi, A; Mohan, M; Mohapatra, S R P; Montani, M; Moore, B C; Moore, C J; Moraru, D; Moreno, G; Morriss, S R; Mossavi, K; Mours, B; Mow-Lowry, C M; Mueller, G; Muir, A W; Mukherjee, Arunava; Mukherjee, D; Mukherjee, S; Mukund, N; Mullavey, A; Munch, J; Murphy, D J; Murray, P G; Mytidis, A; Nardecchia, I; Naticchioni, L; Nayak, R K; Nedkova, K; Nelemans, G; Nelson, T J N; Neri, M; Neunzert, A; Newton, G; Nguyen, T T; Nielsen, A B; Nissanke, S; Nitz, A; Nocera, F; Nolting, D; Normandin, M E N; Nuttall, L K; Oberling, J; Ochsner, E; O'Dell, J; Oelker, E; Ogin, G H; Oh, J J; Oh, S H; Ohme, F; Oliver, M; Oppermann, P; Oram, Richard J; O'Reilly, B; O'Shaughnessy, R; Ottaway, D J; Overmier, H; Owen, B J; Pai, A; Pai, S A; Palamos, J R; Palashov, O; Palomba, C; Pal-Singh, A; Pan, H; Pankow, C; Pannarale, F; Pant, B C; Paoletti, F; Paoli, A; Papa, M A; Paris, H R; Parker, W; Pascucci, D; Pasqualetti, A; Passaquieti, R; Passuello, D; Patricelli, B; Patrick, Z; Pearlstone, B L; Pedraza, M; Pedurand, R; Pekowsky, L; Pele, A; Penn, S; Perreca, A; Perri, L M; Pfeiffer, H P; Phelps, M; Piccinni, O J; Pichot, M; Piergiovanni, F; Pierro, V; Pillant, G; Pinard, L; Pinto, I M; Pitkin, M; Poe, M; Poggiani, R; Popolizio, P; Post, A; Powell, J; Prasad, J; Predoi, V; Prestegard, T; Price, L R; Prijatelj, M; Principe, M; Privitera, S; Prix, R; Prodi, G A; Prokhorov, L; Puncken, O; Punturo, M; Puppo, P; Pürrer, M; Qi, H; Qin, J; Qiu, S; Quetschke, V; Quintero, E A; Quitzow-James, R; Raab, F J; Rabeling, D S; Radkins, H; Raffai, P; Raja, S; Rajan, C; Rakhmanov, M; Rapagnani, P; Raymond, V; Razzano, M; Re, V; Read, J; Reed, C M; Regimbau, T; Rei, L; Reid, S; Reitze, D H; Rew, H; Reyes, S D; Ricci, F; Riles, K; Rizzo, M; Robertson, N A; Robie, R; Robinet, F; Rocchi, A; 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    2016-06-17

    We report the observation of a gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of two stellar-mass black holes. The signal, GW151226, was observed by the twin detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) on December 26, 2015 at 03:38:53 UTC. The signal was initially identified within 70 s by an online matched-filter search targeting binary coalescences. Subsequent off-line analyses recovered GW151226 with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 13 and a significance greater than 5σ. The signal persisted in the LIGO frequency band for approximately 1 s, increasing in frequency and amplitude over about 55 cycles from 35 to 450 Hz, and reached a peak gravitational strain of 3.4_{-0.9}^{+0.7}×10^{-22}. The inferred source-frame initial black hole masses are 14.2_{-3.7}^{+8.3}M_{⊙} and 7.5_{-2.3}^{+2.3}M_{⊙}, and the final black hole mass is 20.8_{-1.7}^{+6.1}M_{⊙}. We find that at least one of the component black holes has spin greater than 0.2. This source is located at a luminosity distance of 440_{-190}^{+180}  Mpc corresponding to a redshift of 0.09_{-0.04}^{+0.03}. All uncertainties define a 90% credible interval. This second gravitational-wave observation provides improved constraints on stellar populations and on deviations from general relativity.

  12. GW151226: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a 22-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence

    Science.gov (United States)

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A.; Quitzow-James, R.; Raab, F. J.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raja, S.; Rajan, C.; Rakhmanov, M.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Razzano, M.; Re, V.; Read, J.; Reed, C. M.; Regimbau, T.; Rei, L.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Rew, H.; Reyes, S. D.; Ricci, F.; Riles, K.; Rizzo, M.; Robertson, N. A.; Robie, R.; Robinet, F.; Rocchi, A.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J. G.; Roma, V. J.; Romano, J. D.; Romano, R.; Romanov, G.; Romie, J. H.; Rosińska, D.; Rowan, S.; Rüdiger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Ryan, K.; Sachdev, S.; Sadecki, T.; Sadeghian, L.; Sakellariadou, M.; Salconi, L.; Saleem, M.; Salemi, F.; Samajdar, A.; Sammut, L.; Sanchez, E. J.; Sandberg, V.; Sandeen, B.; Sanders, J. R.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Saulson, P. R.; Sauter, O. E. S.; Savage, R. L.; Sawadsky, A.; Schale, P.; Schilling, R.; Schmidt, J.; Schmidt, P.; Schnabel, R.; Schofield, R. M. S.; Schönbeck, A.; Schreiber, E.; Schuette, D.; Schutz, B. F.; Scott, J.; Scott, S. M.; Sellers, D.; Sengupta, A. S.; Sentenac, D.; Sequino, V.; Sergeev, A.; Setyawati, Y.; Shaddock, D. A.; Shaffer, T.; Shahriar, M. S.; Shaltev, M.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Sheperd, A.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Shoemaker, D. M.; Siellez, K.; Siemens, X.; Sieniawska, M.; Sigg, D.; Silva, A. D.; Singer, A.; Singer, L. P.; Singh, A.; Singh, R.; Singhal, A.; Sintes, A. M.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Smith, J. R.; Smith, N. D.; Smith, R. J. E.; Son, E. J.; Sorazu, B.; Sorrentino, F.; Souradeep, T.; Srivastava, A. K.; Staley, A.; Steinke, M.; Steinlechner, J.; Steinlechner, S.; Steinmeyer, D.; Stephens, B. C.; Stevenson, S. P.; Stone, R.; Strain, K. A.; Straniero, N.; Stratta, G.; Strauss, N. A.; Strigin, S.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sun, L.; Sunil, S.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B. L.; Szczepańczyk, M. J.; Tacca, M.; Talukder, D.; Tanner, D. B.; Tápai, M.; Tarabrin, S. P.; Taracchini, A.; Taylor, R.; Theeg, T.; Thirugnanasambandam, M. P.; Thomas, E. G.; Thomas, M.; Thomas, P.; Thorne, K. A.; Thrane, E.; Tiwari, S.; Tiwari, V.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Toland, K.; Tomlinson, C.; Tonelli, M.; Tornasi, Z.; Torres, C. V.; Torrie, C. I.; Töyrä, D.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Trifirò, D.; Tringali, M. C.; Trozzo, L.; Tse, M.; Turconi, M.; Tuyenbayev, D.; Ugolini, D.; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Urban, A. L.; Usman, S. A.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Valdes, G.; Vallisneri, M.; van Bakel, N.; van Beuzekom, M.; van den Brand, J. F. J.; Van Den Broeck, C.; Vander-Hyde, D. C.; van der Schaaf, L.; van Heijningen, J. V.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vardaro, M.; Vass, S.; Vasúth, M.; Vaulin, R.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P. J.; Venkateswara, K.; Verkindt, D.; Vetrano, F.; Viceré, A.; Vinciguerra, S.; Vine, D. J.; Vinet, J.-Y.; Vitale, S.; Vo, T.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Voss, D. V.; Vousden, W. D.; Vyatchanin, S. P.; Wade, A. R.; Wade, L. E.; Wade, M.; Walker, M.; Wallace, L.; Walsh, S.; Wang, G.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Wang, X.; Wang, Y.; Ward, R. L.; Warner, J.; Was, M.; Weaver, B.; Wei, L.-W.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Wen, L.; Weßels, P.; Westphal, T.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; Whiting, B. F.; Williams, R. D.; Williamson, A. R.; Willis, J. L.; Willke, B.; Wimmer, M. H.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wittel, H.; Woan, G.; Woehler, J.; Worden, J.; Wright, J. L.; Wu, D. S.; Wu, G.; Yablon, J.; Yam, W.; Yamamoto, H.; Yancey, C. C.; Yu, H.; Yvert, M.; Zadrożny, A.; Zangrando, L.; Zanolin, M.; Zendri, J.-P.; Zevin, M.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, C.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, X. J.; Zucker, M. E.; Zuraw, S. E.; Zweizig, J.; Boyle, M.; Hemberger, D.; Kidder, L. E.; Lovelace, G.; Ossokine, S.; Scheel, M.; Szilagyi, B.; Teukolsky, S.; LIGO Scientific Collaboration; VIRGO Collaboration

    2016-06-01

    We report the observation of a gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of two stellar-mass black holes. The signal, GW151226, was observed by the twin detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) on December 26, 2015 at 03:38:53 UTC. The signal was initially identified within 70 s by an online matched-filter search targeting binary coalescences. Subsequent off-line analyses recovered GW151226 with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 13 and a significance greater than 5 σ . The signal persisted in the LIGO frequency band for approximately 1 s, increasing in frequency and amplitude over about 55 cycles from 35 to 450 Hz, and reached a peak gravitational strain of 3. 4-0.9+0.7×10-22 . The inferred source-frame initial black hole masses are 14.2-3.7+8.3 M⊙ and 7. 5-2.3+2.3 M⊙, and the final black hole mass is 20.8-1.7+6.1 M⊙. We find that at least one of the component black holes has spin greater than 0.2. This source is located at a luminosity distance of 44 0-190+180 Mpc corresponding to a redshift of 0.0 9-0.04+0.03. All uncertainties define a 90% credible interval. This second gravitational-wave observation provides improved constraints on stellar populations and on deviations from general relativity.

  13. Intermediate-Mass Black Holes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, M. Coleman; Colbert, E. J. M.

    2004-01-01

    The mathematical simplicity of black holes, combined with their links to some of the most energetic events in the universe, means that black holes are key objects for fundamental physics and astrophysics. Until recently, it was generally believed that black holes in nature appear in two broad mass ranges: stellar-mass (M~3 20 M⊙), which are produced by the core collapse of massive stars, and supermassive (M~106 1010 M⊙), which are found in the centers of galaxies and are produced by a still uncertain combination of processes. In the last few years, however, evidence has accumulated for an intermediate-mass class of black holes, with M~102 104 M⊙. If such objects exist they have important implications for the dynamics of stellar clusters, the formation of supermassive black holes, and the production and detection of gravitational waves. We review the evidence for intermediate-mass black holes and discuss future observational and theoretical work that will help clarify numerous outstanding questions about these objects.

  14. Study of the Mg incorporation in CdTe for developing wide band gap Cd{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}Te thin films for possible use as top-cell absorber in a tandem solar cell

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martinez, Omar S. [Centro de Investigacion en Energia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 62580 Temixco, Morelos (Mexico); Universidad Politecnica del Estado de Guerrero, Comunidad de Puente Campuzano, C.P. 40325 Taxco de Alarcon, Guerrero (Mexico); Millan, Aduljay Remolina [Centro de Investigacion en Energia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 62580 Temixco, Morelos (Mexico); Huerta, L.; Santana, G. [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. C.P 04510 Mexico D.F. (Mexico); Mathews, N.R.; Ramon-Garcia, M.L.; Morales, Erik R. [Centro de Investigacion en Energia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 62580 Temixco, Morelos (Mexico); Mathew, X., E-mail: xm@cie.unam.mx [Centro de Investigacion en Energia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 62580 Temixco, Morelos (Mexico)

    2012-02-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Thin films of Cd{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}Te with high spatial uniformity and band gap in the range of 1.6-1.96 eV were deposited by vacuum co-evaporation of CdTe and Mg. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Obtained Cd{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}Te films have the structural characteristics of the CdTe, evidence of the change in atomic scattering due to incorporation of Mg was observed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer XRD and XPS data confirmed the incorporation of Mg in the lattice of CdTe. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer SEM images revealed the impact of Mg incorporation on the morphology of the films, the changes in grain size and grain morphology are noticeable. - Abstract: Thin films of Cd{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}Te with band gap in the range of 1.6-1.96 eV were deposited by vacuum co-evaporation of CdTe and Mg on glass substrates heated at 300 Degree-Sign C. Different experimental techniques such as XRD, UV-vis spectroscopy, SEM, and XPS were used to study the effect of Mg incorporation into the lattice of CdTe. The band gap of the films showed a clear tendency to increase as the Mg content in the film is increased. The Cd{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}Te films maintain all the structural characteristics of the CdTe, however, diminishing of intensity for the XRD patterns is observed due to both change in preferential orientation and change in atomic scattering due to the incorporation of Mg. SEM images showed significant evidences of morphological changes due to the presence of Mg. XRD, UV-vis spectroscopy, and XPS data confirmed the incorporation of Mg in the lattice of CdTe. The significant increase in band gap of CdTe due to incorporation of Mg suggests that the Cd{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}Te thin film is a candidate material to use as absorber layer in the top-cell of a tandem solar cell.

  15. The Effect of Black Peers on Black Test Scores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armor, David J.; Duck, Stephanie

    2007-01-01

    Recent studies have used increasingly complex methodologies to estimate the effect of peer characteristics--race, poverty, and ability--on student achievement. A paper by Hanushek, Kain, and Rivkin using Texas state testing data has received particularly wide attention because it found a large negative effect of school percent black on black math…

  16. ISM band to U-NII band frequency transverter and method of frequency transversion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stepp, Jeffrey David [Grandview, MO; Hensley, Dale [Grandview, MO

    2006-09-12

    A frequency transverter (10) and method for enabling bi-frequency dual-directional transfer of digitally encoded data on an RF carrier by translating between a crowded or otherwise undesirable first frequency band, such as the 2.4 GHz ISM band, and a less-crowded or otherwise desirable second frequency band, such as the 5.0 GHz 6.0 GHz U-NII band. In a preferred embodiment, the transverter (10) connects between an existing data radio (11) and its existing antenna (30), and comprises a bandswitch (12); an input RF isolating device (14); a transmuter (16); a converter (18); a dual output local oscillator (20); an output RF isolating device (22); and an antenna (24) tuned to the second frequency band. The bandswitch (12) allows for bypassing the transverter (10), thereby facilitating its use with legacy systems. The transmuter (14) and converter (16) are adapted to convert to and from, respectively, the second frequency band.

  17. Black hole multiplicity at particle colliders (Do black holes radiate mainly on the brane?)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cavaglia, Marco

    2003-01-01

    If gravity becomes strong at the TeV scale, we may have the chance to produce black holes at particle colliders. In this Letter we revisit some phenomenological signatures of black hole production in TeV-gravity theories. We show that the bulk-to-brane ratio of black hole energy loss during the Hawking evaporation phase depends crucially on the black hole greybody factors and on the particle degrees of freedom. Since the greybody factors have not yet been calculated in the literature, and the particle content at trans-Planckian energies is not known, it is premature to claim that the black hole emits mainly on the brane. We also revisit the decay time and the multiplicity of the decay products of black hole evaporation. We give general formulae for black hole decay time and multiplicity. We find that the number of particles produced during the evaporation phase may be significantly lower than the average multiplicity which has been used in the past literature

  18. Remote Sensing of Black Lakes and Using 810 nm Reflectance Peak for Retrieving Water Quality Parameters of Optically Complex Waters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiit Kutser

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Many lakes in boreal and arctic regions have high concentrations of CDOM (coloured dissolved organic matter. Remote sensing of such lakes is complicated due to very low water leaving signals. There are extreme (black lakes where the water reflectance values are negligible in almost entire visible part of spectrum (400–700 nm due to the absorption by CDOM. In these lakes, the only water-leaving signal detectable by remote sensing sensors occurs as two peaks—near 710 nm and 810 nm. The first peak has been widely used in remote sensing of eutrophic waters for more than two decades. We show on the example of field radiometry data collected in Estonian and Swedish lakes that the height of the 810 nm peak can also be used in retrieving water constituents from remote sensing data. This is important especially in black lakes where the height of the 710 nm peak is still affected by CDOM. We have shown that the 810 nm peak can be used also in remote sensing of a wide variety of lakes. The 810 nm peak is caused by combined effect of slight decrease in absorption by water molecules and backscattering from particulate material in the water. Phytoplankton was the dominant particulate material in most of the studied lakes. Therefore, the height of the 810 peak was in good correlation with all proxies of phytoplankton biomass—chlorophyll-a (R2 = 0.77, total suspended matter (R2 = 0.70, and suspended particulate organic matter (R2 = 0.68. There was no correlation between the peak height and the suspended particulate inorganic matter. Satellite sensors with sufficient spatial and radiometric resolution for mapping lake water quality (Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel-2 MSI were launched recently. In order to test whether these satellites can capture the 810 nm peak we simulated the spectral performance of these two satellites from field radiometry data. Actual satellite imagery from a black lake was also used to study whether these sensors can detect the peak

  19. Understanding the Black Aesthetic Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtis, Marvin V.

    1988-01-01

    Discussing the importance of the Black aesthetic experience, Curtis examines Black cultural heritage and participatory style, the spiritual, and the creation and recreation of Black music. Advocating multicultural music education in teacher training, he suggests that Black music be studied for its value and contribution to society. Lists five ways…

  20. Black Writers' Views of America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hairston, Loyle

    1979-01-01

    This article argues that the stagnation, pessimism, and self-pity evident in recent Black writing results in part from the alienation of Black writers from the mainstream of Black life, and in part from the illusions that they share with other Blacks who have embraced the American value system. (Author/EB)

  1. Origin of the visible emission of black silicon microstructures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fabbri, Filippo; Lin, Yu-Ting; Bertoni, Giovanni; Rossi, Francesca; Salviati, Giancarlo; Smith, Matthew J.; Gradečak, Silvija; Mazur, Eric

    2015-01-01

    Silicon, the mainstay semiconductor in microelectronics, is considered unsuitable for optoelectronic applications due to its indirect electronic band gap that limits its efficiency as light emitter. Here, we univocally determine at the nanoscale the origin of visible emission in microstructured black silicon by cathodoluminescence spectroscopy and imaging. We demonstrate the formation of amorphous silicon oxide microstructures with a white emission. The white emission is composed by four features peaking at 1.98 eV, 2.24 eV, 2.77 eV, and 3.05 eV. The origin of such emissions is related to SiO x intrinsic point defects and to the sulfur doping due to the laser processing. Similar results go in the direction of developing optoelectronic devices suitable for silicon-based circuitry

  2. String-Corrected Black Holes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hubeny, V.

    2005-01-12

    We investigate the geometry of four dimensional black hole solutions in the presence of stringy higher curvature corrections to the low energy effective action. For certain supersymmetric two charge black holes these corrections drastically alter the causal structure of the solution, converting seemingly pathological null singularities into timelike singularities hidden behind a finite area horizon. We establish, analytically and numerically, that the string-corrected two-charge black hole metric has the same Penrose diagram as the extremal four-charge black hole. The higher derivative terms lead to another dramatic effect--the gravitational force exerted by a black hole on an inertial observer is no longer purely attractive. The magnitude of this effect is related to the size of the compactification manifold.

  3. Black breast cancer survivors experience greater upper extremity disability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Lorraine T; DeMichele, Angela; LeBlanc, Mously; Stephens-Shields, Alisa; Li, Susan Q; Colameco, Chris; Coursey, Morgan; Mao, Jun J

    2015-11-01

    Over one-third of breast cancer survivors experience upper extremity disability. Black women present with factors associated with greater upper extremity disability, including: increased body mass index (BMI), more advanced disease stage at diagnosis, and varying treatment type compared with Whites. No prior research has evaluated the relationship between race and upper extremity disability using validated tools and controlling for these factors. Data were drawn from a survey study among 610 women with stage I-III hormone receptor positive breast cancer. The disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (QuickDASH) is an 11-item self-administered questionnaire that has been validated for breast cancer survivors to assess global upper extremity function over the past 7 days. Linear regression and mediation analysis estimated the relationships between race, BMI and QuickDASH score, adjusting for demographics and treatment types. Black women (n = 98) had 7.3 points higher average QuickDASH scores than White (n = 512) women (p disability by 40 %. Even several years post-treatment, Black breast cancer survivors had greater upper extremity disability, which was partially mediated by higher BMIs. Close monitoring of high BMI Black women may be an important step in reducing disparities in cancer survivorship. More research is needed on the relationship between race, BMI, and upper extremity disability.

  4. Absorption and excretion of black currant anthocyanins in human and Watanabe Heritable Hyperlipidemic rabbits

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, I. L.. F.; Ravn-Haren, Gitte; Dragsted, L. O.

    2003-01-01

    Anthocyanins are thought to protect against cardiovascular diseases. Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits are hypercholesterolemic and used as a model of the development of atherosclerosis. To compare the uptake and excretion of anthocyanins in humans and WHHL rabbits, single-dose black......). The excretion and absorption of anthocyanins from black currant juice were found to be within the same order of magnitude in the two species regarding urinary excretion within the first 4 h (rabbits, 0.035%; humans, 0.072%) and t(ma)x (rabbits, similar to30 min; humans, similar to45 min). A food matrix effect...... was detected in rabbits, resulting in the absorption of a higher proportion of the anthocyanins from black currant juice than from an aqueous citric acid matrix. In humans the absorption and urinary excretion of anthocyanins from black currant juice were found to be proportional with dose and not influenced...

  5. Design of a side-band-separating heterodyne mixer for band 9 of ALMA

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baryshev, AM; Kooi, J; Mena, FR; Lodewijk, CRJ; Wild, W

    2005-01-01

    A side-band-separating (SBS) heterodyne mixer has been designed for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) 602-720 GHz band, as it will present a great improvement over the current double-side-band configuration under development at the moment. Here we present design details and the results of

  6. Host galaxy identification for binary black hole mergers with long baseline gravitational wave detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howell, E. J.; Chan, M. L.; Chu, Q.; Jones, D. H.; Heng, I. S.; Lee, H.-M.; Blair, D.; Degallaix, J.; Regimbau, T.; Miao, H.; Zhao, C.; Hendry, M.; Coward, D.; Messenger, C.; Ju, L.; Zhu, Z.-H.

    2018-03-01

    The detection of black hole binary coalescence events by Advanced LIGO allows the science benefits of future detectors to be evaluated. In this paper, we report the science benefits of one or two 8 km arm length detectors based on the doubling of key parameters in an Advanced LIGO-type detector, combined with realizable enhancements. It is shown that the total detection rate for sources similar to those already detected would increase to ˜ 103-105 per year. Within 0.4 Gpc, we find that around 10 of these events would be localizable to within ˜10-1 deg2. This is sufficient to make unique associations or to rule out a direct association with the brightest galaxies in optical surveys (at r-band magnitudes of 17 or above) or for deeper limits (down to r-band magnitudes of 20) yield statistically significant associations. The combination of angular resolution and event rate would benefit precision testing of formation models, cosmic evolution, and cosmological studies.

  7. Mortality risk and survival in the aftermath of the medieval Black Death.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeWitte, Sharon N

    2014-01-01

    The medieval Black Death (c. 1347-1351) was one of the most devastating epidemics in human history. It killed tens of millions of Europeans, and recent analyses have shown that the disease targeted elderly adults and individuals who had been previously exposed to physiological stressors. Following the epidemic, there were improvements in standards of living, particularly in dietary quality for all socioeconomic strata. This study investigates whether the combination of the selective mortality of the Black Death and post-epidemic improvements in standards of living had detectable effects on survival and mortality in London. Samples are drawn from several pre- and post-Black Death London cemeteries. The pre-Black Death sample comes from the Guildhall Yard (n = 75) and St. Nicholas Shambles (n = 246) cemeteries, which date to the 11th-12th centuries, and from two phases within the St. Mary Spital cemetery, which date to between 1120-1300 (n = 143). The St. Mary Graces cemetery (n = 133) was in use from 1350-1538 and thus represents post-epidemic demographic conditions. By applying Kaplan-Meier analysis and the Gompertz hazard model to transition analysis age estimates, and controlling for changes in birth rates, this study examines differences in survivorship and mortality risk between the pre- and post-Black Death populations of London. The results indicate that there are significant differences in survival and mortality risk, but not birth rates, between the two time periods, which suggest improvements in health following the Black Death, despite repeated outbreaks of plague in the centuries after the Black Death.

  8. Mortality risk and survival in the aftermath of the medieval Black Death.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sharon N DeWitte

    Full Text Available The medieval Black Death (c. 1347-1351 was one of the most devastating epidemics in human history. It killed tens of millions of Europeans, and recent analyses have shown that the disease targeted elderly adults and individuals who had been previously exposed to physiological stressors. Following the epidemic, there were improvements in standards of living, particularly in dietary quality for all socioeconomic strata. This study investigates whether the combination of the selective mortality of the Black Death and post-epidemic improvements in standards of living had detectable effects on survival and mortality in London. Samples are drawn from several pre- and post-Black Death London cemeteries. The pre-Black Death sample comes from the Guildhall Yard (n = 75 and St. Nicholas Shambles (n = 246 cemeteries, which date to the 11th-12th centuries, and from two phases within the St. Mary Spital cemetery, which date to between 1120-1300 (n = 143. The St. Mary Graces cemetery (n = 133 was in use from 1350-1538 and thus represents post-epidemic demographic conditions. By applying Kaplan-Meier analysis and the Gompertz hazard model to transition analysis age estimates, and controlling for changes in birth rates, this study examines differences in survivorship and mortality risk between the pre- and post-Black Death populations of London. The results indicate that there are significant differences in survival and mortality risk, but not birth rates, between the two time periods, which suggest improvements in health following the Black Death, despite repeated outbreaks of plague in the centuries after the Black Death.

  9. BlackMax: A black-hole event generator with rotation, recoil, split branes, and brane tension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dai Dechang; Starkman, Glenn; Stojkovic, Dejan; Issever, Cigdem; Tseng, Jeff; Rizvi, Eram

    2008-01-01

    We present a comprehensive black-hole event generator, BlackMax, which simulates the experimental signatures of microscopic and Planckian black-hole production and evolution at the LHC in the context of brane world models with low-scale quantum gravity. The generator is based on phenomenologically realistic models free of serious problems that plague low-scale gravity, thus offering more realistic predictions for hadron-hadron colliders. The generator includes all of the black-hole gray-body factors known to date and incorporates the effects of black-hole rotation, splitting between the fermions, nonzero brane tension, and black-hole recoil due to Hawking radiation (although not all simultaneously). The generator can be interfaced with Herwig and Pythia. The main code can be downloaded from http://www-pnp.physics.ox.ac.uk/~issever/BlackMax/blackmax.html.

  10. Internal structure of black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cvetic, Mirjam

    2013-01-01

    Full text: We review recent progress that sheds light on the internal structure of general black holes. We first summarize properties of general multi-charged rotating black holes both in four and five dimensions. We show that the asymptotic boundary conditions of these general asymptotically flat black holes can be modified such that a conformal symmetry emerges. These subtracted geometries preserve the thermodynamic properties of the original black holes and are of the Lifshitz type, thus describing 'a black hole in the asymptotically conical box'. Recent efforts employ solution generating techniques to construct interpolating geometries between the original black hole and their subtracted geometries. Upon lift to one dimension higher, these geometries lift to AdS 3 times a sphere, and thus provide a microscopic interpretation of the black hole entropy in terms of dual two-dimensional conformal field theory. (author)

  11. Collapse and revival in inter-band oscillations of a two-band Bose-Hubbard model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ploetz, Patrick; Wimberger, Sandro [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Universitaet Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 19, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Madronero, Javier, E-mail: ploetz@thphys.uni-heidelberg.d [Physik Department, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching (Germany)

    2010-04-28

    We study the effect of a many-body interaction on inter-band oscillations in a two-band Bose-Hubbard model with an external Stark force. Weak and strong inter-band oscillations are observed, where the latter arise from a resonant coupling of the bands. These oscillations collapse and revive due to a weak two-body interaction between the atoms. Effective models for oscillations in and out of resonance are introduced that provide predictions for the system's behaviour, particularly for the time scales for the collapse and revival of the resonant inter-band oscillations. (fast track communication)

  12. Black supernovae and black holes in non-local gravity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bambi, Cosimo [Center for Field Theory and Particle Physics and Department of Physics, Fudan University,200433 Shanghai (China); Theoretical Astrophysics, Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen,72076 Tübingen (Germany); Malafarina, Daniele [Department of Physics, Nazarbayev University,010000 Astana (Kazakhstan); Modesto, Leonardo [Center for Field Theory and Particle Physics and Department of Physics, Fudan University,200433 Shanghai (China)

    2016-04-22

    In a previous paper, we studied the interior solution of a collapsing body in a non-local theory of gravity super-renormalizable at the quantum level. We found that the classical singularity is replaced by a bounce, after which the body starts expanding. A black hole, strictly speaking, never forms. The gravitational collapse does not create an event horizon but only an apparent one for a finite time. In this paper, we solve the equations of motion assuming that the exterior solution is static. With such an assumption, we are able to reconstruct the solution in the whole spacetime, namely in both the exterior and interior regions. Now the gravitational collapse creates an event horizon in a finite comoving time, but the central singularity is approached in an infinite time. We argue that these black holes should be unstable, providing a link between the scenarios with and without black holes. Indeed, we find a non catastrophic ghost-instability of the metric in the exterior region. Interestingly, under certain conditions, the lifetime of our black holes exactly scales as the Hawking evaporation time.

  13. Black Sea aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hacisalihoglu, G.; Eliyakut, F.; Anwari, M.A.; Ataman, O.Y.; Balkas, T.I.; Tuncel, G.; Olmez, I.

    1991-01-01

    Shipboard, high volume air particulate samples were collected from the Black Sea atmosphere and analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis, atomic absorption spectrophotometry and ion chromatography for about 40 elements and ions. Concentrations of elements in the eastern and western parts of the Black Sea are different at the 95% confidence level, with lower concentrations in the eastern Black Sea. Back-trajectories and concentrations of elements in trajectory groups show that Europe accounts for more than 70% of the anthropogenic elements in the atmosphere. The average sulfate concentration was 7 μg/m 3 , which is comparable with rural sulfate levels in western Europe. Fluxes of elements from the atmosphere to the Black Sea are in good agreement with the results of similar flux calculations for other regions

  14. New Directions for Black Women?

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGuigan, Dorothy, Ed.

    1978-01-01

    This collection of papers deals with various aspects of the black female experience in America. "The Black Woman in Transition" discusses the effects of sexism and racism on black women with particular reference to employment and education; it is noted that black women, in comparison with other groups in society, suffer a proportionately higher…

  15. Black-spot poison ivy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schram, Sarah E; Willey, Andrea; Lee, Peter K; Bohjanen, Kimberly A; Warshaw, Erin M

    2008-01-01

    In black-spot poison ivy dermatitis, a black lacquerlike substance forms on the skin when poison ivy resin is exposed to air. Although the Toxicodendron group of plants is estimated to be the most common cause of allergic contact dermatitis in the United States, black-spot poison ivy dermatitis is relatively rare.

  16. What is black hole?

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. What is black hole? Possible end phase of a star: A star is a massive, luminous ball of plasma having continuous nuclear burning. Star exhausts nuclear fuel →. White Dwarf, Neutron Star, Black Hole. Black hole's gravitational field is so powerful that even ...

  17. Genocide and Black Ecology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinnette, Calvin H.

    1972-01-01

    Contends that the survival of black people is in serious jeopardy as is evidenced in contemporary discussions on the worldwide plight of black people, and that an exhaustive study of the problem in its many dimensions is seriously lacking; the moral and ethical issues of genocide require examination from a black perspective. (JW)

  18. Quantum effects in black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frolov, V.P.

    1979-01-01

    A strict definition of black holes is presented and some properties with regard to their mass are enumerated. The Hawking quantum effect - the effect of vacuum instability in the black hole gravitational field, as a result of shich the black hole radiates as a heated body is analyzed. It is shown that in order to obtain results on the black hole radiation it is sufficient to predetermine the in-vacuum state at a time moment in the past, when the collapsing body has a large size, and its gravitational field can be neglected. The causes and the place of particle production by the black hole, and also the space-time inside the black hole, are considered

  19. Side-band-separating heterodyne mixer for band 9 of ALMA.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mena, F. P.; Baryshev, A. M.; Kooi, J.; Lodewijk, C. F. J.; Gerlofsma, G.; Hesper, R.; Wild, W.; Shen, XC; Lu, W; Zhang, J; Dou, WB

    2006-01-01

    Here we present the realization of a side-band-separating (2SB) heterodyne mixer for the frequency range from 602 to 720 GHz (corresponding to ALMA band 9). The mixer, in brief, consists of a quadrature hybrid, two LO injectors, two SIS junctions, and three dumping loads. All the parts were modeled

  20. Reconceptualizing successful aging among black women and the relevance of the strong black woman archetype.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Tamara A; Buchanan, NiCole T; Mingo, Chivon A; Roker, Rosalyn; Brown, Candace S

    2015-02-01

    Although there are multiple pathways to successful aging, little is known of what it means to age successfully among black women. There is a growing body of literature suggesting that black women experience a number of social challenges (sexism and racism) that may present as barriers to aging successfully. Applying aspects of the Strong Black Women ideal, into theoretical concepts of successful aging, may be particularly relevant in understanding which factors impair or promote the ability of black women to age successfully. The Strong Black Women archetype is a culturally salient ideal prescribing that black women render a guise of self-reliance, selflessness, and psychological, emotional, and physical strength. Although this ideal has received considerable attention in the behavioral sciences, it has been largely absent within the gerontology field. Nevertheless, understanding the dynamics of this cultural ideal may enhance our knowledge while developing an appreciation of the black woman's ability to age successfully. Rather than summarize the social, physical, and mental health literature focusing on health outcomes of black women, this conceptual review examines the Strong Black Women archetype and its application to the lived experiences of black women and contributions to current theories of successful aging. Focusing on successful aging exclusively among black women enhances our understanding of this group by considering their identity as women of color while recognizing factors that dictate their ability to age successfully. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. Carbon black vs. black carbon and other airborne materials containing elemental carbon: Physical and chemical distinctions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Long, Christopher M.; Nascarella, Marc A.; Valberg, Peter A.

    2013-01-01

    Airborne particles containing elemental carbon (EC) are currently at the forefront of scientific and regulatory scrutiny, including black carbon, carbon black, and engineered carbon-based nanomaterials, e.g., carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, and graphene. Scientists and regulators sometimes group these EC-containing particles together, for example, interchangeably using the terms carbon black and black carbon despite one being a manufactured product with well-controlled properties and the other being an undesired, incomplete-combustion byproduct with diverse properties. In this critical review, we synthesize information on the contrasting properties of EC-containing particles in order to highlight significant differences that can affect hazard potential. We demonstrate why carbon black should not be considered a model particle representative of either combustion soots or engineered carbon-based nanomaterials. Overall, scientific studies need to distinguish these highly different EC-containing particles with care and precision so as to forestall unwarranted extrapolation of properties, hazard potential, and study conclusions from one material to another. -- Highlights: •Major classes of elemental carbon-containing particles have distinct properties. •Despite similar names, carbon black should not be confused with black carbon. •Carbon black is distinguished by a high EC content and well-controlled properties. •Black carbon particles are characterized by their heterogenous properties. •Carbon black is not a model particle representative of engineered nanomaterials. -- This review demonstrates the significant physical and chemical distinctions between elemental carbon-containing particles e.g., carbon black, black carbon, and engineered nanomaterials

  2. Hyper-spectral frequency selection for the classification of vegetation diseases

    OpenAIRE

    Dijkstra, Klaas; van de Loosdrecht, Jaap; Schomaker, Lambert; Wiering, Marco

    2017-01-01

    Reducing the use of pesticides by early visual detection of diseases in precision agriculture is important. Because of the color similarity between potato-plant diseases, narrow band hyper-spectral imaging is required. Payload constraints on unmanned aerial vehicles require reduc- tion of spectral bands. Therefore, we present a methodology for per-patch classification combined with hyper-spectral band selection. In controlled experiments performed on a set of individual leaves, we measure the...

  3. Examining African self-consciousness and Black racial identity as predictors of Black men's psychological well-being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierre, Martin R; Mahalik, James R

    2005-02-01

    This study investigated African self-consciousness and Black racial identity as predictors of psychological distress and self-esteem for Black men. One hundred thirty Black men from a college and community sample completed the African Self-Consciousness Scale, the Racial Identity Attitude Scale-B, the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised, and the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. Canonical correlation analysis found 2 significant roots with the 1st root indicating that Black men whose attitudes reflected Preencounter and Immersion racial identity attitudes and who do not resist against anti-African/Black forces reported greater psychological distress and less esteem. Results from the 2nd root suggested that Black men whose attitudes reflect greater Internalization racial identity attitudes, greater resistance to anti-African/Black forces, and less identification with Blacks reported greater self-esteem. ((c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. The angry black woman: the impact of pejorative stereotypes on psychotherapy with black women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashley, Wendy

    2014-01-01

    In the aftermath of slavery and the resulting social, economic, and political effects, Black women have become the victims of negative stereotyping in mainstream American culture. Such stereotypes include the myth of the angry Black woman that characterizes these women as aggressive, ill tempered, illogical, overbearing, hostile, and ignorant without provocation. Symptoms presented by Black women during mental health treatment may reinforce this myth. However, many of the negative characteristics of the angry Black woman developed in response to external stressors and historical factors. Black women also have a unique experience with and expressions of anger that shape the presenting symptoms interpreted by the mental health clinician. This myth and corresponding negative stereotypes significantly affect Black women intrapsychically, interpersonally, and are likely to influence the efficacy of mental health treatment. Understanding and treatment of Black women in a mental health context should be influenced by the cultural norms and sociopolitical dynamics affecting these clients. Successful mental health treatment requires cultural competence and clinicians who are well prepared to navigate the inherent complexities of culture with clients. Awareness of the angry Black woman mythology, including its genesis, manifestations, and the unique experiences of Black women, may raise the standards of cultural competence for clinicians and provide more successful treatment outcomes in working with this population. A case example illustrates the assiduity essential to practicing in a culturally competent manner. A client is presented from a traditional psychotherapeutic perspective and then viewed through a lens that integrates psychotherapeutic practice with conscious awareness of the mythology and stereotypes impacting Black women. Implications for culturally relevant practice are discussed.

  5. Over spinning a black hole?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bouhmadi-Lopez, Mariam; Cardoso, Vitor; Nerozzi, Andrea; Rocha, Jorge V, E-mail: mariam.bouhmadi@ist.utl.pt, E-mail: vitor.cardoso@ist.utl.pt, E-mail: andrea.nerozzi@ist.utl.pt, E-mail: jorge.v.rocha@ist.utl.pt [CENTRA, Department de Fisica, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049 Lisboa (Portugal)

    2011-09-22

    A possible process to destroy a black hole consists on throwing point particles with sufficiently large angular momentum into the black hole. In the case of Kerr black holes, it was shown by Wald that particles with dangerously large angular momentum are simply not captured by the hole, and thus the event horizon is not destroyed. Here we reconsider this gedanken experiment for black holes in higher dimensions. We show that this particular way of destroying a black hole does not succeed and that Cosmic Censorship is preserved.

  6. The DSS-14 C-band exciter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowan, D. R.

    1989-01-01

    The development and implementation of a C-band exciter for use with the Block IV Receiver-Exciter Subsystem at Deep Space Station 14 (DSS-14) has been completed. The exciter supplements the standard capabilities of the Block IV system by providing a drive signal for the C-band transmitter while generating coherent translation frequencies for C-band (5-GHz) to S-band (2.2- to 2.3-GHz) Doppler extraction, C-band to L-band (1.6-GHz) zero delay measurements, and a level calibrated L-band test signal. Exciter functions are described, and a general explanation and description of the C-band uplink controller is presented.

  7. Association between environmental exposure to pesticides and neurodegenerative diseases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Parron, Tesifon [University of Almeria, Department of Neurosciences and Health Sciences, Almeria (Spain); Andalusian Council of Health at Almeria province, Almeria (Spain); Requena, Mar [Andalusian Council of Health at Almeria province, Almeria (Spain); Hernandez, Antonio F., E-mail: ajerez@ugr.es [University of Granada School of Medicine, Granada (Spain); Alarcon, Raquel [Andalusian Council of Health at Almeria province, Almeria (Spain)

    2011-11-15

    Preliminary studies have shown associations between chronic pesticide exposure in occupational settings and neurological disorders. However, data on the effects of long-term non-occupational exposures are too sparse to allow any conclusions. This study examines the influence of environmental pesticide exposure on a number of neuropsychiatric conditions and discusses their underlying pathologic mechanisms. An ecological study was conducted using averaged prevalence rates of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral degeneration, polyneuropathies, affective psychosis and suicide attempts in selected Andalusian health districts categorized into areas of high and low environmental pesticide exposure based on the number of hectares devoted to intensive agriculture and pesticide sales per capita. A total of 17,429 cases were collected from computerized hospital records (minimum dataset) between 1998 and 2005. Prevalence rates and the risk of having Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and suicide were significantly higher in districts with greater pesticide use as compared to those with lower pesticide use. The multivariate analyses showed that the population living in areas with high pesticide use had an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease and suicide attempts and that males living in these areas had increased risks for polyneuropathies, affective disorders and suicide attempts. In conclusion, this study supports and extends previous findings and provides an indication that environmental exposure to pesticides may affect the human health by increasing the incidence of certain neurological disorders at the level of the general population. -- Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Environmental exposure to pesticides and neurodegenerative-psychiatric disorders. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Increased risk for Alzheimer's disease and suicide attempts in high exposure areas. Black

  8. Adaptability of black walnut, black cherry, and Northern red oak to Northern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philip M. McDonald

    1987-01-01

    When planted in sheltered sites in northern California, only 49% of black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) and 58% of black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) survived for 15 years, and 20% of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) survived for 10 years. The black walnut trees averaged 0.6 inches diameter at breast...

  9. Chlorophyll as a biomarker for early disease diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manzoor Atta, Babar; Saleem, M.; Ali, Hina; Arshad, Hafiz Muhammad Imran; Ahmed, M.

    2018-06-01

    The current study was designed to identify the stage for the diagnosis of disease before visible symptoms appeared. Fluorescence spectroscopy has been employed to identify disease signatures for its early diagnosis in rice plant leaves. Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) diseased and healthy leaf samples were collected from the rice fields in September, 2017 which were then used to record spectra using an excitation wavelength at 410 nm. The spectral range of emission was set from 420 to 800 nm which covers the blue–green and the chlorophyll bands. It was found that diseased leaves have a narrower ‘chlorophyll a’ band than healthy ones, and furthermore, that the emission band at 730 nm was either declined or depleted in the sample with high infection symptoms. In contrast, the blue–green region was observed to increase due to the emergence of disease. As the band intensity of chlorophyll decreases during infection, this decrease in chlorophyll content and increase in the blue–green spectral region could provide a new approach for predicting BLB at an early stage. The important finding was that the chlorophyll degradation and rise in the blue–green region take place in leaves with BLB or during BLB infection. Principal component analysis has been applied to spectral data which successfully separated diseased samples from healthy ones even with very small spectral variations.

  10. Black Holes in Higher Dimensions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reall Harvey S.

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available We review black-hole solutions of higher-dimensional vacuum gravity and higher-dimensional supergravity theories. The discussion of vacuum gravity is pedagogical, with detailed reviews of Myers–Perry solutions, black rings, and solution-generating techniques. We discuss black-hole solutions of maximal supergravity theories, including black holes in anti-de Sitter space. General results and open problems are discussed throughout.

  11. Transport in bilayer and trilayer graphene: band gap engineering and band structure tuning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Jun

    2014-03-01

    Controlling the stacking order of atomically thin 2D materials offers a powerful tool to control their properties. Linearly dispersed bands become hyperbolic in Bernal (AB) stacked bilayer graphene (BLG). Both Bernal (ABA) and rhombohedral (ABC) stacking occur in trilayer graphene (TLG), producing distinct band structures and electronic properties. A symmetry-breaking electric field perpendicular to the sample plane can further modify the band structures of BLG and TLG. In this talk, I will describe our experimental effort in these directions using dual-gated devices. Using thin HfO2 film deposited by ALD as gate dielectric, we are able to apply large displacement fields D > 6 V/nm and observe the opening and saturation of the field-induced band gap Eg in bilayer and ABC-stacked trilayer graphene, where the conduction in the mid gap changes by more than six decades. Its field and temperature dependence highlights the crucial role played by Coulomb disorder in facilitating hopping conduction and suppressing the effect of Eg in the tens of meV regime. In contrast, mid-gap conduction decreases with increasing D much more rapidly in clean h-BN dual-gated devices. Our studies also show the evolution of the band structure in ABA-stacked TLG, in particular the splitting of the Dirac-like bands in large D field and the signatures of two-band transport at high carrier densities. Comparison to theory reveals the need for more sophisticated treatment of electronic screening beyond self-consistent Hartree calculations to accurately predict the band structures of trilayer graphene and graphenic materials in general.

  12. Explanatory models of black lung: understanding the health-related behavior of Appalachian coal miners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedl, J

    1982-03-01

    Many retired coal miners who are eligible for care in a black lung treatment center at little or no cost to themselves do not enter into available programs or discontinue soon after beginning therapy. Reasons for this behavior are related to the prevalent beliefs among Appalachians concerning the course of black lung and the appropriate treatment for it. The miners' health beliefs are clearly at odds with those of the health care providers who work in the centers. Using the concept of explanatory model, popular and professional health cultures are analyzed, focusing on course of disease, sick role, appropriate treatment, and expected outcome. Differences in explanatory models are discussed with regard to implications for the organization and delivery of care to retired coal miners with black lung.

  13. Advances in X-Band and S-Band Linear Accelerators for Security, NDT, and Other Applications

    CERN Document Server

    Mishin, Andrey V

    2005-01-01

    At AS&E High Energy Systems Division, we designed several new advanced high energy electron beam and X-ray sources. Our primary focus has always been in building the world's most portable commercial X-band accelerators. Today, our X-band systems frequently exceed performance of the similar S-band machines, while they are more portable compared to the latter. The new designs of the X-band accelerators in the most practical energy range from 1 MeV to 6 MeV have been tested delivering outstanding results. Seventy 6 MeV X-band linacs systems have been produced. The most compact linac for security is used by AS&E in a self-shielded, Shaped Energy™ cargo screening system. We pioneered using the X-band linear accelerators for CT, producing high quality images of oil pipes and wood logs. An X-band linear accelerator head on a robotic arm has been used for electron beam radiation curing of an odd-shaped graphite composite part. We developed the broad-range 4 MeV to over 10 MeV energy-regulated X-band ...

  14. Black hole decay as geodesic motion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, Kumar S.; Sen, Siddhartha

    2003-01-01

    We show that a formalism for analyzing the near-horizon conformal symmetry of Schwarzschild black holes using a scalar field probe is capable of describing black hole decay. The equation governing black hole decay can be identified as the geodesic equation in the space of black hole masses. This provides a novel geometric interpretation for the decay of black holes. Moreover, this approach predicts a precise correction term to the usual expression for the decay rate of black holes

  15. The Black Atlantic as reversal: A reappraisal of African and black theology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hans Engdahl

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In this article, I will try to do three things. Firstly, pay attention to the notion of Black Atlantic as coined by Paul Gilroy, which in effect could signify a reversal of colonialism and slavery. Secondly, revisit the 1970s and the debate about the relevance of Black theology vis-à-vis African theology, using John Mbiti’s article ‘An African Views American Black Theology’ as entry point. Here, I will discuss contributions also made by Desmond Tutu and James Cone. Thirdly, starting with the premise that both theologies are relevant and soul mates today, which would (probably be confirmed by all the above mentioned at this point in time, an assessment of current voices will be made, that is, Tinyiko Maluleke and Vuyani Vellem on black and African ecclesiologies from a South African perspective, and Lawrence Burnley on the fate of the Black Church in the United States.

  16. Body area networks using IEEE 802156 implementing the ultra wide band physical layer

    CERN Document Server

    Hernandez, Marco; Mucchi, Lorenzo

    2014-01-01

    The market of wearable wireless medical sensors is experiencing a rapid growth and the associated telecommunications services for the healthcare sector are forecast to further increase in the next years. Medical body area networks (MBANs) allow the mobility of patients and medical personnel by facilitating the remote monitoring of patients suffering from chronic or risky diseases. Currently, MBANs are being introduced in unlicensed frequency bands, where the risk of mutual interference with other electronic devices radiating in the same band can be high. Thus, coexistence is an issue on which

  17. Black report up-date

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-12-01

    In 1984, the Black Report published its results on the incidence of cancer and leukaemia in under 25-year olds in the village of Seascale and the surrounding area near the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant. Since then the pressure group core, as a result of their own independent research, has discovered ten additional cases of childhood cancer which should have been included in the Black Report and a Further two cases since the Black Report was written. This represents an additional 31% over the initial numbers considered and a review of the Black Report is sought. (UK)

  18. Supermassive Black Holes and Their Host Spheroids. I. Disassembling Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savorgnan, G. A. D.; Graham, A. W.

    2016-01-01

    Several recent studies have performed galaxy decompositions to investigate correlations between the black hole mass and various properties of the host spheroid, but they have not converged on the same conclusions. This is because their models for the same galaxy were often significantly different and not consistent with each other in terms of fitted components. Using 3.6 μm Spitzer imagery, which is a superb tracer of the stellar mass (superior to the K band), we have performed state-of-the-art multicomponent decompositions for 66 galaxies with directly measured black hole masses. Our sample is the largest to date and, unlike previous studies, contains a large number (17) of spiral galaxies with low black hole masses. We paid careful attention to the image mosaicking, sky subtraction, and masking of contaminating sources. After a scrupulous inspection of the galaxy photometry (through isophotal analysis and unsharp masking) and—for the first time—2D kinematics, we were able to account for spheroids large-scale, intermediate-scale, and nuclear disks bars rings spiral arms halos extended or unresolved nuclear sources; and partially depleted cores. For each individual galaxy, we compared our best-fit model with previous studies, explained the discrepancies, and identified the optimal decomposition. Moreover, we have independently performed one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) decompositions and concluded that, at least when modeling large, nearby galaxies, 1D techniques have more advantages than 2D techniques. Finally, we developed a prescription to estimate the uncertainties on the 1D best-fit parameters for the 66 spheroids that takes into account systematic errors, unlike popular 2D codes that only consider statistical errors.

  19. Lifshitz topological black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mann, R.B.

    2009-01-01

    I find a class of black hole solutions to a (3+1) dimensional theory gravity coupled to abelian gauge fields with negative cosmological constant that has been proposed as the dual theory to a Lifshitz theory describing critical phenomena in (2+1) dimensions. These black holes are all asymptotic to a Lifshitz fixed point geometry and depend on a single parameter that determines both their area (or size) and their charge. Most of the solutions are obtained numerically, but an exact solution is also obtained for a particular value of this parameter. The thermodynamic behaviour of large black holes is almost the same regardless of genus, but differs considerably for small black holes. Screening behaviour is exhibited in the dual theory for any genus, but the critical length at which it sets in is genus-dependent for small black holes.

  20. Growth problems of stellar black holes in early galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orofino, M. C.; Ferrara, A.; Gallerani, S.

    2018-06-01

    The nature of the seeds of the observed high-z super-massive black holes (SMBH) is unknown. Although different options have been proposed, involving e.g. intermediate mass direct collapse black holes, BH remnants of massive stars remain the most natural explanation. To identify the most favorable conditions (if any) for their rapid growth, we study the accretion rate of a M• = 100M⊙ BH formed in a typical z = 10 galaxy under different conditions (e.g. galaxy structure, BH initial position and velocity). We model the galaxy baryonic content and follow the BH orbit and accretion history for 300 Myr (the time span in 10 > z > 7), assuming the radiation-regulated accretion model by Park & Ricotti (2013). We find that, within the limits of our model, BH seeds cannot grow by more than 30%, suggesting that accretion on light-seed models are inadequate to explain high-z SMBH. We also compute the X-ray emission from such accreting stellar BH population in the [0.5 - 8] keV band and find it comparable to the one produced by high-mass X-ray binaries. This study suggests that early BHs, by X-ray pre-heating of the intergalactic medium at cosmic dawn, might leave a specific signature on the HI 21 cm line power spectrum potentially detectable with SKA.

  1. About the optical properties of oxidized black silicon structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pincik, E.; Brunner, R.; Kobayashi, H.; Mikula, M.; Kučera, M.; Švec, P.; Greguš, J.; Vojtek, P.; Zábudlá, Z.; Imamura, K.; Zahoran, M.

    2017-02-01

    The paper deals with the optical and morphological properties of thermally oxidized black silicon (OBSi) nano-crystalline specimens produced by the surface structure chemical transfer method (SSCT). This method can produce a nano-crystalline Si black color layer on c-Si with a range of thickness of ∼50 nm to ∼300 nm by the contact of c-Si immersed in chemical solutions HF + H2O2 with a catalytic mesh. We present and discuss mainly the photoluminescence properties of both polished c-Si and OBSi structures, respectively. The similar photoluminescence (PL) behaviors recorded at liquid helium (6 K) and room temperatures on both polished crystalline Si and OBSi samples, respectively, indicate the similar origin of recorded luminescence light. As the positions of PL maxima of OBSi structures are mainly related to the size of Si nanocrystallites and SiO(x), we therefore suppose that the size of the dominant parts of the luminated OBSi nanostructure is pre-determined by the used polishing Si procedure, and/or the distribution function of the number of formed crystallites on their size is very similar. The blue shift of both PL spectra reaching almost value of 0.40 eV observed after the decrease of the sample temperature to 6 K we relate also with the change of the semiconductor band gap width.

  2. Breeding for disease resistance in cacao

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cacao production must increase in order to meet the projected rise in the demand for chocolate. Approximately one-third of global production is lost annually to diseases and insects. Four diseases account for the greatest losses worldwide: black pod, caused by four Phytophthora spp; witches’ broom...

  3. A Catalog Sample of Low-mass Galaxies Observed in X-Rays with Central Candidate Black Holes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nucita, A. A.; Manni, L.; Paolis, F. De; Giordano, M.; Ingrosso, G., E-mail: nucita@le.infn.it [Department of Mathematics and Physics “E. De Giorgi”, University of Salento, Via per Arnesano, CP 193, I-73100, Lecce (Italy)

    2017-03-01

    We present a sample of X-ray-selected candidate black holes in 51 low-mass galaxies with z ≤ 0.055 and masses up to 10{sup 10} M {sub ⊙} obtained by cross-correlating the NASA-SLOAN Atlas with the 3XMM catalog. We have also searched in the available catalogs for radio counterparts of the black hole candidates and find that 19 of the previously selected sources also have a radio counterpart. Our results show that about 37% of the galaxies of our sample host an X-ray source (associated with a radio counterpart) spatially coincident with the galaxy center, in agreement with other recent works. For these nuclear sources, the X-ray/radio fundamental plane relation allows one to estimate the mass of the (central) candidate black holes, which are in the range of 10{sup 4}–2 × 10{sup 8} M {sub ⊙} (with a median value of ≃3 × 10{sup 7} M {sub ⊙} and eight candidates having masses below 10{sup 7} M {sub ⊙}). This result, while suggesting that X-ray emitting black holes in low-mass galaxies may have had a key role in the evolution of such systems, makes it even more urgent to explain how such massive objects formed in galaxies. Of course, dedicated follow-up observations both in the X-ray and radio bands, as well as in the optical, are necessary in order to confirm our results.

  4. Acceleration of black hole universe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, T. X.; Frederick, C.

    2014-01-01

    Recently, Zhang slightly modified the standard big bang theory and developed a new cosmological model called black hole universe, which is consistent with Mach's principle, governed by Einstein's general theory of relativity, and able to explain all observations of the universe. Previous studies accounted for the origin, structure, evolution, expansion, and cosmic microwave background radiation of the black hole universe, which grew from a star-like black hole with several solar masses through a supermassive black hole with billions of solar masses to the present state with hundred billion-trillions of solar masses by accreting ambient matter and merging with other black holes. This paper investigates acceleration of the black hole universe and provides an alternative explanation for the redshift and luminosity distance measurements of type Ia supernovae. The results indicate that the black hole universe accelerates its expansion when it accretes the ambient matter in an increasing rate. In other words, i.e., when the second-order derivative of the mass of the black hole universe with respect to the time is positive . For a constant deceleration parameter , we can perfectly explain the type Ia supernova measurements with the reduced chi-square to be very close to unity, χ red˜1.0012. The expansion and acceleration of black hole universe are driven by external energy.

  5. Why Blue-Collar Blacks Help Less

    OpenAIRE

    Smith, Sandra Susan; Young, Kara Alexis

    2013-01-01

    Why are blue-collar blacks less likely to help jobseekers than jobholders from other ethnoracial groups or even than more affluent blacks? Drawing from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 97 black and Latino workers at one large, public sector employer, we find that blue-collar black workers both helped less proactively and rejected more requests for assistance than did blue-collar Latino and white-collar black workers. We attribute blue-collar blacks’ more passive engagement to their...

  6. Green tea supplementation produces better neuroprotective effects than red and black tea in Alzheimer-like rat model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schimidt, Helen L; Garcia, Alexandre; Martins, Alexandre; Mello-Carpes, Pamela B; Carpes, Felipe P

    2017-10-01

    Green tea from Camellia sinensis plays a neuroprotective role in different neurodegenerative conditions, such as memory deficits in Alzheimer disease (AD). However, whether other teas from Camellia sinensis present similar neuroprotective effect still is not clear. Here we investigate effects of green, red and black tea supplementation on memory and hippocampus oxidative status in a rat model of Alzheimer-like disease (AD-like). Wistar male rats were supplemented with green, red or black tea during 8weeks before Aβ intra-hippocampal injection (2μL of Aβ-25-35, CA1 region). AD and sham rats were submitted to memory tests. After euthanasia, oxidative status in the bilateral hippocampus was quantified. Green and red teas avoid memory deficits in AD rats, but only green tea also avoids oxidative stress and damage in the hippocampus. Green tea was more effective for neuroprotection than red and black teas from the Camellia sinensis in the AD rat model. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Curvature invariant characterization of event horizons of four-dimensional black holes conformal to stationary black holes

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNutt, David D.

    2017-11-01

    We introduce three approaches to generate curvature invariants that transform covariantly under a conformal transformation of a four-dimensional spacetime. For any black hole conformally related to a stationary black hole, we show how a set of conformally covariant invariants can be combined to produce a conformally covariant invariant that detects the event horizon of the conformally related black hole. As an application we consider the rotating dynamical black holes conformally related to the Kerr-Newman-Unti-Tamburino-(anti)-de Sitter spacetimes and construct an invariant that detects the conformal Killing horizon along with a second invariant that detects the conformal stationary limit surface. In addition, we present necessary conditions for a dynamical black hole to be conformally related to a stationary black hole and apply these conditions to the ingoing Kerr-Vaidya and Vaidya black hole solutions to determine if they are conformally related to stationary black holes for particular choices of the mass function. While two of the three approaches cannot be generalized to higher dimensions, we discuss the existence of a conformally covariant invariant that will detect the event horizon for any higher dimensional black hole conformally related to a stationary black hole which admits at least two conformally covariant invariants, including all vacuum spacetimes.

  8. Band gap and band offset of (GaIn)(PSb) lattice matched to InP

    Science.gov (United States)

    Köhler, F.; Böhm, G.; Meyer, R.; Amann, M.-C.

    2005-07-01

    Metastable (GaxIn1-x)(PySb1-y) layers were grown on (001) InP substrates by gas source molecular beam epitaxy. Low-temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy was applied to these heterostructures and revealed spatially indirect band-to-band recombination of electrons localized in the InP with holes in the (GaxIn1-x)(PySb1-y). In addition, samples with layer thicknesses larger than 100nm showed direct PL across the band gap of (GaxIn1-x)(PySb1-y). Band-gap energies and band offset energies of (GaxIn1-x)(PySb1-y) relative to InP were derived from these PL data. A strong bowing parameter was observed.

  9. New geometries for black hole horizons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Armas, Jay [Physique Théorique et Mathématique,Université Libre de Bruxelles and International Solvay Institutes, ULB-Campus Plaine CP231, B-1050 Brussels (Belgium); Blau, Matthias [Albert Einstein Center for Fundamental Physics, University of Bern,Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012 Bern (Switzerland)

    2015-07-10

    We construct several classes of worldvolume effective actions for black holes by integrating out spatial sections of the worldvolume geometry of asymptotically flat black branes. This provides a generalisation of the blackfold approach for higher-dimensional black holes and yields a map between different effective theories, which we exploit by obtaining new hydrodynamic and elastic transport coefficients via simple integrations. Using Euclidean minimal surfaces in order to decouple the fluid dynamics on different sections of the worldvolume, we obtain local effective theories for ultraspinning Myers-Perry branes and helicoidal black branes, described in terms of a stress-energy tensor, particle currents and non-trivial boost vectors. We then study in detail and present novel compact and non-compact geometries for black hole horizons in higher-dimensional asymptotically flat space-time. These include doubly-spinning black rings, black helicoids and helicoidal p-branes as well as helicoidal black rings and helicoidal black tori in D≥6.

  10. De novo genome assembly of Geosmithia morbida, the causal agent of thousand cankers disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taruna A. Schuelke; Anthony Westbrook; Kirk Broders; Keith Woeste; Matthew D. MacManes

    2016-01-01

    Geosmithia morbida is a filamentous ascomycete that causes thousand cankers disease in the eastern black walnut tree. This pathogen is commonly found in the western U.S.; however, recently the disease was also detected in several eastern states where the black walnut lumber industry is concentrated. G. morbida is one of two...

  11. Increased alpha-band power during the retention of shapes and shape-location associations in visual short-term memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeffrey S. Johnson

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Studies exploring the role of neural oscillations in cognition have revealed sustained increases in alpha-band (~8-14 Hz power during the delay period of delayed-recognition short-term memory tasks. These increases have been proposed to reflect the inhibition, for example, of cortical areas representing task-irrelevant information, or of potentially interfering representations from previous trials. Another possibility, however, is that elevated delay-period alpha-band power reflects the selection and maintenance of information, rather than, or in addition to, the inhibition of task-irrelevant information. In the present study, we explored these possibilities using a delayed-recognition paradigm in which the presence and task-relevance of shape information was systematically manipulated across trial blocks and EEG was used to measure alpha-band power. In the first trial block, participants remembered locations marked by identical black circles. The second block featured the same instructions, but locations were marked by unique shapes. The third block featured the same stimulus presentation as the second, but with pretrial instructions indicating, on a trial-by-trial basis, whether memory for shape or location was required, the other dimension being irrelevant. In the final block, participants remembered the unique pairing of shape and location for each stimulus. Results revealed minimal delay-period alpha-band power in each of the location-memory conditions, whether locations were marked with identical circles or with unique task-irrelevant shapes. In contrast, alpha-band power increases were observed in both the shape-memory condition, in which location was task irrelevant, and in the critical final condition, in which both shape and location were task relevant. These results provide support for the proposal that alpha-band oscillations reflect the retention of shape information and/or shape-location associations in short-term memory.

  12. Statistical mechanics of black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harms, B.; Leblanc, Y.

    1992-01-01

    We analyze the statistical mechanics of a gas of neutral and charged black holes. The microcanonical ensemble is the only possible approach to this system, and the equilibrium configuration is the one for which most of the energy is carried by a single black hole. Schwarzschild black holes are found to obey the statistical bootstrap condition. In all cases, the microcanonical temperature is identical to the Hawking temperature of the most massive black hole in the gas. U(1) charges in general break the bootstrap property. The problems of black-hole decay and of quantum coherence are also addressed

  13. Determination of particles concentration in Black Sea waters from spectral beam attenuation coefficient

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korchemkina, E. N.; Latushkin, A. A.; Lee, M. E.

    2017-11-01

    The methods of determination of concentration and scattering by suspended particles in seawater are compared. The methods considered include gravimetric measurements of the mass concentration of suspended matter, empirical and analytical calculations based on measurements of the light beam attenuation coefficient (BAC) in 4 spectral bands, calculation of backscattering by particles using satellite measurements in the visible spectral range. The data were obtained in two cruises of the R/V "Professor Vodyanitsky" in the deep-water part of the Black Sea in July and October 2016., Spatial distribution of scattering by marine particles according to satellite data is in good agreement with the contact measurements.

  14. Black Cohosh: Insights into its Mechanism(s of Action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachel L. Ruhlen

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The Women’s Health Initiative found that combination estrogen and progesterone hormone replacement therapy increases breast cancer and cardiovascular disease risk, which compelled many women to seek herbal alternatives such as black cohosh extract (BCE to relieve their menopausal symptoms. While several clinical trials document the efficacy of BCE in alleviating menopausal symptoms, preclinical studies to determine how BCE works have yielded conflicting results. Part of this is because there is not a universally accepted method to standardize the dose of black cohosh triterpenes, the presumed active ingredients in the extract. Although the mechanism by which BCE relieves symptoms is unknown, several hypotheses have been proposed: it acts 1 as a selective estrogen receptor modulator, 2 through serotonergic pathways, 3 as an antioxidant, or 4 on inflammatory pathways. We found that while the most prominent triterpene in BCE, 23-epi- 26-deoxyactein, suppresses cytokine-induced nitric oxide production in brain microglial cells, the whole BCE extract actually enhanced this pathway. A variety of activities have been reported for black cohosh and its compounds, but the absorption and tissue distribution of these compounds is unknown.

  15. Regular black hole in three dimensions

    OpenAIRE

    Myung, Yun Soo; Yoon, Myungseok

    2008-01-01

    We find a new black hole in three dimensional anti-de Sitter space by introducing an anisotropic perfect fluid inspired by the noncommutative black hole. This is a regular black hole with two horizons. We compare thermodynamics of this black hole with that of non-rotating BTZ black hole. The first-law of thermodynamics is not compatible with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy.

  16. Breeding high yielding varieties of pigeon pea, mungbean and black gram using induced mutations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pawar, S.E.; Wanjari, K.B.

    1994-01-01

    The present communication emphasis the developing of high yielding varieties of pigeon pea, mungbean and black gram using induced mutation with disease resistance in these crops. This would help in stabilisation of the higher yield potential

  17. Boosted quantum black hole and black string in M-theory, and quantum correction to Gregory-Laflamme instability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hyakutake, Yoshifumi [Faculty of Science, Ibaraki University,Bunkyo 2-1-1, Mito, Ibaraki, 310-8512 (Japan)

    2015-09-11

    We take into account higher derivative R{sup 4} corrections in M-theory and construct quantum black hole and black string solutions in 11 dimensions up to the next leading order. The quantum black string is stretching along the 11th direction and the Gregory-Laflamme instability is examined at the quantum level. Thermodynamics of the boosted quantum black hole and black string are also discussed. Especially we take the near horizon limit of the quantum black string and investigate its instability quantitatively.

  18. Constraining stellar binary black hole formation scenarios with eLISA eccentricity measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishizawa, Atsushi; Sesana, Alberto; Berti, Emanuele; Klein, Antoine

    2017-03-01

    A space-based interferometer such as the evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA) could observe a few to a few thousands of progenitors of black hole binaries (BHBs) similar to those recently detected by Advanced LIGO. Gravitational radiation circularizes the orbit during inspiral, but some BHBs retain a measurable eccentricity at the low frequencies where eLISA is the most sensitive. The eccentricity of a BHB carries precious information about its formation channel: BHBs formed in the field, in globular clusters, or close to a massive black hole (MBH) have distinct eccentricity distributions in the eLISA band. We generate mock eLISA observations, folding in measurement errors, and using a Bayesian model selection, we study whether eLISA measurements can identify the BHB formation channel. We find that a handful of observations would suffice to tell whether BHBs were formed in the gravitational field of an MBH. Conversely, several tens of observations are needed to tell apart field formation from globular cluster formation. A 5-yr eLISA mission with the longest possible armlength is desirable to shed light on BHB formation scenarios.

  19. Colonoscopic band ligation for internal hemorrhoids - A tertiary care experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Umesh Jalihal

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background and objectives: Rubber band ligation (BL is the most widely used technique for treatment of symptomatic internal haemorrhoids (IH that are refractory to conservative treatment. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of colonoscopic BL as therapy for symptomatic IH. Methods: Patients seen at our center with symptomatic IH who underwent BL between January 2006 and December 2011 were included in this prospective study. The clinical and colonoscopic details were entered in uniform structured data forms. Results: Two hundred and eighteen consecutive patients with symptomatic IH were enrolled in the study. The presentations were rectal bleeding in 150 (69% and prolapse in remaining 68 (31% patients. Twenty-four patients (11% had chronic liver disease (child B-C. Same operator treated all the patients. The severity of the IH was classified by using Goligher grading system. The mean age of patients was 48.3 + 15 years with range of 22 - 85 years. The mean follow up was 3months (range 1 month - 36 months. In 209 patients (96% there was at least 1 grade reduction in hemorrhoids as well the symptoms were controlled. Two patients required surgery and another 7 patients required repeat session of banding. After banding session 32 (15% patients had perianal pain and 13 (6% had mild bleeding. Conclusions: Colonoscopic BL is a safe, and effective outpatient therapeutic procedure for symptomatic internal hemorrhoids. Furthermore, the BL is safe and effective in patients of coagulopathy associated with chronic liver disease.

  20. Potato black scurf, production practices and fungitoxic efficacy of rhizoctonia solani isolates in hilly areas of gilgit-biltistan pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hussain, A.; Ali, S.; Ali, Z.; Khan, S. W.; Abbas, Q.; Awan, M. S.; Ali, S.

    2017-01-01

    Potato is the main cash crop of Gilgit-Baltistan in particular of buffer zone of Central Karakorum National Park (CKNP). There are many biotic and abiotic threats to its production. Amongst them the black scurf disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani is the major constraint. In order to assess black scurf of potato a comprehensive survey was carried out in four main valleys of the region consisting of 24 villages. The survey revealed that valley wise mean disease prevalence was high in Bagrote (63.85+-9.06) and low in Haramosh (45.4+- 14.62). Maximum mean disease incidence and severity were recorded in Hoper valley while least disease incidence appeared in Haramosh and severity in Bagrote valley. Production practices as risk factor were assessed through a questionnaire. The majority of farmers performed activities in field that were supportive to the black scurf epidemics, such as, use of pits for storage of late harvested potato tuber for growing in next season, table potato, lack of general awareness about black scurf, not maintaining proper depth of sowing, irrigation, harvesting time and crop rotation. In vitro efficacy of three fungicides at different concentrations i.e. 50, 100, 150 and 200 ppm were tested against Rhizoctonia solani isolates. Results indicated that increase of fungicide concentration significantly inhibited the mycelial growth of respective isolates. However, sensitivity reaction of each of isolates against each fungicide was also differential. Fungicide ridomil gold and mencozeb showed more toxic effect against the fungus compared to vitavax. (author)