IR finiteness of the ghost dressing function from numerical resolution of the ghost SD equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boucaud, Ph.; Leroy, J.P.; Yaouanc, A. Le; Micheli, J.; Pene, O.; RodrIguez-Quintero, J.

2008-01-01

We solve numerically the Schwinger-Dyson ghost equation in the Landau gauge for a given, finite at k = 0 gluon propagator (i.e. the infrared exponent of its dressing function, α gluon , is 1) and under the usual assumption of constancy of the ghost-gluon vertex ; we show that there exist two possible types of ghost dressing function solutions, as we have previously inferred from analytical considerations: one which is singular at zero momentum (the infrared exponent of its dressing function, α ghost , (We shall use α G and α F as shorthands for α gluon and α ghost respectively; let us recall that we denote the gluon by a G and the ghost by a F, for ''fantome''.) is gluon +2α ghost = 0 and has therefore α ghost = -1/2, and another one which is finite at the origin with α ghost = 0 and violates the relation. It is most important that the type of solution which is realized depends on the value of the coupling constant. There are regular ones - α F = 0 - for any coupling below some value, while there is only one singular solution - α F <0 -, obtained for a single critical value of the coupling. For all momenta k <.5 GeV where they can be trusted, our lattice data exclude neatly the singular one, and agree very well with the regular solution we obtain at a coupling constant compatible with the bare lattice value.

Ghost-Story Telling: Keeping It Appropriate.

Science.gov (United States)

Weintraub, Jeff

1996-01-01

Guidelines for telling ghost stories at camp involve considering children's fears at different ages, telling age appropriate stories, determining appropriate times for telling ghost stories, and minimizing fear when a child becomes frightened by a ghost story. Includes tips on the selection, preparation, and presentation of ghost stories. (LP)

GHOST balloons around Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Stearns, Charles R.

1988-01-01

The GHOST balloon position as a function of time data shows that the atmospheric circulation around the Antarctic Continent at the 100 mb and 200 mb levels is complex. The GHOST balloons supposedly follow the horizontal trajectory of the air at the balloon level. The position of GHOST balloon 98Q for a three month period in 1968 is shown. The balloon moved to within 2 deg of the South Pole on 1 October 1968 and then by 9 December 1968 was 35 deg from the South Pole and close to its position on 1 September 1968. The balloon generally moved from west to east but on two occasions moved in the opposite direction for a few days. The latitude of GHOST balloons 98Q and 149Z which was at 200 mb is given. Both balloons tended to get closer to the South Pole in September and October. Other GHOST balloons at the same pressure and time period may not indicate similar behavior.

Classical and quantum ghosts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sbisà, Fulvio

2015-01-01

The aim of these notes is to provide a self-contained review of why it is generically a problem when a solution of a theory possesses ghost fields among the perturbation modes. We define what a ghost field is and we show that its presence is associated with a classical instability whenever the ghost field interacts with standard fields. We then show that the instability is more severe at quantum level, and that perturbative ghosts can exist only in low energy effective theories. However, if we do not consider very ad hoc choices, compatibility with observational constraints implies that low energy effective ghosts can exist only at the price of giving up Lorentz invariance or locality above the cut-off, in which case the cut-off has to be much lower that the energy scales we currently probe in particle colliders. We also comment on the possible role of extra degrees of freedom which break Lorentz invariance spontaneously. (paper)

On ghost fermions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grensing, G.

2002-01-01

The path integral for ghost fermions, which is heuristically made use of in the Batalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky approach to quantization of constrained systems, is derived from first principles. The derivation turns out to be rather different from that of physical fermions since the definition of Dirac states for ghost fermions is subtle. With these results at hand, it is then shown that the nonminimal extension of the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin operator must be chosen differently from the notorious choice made in the literature in order to avoid the boundary terms that have always plagued earlier treatments. Furthermore it is pointed out that the elimination of states with nonzero ghost number requires the introduction of a thermodynamic potential for ghosts; the reason is that Schwarz's Lefschetz formula for the partition function of the time-evolution operator is not capable, despite claims to the contrary, to get rid of nonzero ghost number states on its own. Finally, we comment on the problems of global topological nature that one faces in the attempt to obtain the solutions of the Dirac condition for physical states in a configuration space of nontrivial geometry; such complications give rise to anomalies that do not obey the Wess-Zumino consistency conditions. (orig.)

Ontogenetic changes in biochemical composition during larval and early postlarval development of Lepidophthalmus louisianensis, a ghost shrimp with abbreviated development

Science.gov (United States)

Larvae of the ghost shrimp, Lepidophthalmus louisianensis, were mass-reared under laboratory conditions (28|C; 20o/ooS) from hatching to the decapodid (D) stage. Iatroscan lipid class analysis revealed that polar lipids (Zoea I: 77.4|1.7%; Zoea II: 77.5|2.1%; Decapodid: 80.0|1.7%...

Existence, uniqueness and cohomology of the classical BRST charge with ghosts of ghosts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisch, J.; Stasheff, J.

1989-01-01

A complete canonical formulation of the BRST theory of systems with redundant gauge symmetries is presented. These systems include p-form gauge fields, the superparticle, and the superstring. We first define the Koszul-Tate differential and explicitly show how the introduction of the momenta conjugate to the ghosts of ghosts makes it acyclic. The global existence of the BRST generator is then demonstrated, and the BRST charge is proved to be unique up to canonical transformations in the extended phase space, which includes the ghosts. Finally, the BRST cohomology in classical mechanics is investigated and shown to be equal to the cohomology of the exterior derivative along the gauge orbits, as in the irreducible case. This is done by re-expressing the exterior algebra along the gauge orbits as a free differential algebra containing generators of higher degree, which are identified with the ghosts of ghosts. The quantum cohomology is not dealt with. (orig.)

Cosmology with a light ghost

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ivanov, Mikhail M.; Tokareva, Anna A., E-mail: mikhail.ivanov@cern.ch, E-mail: anna.tokareva@epfl.ch [Institute of Physics, LPPC, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015, Lausanne (Switzerland)

2016-12-01

We study the creation and evolution of cosmological perturbations in renormalizable quadratic gravity with a Weyl term. We adopt a prescription that implies the stability of the vacuum at the price of introducing a massive spin-two ghost state, leading to the loss of unitarity. The theory may still be predictive regardless the interpretation of non-unitary processes provided that their rate is negligible compared to the Universe expansion rate. This implies that the ghost is effectively stable. In such a setup, there are two scalar degrees of freedom excited during inflation. The first one is the usual curvature perturbation whose power spectrum appears to coincide with that of single-field inflation. The second one is a scalar component of the ghost encoded in the shift vector of the metric in the uniform inflaton gauge. The amplitudes of primordial tensor and vector perturbations are strongly suppressed. After inflation the ghost field starts to oscillate and its energy density shortly becomes dominant in the Universe. For all ghost masses allowed by laboratory constraints ghosts should have ''overclosed'' the Universe at temperatures higher than that of primordial nucleosynthesis. Thus, the model with the light Weyl ghost is ruled out.

Ghost condensate and generalized second law

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukohyama, Shinji

2009-01-01

Dubovsky and Sibiryakov recently proposed a scenario in which particles of different species propagate with different speeds due to their direct couplings to ghost condensate. It was argued that this extended version of ghost condensate allows a gedanken experiment leading to violation of the generalized second law. However, in the original ghost condensate scenario, difference in propagation speeds is suppressed by M 2 /M Pl 2 , where M is the order parameter of spontaneous Lorentz breaking and M Pl is the Planck scale. In this case the energy transfer necessary for the gedanken experiment is so slow that the timescale of decrease of entropy, if any, is always longer than the Jeans timescale of ghost condensate. Hence the generalized second law is not violated by the gedanken experiment in the original ghost condensate scenario. This conclusion trivially extends to gauged ghost condensation by taking into account accretion of gauged ghost condensate into a black hole.

Black holes in the ghost condensate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukohyama, Shinji

2005-01-01

We investigate how the ghost condensate reacts to black holes immersed in it. A ghost condensate defines a hypersurface-orthogonal congruence of timelike curves, each of which has the tangent vector u μ =-g μν ∂ ν φ. It is argued that the ghost condensate in this picture approximately corresponds to a congruence of geodesics. In other words, the ghost condensate accretes into a black hole just like a pressureless dust. Correspondingly, if the energy density of the ghost condensate at large distance is set to an extremely small value by cosmic expansion then the late-time accretion rate of the ghost condensate should be negligible. The accretion rate remains very small even if effects of higher derivative terms are taken into account, provided that the black hole is sufficiently large. It is also discussed how to reconcile the black-hole accretion with the possibility that the ghost condensate might behave like dark matter

Unexorcized ghost in DGP brane world

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Izum, Keisuke; Tanaka, Takahiro; Koyama, Kazuya

2007-01-01

The brane world model proposed by Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati realizes self-acceleration of the universe. However, it is known that this cosmological solution contains a spin-2 ghost. We study the possibility of avoiding the appearance of the ghost by slightly modifying the model via the introduction of a second brane. First, we consider a simple model without stabilization of the brane separation. By changing the separation between the branes, we find that we can erase the spin-2 ghost. However, this can be done only at the expense of the appearance of a spin-0 ghost instead. We discuss why these two different types of ghosts are correlated. Then, we examine a model with stabilization of the brane separation. Even in this case, we find that the correlation between spin-0 and spin-2 ghosts remains. As a result we find that we cannot avoid the appearance of a ghost by introducing a second brane in the model

Ghost signals in Allison emittance scanners

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stockli, Martin P.; Leitner, M.; Moehs, D.P.; Keller, R.; Welton, R.F.

2004-01-01

For over 20 years, Allison scanners have been used to measure emittances of low-energy ion beams. We show that scanning large trajectory angles produces ghost signals caused by the sampled beamlet impacting on an electric deflection plate. The ghost signal strength is proportional to the amount of beam entering the scanner. Depending on the ions, and their velocity, the ghost signals can have the opposite or the same polarity as the main beam signals. The ghost signals cause significant errors in the emittance estimates because they appear at large trajectory angles. These ghost signals often go undetected because they partly overlap with the real signals, are mostly below the 1% level, and often hide in the noise. A simple deflection plate modification is shown to reduce the ghost signal strength by over 99%

Ghost Signals In Allison Emittance Scanners

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stockli, Martin P.; Leitner, M.; Keller, R.; Moehs, D.P.; Welton, R. F.

2005-01-01

For over 20 years, Allison scanners have been used to measure emittances of low-energy ion beams. We show that scanning large trajectory angles produces ghost signals caused by the sampled beamlet impacting on an electric deflection plate. The ghost signal strength is proportional to the amount of beam entering the scanner. Depending on the ions, and their velocity, the ghost signals can have the opposite or the same polarity as the main beam signals. The ghost signals cause significant errors in the emittance estimates because they appear at large trajectory angles. These ghost signals often go undetected because they partly overlap with the real signals, are mostly below the 1% level, and often hide in the noise. A simple deflection plate modification is shown to reduce the ghost signal strength by over 99%

Ghost counting in supergravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nielsen, N.K.

1978-04-01

The elimination of unphysical degrees of freedom from a quantized massless Rarita-Schwinger field interacting with a (quantized or classical) gravitational field is analyzed on the one-loop level. It is shown that, besides the ordinary Faddeev-Popov ghosts, an extra ghost is needed to remove the effects of unphysical modes. The new ghost only couples to the S matrix if the gauge-fixing of the Rarita-Schwinger field involves the gravitational field, but it is necessary in the partition function for other gauge choices. (Auth.)

Ghost counting in supergravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nielsen, N.K.

1978-01-01

The elimination of unphysical degrees of freedom from a quantized massless Rarita-Schwinger field interacting with a (quantized or classical) gravitational field is analyzed on the one-loop level. It is shown that, besides the ordinary Faddeev-Popov ghosts, an extra ghost is needed to remove the effects of unphysical modes. The new ghost only couples to the S-matrix if the gauge-fixing of the Rarita-Schwinger field involves the gravitational field, but it is necessary in the partition function for other gauge choices. (Auth.)

Ghost imaging with a single detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bromberg, Yaron; Katz, Ori; Silberberg, Yaron

2009-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate pseudothermal ghost imaging and ghost diffraction using only a single detector. We achieve this by replacing the high-resolution detector of the reference beam with a computation of the propagating field, following a recent proposal by Shapiro [Phys. Rev. A 78, 061802(R) (2008)]. Since only a single detector is used, this provides experimental evidence that pseudothermal ghost imaging does not rely on nonlocal quantum correlations. In addition, we show the depth-resolving capability of this ghost imaging technique.

RBC micromotors carrying multiple cargos towards potential theranostic applications

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Zhiguang; Esteban-Fernández de Ávila, Berta; Martín, Aída; Christianson, Caleb; Gao, Weiwei; Thamphiwatana, Soracha Kun; Escarpa, Alberto; He, Qiang; Zhang, Liangfang; Wang, Joseph

2015-08-01

Red blood cell (RBC)-based micromotors containing both therapeutic and diagnostic modalities are described as a means for potential theranostic applications. In this natural RBC-based multicargo-loaded micromotor system, quantum dots (QDs), anti-cancer drug doxorubicin (DOX), and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), were co-encapsulated into RBC micromotors. The fluorescent emission of both QDs and DOX provides direct visualization of their loading inside the RBC motors at two distinct wavelengths. The presence of MNPs within the RBCs allows for efficient magnetic guidance under ultrasound propulsion along with providing the potential for magnetic resonance imaging. The simultaneous encapsulation of the imaging nanoparticles and therapeutic payloads within the same RBC micromotor has a minimal effect upon its propulsion behavior. The ability of the RBC micromotors to transport imaging and therapeutic agents at high speed and spatial precision through a complex microchannel network is also demonstrated. Such ability to load and transport diagnostic imaging agents and therapeutic drugs within a single cell-based motor, in addition to a lower toxicity observed once the drug is encapsulated within the multicargo RBC motor, opens the door to the development of theranostic micromotors that may simultaneously treat and monitor diseases.Red blood cell (RBC)-based micromotors containing both therapeutic and diagnostic modalities are described as a means for potential theranostic applications. In this natural RBC-based multicargo-loaded micromotor system, quantum dots (QDs), anti-cancer drug doxorubicin (DOX), and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), were co-encapsulated into RBC micromotors. The fluorescent emission of both QDs and DOX provides direct visualization of their loading inside the RBC motors at two distinct wavelengths. The presence of MNPs within the RBCs allows for efficient magnetic guidance under ultrasound propulsion along with providing the potential for magnetic

Giving up the ghost

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bender, Carl M; Mannheim, Philip D

2008-01-01

The Pais-Uhlenbeck model is a quantum theory described by a higher-derivative field equation. It has been believed for many years that this model possesses ghost states (quantum states of negative norm) and therefore that this model is a physically unacceptable quantum theory. The existence of such ghost states was believed to be attributable to the field equation having more than two derivatives. This paper shows that the Pais-Uhlenbeck model does not possess any ghost states at all and that it is a perfectly acceptable quantum theory. The supposed ghost states in this model arise if the Hamiltonian of the model is (incorrectly) treated as being Dirac Hermitian (invariant under combined matrix transposition and complex conjugation). However, the Hamiltonian is not Dirac Hermitian, but rather it is PT symmetric. When it is quantized correctly according to the rules of PT quantum mechanics, the energy spectrum is real and bounded below and all of the quantum states have positive norm

THE REPRESENTATION OF THE GHOST ARCHETYPE IN THE CANTERVILLE GHOST BY OSCAR WILDE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Safaryan Agata Vladimirovna

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The article touches upon the actual interdisciplinary problems of modern cognitive linguistics, psychology, literary criticism and is related to the study of the archetypal representations of ethnicity and changes reflected in the linguistic consciousness. These changes are mainly influenced by the works of fiction and the role of writer's worldview in their formation. Guided by the thesis of universality of the archetypes, the author mentions that though the archetype represents the inherent characteristics of certain ethnic and cultural space, it retains the features which make an image recognizable at all times. By this fact the author explains the existence of beliefs in ghosts with different embodiments in all cultures. The awakening of the archetype is caused by certain historical events, i.e. the revival and further embodiment of the ghost archetype was the result of reversion to the cultural heritage during the Victorian England. The complex analysis of the means of speech representation that called up the realization of the ghost archetype in Oscar Wilde's short story The Canterville Ghost allowed to reveal that alongside with features that constitute the archetypal nature of ghosts in general, there appear the ones peculiar to the author's individual worldview, which either complement or change the existing notions about this being from another world.

Witten's ghost vertex made simple

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belov, D.M.

2004-01-01

First, we diagonalize the bc-ghost 3-string Neumann matrices using the technique described in Phys. Rev. D 68, 066003 (2003). Their eigenvalues are in complete agreement with the previous authors. Second, we diagonalize the N-string gluing vertices for the bosonized ghost system. Third, we verify the descent and associativity relations for the combined bosonic matter+ghost gluing vertices. We find that in order for these relations to be true, the vertices must be normalized by the factor Z N . Here Z N is the partition function of the bosonic matter+ghost CFT on the gluing surface, which is the unit disk with the Neumann boundary conditions and the midpoint conelike singularity specified by the angle excess π(N-2)

Fast ghost imaging and ghost encryption based on the discrete cosine transform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanha, Mehrdad; Ahmadi-Kandjani, Sohrab; Kheradmand, Reza

2013-01-01

We introduce the discrete cosine transform as an advanced compression tool for images in computational ghost imaging. A novel approach to fast imaging and encryption, the discrete cosine transform, promotes the security level of ghost images and reduces the image retrieval time. To discuss the advantages of this technique we compare experimental outcomes with simulated ones. (paper)

The Color Antisymmetric Ghost Propagator and One-Loop Vertex Renormalization

OpenAIRE

Furui, Sadataka

2007-01-01

The color matrix elements of the ghost triangle diagram that appears in the triple gluon vertex and the ghost-ghost-gluon triangle diagram that appears in the ghost-gluon-ghost vertex are calculated. The ghost-ghost-gluon triangle contains a loop consisting of two color diagonal ghosts and one gluon and a loop consisting of two color antisymmetric ghosts and one gluon. Consequently, the pQCD argument in the infrared region based on the one particle irreducible diagram should be modified. Impl...

RBC micromotors carrying multiple cargos towards potential theranostic applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Zhiguang; Esteban-Fernández de Ávila, Berta; Martín, Aída; Christianson, Caleb; Gao, Weiwei; Thamphiwatana, Soracha Kun; Escarpa, Alberto; He, Qiang; Zhang, Liangfang; Wang, Joseph

2015-08-28

Red blood cell (RBC)-based micromotors containing both therapeutic and diagnostic modalities are described as a means for potential theranostic applications. In this natural RBC-based multicargo-loaded micromotor system, quantum dots (QDs), anti-cancer drug doxorubicin (DOX), and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), were co-encapsulated into RBC micromotors. The fluorescent emission of both QDs and DOX provides direct visualization of their loading inside the RBC motors at two distinct wavelengths. The presence of MNPs within the RBCs allows for efficient magnetic guidance under ultrasound propulsion along with providing the potential for magnetic resonance imaging. The simultaneous encapsulation of the imaging nanoparticles and therapeutic payloads within the same RBC micromotor has a minimal effect upon its propulsion behavior. The ability of the RBC micromotors to transport imaging and therapeutic agents at high speed and spatial precision through a complex microchannel network is also demonstrated. Such ability to load and transport diagnostic imaging agents and therapeutic drugs within a single cell-based motor, in addition to a lower toxicity observed once the drug is encapsulated within the multicargo RBC motor, opens the door to the development of theranostic micromotors that may simultaneously treat and monitor diseases.

Kinetic k-essence ghost dark energy model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rozas-Fernández, Alberto

2012-01-01

A ghost dark energy model has been recently put forward to explain the current accelerated expansion of the Universe. In this model, the energy density of ghost dark energy, which comes from the Veneziano ghost of QCD, is proportional to the Hubble parameter, ρ D =αH. Here α is a constant of order Λ QCD 3 where Λ QCD ∼100 MeV is the QCD mass scale. We consider a connection between ghost dark energy with/without interaction between the components of the dark sector and the kinetic k-essence field. It is shown that the cosmological evolution of the ghost dark energy dominated Universe can be completely described a kinetic k-essence scalar field. We reconstruct the kinetic k-essence function F(X) in a flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker Universe according to the evolution of ghost dark energy density.

The color antisymmetric ghost propagator and one-loop vertex renormalization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furui, Sadataka

2008-01-01

The color matrix elements of the ghost triangle diagram that appears in the triple gluon vertex and the ghost-ghost-gluon triangle diagram that appears in the ghost-gluon-ghost vertex are calculated. The ghost-ghost-gluon triangle contains a loop consisting of two color diagonal ghosts and one gluon and a loop consisting of two color antisymmetric ghosts and one gluon. Consequently, the pQCD argument in the infrared region based on the one particle irreducible diagram should be modified. Implications for the Kugo-Ojima color confinement and the QCD running coupling are discussed. (author)

Inflation with light Weyl ghost

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tokareva Anna

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Inflationary perturbations are considered in a renormalizable but non-unitary theory of gravity with the additional Weyl term. We obtained that ghost degrees of freedom do not spoil the inflation and the scalar perturbation amplitude at the linear level even in a case of the ghost with mass smaller than Hubble parameter at inflation. The ghost impact to the observables is also estimated to be negligible for the range of masses allowed by the experiment. The non-linear level of the theory and its possible application are also discussed.

Using Ghost Reflections Rather than Removing Them

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blacquiere, G.; Berkhout, A.J.

2015-01-01

In marine acquisition both a direct wavefield and a ghost wavefield are produced as well as recorded. Hence, the seismic data can be considered to be a natural blend of four wavefields related to the real sources, ghost sources, real detectors and ghost detectors respectively. We consider deghosting

Accretion of Ghost Condensate by Black Holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frolov, A

2004-06-02

The intent of this letter is to point out that the accretion of a ghost condensate by black holes could be extremely efficient. We analyze steady-state spherically symmetric flows of the ghost fluid in the gravitational field of a Schwarzschild black hole and calculate the accretion rate. Unlike minimally coupled scalar field or quintessence, the accretion rate is set not by the cosmological energy density of the field, but by the energy scale of the ghost condensate theory. If hydrodynamical flow is established, it could be as high as tenth of a solar mass per second for 10MeV-scale ghost condensate accreting onto a stellar-sized black hole, which puts serious constraints on the parameters of the ghost condensate model.

Bilayer/cytoskeleton interactions in lipid-symmetric erythrocytes assessed by a photoactivable phospholipid analogue

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pradhan, D.; Schlegel, R.A.; Williamson, P.

1991-01-01

Two mechanisms have been proposed for maintenance of transbilayer phospholipid asymmetry in the erythrocyte plasma membrane, one involving specific interactions between the aminophospholipids of the inner leaflet of the bilayer and the cytoskeleton, particularly spectrin, and the other involving the aminophospholipid translocase. If the former mechanism is correct, then erythrocytes which have lost their asymmetric distribution of phospholipids should display altered bilayer/cytoskeleton interactions. To test this possibility, normal erythrocytes, erythrocytes from patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia or sickle disease, and lipid-symmetric and -asymmetric erythrocyte ghosts were labeled with the radioactive photoactivable analogue of phosphatidylethanolamine, 2-(2-azido-4-nitrobenzoyl)-1-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho[ 14 C] ethanolamine ([ 14 C]AzPE), previously shown to label cytoskeletal proteins from the bilayer. The labeling pattern of cytoskeletal proteins in pathologic erythrocytes and lipid-asymmetric erythrocyte ghosts was indistinguishable from normal erythrocytes, indicating that the probe detects no differences in bilayer/cytoskeleton interactions in these cells. In contrast, in lipid-symmetric erythrocyte ghosts, labeling of bands 4.1 and 4.2 and actin, and to a lesser extent ankyrin, by [ 14 C]AzPE was considerably reduced. Significantly, however, labeling of spectrin was unaltered in the lipid-symmetric cells. These results do not support a model in which spectrin is involved in the maintenance of an asymmetric distribution of phospholipids in erythrocytes

Infrared finite ghost propagator in the Feynman gauge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aguilar, A. C.; Papavassiliou, J.

2008-01-01

We demonstrate how to obtain from the Schwinger-Dyson equations of QCD an infrared finite ghost propagator in the Feynman gauge. The key ingredient in this construction is the longitudinal form factor of the nonperturbative gluon-ghost vertex, which, contrary to what happens in the Landau gauge, contributes nontrivially to the gap equation of the ghost. The detailed study of the corresponding vertex equation reveals that in the presence of a dynamical infrared cutoff this form factor remains finite in the limit of vanishing ghost momentum. This, in turn, allows the ghost self-energy to reach a finite value in the infrared, without having to assume any additional properties for the gluon-ghost vertex, such as the presence of massless poles. The implications of this result and possible future directions are briefly outlined

Correspondence between quantum gauge theories without ghost fields and their covariantly quantized theories with ghost fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng Hung; Tsai Ercheng

1986-01-01

We give a correspondence formula which equates transition amplitudes in a quantum gauge field theory without ghost fields to those in a quantum theory with the gauge fields covariantly quantized and coupled to ghost fields. (orig.)

Infra-red ghost contribution to the gluon Green's functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paccanoni, F.

1985-01-01

The Schwinger-Dyson equations for the ghost propagator and the ghost-ghost-gluon vertex function are studied in the Landau gauge. A confining infra-red singularity is assumed for the gluon propagator and a suitable approximation is devised for the solution of the integral equations. It is found that the bare values of the ghost propagator and coupling cannot be a consistent solution of either equation. It is determined a possible behaviour of the correction factor for the ghost propagator in the small-momentum limit and discussed the consistency of the approximation schemes for the gluon propagator that neglet Faddeev-Popov ghost

Ghost quintessence in fractal gravity

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

In this study, using the time-like fractal theory of gravity, we mainly focus on the ghost dark energy model which was recently suggested to explain the present acceleration of the cosmic expansion. Next, we establish a connection between the quintessence scalar field and fractal ghost dark energy density.

Observability of complex ghosts and tachyons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Hiroshi

1976-01-01

The complex ghost introduced previously by the present author is studied from a standpoint whether its effects are observable by experiments or not. According to the theory of complex ghost the scattering cross section of two real particles shows some particular properties. It has a kind of resonance peak at a certain energy which does not conform to the Breit-Wigner formula. It has also a peak for a certain energy transfer, if there exist tachyons. The tachyon is a kind of ghost and is allowed to exist in the theory. Using these properties the complex ghosts are expected to be detected by experiments. The recently observed resonance psi(3.1) is supposed to be the complex ghost of photon, since they have the same quantum numbers. If it is assumed, some properties of the resonance known by experiments are explained naturally to a certain extent. Along the same line it is not unnatural to expect that the photon is also accompanied by a tachyon as a ghost. An experiment to detect the tachyon is proposed. If the angular distribution of elastic electron-positron or electron-electron scattering is observed at a suitably high energy, then a peak will be found in the domain -1< cos theta<1, where it is assumed that the exchanged photon accompanies a tachyon. (auth.)

Recovering a hidden polarization by ghost polarimetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Janassek, Patrick; Blumenstein, Sébastien; Elsäßer, Wolfgang

2018-02-15

By exploiting polarization correlations of light from a broadband fiber-based amplified spontaneous emission source we succeed in reconstructing a hidden polarization in a ghost polarimetry experiment in close analogy to ghost imaging and ghost spectroscopy. Thereby, an original linear polarization state in the object arm of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer configuration which has been camouflaged by a subsequent depolarizer is recovered by correlating it with light from a reference beam. The variation of a linear polarizer placed inside the reference beam results in a Malus law type second-order intensity correlation with high contrast, thus measuring a ghost polarigram.

Ghost imaging with atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Khakimov, R. I.; Henson, B. M.; Shin, D. K.; Hodgman, S. S.; Dall, R. G.; Baldwin, K. G. H.; Truscott, A. G.

2016-12-01

Ghost imaging is a counter-intuitive phenomenon—first realized in quantum optics—that enables the image of a two-dimensional object (mask) to be reconstructed using the spatio-temporal properties of a beam of particles with which it never interacts. Typically, two beams of correlated photons are used: one passes through the mask to a single-pixel (bucket) detector while the spatial profile of the other is measured by a high-resolution (multi-pixel) detector. The second beam never interacts with the mask. Neither detector can reconstruct the mask independently, but temporal cross-correlation between the two beams can be used to recover a ‘ghost’ image. Here we report the realization of ghost imaging using massive particles instead of photons. In our experiment, the two beams are formed by correlated pairs of ultracold, metastable helium atoms, which originate from s-wave scattering of two colliding Bose-Einstein condensates. We use higher-order Kapitza-Dirac scattering to generate a large number of correlated atom pairs, enabling the creation of a clear ghost image with submillimetre resolution. Future extensions of our technique could lead to the realization of ghost interference, and enable tests of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement and Bell’s inequalities with atoms.

Antioxidant activity of citrullus colocynthis pulp extract in the RBC's of alloxan-induced diabetic rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dallak, M.; Jaliah, B.I.

2010-01-01

Previous studies in our laboratory showed that Citrullus colocynthis pulp seedless extract have antihyperglycemic and insulinotropic effects in alloxan induced diabetes. Reactive oxygen species have been implicated in the mechanism of damage of red blood cells and anaemia in diabetic patients. So the current study was carried out to investigate the protective role of citrullus colocynthis against oxidative stress in the RBC's of alloxan induced diabetic rats. Methods: Rats were divided into four groups each of ten rats, the first group was normal non diabetic rats given normal saline orally and was named control group, the second group was diabetic rats given normal saline orally and were named normal saline treated-diabetic rats, the third and fourth group were diabetic rats treated with the pulp extract or glibenclamide (a positive control) orally. Evaluations were made for haematological parameters in the blood and for lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress enzymes activities in the RBC's of all experimental rats. Results: The diabetic rats had a significant decrease (p<0.05) in total erythrocytes count and Packed Cell Volume (PCV) and a normal Haemoglobin (Hb) value in the blood. They also showed decreased levels of Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) and decreased activities of Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and Catalase (CAT) in the RBC's hemolysate. On other hand, oral administration of citrullus colocynthis or glibenclamide alleviated these altered parameters in the treated rats, they resulted in a significant increase (p<0.05) in the in total erythrocytes count and PCV (Haematocrit) values in the blood and caused a significant decreased levels of TBARS and increased activities of SOD and CAT in the RBC's of those diabetic treated rats when compared to diabetic rats given normal saline. The effect was more profound in citrullus colocynthis treated diabetic rats. Conclusion: Citrullus colocynthis pulp extract possesses a potent antioxidant property

Are ghost surfaces quadratic-flux-minimizing?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hudson, S.R.; Dewar, R.L.

2009-01-01

Two candidates for 'almost-invariant' toroidal surfaces passing through magnetic islands, namely quadratic-flux-minimizing (QFMin) surfaces and ghost surfaces, use families of periodic pseudo-orbits (i.e. paths for which the action is not exactly extremal). QFMin pseudo-orbits, which are coordinate-dependent, are field lines obtained from a modified magnetic field, and ghost-surface pseudo-orbits are obtained by displacing closed field lines in the direction of steepest descent of magnetic action, ∫A.dl. A generalized Hamiltonian definition of ghost surfaces is given and specialized to the usual Lagrangian definition. A modified Hamilton's Principle is introduced that allows the use of Lagrangian integration for calculation of the QFMin pseudo-orbits. Numerical calculations show QFMin and Lagrangian ghost surfaces give very similar results for a chaotic magnetic field perturbed from an integrable case, and this is explained using a perturbative construction of an auxiliary poloidal angle for which QFMin and Lagrangian ghost surfaces are the same up to second order. While presented in the context of 3-dimensional magnetic field line systems, the concepts are applicable to defining almost-invariant tori in other 11/2 degree-of-freedom nonintegrable Lagrangian/Hamiltonian systems.

Ghost number anomaly in the Polyakov's light-cone gauge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Hiroshi.

1990-06-01

The conformal (Weyl) anomaly of the ghost-anti-ghost system in the two-dimentional quantum gravity is calculated. A background covariant formalism allows us to treat the Polyakov's light-cone gauge in a systematic way. The anomaly gives a contribution to the central charge, -28, which agrees with the result of Kniznik, Polyakov and Zamolodchikov. The ghost number anomaly is also calculated, and the metric corrections to the naive ghost number current are given. It is suggested that a general scalar density in the light-cone gauge carries a screening ghost number. (author)

Accretion of a ghost condensate by black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frolov, Andrei V.

2004-01-01

The intent of this paper is to point out that the accretion of a ghost condensate by black holes could be extremely efficient. We analyze steady-state spherically symmetric flows of the ghost fluid in the gravitational field of a Schwarzschild black hole and calculate the accretion rate. Unlike minimally coupled scalar field or quintessence, the accretion rate is set not by the cosmological energy density of the field, but by the energy scale of the ghost condensate theory. If hydrodynamical flow is established, it could be as high as a tenth of a solar mass per second for 10 MeV scale ghost condensate accreting onto a stellar-sized black hole, which puts serious constraints on the parameters of the ghost condensate model

Tensor ghosts in the inflationary cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clunan, Tim; Sasaki, Misao

2010-01-01

Theories with curvature-squared terms in the action are known to contain ghost modes in general. However, if we regard curvature-squared terms as quantum corrections to the original theory, the emergence of ghosts may be simply due to the perturbative truncation of a full non-perturbative theory. If this is the case, there should be a way to live with ghosts. In this paper, we take the Euclidean path integral approach, in which ghost degrees of freedom can be, and are integrated out in the Euclideanized spacetime. We apply this procedure to Einstein gravity with a Weyl curvature-squared correction in the inflationary background. We find that the amplitude of tensor perturbations is modified by a term of O(α 2 H 2 ) where α 2 is a coupling constant in front of the Weyl-squared term and H is the Hubble parameter during inflation.

High visibility temporal ghost imaging with classical light

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jianbin; Wang, Jingjing; Chen, Hui; Zheng, Huaibin; Liu, Yanyan; Zhou, Yu; Li, Fu-li; Xu, Zhuo

2018-03-01

High visibility temporal ghost imaging with classical light is possible when superbunching pseudothermal light is employed. In the numerical simulation, the visibility of temporal ghost imaging with pseudothermal light, equaling (4 . 7 ± 0 . 2)%, can be increased to (75 ± 8)% in the same scheme with superbunching pseudothermal light. The reasons for that the retrieved images are different for superbunching pseudothermal light with different values of degree of second-order coherence are discussed in detail. It is concluded that high visibility and high quality temporal ghost image can be obtained by collecting sufficient number of data points. The results are helpful to understand the difference between ghost imaging with classical light and entangled photon pairs. The superbunching pseudothermal light can be employed to improve the image quality in ghost imaging applications.

Ghost imaging with third-order correlated thermal light

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ou, L-H; Kuang, L-M

2007-01-01

In this paper, we propose a ghost imaging scheme with third-order correlated thermal light. We show that it is possible to produce the spatial information of an object at two different places in a nonlocal fashion by means of a third-order correlated imaging process with a third-order correlated thermal source and third-order correlation measurement. Concretely, we propose a protocol to create two ghost images at two different places from one object. This protocol involves two optical configurations. We derive the Gaussian thin lens equations and plot the geometrical optics of the ghost imaging processes for the two configurations. It is indicated that third-order correlated ghost imaging with thermal light exhibits richer correlated imaging effects than second-order correlated ghost imaging with thermal light

RBC-choline: changes by lithium and relation to prophylactic response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haag, M.; Haag, H.; Eisenried, F.; Greil, W.

1984-01-01

Red blod cell (RBC)- and plasma-choline levels were measured in patients on lithium (n=96), antidepressants (n=32) and neuroleptics (n=51) and in 25 healthy drug-free controls. Lithium patients exhibited highly increased RBC- and slightly increased plasma-choline levels compared with controls (P<0.001 and P<0.05, respectively); the choline ratio (RBC-/plasma-choline) was elevated almost to the same extent as RBC-choline (P<0.001). With antidepressants RBC-choline and choline ratios were slightly reduced (P<0.05), whereas neuroleptics showed no effect on choline levels. 79% of lithium patients were responders (reduction in hospitalizations with lithium) 21% were non-responders (no reduction or increase in hospitalizations). Choline ratio exhibited a significant relation to prophylactic lithium response, but lithium ratio did not. The percentage of non-responders was significantly higher in patients with a choline ratio exceeding 100 than in patients with a choline ratio below this cut-off (P<0.01). Thus, the increase of RBC-choline and choline ratios appears to be an effect specific for lithium and might be related to the outcome of lithium prophylaxis. (author)

Ghost properties of generalized theories of gravitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mann, R.B.; Moffat, J.W.

1982-01-01

We investigate theories of gravitation, in which spacetime is non-Riemannian and the metric g/sub munu/ is nonsymmetric, for ghosts and tachyons, using a spin-projection operator formalism. Ghosts are removed not by gauge invariance but by a Lagrange multiplier W/sub μ/, which occurs due to the breaking of projective invariance in the theory. Unified theories based on a Lagrangian containing a term lambdag/sup munu/g/sub / are proved to contain ghosts or tachyons

The ghost propagator in Coulomb gauge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watson, P.; Reinhardt, H.

2011-01-01

We present results for a numerical study of the ghost propagator in Coulomb gauge whereby lattice results for the spatial gluon propagator are used as input to solving the ghost Dyson-Schwinger equation. We show that in order to solve completely, the ghost equation must be supplemented by a boundary condition (the value of the inverse ghost propagator dressing function at zero momentum) which determines if the solution is critical (zero value for the boundary condition) or subcritical (finite value). The various solutions exhibit a characteristic behavior where all curves follow the same (critical) solution when going from high to low momenta until 'forced' to freeze out in the infrared to the value of the boundary condition. The boundary condition can be interpreted in terms of the Gribov gauge-fixing ambiguity; we also demonstrate that this is not connected to the renormalization. Further, the connection to the temporal gluon propagator and the infrared slavery picture of confinement is discussed.

Interacting ghost dark energy in Brans-Dicke theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebrahimi, Esmaeil; Sheykhi, Ahmad

2011-01-01

We investigate the QCD ghost model of dark energy in the framework of Brans-Dicke cosmology. First, we study the non-interacting ghost dark energy in a flat Brans-Dicke theory. In this case we obtain the equation of state and the deceleration parameters and a differential equation governing the evolution of ghost energy density. Interestingly enough, we find that the equation of state parameter of the non-interacting ghost dark energy can cross the phantom line (w D =-1) provided the parameters of the model are chosen suitably. Then, we generalize the study to the interacting ghost dark energy in both flat and non-flat Brans-Dicke framework and find out that the transition of w D to phantom regime can be more easily achieved for than when resort to the Einstein field equations is made.

Ghost Children: Invisible Middle Level Students

Science.gov (United States)

Matteson, Shirley M.

2014-01-01

For this study, 119 middle level teacher candidates identified, observed, and documented their interactions with middle school "ghost children" as part of their field placement activities. About two thirds of the 124 ghost children identified for this study were male. The teacher candidates documented additional characteristics of ghost…

Lensless ghost imaging through the strongly scattering medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Zhe; Zhao Xueliang; Li Junlin; Zhao Lianjie; Qin Wei

2016-01-01

Lensless ghost imaging has attracted much interest in recent years due to its profound physics and potential applications. In this paper we report studies of the robust properties of the lensless ghost imaging system with a pseudo-thermal light source in a strongly scattering medium. The effects of the positions of the strong medium on the ghost imaging are investigated. In the lensless ghost imaging system, a pseudo-thermal light is split into two correlated beams by a beam splitter. One beam goes to a charge-coupled detector camera, labeled as CCD2. The other beam goes to an object and then is collected in another charge-coupled detector camera, labeled as CCD1, which serves as a bucket detector. When the strong medium, a pane of ground glass disk, is placed between the object and CCD1, the bucket detector, the quality of ghost imaging is barely affected and a good image could still be obtained. The quality of the ghost imaging can also be maintained, even when the ground glass is rotating, which is the strongest scattering medium so far. However, when the strongly scattering medium is present in the optical path from the light source to CCD2 or the object, the lensless ghost imaging system hardly retrieves the image of the object. A theoretical analysis in terms of the second-order correlation function is also provided. (paper)

Ghost imaging and ghost diffraction with pseudo-thermal light generated by means of a programmable SLM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Capeluto, M G; Schmiegelow, C T; Francisco, D; Ledesma, S; Iemmi, C; Duisterwinkel, H

2011-01-01

Ghost imaging and ghost diffraction are techniques in which information about the object or about its diffraction pattern is extracted by measuring the correlation between a reference beam and a beam that passes through the object. Although first experiments were carried on by using entangled photons, it was demonstrated that this technique can be performed by splitting incoherent pseudo-thermal radiation such as that obtained with a laser passing through a moving diffuser. In this work we implemented the use of a programmable phase spatial light modulator (SLM) in order to replace the rotating ground glass. In this way the random phase distributions obtained from the moving diffuser can be emulated by displaying onto the SLM different realizations of a random function with uniform distribution. Based on the programmability of the modulator we have studied the influence of diverse parameters such as speckle size or phase distributions in the final image quality. We carry on the experiment for two different cases ghost imaging and far field ghost diffraction.

Noncanonical quantization-on the coexistence of particles and ghosts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saller, H.

1988-01-01

Local interactions of quantized fields are sometimes parametrized with the aid of ghostlike degrees of freedom, e.g., in non-Abelian gauge theories. These ghosts do not necessarily lead to eigenstates of energy. Such a situation requires a discussion of the asymptotic boundary condition for the ghosts, leading to ghost propagation only for timelike distance. Coexisting particle and ghost degrees of freedom in one basic field operator allow the formulation of interactions for such a field without local ambiguities

Beam Dumping Ghost Signals in Electric Sweep Scanners

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stockli, M.P.; Leitner, M.; Keller, R.; Moehs, D.P.; Welton, R.F.

2005-01-01

Over the last 20 years many labs started to use Allison scanners to measure low-energy ion beam emittances. We show that large trajectory angles produce ghost signals due to the impact of the beamlet on the electric deflection plates. The strength of the ghost signal is proportional to the amount of beam entering the scanner. Depending on the ions and their velocity, ghost signals can have the opposite polarity as the main beam signals or the same polarity. These ghost signals are easily overlooked because they partly overlap the real signals, they are mostly below the 1% level, and they are often hidden in the noise. However, they cause significant errors in emittance estimates because they are associated with large trajectory angles. The strength of ghost signals, and the associated errors, can be drastically reduced with a simple modification of the deflection plates

Beam dumping ghost signals in electric sweep scanners

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stockli, M.P.; SNS Project, Oak Ridge; Tennessee U.; Leitner, M.; LBL, Berkeley; Moehs, D.P.; Keller, R.; LBL, Berkeley; Welton, R.F.; SNS Project, Oak Ridge

2004-01-01

Over the last 20 years many labs started to use Allison scanners to measure loW--energy ion beam emittances. We show that large trajectory angles produce ghost signals due to the impact of the beamlet on the electric deflection plates. The strength of the ghost signal is proportional to the amount of beam entering the scanner. Depending on the ions and their velocity, ghost signals can have the opposite polarity as the main beam signals or the same polarity. These ghost signals are easily overlooked because they partly overlap the real signals, they are mostly below the 1% level, and they are often hidden in the noise. However, they cause significant errors in emittance estimates because they are associated with large trajectory angles. The strength of ghost signals, and the associated errors, can be drastically reduced with a simple modification of the deflection plates

Confessions of Academic Ghost Authors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ehsan Shahghasemi

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Academic plagiarism exists in all academic spheres, but contextual factors determine the level, intensity, and forms of it. Over the last few years, the phenomenon of “Ghost Authorship” has become widespread in Iran, and concerns have been expressed regarding this issue, not only by academicians but also by officials. In this study, 143 students participated in a two-step interview study in which they spoke about their experiences on either seeing a ghost author doing the research of someone else in exchange of money or they themselves being a ghost author. In all, 29 students said that they had done it once or so. The in-depth interviews with these 29 students showed how the plagiarism industry works in Iran, who the customers are, how they find each other, and so on.

High-quality compressive ghost imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Heyan; Zhou, Cheng; Tian, Tian; Liu, Dongqi; Song, Lijun

2018-04-01

We propose a high-quality compressive ghost imaging method based on projected Landweber regularization and guided filter, which effectively reduce the undersampling noise and improve the resolution. In our scheme, the original object is reconstructed by decomposing of regularization and denoising steps instead of solving a minimization problem in compressive reconstruction process. The simulation and experimental results show that our method can obtain high ghost imaging quality in terms of PSNR and visual observation.

Infrared Behavior of Gluon and Ghost Propagators in Landau Gauge QCD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

von Smekal, L.; Hauck, A.; Alkofer, R.

1997-01-01

A truncation scheme for the Dyson-Schwinger equations of Euclidean QCD in Landau gauge is presented. It implements the Slavnov-Taylor identities for the three-gluon and ghost-gluon vertices, whereas irreducible four-gluon couplings as well as the gluon-ghost and ghost-ghost scattering kernels are neglected. The infrared behavior of gluon and ghost propagators is obtained analytically: The gluon propagator vanishes for small momenta, whereas the ghost propagator diverges strongly. The numerical solutions are compared with recent lattice results. The running coupling approaches a fixed point, α c ≅9.5 , in the infrared. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

Half-integer ghost states and simple BRST quantization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marnelius, R.

1987-01-01

Quantum mechanical BRST systems are considered. As is well known an odd number of ghost operators has a representation with respect to the ghost number operator consisting of states with half-integer ghost numbers. Here it is shown that an eigenstate representation of the ghost operators requires a particular mixed Grassmann character of the states. It is also shown that such states always may be avoided provided only one starts from a lagrangian where the fundamental constraints are generated by Lagrange multipliers. In the latter case there also exists an anti-BRST charge. Some relevant properties of the different BRST approaches are displayed. The existence of inequivalent physical representations is demonstrated. (orig.)

Are ghosts necessary in planar gauges?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kummer, W.

1988-01-01

The introduction of Faddeev-Popov ghosts in axial gauges and especially in the ones of the planar type is not a technical necessity for the general proof of renormalization and gauge independence. It is shown that all necessary identities for Green's functions and for one-particle-irreducible vertices arise in a completely ghost-free formulation as well

An On-Chip RBC Deformability Checker Significantly Improves Velocity-Deformation Correlation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chia-Hung Dylan Tsai

2016-10-01

Full Text Available An on-chip deformability checker is proposed to improve the velocity–deformation correlation for red blood cell (RBC evaluation. RBC deformability has been found related to human diseases, and can be evaluated based on RBC velocity through a microfluidic constriction as in conventional approaches. The correlation between transit velocity and amount of deformation provides statistical information of RBC deformability. However, such correlations are usually only moderate, or even weak, in practical evaluations due to limited range of RBC deformation. To solve this issue, we implemented three constrictions of different width in the proposed checker, so that three different deformation regions can be applied to RBCs. By considering cell responses from the three regions as a whole, we practically extend the range of cell deformation in the evaluation, and could resolve the issue about the limited range of RBC deformation. RBCs from five volunteer subjects were tested using the proposed checker. The results show that the correlation between cell deformation and transit velocity is significantly improved by the proposed deformability checker. The absolute values of the correlation coefficients are increased from an average of 0.54 to 0.92. The effects of cell size, shape and orientation to the evaluation are discussed according to the experimental results. The proposed checker is expected to be useful for RBC evaluation in medical practices.

Study on the relationship between red blood cell immunity and lipid peroxidation in patients with endometriosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Jingxiu; Shi Shaohong; Wang Yuping; Xie Xueqin; Qin Jibao

2005-01-01

Objective: To assess the relationship between red blood cell immunity and lipid peroxidation (LPO) in patients with endometriosis. Methods: The percentage of positive red blood cell c3b receptor rosette (RBC c3b -RR) and red blood cell immune complex rosette (RBC-ICR) were examined in 54 patients with endometriosis and 30 controls. Serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxidase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) were measured by chemocolorimetry in these subjects. Results: Percentage of positive RBC-ICR and MDA levels were significantly higher in patients with endometriosis than those in controls (P c3b RR, SOD, GSH-PX, SOD/MDA ratio were significantly lower in patients with endometriosis than those in controls (P c3b -RR was negatively correlated with MDA levels (r= -0. 4428, P < 0.05) and RBC-ICRR was positively correlated with MDA(r=0.5488, P0.05). Conclusion: The lower red cell immune adhesion function was closely associated with the disturbance of metabolism of lipid peroxidation in patients with endometriosis. (authors)

GHOST: global hepatitis outbreak and surveillance technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Longmire, Atkinson G; Sims, Seth; Rytsareva, Inna; Campo, David S; Skums, Pavel; Dimitrova, Zoya; Ramachandran, Sumathi; Medrzycki, Magdalena; Thai, Hong; Ganova-Raeva, Lilia; Lin, Yulin; Punkova, Lili T; Sue, Amanda; Mirabito, Massimo; Wang, Silver; Tracy, Robin; Bolet, Victor; Sukalac, Thom; Lynberg, Chris; Khudyakov, Yury

2017-12-06

Hepatitis C is a major public health problem in the United States and worldwide. Outbreaks of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections associated with unsafe injection practices, drug diversion, and other exposures to blood are difficult to detect and investigate. Effective HCV outbreak investigation requires comprehensive surveillance and robust case investigation. We previously developed and validated a methodology for the rapid and cost-effective identification of HCV transmission clusters. Global Hepatitis Outbreak and Surveillance Technology (GHOST) is a cloud-based system enabling users, regardless of computational expertise, to analyze and visualize transmission clusters in an independent, accurate and reproducible way. We present and explore performance of several GHOST implemented algorithms using next-generation sequencing data experimentally obtained from hypervariable region 1 of genetically related and unrelated HCV strains. GHOST processes data from an entire MiSeq run in approximately 3 h. A panel of seven specimens was used for preparation of six repeats of MiSeq libraries. Testing sequence data from these libraries by GHOST showed a consistent transmission linkage detection, testifying to high reproducibility of the system. Lack of linkage among genetically unrelated HCV strains and constant detection of genetic linkage between HCV strains from known transmission pairs and from follow-up specimens at different levels of MiSeq-read sampling indicate high specificity and sensitivity of GHOST in accurate detection of HCV transmission. GHOST enables automatic extraction of timely and relevant public health information suitable for guiding effective intervention measures. It is designed as a virtual diagnostic system intended for use in molecular surveillance and outbreak investigations rather than in research. The system produces accurate and reproducible information on HCV transmission clusters for all users, irrespective of their level of bioinformatics

Antioxidant effect of 4-nerolidylcatechol and α-tocopherol in erythrocyte ghost membranes and phospholipid bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandes, K.S.; Silva, A.H.M.; Mendanha, S.A.; Rezende, K.R.; Alonso, A.

2013-01-01

4-Nerolidylcatechol (4-NC) is found in Pothomorphe umbellata root extracts and is reported to have a topical protective effect against UVB radiation-induced skin damage, toxicity in melanoma cell lines, and antimalarial activity. We report a comparative study of the antioxidant activity of 4-NC and α-tocopherol against lipid peroxidation initiated by two free radical-generating systems: 2,2′-azobis(2-aminopropane) hydrochloride (AAPH) and FeSO 4 /H 2 O 2 , in red blood cell ghost membranes and in egg phosphatidylcholine (PC) vesicles. Lipid peroxidation was monitored by membrane fluidity changes assessed by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy of a spin-labeled lipid and by the formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances. When lipoperoxidation was initiated by the hydroxyl radical in erythrocyte ghost membranes, both 4-NC and α-tocopherol acted in a very efficient manner. However, lower activities were observed when lipoperoxidation was initiated by the peroxyl radical; and, in this case, the protective effect of α-tocopherol was lower than that of 4-NC. In egg PC vesicles, malondialdehyde formation indicated that 4-NC was effective against lipoperoxidation initiated by both AAPH and FeSO 4 /H 2 O 2 , whereas α-tocopherol was less efficient in protecting against lipoperoxidation by AAPH, and behaved as a pro-oxidant for FeSO 4 /H 2 O 2 . The DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free-radical assay indicated that two free radicals were scavenged per 4-NC molecule, and one free radical was scavenged per α-tocopherol molecule. These data provide new insights into the antioxidant capacity of 4-NC, which may have therapeutic applications for formulations designed to protect the skin from sunlight irradiation

Weyl and ghost number anomalies in the Polyakov's light-cone gauge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, H.

1991-01-01

In this paper the conformal (Weyl) anomaly of the ghost-anti-ghost system in the 2-dimensional quantum gravity is calculated. A background covariant formalism allows us to treat the Polyakov's light-cone gauge in a systematic way. The anomaly gives a contribution to the central charge, -28, which agrees with the result of Kniznik, Polyakov, and Zamolodchikov. The ghost number anomaly is also calculated, and the metric corrections to the naive ghost number current are given. It is suggested that a general scalar density in the light-cone gauge carries a screening ghost number

Ghost lines in Moessbauer relaxation spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, D.C.

1985-01-01

The appearance in Moessbauer relaxation spectra of 'ghost' lines, which are narrow lines that do not correspond to transitions between real hyperfine energy levels of the resonant system, is examined. It is shown that in many cases of interest, the appearance of these 'ghost' lines can be interpreted in terms of the relaxational averaging of one or more of the static interactions of the ion. (orig.)

Molecular cloning of RBCS genes in Selaginella and the evolution of the rbcS gene family

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Bo

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Rubisco small subunits (RBCS are encoded by a nuclear rbcS multigene family in higher plants and green algae. However, owing to the lack of rbcS sequences in lycophytes, the characteristics of rbcS genes in lycophytes is unclear. Recently, the complete genome sequence of the lycophyte Selaginella moellendorffii provided the first insight into the rbcS gene family in lycophytes. To understand further the characteristics of rbcS genes in other Selaginella, the full length of rbcS genes (rbcS1 and rbcS2 from two other Selaginella species were isolated. Both rbcS1 and rbcS2 genes shared more than 97% identity among three Selaginella species. RBCS proteins from Selaginella contained the Pfam RBCS domain F00101, which was a major domain of other plant RBCS proteins. To explore the evolution of the rbcS gene family across Selaginella and other plants, we identified and performed comparative analysis of the rbcS gene family among 16 model plants based on a genome-wide analysis. The results showed that (i two rbcS genes were obtained in Selaginella, which is the second fewest number of rbcS genes among the 16 representative plants; (ii an expansion of rbcS genes occurred in the moss Physcomitrella patens; (iii only RBCS proteins from angiosperms contained the Pfam PF12338 domains, and (iv a pattern of concerted evolution existed in the rbcS gene family. Our study provides new insights into the evolution of the rbcS gene family in Selaginella and other plants.

Low-momentum ghost dressing function and the gluon mass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boucaud, Ph.; Leroy, J. P.; Le Yaouanc, A.; Micheli, J.; Pene, O.; Gomez, M. E.; Rodriguez-Quintero, J.

2010-01-01

We study the low-momentum ghost propagator Dyson-Schwinger equation in the Landau gauge, assuming for the truncation a constant ghost-gluon vertex, as it is extensively done, and a simple model for a massive gluon propagator. Then, regular Dyson-Schwinger equation solutions (the zero-momentum ghost dressing function not diverging) appear to emerge, and we show the ghost propagator to be described by an asymptotic expression reliable up to the order O(q 2 ). That expression, depending on the gluon mass and the zero-momentum Taylor-scheme effective charge, is proven to fit pretty well some low-momentum ghost propagator data [I. L. Bogolubsky, E. M. Ilgenfritz, M. Muller-Preussker, and A. Sternbeck, Phys. Lett. B 676, 69 (2009); Proc. Sci., LAT2007 (2007) 290] from big-volume lattice simulations where the so-called ''simulated annealing algorithm'' is applied to fix the Landau gauge.

Modulation of erythrocyte membrane mechanical stability by 2,3-diphosphoglycerate in the neonatal poikilocytosis/elliptocytosis syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Mentzer, W C; Iarocci, T A; Mohandas, N; Lane, P A; Smith, B; Lazerson, J; Hays, T

1987-01-01

To explain the transient anemia and poikilocytosis seen during infancy in hereditary elliptocytosis (HE), we resealed erythrocyte (RBC) ghosts from affected children or their elliptocytic parents with 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) (0-8 mM), a compound that dissociates membrane skeletons, then measured ghost mechanical stability in the ektacytometer. Without added 2,3-DPG, ghost mechanical stability was subnormal in infantile poikilocytosis (IP) and HE but was even more abnormal in hereditary pyropoikilocytosis (HPP). Addition of 2,3-DPG (2.55 mM) to IP or HE ghosts, decreased their stability to that of HPP ghosts (without 2,3-DPG). Nonphysiological 2,3-DPG levels (6-8 mM) were required to elicit a similar effect in normal ghosts. The data suggest that free 2,3-DPG, present in neonatal RBC as a consequence of diminished binding to HbF, may render HE susceptible to in vivo fragmentation. The developmental switch from fetal to adult hemoglobin, by diminishing available free 2,3-DPG, may explain the abatement of poikilocytosis and hemolytic anemia that accompanies maturation. Images PMID:3818955

Experimental evaluation of mechanical and electrical properties of RBC suspensions under flow. Role of RBC deformability

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Antonova, N.; Říha, Pavel; Ivanov, I.

2010-01-01

Roč. 25, 3-4 (2010), s. 45-52 ISSN 1313-2458 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20600510 Keywords : apparent viscosity * conductivity * RBC suspensions * dextran 70 * PEG 35 000 * glutaraldehyde Subject RIV: BK - Fluid Dynamics

Neutron Ghost Imaging Technology Research on CARR Reactor

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2011-01-01

Ghost imaging is also known as quantum imaging. Different from the classical imaging, the neutron ghost imaging is based on the quantum mechanics properties of light field and its intrinsic parallel characteristic, and developed by new optical

Ghost problem of quantum field theories with higher derivatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gavrielides, A.; Kuo, T.K.; Lee, S.Y.

1976-01-01

Second-order theories, i.e., theories described by Lagrangians quadratic in second derivatives of the fields, are carefully examined and their ghost problems are isolated and clearly exhibited. In particular, theories with gauge symmetry are shown to have precisely the same ghost problems as theories without gauge symmetry. It is also shown that massless theories of the same nature are the limit of massive theories containing ghost states

Vertex operators of ghost number three in Type IIB supergravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikhailov, Andrei

2016-01-01

We study the cohomology of the massless BRST complex of the Type IIB pure spinor superstring in flat space. In particular, we find that the cohomology at the ghost number three is nontrivial and transforms in the same representation of the supersymmetry algebra as the solutions of the linearized classical supergravity equations. Modulo some finite dimensional spaces, the ghost number three cohomology is the same as the ghost number two cohomology. We also comment on the difference between the naive and semi-relative cohomology, and the role of b-ghost.

Discriminating plants using the DNA barcode rbcLb: an appraisal based on a large data set.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Wenpan; Cheng, Tao; Li, Changhao; Xu, Chao; Long, Ping; Chen, Chumming; Zhou, Shiliang

2014-03-01

The ideal DNA barcode for plants remains to be discovered, and the candidate barcode rbcL has been met with considerable skepticism since its proposal. In fact, the variability within this gene has never been fully explored across all plant groups from algae to flowering plants, and its performance as a barcode has not been adequately tested. By analysing all of the rbcL sequences currently available in GenBank, we attempted to determine how well a region of rbcL performs as a barcode in species discrimination. We found that the rbcLb region was more variable than the frequently used rbcLa region. Both universal and plant group-specific primers were designed to amplify rbcLb, and the performance of rbcLa and rbcLb was tested in several ways. Using blast, both regions successfully identified all families and nearly all genera; however, the successful species identification rates varied significantly among plant groups, ranging from 24.58% to 85.50% for rbcLa and from 36.67% to 90.89% for rbcLb. Successful species discrimination ranged from 5.19% to 96.33% for rbcLa and from 22.09% to 98.43% for rbcLb in species-rich families, and from 0 to 88.73% for rbcLa and from 2.04% to 100% for rbcLb in species-rich genera. Both regions performed better for lower plants than for higher plants, although rbcLb performed significantly better than rbcLa overall, particularly for angiosperms. Considering the applicability across plants, easy and unambiguous alignment, high primer universality, high sequence quality and high species discrimination power for lower plants, we suggest rbcLb as a universal plant barcode. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Publication ethics and the ghost management of medical publication.

Science.gov (United States)

Sismondo, Sergio; Doucet, Mathieu

2010-07-01

It is by now no secret that some scientific articles are ghost authored - that is, written by someone other than the person whose name appears at the top of the article. Ghost authorship, however, is only one sort of ghosting. In this article, we present evidence that pharmaceutical companies engage in the ghost management of the scientific literature, by controlling or shaping several crucial steps in the research, writing, and publication of scientific articles. Ghost management allows the pharmaceutical industry to shape the literature in ways that serve its interests. This article aims to reinforce and expand publication ethics as an important area of concern for bioethics. Since ghost-managed research is primarily undertaken in the interests of marketing, large quantities of medical research violate not just publication norms but also research ethics. Much of this research involves human subjects, and yet is performed not primarily to increase knowledge for broad human benefit, but to disseminate results in the service of profits. Those who sponsor, manage, conduct, and publish such research therefore behave unethically, since they put patients at risk without justification. This leads us to a strong conclusion: if medical journals want to ensure that the research they publish is ethically sound, they should not publish articles that are commercially sponsored.

Strategi Perancangan Mutu Ripe Banana Chip (RBC Berbasis Harapan Konsumen

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bambang Herry P

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Ripe Banana Chip (RBC, merupakan salah satu jenis kripik yang dibuat dari pisang masak. RBC dapat dilakukan dengan menggunakan teknologi penggorengan vakum (vacum frying ataupun pembekuan (freezing. RBC pisang mas cukup banyak memiliki keunggulan dari nilai gizinya. Produk ini masih belum diketahui tingkat kesesuain mutunya dengan keinginan konsumen dilihat dari aspek fisik ataupun organoleptik. Tujuan penelitian ini agar dapat mengetahui rancangan mutu yang tepat untuk produk RBC pisang mas. Penelitian ini menggunakan tiga metode, diantaranya metode skoring, Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI, dan metode diagram tulang ikan. Hasil dari penelitian, yaitu : warna RBC dengan intensitas 5,56 (kuning dan skor 3,862 (suka ; informasi kemasan dengan intensitas 4,5 (setuju dan skor 3,534 (suka ; kenyamanan kemasan dengan intensitas 8,58 (nyaman dan skor 4,155 (suka ; keamanan kemasan dengan intensitas 8,15 (sangat aman dan skor 4,086 (suka ; ketebalan dengan intensitas 8,31(sangat tebal dan skor 1,604 (sangat tidak suka ; Oil dengan intensitas 4,86 (banyak dan skor 2,483 (tidak suka ; kerenyahan dengan intensitas 7,32 (keras dan skor 2,843 (cukup suka ; Easy of breaking dengan intensitas 5,17 (mudah dipatahkan dan skor 3,158 (cukup suka ; rasa manis dengan intensitas 7,89 (manis dan skor 3,208 (cukup suka ; rasa asam dengan intensitas 4,84 (agak asam dan skor 3,309 (cukup suka. Nilai CSI yang dihasilkan, yaitu sebesar 64% (puas. Strategi untuk meningkatkan mutu RBC diantaranya: mengurangi ukuran ketebalan bahan baku sebelum diproses; lebih dipertimbangkan lagi tingkat kematangan pisang; memberi pengarahan dan motivasi kepada pekerja; melakukan pengawasan saat produksi berlangsung; lebih memperhatikan keseragaman ukuran pisang, dan menggunakan alternatif lain dalam penirisan minyak, misalnya sentrifuse agar keberadaan minyak berkurang.

BRST cohomology of the superstring at arbitrary ghost number

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horowitz, G.T.; Myers, R.C.; Martin, S.P.

1989-01-01

We investigate the cohomology of the BRST operator of the NSR superstring. No restriction is placed on the ghost number of the states. It is shown that every cohomology class can be written as a picture changed version of one of the known cohomology classes at a fixed ghost number. A generalization of this result is also found for the cohomology in the large algebra of a new bosonization of the superconformal ghosts. (orig.)

Some issues in the ghost condensation scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anisimov, A.

2004-01-01

In the recently proposed 'ghost condensation' scenario a model of consistent infrared modification of gravity was suggested. We first review the basic ideas of this scenario. We discuss various phenomenological aspects of the ghost condensation, such as stability of the condensate, bounds on the UV cut-off scale of the corresponding effective field theory and other issues. (author)

Variational method for lattice spectroscopy with ghosts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burch, Tommy; Hagen, Christian; Gattringer, Christof; Glozman, Leonid Ya.; Lang, C.B.

2006-01-01

We discuss the variational method used in lattice spectroscopy calculations. In particular we address the role of ghost contributions which appear in quenched or partially quenched simulations and have a nonstandard euclidean time dependence. We show that the ghosts can be separated from the physical states. Our result is illustrated with numerical data for the scalar meson

Ghost Imaging of Space Objects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strekalov, Dmitry V; Erkmen, Baris I; Yu Nan

2013-01-01

The term 'ghost imaging' was coined in 1995 when an optical correlation measurement in combination with an entangled photon-pair source was used to image a mask placed in one optical channel by raster-scanning a detector in the other, empty, optical channel. Later, it was shown that the entangled photon source could be replaced with thermal sources of light, which are abundantly available as natural illumination sources. It was also shown that the bucket detector could be replaced with a remote point-like detector, opening the possibility to remote-sensing imaging applications. In this paper, we discuss the application of ghost-imaging-like techniques to astronomy, with the objective of detecting intensity-correlation signatures resulting from space objects of interest, such as exo-planets, gas clouds, and gravitational lenses. An important aspect of being able to utilize ghost imaging in astronomy, is the recognition that in interstellar imaging geometries the object of interest can act as an effective beam splitter, yielding detectable variations in the intensity-correlation signature.

Masslessness of ghosts in equivariantly gauge-fixed Yang-Mills theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golterman, Maarten; Zimmerman, Leah

2005-01-01

We show that the one-loop ghost self-energy in an equivariantly gauge-fixed Yang-Mills theory vanishes at zero momentum. A ghost mass is forbidden by equivariant BRST symmetry, and our calculation confirms this explicitly. The four-ghost self interaction which appears in the equivariantly gauge-fixed Yang-Mills theory is needed in order to obtain this result

Antioxidant effect of 4-nerolidylcatechol and α-tocopherol in erythrocyte ghost membranes and phospholipid bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, K.S.; Silva, A.H.M.; Mendanha, S.A.; Rezende, K.R.; Alonso, A.

2013-01-01

4-Nerolidylcatechol (4-NC) is found in Pothomorphe umbellata root extracts and is reported to have a topical protective effect against UVB radiation-induced skin damage, toxicity in melanoma cell lines, and antimalarial activity. We report a comparative study of the antioxidant activity of 4-NC and α-tocopherol against lipid peroxidation initiated by two free radical-generating systems: 2,2′-azobis(2-aminopropane) hydrochloride (AAPH) and FeSO4/H2O2, in red blood cell ghost membranes and in egg phosphatidylcholine (PC) vesicles. Lipid peroxidation was monitored by membrane fluidity changes assessed by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy of a spin-labeled lipid and by the formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances. When lipoperoxidation was initiated by the hydroxyl radical in erythrocyte ghost membranes, both 4-NC and α-tocopherol acted in a very efficient manner. However, lower activities were observed when lipoperoxidation was initiated by the peroxyl radical; and, in this case, the protective effect of α-tocopherol was lower than that of 4-NC. In egg PC vesicles, malondialdehyde formation indicated that 4-NC was effective against lipoperoxidation initiated by both AAPH and FeSO4/H2O2, whereas α-tocopherol was less efficient in protecting against lipoperoxidation by AAPH, and behaved as a pro-oxidant for FeSO4/H2O2. The DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free-radical assay indicated that two free radicals were scavenged per 4-NC molecule, and one free radical was scavenged per α-tocopherol molecule. These data provide new insights into the antioxidant capacity of 4-NC, which may have therapeutic applications for formulations designed to protect the skin from sunlight irradiation. PMID:24068194

Antioxidant effect of 4-nerolidylcatechol and α-tocopherol in erythrocyte ghost membranes and phospholipid bilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fernandes, K. S.; Silva, A. H.M.; Mendanha, S. A. [Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO (Brazil); Rezende, K. R. [Laboratório de Biofarmácia e Farmacocinética de Substâncias Bioativas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO (Brazil); Alonso, A. [Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO (Brazil)

2013-09-06

4-Nerolidylcatechol (4-NC) is found in Pothomorphe umbellata root extracts and is reported to have a topical protective effect against UVB radiation-induced skin damage, toxicity in melanoma cell lines, and antimalarial activity. We report a comparative study of the antioxidant activity of 4-NC and α-tocopherol against lipid peroxidation initiated by two free radical-generating systems: 2,2′-azobis(2-aminopropane) hydrochloride (AAPH) and FeSO{sub 4}/H{sub 2}O{sub 2}, in red blood cell ghost membranes and in egg phosphatidylcholine (PC) vesicles. Lipid peroxidation was monitored by membrane fluidity changes assessed by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy of a spin-labeled lipid and by the formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances. When lipoperoxidation was initiated by the hydroxyl radical in erythrocyte ghost membranes, both 4-NC and α-tocopherol acted in a very efficient manner. However, lower activities were observed when lipoperoxidation was initiated by the peroxyl radical; and, in this case, the protective effect of α-tocopherol was lower than that of 4-NC. In egg PC vesicles, malondialdehyde formation indicated that 4-NC was effective against lipoperoxidation initiated by both AAPH and FeSO{sub 4}/H{sub 2}O{sub 2}, whereas α-tocopherol was less efficient in protecting against lipoperoxidation by AAPH, and behaved as a pro-oxidant for FeSO{sub 4}/H{sub 2}O{sub 2}. The DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free-radical assay indicated that two free radicals were scavenged per 4-NC molecule, and one free radical was scavenged per α-tocopherol molecule. These data provide new insights into the antioxidant capacity of 4-NC, which may have therapeutic applications for formulations designed to protect the skin from sunlight irradiation.

Red blood cell (RBC) suspensions in confined microflows: Pressure-flow relationship.

Science.gov (United States)

Stauber, Hagit; Waisman, Dan; Korin, Netanel; Sznitman, Josué

2017-10-01

Microfluidic-based assays have become increasingly popular to explore microcirculation in vitro. In these experiments, blood is resuspended to a desired haematocrit level in a buffer solution, where frequent choices for preparing RBC suspensions comprise notably Dextran and physiological buffer. Yet, the rational for selecting one buffer versus another is often ill-defined and lacks detailed quantification, including ensuing changes in RBC flow characteristics. Here, we revisit RBC suspensions in microflows and attempt to quantify systematically some of the differences emanating between buffers. We measure bulk flow rate (Q) of RBC suspensions, using PBS- and Dextran-40, as a function of the applied pressure drop (ΔP) for two hematocrits (∼0% and 23%). Two distinct microfluidic designs of varying dimensions are employed: a straight channel larger than and a network array similar to the size of individual RBCs. Using the resulting pressure-flow curves, we extract the equivalent hydrodynamic resistances and estimate the relative viscosities. These efforts are a first step in rigorously quantifying the influence of the 'background' buffer on RBC flows within microfluidic devices and thereby underline the importance of purposefully selecting buffer suspensions for microfluidic in vitro assays. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Analysis of ghost image in high power laser system using computer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Qingquan; Liu Jinsong; Wang Kejia; Zhu Qihua; Zhao Runchang; Wang Fang

2011-01-01

Using a self-made software named CatchGhost the ghost points' position and energy in a coaxial optic systems were calculated accurately in a short time without omission. The software can carry out massive calculation in a short time, and pick out the harmful ghosts in system automatically. Because all the elements which are related to beams' energy,including the pinhole' effect, reflectivity,gain and loss,are counted, data of ghost points given by the software are exact and useful. (authors)

Geometric ghosts and unitarity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ne'eman, Y.

1980-09-01

A review is given of the geometrical identification of the renormalization ghosts and the resulting derivation of Unitarity equations (BRST) for various gauges: Yang-Mills, Kalb-Ramond, and Soft-Group-Manifold

Ghost neutrinos as test fields in curved space-time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Audretsch, J.

1976-01-01

Without restricting to empty space-times, it is shown that ghost neutrinos (their energy-momentum tensor vanishes) can only be found in algebraically special space-times with a neutrino flux vector parallel to one of the principal null vectors of the conformal tensor. The optical properties are studied. There are no ghost neutrinos in the Kerr-Newman and in spherically symmetric space-times. The example of a non-vacuum gravitational pp-wave accompanied by a ghost neutrino pp-wave is discussed. (Auth.)

Ghost basis for neutrino

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novello, M.

1976-07-01

A class of solutions of DIRAC'S equation in gravitational fields for ghost neutrinos is given. Comments are restricted to the neutrino cosmological model recently found by M. Novello e I.D. Soares [pt

Ghost imaging with bucket detection and point detection

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, De-Jian; Yin, Rao; Wang, Tong-Biao; Liao, Qing-Hua; Li, Hong-Guo; Liao, Qinghong; Liu, Jiang-Tao

2018-04-01

We experimentally investigate ghost imaging with bucket detection and point detection in which three types of illuminating sources are applied: (a) pseudo-thermal light source; (b) amplitude modulated true thermal light source; (c) amplitude modulated laser source. Experimental results show that the quality of ghost images reconstructed with true thermal light or laser beam is insensitive to the usage of bucket or point detector, however, the quality of ghost images reconstructed with pseudo-thermal light in bucket detector case is better than that in point detector case. Our theoretical analysis shows that the reason for this is due to the first order transverse coherence of the illuminating source.

New Mexico Ghost Towns

Data.gov (United States)

Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — This data provides locations and non-spatial attributes of many ghost towns in the State of New Mexico, compiled from various sources. Locations provided with...

The study of x-ray photo-electron spectroscopy of 99mTc-RBC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Chunyi

1994-01-01

99m Tc-RBC are widely used as visualization agents for a blood pool. In this research 99m Tc-RBC was prepared by in vivo labeling. The chemical state and changes of 99m Tc atoms in 99m Tc-RBC was determined by x-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS). The stability of 99m Tc-RBC is best shown by the determination of XPS at one hour or at two hours after labeling. There are two ways of coordination of bonding of RBC and 99m Tc: One is the coordination of 99m Tc with the oxygen atom which carries a negative charge of the carboxyl radical on the polypeptide bond, the other is the coordination of 99m Tc with a sulfur atom which caries the negative charge of cysteine. From the E b value of 99m Tc-RBC 99m Tc 3d5/2, it can be inferred that 99m Tc of 99m Tc-RBC is less than a trivalent. At the same time, the results of the determination by XPS with the compounds containing 99 TcO 4 - , 99 Tc(V), 99 Tc(IV) and 99 Tc(III) show that the chemical shift is lowered as the reduction state is lowered. Experimental results coincide with theoretical inferences

UV-extending Ghost Inflation

CERN Document Server

Ivanov, Mikhail M

2014-01-01

We present a setup that provides a partial UV-completion of the ghost inflation model up to a scale which can be almost as high as the Planck mass. This is achieved by coupling the inflaton to the Lorentz-violating sector described by the Einstein-aether theory or its khronometric version. Compared to previous works on ghost inflation our setup allows to go beyond the study of small perturbations and include the background dynamics in a unified framework. In the specific regime when the expansion of the Universe is dominated by the kinetic energy of the inflaton we find that the model predicts rather high tensor-to-scalar ratio r ~ 0.02 $\\div$ 0.2 and non-Gaussianity of equilateral type with f_NL in the range from -50 to -5.

Ghost responses of the FitzHugh–Nagumo system induced by colored noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bordet, M.; Morfu, S.; Marquié, P.

2015-01-01

We investigate both numerically and experimentally how the triggering of Ghost Stochastic Resonance is affected by colored noise in a FitzHugh–Nagumo circuit. It is experimentally shown that when the circuit is excited with a bichromatic signal, weak colored noise can induce a response with a main ghost frequency which is not present in the excitation. We analyze the occurrence of this ghost frequency versus the noise intensity and the correlation time of the colored noise. Numerical simulations and experiments confirm that for larger noise correlation time, submultiples of this ghost frequency dominate the system response while the previous expected ghost frequency is less observed

Theoretical scheme of thermal-light many-ghost imaging by Nth-order intensity correlation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Yingchuan; Kuang Leman

2011-01-01

In this paper, we propose a theoretical scheme of many-ghost imaging in terms of Nth-order correlated thermal light. We obtain the Gaussian thin lens equations in the many-ghost imaging protocol. We show that it is possible to produce N-1 ghost images of an object at different places in a nonlocal fashion by means of a higher order correlated imaging process with an Nth-order correlated thermal source and correlation measurements. We investigate the visibility of the ghost images in the scheme and obtain the upper bounds of the visibility for the Nth-order correlated thermal-light ghost imaging. It is found that the visibility of the ghost images can be dramatically enhanced when the order of correlation becomes larger. It is pointed out that the many-ghost imaging phenomenon is an observable physical effect induced by higher order coherence or higher order correlations of optical fields.

Delayed transitions in non-linear replicator networks: About ghosts and hypercycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sardanyes, Josep; Sole, Ricard V.

2007-01-01

In this paper we analyze delayed transition phenomena associated to extinction thresholds in a mean field model for hypercycles composed of three and four units, respectively. Hence, we extend a previous analysis carried out with the two-membered hypercycle [see Sardanyes J, Sole RV. Ghosts in the origins of life? Int J Bifurcation Chaos 2006;16(9), in press]. The models we analyze show that, after the tangent bifurcation, these hypercycles also leave a ghost in phase space. These ghosts, which actually conserve the dynamical properties of the coalesced coexistence fixed point, delay the flows before hypercycle extinction. In contrast with the two-component hypercycle, both ghosts show a plateau in the delay as φ → 0, thus displacing the power-law dependence to higher values of φ, in which the scaling law is now given by τ ∼ φ β , with β = -1/3 (where τ is the delay and φ = ε - ε c , the parametric distance above the extinction bifurcation point). These results suggest that the presence of the ghost is a general property of hypercycles. Such ghosts actually cause a memory effect which might increase hypercycle survival chances in fluctuating environments

Comparison of the signal-to-noise characteristics of quantum versus thermal ghost imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Sullivan, Malcolm N.; Chan, Kam Wai Clifford; Boyd, Robert W.

2010-01-01

We present a theoretical comparison of the signal-to-noise characteristics of quantum versus thermal ghost imaging. We first calculate the signal-to-noise ratio of each process in terms of its controllable experimental conditions. We show that a key distinction is that a thermal ghost image always resides on top of a large background; the fluctuations in this background constitutes an intrinsic noise source for thermal ghost imaging. In contrast, there is a negligible intrinsic background to a quantum ghost image. However, for practical reasons involving achievable illumination levels, acquisition times for thermal ghost images are often much shorter than those for quantum ghost images. We provide quantitative predictions for the conditions under which each process provides superior performance. Our conclusion is that each process can provide useful functionality, although under complementary conditions.

Ghost sector of vacuum string field theory and the projection equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Potting, Robertus; Raeymaekers, Joris

2002-01-01

We study the ghost sector of vacuum string field theory where the BRST operator Q is given by the midpoint insertion proposed by Gaiotto, Rastelli, Sen and Zwiebach. We introduce a convenient basis of half-string modes in terms of which Q takes a particularly simple form. We show that there exists a field redefinition which reduces the ghost sector field equation to a pure projection equation for string fields satisfying the constraint that the ghost number is equally divided over the left- and right halves of the string. When this constraint is imposed, vacuum string field theory can be reformulated as a U(∞) cubic matrix model. Ghost sector solutions can be constructed from projection operators on half-string Hilbert space just as in the matter sector. We construct the ghost sector equivalent of various well-known matter sector projectors such as the sliver, butterfly and nothing states. (author)

Living with ghosts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hawking, S.W.; Hertog, Thomas

2002-01-01

Perturbation theory for gravity in dimensions greater than two requires higher derivatives in the free action. Higher derivatives seem to lead to ghosts, states with negative norm. We consider a fourth order scalar field theory and show that the problem with ghosts arises because, in the canonical treatment, φ and □φ are regarded as two independent variables. Instead, we base quantum theory on a path integral, evaluated in Euclidean space and then Wick rotated to Lorentzian space. The path integral requires that quantum states be specified by the values of φ and φ ,τ . To calculate probabilities for observations, one has to trace out over φ ,τ on the final surface. Hence one loses unitarity, but one can never produce a negative norm state or get a negative probability. It is shown that transition probabilities tend toward those of the second order theory, as the coefficient of the fourth order term in the action tends to zero. Hence unitarity is restored at the low energies that now occur in the universe

Elimination of ghost markers during dual sensor-based infrared tracking of multiple individual reflective markers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stroian, G.; Falco, T.; Seuntjens, J.P.

2004-01-01

The accuracy of dose delivery in radiotherapy is affected by the uncertainty in tumor localization. Motion of internal anatomy due to physiological processes such as respiration may lead to significant displacements which compromise tumor coverage and generate irradiation of healthy tissue. Real-time tracking with infrared-based systems is often used for tracking thoracic motion in radiation therapy. We studied the origin of ghost markers ('crosstalk') which may appear during dual sensor-based infrared tracking of independent reflective markers. Ghost markers occur when two or more reflective markers are coplanar with each other and with the sensors of the two camera-based infrared tracking system. Analysis shows that sensors are not points but they have a finite extent and this extent determines for each marker a 'ghost volume'. If one reflective marker enters the ghost volume of another marker, ghost markers will be reported by the tracking system; if the reflective markers belong to a surface their 'ghost volume' is reduced to a 'ghost surface' (ghost zone). Appearance of ghost markers is predicted for markers taped on the torso of an anthropomorphic phantom. This study illustrates the dependence of the shape, extent, and location of the ghost zones on the shape of the anthropomorphic phantom, the angle of view of the tracking system, and the distance between the tracking system and the anthropomorphic phantom. It is concluded that the appearance of ghost markers can be avoided by positioning the markers outside the ghost zones of the other markers. However, if this is not possible and the initial marker configuration is ghost marker-free, ghost markers can be eliminated during real-time tracking by virtue of the fact that they appear in the coordinate data sequence only temporarily

Gribov's horizon and the ghost dressing function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boucaud, Ph.; Leroy, J. P.; Le Yaouanc, A.; Micheli, J.; Pene, O.; Rodriguez-Quintero, J.

2009-01-01

We study a relation recently derived by K. Kondo at zero momentum between the Zwanziger's horizon function, the ghost dressing function and Kugo's functions u and w. We agree with this result as far as bare quantities are considered. However, assuming the validity of the horizon gap equation, we argue that the solution w(0)=0 is not acceptable since it would lead to a vanishing renormalized ghost dressing function. On the contrary, when the cutoff goes to infinity, u(0)→∞, w(0)→-∞ such that u(0)+w(0)→-1. Furthermore w and u are not multiplicatively renormalizable. Relaxing the gap equation allows w(0)=0 with u(0)→-1. In both cases the bare ghost dressing function, F(0,Λ), goes logarithmically to infinity at infinite cutoff. We show that, although the lattice results provide bare results not so different from the F(0,Λ)=3 solution, this is an accident due to the fact that the lattice cutoffs lie in the range 1-3 GeV -1 . We show that the renormalized ghost dressing function should be finite and nonzero at zero momentum and can be reliably estimated on the lattice up to powers of the lattice spacing; from published data on a 80 4 lattice at β=5.7 we obtain F R (0,μ=1.5 GeV)≅2.2.

Ghost Spectroscopy with Classical Thermal Light Emitted by a Superluminescent Diode

Science.gov (United States)

Janassek, Patrick; Blumenstein, Sébastien; Elsäßer, Wolfgang

2018-02-01

We propose and realize the first classical ghost-imaging (GI) experiment in the frequency or wavelength domain, thus performing ghost spectroscopy using thermal light exhibiting photon bunching. The required wavelength correlations are provided by light emitted by spectrally broadband near-infrared amplified spontaneous emission of a semiconductor-based superluminescent diode. They are characterized by wavelength-resolved intensity cross-correlation measurements utilizing two-photon-absorption interferometry. Finally, a real-world spectroscopic application of this ghost spectroscopy with a classical light scheme is demonstrated in which an absorption band of trichloromethane (chloroform) at 1214 nm is reconstructed with a spectral resolution of 10 nm as a proof-of-principle experiment. This ghost-spectroscopy work fills the gap of a hitherto missing analogy between the spatial and the spectral domain in classical GI modalities, with the expectation of contributing towards a broader dissemination of correlated photon ghost modalities, hence paving the way towards more applications which exploit the favorable advantages.

Experimental evaluation of mechanical and electrical properties of RBC suspensions under flow. Role of RBC aggregating agent

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Antonova, N.; Říha, Pavel; Ivanov, I.

2010-01-01

Roč. 45, 2-4 (2010), s. 253-261 ISSN 1386-0291 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA200600803 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20600510 Keywords : apparent viscosity * conductivity * unsteady flow * RBC suspensions * dextrans * PEG Subject RIV: BK - Fluid Dynamics Impact factor: 2.838, year: 2010

Gravitational lensing and ghost images in the regular Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schee, Jan; Stuchlík, Zdeněk

2015-01-01

We study deflection of light rays and gravitational lensing in the regular Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes. Flatness of these spacetimes in the central region implies existence of interesting optical effects related to photons crossing the gravitational field of the no-horizon spacetimes with low impact parameters. These effects occur due to existence of a critical impact parameter giving maximal deflection of light rays in the Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes. We give the critical impact parameter in dependence on the specific charge of the spacetimes, and discuss 'ghost' direct and indirect images of Keplerian discs, generated by photons with low impact parameters. The ghost direct images can occur only for large inclination angles of distant observers, while ghost indirect images can occur also for small inclination angles. We determine the range of the frequency shift of photons generating the ghost images and determine distribution of the frequency shift across these images. We compare them to those of the standard direct images of the Keplerian discs. The difference of the ranges of the frequency shift on the ghost and direct images could serve as a quantitative measure of the Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes. The regions of the Keplerian discs giving the ghost images are determined in dependence on the specific charge of the no-horizon spacetimes. For comparison we construct direct and indirect (ordinary and ghost) images of Keplerian discs around Reissner-Nördström naked singularities demonstrating a clear qualitative difference to the ghost direct images in the regular Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes. The optical effects related to the low impact parameter photons thus give clear signature of the regular Bardeen no-horizon spacetimes, as no similar phenomena could occur in the black hole or naked singularity spacetimes. Similar direct ghost images have to occur in any regular no-horizon spacetimes having nearly flat central region

Preoperative diagnosis of orbital cavernous hemangioma: a 99mTc-RBC SPECT study.

Science.gov (United States)

Burroni, Luca; Borsari, Giulia; Pichierri, Patrizia; Polito, Ennio; Toscano, Olga; Grassetto, Gaia; Al-Nahhas, Adil; Rubello, Domenico; Vattimo, Angelo Giuseppe

2012-11-01

This study aimed to describe 99mTc-labeled RBC scintigraphy as a diagnostic method for orbital cavernous hemangiomas and to evaluate this diagnostic tool according to surgical outcomes. Fifty-five patients with clinical and radiological (US, CT, and/or MRI) suspicion of unilateral cavernous hemangioma of the orbit underwent 99mTc-RBC SPECT study.Qualitative and semiquantitative evaluations were performed, and results were statistically analyzed. SPECT images showed focal uptake in the orbital mass in 36 of 55 patients. Nineteen patients had a negative scintigraphic pattern, with concordance of early and late absence of uptake of 99mTc-RBC.Our procedure showed 100% sensitivity and 88.9% specificity for the diagnosis of orbital cavernous hemangioma, with a positive predictive value of 90.9% and a negative predictive value of 100%. 99mTc-RBC imaging is safe, easy to perform, and highly accurate in providing adequate clinical and surgical management. As a noninvasive and highly specific method for diagnosing orbital hemangioma, 99mTc-RBC scintigraphy can avoid more invasive imaging or biopsy.

Peripheral dentinogenic ghost cell tumor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sushant S Kamat

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Dentinogenic ghost cell tumors (DGCT are uncommon lesions mainly with rare peripheral types. This report presents a case of peripheral DGCT on the left side of the mandibular alveolar ridge of a heavy smoker, a 68-year-old man, with main presenting feature as a mild pain. Submandibular lymphadenopathy and radiological "saucerization" were evident. Differential diagnosis included fibroma, neurofibroma, peripheral ameloblastoma, peripheral odontogenic fibroma, and peripheral giant cell granuloma. Histologically, ameloblastoma-like epithelial elements were seen in association with grouped ghost cells. Proliferating polyhedral cells and stellate reticulum-like cells with various densities were spread over a wide range of the field. The lesion was curetted and after 2 years of follow up, it did not recur.

Analysis of Generalized Ghost Dark Energy in LQC and Galileon Gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biswas, Mahasweta; Debnath, Ujjal

2016-01-01

A so-called ghost dark energy was recently proposed to explain the present acceleration of the universe. The energy density of ghost dark energy, which originates from Veneziano ghost of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), in a time dependent background, can be written in the form, ρ_D = (αH + βH"2) where H is the Hubble parameter. We investigate the generalized ghost dark energy (GGDE) model in the setup of loop quantum Cosmology (LQC) and Galileon Cosmology. We study the cosmological implications of the models. We also obtain the equation of state and the deceleration parameters and differential equations governing the evolution of this dark energy model for LQC and Galileon Cosmology. (paper)

Evidence of ghost suppression in gluon mass scale dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Aguilar, A. C.; Binosi, D.; Figueiredo, C. T.; Papavassiliou, J.

2018-03-01

In this work we study the impact that the ghost sector of pure Yang-Mills theories may have on the generation of a dynamical gauge boson mass scale, which hinges on the appearance of massless poles in the fundamental vertices of the theory, and the subsequent realization of the well-known Schwinger mechanism. The process responsible for the formation of such structures is itself dynamical in nature, and is governed by a set of Bethe-Salpeter type of integral equations. While in previous studies the presence of massless poles was assumed to be exclusively associated with the background-gauge three-gluon vertex, in the present analysis we allow them to appear also in the corresponding ghost-gluon vertex. The full analysis of the resulting Bethe-Salpeter system reveals that the contribution of the poles associated with the ghost-gluon vertex are particularly suppressed, their sole discernible effect being a slight modification in the running of the gluon mass scale, for momenta larger than a few GeV. In addition, we examine the behavior of the (background-gauge) ghost-gluon vertex in the limit of vanishing ghost momentum, and derive the corresponding version of Taylor's theorem. These considerations, together with a suitable Ansatz, permit us the full reconstruction of the pole sector of the two vertices involved.

An improved ghost-cell immersed boundary method for compressible flow simulations

KAUST Repository

Chi, Cheng

2016-05-20

This study presents an improved ghost-cell immersed boundary approach to represent a solid body in compressible flow simulations. In contrast to the commonly used approaches, in the present work ghost cells are mirrored through the boundary described using a level-set method to farther image points, incorporating a higher-order extra/interpolation scheme for the ghost cell values. A sensor is introduced to deal with image points near the discontinuities in the flow field. Adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) is used to improve the representation of the geometry efficiently in the Cartesian grid system. The improved ghost-cell method is validated against four test cases: (a) double Mach reflections on a ramp, (b) smooth Prandtl-Meyer expansion flows, (c) supersonic flows in a wind tunnel with a forward-facing step, and (d) supersonic flows over a circular cylinder. It is demonstrated that the improved ghost-cell method can reach the accuracy of second order in L1 norm and higher than first order in L∞ norm. Direct comparisons against the cut-cell method demonstrate that the improved ghost-cell method is almost equally accurate with better efficiency for boundary representation in high-fidelity compressible flow simulations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ghost Imaging of Space Objects

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Ghost imaging is an optical imaging technique that utilizes the correlations between optical fields in two channels. One of the channels contains the object, however...

Ghost anomalous dimension in asymptotically safe quantum gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eichhorn, Astrid; Gies, Holger

2010-01-01

We compute the ghost anomalous dimension within the asymptotic-safety scenario for quantum gravity. For a class of covariant gauge fixings and using a functional renormalization group scheme, the anomalous dimension η c is negative, implying an improved UV behavior of ghost fluctuations. At the non-Gaussian UV fixed point, we observe a maximum value of η c ≅-0.78 for the Landau-deWitt gauge within the given scheme and truncation. Most importantly, the backreaction of the ghost flow onto the Einstein-Hilbert sector preserves the non-Gaussian fixed point with only mild modifications of the fixed-point values for the gravitational coupling and cosmological constant and the associated critical exponents; also their gauge dependence is slightly reduced. Our results provide further evidence for the asymptotic-safety scenario of quantum gravity.

Multiple-capillary measurement of RBC speed, flux, and density with optical coherence tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jonghwan; Wu, Weicheng; Lesage, Frederic; Boas, David A

2013-11-01

As capillaries exhibit heterogeneous and fluctuating dynamics even during baseline, a technique measuring red blood cell (RBC) speed and flux over many capillaries at the same time is needed. Here, we report that optical coherence tomography can capture individual RBC passage simultaneously over many capillaries located at different depths. Further, we demonstrate the ability to quantify RBC speed, flux, and linear density. This technique will provide a means to monitor microvascular flow dynamics over many capillaries at different depths at the same time.

Computational Ghost Imaging for Remote Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Erkmen, Baris I.

2012-01-01

This work relates to the generic problem of remote active imaging; that is, a source illuminates a target of interest and a receiver collects the scattered light off the target to obtain an image. Conventional imaging systems consist of an imaging lens and a high-resolution detector array [e.g., a CCD (charge coupled device) array] to register the image. However, conventional imaging systems for remote sensing require high-quality optics and need to support large detector arrays and associated electronics. This results in suboptimal size, weight, and power consumption. Computational ghost imaging (CGI) is a computational alternative to this traditional imaging concept that has a very simple receiver structure. In CGI, the transmitter illuminates the target with a modulated light source. A single-pixel (bucket) detector collects the scattered light. Then, via computation (i.e., postprocessing), the receiver can reconstruct the image using the knowledge of the modulation that was projected onto the target by the transmitter. This way, one can construct a very simple receiver that, in principle, requires no lens to image a target. Ghost imaging is a transverse imaging modality that has been receiving much attention owing to a rich interconnection of novel physical characteristics and novel signal processing algorithms suitable for active computational imaging. The original ghost imaging experiments consisted of two correlated optical beams traversing distinct paths and impinging on two spatially-separated photodetectors: one beam interacts with the target and then illuminates on a single-pixel (bucket) detector that provides no spatial resolution, whereas the other beam traverses an independent path and impinges on a high-resolution camera without any interaction with the target. The term ghost imaging was coined soon after the initial experiments were reported, to emphasize the fact that by cross-correlating two photocurrents, one generates an image of the target. In

Lag and ghosting in a clinical flat-panel selenium digital mammography system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bloomquist, Aili K.; Yaffe, Martin J.; Mawdsley, Gordon E.; Hunter, David M.; Beideck, Daniel J.

2006-01-01

We present measurements of lag and ghosting in a FDA-approved digital mammography system that uses a dielectric/selenium based detector structure. Lag is the carryover of signal from a previous image, whereas ghosting is the reduction of sensitivity caused by previous exposure history of the detector. Data from six selenium units were acquired. For the type of selenium detector tested, and under typical clinical usage conditions, the lag was as high as 0.15% of source signal and the ghosting could be as high as 15%. The amount of lag and ghosting varied from unit to unit. Results were compared with data acquired on a phosphor-based full-field digital mammography system. Modifications in the technology of the selenium detectors appear to have resulted in a marked decrease in both lag and ghosting effects in more recent systems

Exorcising ghosts in induced gravity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Narain, Gaurav [Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics China (KITPC), Institute of Theoretical Physics, Beijing (China)

2017-10-15

Unitarity of the scale-invariant coupled theory of higher-derivative gravity and matter is investigated. A scalar field coupled with a Dirac fermion is taken as the matter sector. Following the idea of induced gravity the Einstein-Hilbert term is generated via dynamical symmetry breaking of scale invariance. The renormalisation group flows are computed and one-loop RG improved effective potential of scalar is calculated. The scalar field develops a new minimum via the Coleman-Weinberg procedure inducing the Newton constant and masses in the matter sector. The spin-2 problematic ghost and the spin-0 mode of the metric fluctuation get a mass in the broken phase of the theory. The energy dependence of the vacuum expectation value in the RG improved scenario implies a running for the induced parameters. This sets up platform to ask whether it is possible to evade the spin-2 ghost by keeping its mass always above the running energy scale? In broken phase this question is satisfactorily answered for a large domain of coupling parameter space where the ghost is evaded. The spin-0 mode can be made physically realisable or not depending upon the choice of the initial parameters. The induced Newton constant is seen to vanish in the ultraviolet case. By properly choosing parameters it is possible to make the matter fields physically unrealisable. (orig.)

An Improved Ghost-cell Immersed Boundary Method for Compressible Inviscid Flow Simulations

KAUST Repository

Chi, Cheng

2015-05-01

This study presents an improved ghost-cell immersed boundary approach to represent a solid body in compressible flow simulations. In contrast to the commonly used approaches, in the present work ghost cells are mirrored through the boundary described using a level-set method to farther image points, incorporating a higher-order extra/interpolation scheme for the ghost cell values. In addition, a shock sensor is in- troduced to deal with image points near the discontinuities in the flow field. Adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) is used to improve the representation of the geometry efficiently. The improved ghost-cell method is validated against five test cases: (a) double Mach reflections on a ramp, (b) supersonic flows in a wind tunnel with a forward- facing step, (c) supersonic flows over a circular cylinder, (d) smooth Prandtl-Meyer expansion flows, and (e) steady shock-induced combustion over a wedge. It is demonstrated that the improved ghost-cell method can reach the accuracy of second order in L1 norm and higher than first order in L∞ norm. Direct comparisons against the cut-cell method demonstrate that the improved ghost-cell method is almost equally accurate with better efficiency for boundary representation in high-fidelity compressible flow simulations. Implementation of the improved ghost-cell method in reacting Euler flows further validates its general applicability for compressible flow simulations.

QCD ghost f(T)-gravity model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karami, K.; Abdolmaleki, A.; Asadzadeh, S. [University of Kurdistan, Department of Physics, Sanandaj (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Safari, Z. [Research Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics of Maragha (RIAAM), Maragha (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2013-09-15

Within the framework of modified teleparallel gravity, we reconstruct a f(T) model corresponding to the QCD ghost dark energy scenario. For a spatially flat FRW universe containing only the pressureless matter, we obtain the time evolution of the torsion scalar T (or the Hubble parameter). Then, we calculate the effective torsion equation of state parameter of the QCD ghost f(T)-gravity model as well as the deceleration parameter of the universe. Furthermore, we fit the model parameters by using the latest observational data including SNeIa, CMB and BAO data. We also check the viability of our model using a cosmographic analysis approach. Moreover, we investigate the validity of the generalized second law (GSL) of gravitational thermodynamics for our model. Finally, we point out the growth rate of matter density perturbation. We conclude that in QCD ghost f(T)-gravity model, the universe begins a matter dominated phase and approaches a de Sitter regime at late times, as expected. Also this model is consistent with current data, passes the cosmographic test, satisfies the GSL and fits the data of the growth factor well as the {Lambda}CDM model. (orig.)

Visions of Inflation in World History: Ghost Story III

Science.gov (United States)

Niederjohn, M. Scott; Schug, Mark C.; Wood, William C.

2013-01-01

This article represents the third in a "ghost story" series by the same authors. Readers may recall that Mr. Bernanke was "visited" by the ghosts of Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes in the March/April 2010 issue of "Social Education" as these two famous economists debated the economic recovery (see EJ878912). Mr.…

Modulation of erythrocyte membrane mechanical stability by 2,3-diphosphoglycerate in the neonatal poikilocytosis/elliptocytosis syndrome.

OpenAIRE

Mentzer, W C; Iarocci, T A; Mohandas, N; Lane, P A; Smith, B; Lazerson, J; Hays, T

1987-01-01

To explain the transient anemia and poikilocytosis seen during infancy in hereditary elliptocytosis (HE), we resealed erythrocyte (RBC) ghosts from affected children or their elliptocytic parents with 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) (0-8 mM), a compound that dissociates membrane skeletons, then measured ghost mechanical stability in the ektacytometer. Without added 2,3-DPG, ghost mechanical stability was subnormal in infantile poikilocytosis (IP) and HE but was even more abnormal in hereditary p...

Ghost imaging and its visibility with partially coherent elliptical Gaussian Schell-model beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, Meilan; Zhu, Weiting; Zhao, Daomu

2015-01-01

The performances of the ghost image and the visibility with partially coherent elliptical Gaussian Schell-model beams have been studied. In that case we have derived the condition under which the goal ghost image is achievable. Furthermore, the visibility is assessed in terms of the parameters related to the source to find that the visibility reduces with the increase of the beam size, while it is a monotonic increasing function of the transverse coherence length. More specifically, it is found that the inequalities of the source sizes in x and y directions, as well as the transverse coherence lengths, play an important role in the ghost image and the visibility. - Highlights: • We studied the ghost image and visibility with partially coherent EGSM beams. • We derived the condition under which the goal ghost image is achievable. • The visibility is assessed in terms of the parameters related to the source. • The source sizes and coherence lengths play role in the ghost image and visibility.

128 Gothicism/Ghost Stories in Nigerian Literature: Facts or Fiction ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ike Odimegwu

In The Castle of Otranto, a gigantic hand in armour, a ghost ling figure, a vast helmet ... literature, the “literary ghost stories are stories written by creative artists who .... nurses, lovers, civil servants, the palm wine tapers, widows, job applicants ...

CLONING HARDDISK MELALUI JARINGAN KOMPUTER DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN SOFTWARE GHOST

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Mufadhol

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Kloning adalah proses duplikat isi harddisk ke harddisk yang lain. Jadi isi kedua harddisk adalah sama persis. Kloning harddisk dilakukan untuk mempercepat proses instalasi perangkat lunak dengan spesifikasi hardware yang sama. Kloning harddisk melalui jaringan komputer dapat dilakukan dari harddisk master ke harddisk slave atau harddisk tujuan. Pada proses kloning harddisk melalui jaringan komputer hardis induk berada di komputer server saja sedangkan slave harddisk berada di komputer klien saja. Harddisk setiap komputer tidak perlu digandeng (diparalel. Dalam melakukan kloning harddisk melalui jaringan komputer diperlukan beberapa program aplikasi antara lain: Ghost Cast Server, Boot Wizard, LAN Boot Floppy Klien, Ghost Explore. Aplikasi yang sering digunakan untuk kloning adalah software Ghost yang dirilis oleh Symantect Coorporation.

Non-perturbative power corrections to ghost and gluon propagators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boucaud, Philippe; Leroy, Jean-Pierre; Yaouanc, Alain Le; Lokhov, Alexey; Micheli, Jacques; Pene, Olivier; RodrIguez-Quintero, Jose; Roiesnel, Claude

2006-01-01

We study the dominant non-perturbative power corrections to the ghost and gluon propagators in Landau gauge pure Yang-Mills theory using OPE and lattice simulations. The leading order Wilson coefficients are proven to be the same for both propagators. The ratio of the ghost and gluon propagators is thus free from this dominant power correction. Indeed, a purely perturbative fit of this ratio gives smaller value ( ≅ 270MeV) of Λ M-barS-bar than the one obtained from the propagators separately( ≅ 320MeV). This argues in favour of significant non-perturbative ∼ 1/q 2 power corrections in the ghost and gluon propagators. We check the self-consistency of the method

'Ghost of Mirach' Rears its Spooky Head

Science.gov (United States)

2008-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] [figure removed for brevity, see original site] [figure removed for brevity, see original site] Visible/DSS Click on image for larger version Ultraviolet/GALEX Click on image for larger version Poster Version Click on image for larger version The 'Ghost of Mirach' galaxy is shown in visible light on the left, and in ultraviolet as seen by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer on the right. The fields of view are identical in both pictures, with the Ghost of Mirach a galaxy called NGC 404 seen as the whitish spot in the center of the images. Mirach is a red giant star that looms large in visible light. Because NGC 404 is lost in the glare of this star, it was nicknamed the Ghost of Mirach. But when the galaxy is viewed in ultraviolet light, it comes to 'life,' revealing a never-before-seen ring. This ring, seen in blue in the picture on the right, contains new stars a surprise considering that the galaxy was previously thought to be, essentially, dead. The field of view spans 55,000 light years across. The Ghost of Mirach is located 11 million light-years from Earth. The star Mirach is very close in comparison it is only 200 light-years away and is visible with the naked eye. The visible data come from the Digitized Sky Survey of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md.

Ghost circles in lattice Aubry-Mather theory

Science.gov (United States)

Mramor, Blaz; Rink, Bob

Monotone lattice recurrence relations such as the Frenkel-Kontorova lattice, arise in Hamiltonian lattice mechanics, as models for ferromagnetism and as discretization of elliptic PDEs. Mathematically, they are a multi-dimensional counterpart of monotone twist maps. Such recurrence relations often admit a variational structure, so that the solutions x:Z→R are the stationary points of a formal action function W(x). Given any rotation vector ω∈R, classical Aubry-Mather theory establishes the existence of a large collection of solutions of ∇W(x)=0 of rotation vector ω. For irrational ω, this is the well-known Aubry-Mather set. It consists of global minimizers and it may have gaps. In this paper, we study the parabolic gradient flow {dx}/{dt}=-∇W(x) and we will prove that every Aubry-Mather set can be interpolated by a continuous gradient-flow invariant family, the so-called 'ghost circle'. The existence of these ghost circles is known in dimension d=1, for rational rotation vectors and Morse action functions. The main technical result of this paper is therefore a compactness theorem for lattice ghost circles, based on a parabolic Harnack inequality for the gradient flow. This implies the existence of lattice ghost circles of arbitrary rotation vectors and for arbitrary actions. As a consequence, we can give a simple proof of the fact that when an Aubry-Mather set has a gap, then this gap must be filled with minimizers, or contain a non-minimizing solution.

Suppressing Ghost Diffraction in E-Beam-Written Gratings

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Daniel; Backlund, Johan

2009-01-01

A modified scheme for electron-beam (E-beam) writing used in the fabrication of convex or concave diffraction gratings makes it possible to suppress the ghost diffraction heretofore exhibited by such gratings. Ghost diffraction is a spurious component of diffraction caused by a spurious component of grating periodicity as described below. The ghost diffraction orders appear between the main diffraction orders and are typically more intense than is the diffuse scattering from the grating. At such high intensity, ghost diffraction is the dominant source of degradation of grating performance. The pattern of a convex or concave grating is established by electron-beam writing in a resist material coating a substrate that has the desired convex or concave shape. Unfortunately, as a result of the characteristics of electrostatic deflectors used to control the electron beam, it is possible to expose only a small field - typically between 0.5 and 1.0 mm wide - at a given fixed position of the electron gun relative to the substrate. To make a grating larger than the field size, it is necessary to move the substrate to make it possible to write fields centered at different positions, so that the larger area is synthesized by "stitching" the exposed fields.

Vertex operator construction of superconformal ghosts and string field theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ezawa, Z.F.; Nakamura, S.; Tezuka, A.

1987-01-01

Superconformal ghosts in string theories are characterized by the SU(1,1) Kac-Moody algebra with central charge -1/2. These ghost fields are constructed as the vertex operators realizing spinor representations of the Kac-Moody algebra. Representations of the canonical commutation relations of the superconformal ghosts are analyzed extensively. All irreducible representations are found to possess only the trivial inner product but for one exceptional case. Consequently, in superstring field theory it is necessary to consider reducible representations in general. Hilbert spaces with a non-trivial inner product are explicitly obtained upon which second quantization of superstring may be carried out. (orig.)

Defocusing effects of lensless ghost imaging and ghost diffraction with partially coherent sources

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Shuang-Xi; Sheng, Wei; Bi, Yu-Bo; Luo, Chun-Ling

2018-04-01

The defocusing effect is inevitable and degrades the image quality in the conventional optical imaging process significantly due to the close confinement of the imaging lens. Based on classical optical coherent theory and linear algebra, we develop a unified formula to describe the defocusing effects of both lensless ghost imaging (LGI) and lensless ghost diffraction (LGD) systems with a partially coherent source. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the influence of defocusing length on the quality of LGI and LGD. We find that the defocusing effects of the test and reference paths in the LGI or LGD systems are entirely different, while the LGD system is more robust against defocusing than the LGI system. Specifically, we find that the imaging process for LGD systems can be viewed as pinhole imaging, which may find applications in ultra-short-wave band imaging without imaging lenses, e.g. x-ray diffraction and γ-ray imaging.

Ghost Imaging Using Orbital Angular Momentum

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

赵生妹; 丁建; 董小亮; 郑宝玉

2011-01-01

We present a novel encoding scheme in a ghost-imaging system using orbital angular momentum. In the signal arm, object spatial information is encoded as a phase matrix. For an N-grey-scale object, different phase matrices, varying from 0 to K with increment n/N, are used for different greyscales, and then they are modulated to a signal beam by a spatial light modulator. According to the conservation of the orbital angular momentum in the ghost imaging system, these changes will give different coincidence rates in measurement, and hence the object information can be extracted in the idler arm. By simulations and experiments, the results show that our scheme can improve the resolution of the image effectively. Compared with another encoding method using orbital angular momentum, our scheme has a better performance for both characters and the image object.%We present a novel encoding scheme in a ghost-imaging system using orbital angular momentum.In the signal arm,object spatial information is encoded as a phase matrix.For an N-grey-scale object,different phase matrices,varying from 0 to π with increment π/N,are used for different greyscales,and then they are modulated to a signal beam by a spatial light modulator.According to the conservation of the orbital angular momentum in the ghost imaging system,these changes will give different coincidence rates in measurement,and hence the object information can be extracted in the idler arm.By simulations and experiments,the results show that our scheme can improve the resolution of the image effectively.Compared with another encoding method using orbital angular momentum,our scheme has a better performance for both characters and the image object.

Ombud’s corner: Do you believe in ghosts?

CERN Multimedia

Sudeshna Datta-Cockerill

2014-01-01

“Ghosting” is the common term used to describe situations when a piece of work is done by somebody but credited to somebody else. Ghosting often occurs in creative fields, such as writing texts, music, developing graphic charters or translating. Let’s celebrate Halloween this year by acknowledging the contributions of all the CERN ghosts who work tirelessly behind the scenes in all areas of the Organization.   “Ghosting” is a recognised job with international professional associations, particularly in the field of text writing. The role requires strict anonymity, good reciprocal trust and understanding between the people involved, and the professional flexibility to be able to adapt to different situations and different styles of expression as needed. At CERN there are many ghosts: you can find them in the Translation and Minute-writing service, whose members also provide valuable editing and proof-reading skills; in the Communications group w...

AXAF-I ghost ray study: On orbit case

Science.gov (United States)

Gaetz, T. J.

1993-01-01

The problem of baffles for control of singly reflected (and nonreflected) ghost rays is considered. The theory of baffle design for Wolter Type I grazing incidence optics is reviewed, and a set of sample baffle parameters is obtained subject to the assumptions of nominal mirror figures and perfect manufacture and alignment of baffles. It is found that baffles forward of the optics (in the thermal precollimator) and between the mirror elements (at the CAP) are sufficient to allow the simultaneous ghost image and vignetting requirements to be satisfied for HRMA shells P1H1, P3H3, and P4H4. However, these baffles are not sufficient for the innermost shell P6H6; at best the requirements are slightly violated and there is no margin for tolerances. The addition of a baffle interior to the P6 space at an axial station about one third of the way forward from the aft end of the paraboloid will allow the ghost ray and vignetting requirements to be met. The minimum ghost ray angles and the vignetting angles are sensitive functions of the baffle positions and radii; tolerances of considerably better than 1 mm will be required. The sensitivities are coupled and correlated; further investigations should be undertaken in order to obtain baffle parameters which, combined with likely achievable tolerances, will minimize the risk of the vignetting/ghost ray requirements not being met. The lightweight carbon-epoxy composite used for thermal baffles has insufficient X-ray opacity to be a suitable material for construction of the controlling X-ray baffles; further study is needed to determine an appropriate material and to investigate its thermal and mechanical implications.

An improved ghost-cell immersed boundary method for compressible flow simulations

KAUST Repository

Chi, Cheng; Lee, Bok Jik; Im, Hong G.

2016-01-01

This study presents an improved ghost-cell immersed boundary approach to represent a solid body in compressible flow simulations. In contrast to the commonly used approaches, in the present work ghost cells are mirrored through the boundary

Effects of the quark field on the ghost propagator of lattice Landau gauge QCD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furui, Sadataka; Nakajima, Hideo

2006-01-01

Infrared features of the ghost propagator of color-diagonal and color antisymmetric ghost propagator of quenched SU(2) and quenched SU(3) are compared with those of unquenched Kogut-Susskind fermion SU(3) lattice Landau gauge. We compare (i) the fluctuation of the ghost propagator (ii) the ghost condensate parameter v of the local composite operator (LCO) approach, and (iii) the Binder cumulant of color antisymmetric ghost propagator between quenched and unquenched configurations. The color-diagonal SU(3) ghost dressing function of unquenched configurations has weaker singularity than the quenched configurations. In both cases fluctuations become large in q c configuration samples is ∼0.002-0.04 GeV 2 while that of the SU(2) parallel tempering samples is consistent with 0. The Binder cumulant defined as U(q)=1-(1/3)( 4 >/( 2 >) 2 ), where φ-vector(q) is the color antisymmetric ghost propagator measured by the sample average of gauge fixed configurations via parallel tempering method, becomes ∼4/9 in all the momentum region. The Binder cumulant of the color antisymmetric ghost propagator of quenched SU(2) can be explained by the 3D Gaussian distribution, but that of the unquenched MILC c deviates slightly from that of the eight-dimensional Gaussian distribution. The stronger singularity and large fluctuation in the quenched configuration could be the cause of the deviation of the Kugo-Ojima confinement parameter c from 1, and the presence of ordering in the ghost propagator of unquenched configurations makes it closer to 1

Geometrical theory of ghost and Higgs fields and SU(2/1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ne'eman, Y.; Thierry-Mieg, J.

1979-10-01

That a Principal Fiber Bundle provides a precise geometrical representation of Yang-Mills gauge theories has been known since 1963 and used since 1975. This work presents an entirely new domain of applications. The Feynman-DeWitt-Fadeev-Popov ghost-fields required in the renormalization procedure are identified with geometrical objects in the Principal Bundle. This procedure directly yields the BRS equations guaranteeing unitarity and Slavnov-Taylor invariance of the quantum effective Lagrangian. Except for one ghost field and its variation, this entire symmetry thus corresponds to classical notions, in that it is geometrical, and completely independent of the gauge-fixing procedure, which determines the quantized Lagrangian. These results may be used to fix the signs associated with the various ghost loops of quantum supergravity. The result is based upon the identification of a geometrical Z(2) x Z(2) double-gradation of the generalized fields in supergravity: [physical/ghost] fields and [integer/half integer] spins. Then the case of a supergroup as an internal symmetry gauge is considered. Ghosts geometrically associated to odd generators may be identified with the Goldstone-Nambu Higgs-Kibble scalar fields of conventional models with spontaneous symmetry breakdown. As an example, the chiral SU(3)/sub L/ x SU(3)/sub R/ flavor symmetry is realized by gauging the supergroup Q(3).Lastly, the main results concerning asthenodynamics (Weak-EM Unification) as given by the ghost-gauge SU(2/1) supergroup are recalled. 1 table

Ghost free massive gravity in the Stückelberg language

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rham, Claudia de; Gabadadze, Gregory; Tolley, Andrew J.

2012-01-01

Massive gravity in 4 dimensions has been shown to be free of the Boulware-Deser (BD) ghost in the ADM language for a specific choice of mass terms. We show here how this is consistent with the Stückelberg language beyond the decoupling limit, and how the constraint required to remove the BD ghost arises in this framework non-perturbatively, without the use of field redefinitions. We emphasize a subtlety in obtaining this constraint, that has been overlooked in previous literature. In both the ADM and Stückelberg formalisms the vanishing of the determinant of a Hessian guarantees the absence of the BD ghost.

Ghost tablet in feces.

Science.gov (United States)

Iwamuro, Masaya; Morishita, Yosuke; Urata, Haruo; Okada, Hiroyuki

2017-12-01

Recently, we encountered a female patient who identified the presence of a ghost tablet in her fecal matter. Interestingly, although the patient was prescribed potassium chloride capsules, elemental composition analysis by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was unable to detect the presence of either potassium or chloride in the fecal tablet remnant.

Ghostly footsteps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pinder, David

2001-01-01

), which is set in east London. Connections are also drawn with other recent projects in the same area by Rachel Lichtenstein and Iain Sinclair. The paper discusses how these artists raise important issues about the cultural geographies of the city relating to subjectivity, representation and memory....... Cardiff’s audio-walk in particular works with connections between the self and the city, between the conscious and unconscious, and between multiple selves and urban footsteps. In so doing, she directs attention to the significance of dreams and ghostly matters for thinking about the real and imagined...

Estimation of adult and neonatal RBC lifespans in anemic neonates using RBCs labeled at several discrete biotin densities.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuruvilla, Denison J; Widness, John A; Nalbant, Demet; Schmidt, Robert L; Mock, Donald M; An, Guohua; Veng-Pedersen, Peter

2017-06-01

Prior conclusions that autologous neonatal red blood cells (RBC) have substantially shorter lifespans than allogeneic adult RBCs were not based on direct comparison of autologous neonatal vs. allogeneic adult RBCs performed concurrently in the same infant. Biotin labeling of autologous neonatal RBCs and allogeneic adult donor RBCs permits concurrent direct comparison of autologous vs. allogeneic RBC lifespan. RBCs from 15 allogeneic adult donors and from 15 very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) neonates were labeled at separate biotin densities and transfused simultaneously into the 15 neonates. Two mathematical models that account for the RBC differences were employed to estimate lifespans for the two RBC populations. Mean ± SD lifespan for adult allogeneic RBC was 70.1 ± 19.1 d, which is substantially shorter than the 120 d lifespan of both autologous and adult allogeneic RBC in healthy adults. Mean ± SD lifespan for neonatal RBC was 54.2 ± 11.3 d, which is only about 30% shorter than that of the adult allogeneic RBCs. This study provides evidence that extrinsic environmental factors primarily determine RBC survival (e.g., small bore of the capillaries of neonates, rate of oxygenation/deoxygenation cycles) rather than factors intrinsic to RBC.

Y-formalism and b ghost in the non-minimal pure spinor formalism of superstrings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oda, Ichiro; Tonin, Mario

2007-01-01

We present the Y-formalism for the non-minimal pure spinor quantization of superstrings. In the framework of this formalism we compute, at the quantum level, the explicit form of the compound operators involved in the construction of the b ghost, their normal-ordering contributions and the relevant relations among them. We use these results to construct the quantum-mechanical b ghost in the non-minimal pure spinor formalism. Moreover we show that this non-minimal b ghost is cohomologically equivalent to the non-covariant b ghost

Burning behavior in a poor-ventilation compartment fire - ghosting fire

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugawa, Osami; Kawagoe, Kunio; Oka, Yasushi

1991-01-01

We investigated compartment fire behavior under poor-ventilation conditions using a methyl alcohol pool fire as the source with a diameter of 30 cm set in a tight box of 2 m (W)x3 m(L)x0.6 m(H). The temperatures in the box and the fuel, gas concentrations of CO, CO 2 , and O 2 , and the fuel consumption rate were measured simultaneously. The burning fuel surface level was kept constant during the test by means of an automatic fuel supply system. It was found that the flame begun to detach from the fuel surface as the oxygen concentration decreased to about 16%, and the color changed to pale blue. The flame detached completely from the fuel and a 'ghosting flame' was observed just under the ceiling which showed a thin pale blue flame and looked line an aurora. The oxygen concentration measured in the ghosting period under the ceiling was 9-10 vol%, and CO 2 was 4.5 vol% so that the oxygen of such concentration acted as in inert gas. CO 2 gas concentration looked almost a single-layer with gradient in the upper half part in ghosting period. Temperatures in the same layer decreased after ghosting occurred with gradient. For poor-ventilated fires, air exchange rate as 1.6-2.4 times/hr was estimated in the test; the burning rate decreased finally to about 1/6 of the fuel controlled fire. It has been tacitly assumed that the flame (reaction zone) and pyrolyzing material area (fuel) exit in almost the same zone, but ghosting fire is not necessarily the case. Therefore, extinguishment of ghosting fire which may occur in an enclosure with fuel and energy rich but poor-ventilation such as a power plant will be extremely difficult. (orig.)

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

Simplified pure spinor b ghost in a curved heterotic superstring background

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berkovits, Nathan [ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research,Instituto de Física Teórica, UNESP - Universidade Estadual Paulista,Rua Dr. Bento T. Ferraz 271, 01140-070, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Chandia, Osvaldo [Departamento de Ciencias, Facultad de Artes Liberales,Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez,Diagonal Las Torres 2640, Peñalolén, Santiago (Chile)

2014-06-03

Using the RNS-like fermionic vector variables introduced in arXiv:1305.0693, the pure spinor b ghost in a curved heterotic superstring background is easily constructed. This construction simplifies and completes the b ghost construction in a curved background of arXiv:1311.7012.

Ghost quintessence in fractal gravity

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

In this study, using the time-like fractal theory of gravity, we mainly focus on the ghost ... Here a(t) is the cosmic scale factor and it measures the expansion of the Universe. ..... effectively appear as self-conserved dark energy, with a non-trivial ...

Ghost fringe removal techniques using Lissajous data presentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Erskine, David J; Eggert, J H; Celliers, P M; Hicks, D G

2016-03-01

A VISAR (Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflector) is a Doppler velocity interferometer which is an important optical diagnostic in shockwave experiments at the national laboratories, used to measure equation of state (EOS) of materials under extreme conditions. Unwanted reflection of laser light from target windows can produce an additional component to the VISAR fringe record that can distort and obscure the true velocity signal. Accurately removing this so-called ghost artifact component is essential for achieving high accuracy EOS measurements, especially when the true light signal is only weakly reflected from the shock front. Independent of the choice of algorithm for processing the raw data into a complex fringe signal, we have found it beneficial to plot this signal as a Lissajous and seek the proper center of this path, even under time varying intensity which can shift the perceived center. The ghost contribution is then solved by a simple translation in the complex plane that recenters the Lissajous path. For continuous velocity histories, we find that plotting the fringe magnitude vs nonfringing intensity and optimizing linearity is an invaluable tool for determining accurate ghost offsets. For discontinuous velocity histories, we have developed graphically inspired methods which relate the results of two VISARs having different velocity per fringe proportionalities or assumptions of constant fringe magnitude to find the ghost offset. The technique can also remove window reflection artifacts in generic interferometers, such as in the metrology of surfaces.

Exorcising the Ostrogradsky ghost in coupled systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klein, Remko; Roest, Diederik [Van Swinderen Institute for Particle Physics and Gravity, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen (Netherlands)

2016-07-27

The Ostrogradsky theorem implies that higher-derivative terms of a single mechanical variable are either trivial or lead to additional, ghost-like degrees of freedom. In this letter we systematically investigate how the introduction of additional variables can remedy this situation. Employing a Lagrangian analysis, we identify conditions on the Lagrangian to ensure the existence of primary and secondary constraints that together imply the absence of Ostrogradsky ghosts. We also show the implications of these conditions for the structure of the equations of motion as well as possible redefinitions of the variables. We discuss applications to analogous higher-derivative field theories such as multi-Galileons and beyond Horndeski.

Exorcising the Ostrogradsky ghost in coupled systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klein, Remko; Roest, Diederik

2016-01-01

The Ostrogradsky theorem implies that higher-derivative terms of a single mechanical variable are either trivial or lead to additional, ghost-like degrees of freedom. In this letter we systematically investigate how the introduction of additional variables can remedy this situation. Employing a Lagrangian analysis, we identify conditions on the Lagrangian to ensure the existence of primary and secondary constraints that together imply the absence of Ostrogradsky ghosts. We also show the implications of these conditions for the structure of the equations of motion as well as possible redefinitions of the variables. We discuss applications to analogous higher-derivative field theories such as multi-Galileons and beyond Horndeski.

Evidence of marine debris usage by the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787).

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Leonardo Lopes; Rangel, Danilo Freitas; Zalmon, Ilana Rosental

2018-03-01

Sandy beaches are sites of marine debris stranding, but the interaction of beach biota with waste is poorly studied. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata selects marine debris by types using a non-destructive method on sandy beaches of Southeastern Brazil. We found marine debris in 7% of 1696 surveyed burrows, and the ghost crabs selectivity was mainly by soft plastic (30%), straw (11%), rope (6%) and foam (4%). Burrows with marine debris showed higher occupation rate (~68%) compared to burrows without debris (~28%), indicating that these materials may increase the capacity of ghost crabs to memorize their burrows placement (homing). The percentage of marine debris was not always related to their amount in the drift line, but ghost crabs used more debris near urbanized areas. Future studies should test whether ghost crabs are using marine debris for feeding, homing or other mechanisms. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exercise performance, red blood cell deformability, and lipid peroxidation: effects of fish oil and vitamin E

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oostenbrug, G. S.; Mensink, R. P.; Hardeman, M. R.; de Vries, T.; Brouns, F.; Hornstra, G.

1997-01-01

Previous studies have indicated that fish oil supplementation increases red blood cell (RBC) deformability, which may improve exercise performance. Exercise alone, or in combination with an increase in fatty acid unsaturation, however, may enhance lipid peroxidation. Effects of a bicycle time trial

An Improved Ghost-cell Immersed Boundary Method for Compressible Inviscid Flow Simulations

KAUST Repository

Chi, Cheng

2015-01-01

This study presents an improved ghost-cell immersed boundary approach to represent a solid body in compressible flow simulations. In contrast to the commonly used approaches, in the present work ghost cells are mirrored through the boundary

Getting started with Ghost

CERN Document Server

Bracey, Kezz; Balderston, David

2014-01-01

If you are new to Ghost, this book is ideal for you. You might be completely new to content management systems or you might have experience with others such as WordPress. Some knowledge of web design basics such as HTML and CSS will be useful, but the book is designed so you can enter at the point relevant to you.

Interacting viscous ghost tachyon, K-essence and dilaton scalar field models of dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karami, K; Fahimi, K

2013-01-01

We study the correspondence between the interacting viscous ghost dark energy model with the tachyon, K-essence and dilaton scalar field models in the framework of Einstein gravity. We consider a spatially non-flat FRW universe filled with interacting viscous ghost dark energy and dark matter. We reconstruct both the dynamics and potential of these scalar field models according to the evolutionary behavior of the interacting viscous ghost dark energy model, which can describe the accelerated expansion of the universe. Our numerical results show that the interaction and viscosity have opposite effects on the evolutionary properties of the ghost scalar field models. (paper)

Isolation, expression and characterization of rbcL gene from Ulva prolifera J. Agardh (Ulvophyceae, Chlorophyta)

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Zhanru; Li, Wei; Guo, Hui; Duan, Delin

2015-12-01

Ulva prolifera is a typical green alga in subtidal areas and can grow tremendously fast. A highly efficient Rubisco enzyme which is encoded by UpRbcL gene may contribute to the rapid growth. In this study, the full-length UpRbcL open reading frame (ORF) was identified, which encoded a protein of 474 amino acids. Phylogenetic analysis of UpRbcL sequences revealed that Chlorophyta had a closer genetic relationship with higher plants than with Rhodophyta and Phaeophyta. The two distinct residues (aa11 and aa91) were presumed to be unique for Rubisco catalytic activity. The predicted three-dimensional structure showed that one α/β-barrel existed in the C-terminal region, and the sites for Mg2+ coordination and CO2 fixation were also located in this region. Gene expression profile indicated that UpRbcL was expressed at a higher level under light exposure than in darkness. When the culture temperature reached 35°C, the expression level of UpRbcL was 2.5-fold lower than at 15°C, and the carboxylase activity exhibited 13.8-fold decrease. UpRbcL was heterologously expressed in E. coli and was purified by Ni2+ affinity chromatography. The physiological and biochemical characterization of recombinant Rubisco will be explored in the future.

Image quality enhancement in low-light-level ghost imaging using modified compressive sensing method

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Xiaohui; Huang, Xianwei; Nan, Suqin; Li, Hengxing; Bai, Yanfeng; Fu, Xiquan

2018-04-01

Detector noise has a significantly negative impact on ghost imaging at low light levels, especially for existing recovery algorithm. Based on the characteristics of the additive detector noise, a method named modified compressive sensing ghost imaging is proposed to reduce the background imposed by the randomly distributed detector noise at signal path. Experimental results show that, with an appropriate choice of threshold value, modified compressive sensing ghost imaging algorithm can dramatically enhance the contrast-to-noise ratio of the object reconstruction significantly compared with traditional ghost imaging and compressive sensing ghost imaging methods. The relationship between the contrast-to-noise ratio of the reconstruction image and the intensity ratio (namely, the average signal intensity to average noise intensity ratio) for the three reconstruction algorithms are also discussed. This noise suppression imaging technique will have great applications in remote-sensing and security areas.

Ghosts in the self-accelerating DGP branch with Gauss–Bonnet effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Yen-Wei; Izumi, Keisuke; Bouhmadi-López, Mariam; Chen, Pisin

2015-06-01

The Dvali–Gabadadze–Porrati brane-world model provides a possible approach to address the late-time cosmic acceleration. However, it has subsequently been pointed out that a ghost instability will arise on the self-accelerating branch. Here, we carefully investigate whether this ghost problem could be possibly cured by introducing the Gauss–Bonnet term in the five-dimensional bulk action, a natural generalization to the Dvali–Gabadadze–Porrati model. Our analysis is carried out for a background where a de Sitter brane is embedded in an anti–de Sitter bulk. Our result shows that the ghost excitations cannot be avoided even in this modified model.

Tc-99m Labeled Red Blood Cell by Ultra Tag RBC Kit in Patients Suspected of Gastrointestinal Bleeding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pusuwan, Pawana; Leaungwutiwong, Suraphong; Tocharoenchai, Chiraporn; Chaiwatanarat, Tawatchai; Sirisatipoch, Sasitorn; Rajadara, Samart; Naktong, Thanyada; Thanyarak, Sucheera

2001-06-01

Twenty patients suspected of gastrointestinal bleeding who underwent Tc-99m labeled red blood cell (RBC) by ultraTag RBC kit at Division of Nuclear Medicine, Bumrungrad Hospital between January 2000 and December 2002 were studied. The histories of patients together with either endoscopic results or angiographic findings or pathological reports were used as gold standards. Two by Two decision matrix was used for data analysis and the sensitivity together with specificity were calculated. The results show that the sensitivity and specificity of Tc-99m labeled RBC by ultraTag RBC kit are 87.5% and 91.7%, respectively. We conclude that Tc-99m labeled RBC by ultraTag RBC kit gives high percentages of sensitivity and specificity. Moreover, the image quality is improved because of the absence of free Tc-99m pertechnetate uptake in the stomach in all patients

Spherical collapse of small masses in the ghost-free gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frolov, Valeri P.; Zelnikov, Andrei; Netto, Tibério de Paula

2015-01-01

We discuss some properties of recently proposed models of a ghost-free gravity. For this purpose we study solutions of linearized gravitational equations in the framework of such a theory. We mainly focus on the version of the ghost-free theory with the exponential modification exp (◻/μ 2 )◻ −1 of the free propagator. The following three problems are discussed: (i) gravitational field of a point mass; (ii) Penrose limit of a point source boosted to the speed of light; and (iii) spherical gravitational collapse of null fluid. For the first problem we demonstrate that it can be solved by using the method of heat kernels and obtain a solution in a spacetime with arbitrary number of dimensions. For the second problem we also find the corresponding gyraton-type solutions of the ghost-free gravitational equations for any number of dimensions. For the third problem we obtain solutions for the gravitational field for the collapse of both “thin" and “thick" spherical null shells. We demonstrate how the ghost-free modification of the gravitational equations regularize the solutions of the linearized Einstein equations and smooth out their singularities.

Spherical collapse of small masses in the ghost-free gravity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frolov, Valeri P.; Zelnikov, Andrei [Theoretical Physics Institute, Department of Physics, University of Alberta,Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1 (Canada); Netto, Tibério de Paula [Theoretical Physics Institute, Department of Physics, University of Alberta,Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1 (Canada); Departamento de Fisica - ICE, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora,Campus da UFJF, CEP: 36036-900, Juiz de Fora, MG (Brazil)

2015-06-17

We discuss some properties of recently proposed models of a ghost-free gravity. For this purpose we study solutions of linearized gravitational equations in the framework of such a theory. We mainly focus on the version of the ghost-free theory with the exponential modification exp (◻/μ{sup 2})◻{sup −1} of the free propagator. The following three problems are discussed: (i) gravitational field of a point mass; (ii) Penrose limit of a point source boosted to the speed of light; and (iii) spherical gravitational collapse of null fluid. For the first problem we demonstrate that it can be solved by using the method of heat kernels and obtain a solution in a spacetime with arbitrary number of dimensions. For the second problem we also find the corresponding gyraton-type solutions of the ghost-free gravitational equations for any number of dimensions. For the third problem we obtain solutions for the gravitational field for the collapse of both “thin' and “thick' spherical null shells. We demonstrate how the ghost-free modification of the gravitational equations regularize the solutions of the linearized Einstein equations and smooth out their singularities.

Modelling of classical ghost images obtained using scattered light

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crosby, S; Castelletto, S; Aruldoss, C; Scholten, R E; Roberts, A

2007-01-01

The images obtained in ghost imaging with pseudo-thermal light sources are highly dependent on the spatial coherence properties of the incident light. Pseudo-thermal light is often created by reducing the coherence length of a coherent source by passing it through a turbid mixture of scattering spheres. We describe a model for simulating ghost images obtained with such partially coherent light, using a wave-transport model to calculate the influence of the scattering on initially coherent light. The model is able to predict important properties of the pseudo-thermal source, such as the coherence length and the amplitude of the residual unscattered component of the light which influence the resolution and visibility of the final ghost image. We show that the residual ballistic component introduces an additional background in the reconstructed image, and the spatial resolution obtainable depends on the size of the scattering spheres

Ghost free dual vector theories in 2+1 dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalmazi, Denis

2006-01-01

We explore here the issue of duality versus spectrum equivalence in dual theories generated through the master action approach. Specifically we examine a generalized self-dual (GSD) model where a Maxwell term is added to the self-dual model. A gauge embedding procedure applied to the GSD model leads to a Maxwell-Chern-Simons (MCS) theory with higher derivatives. We show here that the latter contains a ghost mode contrary to the original GSD model. By figuring out the origin of the ghost we are able to suggest a new master action which interpolates between the local GSD model and a nonlocal MCS model. Those models share the same spectrum and are ghost free. Furthermore, there is a dual map between both theories at classical level which survives quantum correlation functions up to contact terms. The remarks made here may be relevant for other applications of the master action approach

Modelling of classical ghost images obtained using scattered light

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crosby, S; Castelletto, S; Aruldoss, C; Scholten, R E; Roberts, A [School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010 (Australia)

2007-08-15

The images obtained in ghost imaging with pseudo-thermal light sources are highly dependent on the spatial coherence properties of the incident light. Pseudo-thermal light is often created by reducing the coherence length of a coherent source by passing it through a turbid mixture of scattering spheres. We describe a model for simulating ghost images obtained with such partially coherent light, using a wave-transport model to calculate the influence of the scattering on initially coherent light. The model is able to predict important properties of the pseudo-thermal source, such as the coherence length and the amplitude of the residual unscattered component of the light which influence the resolution and visibility of the final ghost image. We show that the residual ballistic component introduces an additional background in the reconstructed image, and the spatial resolution obtainable depends on the size of the scattering spheres.

Honorary and ghost authorship in nursing publications.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Maureen Shawn; Barnsteiner, Jane; Daly, John

2014-11-01

The purposes of this study were to (a) assess the prevalence of articles with honorary authors and ghost authors in 10 leading peer-reviewed nursing journals between 2010 to 2012; (b) compare the results to prevalence reported by authors of articles published in high-impact medical journals; and (c) assess the experiences of editors in the International Academy of Nursing Editors with honorary and guest authorship. Corresponding authors of articles published in 10 nursing journals between 2010 and 2012 were invited to complete an online survey about the contributions of coauthors to see if the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors () criteria for authorship were met. Additionally, members of the International Academy of Nursing Editors were invited to complete an online survey about their experiences in identifying honorary or ghost authors in articles submitted for publication. The prevalence of articles published in 10 nursing journals with honorary authors was 42%, and the prevalence of ghost authorship was 27.6%. This is a greater prevalence than what has been reported among medical journals. Qualitative data yielded five themes: lack of awareness around the rules for authorship; acknowledged need for debate, discussion, and promotion of ethical practice; knowingly tolerating, and sometimes deliberately promoting, transgressions in practice; power relations and expectations; and avoiding scrutiny. Among the 60 respondents to the editor survey, 22 (36.7%) reported identifying honorary authors and 13 (21.7%) reported ghost authors among papers submitted to their publications. Inappropriate authorship is a significant problem among scholarly nursing publications. If nursing scholarship is to maintain integrity and be considered trustworthy, and if publications are to be a factor in professional advancement, editors, nursing leaders, and faculty need to disseminate and adhere to ethical authorship practices. © 2014 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Ghost-tree: creating hybrid-gene phylogenetic trees for diversity analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Fouquier, Jennifer; Rideout, Jai Ram; Bolyen, Evan; Chase, John; Shiffer, Arron; McDonald, Daniel; Knight, Rob; Caporaso, J Gregory; Kelley, Scott T

2016-02-24

Fungi play critical roles in many ecosystems, cause serious diseases in plants and animals, and pose significant threats to human health and structural integrity problems in built environments. While most fungal diversity remains unknown, the development of PCR primers for the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) combined with next-generation sequencing has substantially improved our ability to profile fungal microbial diversity. Although the high sequence variability in the ITS region facilitates more accurate species identification, it also makes multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis unreliable across evolutionarily distant fungi because the sequences are hard to align accurately. To address this issue, we created ghost-tree, a bioinformatics tool that integrates sequence data from two genetic markers into a single phylogenetic tree that can be used for diversity analyses. Our approach starts with a "foundation" phylogeny based on one genetic marker whose sequences can be aligned across organisms spanning divergent taxonomic groups (e.g., fungal families). Then, "extension" phylogenies are built for more closely related organisms (e.g., fungal species or strains) using a second more rapidly evolving genetic marker. These smaller phylogenies are then grafted onto the foundation tree by mapping taxonomic names such that each corresponding foundation-tree tip would branch into its new "extension tree" child. We applied ghost-tree to graft fungal extension phylogenies derived from ITS sequences onto a foundation phylogeny derived from fungal 18S sequences. Our analysis of simulated and real fungal ITS data sets found that phylogenetic distances between fungal communities computed using ghost-tree phylogenies explained significantly more variance than non-phylogenetic distances. The phylogenetic metrics also improved our ability to distinguish small differences (effect sizes) between microbial communities, though results were similar to non

Ghost-free, finite, fourth-order D = 3 gravity.

Science.gov (United States)

Deser, S

2009-09-04

Canonical analysis of a recently proposed linear + quadratic curvature gravity model in D = 3 establishes its pure, irreducibly fourth derivative, quadratic curvature limit as both ghost-free and power-counting UV finite, thereby maximally violating standard folklore. This limit is representative of a generic class whose kinetic terms are conformally invariant in any dimension, but it is unique in simultaneously avoiding the transverse-traceless graviton ghosts plaguing D > 3 quadratic actions as well as double pole propagators in its other variables. While the two-term model is also unitary, its additional mode's second-derivative nature forfeits finiteness.

Evaluation of serum homocysteine, high-sensitivity CRP, and RBC folate in patients with alopecia areata

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam Yousefi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Alopecia areata (AA is a common type of hair loss with an autoimmune basis. As the role of homocysteine (Hcys, folate, and CRP has been considered in some autoimmune diseases. Objectives: To evaluate homocysteine, folate and CRP level in AA. Methods: This study was performed on 29 patients who had AA for at least 6 months affecting more than 20% of scalp, and 32 healthy controls. Levels of serum Hcys, blood high-sensitivity CRP, and RBC folate were measured in all subjects. Results: The mean level of RBC folate was significantly lower in the patient group than that in controls (P < 0.001. Also, the level of RBC folate was significantly lower in patients with extensive forms of disease (alopecia totalis/alopecia universalis in comparison with more localized form (patchy hair loss (P < 0.05. Patients with higher "Severity of Alopecia Total" (SALT score had lower RBC folate, as well. Serum Hcys and blood high-sensitivity CRP levels did not show a significant difference in two groups. Conclusion: Patients with alopecia areata have lower level of RBC folate which is in negative correlation with both severity and extension of AA.

Adaptive compressive ghost imaging based on wavelet trees and sparse representation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Wen-Kai; Li, Ming-Fei; Yao, Xu-Ri; Liu, Xue-Feng; Wu, Ling-An; Zhai, Guang-Jie

2014-03-24

Compressed sensing is a theory which can reconstruct an image almost perfectly with only a few measurements by finding its sparsest representation. However, the computation time consumed for large images may be a few hours or more. In this work, we both theoretically and experimentally demonstrate a method that combines the advantages of both adaptive computational ghost imaging and compressed sensing, which we call adaptive compressive ghost imaging, whereby both the reconstruction time and measurements required for any image size can be significantly reduced. The technique can be used to improve the performance of all computational ghost imaging protocols, especially when measuring ultra-weak or noisy signals, and can be extended to imaging applications at any wavelength.

The b ghost of the pure spinor formalism is nilpotent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chandia, Osvaldo, E-mail: osvaldo.chandia@uai.c [Departamento de Ciencias, Facultad de Artes Liberales and Facultad de Ingenieria y Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibanez, Santiago (Chile)

2011-01-10

The ghost for world-sheet reparametrization invariance is not a fundamental field in the pure spinor formalism. It is written as a combination of pure spinor variables which have conformal dimension two and such that it commutes with the BRST operator to give the world-sheet stress tensor. We show that the ghost variable defined in this way is nilpotent since the OPE of b with itself does not have singularities.

The Ghost in the Touchscreen: Social Scaffolds Promote Learning by Toddlers

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmermann, Laura; Moser, Alecia; Lee, Herietta; Gerhardstein, Peter; Barr, Rachel

2017-01-01

This study examined the effect of a "ghost" demonstration on toddlers' imitation. In the "ghost" condition, virtual pieces moved to make a fish or boat puzzle. Fifty-two 2.5- and 3-year-olds were tested on a touchscreen (no transfer) or with 3D pieces (transfer); children tested with 3D pieces scored above a no demonstration…

Systematics, phylogeny, and taphonomy of ghost shrimps (Decapoda): a perspective from the fossil record

Science.gov (United States)

Klompmaker, Adiël A.

2016-01-01

Ghost shrimps of Callianassidae and Ctenochelidae are soft-bodied, usually heterochelous decapods representing major bioturbators of muddy and sandy (sub)marine substrates. Ghost shrimps have a robust fossil record spanning from the Early Cretaceous (~ 133 Ma) to the Holocene and their remains are present in most assemblages of Cenozoic decapod crustaceans. Their taxonomic interpretation is in flux, mainly because the generic assignment is hindered by their insufficient preservation and disagreement in the biological classification. Furthermore, numerous taxa are incorrectly classified within the catch-all taxon Callianassa. To show the historical patterns in describing fossil ghost shrimps and to evaluate taphonomic aspects influencing the attribution of ghost shrimp remains to higher level taxa, a database of all fossil species treated at some time as belonging to the group has been compiled: 250 / 274 species are considered valid ghost shrimp taxa herein. More than half of these taxa (160 species, 58.4%) are known only from distal cheliped elements, i.e., dactylus and / or propodus, due to the more calcified cuticle locally. Rarely, ghost shrimps are preserved in situ in burrows or in direct association with them, and several previously unpublished occurrences are reported herein. For generic assignment, fossil material should be compared to living species because many of them have modern relatives. Heterochely, intraspecific variation, ontogenetic changes and sexual dimorphism are all factors that have to be taken into account when working with fossil ghost shrimps. Distal elements are usually more variable than proximal ones. Preliminary results suggest that the ghost shrimp clade emerged not before the Hauterivian (~ 133 Ma). The divergence of Ctenochelidae and Paracalliacinae is estimated to occur within the interval of Hauterivian to Albian (133–100 Ma). Callichirinae and Eucalliacinae likely diverged later during the Late Cretaceous (100–66 Ma

A review of ghost gear entanglement amongst marine mammals, reptiles and elasmobranchs.

Science.gov (United States)

Stelfox, Martin; Hudgins, Jillian; Sweet, Michael

2016-10-15

This review focuses on the effect that ghost gear entanglement has on marine megafauna, namely mammals, reptiles and elasmobranchs. A total of 76 publications and other sources of grey literature were assessed, and these highlighted that over 5400 individuals from 40 different species were recorded as entangled in, or associated with, ghost gear. Interestingly, there appeared to be a deficit of research in the Indian, Southern, and Arctic Oceans; and so, we recommend that future studies focus efforts on these areas. Furthermore, studies assessing the effects of ghost gear on elasmobranchs, manatees, and dugongs should also be prioritised, as these groups were underrepresented in the current literature. The development of regional databases, capable of recording entanglement incidences following a minimum global set of criteria, would be a logical next step in order to analyse the effect that ghost gear has on megafauna populations worldwide. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Haemostatic function and biomarkers of endothelial damage before and after RBC transfusion in patients with haematologic disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, A M; Leinøe, E B; Johansson, P I

2015-01-01

function and the endothelium) to RBC transfusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blood was sampled from patients with various transfusion-dependent haematologic diseases before 1 and 24 h after RBC transfusion. Primary and secondary haemostasis was evaluated by whole-blood impedance aggregometry (Multiplate....... Compared to before transfusion, patients had slightly reduced coagulability 1 h after RBC transfusion, assessed by TEG. However, transfusion of older RBC products (>14 days) was associated with increased coagulability (all P level of syndecan-1 increased slightly 24 h after transfusion (median....... The changes observed were small to moderate and the clinical relevance of these findings should be investigated in larger studies....

Ghost Whisperer's Ghost in the Machine: An example of pop cultural representation of virtual worlds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reinhard, CarrieLynn D.

2009-01-01

Analysis of an episode of the CBS series "Ghost Whisperer" for how it depicts a) what is a virtual world and b) the tensions that are involved in discussing the uses and effects of a virtual world.  Discussion focuses on the overriding negative reception of virtual worlds in popular culture due...

The BRST quantization and the no-ghost theorem for AdS3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asano, Masako; Natsuume, Makoto

2003-01-01

In our previous papers, we prove the no-ghost theorem without light-cone directions. We point out that our results are valid for more general backgrounds. In particular, we prove the no-ghost theorem for AdS 3 in the context of the BRST quantization (with the standard restriction on the spin). We compare our BRST proof with the OCQ proof and establish the BRST-OCQ equivalence for AdS 3 . The key in both approaches lies in the certain structure of the matter Hilbert space as a product of two Verma modules. We also present the no-ghost theorem in the most general form. (author)

Hydraulic activities by ghost shrimp Neotrypaea californiensis induce oxic-anoxic oscillations in sediments

Science.gov (United States)

We applied porewater pressure sensing, time-lapse photography and planar optode imaging of oxygen to investigate hydraulic behaviors of the Thalassinidean ghost shrimp Neotrypaea californiensis and the associated dynamics of oxygen in and around their burrows. Ghost shrimp were h...

Hunting The Ghost Gun: An Analysis Of The U.S. Army Infantry Rifle

Science.gov (United States)

2016-03-01

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA JOINT APPLIED PROJECT HUNTING THE GHOST GUN : AN ANALYSIS OF THE U.S. ARMY......LEFT BLANK iii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited HUNTING THE GHOST GUN : AN ANALYSIS OF THE U.S. ARMY INFANTRY

Ghost marker detection and elimination in marker-based optical tracking systems for real-time tracking in stereotactic body radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan, Guanghua; Li, Jonathan; Huang, Yin; Mittauer, Kathryn; Lu, Bo; Liu, Chihray

2014-01-01

Purpose: To propose a simple model to explain the origin of ghost markers in marker-based optical tracking systems (OTS) and to develop retrospective strategies to detect and eliminate ghost markers. Methods: In marker-based OTS, ghost markers are virtual markers created due to the cross-talk between the two camera sensors, which can lead to system execution failure or inaccuracy in patient tracking. As a result, the users have to limit the number of markers and avoid certain marker configurations to reduce the chances of ghost markers. In this work, the authors propose retrospective strategies to detect and eliminate ghost markers. The two camera sensors were treated as mathematical points in space. The authors identified the coplanar within limit (CWL) condition as the necessary condition for ghost marker occurrence. A simple ghost marker detection method was proposed based on the model. Ghost marker elimination was achieved through pattern matching: a ghost marker-free reference set was matched with the optical marker set observed by the OTS; unmatched optical markers were eliminated as either ghost markers or misplaced markers. The pattern matching problem was formulated as a constraint satisfaction problem (using pairwise distances as constraints) and solved with an iterative backtracking algorithm. Wildcard markers were introduced to address missing or misplaced markers. An experiment was designed to measure the sensor positions and the limit for the CWL condition. The ghost marker detection and elimination algorithms were verified with samples collected from a five-marker jig and a nine-marker anthropomorphic phantom, rotated with the treatment couch from −60° to +60°. The accuracy of the pattern matching algorithm was further validated with marker patterns from 40 patients who underwent stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). For this purpose, a synthetic optical marker pattern was created for each patient by introducing ghost markers, marker position

Ghost marker detection and elimination in marker-based optical tracking systems for real-time tracking in stereotactic body radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yan, Guanghua, E-mail: yan@ufl.edu; Li, Jonathan; Huang, Yin; Mittauer, Kathryn; Lu, Bo; Liu, Chihray [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610 (United States)

2014-10-15

Purpose: To propose a simple model to explain the origin of ghost markers in marker-based optical tracking systems (OTS) and to develop retrospective strategies to detect and eliminate ghost markers. Methods: In marker-based OTS, ghost markers are virtual markers created due to the cross-talk between the two camera sensors, which can lead to system execution failure or inaccuracy in patient tracking. As a result, the users have to limit the number of markers and avoid certain marker configurations to reduce the chances of ghost markers. In this work, the authors propose retrospective strategies to detect and eliminate ghost markers. The two camera sensors were treated as mathematical points in space. The authors identified the coplanar within limit (CWL) condition as the necessary condition for ghost marker occurrence. A simple ghost marker detection method was proposed based on the model. Ghost marker elimination was achieved through pattern matching: a ghost marker-free reference set was matched with the optical marker set observed by the OTS; unmatched optical markers were eliminated as either ghost markers or misplaced markers. The pattern matching problem was formulated as a constraint satisfaction problem (using pairwise distances as constraints) and solved with an iterative backtracking algorithm. Wildcard markers were introduced to address missing or misplaced markers. An experiment was designed to measure the sensor positions and the limit for the CWL condition. The ghost marker detection and elimination algorithms were verified with samples collected from a five-marker jig and a nine-marker anthropomorphic phantom, rotated with the treatment couch from −60° to +60°. The accuracy of the pattern matching algorithm was further validated with marker patterns from 40 patients who underwent stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). For this purpose, a synthetic optical marker pattern was created for each patient by introducing ghost markers, marker position

Ghost reflections of Gaussian beams in anamorphic optical systems with an application to Michelson interferometer.

Science.gov (United States)

Abd El-Maksoud, Rania H

2016-02-20

In this paper, a methodology is developed to model and analyze the effect of undesired (ghost) reflections of Gaussian beams that are produced by anamorphic optical systems. The superposition of these beams with the nominal beam modulates the nominal power distribution at the recording plane. This modulation may cause contrast reduction, veiling parts of the nominal image, and/or the formation of spurious interference fringes. The developed methodology is based on synthesizing the beam optical paths into nominal and ghost optical beam paths. Similar to the nominal beam, we present the concept that each ghost beam is characterized by a beam size, wavefront radius of curvature, and Gouy phase in the paraxial regime. The nominal and ghost beams are sequentially traced through the system and formulas for estimating the electric field magnitude and phase of each ghost beam at the recording plane are presented. The effective electric field is the addition of the individual nominal and ghost electric fields. Formulas for estimating Gouy phase, the shape of the interference fringes, and the central interference order are introduced. As an application, the theory of the formation of the interference fringes by Michelson interferometer is presented. This theory takes into consideration the ghost reflections that are formed by the beam splitter. To illustrate the theory and to show its wide applicability, simulation examples that include a Mangin mirror, a Michelson interferometer, and a black box optical system are provided.

Effects of ghost shrimp on zinc and cadmium in sediments from Tampa Bay, FL

Science.gov (United States)

Klerks, P.L.; Felder, D.L.; Strasser, K.; Swarzenski, P.W.

2007-01-01

This study investigated the effects that ghost shrimp have on the distribution of metals in sediment. We measured levels of HNO3-extractable zinc and cadmium in surface sediment, in ghost shrimp burrow walls and in sediment ejected by the ghost shrimp from their burrows, at five sandy intertidal sites in Tampa Bay. Ghost shrimp densities and their rate of sediment ejection were also quantified, as were sediment organic content and silt + clay content. Densities of ghost shrimp (Sergio trilobata and Lepidophthalmus louisianensis) averaged 33/m2 at our sites, and they ejected sediment at an average rate of 28 g/burrow/day. Levels of both Zn and Cd were significantly higher in burrow walls than in surface sediments. Sediment ejected by the shrimp from their burrows had elevated levels of Zn (relative to surface sediments) at one of the sites. Sediment organic content and silt + clay content were higher in burrow-wall sediments than in ejected sediment, which in turn tended to have values above those of surface sediments. Differences in levels of HNO3-extractable Zn and Cd among sediment types may be a consequence of these sediments differing in other physiochemical characteristics, though the differences in metal levels remained statistically significant for some sites after correcting for differences in organic content and silt + clay content. We conclude that the presence of ghost shrimp burrows contributes to spatial heterogeneity of sedimentary metal levels, while the ghost shrimp bioturbation results in a significant flux of metals to the sediment surface and is expected to decrease heterogeneity of metal levels in sedimentary depth profiles.

Experimental evaluation of mechanical and electrical properties of RBC suspensions in Dextran and PEG under flow II. Role of RBC deformability and morphology

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Antonova, N.; Říha, Pavel; Ivanov, I.; Gluhcheva, Y.

2011-01-01

Roč. 49, 1-4 (2011), s. 441-450 ISSN 1386-0291 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20600510 Keywords : RBC suspensions * conductivity * Dextran 70 * Polyethylene glycol 35 000 ( PEG ) Subject RIV: BK - Fluid Dynamics Impact factor: 3.398, year: 2011

Experimental evaluation of mechanical and electrical properties of RBC suspensions in Dextran and PEG under flow II. Role of RBC deformability and morphology

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Antonova, N.; Říha, Pavel; Ivanov, I.; Gluhcheva, Y.

2011-01-01

Roč. 49, 1-4 (2011), s. 441-450 ISSN 1386-0291 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20600510 Keywords : RBC suspensions * conductivity * Dextran 70 * Polyethylene glycol 35 000 (PEG) Subject RIV: BK - Fluid Dynamics Impact factor: 3.398, year: 2011

Building Shadow Detection from Ghost Imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, G.; Sha, J.; Yue, T.; Wang, Q.; Liu, X.; Huang, S.; Pan, Q.; Wei, J.

2018-05-01

Shadow is one of the basic features of remote sensing image, it expresses a lot of information of the object which is loss or interference, and the removal of shadow is always a difficult problem to remote sensing image processing. In this paper, it is mainly analyzes the characteristics and properties of shadows from the ghost image (traditional orthorectification). The DBM and the interior and exterior orientation elements of the image are used to calculate the zenith angle of sun. Then this paper combines the scope of the architectural shadows which has be determined by the zenith angle of sun with the region growing method to make the detection of architectural shadow areas. This method lays a solid foundation for the shadow of the repair from the ghost image later. It will greatly improve the accuracy of shadow detection from buildings and make it more conducive to solve the problem of urban large-scale aerial imagines.

BUILDING SHADOW DETECTION FROM GHOST IMAGERY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Zhou

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Shadow is one of the basic features of remote sensing image, it expresses a lot of information of the object which is loss or interference, and the removal of shadow is always a difficult problem to remote sensing image processing. In this paper, it is mainly analyzes the characteristics and properties of shadows from the ghost image (traditional orthorectification. The DBM and the interior and exterior orientation elements of the image are used to calculate the zenith angle of sun. Then this paper combines the scope of the architectural shadows which has be determined by the zenith angle of sun with the region growing method to make the detection of architectural shadow areas. This method lays a solid foundation for the shadow of the repair from the ghost image later. It will greatly improve the accuracy of shadow detection from buildings and make it more conducive to solve the problem of urban large-scale aerial imagines.

A simple approach for EPID dosimetric calibration to overcome the effect of image-lag and ghosting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alshanqity, Mukhtar; Duane, Simon; Nisbet, Andrew

2012-01-01

EPID dosimetry has known drawbacks. The main issue is that a measurable residual signal is observed after the end of irradiation for prolonged periods of time, thus making measurement difficult. We present a detailed analysis of EPID response and suggest a simple, yet accurate approach for calibration that avoids the complexity of incorporating ghosting and image-lag using the maximum integrated signal instead of the total integrated signal. This approach is linear with dose and independent of dose rate. - Highlights: ► Image-lag and ghosting effects dosimetric accuracy. ► Image-lag and ghosting result in the reduction of total integrated signal for low doses. ► Residual signal is the most significant result for the image-lag and ghosting effects. ► Image-lag and ghosting can result in under-dosing of up to 2.5%.

Harry Potter and the Ghost Teacher: Resurrecting the Lost Art of Lecturing

Science.gov (United States)

McDaniel, Kathryn N.

2010-01-01

A significant image of classroom lectures is the one presented in J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series. At Harry's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the most torturous class is easily History of Magic, which is, incidentally, the only class in the school taught by a ghost. Being taught by a ghost could be quite exciting: not so in…

The Ghost Tradition: Helen Of Troy In The Elizabethan Era

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

RADUCANU ADRIANA

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Reputedly the most beautiful woman who has ever lived, Helen of Troy (or Sparta is less well known for her elusive, ghost-like dimension. Homer wrote that the greatest war of Western classical antiquity started because of Helen's adultery followed by her elopement to Troy. Other ancient writers and historians, among theme Aeschylus, Stesichorus, Hesiod, Pausanias, Aristophanes, Euripides and Gorgias of Leontini, challenged the Homeric version, in various ways and attempted to exonerate Helen either by focusing on her phantom/ ghost/ as the generic object of man's desire and scorn or by casting doubt on the mechanisms of the blaming process. This paper argues that the Elizabethans Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare adopted and adapted the anti-Homer version of the depiction of Helen, what I here call “the ancient Helen ghost tradition”; nevertheless, in so doing they further reinforced the character's demonic features and paradoxically achieved a return to the adulterous Homeric Helen.

50 CFR 697.21 - Gear identification and marking, escape vent, maximum trap size, and ghost panel requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... vent, maximum trap size, and ghost panel requirements. 697.21 Section 697.21 Wildlife and Fisheries... identification and marking, escape vent, maximum trap size, and ghost panel requirements. (a) Gear identification... Administrator finds to be consistent with paragraph (c) of this section. (d) Ghost panel. (1) Lobster traps not...

Lucia's Ghosts: Sonic, Gothic, and Postmodern

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fillerup, Jessie

2016-01-01

In this article, I use an intertextual interference – the spectral presence of Norma Desmond in a performance of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor – as a locus through which to explore the consequences of the ‘open’ text in theatrical spectatorship, criticism and historical study. Norma’s ghosting...

Examining Perceived Distance and Personal Authenticity as Mediators of the Effects of Ghost-Tweeting on Parasocial Interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Elizabeth L; Tyler, William J

2016-05-01

A number of high-profile public figures hire ghost-tweeters to post to their social media accounts on their behalf, but no research has examined how this social media practice can affect followers' feelings of connection to the public figures. College students (n = 132) participated in an online experiment to examine the effect of ghost-tweeting practices on parasocial interaction (PSI) with social media figures. Tweet authorship (use of a ghost-tweeter or not) was manipulated. Ghost-tweeting resulted in reduced PSI. Perceptions of distance, but not personal authenticity mediated this effect. However, authenticity and distance did serially mediate the relationship between ghost-tweeting and PSI. These findings shed light on the process of PSI with celebrities and other media figures on social network sites.

A gene phylogeny of the red algae (Rhodophyta) based on plastid rbcL.

Science.gov (United States)

Freshwater, D W; Fredericq, S; Butler, B S; Hommersand, M H; Chase, M W

1994-01-01

A phylogeny for the Rhodophyta has been inferred by parsimony analysis of plastid rbcL sequences representing 81 species, 68 genera, 38 families, and 17 orders of red algae; rbcL encodes the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase. Levels of sequence divergence among species, genera, and families are high in red algae, typically much greater than those reported for flowering plants. The Rhodophyta traditionally consists of one class, Rhodophyceae, and two subclasses, Bangiophycidae and Florideophycidae. The Bangiophycidae with three orders (Porphyridiales, Compsopogonales, and Bangiales) appears to be polyphyletic, and the Florideophycidae with 17 orders is monophyletic in this study. The current classification of the Florideophycidae based on ultrastructure of pit connections is supported. With the exception of the Rhodogorgonales, which appears to be misplaced, orders with one or two pit-plug cap layers (Hildenbrandiales, Corallinales, Acrochaetiales, Palmanales, Batrachospermales, and Nemaliales) terminate long branches of basal position within Florideophycidae in the most parsimonious rbcL tree. Orders that lack typical cap layers but possess a cap membrane are resolved as a monophyletic clade sister to the Ahnfeltiales. The large order Gigartinales, which is distributed among five rbcL clades, is polyphyletic. Families that possess typical carrageenan in their cell walls are resolved as a terminal clade containing two family complexes centered around the Solieriaceae and Gigartinaceae. PMID:8041781

GHOSTS I: A new faint very isolated dwarf galaxy at D = 12 ± 2 Mpc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monachesi, Antonela; Bell, Eric F.; Radburn-Smith, David J.; Dalcanton, Julianne J.; De Jong, Roelof S.; Streich, David; Vlajić, Marija; Bailin, Jeremy; Holwerda, Benne W.; Alyson Ford, H.; Zucker, Daniel B.

2014-01-01

We report the discovery of a new faint dwarf galaxy, GHOSTS I, using HST/ACS data from one of our GHOSTS (Galaxy Halos, Outer disks, Substructure, Thick disk, and Star clusters) fields. Its detected individual stars populate an approximately 1 mag range of its luminosity function (LF). Using synthetic color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) to compare with the galaxy's CMD, we find that the colors and magnitudes of GHOSTS I's individual stars are most consistent with being young helium-burning and asymptotic giant branch stars at a distance of ∼12 ± 2 Mpc. Morphologically, GHOSTS I appears to be actively forming stars, so we tentatively classify it as a dwarf irregular (dIrr) galaxy, although future Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations deep enough to resolve a larger magnitude range in its LF are required to make a more secure classification. GHOSTS I's absolute magnitude is M V ∼−9.85 −0.33 +0.40 , making it one of the least luminous dIrr galaxies known, and its metallicity is lower than [Fe/H] = –1.5 dex. The half-light radius of GHOSTS I is 226 ± 38 pc and its ellipticity is 0.47 ± 0.07, similar to Milky Way and M31 dwarf satellites at comparable luminosity. There are no luminous massive galaxies or galaxy clusters within ∼4 Mpc from GHOSTS I that could be considered as its host, making it a very isolated dwarf galaxy in the local universe.

Identification of ghost artifact using texture analysis in pediatric spinal cord diffusion tensor images.

Science.gov (United States)

Alizadeh, Mahdi; Conklin, Chris J; Middleton, Devon M; Shah, Pallav; Saksena, Sona; Krisa, Laura; Finsterbusch, Jürgen; Faro, Scott H; Mulcahey, M J; Mohamed, Feroze B

2018-04-01

Ghost artifacts are a major contributor to degradation of spinal cord diffusion tensor images. A multi-stage post-processing pipeline was designed, implemented and validated to automatically remove ghost artifacts arising from reduced field of view diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the pediatric spinal cord. A total of 12 pediatric subjects including 7 healthy subjects (mean age=11.34years) with no evidence of spinal cord injury or pathology and 5 patients (mean age=10.96years) with cervical spinal cord injury were studied. Ghost/true cords, labeled as region of interests (ROIs), in non-diffusion weighted b0 images were segmented automatically using mathematical morphological processing. Initially, 21 texture features were extracted from each segmented ROI including 5 first-order features based on the histogram of the image (mean, variance, skewness, kurtosis and entropy) and 16s-order feature vector elements, incorporating four statistical measures (contrast, correlation, homogeneity and energy) calculated from co-occurrence matrices in directions of 0°, 45°, 90° and 135°. Next, ten features with a high value of mutual information (MI) relative to the pre-defined target class and within the features were selected as final features which were input to a trained classifier (adaptive neuro-fuzzy interface system) to separate the true cord from the ghost cord. The implemented pipeline was successfully able to separate the ghost artifacts from true cord structures. The results obtained from the classifier showed a sensitivity of 91%, specificity of 79%, and accuracy of 84% in separating the true cord from ghost artifacts. The results show that the proposed method is promising for the automatic detection of ghost cords present in DTI images of the spinal cord. This step is crucial towards development of accurate, automatic DTI spinal cord post processing pipelines. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rotational dynamics of C60 in Na2RbC60

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christides, C.; Prassides, K.; Neumann, D.A.; Copley, J.R.D.; Mizuki, J.; Tanigaki, K.; Hirosawa, I.; Ebbesen, T.W.

1993-01-01

We have measured the low-energy neutron inelastic-scattering (NIS) spectra of superconducting Na 2 RbC 60 in the temperature range 50-350 K. Well-defined librational peaks are observed at 50 K at 2.83(17) meV (FWHM = 1.7(5) meV). They soften and broaden with increasing temperature. Their behaviour mimics that found in solid C 60 and differs markedly from K 3 C 60 . The rotational barrier for C 60 reorientations in Na 2 RbC 60 is somewhat higher than in pristine C 60 and approximately half as large as in K 3 C 60 . An order-disorder transition is anticipated at a temperature higher than that found in C 60 . (orig.)

Placentography with technetium-99m labelled RBC - an evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jayachandran, C.A.; Benjamin, C.S.; Balakrishnan; Narasimhan

1983-01-01

During 1979-80, placentography was performed in 40 cases of pregnant women with third trimester bleeding. Random labelled RBC with sup(99m)Tc of activity 2-3 mci was used, depending upon the weight of the patient. In 98% of cases, the isotope finding was confirmed. (author)

Discriminatory power of rbcL barcode locus for authentication of some of United Arab Emirates (UAE) native plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Maloukh, Lina; Kumarappan, Alagappan; Jarrar, Mohammad; Salehi, Jawad; El-Wakil, Houssam; Rajya Lakshmi, T V

2017-06-01

DNA barcoding of United Arab Emirates (UAE) native plants is of high practical and scientific value as the plants adapt to very harsh environmental conditions that challenge their identification. Fifty-one plant species belonged to 22 families, 2 monocots, and 20 eudicots; a maximum number of species being legumes and grasses were collected. To authenticate the morphological identification of the wild plant taxa, rbcL and matK regions were used in the study. The primer universality and discriminatory power of rbcL is 100%, while it is 35% for matK locus for these plant species. The sequences were submitted to GenBank; accession numbers were obtained for all the rbcL sequences and for 6 of matK sequences. We suggest rbcL as a promising barcode locus for the tested group of 51 plants. In the present study, an inexpensive, simple method of identification of rare desert plant taxa through rbcL barcode is being reported.

Cinematography in Motherhood: a Hong Kong film adaptation of Ghosts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kwok-kan Tam

2015-02-01

Full Text Available This is a study of a Hong Kong Chinese film adaptation of Ghosts made in 1960. It deals with processes of cross-cultural and cross-media adaptation, and probes issues of how stage techniques are turned into cinematographic devices. Ibsen’s plays, except Ghosts, have been adapted numerous times for the Chinese stage and screen in Hong Kong and China. Unlike in China, the reception of Ibsen in Hong Kong is not meant for political purposes. In most Hong Kong adaptations, Ibsen is valued for the purpose of theatrical experimentation. Among the stage adaptations, A Doll’s House and The Master Builder are the most popular. However, there was a film adaptation of Ghosts in 1960, which has never been discussed in Ibsen scholarship. In this adaptation, Director Tso Kea borrowed the plot from Ghosts and made a perfect Chinese melodrama film highlighting the Chinese emotions and relations in a wealthy family that undergoes a crisis. In traditional Chinese drama, there is the lack of psychological rendering in characterization and characters act according to moral considerations. In Tso Kea’s film, the portrayal of the mother provides a new sense of characterization by combining Mrs Alving with the traditional Chinese mother figure. The borrowing from Ibsen makes it possible for the Chinese film to create a character with emotional and psychological complexities. Images from the film are selected as illustration in the article.

Ghosts in high dimensional non-linear dynamical systems: The example of the hypercycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sardanyes, Josep

2009-01-01

Ghost-induced delayed transitions are analyzed in high dimensional non-linear dynamical systems by means of the hypercycle model. The hypercycle is a network of catalytically-coupled self-replicating RNA-like macromolecules, and has been suggested to be involved in the transition from non-living to living matter in the context of earlier prebiotic evolution. It is demonstrated that, in the vicinity of the saddle-node bifurcation for symmetric hypercycles, the persistence time before extinction, T ε , tends to infinity as n→∞ (being n the number of units of the hypercycle), thus suggesting that the increase in the number of hypercycle units involves a longer resilient time before extinction because of the ghost. Furthermore, by means of numerical analysis the dynamics of three large hypercycle networks is also studied, focusing in their extinction dynamics associated to the ghosts. Such networks allow to explore the properties of the ghosts living in high dimensional phase space with n = 5, n = 10 and n = 15 dimensions. These hypercyclic networks, in agreement with other works, are shown to exhibit self-maintained oscillations governed by stable limit cycles. The bifurcation scenarios for these hypercycles are analyzed, as well as the effect of the phase space dimensionality in the delayed transition phenomena and in the scaling properties of the ghosts near bifurcation threshold

A ghost-cell immersed boundary method for flow in complex geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tseng, Y.-H.; Ferziger, Joel H.

2003-01-01

An efficient ghost-cell immersed boundary method (GCIBM) for simulating turbulent flows in complex geometries is presented. A boundary condition is enforced through a ghost cell method. The reconstruction procedure allows systematic development of numerical schemes for treating the immersed boundary while preserving the overall second-order accuracy of the base solver. Both Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions can be treated. The current ghost cell treatment is both suitable for staggered and non-staggered Cartesian grids. The accuracy of the current method is validated using flow past a circular cylinder and large eddy simulation of turbulent flow over a wavy surface. Numerical results are compared with experimental data and boundary-fitted grid results. The method is further extended to an existing ocean model (MITGCM) to simulate geophysical flow over a three-dimensional bump. The method is easily implemented as evidenced by our use of several existing codes

40 CFR 35.2035 - Rotating biological contractor (RBC) replacement grants.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... treatment works owner, the applicant, its engineers, contractors, equipment manufacturers or suppliers; (b) The RBC failure has significantly increased the project's capital or operation and maintenance costs; (c) The modification/replacement project meets all requirements of EPA's construction grant and other...

Towards numerical simulations of supersonic liquid jets using ghost fluid method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majidi, Sahand; Afshari, Asghar

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A ghost fluid method based solver is developed for numerical simulation of compressible multiphase flows. • The performance of the numerical tool is validated via several benchmark problems. • Emergence of supersonic liquid jets in quiescent gaseous environment is simulated using ghost fluid method for the first time. • Bow-shock formation ahead of the liquid jet is clearly observed in the obtained numerical results. • Radiation of mach waves from the phase-interface witnessed experimentally is evidently captured in our numerical simulations. - Abstract: A computational tool based on the ghost fluid method (GFM) is developed to study supersonic liquid jets involving strong shocks and contact discontinuities with high density ratios. The solver utilizes constrained reinitialization method and is capable of switching between the exact and approximate Riemann solvers to increase the robustness. The numerical methodology is validated through several benchmark test problems; these include one-dimensional multiphase shock tube problem, shock–bubble interaction, air cavity collapse in water, and underwater-explosion. A comparison between our results and numerical and experimental observations indicate that the developed solver performs well investigating these problems. The code is then used to simulate the emergence of a supersonic liquid jet into a quiescent gaseous medium, which is the very first time to be studied by a ghost fluid method. The results of simulations are in good agreement with the experimental investigations. Also some of the famous flow characteristics, like the propagation of pressure-waves from the liquid jet interface and dependence of the Mach cone structure on the inlet Mach number, are reproduced numerically. The numerical simulations conducted here suggest that the ghost fluid method is an affordable and reliable scheme to study complicated interfacial evolutions in complex multiphase systems such as supersonic liquid

Ghost imaging based on Pearson correlation coefficients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Wen-Kai; Yao Xu-Ri; Liu Xue-Feng; Li Long-Zhen; Zhai Guang-Jie

2015-01-01

Correspondence imaging is a new modality of ghost imaging, which can retrieve a positive/negative image by simple conditional averaging of the reference frames that correspond to relatively large/small values of the total intensity measured at the bucket detector. Here we propose and experimentally demonstrate a more rigorous and general approach in which a ghost image is retrieved by calculating a Pearson correlation coefficient between the bucket detector intensity and the brightness at a given pixel of the reference frames, and at the next pixel, and so on. Furthermore, we theoretically provide a statistical interpretation of these two imaging phenomena, and explain how the error depends on the sample size and what kind of distribution the error obeys. According to our analysis, the image signal-to-noise ratio can be greatly improved and the sampling number reduced by means of our new method. (paper)

Phase-Sensitive Coherence and the Classical-Quantum Boundary in Ghost Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Erkmen, Baris I.; Hardy, Nicholas D.; Venkatraman, Dheera; Wong, Franco N. C.; Shapiro, Jeffrey H.

2011-01-01

The theory of partial coherence has a long and storied history in classical statistical optics. the vast majority of this work addresses fields that are statistically stationary in time, hence their complex envelopes only have phase-insensitive correlations. The quantum optics of squeezed-state generation, however, depends on nonlinear interactions producing baseband field operators with phase-insensitive and phase-sensitive correlations. Utilizing quantum light to enhance imaging has been a topic of considerable current interest, much of it involving biphotons, i.e., streams of entangled-photon pairs. Biphotons have been employed for quantum versions of optical coherence tomography, ghost imaging, holography, and lithography. However, their seemingly quantum features have been mimicked with classical-sate light, questioning wherein lies the classical-quantum boundary. We have shown, for the case of Gaussian-state light, that this boundary is intimately connected to the theory of phase-sensitive partial coherence. Here we present that theory, contrasting it with the familiar case of phase-insensitive partial coherence, and use it to elucidate the classical-quantum boundary of ghost imaging. We show, both theoretically and experimentally, that classical phase-sensitive light produces ghost imaging most closely mimicking those obtained in biphotons, and we derived the spatial resolution, image contrast, and signal-to-noise ratio of a standoff-sensing ghost imager, taking into account target-induced speckle.

Measurement of blood coagulation with considering RBC aggregation through a microchip-based light transmission aggregometer.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Hyunjung; Nam, Jeonghun; Xue, Shubin; Shin, Sehyun

2011-01-01

Even though blood coagulation can be tested by various methods and techniques, the effect of RBC aggregation on blood coagulation is not fully understood. The present study monitored clot formation in a microchip-based light transmission aggregometer. Citrated blood samples with and without the addition of calcium ion solution were initially disaggregated by rotating a stirrer in the microchip. After abrupt stop of the rotating stirrer, the transmitted light intensity over time was recorded. The syllectogram (light intensity vs. time graph) manifested a rapid increase that is associated with RBC aggregation followed by a decrease that is associated with blood coagulation. The time to reach the peak point was used as a new index of coagulation time (CT) and ranged from 200 to 500 seconds in the present measurements. The CT was inversely proportional to the concentration of fibrinogen, which enhances RBC aggregation. In addition, the CT was inversely proportional to the hematocrit, which is similar to the case of the prothrombin time (PT), as measured by a commercial coagulometer. Thus, we carefully concluded that RBC aggregation should be considered in tests of blood coagulation.

Biological amine transport in chromaffin ghosts. Coupling to the transmembrane proton and potential gradients.

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Johnson, R G; Pfister, D; Carty, S E; Scarpa, A

1979-11-10

The effect of the transmembrane proton gradient (delta pH) and potential gradient (delta psi) upon the rate and extent of amine accumulation was investigated in chromaffin ghosts. The chromaffin ghosts were formed by hypo-osmotic lysis of isolated bovine chromaffin granules and extensive dialysis in order to remove intragranular binding components and dissipate the endogenous electrochemical gradients. Upon ATP addition to suspensions of chromaffin ghosts, a transmembrane proton gradient alone, a transmembrane gradient alone, or both, could be established, depending upon the compositions of the media in which the ghosts were formed and resuspended. When chloride was present in the medium, addition of ATP resulted in the generation of a transmembrane proton gradient, acidic inside of 1 pH unit (measured by [14C]methylamine distribution), and no transmembrane potential (measured by [14C]-thiocyanate distribution). When ATP was added to chromaffin ghosts suspended in a medium in which chloride was substituted by isethionate, a transmembrane potential, inside positive, of 45 mV and no transmembrane proton gradient, was measured. In each medium, the addition of agents known to affect proton or potential gradients, respectively, exerted a predictable mechanism of action. Accumulation of [14C]epinephrine or [14C]5-hydroxytryptamine was over 1 order of magnitude greater in the presence of the transmembrane proton gradient or the transmembrane potential than in the absence of any gradient and, moreover, was related to the magnitude of the proton or potential gradient in a dose-dependent manner. When ghosts were added to a medium containing chloride and isethionate, both a delta pH and delta psi could be generated upon addition of ATP. In this preparation, the maximal rate of amine accumulation was observed. The results indicate that amine accumulation into chromaffin ghosts can occur in the presence of either a transmembrane proton gradient, or a transmembrane potential

Correlation of the ghost and the quark in the lattice Landau gauge QCD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furui, Sadataka; Nakajima, Hideo

2007-01-01

Effects of the quark field on the ghost propagator of the lattice Landau gauge are investigated by using the unquenched SU(3) configurations produced by the MILC collaboration and compared with quenched gauge configurations of SU(2) first copy of the over relaxation gauge fixing, the parallel tempering (PT) gauge fixing and quenched SU(3) 56 4 configurations. We measure the color symmetric and the color antisymmetric ghost propagator and the Binder cumulant of the l 1 norm and the l 2 norm of color antisymmetric ghost propagators and investigate deviation from those of Gaussian distributions. In the first copy samples of quenched SU(2) we observe a large fluctuation in the Binder cumulant at the lowest momentum point. This fluctuation is reduced in the P T gauge fixed samples. The color anti-symmetric ghost propagator of quenched SU(3) configurations depends on the lattice size and is small as compared to the symmetric one in the large lattice of 56 4 . The Binder cumulant of the quenched SU(2) and the N f = 2 + 1 unquenched SU(3) are almost consistent with 3-d and 8-d Gaussian distribution, respectively. A comparison of the SU(3) unquenched configurations and quenched configurations indicates that the dynamical quarks have the effect of making color antisymmetric ghost propagator closer to the Gaussian distribution and the Kugo-Ojima color confinement parameter c closer to 1. (author)

Theoretical study of ghost imaging with cold atomic waves under the condition of partial coherence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Jun; Liu, Yun-Xian

2014-01-01

A matter wave ghost imaging mechanism is proposed and demonstrated theoretically. This mechanism is based on the Talbot-Lau effect. Periodic gratings of matter wave density, which appear as a result of interference of atoms diffracted by pulses of an optical standing wave, are utilized to produce the reference wave and the signal wave simultaneously for the ghost imaging. An advantage of this mechanism is that during the imaging process, the beam-splitter is not needed, which highly simplifies the experimental setup and makes the ghost imaging possible in the field of matter wave

Pseudo color ghost coding imaging with pseudo thermal light

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, De-yang; Xia, Yun-jie

2018-04-01

We present a new pseudo color imaging scheme named pseudo color ghost coding imaging based on ghost imaging but with multiwavelength source modulated by a spatial light modulator. Compared with conventional pseudo color imaging where there is no nondegenerate wavelength spatial correlations resulting in extra monochromatic images, the degenerate wavelength and nondegenerate wavelength spatial correlations between the idle beam and signal beam can be obtained simultaneously. This scheme can obtain more colorful image with higher quality than that in conventional pseudo color coding techniques. More importantly, a significant advantage of the scheme compared to the conventional pseudo color coding imaging techniques is the image with different colors can be obtained without changing the light source and spatial filter.

Two-loop ghost-antighost condensation for SU(2) Yang-Mills theories in the maximal abelian gauge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fazio, A.R.

2004-01-01

In the framework of the formalism of Cornwall et.al. for composite operators I study the ghost-antighost condensation in SU(2) Yang-Mills theories quantized in the Maximal Abelian Gauge and derive analytically a condensating effective potential at two ghost loops. I find that in this approximation the one-loop pairing ghost-antighost is not destroyed and no mass is generated if the ansatz for the propagator suggested by the tree level Hubbard-Stratonovich transformations is used

New proposal for non-linear ghost-free massive F(R) gravity: Cosmic acceleration and Hamiltonian analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klusoň, Josef; Nojiri, Shin'ichi; Odintsov, Sergei D.

2013-01-01

We propose new version of massive F(R) gravity which is natural generalization of convenient massive ghost-free gravity. Its Hamiltonian formulation in scalar-tensor frame is developed. We show that such F(R) theory is ghost-free. The cosmological evolution of such theory is investigated. Despite the strong Bianchi identity constraint the possibility of cosmic acceleration (especially, in the presence of cold dark matter) is established. Ghost-free massive F(R,T) gravity is also proposed

Phantom dark ghost in Einstein-Cartan gravity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Yu-Chiao [National Taiwan University, Department of Physics, Taipei (China); National Taiwan University, LeCosPA, Taipei (China); Bouhmadi-Lopez, Mariam [University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Department of Theoretical Physics, P.O. Box 644, Bilbao (Spain); Basque Foundation for Science, IKERBASQUE, Bilbao (Spain); Chen, Pisin [National Taiwan University, Department of Physics, Taipei (China); National Taiwan University, LeCosPA, Taipei (China); National Taiwan University, Graduate Institute of Astrophysics, Taipei (China); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford, CA (United States)

2017-05-15

A class of dynamical dark energy models is constructed through an extended version of fermion fields corresponding to phantom dark ghost spinors, which are spin 1/2 with mass dimension 1. We find that if these spinors interact with torsion fields in a homogeneous and isotropic universe, then it does not imply any future dark energy singularity or any abrupt event, though the fermion has a negative kinetic energy. In fact, the equation of state of this dark energy model will asymptotically approach the value w = -1 from above without crossing the phantom divide and inducing therefore a de Sitter state. Consequently, we expect the model to be stable because no real phantom fields will be created. At late time, the torsion fields will vanish as the corresponding phantom dark ghost spinors dilute. As would be expected, intuitively, this result is unaffected by the presence of cold dark matter although the proof is not as straightforward as in general relativity. (orig.)

Hydrogen atom in a magnetic field: Ghost orbits, catastrophes, and uniform semiclassical approximations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Main, J.; Wunner, G.

1997-01-01

Applying closed-orbit theory to the recurrence spectra of the hydrogen atom in a magnetic field, one can interpret most, but not all, structures semiclassically in terms of closed classical orbits. In particular, conventional closed-orbit theory fails near bifurcations of orbits where semiclassical amplitudes exhibit unphysical divergences. Here we analyze the role of ghost orbits living in complex phase space. The ghosts can explain resonance structures in the spectra of the hydrogen atom in a magnetic field at positions where no real orbits exist. For three different types of catastrophes, viz. fold, cusp, and butterfly catastrophes, we construct uniform semiclassical approximations and demonstrate that these solutions are completely determined by classical parameters of the real orbits and complex ghosts. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

Spontaneous breaking of Lorentz symmetry by ghost condensation in perturbative quantum gravity

Science.gov (United States)

Faizal, Mir

2011-10-01

In this paper, we will study the spontaneous breakdown of the Lorentz symmetry by ghost condensation in perturbative quantum gravity. Our analysis will be done in the Curci-Ferrari gauge. We will also analyse the modification of the BRST and anti-BRST transformations by the formation of this ghost condensate. It will be shown that even though the modified BRST and anti-BRST transformations are not nilpotent, their nilpotency is restored on-shell.

Formation of ghost images due to metal objects on the surface of the patient's face: A pictorial essay.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Bárbara Couto; da Silva Izar, Bruna Raquel; Pereira, Jéssica Lourdes Costa; Souza, Priscilla Sena; Valerio, Claudia Scigliano; Tuji, Fabrício Mesquita; Manzi, Flávio Ricardo

2016-03-01

Panoramic radiographs are a relatively simple technique that is commonly used in all dental specialties. In panoramic radiographs, in addition to the formation of real images of metal objects, ghost images may also form, and these ghost images can hinder an accurate diagnosis and interfere with the accuracy of radiology reports. Dentists must understand the formation of these images in order to avoid making incorrect radiographic diagnoses. Therefore, the present study sought to present a study of the formation of panoramic radiograph ghost images caused by metal objects in the head and neck region of a dry skull, as well as to report a clinical case n order to warn dentists about ghost images and to raise awareness thereof. An understanding of the principles of the formation of ghost images in panoramic radiographs helps prevent incorrect diagnoses.

A spectre is haunting the cosmos: quantum stability of massive gravity with ghosts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Könnig, Frank; Nersisyan, Henrik; Akrami, Yashar; Amendola, Luca; Zumalacárregui, Miguel

2016-01-01

Many theories of modified gravity with higher order derivatives are usually ignored because of serious problems that appear due to an additional ghost degree of freedom. Most dangerously, it causes an immediate decay of the vacuum. However, breaking Lorentz invariance can cure such abominable behavior. By analyzing a model that describes a massive graviton together with a remaining Boulware-Deser ghost mode we show that even ghostly theories of modified gravity can yield models that are viable at both classical and quantum levels and, therefore, they should not generally be ruled out. Furthermore, we identify the most dangerous quantum scattering process that has the main impact on the decay time and find differences to simple theories that only describe an ordinary scalar field and a ghost. Additionally, constraints on the parameters of the theory including some upper bounds on the Lorentz-breaking cutoff scale are presented. In particular, for a simple theory of massive gravity we find that a breaking of Lorentz invariance is allowed to happen even at scales above the Planck mass. Finally, we discuss the relevance to other theories of modified gravity.

The Ghosts of Acetylcholine : structure-activity relationships of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Ghosts of Acetylcholine : structure-activity relationships of muscle relaxants : registrar communication. ... AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL · AJOL's ...

On the state space of the dipole ghost

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Binegar, B.

1984-01-01

A particular representation of SO(4, 2) is identified with the state space of the free dipole ghost. This representation is then given an explicit realization as the solution space of a 4th-order wave equation on a spacetime locally isomorphic to Minkowski space. A discrete basis for this solution space is given, as well as an explicit expression for its SO(4, 2) invariant inner product. The connection between the modes of dipole field and those of the massless scalar field is clarified, and a recent conjecture concerning the restriction of the dipole representation to the Poincare subgroup is confirmed. A particular coordinate transformation then reveals the theory of the dipole ghost in Minkowski space. Finally, it is shown that the solution space of the dipole equation is not unitarizable in a Poincare invariant manner. (orig.)

Vacuum correlation functions for ghost superfields and multiloop amplitudes in the theory of closed superstrings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Danilov, G.S.

1995-01-01

A new formalism for ghosts on complex (1 bar 1) supermanifolds of genus n > 1 is discussed in superstring theory. In this formalism, vacuum correlation functions for ghost superfields differ substantially from correlation functions discussed earlier. In particular, the new correlation functions do not have unphysical poles. Among other things, these correlation functions take into account contributions to partition functions from the phase space of modular forms and from zero modes of ghosts. The above correlation functions, obtained for all even spinor structures, can be used to evaluate partition functions from equations that are nothing but Ward identities. 21 refs

Ghost image in enhanced self-heterodyne synthetic aperture imaging ladar

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guo; Sun, Jianfeng; Zhou, Yu; Lu, Zhiyong; Li, Guangyuan; Xu, Mengmeng; Zhang, Bo; Lao, Chenzhe; He, Hongyu

2018-03-01

The enhanced self-heterodyne synthetic aperture imaging ladar (SAIL) self-heterodynes two polarization-orthogonal echo signals to eliminate the phase disturbance caused by atmospheric turbulence and mechanical trembling, uses heterodyne receiver instead of self-heterodyne receiver to improve signal-to-noise ratio. The principle and structure of the enhanced self-heterodyne SAIL are presented. The imaging process of enhanced self-heterodyne SAIL for distributed target is also analyzed. In enhanced self-heterodyne SAIL, the phases of two orthogonal-polarization beams are modulated by four cylindrical lenses in transmitter to improve resolutions in orthogonal direction and travel direction, which will generate ghost image. The generation process of ghost image in enhanced self-heterodyne SAIL is mathematically detailed, and a method of eliminating ghost image is also presented, which is significant for far-distance imaging. A number of experiments of enhanced self-heterodyne SAIL for distributed target are presented, these experimental results verify the theoretical analysis of enhanced self-heterodyne SAIL. The enhanced self-heterodyne SAIL has the capability to eliminate the influence from the atmospheric turbulence and mechanical trembling, has high advantage in detecting weak signals, and has promising application for far-distance ladar imaging.

Honorary and ghost authorship in high impact biomedical journals: a cross sectional survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Wislar, Joseph S; Flanagin, Annette; Fontanarosa, Phil B; Deangelis, Catherine D

2011-10-25

To assess the prevalence of honorary and ghost authors in six leading general medical journals in 2008 and compare this with the prevalence reported by authors of articles published in 1996. Cross sectional survey using a web based questionnaire. International survey of journal authors. Sample of corresponding authors of 896 research articles, review articles, and editorial/opinion articles published in six general medical journals with high impact factors in 2008: Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA, Lancet, Nature Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine, and PLoS Medicine. Self reported compliance with International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship for all authors on the selected articles. A total of 630/896 (70.3%) corresponding authors responded to the survey. The prevalence of articles with honorary authorship or ghost authorship, or both, was 21.0% (95% CI 18.0% to 24.3%), a decrease from 29.2% reported in 1996 (P = 0.004). Based on 545 responses on honorary authorship, 96 articles (17.6% (95% CI 14.6% to 21.0%)) had honorary authors (range by journal 12.2% to 29.3%), a non-significant change from 1996 (19.3%; P = 0.439). Based on 622 responses on ghost authorship, 49 articles (7.9% (6.0% to 10.3%)) had ghost authors (range by journal 2.1% to 11.0%), a significant decline from 1996 (11.5%; P = 0.023). The prevalence of honorary authorship was 25.0% in original research reports, 15.0% in reviews, and 11.2% in editorials, whereas the prevalence of ghost authorship was 11.9% in research articles, 6.0% in reviews, and 5.3% in editorials. Evidence of honorary and ghost authorship in 21% of articles published in major medical journals in 2008 suggests that increased efforts by scientific journals, individual authors, and academic institutions are essential to promote responsibility, accountability, and transparency in authorship, and to maintain integrity in scientific publication.

Comparison of ghosting effects for three commercial a-Si EPIDs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDermott, L. N.; Nijsten, S. M. J. J. G.; Sonke, J.-J.; Partridge, M.; Herk, M. van; Mijnheer, B. J.

2006-01-01

Many studies have reported dosimetric characteristics of amorphous silicon electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs). Some studies ascribed a non-linear signal to gain ghosting and image lag. Other reports, however, state the effect is negligible. This study compares the signal-to-monitor unit (MU) ratio for three different brands of EPID systems. The signal was measured for a wide range of monitor units (5-1000), dose-rates, and beam energies. All EPIDs exhibited a relative under-response for beams of few MUs; giving 4 to 10% lower signal-to-MU ratios relative to that of 1000 MUs. This under-response is consistent with ghosting effects due to charge trapping

The ghost of Afrikaner identity in Ancestral voices, Leap year and The long silence of Mario Salviati (Etienne van Heerden

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariëtte van Graan

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Ghost characters are a characteristic of the novels of Etienne van Heerden, but little research has been done concerning the nature and function of these ghost characters. In this article I discuss Van Heerden’s use of ghost characters diachronically with reference to the novels Ancestral voices (1986, Leap year (1993 and The long silence of Mario Salviati (2000. In order to clarify the nature of these ghosts, I use the so-called science of the paranormal as a framework. The ghosts in the three novels will be classified accordingly, and then discussed within the context of the novels in which they appear. In this way, I shall show how the ghost characters in these novels can be read as a constantly changing embodiment of Afrikaner identity (a central theme in Van Heerden’s oeuvre. Van Heerden’s Afrikaner changes with the times: in Ancestral voices the ghost characters form a collective that represents a fragmented image of the stereotypical, archaic male Afrikaner identity; in Leap year a liminal character is written in a liminal time to embody a liminal Afrikaner identity; and in The long silence of Mario Salviati Van Heerden moves away from the exclusive Afrikaner identity to a broader South African identity by using ghost characters from very different backgrounds and origins. In conclusion I shall compare these identities and the historical contexts of these novels in order to show the function of Van Heerden’s ghost characters as constant rewritings of South African identities.

99mTc-RBC subtraction scintigraphy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inagaki, Syoichi; Tonami, Syuichi; Yasui, Masakazu; Kuranishi, Makoto; Sugishita, Kouki; Nakamura, Mamoru

1994-01-01

Sequential abdominal scintigrams with 99m Tc-labelled red blood cells (RBC) were subtracted for observing a site of gastrointestinal bleeding and calculating the bleeding rate. This method is technically very easy and can detect the site of bleeding with the minimum rate, as low as 0.2 ml/min., in a phantom experiment. In 23 cases with final diagnosis of gastrointestinal bleeding, conventional non-subtraction scintigraphy detected only 30% (7/23), but subtraction scintigraphy detected 61% (14/23). It was concluded that subtraction scintigraphy had higher sensitivity than conventional scintigraphy for early diagnosing bleeding. A combination of non-subtraction and subtraction scintigraphy is recommended to detect a site of gastrointestinal bleeding in a clinical setting. (author)

Melatonin enhances lipid production in Monoraphidium sp. QLY-1 under nitrogen deficiency conditions via a multi-level mechanism.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yongteng; Li, Dafei; Xu, Jun-Wei; Zhao, Peng; Li, Tao; Ma, Huixian; Yu, Xuya

2018-07-01

In this study, melatonin (MT) promoted lipid accumulation in Monoraphidium sp. QLY-1 under nitrogen deficiency conditions. The lipid accumulation increased 1.22- and 1.36-fold compared with a nitrogen-starved medium and a normal BG-11 medium, respectively. The maximum lipid content was 51.38%. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in the presence of melatonin was lower than that in the control group, likely because of the high antioxidant activities. The application of melatonin upregulated the gibberellin acid (GA) production and rbcL and accD expression levels but downregulated the abscisic acid (ABA) content and pepc expression levels. These findings demonstrated that exogenous melatonin could further improve the lipid production in Monoraphidium sp. QLY-1 by regulating antioxidant systems, signalling molecules, and lipid biosynthesis-related gene expression under nitrogen deficiency conditions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Superconformal ghost correlators and picture changing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonini, M.; Iengo, R.; Nunez, C.

1988-12-01

We compute the correlation functions for the system of superconformal ghosts β, γ(λ=3/2), including the corresponding spin fields, on arbitrary Riemann surfaces. Using fermionization, defined as a change of variables in the functional integration, we derive and generalize previous results obtained by bosonization. As an application we study the picture changing mechanism in the Ramond sector of the superstring. (author). 11 refs

Superrenormalizable quantum gravity with complex ghosts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Modesto, Leonardo, E-mail: lmodesto@fudan.edu.cn [Department of Physics & Center for Field Theory and Particle Physics, Fudan University, 200433, Shanghai (China); Shapiro, Ilya L., E-mail: shapiro@fisica.ufjf.br [Departamento de Fisica – ICE, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, 33036-900 Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais (Brazil); Tomsk State Pedagogical University and Tomsk State University, 634041, Tomsk (Russian Federation)

2016-04-10

We suggest and briefly review a new sort of superrenormalizable models of higher derivative quantum gravity. The higher derivative terms in the action can be introduced in such a way that all the unphysical massive states have complex poles. According to the literature on Lee–Wick quantization, in this case the theory can be formulated as unitary, since all massive ghosts-like degrees of freedom are unstable.

Polarization-multiplexing ghost imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Dongfeng, Shi; Jiamin, Zhang; Jian, Huang; Yingjian, Wang; Kee, Yuan; Kaifa, Cao; Chenbo, Xie; Dong, Liu; Wenyue, Zhu

2018-03-01

A novel technique for polarization-multiplexing ghost imaging is proposed to simultaneously obtain multiple polarimetric information by a single detector. Here, polarization-division multiplexing speckles are employed for object illumination. The light reflected from the objects is detected by a single-pixel detector. An iterative reconstruction method is used to restore the fused image containing the different polarimetric information by using the weighted sum of the multiplexed speckles based on the correlation coefficients obtained from the detected intensities. Next, clear images of the different polarimetric information are recovered by demultiplexing the fused image. The results clearly demonstrate that the proposed method is effective.

Magnetic ghosts and monopoles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vandewalle, N; Dorbolo, S

2014-01-01

While the physics of equilibrium systems composed of many particles is well known, the interplay between small-scale physics and global properties is still a mystery for athermal systems. Non-trivial patterns and metastable states are often reached in those systems. We explored the various arrangements adopted by magnetic beads along chains and rings. Here, we show that it is possible to create mechanically stable defects in dipole arrangements keeping the memory of dipole frustration. Such defects, nicknamed ‘ghost junctions’, seem to act as macroscopic magnetic monopoles, in a way reminiscent of spin ice systems. (paper)

The Ghostly Workings of Danish Accountability Policies

Science.gov (United States)

Pors, Justine Grønbaek

2016-01-01

This article proposes a framework for thinking about the ghostly, thus arguing that policy can be understood as a landscape of intersecting and colliding temporalities from which arouse curious workings of barely-there forces, spooky energies and vibrating saturations of affective ambivalences. I present an empirical study of a policy agenda of…

Annual air pollution caused by the Hungry Ghost Festival.

Science.gov (United States)

Khezri, B; Chan, Y Y; Tiong, L Y D; Webster, R D

2015-09-01

Burning of joss paper and incense is still a very common traditional custom in countries with a majority Chinese population. The Hungry Ghost Festival which is celebrated in the 7 month of the Chinese calendar is one of the events where joss paper and incense are burned as offerings. This study investigates the impact of the Ghost Month Festival (open burning event) on air quality by analysis of the chemical composition of particulate matter (PM) and rainwater samples collected during this event, compared with data collected throughout the year, as well as bottom ash samples from burning the original joss paper and incense. The results showed that the change in the chemical composition of the rainwater and PM2.5 (PM ≤ 2.5 μm) atmospheric samples could be correlated directly with burning events during this festival, with many elements increasing between 18% and 60% during August and September compared to the yearly mean concentrations. The order of percentage increase in elemental composition (in rain water and PM2.5) during the Hungry Ghost Festival is as follows: Zn > Ca > K > Mg > Fe > Al > Na ∼ Mn ∼ Ti ∼ V > Cu > As > Ni > Co > Cd > Cr > Pb. The chemical composition of the original source materials (joss paper and incense for combustion) and their associated bottom ash were analysed to explain the impact of burning on air quality.

Epidemiology of RBC Transfusions in Patients With Severe Acute Kidney Injury: Analysis From the Randomized Evaluation of Normal Versus Augmented Level Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellomo, Rinaldo; Mårtensson, Johan; Kaukonen, Kirsi-Maija; Lo, Serigne; Gallagher, Martin; Cass, Alan; Myburgh, John; Finfer, Simon

2016-05-01

To assess the epidemiology and outcomes associated with RBC transfusion in patients with severe acute kidney injury requiring continuous renal replacement therapy. Post hoc analysis of data from a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial. Thirty-five ICUs in Australia and New Zealand. Cohort of 1,465 patients enrolled in the Randomized Evaluation of Normal versus Augmented Level replacement therapy study. Daily information on morning hemoglobin level and amount of RBC transfused were prospectively collected in the Randomized Evaluation of Normal versus Augmented Level study. We analyzed the epidemiology of such transfusions and their association with clinical outcomes. Overall, 977 patients(66.7%) received a total of 1,192 RBC units. By day 5, 785 of 977 transfused patients (80.4%) had received at least one RBC transfusion. Hemoglobin at randomization was lower in transfused than in nontransfused patients (94 vs 111 g/L; p regression analysis, RBC transfusion was independently associated with lower 90-day mortality (hazard ratio, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.38-0.79). However, we found no independent association between RBC transfusions and mortality when the analyses were restricted to patients surviving at least 5 days (hazard ratio, 1.29; 95% CI, 0.90-1.85). We found no independent association between RBC transfusion and renal replacement therapy-free days, mechanical ventilator-free days, or length of stay in ICU or hospital. In patients with severe acute kidney injury treated with continuous renal replacement therapy, we found no association of RBC transfusion with 90-day mortality or other patient-centered outcomes. The optimal hemoglobin threshold for RBC transfusion in such patients needs to be determined in future randomized controlled trials.

Inward cholesterol gradient of the membrane system in P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes involves a dilution effect from parasite-produced lipids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fuyuki Tokumasu

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Plasmodium falciparum (Pf infection remodels the human erythrocyte with new membrane systems, including a modified host erythrocyte membrane (EM, a parasitophorous vacuole membrane (PVM, a tubulovesicular network (TVN, and Maurer's clefts (MC. Here we report on the relative cholesterol contents of these membranes in parasitized normal (HbAA and hemoglobin S-containing (HbAS, HbAS erythrocytes. Results from fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM experiments with a cholesterol-sensitive fluorophore show that membrane cholesterol levels in parasitized erythrocytes (pRBC decrease inwardly from the EM, to the MC/TVN, to the PVM, and finally to the parasite membrane (PM. Cholesterol depletion of pRBC by methyl-β-cyclodextrin treatment caused a collapse of this gradient. Lipid and cholesterol exchange data suggest that the cholesterol gradient involves a dilution effect from non-sterol lipids produced by the parasite. FLIM signals from the PVM or PM showed little or no difference between parasitized HbAA vs HbS-containing erythrocytes that differed in lipid content, suggesting that malaria parasites may regulate the cholesterol contents of the PVM and PM independently of levels in the host cell membrane. Cholesterol levels may affect raft structures and the membrane trafficking and sorting functions that support Pf survival in HbAA, HbAS and HbSS erythrocytes.

Are the dressed gluon and ghost propagators in the Landau gauge presently determined in the confinement regime of QCD?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pennington, M. R.; Wilson, D. J.

2011-01-01

The gluon and ghost propagators in Landau gauge QCD are investigated using the Schwinger-Dyson equation approach. Working in Euclidean spacetime, we solve for these propagators using a selection of vertex inputs, initially for the ghost equation alone and then for both propagators simultaneously. The results are shown to be highly sensitive to the choices of vertices. We favor the infrared finite ghost solution from studying the ghost equation alone where we argue for a specific unique solution. In order to solve this simultaneously with the gluon using a dressed-one-loop truncation, we find that a nontrivial full ghost-gluon vertex is required in the vanishing gluon momentum limit. The self-consistent solutions we obtain correspond to having a masslike term in the gluon propagator dressing, in agreement with similar studies supporting the long-held proposal of Cornwall.

Development of a kit for RBC labelling with 99mTc and its clinic evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marafuschi, A.M.; Nowotny, G.A.; Palcos, M.C.; Rotta, M. del C.

1980-01-01

A kit for labelling red blood cells (RBC) with 99m Tc based on a Tin Pyrophosphate mixture freeze-dried and a saline solution saturated with nitrogen has been prepared for spleen and placenta scanning, circulatory studies and blood volume determinations. The stannous tin is intended to reduce the 99m Tc pertechnetate, obtained either from generators or from solvent extraction, to the appropriate valence state suitable for labelling. The technique is as follows: Add to the heparinized blood sample the Tin-Pyrophosphate mixture dissolved in the saline solution. After five minutes incubation time at room temperature the plasma is discarded by centrifugation. Following the addition of the tracer activity to the separated RBC, the supernatant is discarded after a second centrifugation. Depending on the test to be performed, the RBC are either resuspended in saline solution for blood pool or circulation studies or denaturalized at 49.5 deg C for spleen scanning. The labelling yield (95-88%) and its stability has been checked by in vitro measurements, up to four hours after labelling. The biological distribution and spleen uptake have been determined in rats and rabbits. The developed method proved to be adequate for labelling RBC with good labelling retention. An interesting application is shown in babies with congenital cardiac defects and suspected absence of the spleen, where the scan gave a good image of the existing spleen. (author) [es

Ghost instabilities of cosmological models with vector fields nonminimally coupled to the curvature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Himmetoglu, Burak; Peloso, Marco; Contaldi, Carlo R.

2009-01-01

We prove that many cosmological models characterized by vectors nonminimally coupled to the curvature (such as the Turner-Widrow mechanism for the production of magnetic fields during inflation, and models of vector inflation or vector curvaton) contain ghosts. The ghosts are associated with the longitudinal vector polarization present in these models and are found from studying the sign of the eigenvalues of the kinetic matrix for the physical perturbations. Ghosts introduce two main problems: (1) they make the theories ill defined at the quantum level in the high energy/subhorizon regime (and create serious problems for finding a well-behaved UV completion), and (2) they create an instability already at the linearized level. This happens because the eigenvalue corresponding to the ghost crosses zero during the cosmological evolution. At this point the linearized equations for the perturbations become singular (we show that this happens for all the models mentioned above). We explicitly solve the equations in the simplest cases of a vector without a vacuum expectation value in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker geometry, and of a vector with a vacuum expectation value plus a cosmological constant, and we show that indeed the solutions of the linearized equations diverge when these equations become singular.

Effect of RBC concentrate transfusions on serum ferritin content in children with acute leukaemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bebeshko, V G; Bruslova, E M; Tsvietkova, N M; Iatsemirskii, S M; Puchkareva, T I; Gonchar, L A; Krukovska, V V; Zelinska, A V; Mishchenko, L P

2013-01-01

To study the serum ferritin levels in children with acute leukemia, depending on the number of transfusions of RBC concentrate and period of disease. We studied the red blood count, serum iron and ferritin levels in 54 patients with acute leukemia before chemotherapy, at the time of a standardized treatment protocol, and after transfusions of RBC concentrates. In the debute of acute leukemia just before treatment lauch the serum ferritin in 81.5% of children was 2.3-2.5 higher than normal. The need for transfusion of RBC concentrates was higher under serum ferritin level exceeding 500 ng/mL. The association was established between ferritin content and age of the children, variant of acute leukemia and period of the disease. The level of serum ferritin can be used as a marker of ferrokinetic status for timely diagnosis of iron overload in children with acute leukemias and for application of treatment-and-prophylactic actions. Bebeshko V. G., Bruslova K. M., Cvjetkova N. M., Jacemyrskyj S. M., Pushkarova T. I., Gonchar L. O., Krukovska V. V., Zelinska A. V., Mishhenko L. P., 2013.

Optical encryption with selective computational ghost imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zafari, Mohammad; Kheradmand, Reza; Ahmadi-Kandjani, Sohrab

2014-01-01

Selective computational ghost imaging (SCGI) is a technique which enables the reconstruction of an N-pixel image from N measurements or less. In this paper we propose an optical encryption method based on SCGI and experimentally demonstrate that this method has much higher security under eavesdropping and unauthorized accesses compared with previous reported methods. (paper)

Equilibrium thermodynamics of the partitioning of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs into human erythrocyte ghost membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Omran, Ahmed A.

2013-01-01

Graphical abstract: Bar diagram representing thermodynamic parameters obtained for the partitioning of NSAIDs into human erythrocyte ghost membranes at physiological pH; 7.4. Highlights: • Partition coefficients of NSAIDs into HEG membranes were determined. • Thermodynamic parameters were evaluated and successfully analyzed. • Partitioning of NSAIDs into HEG membranes was exothermic. • Partitioning of NSAIDs into HEG is spontaneous with negative free energy values. • Identical partitioning enthalpy–entropy driven compensation mechanism was shown. -- Abstract: In this work,second derivative spectrophotometry was applied for determining the partition coefficients (K p s) of four non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs; flufenamic, meclofenamic, mefenamic and niflumic acids) into human erythrocyte ghost (HEG) membranes over a temperature range from (283.2 to 313.2) K. The proposed method allowed the evaluation and direct analyses of thermodynamic parameters; enthalpy (ΔH W→M ), Gibbs energy (ΔG W→M ) and entropy (ΔS W→M ) changes of the partitioning of NSAIDs into HEG membranes. The partitioning of NSAIDs between polar aqueous phase and non-polar lipid bilayer HEG membrane phase was exothermic with negative (ΔH W→M ) which compensated for the changes in (ΔS W→M ). The negative values of (ΔG W→M ) revealed that the partitioning of NSAIDs into HEG, owing to their transfer from polar aqueous phase and non-polar HEG phase is spontaneous. The enthalpy–entropy correlation analysis resulted in a good linearity that suggests an identical partitioning enthalpy–entropy driven compensation mechanism for the studied NSAIDs

76 FR 76812 - Requested Administrative Waiver of the Coastwise Trade Laws: Vessel BARBARY GHOST; Invitation for...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-08

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Maritime Administration [Docket No. MARAD 2011 0148] Requested Administrative Waiver of the Coastwise Trade Laws: Vessel BARBARY GHOST; Invitation for Public Comments AGENCY... BARBARY GHOST is: Intended Commercial Use Of Vessel: ``Sightseeing tours in the San Francisco Bay for a...

Multiple and Periodic Measurement of RBC Aggregation and ESR in Parallel Microfluidic Channels under On-Off Blood Flow Control

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Yang Jun Kang

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Red blood cell (RBC aggregation causes to alter hemodynamic behaviors at low flow-rate regions of post-capillary venules. Additionally, it is significantly elevated in inflammatory or pathophysiological conditions. In this study, multiple and periodic measurements of RBC aggregation and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR are suggested by sucking blood from a pipette tip into parallel microfluidic channels, and quantifying image intensity, especially through single experiment. Here, a microfluidic device was prepared from a master mold using the xurography technique rather than micro-electro-mechanical-system fabrication techniques. In order to consider variations of RBC aggregation in microfluidic channels due to continuous ESR in the conical pipette tip, two indices (aggregation index (AI and erythrocyte-sedimentation-rate aggregation index (EAI are evaluated by using temporal variations of microscopic, image-based intensity. The proposed method is employed to evaluate the effect of hematocrit and dextran solution on RBC aggregation under continuous ESR in the conical pipette tip. As a result, EAI displays a significantly linear relationship with modified conventional ESR measurement obtained by quantifying time constants. In addition, EAI varies linearly within a specific concentration of dextran solution. In conclusion, the proposed method is able to measure RBC aggregation under continuous ESR in the conical pipette tip. Furthermore, the method provides multiple data of RBC aggregation and ESR through a single experiment. A future study will involve employing the proposed method to evaluate biophysical properties of blood samples collected from cardiovascular diseases.

Experimental Investigation of Quality of Lensless Ghost Imaging with Pseudo-Thermal Light

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia, Shen; Yan-Feng, Bai; Tao, Qin; Shen-Sheng, Han

2008-01-01

Factors influencing the quality of lensless ghost imaging are investigated. According to the experimental results, we find that the imaging quality is determined by the number of independent sub light sources on the imaging plane of the reference arm. A qualitative picture based on advanced wave optics is presented to explain the physics behind the experimental phenomena. The present results will be helpful to provide a basis for improving the quality of ghost imaging systems in future works. (fundamental areas of phenomenology(including applications))

Field theory of interacting open superstrings of fermionic ghost representation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aref'eva, I.Ya.; Medvedev, P.V.

1987-01-01

Field theory of interacting open superstring in fermionic ghost representation based on anticommuting and commuting ghosts corresponding respectively to world sheet bosonic x μ and fermionic φ μ coordinates is presented. The author have to revise once more the field theory of the free Ramond (R) string and starting from general algebraic point of view they obtain that the number of degrees of freedom in the R and NS (Neveu-Schwartz) sectors equalise themselves permitting to construct a supersymmetric operator. It is proposed to solve a specific equation guaranteeing superinvariance in order to find the R-R-NS and NS-R-R vertices in the term of the NS-NS-NS vertex

Study of key technology of ghost imaging via compressive sensing for a phase object based on phase-shifting digital holography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leihong, Zhang; Dong, Liang; Bei, Li; Zilan, Pan; Dawei, Zhang; Xiuhua, Ma

2015-01-01

In this article, the algorithm of compressing sensing is used to improve the imaging resolution and realize ghost imaging via compressive sensing for a phase object based on the theoretical analysis of the lensless Fourier imaging of the algorithm of ghost imaging based on phase-shifting digital holography. The algorithm of ghost imaging via compressive sensing based on phase-shifting digital holography uses the bucket detector to measure the total light intensity of the interference and the four-step phase-shifting method is used to obtain the total light intensity of differential interference light. The experimental platform is built based on the software simulation, and the experimental results show that the algorithm of ghost imaging via compressive sensing based on phase-shifting digital holography can obtain the high-resolution phase distribution figure of the phase object. With the same sampling times, the phase clarity of the phase distribution figure obtained by the algorithm of ghost imaging via compressive sensing based on phase-shifting digital holography is higher than that obtained by the algorithm of ghost imaging based on phase-shift digital holography. In this article, this study further extends the application range of ghost imaging and obtains the phase distribution of the phase object. (letter)

Influence of some DNA-alkylating drugs on thermal stability, acid and osmotic resistance of the membrane of whole human erythrocytes and their ghosts.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanov, I T; Gadjeva, V

2000-09-01

Human erythrocytes and their resealed ghosts were alkylated under identical conditions using three groups of alkylating antitumor agents: mustards, triazenes and chloroethyl nitrosoureas. Osmotic fragility, acid resistance and thermal stability of membranes were changed only in alkylated ghosts in proportion to the concentration of the alkylating agent. All the alkylating agents decreased acid resistance in ghosts. The clinically used drugs sarcolysine, dacarbazine and lomustine all decreased osmotic fragility and thermal stability of ghost membranes depending on their lipophilicity. DM-COOH did not decrease osmotic fragility and thermal stability of ghost membranes, while NEM increased thermal stability of membranes. The preliminary but not subsequent treatment of ghosts with DM-COOH fully abolished the alkylation-induced thermal labilization of ghost membrane proteins while NEM had a partial effect only. The present study gives direct evidence that alkylating agents, having a high therapeutic activity against malignant growth, bind covalently to proteins of cellular membranes.

Arabidopsis Pol II-Dependent in Vitro Transcription System Reveals Role of Chromatin for Light-Inducible rbcS Gene Transcription1

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Ido, Ayaka; Iwata, Shinya; Iwata, Yuka; Igarashi, Hisako; Hamada, Takahiro; Sonobe, Seiji; Sugiura, Masahiro; Yukawa, Yasushi

2016-01-01

In vitro transcription is an essential tool to study the molecular mechanisms of transcription. For over a decade, we have developed an in vitro transcription system from tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum)-cultured cells (BY-2), and this system supported the basic activities of the three RNA polymerases (Pol I, Pol II, and Pol III). However, it was not suitable to study photosynthetic genes, because BY-2 cells have lost their photosynthetic activity. Therefore, Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) in vitro transcription systems were developed from green and etiolated suspension cells. Sufficient in vitro Pol II activity was detected after the minor modification of the nuclear soluble extracts preparation method; removal of vacuoles from protoplasts and L-ascorbic acid supplementation in the extraction buffer were particularly effective. Surprisingly, all four Arabidopsis Rubisco small subunit (rbcS-1A, rbcS-1B, rbcS-2B, and rbcS-3B) gene members were in vitro transcribed from the naked DNA templates without any light-dependent manner. However, clear light-inducible transcriptions were observed using chromatin template of rbcS-1A gene, which was prepared with a human nucleosome assembly protein 1 (hNAP1) and HeLa histones. This suggested that a key determinant of light-dependency through the rbcS gene transcription was a higher order of DNA structure (i.e. chromatin). PMID:26662274

Induction of lipid peroxidation in erythrocytes during cholesterol oxidation catalyzed by cholesterol oxidase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kagan, V.E.; Monovich, O.; Ribarov, S.R.

1986-01-01

The authors study the ability of cholesterol oxidase (ChO), which catalyzes oxidation of cholesterol (Ch) to cholest-4-en-3-one and, at the same time, reduction of O 2 to H 2 O 2 , to induce the lipid peroxidation (LPO) in plasma membranes. Erythrocyte ghosts were obtained from guinea pig blood; the reaction of oxidation of Ch in the erythrocyte ghosts or in micelles with Triton X-100 was carried out in the following medium: Tris-HCl 0.2 M, pH 7.0 (at 37 C), Triton X-100 0.25%, and ChO 0.05 U/ml. At the present time ChO is often used to study the asymmetry of distribution of Ch in biomembranes and the velocity of its transbilayer migration. It is suggested that changes in membrane permeability do not take place during the reaction catalyzed by the enzyme, and no products capable of affecting flip-flop in biological are formed. Accumulation of LPO products in erythrocyte membranes discovered in this investigation under the influence of ChO compels critical re-examination of the resutls

The hunters of humanity: creatures of horror in M. R. James's ghost stories

OpenAIRE

Oryshchuk, Nataliya

2017-01-01

In his ghost stories, M.R. James disclosed the most irrational and fearful aspects of archaic demonology still haunting the modern world. He turns humans into prey species, hunted and haunted by repulsive insect- and spider-like demons. This paper offers a closer look at the creatures of horror and the recurrent theme of the hunt in James's ghost stories, viewing them in the context of Victorian evolutionary theories as well as traditional medieval beliefs. James's protagonists, unimaginative...

RBC acetyl cholinesterase: A poor man′s early diagnostic biomarker for familial alzheimer′s and Parkinson′s disease dementia

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Himmatrao Saluba Bawaskar

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: Analysis of red blood cell acetyl cholinesterase (AChE in a familial Alzheimer′s diseases (AD Parkinson′s disease dementia (PDD and their first generation. Setting: General hospital, Mahad district, Raigad. Patients and Methods: Clinically diagnosed patients of AD and PDD and their asymptomatic relatives. Their blood was collected in EDTA tube and transferred to laboratory at Mumbai. Result: Median red blood cell (RBC cholinesterase levels amongst PDD, their first generation asymptomatic relatives, familial AD, asymptomatic relatives of AD, healthy controls, farmers exposed to pesticides (positive control and other neurological condition without dementia (hypertension with TIA 1, sub-dural hematoma 2, hypothyroid 1, non-familial unilateral parkinsonism without dementia 3, writers cramps 2, hyponitremia 1 and cerebral palsy with non-fluent aphasia 1. Median values of RBC AChE were 19086.78 U/L, 15666.05 U/L, 9013.11 U/L, 7806.19 U/L, 14334.57 U/L, 9785.05 U/L and 13162.60 U/L, respectively. As compared to controls, RBC AChE levels were statistically significant among PDD (P = 0.004 and significantly lowered among familial AD patients (P = 0.010, relatives of patients (P = 0.010. Interpretations: Below the normal RBC AChE level is a potential biomarker in asymptomatic relatives of familial AD patients. RBC AChE is raised than normal level in patients suffering from PDD, where AChE inhibitors are helpful. However, RBC AChE level below the normal where AChE inhibitor may not be effective.

Ghost condensation and a consistent IR modification of gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arkani Hamed, N.; Cheng, H.S.; Luty, M.A.; Mukohyama, S.

2004-01-01

We propose a theoretically consistent modification of gravity in the infrared, which is compatible with all current experimental observations. This is an analog of Higgs mechanism in general relativity, and can be thought of as arising from ghost condensation-a background where a scalar field φhas a constant velocity, = M 2 . The ghost condensate is a new kind of fluid that can fill the universe, which has the same equation of state, ρ = -p, as a cosmological constant, and can hence drive de Sitter expansion of the universe. However, unlike a cosmological constant, it is a physical fluid with a physical scalar excitation, which can be described by a systematic effective field theory at low energies. The excitation has an unusual low-energy dispersion relation ω 2 ∼ k 4 /M 2 . If coupled to matter directly, it gives rise to small Lorentz-violating effects and a new long-range 1/r 2 spin dependent force. In the ghost condensate, the energy that gravitates is not the same as the particle physics energy, leading to the possibility of both sources that can gravitate and antigravitate. The Newtonian potential is modified with an oscillatory behavior starting at the distance scale M Pl /M 2 and the time scale M Pl 2 /M 3 . This theory opens up a number of new avenues for attacking cosmological problems, including inflation, dark matter and dark energy. (author)

Formation of ghost images due to meta objects on the surface of the patient's face: A pictorial essay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramons, BarbaraCouto; Da Silva Izar, Bruna Raquel; Pereira, Jessica Lourdes Costa; Souza Priscilla Serna; Valerio, Cludia Scigliano; Manzi, Flavio Ricardo; Tuji, Fabricio Mesquita

2016-01-01

Panoramic radiographs are a relatively simple technique that is commonly used in all dental specialties. In panoramic radiographs, in addition to the formation of real images of metal objects, ghost images may also form, and these ghost images can hinder an accurate diagnosis and interfere with the accuracy of radiology reports. Dentists must understand the formation of these images in order to avoid making incorrect radiographic diagnoses. Therefore, the present study sought to present a study of the formation of panoramic radiograph ghost images caused by metal objects in the head and neck region of a dry skull, as well as to report a clinical case n order to warn dentists about ghost images and to raise awareness thereof. An understanding of the principles of the formation of ghost images in panoramic radiographs helps prevent incorrect diagnoses

Formation of ghost images due to meta objects on the surface of the patient's face: A pictorial essay

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramons, BarbaraCouto; Da Silva Izar, Bruna Raquel; Pereira, Jessica Lourdes Costa; Souza Priscilla Serna; Valerio, Cludia Scigliano; Manzi, Flavio Ricardo [Dept. of Oral Radiology, School of Dentistry, Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte (Brazil); Tuji, Fabricio Mesquita [Federal University of Pará, Belém do Pará (Brazil)

2016-03-15

Panoramic radiographs are a relatively simple technique that is commonly used in all dental specialties. In panoramic radiographs, in addition to the formation of real images of metal objects, ghost images may also form, and these ghost images can hinder an accurate diagnosis and interfere with the accuracy of radiology reports. Dentists must understand the formation of these images in order to avoid making incorrect radiographic diagnoses. Therefore, the present study sought to present a study of the formation of panoramic radiograph ghost images caused by metal objects in the head and neck region of a dry skull, as well as to report a clinical case n order to warn dentists about ghost images and to raise awareness thereof. An understanding of the principles of the formation of ghost images in panoramic radiographs helps prevent incorrect diagnoses.

Ghost cells in pilomatrixoma, craniopharyngioma, and calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor: histological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rumayor, Alicia; Carlos, Román; Kirsch, Hernán Molina; de Andrade, Bruno A Benevenuto; Romañach, Mario J; de Almeida, Oslei Paes

2015-04-01

Pilomatrixoma, craniopharyngioma, and calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor are the main entities presenting ghost cells as an important histological feature, in spite their quite different clinical presentation; it seems that they share a common pathway in the formation of these cells. The aim of this study is to examine and compare the characteristics of ghost and other cells that form these lesions. Forty-three cases including 21 pilomatrixomas, 14 craniopharyngiomas, and eight calcifying cystic odontogenic tumors were evaluated by immunohistochemistry for cytokeratins, CD138, β-catenin, D2-40, Glut-1, FAS, CD10 and also by scanning electron microscopy. The CKs, CD138, β-catenin, Glut-1, FAS, and CD10 were more often expressed by transitional cells of craniopharyngioma and calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor, compared with pilomatrixoma. Basaloid cells of pilomatrixoma showed strong positivity for CD138 and CD10. Differences on expression pattern were identified in transitional and basal cells, as ghost cells were negative for most antibodies used, except by low expression for cytokeratins. By scanning electron microscopy, the morphology of ghost cells were similar in their fibrillar cytoplasm, but their pattern varied from sheets in pilomatrixoma to small clusters in craniopharyngioma and calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor. Mechanisms involved in formation of ghost cells are unknown, but probably they follow different pathways as protein expression in the basal/transitional cells was not uniform in the three tumors studied. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Accurate measurement of peripheral blood mononuclear cell concentration using image cytometry to eliminate RBC-induced counting error.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Leo Li-Ying; Laverty, Daniel J; Smith, Tim; Nejad, Parham; Hei, Hillary; Gandhi, Roopali; Kuksin, Dmitry; Qiu, Jean

2013-02-28

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) have been widely researched in the fields of immunology, infectious disease, oncology, transplantation, hematological malignancy, and vaccine development. Specifically, in immunology research, PBMCs have been utilized to monitor concentration, viability, proliferation, and cytokine production from immune cells, which are critical for both clinical trials and biomedical research. The viability and concentration of isolated PBMCs are traditionally measured by manual counting with trypan blue (TB) using a hemacytometer. One of the common issues of PBMC isolation is red blood cell (RBC) contamination. The RBC contamination can be dependent on the donor sample and/or technical skill level of the operator. RBC contamination in a PBMC sample can introduce error to the measured concentration, which can pass down to future experimental assays performed on these cells. To resolve this issue, RBC lysing protocol can be used to eliminate potential error caused by RBC contamination. In the recent years, a rapid fluorescence-based image cytometry system has been utilized for bright-field and fluorescence imaging analysis of cellular characteristics (Nexcelom Bioscience LLC, Lawrence, MA). The Cellometer image cytometry system has demonstrated the capability of automated concentration and viability detection in disposable counting chambers of unpurified mouse splenocytes and PBMCs stained with acridine orange (AO) and propidium iodide (PI) under fluorescence detection. In this work, we demonstrate the ability of Cellometer image cytometry system to accurately measure PBMC concentration, despite RBC contamination, by comparison of five different total PBMC counting methods: (1) manual counting of trypan blue-stained PBMCs in hemacytometer, (2) manual counting of PBMCs in bright-field images, (3) manual counting of acetic acid lysing of RBCs with TB-stained PBMCs, (4) automated counting of acetic acid lysing of RBCs with PI-stained PBMCs

Phylogeny and intraspecific variability of holoparasitic Orobanche (Orobanchaceae) inferred from plastid rbcL sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Manen, Jean-François; Habashi, Christine; Jeanmonod, Daniel; Park, Jeong-Mi; Schneeweiss, Gerald M

2004-11-01

The rbcL sequences of 106 specimens representing 28 species of the four recognized sections of Orobanche were analyzed and compared. Most sequences represent pseudogenes with premature stop codons. This study confirms that the American lineage (sects. Gymnocaulis and Myzorrhiza) contains potentially functional rbcL-copies with intact open reading frames and low rates of non-synonymous substitutions. For the first time, this is also shown for a member of the Eurasian lineage, O. coerulescens of sect. Orobanche, while all other investigated species of sects. Orobanche and Trionychon contain pseudogenes with distorted reading frames and significantly higher rates of non-synonymous substitutions. Phylogenetic analyses of the rbcL sequences give equivocal results concerning the monophyly of Orobanche, and the American lineage might be more closely related to Boschniakia and Cistanche than to the other sections of Orobanche. Additionally, species of sect. Trionychon phylogenetically nest in sect. Orobanche. This is in concordance with results from other plastid markers (rps2 and matK), but in disagreement with other molecular (nuclear ITS), morphological, and karyological data. This might indicate that the ancestor of sect. Trionychon has captured the plastid genome, or parts of it, of a member of sect. Orobanche. Apart from the phylogenetically problematic position of sect. Trionychon, the phylogenetic relationships within sect. Orobanche are similar to those inferred from nuclear ITS data and are close to the traditional groupings traditionally recognized based on morphology. The intraspecific variation of rbcL is low and is neither correlated with intraspecific morphological variability nor with host range. Ancestral character reconstruction using parsimony suggests that the ancestor of O. sect. Orobanche had a narrow host range.

Penelitian penentuan konstanta saturasi (Ks pada rbc unit

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Prayitno Prayitno

1992-04-01

Full Text Available Kinetic of Rotating Biological Contractor have been investigated by manu researchers. In general the model emploued either saturation kinetic (following Monod equation or first order kinetic to describe substrate removal. In this experiment, saturation kinetic model was used to find out the saturation constant of the RBC unit. The influent fed into the unit was synthetic waste water with glucose as organic carbon sources. The flow was maintained constant at 20.4 1/d and COD influent resulted the saturation constant (Ks 11.17 mg/I with 20 hours of detention time.

Selection of GP. Mur antigen-negative RBC for blood recipients with anti-'Mia ' records decreases transfusion reaction rates in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, C-A; Lin, J-A; Chang, C-W; Wu, K-H; Yeh, S-P; Ho, C-M; Chang, J-G

2016-10-01

To evaluate the clinical significance of GP. Mur antigen-negative blood selection for transfusion in patients with anti-'Mi a ' records. The GP. Mur RBC phenotype is prevalent (7·3%) in Taiwan. Antibodies against GP. Mur (anti-'Mi a ') are identified in 1·24% of our population, and anti-'Mi a ' screening using GP. Mur RBC has been routine for Taiwan's blood banks. However, due to the lack of commercial antibodies, only cross-matching was used to prevent transfusion of GP. Mur-positive blood to patients with anti-'Mi a ' in most hospitals. There is still a risk of GP. Mur-positive RBC exposure and subsequent anti-'Mi a '-related transfusion reactions. Since February 2014, GP. Mur antigen-negative RBCs identified by reaction with anti-'Mi a '-positive serum were selected for blood recipients with anti-'Mi a ' records. The transfusion reactions between January 2013 and January 2014 were compared with those that occurred between February 2014 and July 2015. The transfusion reaction rate was significantly higher in anti-'Mi a '-positive blood recipients compared to total subjects receiving an RBC transfusion before GP. Mur-negative donor RBC selection. After antigen-negative RBC selection, the transfusion reaction frequency in subjects with anti-'Mi a ' became similar to total blood recipients. IgG form anti-'Mi a ' antibodies were present in all cases of probable anti-'Mi a '-related transfusion reactions. The time required for anti-'Mi a ' boosting after transfusion was around 4-21 days. Selection of GP. Mur-negative RBC for transfusion to patients with anti-'Mi a ' records could decrease the rate of transfusion reaction and antibody boosting. This procedure should be incorporated into blood bank routines in areas where anti-'Mi a ' is prevalent. © 2016 British Blood Transfusion Society.

Metastatic ghost cell odontogenic carcinoma: description of a case and search for actionable targets

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Maximilien J. Rappaport

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Ghost cell odontogenic carcinoma (GCOC is an exceedingly rare malignant tumor on the spectrum of already uncommon odontogenic or dentinogenic tumors. We describe here the case of metastatic GCOC in a patient with a history of recurrent dentinogenic ghost cell tumor of the mandible, now presenting with bilateral pleural effusions. We will discuss typical histopathologic and histochemical features of GCOC, along with results of genomic testing and their role in directing therapy.

Superrenormalizable quantum gravity with complex ghosts

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Leonardo Modesto

2016-04-01

Full Text Available We suggest and briefly review a new sort of superrenormalizable models of higher derivative quantum gravity. The higher derivative terms in the action can be introduced in such a way that all the unphysical massive states have complex poles. According to the literature on Lee–Wick quantization, in this case the theory can be formulated as unitary, since all massive ghosts-like degrees of freedom are unstable. Keywords: Quantum gravity, Higher derivatives, Complex poles

Effect of Processing and Storage on RBC function in vivo

Science.gov (United States)

Doctor, Allan; Spinella, Phil

2012-01-01

Red Blood Cell (RBC) transfusion is indicated to improve oxygen delivery to tissue, and for no other purpose. We have come to appreciate that donor RBCs are fundamentally altered during processing and storage, in a fashion that both impairs oxygen transport efficacy and introduces additional risk by perturbing both immune and coagulation systems. The protean biophysical and physiologic changes in RBC function arising from storage are termed the ‘storage lesion’; many have been understood for some time; for example, we know that the oxygen affinity of stored blood rises during the storage period1 and that intracellular allosteric regulators, notably 2,3-bisphosphoglyceric acid (DPG) and ATP, are depleted during storage. Our appreciation of other storage lesion features has emerged with improved understanding of coagulation, immune and vascular signaling systems. Herein we review key features of the ‘storage lesion’. Additionally, we call particular attention to the newly appreciated role of RBCs in regulating linkage between regional blood flow and regional O2 consumption by regulating the bioavailability of key vasoactive mediators in plasma, as well as discuss how processing and storage disturbs this key signaling function and impairs transfusion efficacy. PMID:22818545

Schwinger-Dyson operator of Yang-Mills matrix models with ghosts and derivations of the graded shuffle algebra

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krishnaswami, G.S.

2008-01-01

We consider large-N multi-matrix models whose action closely mimics that of Yang-Mills theory, including gauge-fixing and ghost terms. We show that the factorized Schwinger-Dyson loop equations, expressed in terms of the generating series of gluon and ghost correlations G( ), are quadratic equations

Elimination of ghost images in the response of PHASAR-demultiplexers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dam, van C.; Staring, A.A.M.; Jansen, E.J.; Binsma, J.J.M.; Dongen, van T.; Smit, M.K.; Verbeek, B.H.

1997-01-01

In this paper the occurrence of first-order modes in the performance of phased-array demultiplexers is investigated. It is found that they cause "ghost" images, which can be circumvented by optimising waveguide junctions

A unifying framework for ghost-free Lorentz-invariant Lagrangian field theories

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wenliang

2018-04-01

We propose a framework for Lorentz-invariant Lagrangian field theories where Ostrogradsky's scalar ghosts could be absent. A key ingredient is the generalized Kronecker delta. The general Lagrangians are reformulated in the language of differential forms. The absence of higher order equations of motion for the scalar modes stems from the basic fact that every exact form is closed. The well-established Lagrangian theories for spin-0, spin-1, p-form, spin-2 fields have natural formulations in this framework. We also propose novel building blocks for Lagrangian field theories. Some of them are novel nonlinear derivative terms for spin-2 fields. It is nontrivial that Ostrogradsky's scalar ghosts are absent in these fully nonlinear theories.

Quantization of gauge theories with open algebra in the representation with the third ghost

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batalin, I.A.; Kallosh, R.E.

1983-01-01

We suggest a modified representation of the general BRS construction, which gives in a closed form the quantization of gauge theories with open algebra. Instead of gauging the Lagrange multiplier in this representation, we have the third ghost πsup(α) which appears in the quantization procedure on equal footing with the Faddeev-Popov ghosts anti Csup(α), Csup(α). This new representation is especially convenient in the non-singular gauges of the form 1/2#betta#sub(α#betta#chi)sup(#betta#)sub(chi)sup(α), where both sub(chi)sup(α) and #betta#sub(α#betta#) may arbitrarily depend on quantum fields. In the closed algebra case, we recover the result of Nielsen, whereas for the theories with open algebra we find new ghost couplings of the form anti Csup(n)Csup(n)πsup(m), n = 1, ...; m = 0, 1, ..., n. (orig.)

Lucia's Ghosts: Sonic, Gothic, and Postmodern

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fillerup, Jessie

2016-01-01

In this article, I use an intertextual interference – the spectral presence of Norma Desmond in a performance of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor – as a locus through which to explore the consequences of the ‘open’ text in theatrical spectatorship, criticism and historical study. Norma’s ghosting...... the lens of Sunset Boulevard inverts chronological sequence, it acknowledges the temporal contradictions inherent in historical work and assigns productive meaning to nostalgic impulses that engage a reflective mode of thought....

Noninvasive evaluation of active lower gastrointestinal bleeding: comparison between contrast-enhanced MDCT and 99mTc-labeled RBC scintigraphy.

Science.gov (United States)

Zink, Stephen I; Ohki, Stephen K; Stein, Barry; Zambuto, Domenic A; Rosenberg, Ronald J; Choi, Jenny J; Tubbs, Daniel S

2008-10-01

The purpose of our study was to compare contrast-enhanced MDCT and (99m)Tc-labeled RBC scanning for the evaluation of active lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Over 17 months, 55 patients (32 men, 23 women; age range, 21-92 years) were evaluated prospectively with contrast-enhanced MDCT using 100 mL of iopromide 300 mg I/mL. Technetium-99m-labeled RBC scans were obtained on 41 of 55 patients and select patients underwent angiography for attempted embolization. Each imaging technique was reviewed in a blinded fashion for sensitivity for detection of active bleeding as well as the active lower gastrointestinal bleeding location. Findings were positive on both examinations in eight patients and negative on both examinations in 20 patients. Findings were positive on contrast-enhanced MDCT and negative on (99m)Tc-labeled RBC in two patients; findings were negative on contrast-enhanced MDCT and positive on (99m)Tc-labeled RBC in 11 patients. Statistics showed significant disagreement, with simple agreement = 68.3%, kappa = 0.341, and p = 0.014. Sixteen of 60 (26.7%) contrast-enhanced MDCT scans were positive prospectively, with all accurately localizing the site of bleeding and identification of the underlying lesion in eight of 16 (50%). Nineteen of 41 (46.3%) (99m)Tc-labeled RBC scans were positive. Eighteen of 41 matched patients went on to angiography. In four of these 18 (22.2%) patients, the site of bleeding was confirmed by angiography, but in 14 of 18 (77.8%), the findings were negative. Contrast-enhanced MDCT and (99m)Tc-labeled RBC scanning show significant disagreement for evaluation of active lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Contrast-enhanced MDCT appears effective for detection and localization in cases of active lower gastrointestinal bleeding in which hemorrhage is active at the time of CT.

DNA Barcoding the Canadian Arctic Flora: Core Plastid Barcodes (rbcL + matK) for 490 Vascular Plant Species

Science.gov (United States)

Saarela, Jeffery M.; Sokoloff, Paul C.; Gillespie, Lynn J.; Consaul, Laurie L.; Bull, Roger D.

2013-01-01

Accurate identification of Arctic plant species is critical for understanding potential climate-induced changes in their diversity and distributions. To facilitate rapid identification we generated DNA barcodes for the core plastid barcode loci (rbcL and matK) for 490 vascular plant species, representing nearly half of the Canadian Arctic flora and 93% of the flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Sequence recovery was higher for rbcL than matK (93% and 81%), and rbcL was easier to recover than matK from herbarium specimens (92% and 77%). Distance-based and sequence-similarity analyses of combined rbcL + matK data discriminate 97% of genera, 56% of species, and 7% of infraspecific taxa. There is a significant negative correlation between the number of species sampled per genus and the percent species resolution per genus. We characterize barcode variation in detail in the ten largest genera sampled (Carex, Draba, Festuca, Pedicularis, Poa, Potentilla, Puccinellia, Ranunculus, Salix, and Saxifraga) in the context of their phylogenetic relationships and taxonomy. Discrimination with the core barcode loci in these genera ranges from 0% in Salix to 85% in Carex. Haplotype variation in multiple genera does not correspond to species boundaries, including Taraxacum, in which the distribution of plastid haplotypes among Arctic species is consistent with plastid variation documented in non-Arctic species. Introgression of Poa glauca plastid DNA into multiple individuals of P. hartzii is problematic for identification of these species with DNA barcodes. Of three supplementary barcode loci (psbA–trnH, psbK–psbI, atpF–atpH) collected for a subset of Poa and Puccinellia species, only atpF–atpH improved discrimination in Puccinellia, compared with rbcL and matK. Variation in matK in Vaccinium uliginosum and rbcL in Saxifraga oppositifolia corresponds to variation in other loci used to characterize the phylogeographic histories of these Arctic-alpine species. PMID

A ghost fluid method for sharp interface simulations of compressible multiphase flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majidi, Sahand; Afshari, Asghar

2016-01-01

A ghost fluid based computational tool is developed to study a wide range of compressible multiphase flows involving strong shocks and contact discontinuities while accounting for surface tension, viscous stresses and gravitational forces. The solver utilizes constrained reinitialization method to predict the interface configuration at each time step. Surface tension effect is handled via an exact interface Riemann problem solver. Interfacial viscous stresses are approximated by considering continuous velocity and viscous stress across the interface. To assess the performance of the solver several benchmark problems are considered: One-dimensional gas-water shock tube problem, shock-bubble interaction, air cavity collapse in water, underwater explosion, Rayleigh-Taylor Instability, and ellipsoidal drop oscillations. Results obtained from the numerical simulations indicate that the numerical methodology performs reasonably well in predicting flow features and exhibit a very good agreement with prior experimental and numerical observations. To further examine the accuracy of the developed ghost fluid solver, the obtained results are compared to those by a conventional diffuse interface solver. The comparison shows the capability of our ghost fluid method in reproducing the experimentally observed flow characteristics while revealing more details regarding topological changes of the interface.

A ghost fluid method for sharp interface simulations of compressible multiphase flows

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Majidi, Sahand; Afshari, Asghar [University of Tehran, Teheran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2016-04-15

A ghost fluid based computational tool is developed to study a wide range of compressible multiphase flows involving strong shocks and contact discontinuities while accounting for surface tension, viscous stresses and gravitational forces. The solver utilizes constrained reinitialization method to predict the interface configuration at each time step. Surface tension effect is handled via an exact interface Riemann problem solver. Interfacial viscous stresses are approximated by considering continuous velocity and viscous stress across the interface. To assess the performance of the solver several benchmark problems are considered: One-dimensional gas-water shock tube problem, shock-bubble interaction, air cavity collapse in water, underwater explosion, Rayleigh-Taylor Instability, and ellipsoidal drop oscillations. Results obtained from the numerical simulations indicate that the numerical methodology performs reasonably well in predicting flow features and exhibit a very good agreement with prior experimental and numerical observations. To further examine the accuracy of the developed ghost fluid solver, the obtained results are compared to those by a conventional diffuse interface solver. The comparison shows the capability of our ghost fluid method in reproducing the experimentally observed flow characteristics while revealing more details regarding topological changes of the interface.

Long-distance thermal temporal ghost imaging over optical fibers

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Xin; Zhang, Wei; Li, Hao; You, Lixing; Wang, Zhen; Huang, Yidong

2018-02-01

A thermal ghost imaging scheme between two distant parties is proposed and experimentally demonstrated over long-distance optical fibers. In the scheme, the weak thermal light is split into two paths. Photons in one path are spatially diffused according to their frequencies by a spatial dispersion component, then illuminate the object and record its spatial transmission information. Photons in the other path are temporally diffused by a temporal dispersion component. By the coincidence measurement between photons of two paths, the object can be imaged in a way of ghost imaging, based on the frequency correlation between photons in the two paths. In the experiment, the weak thermal light source is prepared by the spontaneous four-wave mixing in a silicon waveguide. The temporal dispersion is introduced by single mode fibers of 50 km, which also could be looked as a fiber link. Experimental results show that this scheme can be realized over long-distance optical fibers.

Reconstruction of Stress and Composition Profiles from X-ray Diffraction Experiments - How to Avoid Ghost Stresses?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Thomas; Somers, Marcel A.J.

2004-01-01

On evaluating lattice strain-depth or stress-depth profiles with X-ray diffraction, the variation of the information depth while combining various tilt angles,psi, in combination with lattice spacing gradients leads to artefacts,so-called ghost or fictitious stresses. X-ray diffraction lattice...... method for the evaluation of stress/strain and composition profiles, while minimising the risk for ghost stresses....

Hunting for CDF multi-muon ''ghost'' events at collider and fixed-target experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bornhauser, Nicki; Drees, Manuel

2011-01-01

In 2008 the CDF collaboration discovered a large excess of events containing two or more muons, at least one of which seemed to have been produced outside the beam pipe. We investigate whether similar ''ghost'' events could (and should) have been seen in already completed experiments. The CDF di-muon data can be reproduced by a simple model where a relatively light X particle undergoes 4-body decay. This model predicts a large number of ghost events in Fermilab fixed-target experiments E772, E789 and E866, applying the cuts optimized for analyses of Drell-Yan events. A correct description of events with more than two muons requires a more complicated model, where two X particles are produced from a very broad resonance Y. This model can be tested in fixed-target experiments only if the cut on the angles, or rapidities, of the muons can be relaxed. Either way, the UA1 experiment at the CERN p anti p collider should have observed O(100) ghost events. (orig.)

Ghost Head Nebula

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

Looking like a colorful holiday card, a new image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveals a vibrant green and red nebula far from Earth. The image of NGC 2080, taken by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, designed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., is available online at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/wfpc . Images like this help astronomers investigate star formation in nebulas. NGC 2080, nicknamed 'The Ghost Head Nebula,' is one of a chain of star-forming regions lying south of the 30 Doradus nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. 30 Doradus is the largest star-forming complex in the local group of galaxies. This 'enhanced color' picture is composed of three narrow-band-filter images obtained by Hubble on March 28, 2000. The red and blue light come from regions of hydrogen gas heated by nearby stars. The green light on the left comes from glowing oxygen. The energy to illuminate the green light is supplied by a powerful stellar wind, a stream of high-speed particles coming from a massive star just outside the image. The central white region is a combination of all three emissions and indicates a core of hot, massive stars in this star-formation region. Intense emission from these stars has carved a bowl-shaped cavity in surrounding gas. In the white region, the two bright areas (the 'eyes of the ghost') - named A1 (left) and A2 (right) -- are very hot, glowing 'blobs' of hydrogen and oxygen. The bubble in A1 is produced by the hot, intense radiation and powerful stellar wind from one massive star. A2 contains more dust and several hidden, massive stars. The massive stars in A1 and A2 must have formed within the last 10,000 years, since their natal gas shrouds are not yet disrupted by the powerful radiation of the newborn stars. The Space Telescope Science Institute is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The

Use of the Location Inverse Solution to Reduce Ghost Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong-Zhong Hu

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Through-the-wall imaging (TWI is a difficult but important task for both law enforcement and military missions. Acquiring information on both the internal features of a structure and the location of people inside plays an important role in many fields such as antiterrorism, hostage search and rescue, and barricade situations. Up to now, a number of promising experimental systems have been developed to validate and evaluate diverse imaging methods, most of which are based on a linear antenna array to obtain an image of the objects. However, these methods typically use the backward projection (BP algorithm based on ellipse curves, which usually generates additional ghost images. In this paper, the algorithm using the location inverse solution (LIS to reduce the ghost images is proposed and simulated. The results of simulation show that this approach is feasible.

The x-ray time of flight method for investigation of ghosting in amorphous selenium-based flat panel medical x-ray imagers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rau, A.W.; Bakueva, L.; Rowlands, J.A.

2005-01-01

Amorphous selenium (a-Se) based real-time flat-panel imagers (FPIs) are finding their way into the digital radiology department because they offer the practical advantages of digital x-ray imaging combined with an image quality that equals or outperforms that of conventional systems. The temporal imaging characteristics of FPIs can be affected by ghosting (i.e., radiation-induced changes of sensitivity) when the dose to the detector is high (e.g., portal imaging and mammography) or the images are acquired at a high frame rate (e.g., fluoroscopy). In this paper, the x-ray time-of-flight (TOF) method is introduced as a tool for the investigation of ghosting in a-Se photoconductor layers. The method consists of irradiating layers of a-Se with short x-ray pulses. From the current generated in the a-Se layer, ghosting is quantified and the ghosting parameters (charge carrier generation rate and carrier lifetimes and mobilities) are assessed. The x-ray TOF method is novel in that (1) x-ray sensitivity (S) and ghosting parameters can be measured simultaneously (2) the transport of both holes and electrons can be isolated, and (3) the method is applicable to the practical a-Se layer structure with blocking contacts used in FPIs. The x-ray TOF method was applied to an analysis of ghosting in a-Se photoconductor layers under portal imaging conditions, i.e., 1 mm thick a-Se layers, biased at 5 V/μm, were irradiated using a 6 MV LINAC x-ray beam to a total dose (ghosting dose) of 30 Gy. The initial sensitivity (S 0 ) of the a-Se layers was 63±2 nC cm -2 cGy -1 . It was found that S decreases to 30% of S 0 after a ghosting dose of 5 Gy and to 21% after 30 Gy at which point no further change in S occurs. At an x-ray intensity of 22 Gy/s (instantaneous dose rate during a LINAC x-ray pulse), the charge carrier generation rate was 1.25±0.1x10 22 ehp m -3 s -1 and, to a first approximation, independent of the ghosting dose. However, both hole and electron transport showed a

RBC-/Cr-51/ half-life and albumin turnover in growing Beagle dogs during chronic radial acceleration

Science.gov (United States)

Beckman, D. A.; Evans, J. W.; Oyama, J.

1979-01-01

The effects of chronic centrifugation on growing Beagle dogs exposed to -2 or -2.6 Gx on albumin and RBC turnover rates, albumin concentration and space, and total blood volume were determined and compared with caged and run control of animals. Albumin-(I-125) and autologous RBC-(Cr-51) preparations were injected into all dogs at day 82 of the centrifugation periods, and the disappearance curves were determined by successive bleedings of the animals over the next 35 d, during which the centrifugation was continued. There were no differences in albumin turnover rates or space. Two populations of RBCs were found in both centrifugated groups, one with a normal half-life of 27 + or - 1 S.E.M. d, and one with a significantly (p less than 0.01) shorter half-life of 15 + or - 2 S.E.M. d. An absolute polycythemia was also observed in both centrifuged groups. The results suggest that chronic centrifugation acts through some as-yet unknown mechanism to affect RBC population kinetics.

Tsunami and ghost stories in Thailand: exploring the psychology of ghosts and religious rituals within the context of Thai Buddhism.

Science.gov (United States)

Sorajjakool, Siroj

2007-01-01

The post-tsunami ghost phenomena in Thailand may be understood, in Jungian terms, as an expression of the autonomous complex of the collective psyche resulting from traumatic loss. Religious rituals, as in the context of Thai Buddhism, provide an alternative method of dealing with grief, and hence they affirm the place of religious practices in the overall psychological well-being of people from various cultural backgrounds.

Chandra Finds Ghosts Of Eruption In Galaxy Cluster

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

"Ghostly" relics of an ancient eruption that tore through a cluster of galaxies were recently uncovered by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. The discovery implies that galaxy clusters are the sites of enormously energetic and recurring explosions, and may provide an explanation why galaxy clusters behave like giant cosmic magnets. "Chandra's image revealed vast regions in the galaxy cluster Abell 2597 that contain almost no X-ray or radio emission. We call them ghost cavities," said Brian McNamara of Ohio University in Athens today during a press conference at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington. "They appear to be remnants of an old explosion where the radio emission has faded away over millions of years." The ghost cavities were likely created by extremely powerful explosions, due to material falling toward a black hole millions of times more massive than the Sun. As the matter swirled around the black hole, located in a galaxy near the center of the cluster, it generated enormous electromagnetic fields that expelled material from the vicinity of the black hole at high speeds. This explosive activity in Abell 2597 created jets of highly energetic particles that cleared out voids in the hot gas. Because they are lighter than the surrounding material, the cavities will eventually push their way to the edge of the cluster, just as air bubbles in water make their way to the surface. Researchers also found evidence that this explosion was not a one-time event. "We detected a small, bright radio source near the center of the cluster that indicates a new explosion has occurred recently," said team member Michael Wise of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, "so the cycle of eruption is apparently continuing." Though dim, the ghost cavities are not completely empty. They contain a mixture of very hot gas, high-energy particles and magnetic fields -- otherwise the cavities would have collapsed under the pressure of the surrounding hot

浮萍中一个新rbcS基因启动子的克隆及分析%Analysis of a Novel rbcS Promoter Cloned in Duckweed

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

王友如

2010-01-01

为了分离组织特异性、诱导性的启动子,本研究根据新克隆的浮萍rbcS基因序列设计引物,采用改进的5'walking技术从浮萍基因组中克隆了一个新的rbcS基因启动子,命名为SSU5C基因启动子.序列分析表明:SSU5C基因启动子长度为1 543 bp,含有保守性元件TATA和CAAT box,并且含有水杨酸、脱落酸、赤霉素、茉莉酸甲酯等植物激素和葡萄糖等的保守顺式作用元件.In silico分析初步推测SSU5C基因启动子受多种信号途径的协调调控.

Living in the “Ghost City”: Media Discourses and the Negotiation of Home in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duo Yin

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Ordos is notoriously represented in media discourses as one of China’s principal “ghost cities”, with skyscrapers, apartment estates and grandiose squares largely unoccupied. The “ghost city” emerges from massive (overinvestment in the urban built environment. Aware that economic and financial sustainability are in question, we nonetheless choose to investigate this issue from the perspective of social sustainability, utilizing a theoretical framework informed by geographies of home. Relatively little analysis has thus far been applied to local residents’ everyday practice and agency in making place and home in allegedly “unhomely” ghost cities. This article first examines media discourses and representations of the “ghostly” aspect of the new town in Ordos. It then investigates the ways in which local residents practice and perform their place identity and sense of home in an alleged “ghost city”. Our empirical research in Kangbashi New Town demonstrates that the discourse of ghost cities is valid in so far as we take into account the local residents’ engagement in a process of home-making from below. This sense of place is created by connecting new and old homes, and constructing an emotionally delineated place identity. We argue that the issue of social sustainability in Ordos is multifaceted, and more nuanced than it has hitherto been represented in media reports.

Error threshold ghosts in a simple hypercycle with error prone self-replication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sardanyes, Josep

2008-01-01

A delayed transition because of mutation processes is shown to happen in a simple hypercycle composed by two indistinguishable molecular species with error prone self-replication. The appearance of a ghost near the hypercycle error threshold causes a delay in the extinction and thus in the loss of information of the mutually catalytic replicators, in a kind of information memory. The extinction time, τ, scales near bifurcation threshold according to the universal square-root scaling law i.e. τ ∼ (Q hc - Q) -1/2 , typical of dynamical systems close to a saddle-node bifurcation. Here, Q hc represents the bifurcation point named hypercycle error threshold, involved in the change among the asymptotic stability phase and the so-called Random Replication State (RRS) of the hypercycle; and the parameter Q is the replication quality factor. The ghost involves a longer transient towards extinction once the saddle-node bifurcation has occurred, being extremely long near the bifurcation threshold. The role of this dynamical effect is expected to be relevant in fluctuating environments. Such a phenomenon should also be found in larger hypercycles when considering the hypercycle species in competition with their error tail. The implications of the ghost in the survival and evolution of error prone self-replicating molecules with hypercyclic organization are discussed

OpenRBC: Redefining the Frontier of Red Blood Cell Simulations at Protein Resolution

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Yu-Hang; Lu, Lu; Li, He; Grinberg, Leopold; Sachdeva, Vipin; Evangelinos, Constantinos; Karniadakis, George

We present a from-scratch development of OpenRBC, a coarse-grained molecular dynamics code, which is capable of performing an unprecedented in silico experiment - simulating an entire mammal red blood cell lipid bilayer and cytoskeleton modeled by 4 million mesoscopic particles - on a single shared memory node. To achieve this, we invented an adaptive spatial searching algorithm to accelerate the computation of short-range pairwise interactions in an extremely sparse 3D space. The algorithm is based on a Voronoi partitioning of the point cloud of coarse-grained particles, and is continuously updated over the course of the simulation. The algorithm enables the construction of a lattice-free cell list, i.e. the key spatial searching data structure in our code, in O (N) time and space space with cells whose position and shape adapts automatically to the local density and curvature. The code implements NUMA/NUCA-aware OpenMP parallelization and achieves perfect scaling with up to hundreds of hardware threads. The code outperforms a legacy solver by more than 8 times in time-to-solution and more than 20 times in problem size, thus providing a new venue for probing the cytomechanics of red blood cells. This work was supported by the Department of Energy (DOE) Collaboratory on Mathematics for Mesoscopic Model- ing of Materials (CM4). YHT acknowledges partial financial support from an IBM Ph.D. Scholarship Award.

Decision Tree Algorithm-Generated Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Barcodes of rbcL Genes for 38 Brassicaceae Species Tagging.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Cheng-Hong; Wu, Kuo-Chuan; Chuang, Li-Yeh; Chang, Hsueh-Wei

2018-01-01

DNA barcode sequences are accumulating in large data sets. A barcode is generally a sequence larger than 1000 base pairs and generates a computational burden. Although the DNA barcode was originally envisioned as straightforward species tags, the identification usage of barcode sequences is rarely emphasized currently. Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) association studies provide us an idea that the SNPs may be the ideal target of feature selection to discriminate between different species. We hypothesize that SNP-based barcodes may be more effective than the full length of DNA barcode sequences for species discrimination. To address this issue, we tested a r ibulose diphosphate carboxylase ( rbcL ) S NP b arcoding (RSB) strategy using a decision tree algorithm. After alignment and trimming, 31 SNPs were discovered in the rbcL sequences from 38 Brassicaceae plant species. In the decision tree construction, these SNPs were computed to set up the decision rule to assign the sequences into 2 groups level by level. After algorithm processing, 37 nodes and 31 loci were required for discriminating 38 species. Finally, the sequence tags consisting of 31 rbcL SNP barcodes were identified for discriminating 38 Brassicaceae species based on the decision tree-selected SNP pattern using RSB method. Taken together, this study provides the rational that the SNP aspect of DNA barcode for rbcL gene is a useful and effective sequence for tagging 38 Brassicaceae species.

How Do We Think about Death?--A Cultural Glance of Superstitious Ideas from Chinese and Western Ghost Festivals

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wenli

2009-01-01

Superstitious ideas are always in people's life in spite of scientific and technological advancement. Hungry Ghost Festival in China, Halloween in some western countries and Day of the Dead in Mexico are three religious festivals which are observed every year. They reveal people's idea about ghosts and spirits after death. They also include…

Ghost imaging with paired x-ray photons

Science.gov (United States)

Schori, A.; Borodin, D.; Tamasaku, K.; Shwartz, S.

2018-06-01

We report the experimental observation of ghost imaging with paired x-ray photons, which are generated by parametric downconversion. We use the one-to-one relation between the photon energies and the emission angles and the anticorrelation between the k -vectors of the signal and the idler photons to reconstruct the images of slits with nominally zero background levels. Further extension of our procedure can be used for the observation of various quantum phenomena at x-ray wavelengths.

Contínua evolução da RBC: um obrigado a todos os colaboradores!

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Telles

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Desde de seu nascimento, a RBC prima pela divulgação do conhecimento pericial tecnicamente validado e pela discussão de novos métodos e de casos. É o caminho que há de ser constantemente trilhado pelos profissionais da perícia para que não eivem seus laudos periciais e pareceres técnicos de vícios insanáveis cujas consequências seriam nefastas para a justiça. Não é à toa que o Corpo Editorial da RBC, com o imprescindível auxílio dos editores de sessão e dos avaliadores, não envida esforços na contínua evolução da revista em direção à qualidade. Prova disso é a permanente busca por indexação em vários meios e pela elevação dos índices de qualidade por qualificação externa. A RBC aparece no Latindex, no CrossRef, no Google Scholar, no Research Gate, no Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ, no Electronic Journal Library (EZ3, no Scilit, no Diadorim, na ABEC Brasil, na Universitäts Bibliothek UBL Leipzig e na Qualis/CAPES.

77 FR 50487 - Application To Export Electric Energy; RBC Energy Services LP

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-21

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY [OE Docket No. EA-328-A] Application To Export Electric Energy; RBC Energy... electric energy from the United States to Canada pursuant to section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act (FPA... to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada as a power marketer for a five-year term...

Luisa's Ghosts: Haunted Legality and Collective Expressions of Pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Krauss, Amy

2018-04-25

Feminist health care providers have debated the efficacy of the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico City. Luisa, a counselor in a private clinic, suggested that while the law has expanded the visibility of, and access to safe abortion, it has also called forth "other ghosts." In this article, I take Luisa's critical perspective as a starting point for examining ongoing criminalization and moral stigma as forms of haunting that arise in the wake of the Mexico City abortion policy. Drawing on ethnographic research, I explore how Luisa's ghosts materialize in the embodied- affective relations between patients in new legal clinics. Women who attend public clinics negotiate moral stigma along with religious and familial pressures in the ways they suffer, as well as normalize abortion as a painful experience. Rather than approach pain as purely a sign of victimization, I suggest that its expression constitutes an effervescent collectivity between women in the clinic, making explicit, while at the same time dissipating, an intractable moral-affective knot that might otherwise be ignored.

Enhanced anti-proliferative efficacy of epothilone B loaded with Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 bacterial ghosts on the HeLa cells by mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Wenxing; Hao, Lujiang; Liu, Xinli; Orlando, Borrás-Hidalgo; Zhang, Yuyu

2018-03-20

Epothilones constitute a new class of microtubule-stabilizing anti-cancer agents with promising preclinical and clinical activity. However, its systemic application still causes some toxic side effects. To reduce these undesired effects, advanced drug delivery systems based on cell targeting carriers are needed currently. In this study, the high quality bacterial ghosts of the probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) were prepared in a large scale and retained fully intact surface structures for specific attachment to mammalian cells. The EcN ghosts could be efficiently loaded with the low hydrophilic drug Epothilone B (Epo B) and the maximal load efficiency was approximately 2.5% (w/w). Cytotoxicity assays revealed that Epo B-ghosts exhibited enhanced anti-proliferative properties on the HeLa cells. The Epo B associated with EcN ghosts was more cytotoxic at least 10 times than the free Epo B at the same concentrations. Apoptosis assays showed that both Epo B-ghosts and free Epo B induced time course-dependent apoptosis and necrosis in HeLa cells, respectively. While the former induced more apoptosis and necrosis than the latter. Furthermore, the cytochrome C release and the activation of caspase-3 were more remarkable after treatment with the Epo B-ghosts compared to the free Epo B, which implied that Epo B-ghosts might more effectively induce the apoptosis mediated by mitochondrial pathway in HeLa cells. Therefore, the higher anti-proliferative effects of the Epo B-ghosts on the HeLa cells were mediated by mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. The EcN ghosts may provide a useful drug delivery carrier for drug candidates in cancer therapy.

Perturbative Yang-Mills theory without Faddeev-Popov ghost fields

Science.gov (United States)

Huffel, Helmuth; Markovic, Danijel

2018-05-01

A modified Faddeev-Popov path integral density for the quantization of Yang-Mills theory in the Feynman gauge is discussed, where contributions of the Faddeev-Popov ghost fields are replaced by multi-point gauge field interactions. An explicit calculation to O (g2) shows the equivalence of the usual Faddeev-Popov scheme and its modified version.

Ghosted images: old lesbians on screen.

Science.gov (United States)

Krainitzki, Eva

2015-01-01

Screen images of old lesbians combine modes of representing female gender, lesbian sexuality, and old age, all of which contain layers of otherness within a hetero-patriarchal and youth-centered society. Analyzing a range of films, from independent to mainstream cinema, this article explores how the ghosted lesbian paradigm intersects with narratives of aging as decline in representations of lesbian characters who are over the age of sixty. The spectral matters of illness, death, mourning, and widowhood inevitably culminate in an unhappy ending. Removed from a lesbian community context, intergenerational continuity vanishes and the old lesbian emerges as the cultural other.

Erythrocyte survival studies in lymphomas : a prognostic appraisal. [/sup 51/Cr-labelled RBC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanyal, B; Subrahmanyam, K; Pant, G C [Banaras Hindu Univ. (India). Inst. of Medical Sciences

1977-08-01

Erythrocyte survival studies using /sup 51/Cr-labelled RBC's were conducted using 20 patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma and 10 control subjects. Hepatic, splenic, and cardiac areas were monitored for rapid detection of hypersplenism. The findings are discussed in relation to the prognosis of the disease in the patients.

Pedagogies of Hauntology in History Education: Learning to Live with the Ghosts of Disappeared Victims of War and Dictatorship

Science.gov (United States)

Zembylas, Michalinos

2013-01-01

Michalinos Zembylas examines how history education can be reconceived in terms of Jacques Derrida's notion of "hauntology," that is, as an ongoing conversation with the "ghost"--in the case of this essay, the ghosts of disappeared victims of war and dictatorship. Here, Zembylas uses hauntology as both metaphor and pedagogical methodology for…

Ghosts, Meaning, and Faith: After-Death Communications in Bereavement Narratives

Science.gov (United States)

Kwilecki, Susan

2011-01-01

After-death communications (ADCs) are reported encounters with a deceased loved one, a contemporary type of ghost experience heralded as therapeutic in coping with bereavement. Pertinent literature generally illustrates the healing power of ADCs with brief, self-contained episodes. The functions of ADCs over the course of grief need exploration.…

Teen Girls' Resistance and the Disappearing Social in "Ghost World."

Science.gov (United States)

Giroux, Henry A.

2002-01-01

Examines "Ghost World," a Hollywood film about youth, friendship, alienation, and survival, critically investigating how popular representations of youth signal a particular crisis of the social through a discourse of privatization, which fails to locate youth and problems they face within the related geographies of the social and political. The…

Ghost crabs on a treadmill: Oxygen Uptake and Haemocyanin ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ghost crabs Ocypode ceratophthalmus were exercised on a specially constructed treadmill. At a running speed of 13,3 cm s-1, most crabs ran for 2 h before getting fatigued. At this speed the oxygen consumption rate (MO2) was measured in time intervals for a total of 52 min. For exercised crabs the MO2 values are about ...

Molecular evolution of rbcL in three gymnosperm families: identifying adaptive and coevolutionary patterns

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Sen, Lin

2011-06-03

Abstract Background The chloroplast-localized ribulose-1, 5-biphosphate carboxylase\\/oxygenase (Rubisco), the primary enzyme responsible for autotrophy, is instrumental in the continual adaptation of plants to variations in the concentrations of CO2. The large subunit (LSU) of Rubisco is encoded by the chloroplast rbcL gene. Although adaptive processes have been previously identified at this gene, characterizing the relationships between the mutational dynamics at the protein level may yield clues on the biological meaning of such adaptive processes. The role of such coevolutionary dynamics in the continual fine-tuning of RbcL remains obscure. Results We used the timescale and phylogenetic analyses to investigate and search for processes of adaptive evolution in rbcL gene in three gymnosperm families, namely Podocarpaceae, Taxaceae and Cephalotaxaceae. To understand the relationships between regions identified as having evolved under adaptive evolution, we performed coevolutionary analyses using the software CAPS. Importantly, adaptive processes were identified at amino acid sites located on the contact regions among the Rubisco subunits and on the interface between Rubisco and its activase. Adaptive amino acid replacements at these regions may have optimized the holoenzyme activity. This hypothesis was pinpointed by evidence originated from our analysis of coevolution that supported the correlated evolution between Rubisco and its activase. Interestingly, the correlated adaptive processes between both these proteins have paralleled the geological variation history of the concentration of atmospheric CO2. Conclusions The gene rbcL has experienced bursts of adaptations in response to the changing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. These adaptations have emerged as a result of a continuous dynamic of mutations, many of which may have involved innovation of functional Rubisco features. Analysis of the protein structure and the functional implications of such

Dark matter as a ghost free conformal extension of Einstein theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barvinsky, A.O.

2014-01-01

We discuss ghost free models of the recently suggested mimetic dark matter theory. This theory is shown to be a conformal extension of Einstein general relativity. Dark matter originates from gauging out its local Weyl invariance as an extra degree of freedom which describes a potential flow of the pressureless perfect fluid. For a positive energy density of this fluid the theory is free of ghost instabilities, which gives strong preference to stable configurations with a positive scalar curvature and trace of the matter stress tensor. Instabilities caused by caustics of the geodesic flow, inherent in this model, serve as a motivation for an alternative conformal extension of Einstein theory, based on the generalized Proca vector field. A potential part of this field modifies the inflationary stage in cosmology, whereas its rotational part at the post inflationary epoch might simulate rotating flows of dark matter

A specter of coexistence: Is centrifugal community organization haunted by the ghost of competition?

Science.gov (United States)

Wasserberg, Gideon; Kotler, B.P.; Morris, D.W.; Abramsky, Z.

2006-01-01

In a centrifugally organized community species prefer the same habitat (called "core") but differ in their secondary habitat preferences. The first model of centrifugal community organization (CCO) predicted that optimally foraging, symmetrically competing species would share use of the core habitat at all density combinations. But one might also assume that the competition in the core habitat is asymmetrical, that is, that one of the species (the dominant) has a behavioral advantage therein. In this study, we asked how should habitat use evolve in a centrifugally organized community if its species compete asymmetrically in the core habitat? To address this question we developed an "isoleg model". The model predicts that in a centrifugally organized community, asymmetric competition promotes the use of the core habitat exclusively by the dominant species at most points in the state space. The separation of the core habitat use by the species ("the ghost of competition past") may be either complete or partial ("partial ghost"), and behavior at the stable competitive equilibrium between the species could determine whether coexistence should occur at the "complete-" or the "partial ghost" regions. This version of CCO should be a common feature of competitive systems.

A Novel Probability Model for Suppressing Multipath Ghosts in GPR and TWI Imaging: A Numerical Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tan Yun-hua

2015-10-01

Full Text Available A novel concept for suppressing the problem of multipath ghosts in Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR and Through-Wall Imaging (TWI is presented. Ghosts (i.e., false targets mainly arise from the use of the Born or single-scattering approximations that lead to linearized imaging algorithms; however, these approximations neglect the effect of multiple scattering (or multipath between the electromagnetic wavefield and the object under investigation. In contrast to existing methods of suppressing multipath ghosts, the proposed method models for the first time the reflectivity of the probed objects as a probability function up to a normalized factor and introduces the concept of random subaperture by randomly picking up measurement locations from the entire aperture. Thus, the final radar image is a joint probability distribution that corresponds to radar images derived from multiple random subapertures. Finally, numerical experiments are used to demonstrate the performance of the proposed methodology in GPR and TWI imaging.

"Haunting experiences: Ghosts in contemporary folklore," by Diane E. Goldstein et al.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linda Levitt

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Diane E. Goldstein, Sylvia Ann Grider, and Jeannie Banks Thomas. Haunting experiences: Ghosts in contemporary folklore. Logan: Utah State University Press, 2007, paperback, $24.95 (272p ISBN 978-0-87421-636-3.

A Value Chain Analysis of ghost nets in the Arafura Sea: identifying trans-boundary stakeholders, intervention points and livelihood trade-offs.

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, J R A; Gunn, R; Berry, H L; Wagey, G A; Hardesty, B D; Wilcox, C

2013-07-15

Lost or discarded fishing nets are a significant component of marine debris which has trans-boundary impacts in large marine ecosystems. Such 'ghost nets' cause the by-catch of marine fauna and require retrieval from coastlines where they wash up. Identifying the causes of discarded nets and feasible intervention points requires analysis of a complex value chain and the stakeholders within it, yet no studies have attempted this. In this paper we combine Value Chain Analysis, commonly applied to understand value-adding for a commodity, with elements of Life Cycle Assessment and social network analysis to examine the drivers, stakeholders, economic, environmental and social costs and benefits in the life of a trawl net. We use the Arafura Sea as a case study, which is shared by Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia, and is the focus of a Trans-boundary Diagnostic Assessment (TDA) within the Arafura-Timor Seas Ecosystem Action program (ATSEA). We follow a trawl net through four sub-systems: manufacture of webbing in South Korea, fishing and loss by an Indonesian vessel, retrieval as ghost net on the northern Australian coastline by Indigenous rangers, and disposal or re-cycling as 'GhostNet Art' by Indigenous artists. Primary stakeholders along the value chain incur economic and social benefits, and economic and environmental costs. There is an anomaly in the chain between Indonesian fishermen and Indigenous rangers, artists and communities due to the lack of market linkages between these primary stakeholders. The first 'nexus of influence' where reductions in net losses and environmental costs can be achieved is through interactions between GhostNets Australia, the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Australian Government, which can influence Indonesian fishery management institutions and fishing crews. The second nexus is via the international art market which by publicising GhostNet Art can raise awareness amongst fish consumers about the impacts of ghost nets

On operators of the ghost number and conjugation in the BRST quantization formalism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azizov, T.Ya.; Khoruzhij, S.S.

1989-01-01

Detailed and rigorous study is made of operators of the ghost number Q c and ghost conjugation U c which are operators in Krein spaces arising in the BRST quantization formalism for constrained dynamical systems. A number of conditions are obtained which guarantee that Q c is well-defined and J-symmetric. It is shown that properties of Q c are related to the following geometrical problem: to find conditions under which a pair of lineals in the Krein space can be made neutral by the appropriate choice of J-metrics. The complete solution of this problem is given. Whole series of examples is constructed which demonstrate the connections between properties of Q c and geometry of its spectral subspaces

Wormhole solutions with a complex ghost scalar field and their instability

Science.gov (United States)

Dzhunushaliev, Vladimir; Folomeev, Vladimir; Kleihaus, Burkhard; Kunz, Jutta

2018-01-01

We study compact configurations with a nontrivial wormholelike spacetime topology supported by a complex ghost scalar field with a quartic self-interaction. For this case, we obtain regular asymptotically flat equilibrium solutions possessing reflection symmetry. We then show their instability with respect to linear radial perturbations.

Effects of Low Anisotropy on Generalized Ghost Dark Energy in Galileon Gravity

Science.gov (United States)

Hossienkhani, H.; Fayaz, V.; Jafari, A.; Yousefi, H.

2018-04-01

The definition of the Galileon gravity form is extended to the Brans-Dicke theory. Given, the framework of the Galileon theory, the generalized ghost dark energy model in an anisotropic universe is investigated. We study the cosmological implications of this model. In particular, we obtain the equation of state and the deceleration parameters and a differential equation governing the evolution of this dark energy in Bianchi type I model. We also probe observational constraints by using the latest observational data on the generalized ghost dark energy models as the unification of dark matter and dark energy. In order to do so, we focus on observational determinations of the Hubble expansion rate (namely, the expansion history) H(z). As a result, we show the influence of the anisotropy (although low) on the evolution of the universe in the statefinder diagrams for Galileon gravity.

An Embedded Ghost-Fluid Method for Compressible Flow in Complex Geometry

KAUST Repository

Almarouf, Mohamad Abdulilah Alhusain Alali

2016-06-03

We present an embedded ghost-fluid method for numerical solutions of the compressible Navier Stokes (CNS) equations in arbitrary complex domains. The PDE multidimensional extrapolation approach of Aslam [1] is used to reconstruct the solution in the ghost-fluid regions and impose boundary conditions at the fluid-solid interface. The CNS equations are numerically solved by the second order multidimensional upwind method of Colella [2] and Saltzman [3]. Block-structured adaptive mesh refinement implemented under the Chombo framework is utilized to reduce the computational cost while keeping high-resolution mesh around the embedded boundary and regions of high gradient solutions. Numerical examples with different Reynolds numbers for low and high Mach number flow will be presented. We compare our simulation results with other reported experimental and computational results. The significance and advantages of our implementation, which revolve around balancing between the solution accuracy and implementation difficulties, are briefly discussed as well. © 2016 Trans Tech Publications.

An Embedded Ghost-Fluid Method for Compressible Flow in Complex Geometry

KAUST Repository

Almarouf, Mohamad Abdulilah Alhusain Alali; Samtaney, Ravi

2016-01-01

We present an embedded ghost-fluid method for numerical solutions of the compressible Navier Stokes (CNS) equations in arbitrary complex domains. The PDE multidimensional extrapolation approach of Aslam [1] is used to reconstruct the solution in the ghost-fluid regions and impose boundary conditions at the fluid-solid interface. The CNS equations are numerically solved by the second order multidimensional upwind method of Colella [2] and Saltzman [3]. Block-structured adaptive mesh refinement implemented under the Chombo framework is utilized to reduce the computational cost while keeping high-resolution mesh around the embedded boundary and regions of high gradient solutions. Numerical examples with different Reynolds numbers for low and high Mach number flow will be presented. We compare our simulation results with other reported experimental and computational results. The significance and advantages of our implementation, which revolve around balancing between the solution accuracy and implementation difficulties, are briefly discussed as well. © 2016 Trans Tech Publications.

At the Table with Hungry Ghosts: Intimate Borderwork in Mexico City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean Duruz

2011-09-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on the project of sustaining cultural diversity within global cities’ intimate spaces. Specifically, it sketches the culinary histories of an Anglo-Australian woman (who, in 1968, settled permanently in Mexico and her male partner (who grew up in Mexico; his mother Mexican, his father Cantonese. Drawing on the tools of ‘borderwork’ (Hodge and O’Carroll, the argument positions culturally diverse landscapes of ‘Sydney’, ‘China’ and ‘Mexico City’ as distinct yet overlapping geographies. Meanwhile, analysis of curious moments in the couple’s intersecting histories contributes much fluidity to this cartography. In the process, a company of hungry ghosts appears at the dinner table – ghosts of diversity, diaspora and cosmopolitanism; nostalgia and memory; gender and ethnicity; home and belonging. The article concludes that even when borderwork is conducted amiably behind closed doors, it relies on contradictions for cultural sustenance. At the same time, its tensions resonate with possibilities for creative practice.

Radiation-induced structural changes in membrane proteins of human erythrocytes and ghosts and the relation to cellular morphology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schuurhuis, G.J.; Hommes, J.; Vos, J.; Molenaar, I.; Konings, A.W.T. (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (Netherlands))

1984-02-01

Isolated human erythrocytes and ghosts were irradiated with X-rays under different experimental conditions and the effect examined with regard to the structure of membrane proteins and morphology of whole cells and ghosts. From sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis it is concluded that spectrin (band 1 and 2) is the most radiosensitive of the membrane proteins examined. X-irradiation of cells and ghosts induced covalent cross-linking of a small fraction of membrane proteins. In the protein aggregates thus formed spectrin was found to be the major component. Molecular disulphide (-SS-) bridges seemed to account for part of the cross-links observed. Some nondisulphide cross-links were found, especially when ghosts were irradiated. Significant amounts of spectrin aggregates were formed during post-irradiation incubation at 37/sup 0/C but not at 4/sup 0/C. In the intact cell a transformation in shape from discocyte to echinocyte accompanied the process of post-irradiation spectrin aggregation. The characteristics of both processes, such as their reversibility with adenosine, point to a metabolic involvement. It is shown that there is no causal relationship between the two phenomena observed. Possible causes of the post-irradiation effects and the parallelism with similar processes in non-irradiated metabolically depleted cells are discussed.

Radiation-induced structural changes in membrane proteins of human erythrocytes and ghosts and the relation to cellular morphology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuurhuis, G.J.; Hommes, J.; Vos, J.; Molenaar, I.; Konings, A.W.T.

1984-01-01

Isolated human erythrocytes and ghosts were irradiated with X-rays under different experimental conditions and the effect examined with regard to the structure of membrane proteins and morphology of whole cells and ghosts. From sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis it is concluded that spectrin (band 1 and 2) is the most radiosensitive of the membrane proteins examined. X-irradiation of cells and ghosts induced covalent cross-linking of a small fraction of membrane proteins. In the protein aggregates thus formed spectrin was found to be the major component. Molecular disulphide (-SS-) bridges seemed to account for part of the cross-links observed. Some nondisulphide cross-links were found, especially when ghosts were irradiated. Significant amounts of spectrin aggregates were formed during post-irradiation incubation at 37 0 C but not at 4 0 C. In the intact cell a transformation in shape from discocyte to echinocyte accompanied the process of post-irradiation spectrin aggregation. The characteristics of both processes, such as their reversibility with adenosine, point to a metabolic involvement. It is shown that there is no causal relationship between the two phenomena observed. Possible causes of the post-irradiation effects and the parallelism with similar processes in non-irradiated metabolically depleted cells are discussed. (author)

Gravity and magnetic data across the Ghost Dance Fault in WT-2 Wash, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliver, H.W.; Sikora, R.F.

1994-01-01

Detailed gravity and ground magnetic data were obtained in September 1993 along a 4,650 ft-long profile across the Ghost Dance Fault system in WT-2 Wash. Gravity stations were established every 150 feet along the profile. Total-field magnetic measurements made initially every 50 ft along the profile, then remade every 20 ft through the fault zone. These new data are part of a geologic and geophysical study of the Ghost Dance Fault (GDF) which includes detailed geologic mapping, seismic reflection, and some drilling including geologic and geophysical logging. The Ghost Dance Fault is the only through-going fault that has been identified within the potential repository for high-level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Preliminary gravity results show a distinct decrease of 0.1 to 0.2 mGal over a 600-ft-wide zone to the east of and including the mapped fault. The gravity decrease probably marks a zone of brecciation. Another fault-offset located about 2,000 ft to the east of the GDF was detected by seismic reflection data and is also marked by a distinct gravity low. The ground magnetic data show a 200-ft-wide magnetic low of about 400 nT centered about 100 ft east of the Ghost Dance Fault. The magnetic low probably marks a zone of brecciation within the normally polarized Topopah Spring Tuff, the top of which is about 170 ft below the surface, and which is known from drilling to extend to a depth of about 1,700 ft. Three-component magnetometer logging in drill hole WT-2 located about 2,700 ft east of the Ghost Dance Fault shows that the Topopah Spring Tuff is strongly polarized magnetically in this area, so that fault brecciation of a vertical zone within the Tuff could provide an average negative magnetic contrast of the 4 Am -1 needed to produce the 400 nT low observed at the surface

Ghost-Free Massive $f(R)$ Theories Modelled as Effective Einstein Spaces and Cosmic Acceleration

CERN Document Server

Vacaru, Sergiu I

2014-01-01

We study how massive ghost-free gravity $f(R)$-modified theories, MGFTs, can be encoded into generic off-diagonal Einstein spaces. Using "auxiliary" connections completely defined by the metric fields and adapted to nonholonomic frames with associated to nonlinear connection structure, we decouple and integrate in certain general forms the field equations in MGFT. Imposing additional nonholonomic constraints, we can generate Levi--Civita, LC, configurations and mimic MGFT effects via off-diagonal interactions of effective Einstein and/or Einstein-Cartan gravity with nonholonomically induced torsion. The cosmological evolution of ghost-free off--diagonal Einstein spaces is investigated. Certain compatibility of MGFT cosmology to small off-diagonal deformations of $\\Lambda $CDM models is established. %

[3H]Ouabain binding and Na+, K+-ATPase in resealed human red cell ghosts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shoemaker, D.G.; Lauf, P.K.

1983-01-01

The interaction of the cardiac glycoside [ 3 H]ouabain with the Na+, K+ pump of resealed human erythrocyte ghosts was investigated. Binding of [ 3 H]ouabain to high intracellular Na+ ghosts was studied in high extracellular Na+ media, a condition determined to produce maximal ouabain binding rates. Simultaneous examination of both the number of ouabain molecules bound per ghost and the corresponding inhibition of the Na+, K+-ATPase revealed that one molecule of [ 3 H]ouabain inhibited one Na+, K+-ATPase complex. Intracellular magnesium or magnesium plus inorganic phosphate produced the lowest ouabain binding rate. Support of ouabain binding by adenosine diphosphate (ADP) was negligible, provided synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) through the residual adenylate kinase activity was prevented by the adenylate kinase inhibitor Ap5A. Uridine 5'-triphosphate (UTP) alone did not support ouabain binding after inhibition of the endogenous nucleoside diphosphokinase by trypan blue and depletion of residual ATP by the incorporation of hexokinase and glucose. ATP acting solely at the high-affinity binding site of the Na+, K+ pump (Km approximately 1 microM) promoted maximal [ 3 H]ouabain binding rates. Failure of 5'-adenylyl-beta-gamma-imidophosphate (AMP-PNP) to stimulate significantly the rate of ouabain binding suggests that phosphorylation of the pump was required to expose the ouabain receptor

Rheological and electrical properties of polymeric nanoparticle solutions and their influence on RBC suspensions

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Antonova, N.; Koseva, N.; Kowalczyk, A.; Říha, Pavel; Ivanov, I.

2014-01-01

Roč. 24, č. 3 (2014), s. 35190 ISSN 1430-6395 Institutional support: RVO:67985874 Keywords : nanoparticles and RBC suspensions * poly(acrylic acid) * rheology * electrical conductivity Subject RIV: BK - Fluid Dynamics Impact factor: 1.078, year: 2014 http://www.ar.ethz.ch/TMPPDF/24308140293.696/ApplRheol_24_35190.pdf

Computational ghost imaging using deep learning

Science.gov (United States)

Shimobaba, Tomoyoshi; Endo, Yutaka; Nishitsuji, Takashi; Takahashi, Takayuki; Nagahama, Yuki; Hasegawa, Satoki; Sano, Marie; Hirayama, Ryuji; Kakue, Takashi; Shiraki, Atsushi; Ito, Tomoyoshi

2018-04-01

Computational ghost imaging (CGI) is a single-pixel imaging technique that exploits the correlation between known random patterns and the measured intensity of light transmitted (or reflected) by an object. Although CGI can obtain two- or three-dimensional images with a single or a few bucket detectors, the quality of the reconstructed images is reduced by noise due to the reconstruction of images from random patterns. In this study, we improve the quality of CGI images using deep learning. A deep neural network is used to automatically learn the features of noise-contaminated CGI images. After training, the network is able to predict low-noise images from new noise-contaminated CGI images.

Debris Likelihood, based on GhostNet, NASA Aqua MODIS, and GOES Imager, EXPERIMENTAL

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Debris Likelihood Index (Estimated) is calculated from GhostNet, NASA Aqua MODIS Chl a and NOAA GOES Imager SST data. THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCT: intended...

Kaehler-Dirac ghosts for self-dual fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Labastida, J.M.F.; Pernici, M.

1988-01-01

We present the generalization to spacetime dimension D=4n+2 of the Lorentz covariant quadratic lagrangian for pairs of (anti)self-dual fields previously obtained by the authors in D=2. In the process of BRST quantizing this lagrangian a first-order quadratic lagrangian for ghost (anti)self-dual fields is found which, after gauge fixing, can be written in terms of bispinors and it turns out to be a Kaehler-Dirac lagrangian. The coupling to gravity is straightforward and the gravitational anomaly due to (anti)self-dual fields is obtained directly from an action principle. (orig.)

Plato's ghost the modernist transformation of mathematics

CERN Document Server

Gray, Jeremy

2008-01-01

Plato's Ghost is the first book to examine the development of mathematics from 1880 to 1920 as a modernist transformation similar to those in art, literature, and music. Jeremy Gray traces the growth of mathematical modernism from its roots in problem solving and theory to its interactions with physics, philosophy, theology, psychology, and ideas about real and artificial languages. He shows how mathematics was popularized, and explains how mathematical modernism not only gave expression to the work of mathematicians and the professional image they sought to create for themselves, but how modernism also introduced deeper and ultimately unanswerable questions

An algebraic approach to laying a ghost to rest

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nucci, M C; Leach, P G L

2010-01-01

In the recent literature there has been a resurgence of interest in the fourth-order field-theoretic model of Pais-Uhlenbeck (1950 Phys. Rev. 79 145-65) which has not had a good reception over the past half a century due to the existence of ghosts in the properties of the quantum mechanical solution. Bender and Mannheim (2008 J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 41 304018) were successful in persuading the corresponding quantum operator to 'give up the ghost'. Their success had the advantage of making the model of Pais-Uhlenbeck acceptable to the physics community and in the process added further credit to the cause of advancement of the use of PT symmetry. We present a case for the acceptance of the Pais-Uhlenbeck model in the context of Dirac's theory by providing an Hamiltonian that is not quantum mechanically haunted. The essential point is the manner in which a fourth-order equation is rendered into a system of second-order equations. We show by means of the method of reduction of order (Nucci M C 1996 J. Math. Phys. 37 1772-5) that it is possible to construct a Hamiltonian that gives rise to a satisfactory quantal description without having to abandon Dirac.

Simulator for training operators of electric substation: an approach via RBC-Paraconsistent; Simulador para treinamento de operadores de subestacao eletrica: um enfoque via RBC-paraconsistente

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lambert-Torres, G.; Martins, H.G.; Coutinho, M.P.; Goulart, J.D.C.; Soares, F.M.A. [Universidade Federal de Itajuba (UNIFEI), MG (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Eletrica], Emails: germanoltorres@gmail.com, helgagonzaga@gmail.com, maurilio.coutinho@gmail.com, janaina157@yahoo.com.br, francis.azevedo@gmail.com

2009-07-01

This article presents a combination of two techniques applied artificial intelligence to solve problems to Restoration of an Electric Substation: Casebased Reasoning - CBR and the Four Values Annotated Paraconsistent Logic - 4vAPL. The process occurs in the connection functions of belief, disbelief, specialty and temporality to LPA4v in the retrieval of cases to determine process diagnostic of an RBC. The field of CBR is applied in a recovery of an electric substation. The LPA4v is the support applied in problems that have inconsistent information, partials and undefined. Thus this study is closer of the real situations.

Formation of ghost images due to metal objects on the surface of the patient's face: A pictorial essay

OpenAIRE

Ramos, B?rbara Couto; da Silva Izar, Bruna Raquel; Pereira, J?ssica Lourdes Costa; Souza, Priscilla Sena; Valerio, Claudia Scigliano; Tuji, Fabr?cio Mesquita; Manzi, Fl?vio Ricardo

2016-01-01

Panoramic radiographs are a relatively simple technique that is commonly used in all dental specialties. In panoramic radiographs, in addition to the formation of real images of metal objects, ghost images may also form, and these ghost images can hinder an accurate diagnosis and interfere with the accuracy of radiology reports. Dentists must understand the formation of these images in order to avoid making incorrect radiographic diagnoses. Therefore, the present study sought to present a stu...

Ghost poles in the nucleon propagator in the linear σ model approach and its role in πN low-energy theorems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Da Rocha, C.A.; Wilets, L.

1997-01-01

Complex mass poles, or ghost poles, are present in the Hartree-Fock solution of the Schwinger-Dyson equation for the nucleon propagator in renormalizable models with Yukawa-type meson-nucleon couplings, as shown many years ago by Brown, Puff and Wilets (BPW). These ghosts violate basic theorems of quantum field theory and their origin is related to the ultraviolet behavior of the model interactions. Recently, Krein et.al, proved that the ghosts disappear when vertex corrections are included in a self-consistent way, softening the interaction sufficiently in the ultraviolet region. In previous studies of πN scattering using ''dressed'' nucleon propagator and bare vertices, did by Nutt and Wilets in the 70's (NW), it was found that if these poles are explicitly included, the value of the isospin-even amplitude A (+) is satisfied within 20% at threshold. The absence of a theoretical explanation for the ghosts and the lack of chiral symmetry in these previous studies led us to re-investigate the subject using the approach of the linear σ-model and study the interplay of low-energy theorems for πN scattering and ghost poles. For bare interaction vertices we find that ghosts are present in this model as well and that the A (+) value is badly described. As a first approach to remove these complex poles, we dress the vertices with phenomenological form factors and a reasonable agreement with experiment is achieved. In order to fix the two cutoff parameters, we use the A (+) value for the chiral limit (m π →0) and the experimental value of the isoscalar scattering length. Finally, we test our model by calculating the phase shifts for the S waves and we find a good agreement at threshold. (orig.)

Vitamin E and vitamin E-quinone levels in red blood cells and plasma of newborn infants and their mothers.

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, S K; Wise, R; Bocchini, J J

1996-02-01

Vitamin E is a physiological antioxidant and protects cell membranes from oxidative damage. This study has determined whether vitamin E level in RBC of newborns has any relationship with its level in their mothers. We have also examined levels of vitamin E and vitamin E-quinone, an oxidized product of vitamin E, in paired samples of red blood cells (RBC) and plasma of newborns and their mothers. Blood was collected from 26 mothers and their full-term placental cords at delivery. Vitamin E and vitamin E-quinone levels were determined in RBC and plasma by HPLC. Newborn-plasma had significantly lower vitamin E levels compared with maternal-plasma both when expressed as nmole/ml (5.5+/-0.4 vs 26.1+/-1.1, p = 0.0001) or nmole/mumole total lipids (1.9+/-0.1 vs 2.6+/-0.1, p = 0.0001). Vitamin E level in the newborn-RBC was similar to that of maternal-RBC when expressed as nmole/ml packed cells (2.77+/-0.14 vs 2.95+/-0.13), but was significantly lower when expressed as nmole/mumole total lipids (0.56+/-0.03 vs 0.64+/-0.04, p = 0.03) from that of maternal-RBC. Vitamin E-quinone levels are significantly elevated in newborns compared with their mothers both in RBC (29.4+/-2.1 vs 24.1+/-1.2, p = 0.04) and plasma (39.9+/-5.3 vs 25.3+/-4.2, p = 0.006) when expressed as nmole/mmole total lipids but not when expressed as nmole/ml. There was a significant correlation of vitamin E between newborn-plasma and newborn-RBC (r = 0.65, p = 0.0002 for nmole per ml packed RBC;r = 0.63, p = 0.0007 for nmole per mumole total lipids). The relationship between maternal plasma and newborn plasma was significant when vitamin E was normalized with nmole/mumole total lipid (r = 0.54, p = 0.007 but not when expressed as nmole/ml (r = 0.09, p = 0.64). However, vitamin E in the RBC of maternal and newborn had significant correlation when expressed as per ml packed cells (r = 0.61, p = 0.001) and per total lipid (r = 0.46, p = 0.02). There was no relationship of vitamin E-quinone levels between RBC and

William Wordsworth’s Danish Ghost and the Ballad that Never Was

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen-Rix, Robert William

2017-01-01

been discussed. It is argued that the singing and harp-playing ghost is a trope for the poetic vigour that had dissipated under the demands for classical styles of poetry. More than any other piece in Lyrical Ballads, “A Fragment” points to the ancient Germanic origin of the new models for poetic...

Human threats to sandy beaches: A meta-analysis of ghost crabs illustrates global anthropogenic impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlacher, Thomas A.; Lucrezi, Serena; Connolly, Rod M.; Peterson, Charles H.; Gilby, Ben L.; Maslo, Brooke; Olds, Andrew D.; Walker, Simon J.; Leon, Javier X.; Huijbers, Chantal M.; Weston, Michael A.; Turra, Alexander; Hyndes, Glenn A.; Holt, Rebecca A.; Schoeman, David S.

2016-02-01

Beach and coastal dune systems are increasingly subjected to a broad range of anthropogenic pressures that on many shorelines require significant conservation and mitigation interventions. But these interventions require reliable data on the severity and frequency of adverse ecological impacts. Such evidence is often obtained by measuring the response of 'indicator species'. Ghost crabs are the largest invertebrates inhabiting tropical and subtropical sandy shores and are frequently used to assess human impacts on ocean beaches. Here we present the first global meta-analysis of these impacts, and analyse the design properties and metrics of studies using ghost-crabs in their assessment. This was complemented by a gap analysis to identify thematic areas of anthropogenic pressures on sandy beach ecosystems that are under-represented in the published literature. Our meta-analysis demonstrates a broad geographic reach, encompassing studies on shores of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans, as well as the South China Sea. It also reveals what are, arguably, two major limitations: i) the near-universal use of proxies (i.e. burrow counts to estimate abundance) at the cost of directly measuring biological traits and bio-markers in the organism itself; and ii) descriptive or correlative study designs that rarely extend beyond a simple 'compare and contrast approach', and hence fail to identify the mechanistic cause(s) of observed contrasts. Evidence for a historically narrow range of assessed pressures (i.e., chiefly urbanisation, vehicles, beach nourishment, and recreation) is juxtaposed with rich opportunities for the broader integration of ghost crabs as a model taxon in studies of disturbance and impact assessments on ocean beaches. Tangible advances will most likely occur where ghost crabs provide foci for experiments that test specific hypotheses associated with effects of chemical, light and acoustic pollution, as well as the consequences of climate change (e

Physiologic Impact of Circulating RBC Microparticles upon Blood-Vascular Interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed S. Said

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Here, we review current data elucidating the role of red blood cell derived microparticles (RMPs in normal vascular physiology and disease progression. Microparticles (MPs are submicron-size, membrane-encapsulated vesicles derived from various parent cell types. MPs are produced in response to numerous stimuli that promote a sequence of cytoskeletal and membrane phospholipid changes and resulting MP genesis. MPs were originally considered as potential biomarkers for multiple disease processes and more recently are recognized to have pleiotropic biological effects, most notably in: promotion of coagulation, production and handling of reactive oxygen species, immune modulation, angiogenesis, and in initiating apoptosis. RMPs, specifically, form normally during RBC maturation in response to injury during circulation, and are copiously produced during processing and storage for transfusion. Notably, several factors during RBC storage are known to trigger RMP production, including: increased intracellular calcium, increased potassium leakage, and energy failure with ATP depletion. Of note, RMP composition differs markedly from that of intact RBCs and the nature/composition of RMP components are affected by the specific circumstances of RMP genesis. Described RMP bioactivities include: promotion of coagulation, immune modulation, and promotion of endothelial adhesion as well as influence upon vasoregulation via influence upon nitric oxide (NO bioavailability. Of particular relevance, RMPs scavenge NO more avidly than do intact RBCs; this physiology has been proposed to contribute to the impaired oxygen delivery homeostasis that may be observed following transfusion. In summary, RMPs are submicron particles released from RBCs, with demonstrated vasoactive properties that appear to disturb oxygen delivery homeostasis. The clinical impact of RMPs in normal and patho-physiology and in transfusion recipients is an area of continued investigation.

RBC-coupled tPA prevents cerebrovasodilatory impairment and tissue injury in pediatric cerebral hypoxia/ischemia through inhibition of ERK MAPK unregulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ganguly, Kumkum [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Armstead, William M [U PENNSYLVANIA; Kiessling, J W [U PENNSYLVANIA; Chen, Xiao - Han [U PENNSYLVANIA; Smith, Douglas H [U PENNSYLVANA; Higazi, Abd Ar [U PENNSYLVANIA; Cines, Douglas B [U PENNSYLVANIA; Bdeir, Khalil [U PENNSYLVANIA; Zaitsev, Sergei [U PENNSYLVANIA; Muzykantov, Vladimir R [U PENNSYLVANIA

2008-01-01

Babies experience hypoxia (H) and ischemia (I) from stroke. The only approved treatment for stroke is fibrinolytic therapy with tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA). However, tPA potentiates H/I-induced impairment of responses to cerebrovasodilators such as hypercapnia and hypotension, and blockade of tPA-mediated vasoactivity prevents this deleterious effect. Coupling tPA to RBCs reduces its CNS toxicity through spatially confining the drug to the vasculature. Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK), a family of at least 3 kinases, is upregulated after H/I. In this study we determined if RBC-tPA given before or after cerebral H/I would preserve responses to cerebrovasodilators and prevent neuronal injury mediated through the ERK MAPK pathway. Animals given RBC-tPA maintained responses to cerebrovasodilators at levels equivalent to pre-H/I values. CSF and brain parenchymal ERK MAPK was elevated by H/I and this upregulation was potentiated by tPA, but blunted by RBC-tPA. U 0126, an ERK MAPK antagonist, also maintained cerebrovasodilation post H/I. Neuronal degeneration in CA1 hippocampus and parietal cortex after H/I was exacerbated by tPA, but ameliorated by RBC-tPA and U 0126. These data suggest that coupling tPA to RBCs may offer a novel approach towards increasing the benefit/risk ratio of thrombolytic therapy for CNS disorders associated with H/I.

Time dependent variation of human blood conductivity as a method for an estimation of RBC aggregation

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Antonova, N.; Říha, Pavel; Ivanov, I.

2008-01-01

Roč. 39, č. 1 (2008), s. 69-78 ISSN 1386-0291 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20600510 Keywords : RBC aggregation * blood conductivity * low shear rate viscometry Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 1.814, year: 2008

Gravity and magnetic investigations of the Ghost Dance and Solitario Canyon faults, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponce, D.A.; Langenheim, V.E.

1995-01-01

Ground magnetic and gravity data collected along traverses across the Ghost Dance and Solitario Canyon faults on the eastern and western flanks, respectively, of Yucca Mountain in southwest Nevada are interpreted. These data were collected as part of an effort to evaluate faulting in the vicinity of a potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Gravity and magnetic data and models along traverses across the Ghost Dance and Solitario Canyon faults show prominent anomalies associated with known faults and reveal a number of possible concealed faults beneath the eastern flank of Yucca Mountain. The central part of the eastern flank of Yucca Mountain is characterized by several small amplitude anomalies that probably reflect small scale faulting

Ghost properties of algebraically extended theories of gravitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, P.F.; Mann, R.B.

1986-01-01

Recently a technique for extending general relativity called algebraic extension was shown to yield only five classes of gravitational theories (general relativity plus four extensions). The particle spectra of these theories are analysed and it is shown that only one of these extensions is ghost free. Two inequivalent theories are shown to result from this extension at the linearised level. One of these is the linearised version of Moffat's theory of gravitation; the other is a new theory which possesses an additional gauge invariance which has been associated with a closed string. (author)

Fourier-transform ghost imaging with pure far-field correlated thermal light

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Honglin; Shen Xia; Han Shensheng; Zhu Daming

2007-01-01

Pure far-field correlated thermal light beams are created with phase grating, and Fourier-transform ghost imaging depending only on the far-field correlation is demonstrated experimentally. Theoretical analysis and the results of experimental investigation of this pure far-field correlated thermal light are presented. Applications which may be exploited with this imaging scheme are discussed

Observational artifacts of Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array: Ghost rays and stray light

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Kristin K.; Christensen, Finn Erland; Craig, William W.

2017-01-01

photons that do not undergo the focused double reflections in the optics, and we term these ghost rays. We present detailed analysis and characterization of these two components and discuss how they impact observations. Finally, we discuss how they could have been prevented and should be in future...

The Plasmodium falciparum exported protein PF3D7_0402000 binds to erythrocyte ankyrin and band 4.1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shakya, Bikash; Penn, Wesley D.; Nakayasu, Ernesto S.; Lacount, Douglas J.

2017-09-01

Plasmodium falciparum extensively modifies the infected red blood cell (RBC), resulting in changes in deformability, shape and surface properties. These alterations suggest that the RBC cytoskeleton is a major target for modification during infection. However, the molecular mechanisms leading to these changes are largely unknown. To begin to address this question, we screened for exported P. falciparum proteins that bound to the erythrocyte cytoskeleton proteins ankyrin 1 (ANK1) and band 4.1 (4.1R), which form critical interactions with other cytoskeletal proteins that contribute to the deformability and stability of RBCs. Yeast two-hybrid screens with ANK1 and 4.1R identified eight interactions with P. falciparum exported proteins, including an interaction between 4.1R and PF3D7_0402000 (PFD0090c). This interaction was first identified in a large-scale screen (Vignali et al., Malaria J, 7:211, 2008), which also reported an interaction between PF3D7_0402000 and ANK1. We confirmed the interactions of PF3D7_0402000 with 4.1R and ANK1 in pair-wise yeast two-hybrid and co-precipitation assays. In both cases, an intact PHIST domain in PF3D7_0402000 was required for binding. Complex purification followed by mass spectrometry analysis provided additional support for the interaction of PF3D7_0402000 with ANK1 and 4.1R. RBC ghost cells loaded with maltose-binding protein (MBP)-PF3D7_0402000 passed through a metal microsphere column less efficiently than mock- or MBP-loaded controls, consistent with an effect of PF3D7_0402000 on RBC rigidity or membrane stability. This study confirmed the interaction of PF3D7_0402000 with 4.1R in multiple independent assays, provided the first evidence that PF3D7_0402000 also binds to ANK1, and suggested that PF3D7_0402000 affects deformability or membrane stability of uninfected RBC ghosts.

The Ghostly Workings of Danish Accountability Policies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pors, Justine Grønbæk

2016-01-01

present an empirical study of a policy agenda of introducing an assessment culture and improving the management of the Danish public school. I explore how all the routines and habits deemed outdated and sought annihilated by a new policy paradigm continue to haunt head teachers as seething presence...... of lurking resistance towards the policy aims as well as insidious doubts. Thinking about the ghostly contributes to studies of education policy by locating the reality of power in the mundane everyday doings and experiences of educational practitioners and insisting on the very tangled way people sense...... and intuit the complexities of contemporary forms of power....

Prevalence of articles with honorary and ghost authors in three pharmacy journals.

Science.gov (United States)

Dotson, Bryan; Slaughter, Richard L

2011-09-15

The prevalence of honorary and ghost authors in articles published in 2009 in three peer-reviewed pharmacy journals was studied. A 20-question survey was e-mailed to corresponding authors of articles with two or more authors published in 2009 in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Annals of Pharmacotherapy, and Pharmacotherapy. The survey solicited the following information: demographic characteristics of the corresponding author, information about the published article, information to determine whether any of the authors did not meet the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors criteria for authorship, and information to determine if an individual contributed substantially to the research or writing of the article but was not listed as an author. Of the 491 corresponding authors to whom the survey was sent, 457 had a working e-mail address; 114 surveys were completed (24.9% response rate). Usable responses were provided by 112 authors. The prevalence of articles with honorary and ghost authors was 14.3% and 0.9%, respectively. Honorary authorship was more common in original research than review articles. Articles with honorary authors had longer bylines than articles without honorary authors (mean number of authors, 4.9 versus 3.7; p = 0.002). The proportion of articles with an honorary author was 1.9% for articles with fewer than 4 authors, 25% for articles with 4 or 5 authors, and 29.4% for articles with more than 5 authors (p = 0.001). A survey sent to the corresponding authors of articles published in 2009 in three peer-reviewed pharmacy journals revealed that a substantial percentage of articles demonstrated evidence of honorary or ghost authorship.

Experimental method for the study of blood and RBC suspension conductivity under flow

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Antonova, N.; Říha, Pavel; Ivanov, I.

2014-01-01

Roč. 67, č. 7 (2014), s. 995-1004 ISSN 1310-1331 Grant - others:The Ministry of Education and Science of Bulgaria(BG) BG051PO001-3.3-05/0001; The Ministry of Education, Youth and Science of Bulgaria(BG) DO-805/2012 Institutional support: RVO:67985874 Keywords : viscometric flow * conductivity * blood/RBC suspension microstructural changes Subject RIV: BK - Fluid Dynamics Impact factor: 0.284, year: 2014

rbcL gene sequences provide evidence for the evolutionary lineages of leptosporangiate ferns.

OpenAIRE

Hasebe, M; Omori, T; Nakazawa, M; Sano, T; Kato, M; Iwatsuki, K

1994-01-01

Pteriodophytes have a longer evolutionary history than any other vascular land plant and, therefore, have endured greater loss of phylogenetically informative information. This factor has resulted in substantial disagreements in evaluating characters and, thus, controversy in establishing a stable classification. To compare competing classifications, we obtained DNA sequences of a chloroplast gene. The sequence of 1206 nt of the large subunit of the ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase gene (rbc...

Massive, massless and ghost modes of gravitational waves from higher-order gravity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bogdanos, Charalampos; Capozziello, Salvatore; De Laurentis, Mariafelicia

We linearize the field equations for higher order theories that contain scalar invariants other than the Ricci scalar. We find that besides a massless spin-2 field (the standard graviton), the theory contains also spin-0 and spin-2 massive modes with the latter being, in general, ghost modes. Then...

Influence map baserad Ms. Pac-Man och Ghost Kontroller

OpenAIRE

Svensson, Johan

2012-01-01

This thesis will cover the use oftheinfluence map technique applied to the retro game Ms. Pac-Man. A game thatis easy to learn but hard to master. The Ms. Pac-Man controller is implemented with five main parameters that alters the behaviour of the controller while the Ghost controller have three parameters. The experimental results of the controllers is explored to using the alterations of the parameters to find its peak of performance. The conclusion from using the influence map for this gam...

Ghosts of the City: A Spectrology of Cinematic Spaces

OpenAIRE

Petra Löffler

2015-01-01

This paper investigates how, in early cinema, in-between spaces were created that were receptive to scenes of haunting. Adopting Derrida’s notions of a hauntology and a spectrology it argues for a genuine productivity of cinematic space that is able to build ghostly environments without incorporating an actual specter. This productivity is described as ‘making appear’ and ‘making act’. Furthermore, the paper explains how, in the era of silent cinema, cinematic techniques were used to create s...

Testing the ghost with the machine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Zubicaray, G.

2002-01-01

Since its introduction during the 1990s, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to investigate brain activity occurring during a bewildering variety of sensory, motor and cognitive tasks. That is, a machine is being used to test 'the ghost in the machine' - the human mind. The use of imaging techniques to investigate these issues has even led to the emergence of a new scientific field called cognitive neuroscience. Currently, there are only a few groups in Australia actively publishing fMRI studies in the international literature, and the majority of these laboratories are clustered on the east coast. My own research with fMRI has focused on areas such as language and memory, with a special interest in how we solve competitive processes in our thinking

Correspondence normalized ghost imaging on compressive sensing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Sheng-Mei; Zhuang Peng

2014-01-01

Ghost imaging (GI) offers great potential with respect to conventional imaging techniques. It is an open problem in GI systems that a long acquisition time is be required for reconstructing images with good visibility and signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). In this paper, we propose a new scheme to get good performance with a shorter construction time. We call it correspondence normalized ghost imaging based on compressive sensing (CCNGI). In the scheme, we enhance the signal-to-noise performance by normalizing the reference beam intensity to eliminate the noise caused by laser power fluctuations, and reduce the reconstruction time by using both compressive sensing (CS) and time-correspondence imaging (CI) techniques. It is shown that the qualities of the images have been improved and the reconstruction time has been reduced using CCNGI scheme. For the two-grayscale ''double-slit'' image, the mean square error (MSE) by GI and the normalized GI (NGI) schemes with the measurement number of 5000 are 0.237 and 0.164, respectively, and that is 0.021 by CCNGI scheme with 2500 measurements. For the eight-grayscale ''lena'' object, the peak signal-to-noise rates (PSNRs) are 10.506 and 13.098, respectively using GI and NGI schemes while the value turns to 16.198 using CCNGI scheme. The results also show that a high-fidelity GI reconstruction has been achieved using only 44% of the number of measurements corresponding to the Nyquist limit for the two-grayscale “double-slit'' object. The qualities of the reconstructed images using CCNGI are almost the same as those from GI via sparsity constraints (GISC) with a shorter reconstruction time. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

Ghost Hunting as a Means to Illustrate Scientific Methodology and Enhance Critical Thinking

Science.gov (United States)

Rockwell, Steven C.

2012-01-01

The increasing popularity of television shows featuring paranormal investigations has led to a renewed enthusiasm in ghost hunting activities, and belief in the paranormal in general. These shows typically feature a group of investigators who, while claiming to utilize proper scientifically correct methodologies, violate many core scientific…

Ghosts of the City: A Spectrology of Cinematic Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petra Löffler

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates how, in early cinema, in-between spaces were created that were receptive to scenes of haunting. Adopting Derrida’s notions of a hauntology and a spectrology it argues for a genuine productivity of cinematic space that is able to build ghostly environments without incorporating an actual specter. This productivity is described as ‘making appear’ and ‘making act’. Furthermore, the paper explains how, in the era of silent cinema, cinematic techniques were used to create scenes of haunting.

A segment of rbcL gene as a potential tool for forensic discrimination of Cannabis sativa seized at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Mello, I C T; Ribeiro, A S D; Dias, V H G; Silva, R; Sabino, B D; Garrido, R G; Seldin, L; de Moura Neto, Rodrigo Soares

2016-03-01

Cannabis sativa, known by the common name marijuana, is the psychoactive drug most widely distributed in the world. Identification of Cannabis cultivars may be useful for association to illegal crops, which may reveal trafficking routes and related criminal groups. This study provides evidence for the performance of a segment of the rbcL gene, through genetic signature, as a tool for identification for C. sativa samples apprehended by the Rio de Janeiro Police, Brazil. The PCR amplified and further sequenced the fragment of approximately 561 bp of 24 samples of C. sativa rbcL gene and showed the same nucleotide sequences, suggesting a possible genetic similarity or identical varieties. Comparing with other Cannabaceae family sequences, we have found 99% of similarity between the Rio de Janeiro sequence and three other C. sativa rbcL genes. These findings suggest that the fragment utilized at this study is efficient in identifying C. sativa samples, therefore, useful in genetic discrimination of samples seized in forensic cases.

Methods for reducing ghost rays on the Wolter-I focusing figures of the FOXSI rocket payload

Science.gov (United States)

Buitrago-Casas, Juan Camilo; Glesener, Lindsay; Christe, Steven; Ramsey, Brian; Elsner, Ronald; Courtade, Sasha; Vievering, Juliana; Subramania, Athiray; Krucker, Sam; Bale, Stuart

2017-08-01

In high energy solar astrophysics, imaging hard X-rays by direct focusing offers higher dynamic range and greater sensitivity compared to past techniques that used indirect imaging. The Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI) is a sounding rocket payload which uses seven sets of nested Wolter-I figured mirrors that, together with seven high-sensitive semiconductor detectors, observes the Sun in hard X-rays by direct focusing. The FOXSI rocket has successfully flown twice and is funded to fly a third time in summer 2018.The Wolter-I geometry consists of two consecutive mirrors, one paraboloid, and one hyperboloid, that reflect photons at grazing angles. Correctly focused X-rays reflect twice, once per mirror segment. For extended sources, like the Sun, off-axis photons at certain incident angles can reflect on only one mirror and still reach the focal plane, generating a pattern of single-bounce photons, or ‘ghost rays’ that can limit the sensitivity of the observation of focused X-rays. Understanding and cutting down the ghost rays on the FOXSI optics will maximize the instrument’s sensitivity of the solar faintest sources for future flights. We present an analysis of the FOXSI ghost rays based on ray-tracing simulations, as well as the effectiveness of different physical strategies to reduce them.

Optical image encryption scheme with multiple light paths based on compressive ghost imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jinan; Yang, Xiulun; Meng, Xiangfeng; Wang, Yurong; Yin, Yongkai; Sun, Xiaowen; Dong, Guoyan

2018-02-01

An optical image encryption method with multiple light paths is proposed based on compressive ghost imaging. In the encryption process, M random phase-only masks (POMs) are generated by means of logistic map algorithm, and these masks are then uploaded to the spatial light modulator (SLM). The collimated laser light is divided into several beams by beam splitters as it passes through the SLM, and the light beams illuminate the secret images, which are converted into sparse images by discrete wavelet transform beforehand. Thus, the secret images are simultaneously encrypted into intensity vectors by ghost imaging. The distances between the SLM and secret images vary and can be used as the main keys with original POM and the logistic map algorithm coefficient in the decryption process. In the proposed method, the storage space can be significantly decreased and the security of the system can be improved. The feasibility, security and robustness of the method are further analysed through computer simulations.

The effects of beta-carotene and vitamin E on erythrocytes lipid peroxidation in beta-thalassemia patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soleiman Mahjoub

2007-12-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Thalassemia is the most common hereditary disease in the world. Thalassemic erythrocytes are exposed to higher oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of beta-carotene and vitamin E on erythrocytes lipid peroxidation in beta-thalassemia patients.
METHODS: A prospective double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effect of beta-carotene and vitamin E on lipid peroxidation in erythrocytes membranes was performed on 120 beta-thalassemia major patients in four groups. The patients were supplemented for 4 weeks as follows: group 1 with beta-carotene (13 mg/day, group 2 with vitamin E (550 mg/day, group 3 with beta-carotene plus vitamin E and group 4 with placebo. We prepared all capsules for 4 roups in the same shape and color. Measurements of serum beta-carotene and vitamin E were performed by high performance
liquid chromatography. After preparation of ghost cells from blood specimens, malondialdehyde (MDA was determined as index of lipid peroxidation in erythrocytes membranes before and after treatment. RESULTS: The levels of serum beta-carotene and vitamin E were significantly lower and MDA concentrations in erythrocytes membranes were significantly higher in beta-thalassemia patients compared to controls (P<0.001. In groups that treated with vitamin supplements for 4-weeks, lipid peroxidation rates were significantly reduced after treatment (P<0.001, but in placebo group there was not significant difference (P>0.05.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide evidence that an oral treatment with beta-carotene and vitamin E can significantly reduce lipid peroxidation of erythrocytes membranes and could be useful in management of beta-thalassemia major patients. KEYWORDS: Beta-thalassemia major, beta-carotene, vitamin E, malondialdehyde, lipid peroxidation.

Like night and day: Reversals of thermal gradients across ghost crab burrows and their implications for thermal ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Gregory S.; Gregory, Emily A.; Johnstone, Charmaine; Berlino, Manuel; Green, David W.; Peterson, Nicola R.; Schoeman, David S.; Watson, Jolanta A.

2018-04-01

Ghost crabs, Ocypode cordimanus, inhabit relatively hostile environments subject to thermal fluctuations, including both diurnal and seasonal cycles. For many ectotherms, including ghost crabs, a major challenge is to remain cool during hot daytime temperatures. This can be achieved by adopting a fossorial lifestyle, taking advantage of thermal refuge afforded by burrows of sufficient depth. Another consideration, often overlooked, is the potential advantage associated with ready access to a thermal energy source (a "charging station") when surface temperatures are cooler. Being able to rapidly elevate body temperature during cool periods would enhance the crab's ability to maintain rate processes and carry out essential activities. We have measured ghost crab burrow temperature profiles at two times of the day with contrasting sun exposure (06:00 and 14:00), demonstrating how effective burrow depth (up to a maximum of 40 cm) provides thermal regulation below the surface of the sand (e.g., at dawn (06:00) and early afternoon (14:00) at a depth of 5 cm, temperatures (±SD) of 16.32 ± 0.96 °C and 25.04 ± 1.47 °C were recorded, respectively. Corresponding temperatures at a depth of 30 cm were 19.17 ± 0.59 °C and 19.78 ± 1.60 °C, respectively). This demonstrates that while temperature conditions at the surface vary dramatically from night to day, ghost crab burrows can maintain relatively constant temperatures at the burrow base throughout the diurnal cycle, at least during winter. As a consequence, the burrow heat signatures undergo a corresponding thermal gradient reversal between night and day, as revealed by infra-red photography. Complementing these field observations, we also determined heating and cooling times/constants for O. cordimanus in the laboratory (τ = 17.54 and 16.59 JK-1, respectively), and analysed chemical composition of their carapace (external (with β Chitin evident) and internal (predominance of α Chitin)), which is the primary thermal

Recovery of compacted soils in Mojave Desert ghost towns.

Science.gov (United States)

Webb, R.H.; Steiger, J.W.; Wilshire, H.G.

1986-01-01

Residual compaction of soils was measured at seven sites in five Mojave Desert ghost towns. Soils in these Death Valley National Monument townsites were compacted by vehicles, animals, and human trampling, and the townsites had been completely abandoned and the buildings removed for 64 to 75 yr. Recovery times extrapolated using a linear recovery model ranged from 80 to 140 yr and averaged 100 yr. The recovery times were related to elevation, suggesting freeze-thaw loosening as an important factor in ameliorating soil compaction in the Mojave Desert. -from Authors

Sulfur and iron accumulation in three marine-archaeological shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea: The Ghost, the Crown and the Sword

Science.gov (United States)

Fors, Yvonne; Grudd, Håkan; Rindby, Anders; Jalilehvand, Farideh; Sandström, Magnus; Cato, Ingemar; Bornmalm, Lennart

2014-02-01

Sulfur and iron concentrations in wood from three 17th century shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea, the Ghost wreck, the Crown and the Sword, were obtained by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) scanning. In near anaerobic environments symbiotic microorganisms degrade waterlogged wood, reduce sulfate and promote accumulation of low-valent sulfur compounds, as previously found for the famous wrecks of the Vasa and Mary Rose. Sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analyses of Ghost wreck wood show that organic thiols and disulfides dominate, together with elemental sulfur probably generated by sulfur-oxidizing Beggiatoa bacteria. Iron sulfides were not detected, consistent with the relatively low iron concentration in the wood. In a museum climate with high atmospheric humidity oxidation processes, especially of iron sulfides formed in the presence of corroding iron, may induce post-conservation wood degradation. Subject to more general confirmation by further analyses no severe conservation concerns are expected for the Ghost wreck wood.

Is the key of the ghost imaging mystery given by the electromagnetic crossing symmetric photon reactions?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rusu, L; Rusu, A

2013-01-01

In the ghost imaging system, the object and image are separately illuminated by a pair of correlated beams and the image is obtained through coincidence detection of the two beams. When the correlated beams are obtained by a spontaneous parametric down-conversion phenomenon, the image formation is attributed to either quantum entanglement or wave vector correlation. The physicist D B Ion has published a different point of view: the ghost imaging can be explained by electromagnetic crossing symmetric photon reactions. We report on an experimental setup to verify that a change of the object reflection coefficient modifies the idler single count rate. The obtained results are a confirmation proof and suggest the existence of a stimulated spontaneous parametric down-conversion effect. A possible application is mentioned. (paper)

Multiple-image encryption via lifting wavelet transform and XOR operation based on compressive ghost imaging scheme

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xianye; Meng, Xiangfeng; Yang, Xiulun; Wang, Yurong; Yin, Yongkai; Peng, Xiang; He, Wenqi; Dong, Guoyan; Chen, Hongyi

2018-03-01

A multiple-image encryption method via lifting wavelet transform (LWT) and XOR operation is proposed, which is based on a row scanning compressive ghost imaging scheme. In the encryption process, the scrambling operation is implemented for the sparse images transformed by LWT, then the XOR operation is performed on the scrambled images, and the resulting XOR images are compressed in the row scanning compressive ghost imaging, through which the ciphertext images can be detected by bucket detector arrays. During decryption, the participant who possesses his/her correct key-group, can successfully reconstruct the corresponding plaintext image by measurement key regeneration, compression algorithm reconstruction, XOR operation, sparse images recovery, and inverse LWT (iLWT). Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations validate the feasibility of the proposed method.

Neem leaf extract as potential modifier of free radical interaction with RBC membrane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patil, Shilpa M.; Kulkarni, Satish G.; Rane, Charusheela

2004-01-01

Full text: Neem tree (Azadirachta indica) is well known as village pharmacy due to its multifaceted medicinal action in curing countless health problems. The leaf extract of Neem is known to purify blood by removing toxins and neutralizing free radicals. Using gamma irradiation as free radical generation process the efficacy of neem leaf extract in combating free radical attack on RBC membrane has been explored. The results narrating role of concentration and dose dependency in this radio modulation will be discussed

Evaluation of high frequency ghost cavitation emissions for two different seismic air-gun arrays using numerical modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Khodabandeloo, Babak; Landrø, Martin

2017-04-01

Sound is deployed by marine mammals for variety of vital purposes such as finding food, communication, echolocation, etc. On the other hand human activities generate underwater noise. One major type of acoustic source is marine seismic acquisition which is carried out to image layers beneath the seabed exploiting reflected acoustic and elastic waves. Air-gun arrays are the most common and efficient marine seismic sources. Field measurements using broad band hydrophones have revealed that acoustic energies emitted by air-gun arrays contains frequencies from a few Hz up to tens of kHz. Frequencies below 200 Hz benefit seismic imaging and the rest is normally considered as wasted energy. On the other hand, the high frequency range (above 200 Hz) overlaps with hearing curves of many marine mammals and especially toothed whales and may have an impact on their behavior. A phenomenon called ghost cavitation is recently recognized to be responsible for a major part of these high frequencies (> 5 kHz). Acoustic pressure waves of individual air guns reflected from sea surface can cause the hydrostatic pressure to drop towards zero close to the source array. In these regions there is a high probability for water vapor cavity growth and subsequent collapse. We have simulated ghost cavitation cloud using numerical modelling and the results are validated by comparing with field measurements. The model is used to compare the amount of high frequency noise due to ghost cavitation for two different air gun arrays. Both of the arrays have three subarrays but the array distance for the one with 2730 in3 air volume is 6 meters and for the slightly bigger array (3250 in3 in air volume) the subarrays are separated by 8 meters. Simulation results indicate that the second array, despite larger subarray distance, generates stronger ghost cavitation signal.

RBC deformability and amino acid concentrations after hypo-osmotic challenge may reflect chronic cell hydration status in healthy young men

Science.gov (United States)

Stookey, Jodi D; Klein, Alexis; Hamer, Janice; Chi, Christine; Higa, Annie; Ng, Vivian; Arieff, Allen; Kuypers, Frans A; Larkin, Sandra; Perrier, Erica; Lang, Florian

2013-01-01

Biomarkers of chronic cell hydration status are needed to determine whether chronic hyperosmotic stress increases chronic disease risk in population-representative samples. In vitro, cells adapt to chronic hyperosmotic stress by upregulating protein breakdown to counter the osmotic gradient with higher intracellular amino acid concentrations. If cells are subsequently exposed to hypo-osmotic conditions, the adaptation results in excess cell swelling and/or efflux of free amino acids. This study explored whether increased red blood cell (RBC) swelling and/or plasma or urine amino acid concentrations after hypo-osmotic challenge might be informative about relative chronic hyperosmotic stress in free-living men. Five healthy men (20–25 years) with baseline total water intake below 2 L/day participated in an 8-week clinical study: four 2-week periods in a U-shaped A-B-C-A design. Intake of drinking water was increased by +0.8 ± 0.3 L/day in period 2, and +1.5 ± 0.3 L/day in period 3, and returned to baseline intake (0.4 ± 0.2 L/day) in period 4. Each week, fasting blood and urine were collected after a 750 mL bolus of drinking water, following overnight water restriction. The periods of higher water intake were associated with significant decreases in RBC deformability (index of cell swelling), plasma histidine, urine arginine, and urine glutamic acid. After 4 weeks of higher water intake, four out of five participants had ½ maximal RBC deformability below 400 mmol/kg; plasma histidine below 100 μmol/L; and/or undetectable urine arginine and urine glutamic acid concentrations. Work is warranted to pursue RBC deformability and amino acid concentrations after hypo-osmotic challenge as possible biomarkers of chronic cell hydration. PMID:24303184

Wall-Current-Monitor based Ghost and Satellite Bunch Detection in the CERN PS and the LHC Accelerators

CERN Document Server

Steinhagen, R J; Belleman, J; Bohl, T; Damerau, H

2012-01-01

While most LHC detectors and instrumentation systems are optimised for a nominal bunch spacing of 25 ns, the LHC RF cavities themselves operate at the 10th harmonic of the maximum bunch frequency. Due to the beam production scheme and transfers in the injector chain, part of the nominally ‘empty’ RF buckets may contain particles, referred to as ghost or satellite bunches. These populations must be accurately quantified for high-precision experiments, luminosity calibration and control of parasitic particle encounters at the four LHC interaction points. This contribution summarises the wall-current-monitor based ghost and satellite bunch measurements in CERN’s PS and LHC accelerators. Instrumentation set-up, post-processing and achieved performance are discussed.

The Ghost-Angel. On the spiritualitation of the angel and divinization of men in the islamic medieval mystic.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Kalmy Bolton

2014-02-01

Full Text Available This essay is the first part of an arqueology on governmentality in islam. Identifying the quran´s assimilation of angel Gabriel and the Holy Ghost I think that islamic medieval mystic develop an spiritualization of the angel where pneumatology and angelology seems to be the same, because the angel is not a simple server of God but a manager of man´s soul. In this way the Ghost-Angel would be consider as a dispositiv of soul´s salvation (the divinization of men and the condition of a government of itself. That´s why it challenge the formalization proposes by the islamic law (fiqh.

Comparative study of receiver-side ghost wavefield attenuation on different marine acquisition configurations

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hao; Liu, Qiancheng; Li, Hongyuan; Zhang, Yi

2018-04-01

In marine seismic exploration, the ghost energies (down-going waves), which arise from the reflection at the surface, are often treated as unwanted signals for data processing. The ghost wave fields interfere with the desired primary signals, leads to frequency notches and attenuation of low frequencies, which in turn downgrade the resolution of the recorded seismic data. There are two main categories of methods to solve the ghost or the so-called notch problem: the non-conventional acquisition configuration-based technique and a deghosting algorithm-based solution. The variable-depth streamer (VDS) acquisition solution is one of the most representative methods in the first category, which has become a popular solution for marine seismic acquisition to obtain broad data bandwidth. However, this approach is not as economic as the conventional constant depth streamer (CDS) acquisition, due to the precise control of the towing streamer. In addition, there are large quantities of conventionally-towed legacy data stored in the data library. Applying receiver deghosting to the CDS data thus becomes a more economical method. In theory, both types of data after deghosting should have the same bandwidth and S/N ratio, but in reality they are different. In this paper, we conduct a comparative study and evaluation to apply receiver deghosting to a set of real 2D marine data including both types of acquisition (CDS and VDS) corresponding to the same geology. The deghosting algorithm we employed is a self-sustained, inversion-based approach operated in the τ-p domain. This evaluation can help us to understand two questions: whether the VDS acquisition has more broadband characteristics compared to conventional CDS acquisition after deghosting, and whether we can achieve the identical or similar data quality (e.g., S/N ratio) through the proper deghosting algorithm for both types of data. The comparative results are illustrated and discussed.

Long-chain PUFA in Granulocytes, Mononuclear Cells, and RBC in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis: Relation to Liver Disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jorgensen, Marianne H.; Ott, Peter; Michaelsen, Kim F.

2012-01-01

-related liver disease were matched with 20 CF patients without. Blood samples were analysed for liver biochemistry and haematology. Granulocytes, mononuclear cells, and RBC were separated by density gradient centrifugation, and fatty acid composition was measured by gas chromatography. Hepatic ultrasound...

Enhancing Tomo-PIV reconstruction quality by reducing ghost particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Silva, C M; Baidya, R; Marusic, I

2013-01-01

A technique to enhance the reconstruction quality and consequently the accuracy of the velocity vector field obtained in Tomo-PIV experiments is presented here. The methodology involves detecting and eliminating spurious outliers in the reconstructed intensity field (ghost particles). A simulacrum matching-based reconstruction enhancement (SMRE) technique is proposed, which utilizes the characteristic shape and size of actual particles to remove ghost particles in the reconstructed intensity field. An assessment of SMRE is performed by a quantitative comparison of Tomo-PIV simulation results and DNS data, together with a comparison to Tomo-PIV experimental data measured in a turbulent channel flow at a matched Reynolds number (Re τ = 937) to the DNS study. For the simulation data, a comparative study is performed on the reconstruction quality based on an ideal reconstruction determined from known particle positions. The results suggest that a significant improvement in the reconstruction quality and flow statistics is achievable at typical seeding densities used in Tomo-PIV experiments. This improvement is further amplified at higher seeding densities, enabling the use of up to twice the typical seeding densities currently used in Tomo-PIV experiments. A reduction of spurious vectors present in the velocity field is also observed based on a median outlier detection criterion. The application of SMRE to Tomo-PIV experimental data shows an improvement in flow statistics, comparable to the improvement seen in simulations. Finally, due to the non-iterative nature of SMRE, the increase in processing time is marginal since only a single pass of the reconstruction algorithm is required. (paper)

Information Security Scheme Based on Computational Temporal Ghost Imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Shan; Wang, Yurong; Long, Tao; Meng, Xiangfeng; Yang, Xiulun; Shu, Rong; Sun, Baoqing

2017-08-09

An information security scheme based on computational temporal ghost imaging is proposed. A sequence of independent 2D random binary patterns are used as encryption key to multiply with the 1D data stream. The cipher text is obtained by summing the weighted encryption key. The decryption process can be realized by correlation measurement between the encrypted information and the encryption key. Due to the instinct high-level randomness of the key, the security of this method is greatly guaranteed. The feasibility of this method and robustness against both occlusion and additional noise attacks are discussed with simulation, respectively.

Gluon-ghost condensate of mass dimension 2 in the Curci-Ferrari gauge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dudal, D.; Verschelde, H.; Lemes, V.E.R.; Sarandy, M.S.; Sorella, S.P.; Picariello, M.

2003-01-01

The effective potential for an on-shell BRST invariant gluon-ghost condensate of mass dimension 2 in the Curci-Ferrari gauge in SU(N) Yang-Mills is analysed by combining the local composite operator technique with the algebraic renormalization. We pay attention to the gauge parameter independence of the vacuum energy obtained in the considered framework and discuss the Landau gauge as an interesting special case

Strong population genetic structure and larval dispersal capability of the burrowing ghost shrimp (Neotrypaea californiensis)

Science.gov (United States)

The burrowing ghost shrimp, Neotrypaea californiensis, is a vital member of the estuarine benthic community. Dense populations of shrimp are found in the major estuaries of Washington and Oregon. Our study determines the genetic structure of shrimp populations in order to gain ...

Two-color ghost interference with photon pairs generated in hot atoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong-Sheng Ding

2012-09-01

Full Text Available We report on an experimental observation of a two-photon ghost interference experiment. A distinguishing feature of our experiment is that the photons are generated via a non-degenerated spontaneous four-wave mixing process in a hot atomic ensemble; therefore the photon has narrow bandwidth. Besides, there is a large difference in frequency between two photons in a pair. Our works may be important to achieve more secure, large transmission capacity long-distance quantum communication.

Tissue Characterization of Lemna gibba rbcS Promoter%浮萍rbcS启动子组织特性研究

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

黄凤珍; 李倩; 王友如

2015-01-01

A new rbcS (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase small subunit) promoter with the size of 1 438 bp (named SSU5C promoter) was cloned from Lemna gibba. SSU5C promoter was fused with the GUS reporter gene to construct a plant binary vector (pSSU5C-IGUS), and introduced into duckweed by agrogacterium-mediated trans-formation. The transgenic plantlets were generated. This study was focused on the tissue characterization of SSU5C promoter. GUS staining showed that SSU5C promoter drove GUS to express in the green tissue in leaf, stem and petiole of T1 tobacco, whereas no GUS activity was observed in root. In reproductive organs, the GUS activity was observed in corolla lobes, anther and stigma, no GUS activity was observed in other parts. It was obvious that rbcS promoter can not only express in the green tissue, but also can express in reproductive organs. The results lay a good doundation for the application of SSU5C in plant genetic engineering.%SSU5C启动子(全长1438 bp)是从浮萍基因组中新克隆的一个rb c S (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carbo-xylase small subunit)启动子。本研究将 SSU5C 启动子与GUS基因融合，成功构建植物双元表达载p SSU5C-IGUS，并利用农杆菌介导法转化烟草，获得转基因植株，探究SSU5C启动子在烟草中的组织表达特点。GUS检测结果表明：在T1烟草的营养器官中，SSU5C启动子主要驱动GUS基因在烟草叶片和叶柄、茎等绿色组织中表达，而在根部不表达；在生殖器官中，GUS基因主要在花冠裂片以及花药和柱头中表达。本研究首次发现浮萍rb c S启动子不仅在绿色组织中表达，而且在生殖器官中的花冠裂片以及花药和柱头中表达，这一发现可为SSU5C启动子在植物基因工程中的应用奠定基础。

Ghost suppression in image restoration filtering

Science.gov (United States)

Riemer, T. E.; Mcgillem, C. D.

1975-01-01

An optimum image restoration filter is described in which provision is made to constrain the spatial extent of the restoration function, the noise level of the filter output and the rate of falloff of the composite system point-spread away from the origin. Experimental results show that sidelobes on the composite system point-spread function produce ghosts in the restored image near discontinuities in intensity level. By redetermining the filter using a penalty function that is zero over the main lobe of the composite point-spread function of the optimum filter and nonzero where the point-spread function departs from a smoothly decaying function in the sidelobe region, a great reduction in sidelobe level is obtained. Almost no loss in resolving power of the composite system results from this procedure. By iteratively carrying out the same procedure even further reductions in sidelobe level are obtained. Examples of original and iterated restoration functions are shown along with their effects on a test image.

Electron paramagnetic resonance study of lipid and protein membrane components of erythrocytes oxidized with hydrogen peroxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mendanha, S.A.; Anjos, J.L.V.; Silva, A.H.M.; Alonso, A. [Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO (Brazil)

2012-04-05

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy of spin labels was used to monitor membrane dynamic changes in erythrocytes subjected to oxidative stress with hydrogen peroxide (H{sub 2}O{sub 2}). The lipid spin label, 5-doxyl stearic acid, responded to dramatic reductions in membrane fluidity, which was correlated with increases in the protein content of the membrane. Membrane rigidity, associated with the binding of hemoglobin (Hb) to the erythrocyte membrane, was also indicated by a spin-labeled maleimide, 5-MSL, covalently bound to the sulfhydryl groups of membrane proteins. At 2% hematocrit, these alterations in membrane occurred at very low concentrations of H{sub 2}O{sub 2} (50 µM) after only 5 min of incubation at 37°C in azide phosphate buffer, pH 7.4. Lipid peroxidation, suggested by oxidative hemolysis and malondialdehyde formation, started at 300 µM H{sub 2}O{sub 2} (for incubation of 3 h), which is a concentration about six times higher than those detected with the probes. Ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol protected the membrane against lipoperoxidation, but did not prevent the binding of proteins to the erythrocyte membrane. Moreover, the antioxidant (+)-catechin, which also failed to prevent the cross-linking of cytoskeletal proteins with Hb, was very effective in protecting erythrocyte ghosts from lipid peroxidation induced by the Fenton reaction. This study also showed that EPR spectroscopy can be useful to assess the molecular dynamics of red blood cell membranes in both the lipid and protein domains and examine oxidation processes in a system that is so vulnerable to oxidation.

Dynamical equations for a Regge theory with crossing symmetry and unitarity. II. The case of strong coupling, and elimination of ghost poles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, P.W.; Warnock, R.L.

1977-01-01

Equations for the construction of a crossing-symmetric unitary Regge theory of meson-meson scattering are described. In the case of strong coupling, Regge trajectories are to be generated dynamically as zeros of the D function in a nonlinear N/D system. This paper is concerned mainly with writing the inputs to the N/D system in such a way that a convergent theory with exact crossing symmetry is defined. The scheme demands elimination of ghosts, i.e., bound-state poles at energies below threshold where trajectories pass through zero. A method for ghost elimination is proposed which entails an s-wave subtraction constant, and allows the physical s wave to be different from the l-analytic amplitude evaluated at l = 0. A dynamical model is suggested in which the subtraction constant alone generates the meson-meson interaction. An alternative ghost-elimination scheme proposed by Gell-Mann, in which only l-analytic amplitudes are involved, can be discussed in a formalism including channels with spin

Characterization of Chemically-Induced Bacterial Ghosts (BGs Using Sodium Hydroxide-Induced Vibrio parahaemolyticus Ghosts (VPGs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyun Jung Park

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Acellular bacterial ghosts (BGs are empty non-living bacterial cell envelopes, commonly generated by controlled expression of the cloned lysis gene E of bacteriophage PhiX174. In this study, Vibrio parahaemolyticus ghosts (VPGs were generated by chemically-induced lysis and the method is based on minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC of sodium hydroxide (NaOH, acetic acid, boric acid, citric acid, maleic acid, hydrochloric acid, and sulfuric acid. The MIC values of the respective chemicals were 3.125, 6.25, <50.0, 25.0, 6.25, 1.56, and 0.781 mg/mL. Except for boric acid, the lysis efficiency reached more than 99.99% at 5 min after treatment of all chemicals. Among those chemicals, NaOH-induced VPGs appeared completely DNA-free, which was confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR. Besides, lipopolysaccharides (LPS extracted from the NaOH-induced VPGs showed no distinctive band on SDS-PAGE gel after silver staining. On the other hand, LPS extracted from wild-type bacterial cells, as well as the organic acids-induced VPGs showed triple major bands and LPS extracted from the inorganic acids-induced VPGs showed double bands. It suggests that some surface structures in LPS of the NaOH-induced VPGs may be lost, weakened, or modified by the MIC of NaOH. Nevertheless, Limulus amoebocyte lysate assay revealed that there is no significant difference in endotoxic activity between the NaOH-induced VPGs and wild-type bacterial cells. Macrophages exposed to the NaOH-induced VPGs at 0.5 × 106 CFU/mL showed cell viability of 97.9%, however, the MIC of NaOH did not reduce the cytotoxic effect of wild-type bacterial cells. Like Escherichia coli LPS, the NaOH-induced VPGs are an excellent activator of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and iNOS, anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10, and dual activities (IL-6 in the stimulated macrophage cells. On the other hand, the induction of TNF-α mRNA was remarkable in the macrophages exposed with wild-type cells. Scanning

The process of ghost-rock karstification and its role in the formation of cave systems

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Dubois, C.; Quinif, Y.; Baele, J.-M.; Barriquand, L.; Bini, A.; Bruxelles, L.; Dandurand, G.; Havron, C.; Kaufmann, O.; Lans, B.; Maire, R.; Martin, J.; Rodet, J.; Rowberry, Matthew David; Tognini, P.; Vergari, A.

2014-01-01

Roč. 131, APR (2014), s. 116-148 ISSN 0012-8252 Institutional support: RVO:67985891 Keywords : chemical weathering * ghost-rock * karstification * limestone dissolution * speleogenesis Subject RIV: DE - Earth Magnetism, Geodesy, Geography Impact factor: 7.885, year: 2014 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825214000154

Dietary fat composition influences tissue lipid profile and gene expression in Fischer-344 rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Albert L; Hintze, Korry J; Jimenez-Flores, Rafael; Ward, Robert E

2012-12-01

The AIN-76A diet causes fatty liver in rodents when fed for long periods of time. The aim of this study was to utilize fatty acid analysis and transcriptomics to investigate the effects of different fat sources in the AIN-76A diet on tissue lipid profiles and gene expression in male, weanling Fischer-344 rats. Animals were fed isocaloric diets that differed only in the fat source: (1) corn oil (CO) (2) anhydrous milk fat (AMF), and (3) AMF supplemented with 10% phospholipids from the milk fat globule membrane (AMF-MFGM). There were no differences in food intake, body weight, growth rate, or body fat composition among the groups, and the fatty acid compositions of red blood cells (RBC), plasma, muscle, and visceral adipose tissues reflected the dietary fat sources. Modifying the fat source resulted in 293 genes differentially regulated in skeletal muscle, 1,124 in adipose, and 831 in liver as determined by analysis of variance (ANOVA). Although tissue fatty acid profiles mostly reflected the diet, there were several quantitative differences in lipid classes in the liver and plasma. The AMF diet resulted in the highest level of hepatic triacylglycerols, but the lowest level in plasma. The CO diet resulted in significant accumulation of hepatic unesterified fatty acids and decreased DGAT expression and activity, a potential trigger for steatohepatitis. These results indicate that the fatty acid composition and presence of polar lipids in the AIN-76A diets have significant effects on lipid partitioning, gene expression, and potentially the development of liver pathology.

Ghost microstructure evolution and identification in the coarse grain heat affected zone of 2.25Cr-1Mo-V-Ti steel using tint etching

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Kyongwoon [Corporate R& D Institute, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction,Gwigok-dong, Gyeongsangnam-do Seongsan-gu, Changwon-si 642-792 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Seonghyeong; Na, Hyesung [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, San 30 Jangjeon-dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 609-735 (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Chungyun, E-mail: kangcy@pusan.ac.kr [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, San 30 Jangjeon-dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 609-735 (Korea, Republic of)

2016-11-15

Microstructural characteristics of the CGHAZ (coarse grained heat affected zone) made of the 2.25Cr-1Mo-V-Ti material for the thermal power plant boiler tube were discussed using the technique of tint etching. To conduct the micro structural characterization, the sample on which CGHAZ was produced by using a high temperature thermal cycle simulator, Gleeble 3500 equipment was used for comparative analyses using the existing Nital etching (ASTM E407-74) and the alkaline etching (ASTM E40785). The latter was used to observe a specific phase. For the microstructure on which the alkaline etching was experimented, the shape of a black strip (Ghost microstructure) in a few microns was observed, which was not observed from the Nital etching. It was found from the phase identifications based EPMA, EBSD and TEM experiments that the image of the black strip in a few microns represented the alpha phase in which C, Cr and Mo became segregated. In addition, it was verified that austenite and M{sub 23}C{sub 6} phase were present around the segregated zone. Based on such results, the mechanism by which the image of the black strip in a few microns was formed at the CGHAZ. In this study, we have investigated the mechanism of the appeared black strip in the CGHAZ. - Highlights: •Ghost microstructure was observed which was not observed from the nital etching. •Ghost microstructure has high concentrations of carbon and molybdenum than matrix. •Schematic illustration proposed of why Ghost microstructure was generated. •Ghost microstructure caused by partial dissolution of M{sub 23}C{sub 6} precipitation.

Ghost microscope imaging system from the perspective of coherent-mode representation

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Qian; Bai, Yanfeng; Shi, Xiaohui; Nan, Suqin; Qu, Lijie; Li, Hengxing; Fu, Xiquan

2018-03-01

The coherent-mode representation theory of partially coherent fields is firstly used to analyze a two-arm ghost microscope imaging system. It is shown that imaging quality of the generated images depend crucially on the distribution of the decomposition coefficients of the object imaged when the light source is fixed. This theory is also suitable for demonstrating the effects from the distance the object is moved away from the original plane on imaging quality. Our results are verified theoretically and experimentally.

X-ray ‘ghost images’ could cut radiation doses

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Sophia

2018-03-01

On its own, a single-pixel camera captures pictures that are pretty dull: squares that are completely black, completely white, or some shade of gray in between. All it does, after all, is detect brightness. Yet by connecting a single-pixel camera to a patterned light source, a team of physicists in China has made detailed x-ray images using a statistical technique called ghost imaging, first pioneered 20 years ago in infrared and visible light. Researchers in the field say future versions of this system could take clear x-ray photographs with cheap cameras—no need for lenses and multipixel detectors—and less cancer-causing radiation than conventional techniques.

Telling Ghost Stories with the Voice of an Ogre: Deleuze, Identity, and Disruptive Pedagogies

Science.gov (United States)

Beighton, Christian

2017-01-01

French philosopher Gilles Deleuze (1925-95) was something of a cult figure among his university students in the 1970s and 1980s, "telling ghost stories with the voice of an ogre" (Jaeglé, 2005:10). More recently, academic interest in the educational possibilities of his work has grown considerably in Anglophone countries. Perhaps texts…

Exorcising the ghost of the Sputnik crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolberg, Espen Skarstein; Holt, Heidi Marie; Klevan, Ingvild

2017-10-01

Drug calculation is not immune to the undesirable impact of math anxiety and negative attitudes on test outcomes in nursing studies, and several studies indicate that math anxiety is present in the student population at such a degree that it is likely to interfere with these students' mathematical ability. Examining the educational system through the lens of history and adding a dash of cultural theory, a contributing cause to the math anxiety may be found in the Sputnik Crisis of the late 1950s, the ghostly remnants of which are still present in the stereotypes of mathematics promoted by mass media. In an effort to reshape the culturally conditioned attitudes which may be responsible for math anxiety, we suggest using elements from popular culture to diversify the perception and image of mathematics in drug calculation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Whole body gamma radiation effects on rheological behaviour (deformability) of rat erythrocytes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soliman, M.S.

2004-01-01

This study was designed to determine the effect of whole body gamma irradiation on the rheological behaviour of rat erythrocytes (deformability). Animals were divided into 4 irradiated groups and 4 control groups according to their sacrificing time intervals (1 st, 3 rd, 5 th and 7 th days) post-irradiation with dose (6 Gy). In all animals and at the previous time intervals, red blood cell (RBC) membrane proteins electrophoretic pattern, RBC membrane lipids levels (cholesterol and phospholipids), RBC electrolytes levels (sodium, potassium and calcium), corpuscular osmotic fragility and RBC morphological by scanning electron microscopy were determined. Highly significant increase in membrane cholesterol, RBC sodium, calcium and corpuscular osmotic fragility accompanied by highly significant decrease in membrane phospholipids, RBC potassium and RBC deformability were found. No changes in membrane proteins electrophoretic patterns were detected. Morphologically, there were increase in the incidences of echinocytes and spherocytes development, which were time dependent. According to the previous results, irradiation promotes alterations in RBC shape (echinocytosis), membrane skeletal dysfunction, membrane lipid peroxidation, increase in membrane cholesterol/phospholipid content, changes in membrane electrolyte permeability and decrease then increase in osmotic fragility. These alterations in turn led to decrease in cellular deformability as a result of increased membrane rigidity and also due to cells dehydration caused by excess leakage of potassium ions from the RBCs

Objective lens simultaneously optimized for pupil ghosting, wavefront delivery and pupil imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Olczak, Eugene G (Inventor)

2011-01-01

An objective lens includes multiple optical elements disposed between a first end and a second end, each optical element oriented along an optical axis. Each optical surface of the multiple optical elements provides an angle of incidence to a marginal ray that is above a minimum threshold angle. This threshold angle minimizes pupil ghosts that may enter an interferometer. The objective lens also optimizes wavefront delivery and pupil imaging onto an optical surface under test.

Study on the algorithm of computational ghost imaging based on discrete fourier transform measurement matrix

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Leihong; Liang, Dong; Li, Bei; Kang, Yi; Pan, Zilan; Zhang, Dawei; Gao, Xiumin; Ma, Xiuhua

2016-07-01

On the basis of analyzing the cosine light field with determined analytic expression and the pseudo-inverse method, the object is illuminated by a presetting light field with a determined discrete Fourier transform measurement matrix, and the object image is reconstructed by the pseudo-inverse method. The analytic expression of the algorithm of computational ghost imaging based on discrete Fourier transform measurement matrix is deduced theoretically, and compared with the algorithm of compressive computational ghost imaging based on random measurement matrix. The reconstruction process and the reconstruction error are analyzed. On this basis, the simulation is done to verify the theoretical analysis. When the sampling measurement number is similar to the number of object pixel, the rank of discrete Fourier transform matrix is the same as the one of the random measurement matrix, the PSNR of the reconstruction image of FGI algorithm and PGI algorithm are similar, the reconstruction error of the traditional CGI algorithm is lower than that of reconstruction image based on FGI algorithm and PGI algorithm. As the decreasing of the number of sampling measurement, the PSNR of reconstruction image based on FGI algorithm decreases slowly, and the PSNR of reconstruction image based on PGI algorithm and CGI algorithm decreases sharply. The reconstruction time of FGI algorithm is lower than that of other algorithms and is not affected by the number of sampling measurement. The FGI algorithm can effectively filter out the random white noise through a low-pass filter and realize the reconstruction denoising which has a higher denoising capability than that of the CGI algorithm. The FGI algorithm can improve the reconstruction accuracy and the reconstruction speed of computational ghost imaging.

Reflexiones sobre la estrategia de rehabilitación basada en la comunidad (RBC: la experiencia de un programa de RBC en Bolivia Reflections on community-based rehabilitation strategy (CBR: the experience of a CBR program in Bolivia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Urko Díaz-Aristizabal

2012-01-01

Full Text Available La Rehabilitación Basada en la Comunidad (RBC es una estrategia de desarrollo comunitario avalada por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS, la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT y la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (UNESCO, que persigue la rehabilitación, la igualdad de oportunidades y la integración social de las Personas con Discapacidad (PD en sus entornos. Con este objetivo promueve la colaboración entre las PD, sus familias y los diferentes actores de la comunidad involucrados, así como el liderazgo comunitario y la participación de las PD mediante el impulso de la colaboración multisectorial. Este artículo expone los antecedentes históricos y las características fundamentales de la estrategia de RBC a partir de un programa llevado a cabo por una fundación del departamento de Cochabamba (Bolivia, para después incidir en algunos aspectos referentes al contexto sociocultural, que especialmente en situaciones de interculturalidad, pueden determinar que un programa de RBC tenga éxito o esté abocado al fracaso.Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR is a strategy for community development endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO, the International Labor Office (ILO and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO. It is designed to promote rehabilitation, equal opportunity and social inclusion of Disabled Persons (DP in their home communities by fostering cooperation among disabled individuals, their families, and other concerned social actors, it encourages community leadership and full social participation by DP through multi-sector cooperation. This article explores the historical antecedents and basic features of CBR strategy through an analysis of a directed culture change initiative developed by a foundation in the Cochabamba administrative region of Bolivia. Especially in intercultural environments, certain aspects of the socio

Association of n3 and n6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in red blood cell membrane and plasma with severity of normal tension glaucoma

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Man Yu

2015-06-01

Full Text Available AIM:To determine whether red blood cell (RBC membrane and plasma lipids, particularly long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, arachidonic acid (AA are significantly correlated with severity of normal tension glaucoma (NTG.METHODS:This study included 35 patients with NTG and 12 healthy normal control subjects, matched for age and sex with the study group. The stage of glaucoma was determined according to the Hodapp-Parrish-Anderson classification. Lipids were extracted from RBC membranes and plasma, and fatty acid methyl esters prepared and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS.RESULTS:When RBC lipids were analyzed, the levels of EPA, the levels of DHA and the ratio of n3 to n6 were positively associated with the Humphrey Perimetry mean deviation (MD score (r=0.617, P<0.001; r=0.727, P<0.001 and r=0.720, P<0.001, respectively, while the level of AA was negatively associated with the MD score (r=-0.427, P=0.001. When plasma lipids were analyzed, there was a significant positive relationship between the levels of EPA and the MD score (r=0.648, P<0.001, and the levels of AA were inversely correlated with the MD score (r=-0.638, P<0.001.CONCLUSION:The levels of n3 and n6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in RBC membrane and plasma lipids were associated with severity of NTG.

Combined study of the gluon and ghost condensates μ2> and abccbcc> in Euclidean SU(2) Yang-Mills theory in the Landau gauge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Capri, M.A.L.; Lemes, V.E.R.; Sobreiro, R.F.; Sorella, S.P.; Dudal, D.; Verschelde, H.; Gracey, J.A.

2006-01-01

The ghost condensate abc c b c c > is considered together with the gluon condensate μ 2 > in SU(2) Euclidean Yang-Mills theories quantized in the Landau gauge. The vacuum polarization ceases to be transverse due to the nonvanishing condensate abc c b c c >. The gluon propagator itself remains transverse. By polarization effects, this ghost condensate induces then a splitting in the gluon mass parameter, which is dynamically generated through μ 2 >. The obtained effective masses are real when μ 2 > is included in the analysis. In the absence of μ 2 >, the already known result that the ghost condensate induces effective tachyonic masses is recovered. At the one-loop level, we find that the effective diagonal mass becomes smaller than the off-diagonal one. This might serve as an indication for some kind of Abelian dominance in the Landau gauge, similar to what happens in the maximal Abelian gauge

Gluon and ghost propagator studies in lattice QCD at finite temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aouane, Rafik

2013-01-01

Gluon and ghost propagators in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) computed in the infrared momentum region play an important role to understand quark and gluon confinement. They are the subject of intensive research thanks to non-perturbative methods based on Dyson-Schwinger (DS) and functional renormalization group (FRG) equations. Moreover, their temperature behavior might also help to explore the chiral and deconfinement phase transition or crossover within QCD at non-zero temperature. Our prime tool is the lattice discretized QCD (LQCD) providing a unique ab-initio non-perturbative approach to deal with the computation of various observables of the hadronic world. We investigate the temperature dependence of Landau gauge gluon and ghost propagators in pure gluodynamics and in full QCD. Regarding the gluon propagator, we compute its longitudinal D L as well its transversal D T components. The aim is to provide a data set in terms of fitting formulae which can be used as input for DS (or FRG) equations. We deal with full (N f =2) LQCD with the twisted mass fermion discretization. We employ gauge field configurations provided by the tmfT collaboration for temperatures in the crossover region and for three fixed pion mass values in the range [300,500] MeV. Finally, within SU(3) pure gauge theory (at T=0) we compute the Landau gauge gluon propagator according to different gauge fixing criteria. Our goal is to understand the influence of gauge copies with minimal (non-trivial) eigenvalues of the Faddeev-Popov operator.

Hybrid continuum-coarse-grained modeling of erythrocytes

Science.gov (United States)

Lyu, Jinming; Chen, Paul G.; Boedec, Gwenn; Leonetti, Marc; Jaeger, Marc

2018-06-01

The red blood cell (RBC) membrane is a composite structure, consisting of a phospholipid bilayer and an underlying membrane-associated cytoskeleton. Both continuum and particle-based coarse-grained RBC models make use of a set of vertices connected by edges to represent the RBC membrane, which can be seen as a triangular surface mesh for the former and a spring network for the latter. Here, we present a modeling approach combining an existing continuum vesicle model with a coarse-grained model for the cytoskeleton. Compared to other two-component approaches, our method relies on only one mesh, representing the cytoskeleton, whose velocity in the tangential direction of the membrane may be different from that of the lipid bilayer. The finitely extensible nonlinear elastic (FENE) spring force law in combination with a repulsive force defined as a power function (POW), called FENE-POW, is used to describe the elastic properties of the RBC membrane. The mechanical interaction between the lipid bilayer and the cytoskeleton is explicitly computed and incorporated into the vesicle model. Our model includes the fundamental mechanical properties of the RBC membrane, namely fluidity and bending rigidity of the lipid bilayer, and shear elasticity of the cytoskeleton while maintaining surface-area and volume conservation constraint. We present three simulation examples to demonstrate the effectiveness of this hybrid continuum-coarse-grained model for the study of RBCs in fluid flows.

Delimiting the species Neosiphonia yendoi (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) based on COI and rbcL genetic variation in Korea and Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Byeongseok; Yang, Mi Yeon; Kim, Myung Sook

2016-09-01

Although the marine red algal genus Neosiphonia is well characterized, many species of Neosiphonia are poorly understood. To correctly define the species delimitation of Neosiphonia yendoi using genetic variation, owing to the confusion over identification with " N. sphaerocarpa" from Korea, we investigated intensively the haplotype network of the mitochondrial COI and the plastid rbcL genes of specimens collected from Korea and Japan. The molecular analyses indicated that specimens collected in different sites of Korea and Japan belong to the same species, Neosiphonia yendoi and " Neosiphonia sphaerocarpa" from Korea, which is distinguished from N. sphaerocarpa from Florida and is allied with N. yendoi collected from the type locality, Muroran of Japan. A total of 29 COI and 13 rbcL haplotypes were found and the COI haplotype network shows evidence of a clear break between specimens from Jeju Island and all other locations of Korea, suggesting the possibility of cryptic diversity within N. yendoi.

"Walking with a Ghost": Arts-Based Research, Music Videos, and the Re-Performing Body

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Pamela G.; Wilder, Shannon O.; Helms, Kathryn R.

2007-01-01

In folk-rock duo Tegan and Sara's 2004 music video "Walking with a Ghost," two women face one another, mirrored images in black and white. One is dressed in black--grunge shirt, pants and boots, while the other stands barefoot in a simple white dress. The black-clad figure removes three red paper hearts from her twin's chest, leaving crimson…

Oral supplementation of vitamin E reduces osmotic fragility of RBC in hemolytic anemic patients with G6PD deficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sultana, N.; Begum, S.; Begum, N.; Ali, T.

2009-01-01

Vitamin E has role in maintaining the integrity of red cell member by preventing oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids, thus protects cells from oxidative stress-induced lysis in G6PD deficiency. Changes in osmotic fragility of RBC and some absolute values like MCV, MCH and MCHC may occur in haemolytic anaemic patients with G6PD deficiency. To observe the effects of vitamin E supplementation on these changes in order to evaluate the role of this anti-oxidant vitamin in reducing chronic haemolysis in G6PD deficient patients. A total number of 102 subjects with age ranged of 5 to 40 years of both sexes were included in the study. Among them 68 were G6PD enzyme deficient patients, of whom 34 were in supplemented group (experimental group) and 34 were in non-supplemented group (control group). The supplemented group received vitamin E supplementation for 60 consecutive days at a dose of 800 IU/day for adult and 400 IU/day for children ?12 years (in a divided dose, i.e., 4 times daily). Age and sex matched 34 apparently healthy subjects with normal blood G6PD level were taken to observe the base line data (healthy control) and also for comparison. All the G6PD deficient patients were selected from Out Patient Department (OPD) of Haematology, Banglabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh from July 2005 to June 2006 and all healthy subjects were selected from personal contact. Blood G6PD level, osmotic fragility of RBC were measured by standard techniques and MCV, MCH, and MCHC were obtained by calculation. All the parameters were measured on day 1 of their first visit and also were on day 60 in deficient group. Data were compared among the deficient groups, also in supplemented group just before and after supplementation. Analysis of data was done by appropriate statistical method. Mean starting and completing points of osmotic fragility of RBC were significantly higher but MCV. MCH, MCHC were significantly lower in patients suffering from

Morphological and Metabolic Parameters of Red Blood Cells after Their Treatment with Ozone

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Anna V. Deryugina

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the study was to assess the morphology of red blood cells (RBC and the association of morphological parameters with lipid peroxidation processes and the content of organic phosphates in RBC when treating packed red blood cells with the ozonized saline solution (with an ozone concentration of 2 mg/l after different storage periods.Materials and methods. The morphology of human RBC, the concentration of malonic dialdehyde (MDA in RBC, the catalase activity, the concentration of ATP and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG were studied before and after treatment of RBC with the ozonized saline (with the ozone concentration of 2 mg/l after 7, 14, 21 and 30 days of storage.Results. The effect of ozone (2 ng/l in vitro on the packed red blood cells after 7–21 days of storage contributed to the recovery of RBC shape, increased the concentration of ATP and 2,3-DPG, and optimized the lipid peroxidation. Ozone did not demonstrate a pronounced positive effect on these parameters when the packed RBCs were stored for 30 days.Conclusion. The treatment of the packed RBCs with the ozonized saline solution (with the ozone concentration of 2 mg/l contributed to the recovery of the discocyte count due to optimization of lipid peroxidation processes in cell membranes and enhanced the synthesis of organic phosphates in cells due to the activation of glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway. This can be used to improve the morphological and metabolic status of the packed RBCs before their transfusion. 

LipidPedia: a comprehensive lipid knowledgebase.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuo, Tien-Chueh; Tseng, Yufeng Jane

2018-04-10

Lipids are divided into fatty acyls, glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, saccharolipids, sterols, prenol lipids and polyketides. Fatty acyls and glycerolipids are commonly used as energy storage, whereas glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, sterols and saccharolipids are common used as components of cell membranes. Lipids in fatty acyls, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids and sterols classes play important roles in signaling. Although more than 36 million lipids can be identified or computationally generated, no single lipid database provides comprehensive information on lipids. Furthermore, the complex systematic or common names of lipids make the discovery of related information challenging. Here, we present LipidPedia, a comprehensive lipid knowledgebase. The content of this database is derived from integrating annotation data with full-text mining of 3,923 lipids and more than 400,000 annotations of associated diseases, pathways, functions, and locations that are essential for interpreting lipid functions and mechanisms from over 1,400,000 scientific publications. Each lipid in LipidPedia also has its own entry containing a text summary curated from the most frequently cited diseases, pathways, genes, locations, functions, lipids and experimental models in the biomedical literature. LipidPedia aims to provide an overall synopsis of lipids to summarize lipid annotations and provide a detailed listing of references for understanding complex lipid functions and mechanisms. LipidPedia is available at http://lipidpedia.cmdm.tw. yjtseng@csie.ntu.edu.tw. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

BlastKOALA and GhostKOALA: KEGG Tools for Functional Characterization of Genome and Metagenome Sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanehisa, Minoru; Sato, Yoko; Morishima, Kanae

2016-02-22

BlastKOALA and GhostKOALA are automatic annotation servers for genome and metagenome sequences, which perform KO (KEGG Orthology) assignments to characterize individual gene functions and reconstruct KEGG pathways, BRITE hierarchies and KEGG modules to infer high-level functions of the organism or the ecosystem. Both servers are made freely available at the KEGG Web site (http://www.kegg.jp/blastkoala/). In BlastKOALA, the KO assignment is performed by a modified version of the internally used KOALA algorithm after the BLAST search against a non-redundant dataset of pangenome sequences at the species, genus or family level, which is generated from the KEGG GENES database by retaining the KO content of each taxonomic category. In GhostKOALA, which utilizes more rapid GHOSTX for database search and is suitable for metagenome annotation, the pangenome dataset is supplemented with Cd-hit clusters including those for viral genes. The result files may be downloaded and manipulated for further KEGG Mapper analysis, such as comparative pathway analysis using multiple BlastKOALA results. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Fed-Batch Production of Bacterial Ghosts Using Dielectric Spectroscopy for Dynamic Process Control

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Andrea Meitz

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The Bacterial Ghost (BG platform technology evolved from a microbiological expression system incorporating the ϕX174 lysis gene E. E-lysis generates empty but structurally intact cell envelopes (BGs from Gram-negative bacteria which have been suggested as candidate vaccines, immunotherapeutic agents or drug delivery vehicles. E-lysis is a highly dynamic and complex biological process that puts exceptional demands towards process understanding and control. The development of a both economic and robust fed-batch production process for BGs required a toolset capable of dealing with rapidly changing concentrations of viable biomass during the E-lysis phase. This challenge was addressed using a transfer function combining dielectric spectroscopy and soft-sensor based biomass estimation for monitoring the rapid decline of viable biomass during the E-lysis phase. The transfer function was implemented to a feed-controller, which followed the permittivity signal closely and was capable of maintaining a constant specific substrate uptake rate during lysis phase. With the described toolset, we were able to increase the yield of BG production processes by a factor of 8–10 when compared to currently used batch procedures reaching lysis efficiencies >98%. This provides elevated potentials for commercial application of the Bacterial Ghost platform technology.

Forming positive-negative images using conditioned partial measurements from reference arm in ghost imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Jianming

2012-09-01

A recent thermal ghost imaging experiment implemented in Wu's group [Chin. Phys. Lett. 279, 074216 (2012)] showed that both positive and negative images can be constructed by applying a novel algorithm. This algorithm allows us to form the images with the use of partial measurements from the reference arm (even which never passes through the object), conditioned on the object arm. In this paper, we present a simple theory that explains the experimental observation and provides an in-depth understanding of conventional ghost imaging. In particular, we theoretically show that the visibility of formed images through such an algorithm is not bounded by the standard value 1/3. In fact, it can ideally grow up to unity (with reduced imaging quality). Thus, the algorithm described here not only offers an alternative way to decode spatial correlation of thermal light, but also mimics a "bandpass filter" to remove the constant background such that the visibility or imaging contrast is improved. We further show that conditioned on one still object present in the test arm, it is possible to construct the object's image by sampling the available reference data.

Efficient and specific analysis of red blood cell glycerophospholipid fatty acid composition.

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Sabrina Klem

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Red blood cell (RBC n-3 fatty acid status is related to various health outcomes. Accepted biological markers for the fatty acid status determination are RBC phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidyletholamine. The analysis of these lipid fractions is demanding and time consuming and total phospholipid n-3 fatty acid levels might be affected by changes of sphingomyelin contents in the RBC membrane during n-3 supplementation. AIM: We developed a method for the specific analysis of RBC glycerophospholipids. The application of the new method in a DHA supplementation trial and the comparison to established markers will determine the relevance of RBC GPL as a valid fatty acid status marker in humans. METHODS: Methyl esters of glycerophospholipid fatty acids are selectively generated by a two step procedure involving methanolic protein precipitation and base-catalysed methyl ester synthesis. RBC GPL solubilisation is facilitated by ultrasound treatment. Fatty acid status in RBC glycerophospholipids and other established markers were evaluated in thirteen subjects participating in a 30 days supplementation trial (510 mg DHA/d. OUTCOME: The intra-assay CV for GPL fatty acids ranged from 1.0 to 10.5% and the inter-assay CV from 1.3 to 10.9%. Docosahexaenoic acid supplementation significantly increased the docosahexaenoic acid contents in all analysed lipid fractions. High correlations were observed for most of the mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and for the omega-3 index (r = 0.924 between RBC phospholipids and glycerophospholipids. The analysis of RBC glycerophospholipid fatty acids yields faster, easier and less costly results equivalent to the conventional analysis of RBC total phospholipids.

Grape extract protects against γ-radiation-induced membrane damage strains of human erythrocytes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, Subir Kumar

2017-01-01

The membrane integrity of circulating red blood cells (RBCs) is compromised by the deleterious actions of γ-radiation in humans. Grapes are the richest source of antioxidants due to presence of potentially bioactive phytochemicals. The objective of the present study was to assess the radioprotective actions of grape extracts against the γ-radiation-induced membrane permeability of human erythrocytes. The scavenging activities in seeds of grape in DPPH, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals, were higher than skin or pulp of different cultivars. Grape extracts also showed appreciable extent of total antioxidant capacity and effective antihemolytic action. Grape extracts significantly ameliorated the γ-radiation-induced increase of the levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS, an index of lipid peroxidation) in the RBC membrane ghosts. Stored blood showed higher levels of K + ion as compared to the normal blood which was elevated by γ-radiation. Membrane ATPase was inhibited by the exposure to γ-radiation.Treatment of RBCs with the grape extracts prior to the exposure of γ-radiation significantly mitigated these changes in the erythrocyte membranes caused by the lower dose of radiation (4 Gy). (author)

Use of Laser Assisted Optical Rotational Cell Analyzer (LoRRca MaxSis in the Diagnosis of RBC Membrane Disorders, Enzyme Defects, and Congenital Dyserythropoietic Anemias: A Monocentric Study on 202 Patients

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Anna Zaninoni

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Chronic hemolytic anemias are a group of heterogeneous diseases mainly due to abnormalities of red cell (RBC membrane and metabolism. The more common RBC membrane disorders, classified on the basis of blood smear morphology, are hereditary spherocytosis (HS, elliptocytosis, and hereditary stomatocytoses (HSt. Among RBC enzymopathies, the most frequent is pyruvate kinase (PK deficiency, followed by glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, pyrimidine 5′ nucleotidase P5′N, and other rare enzymes defects. Because of the rarity and heterogeneity of these diseases, diagnosis may be often challenging despite the availability of a variety of laboratory tests. The ektacytometer laser-assisted optical rotational cell analyser (LoRRca MaxSis, able to assess the RBC deformability in osmotic gradient conditions (Osmoscan analysis, is a useful diagnostic tool for RBC membrane disorders and in particular for the identification of hereditary stomatocytosis. Few data are so far available in other hemolytic anemias. We evaluated the diagnostic power of LoRRca MaxSis in a large series of 140 patients affected by RBC membrane disorders, 37 by enzymopathies, and 16 by congenital diserythropoietic anemia type II. Moreover, nine patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH were also investigated. All the hereditary spherocytoses, regardless the biochemical defect, showed altered Osmoscan curves, with a decreased Elongation Index (EI max and right shifted Omin; hereditary elliptocytosis (HE displayed a trapezoidal curve and decreased EImax. Dehydrated hereditary stomatocytosis (DHSt caused by PIEZO1 mutations was characterized by left-shifted curve, whereas KCNN4 mutations were associated with a normal curve. Congenital diserythropoietic anemia type II and RBC enzymopathies had Osmoscan curve within the normal range except for glucosephosphate isomerase (GPI deficient cases who displayed an enlarged curve associated with significantly increased Ohyper, offering a

Robust reflective ghost imaging against different partially polarized thermal light

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hong-Guo; Wang, Yan; Zhang, Rui-Xue; Zhang, De-Jian; Liu, Hong-Chao; Li, Zong-Guo; Xiong, Jun

2018-03-01

We theoretically study the influence of degree of polarization (DOP) of thermal light on the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the reflective ghost imaging (RGI), which is a novel and indirect imaging modality. An expression for the CNR of RGI with partially polarized thermal light is carefully derived, which suggests a weak dependence of CNR on the DOP, especially when the ratio of the object size to the speckle size of thermal light has a large value. Different from conventional imaging approaches, our work reveals that RGI is much more robust against the DOP of the light source, which thereby has advantages in practical applications, such as remote sensing.

Ghosts of No Child Left Behind. Counterpoints: Studies in the Postmodern Theory of Education. Volume 361

Science.gov (United States)

Carris, Joanne M.

2011-01-01

"Ghosts of No Child Left Behind" politically situates curriculum within a historically and critically informed context, to understand the structural forces that have contributed to the creation of a population of adolescents who read below a third grade level. The book then proposes a reconceptualization of literacy curriculum within a…

Red blood cell (RBC) membrane proteomics--Part I: Proteomics and RBC physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasini, Erica M; Lutz, Hans U; Mann, Matthias; Thomas, Alan W

2010-01-03

Membrane proteomics is concerned with accurately and sensitively identifying molecules involved in cell compartmentalisation, including those controlling the interface between the cell and the outside world. The high lipid content of the environment in which these proteins are found often causes a particular set of problems that must be overcome when isolating the required material before effective HPLC-MS approaches can be performed. The membrane is an unusually dynamic cellular structure since it interacts with an ever changing environment. A full understanding of this critical cell component will ultimately require, in addition to proteomics, lipidomics, glycomics, interactomics and study of post-translational modifications. Devoid of nucleus and organelles in mammalian species other than camelids, and constantly in motion in the blood stream, red blood cells (RBCs) are the sole mammalian oxygen transporter. The fact that mature mammalian RBCs have no internal membrane-bound organelles, somewhat simplifies proteomics analysis of the plasma membrane and the fact that it has no nucleus disqualifies microarray based methods. Proteomics has the potential to provide a better understanding of this critical interface, and thereby assist in identifying new approaches to diseases. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DEVELOPMENT OF A METHOD FOR QUANTITATING SPHINGOID BASE 1-PHOSPHATES IN BLOOD SPOTS

Science.gov (United States)

Red blood cells (RBC) accumulate, store and release sphingoid base 1-phosphates,important ligands for the extracellular receptors S1P1-5. The ability of RBC to accumulate these bioactive lipids is because, with the exception of sphingosine kinase, the enzymes responsible for metabolizing sphingosine...

Evaluación de la estrategia de rehabilitación de base comunitaria (RBC desde la perspectiva de la comunidad y los equipos locales de rehabilitación

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Alejandro Guajardo Córdoba

2015-09-01

Full Text Available A través de este proyecto de investigación se evalúo, desde la perspectiva de la comunidad y los equipos locales de rehabilitación en Chile, los distintos niveles de intervención de la RBC. Así, el objetivo que guío esta investigación fue evaluar el impacto social percibido y la aceptabilidad social de la estrategia de Rehabilitación de Base Comunitaria (RBC desde la perspectiva de la comunidad y los equipos locales de rehabilitación. El marco metodológico fue definido bajo los parámetros de una investigación cualitativa de carácter descriptivo y transversal. El universo de estudio correspondió a las comunas que contaban con programas de RBC que se desarrollan a nivel nacional como parte de la política nacional de discapacidad y rehabilitación en salud. Los criterios que guiaron el proceso de muestreo fueron los de pertinencia y suficiencia de la información, por lo que  se optó  por un muestreo estructural. El procesamiento de los datos se realizó mediante análisis de contenido semánticamente orientado, siguiendo una estratega intensiva, es decir, se analizó toda la información producida durante la fase de terreno. Los resultados dan cuenta de la RBC como una estrategia  con variadas formas de implementación y desarrollo que se relaciona con la historia local, el perfil de la comunidad, perfil del centro,  perfil de usuarias/ios y las características de vinculación municipal con el programa de rehabilitación. El estudio identifica en la estrategia de RBC tres modelos de acción: biomédico, biopsicosocial y comunitario.

Gluon and ghost propagator studies in lattice QCD at finite temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aouane, Rafik

2013-04-29

Gluon and ghost propagators in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) computed in the infrared momentum region play an important role to understand quark and gluon confinement. They are the subject of intensive research thanks to non-perturbative methods based on Dyson-Schwinger (DS) and functional renormalization group (FRG) equations. Moreover, their temperature behavior might also help to explore the chiral and deconfinement phase transition or crossover within QCD at non-zero temperature. Our prime tool is the lattice discretized QCD (LQCD) providing a unique ab-initio non-perturbative approach to deal with the computation of various observables of the hadronic world. We investigate the temperature dependence of Landau gauge gluon and ghost propagators in pure gluodynamics and in full QCD. Regarding the gluon propagator, we compute its longitudinal D{sub L} as well its transversal D{sub T} components. The aim is to provide a data set in terms of fitting formulae which can be used as input for DS (or FRG) equations. We deal with full (N{sub f}=2) LQCD with the twisted mass fermion discretization. We employ gauge field configurations provided by the tmfT collaboration for temperatures in the crossover region and for three fixed pion mass values in the range [300,500] MeV. Finally, within SU(3) pure gauge theory (at T=0) we compute the Landau gauge gluon propagator according to different gauge fixing criteria. Our goal is to understand the influence of gauge copies with minimal (non-trivial) eigenvalues of the Faddeev-Popov operator.

Efficient and Specific Analysis of Red Blood Cell Glycerophospholipid Fatty Acid Composition

OpenAIRE

Klem, Sabrina; Klingler, Mario; Demmelmair, Hans; Koletzko, Berthold

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND: Red blood cell (RBC) n-3 fatty acid status is related to various health outcomes. Accepted biological markers for the fatty acid status determination are RBC phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidyletholamine. The analysis of these lipid fractions is demanding and time consuming and total phospholipid n-3 fatty acid levels might be affected by changes of sphingomyelin contents in the RBC membrane during n-3 supplementation. AIM: We developed a method for the specific a...

Optical image transformation and encryption by phase-retrieval-based double random-phase encoding and compressive ghost imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Sheng; Yang, Yangrui; Liu, Xuemei; Zhou, Xin; Wei, Zhenzhuo

2018-01-01

An optical image transformation and encryption scheme is proposed based on double random-phase encoding (DRPE) and compressive ghost imaging (CGI) techniques. In this scheme, a secret image is first transformed into a binary image with the phase-retrieval-based DRPE technique, and then encoded by a series of random amplitude patterns according to the ghost imaging (GI) principle. Compressive sensing, corrosion and expansion operations are implemented to retrieve the secret image in the decryption process. This encryption scheme takes the advantage of complementary capabilities offered by the phase-retrieval-based DRPE and GI-based encryption techniques. That is the phase-retrieval-based DRPE is used to overcome the blurring defect of the decrypted image in the GI-based encryption, and the CGI not only reduces the data amount of the ciphertext, but also enhances the security of DRPE. Computer simulation results are presented to verify the performance of the proposed encryption scheme.

[sup 99m]Tc-RBC subtraction scintigraphy; Assessmet of bleeding site and rate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inagaki, Syoichi; Tonami, Syuichi; Yasui, Masakazu; Kuranishi, Makoto; Sugishita, Kouki; Nakamura, Mamoru (Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical Univ. (Japan). Hospital)

1994-03-01

Sequential abdominal scintigrams with [sup 99m]Tc-labelled red blood cells (RBC) were subtracted for observing a site of gastrointestinal bleeding and calculating the bleeding rate. This method is technically very easy and can detect the site of bleeding with the minimum rate, as low as 0.2 ml/min., in a phantom experiment. In 23 cases with final diagnosis of gastrointestinal bleeding, conventional non-subtraction scintigraphy detected only 30% (7/23), but subtraction scintigraphy detected 61% (14/23). It was concluded that subtraction scintigraphy had higher sensitivity than conventional scintigraphy for early diagnosing bleeding. A combination of non-subtraction and subtraction scintigraphy is recommended to detect a site of gastrointestinal bleeding in a clinical setting. (author).

Rate of red blood cell destruction varies in different strains of mice infected with Plasmodium berghei-ANKA after chronic exposure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kikuchi Mihoko

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Severe malaria anaemia in the semi-immune individuals in the holo-endemic area has been observed to occur at low parasite density with individual variation in the responses. Thus the following has been thought to be involved: auto-immune-mediated mechanisms of uninfected red blood cell destruction, and host genetic factors to explain the differences in individual responses under the same malaria transmission. In this study, the extent of red blood cell (RBC destruction in different strains of semi-immune mice model at relatively low parasitaemia was studied. Methodology To generate semi-immunity, four strains of mice were taken through several cycles of infection and treatment. By means of immunofluorescent assay and ELISA, sera were screened for anti-erythrocyte auto-antibodies, and their relationship with haematological parameters and parasitaemia in the strains of semi-immune mice was investigated. Results Upon challenge with Plasmodium berghei ANKA after generating semi-immune status, different mean percentage haemoglobin (Hb drop was observed in the mice strains (Balb/c = 47.1%; NZW = 30.05%; C57BL/6 = 28.44%; CBA = 25.1%, which occurred on different days for each strain (for Balb/c, mean period = 13.6 days; for C57BL/6, NZW, and CBA mean period = 10.6, 10.8, 10.9 days respectively. Binding of antibody to white ghost RBCs was observed in sera of the four strains of semi-immune mice by immunofluorescence. Mean percentage Hb drop per parasitaemia was highest in Balb/c (73.6, followed by C57BL/6 (8.6, CBA (6.9 and NZW (4.0, p = 0.0005. Consequently, auto-antibodies level to ghost RBC were correlated with degree of anaemia and were highest in Balb/c, when compared with the other strains, p Conclusion The results presented in this study seem to indicate that anti-RBC auto-antibodies may be involved in the destruction of uninfected RBC in semi-immune mice at relatively low parasite burden. Host genetic factors may also

Studies on Dasyaceae. 3. Towards a phylogeny of the Dasyaceae (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta), based on comparative rbcL gene sequences and morphology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Jong, Y.S D M; van der Wurff, A.W G; Stam, W.T.; Olsen, J.L.

Phylogenetic analyses of the Dasyaceae based on sequence analysis of the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rbcL) and 42 morphological characters are presented. Comparative sequence analysis confirms the general view of the Ceramiaceae as a primitive, paraphyletic

Unclassified haemolytic anaemia with splenomegaly and erythrocyte cation abnormalities - a disease of the spleen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernard, J.F.; Bournier, O.; Renoux, M.; Charron, D.; Boivin, P.

1976-01-01

An unclassified case of haemolytic anaemia with voluminous splenomegaly is reported. This anaemia was normocytic without any specific morphologic aspect of red blood cells (RBC); Coombs test was negative; the osmotic fragility was normal; the increased autohaemolysis was not affected by the presence of glucose; Hb studies were normal; no RBC enzyme deficiency was found; RBC lipids and membrane proteins were normal; there was a marked reduction in RBC survival with exclusive splenic uptake of erythrocytes. Before splenectomy, RBC cations and water content were abnormal: 1) the RBC water was decreased moderately; 2) the RBC sodium was about twice the normal mean with an increased 22 Na turn-over; 3) the RBC potassium was markedly reduced and 42 K influx was twice the normal mean; 4) the RBC calcium content was increased. Splenectomy was followed by rapid disappearance of haemolysis and RBC water and cation disturbances. Because of this extremely rapid disappearance after splenectomy the authors suggest this case of haemolytic anaemia could be a primary disease of the spleen. (author)

R and G color component competition of RGB image decomposition as a criterion to register RBC agglutinates for blood group typing.

Science.gov (United States)

Doubrovski, Valeri A; Ganilova, Yuliya A; Zabenkov, Igor V

2014-03-01

A new approach of the criterion assignment for registration of erythrocyte agglutinates to instrumentally determine blood group type is suggested. The criterion is based on comparison of R and G components of RGB decomposition of microscopy digital image taken for the blood-serum mixture sample. For the chosen experimental conditions, the minimal size (area) of RBC agglutinate to be registered by the criterion suggested is estimated theoretically. The proposed method was tested experimentally on the example of monitoring agglutinates in flow. The encouraging experimental results were obtained for improvement of the resolving power of the method; the optimal experimental conditions were revealed for maximum resolution. Though the suggested method was realized for dynamic (flow) blood group determination, it could also be applied for diagnostics in a stationary environment. This approach increases the reliability of RBC agglutinates registration and, hence, blood group typing. The results may be used to develop the apparatus for automated determination of human blood group.

PLOTGEOMX: a program for display of a neutron target assembly by means of a GHOST plotting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clarke, J.H.

1978-02-01

The program PLOTGEOM has been modified to work on the A.E.R.E., Harwell IBM 370-167 computer using the GHOST graphics package. The control data routine has been altered to permit free format input and the program has been compiled and stored using the extended-H FORTRAN optimising compiler. (author)

A Giant Hepatic Hemangioma Complicated by Kasabach-Merritt Syndrome: Findings of Tc-99m RBC Scintigraphy and SPECT Including a Total Body Blood Pool Imaging Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sohn, Myung Hee; Jeong, Hwan Jeong; Lim, Seok Tae; Kim, Dong Wook; Yim, Chang Yeol [Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju (Korea, Republic of)

2009-02-15

Kasabach-Merritt syndrome (KMS) consists of thrombocytopenia, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, and localized consumption coagulopathy that develops within vascular hemangioma. This syndrome may also be associated with occult hemangiomas located at various sites. Tc-99m RBC scintigraphy and SPECT have proven to be reliable for confirming or excluding hemangioma. Total body blood pool imaging study during the scintigraphy also provides a means of screening for occult lesions. The authors report the case of a 29-year-old man who presented with a giant hepatic hemangioma complicated by KMS, and underwent Tc-99m RBC scintigraphy and SPECT including a total body blood pool imaging study.

Determination of degree of RBC agglutination for blood typing using a small quantity of blood sample in a microfluidic system.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Yaw-Jen; Ho, Ching-Yuan; Zhou, Xin-Miao; Yen, Hsiu-Rong

2018-04-15

Blood typing assay is a critical test to ensure the serological compatibility of a donor and an intended recipient prior to a blood transfusion. This paper presents a microfluidic blood typing system using a small quantity of blood sample to determine the degree of agglutination of red blood cell (RBC). Two measuring methods were proposed: impedimetric measurement and electroanalytical measurement. The charge transfer resistance in the impedimetric measurement and the power parameter in the electroanalytical measurement were used for the analysis of agglutination level. From the experimental results, both measuring methods provide quantitative results, and the parameters are linearly and monotonically related to the degree of RBC agglutination. However, the electroanalytical measurement is more reliable than the impedimetric technique because the impedimetric measurement may suffer from many influencing factors, such as chip conditions. Five levels from non-agglutination (level 0) to strong agglutination (level 4+) can be discriminated in this study, conforming to the clinical requirement to prevent any risks in transfusion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

New Ghost-node method for linking different models with varied grid refinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehl, Steffen W.; Hill, Mary Catherine; James, Scott Carlton; Leake, Stanley A.; Zyvoloski, George A.; Dickinson, Jesse E.; Eddebbarh, Al A.

2006-01-01

A flexible, robust method for linking grids of locally refined models constructed with different numerical methods is needed to address a variety of hydrologic problems. This work outlines and tests a new ghost-node model-linking method for a refined 'child' model that is contained within a larger and coarser 'parent' model that is based on the iterative method of Mehl and Hill (2002, 2004). The method is applicable to steady-state solutions for ground-water flow. Tests are presented for a homogeneous two-dimensional system that has either matching grids (parent cells border an integer number of child cells; Figure 2a) or non-matching grids (parent cells border a non-integer number of child cells; Figure 2b). The coupled grids are simulated using the finite-difference and finite-element models MODFLOW and FEHM, respectively. The simulations require no alteration of the MODFLOW or FEHM models and are executed using a batch file on Windows operating systems. Results indicate that when the grids are matched spatially so that nodes and child cell boundaries are aligned, the new coupling technique has error nearly equal to that when coupling two MODFLOW models (Mehl and Hill, 2002). When the grids are non-matching, model accuracy is slightly increased over matching-grid cases. Overall, results indicate that the ghost-node technique is a viable means to accurately couple distinct models because the overall error is less than if only the regional model was used to simulate flow in the child model's domain

New ghost-node method for linking different models with varied grid refinement

Science.gov (United States)

James, S.C.; Dickinson, J.E.; Mehl, S.W.; Hill, M.C.; Leake, S.A.; Zyvoloski, G.A.; Eddebbarh, A.-A.

2006-01-01

A flexible, robust method for linking grids of locally refined ground-water flow models constructed with different numerical methods is needed to address a variety of hydrologic problems. This work outlines and tests a new ghost-node model-linking method for a refined "child" model that is contained within a larger and coarser "parent" model that is based on the iterative method of Steffen W. Mehl and Mary C. Hill (2002, Advances in Water Res., 25, p. 497-511; 2004, Advances in Water Res., 27, p. 899-912). The method is applicable to steady-state solutions for ground-water flow. Tests are presented for a homogeneous two-dimensional system that has matching grids (parent cells border an integer number of child cells) or nonmatching grids. The coupled grids are simulated by using the finite-difference and finite-element models MODFLOW and FEHM, respectively. The simulations require no alteration of the MODFLOW or FEHM models and are executed using a batch file on Windows operating systems. Results indicate that when the grids are matched spatially so that nodes and child-cell boundaries are aligned, the new coupling technique has error nearly equal to that when coupling two MODFLOW models. When the grids are nonmatching, model accuracy is slightly increased compared to that for matching-grid cases. Overall, results indicate that the ghost-node technique is a viable means to couple distinct models because the overall head and flow errors relative to the analytical solution are less than if only the regional coarse-grid model was used to simulate flow in the child model's domain.

The ghost of pandemics past: revisiting two centuries of influenza in Sweden.

Science.gov (United States)

Holmberg, Martin

2017-09-01

Previous influenza pandemics are usually invoked in pandemic preparedness planning without a thorough analysis of the events surrounding them, what has been called the 'configuration' of epidemics. Historic pandemics are instead used to contrast them to the novelty of the coming imagined plague or as fear of a ghost-like repetition of the past. This view of pandemics is guided by a biomedical framework that is ahistorical and reductionist. The meaning of 'pandemic' influenza is in fact highly ambiguous in its partitioning of pandemic and seasonal influenza. The past 200 years of influenza epidemics in Sweden are examined with a special focus on key social structures-households, schools, transportations and the military. These are shown to have influenced the progression of influenza pandemics. Prevailing beliefs around influenza pandemics have also profoundly influenced intervention strategies. Measuring long-term trends in pandemic severity is problematic because pandemics are non-linear events where the conditions surrounding them constantly change. However, in a linearised view, the Spanish flu can be seen to represent a historical turning point and the H1N1 2009 pandemic not as an outlier, but following a 100-year trend of decreasing severity. Integrating seasonal and pandemic influenza, and adopting an ecosocial stance can deepen our understanding and bring the ghost-like pandemic past to life. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

The Contribution of the Holy Ghost Congregation to the Educational Development of Nigeria: Historical and Contemporary Reflections

Science.gov (United States)

Amadi, Anthony

2016-01-01

This article is a historical narrative about the contribution the Holy Ghost Congregation made in the educational development of Nigeria. It is narrative because it highlights the events and the work of the early Spiritan missionaries that brought education and its benefits to Nigerians. It is pedagogic because it describes the methods these Holy…

EFFECT OF FERMENTED Sauropus androgynus LEAVES ON BLOOD LIPID FRACTION AND HAEMATOLOGICAL PROFILE IN BROILER CHICKENS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U. Santoso

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to evaluate effect of fermented Sauropus androgynus leaves on blood lipid fractions and haematological profiles in broilers. One hundred and twelve broilers were distributed to 7 treatment groups. One group was fed diets without Sauropus androgynus leaves as the control, and other six groups were fed Sauropus androgynus leaves fermented by Neurospora crassa, Lactobacillus sp. or Saccharomyces cerevisiae at level of 25 g or 50 g/kg diet. Experimental results showed that the treatments had no effect on cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c and atherogenic index, very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-c and triglyceride concentration (P>0.05. It was shown that fermented Sauropus androgynus leaves significantly affected red blood count (RBC, white blood count (WBC, packed cell volume (PCV, trombosit dan erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR (P

Edge detection based on computational ghost imaging with structured illuminations

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Sheng; Xiang, Dong; Liu, Xuemei; Zhou, Xin; Bing, Pibin

2018-03-01

Edge detection is one of the most important tools to recognize the features of an object. In this paper, we propose an optical edge detection method based on computational ghost imaging (CGI) with structured illuminations which are generated by an interference system. The structured intensity patterns are designed to make the edge of an object be directly imaged from detected data in CGI. This edge detection method can extract the boundaries for both binary and grayscale objects in any direction at one time. We also numerically test the influence of distance deviations in the interference system on edge extraction, i.e., the tolerance of the optical edge detection system to distance deviation. Hopefully, it may provide a guideline for scholars to build an experimental system.

The Crossmatch/Issue Ratio:  Use of a Novel Quality Indicator and Results of an International Survey on RBC Crossmatching and Issuing Practices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yazer, Mark H; Alcantara, Ramir; Beizai, Pouneh

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To understand the worldwide scope of RBC crossmatching and issuing practices and measure efficiency using a novel quality indicator, the crossmatch/issue (C/I) ratio. METHODS: An electronic survey was disseminated to hospital transfusion services collecting details about RBC...... crossmatching and issuing practices. Respondents were asked to enumerate the number of RBCs crossmatched and issued at their institutions during the 2014 calendar year to calculate the C/I ratio. RESULTS: Fifty-two survey responses were received, mostly from North American transfusion services (28/52, 54......%). The electronic crossmatch was the most common technique (n = 29), and most respondents performed the crossmatch at the time that an order for RBCs was received in the transfusion service (even if an order to issue the RBCs was not received). Data to calculate the C/I ratio were supplied by 22 respondents...

In Vivo Reactivation by Oximes of Inhibited Blood, Brain and Peripheral Tissue Cholinesterase Activity Following Exposure to Nerve Agents in Guinea Pigs

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

nerve agent intoxication ( salivation , rhinorrhea, tremors,muscle asciculations, convulsions) at 60min following the 1.0× LD50 dose f GB, GF, VR or VX...reactivation of GF-, soman-, or VR-inhibited enzyme byHI-6 andHLö7. However, these in vitro experiments [24,25] were conducted with a pH of 8.0 at 25 ◦C...data. Even the study of Worek et al. [23] that was performed at a pH of 7.4 at 37 ◦C, whose in vitro kinetic data obtained from guinea pig RBC ghosts

Polyene-lipids: a new tool to image lipids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuerschner, Lars; Ejsing, Christer S.; Ekroos, Kim

2005-01-01

conjugated double bonds as a new type of lipid tag. Polyene-lipids exhibit a unique structural similarity to natural lipids, which results in minimal effects on the lipid properties. Analyzing membrane phase partitioning, an important biophysical and biological property of lipids, we demonstrated......Microscopy of lipids in living cells is currently hampered by a lack of adequate fluorescent tags. The most frequently used tags, NBD and BODIPY, strongly influence the properties of lipids, yielding analogs with quite different characteristics. Here, we introduce polyene-lipids containing five...... the superiority of polyene-lipids to both NBD- and BODIPY-tagged lipids. Cells readily take up various polyene-lipid precursors and generate the expected end products with no apparent disturbance by the tag. Applying two-photon excitation microscopy, we imaged the distribution of polyene-lipids in living...

Vitamin E nanoemulsion activity on stored red blood cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, C A L; Azevedo Filho, C A; Pereira, G; Silva, D C N; Castro, M C A B; Almeida, A F; Lucena, S C A; Santos, B S; Barjas-Castro, M L; Fontes, A

2017-06-01

Stored red blood cells (RBCs) undergo numerous changes that have been termed RBC storage lesion, which can be related to oxidative damage. Vitamin E is an important antioxidant, acting on cell lipids. Thus, this study aimed to investigate vitamin E activity on stored RBCs. We prepared a vitamin E nanoemulsion that was added to RBC units and stored at 4 °C. Controls, without vitamin E, were kept under the same conditions. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was monitored for up to 35 days of storage. RBC elasticity was also evaluated using an optical tweezer system. Vitamin E-treated samples presented a significant decrease in ROS production. Additionally, the elastic constant for vitamin E-treated RBCs did not differ from the control. Vitamin E decreased the amount of ROS in stored RBCs. Because vitamin E acts on lipid oxidation, results suggest that protein oxidation should also be considered a key factor for erythrocyte elastic properties. Thus, further studies combining vitamin E with protein antioxidants deserve attention, aiming to better preserve overall stored RBC properties. © 2017 British Blood Transfusion Society.

Ghosting Politics: Speechwriters, Speechmakers and the (Recrafting of Identity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Richardson

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Despite public awareness of their role, speechwriters occupy an anxiously liminal position within the political process. As the ongoing dispute between former Australian prime minister Paul Keating and Don Watson over the Redfern Speech suggests, the authorship and ownership of speeches can be a fraught proposition, no matter the professional codes. Crafting and re-crafting identity places speechwriter and speechmaker in a relation of intense intimacy, one in which neither party may be comfortable and from which both may well emerge changed. Having written speeches for Jack Layton, former leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada, I know just how complex, uncertain and productive that relation can be. This article conceives of identity as transindividual, formed in the intensity and flux of encounter, and weaves together the personal and the critical to examine politics’ speechwriting ghost.

Increased phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) receptor function associated with sickle red cell membrane ghosts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramachandran, M.; Nair, C.N.; Abraham, E.C.

1987-01-01

The biological receptor for tumor-promoting phorbol esters has been identified as the Ca 2+ /phospholipid dependent enzyme, protein kinase C. In the red cell, this enzyme is mainly cytosolic but becomes translocated to the membrane if the cellular Ca 2+ is allowed to rise. Since cellular Ca 2+ in sickle red cells is high, it was reasoned that this enzyme may become more membrane-bound. In fact, the authors noticed a four-fold increase in the binding of 3 H-PDBu by membrane ghosts isolated from sickle red cells compared to normal red cells (pmoles PDBu bound/mg protein; normal = 0.3 vs sickle cell = 1.4). Attempts to assay the enzyme directly as phospholipid-activated 32 P incorporation into the acid-precipitable membrane proteins also indicated a two-fold increase in the radiolabelling of sickle cell membrane ghosts. Autophosphorylation of membrane proteins and analysis of the phosphorylation profile by SDS-PAGE and autoradiography revealed phosphorylation predominantly of bands 3, 4.1 and 4.9 which are known protein kinase C substrates for the red cell enzyme. The increased membrane-associated protein kinase C in sickle red cells may have a bearing on the altered membrane properties reported in this condition

Ghost Dancing the Grand Canyon. Southern Paiute Rock Art, Ceremony, and Cultural Landscapes.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoffle; Loendorf; Austin; Halmo; Bulletts

2000-02-01

Combining rock art studies with ethnohistory, contemporary ethnographic analysis, and the interpretations of people who share the cultural traditions being studied, this paper documents a rock art site in Kanab Creek Canyon that appears to have been the location of a Ghost Dance ceremony performed by Southern Paiute and perhaps Hualapai people in the late 1800s. Using the site as a point of departure, it focuses on the way in which synergistic associations among place, artifact, resources, events, and historic and contemporary Indian people contribute to the construction of a contextual cultural landscape.

Irish nationalism and the uncanny: a reading of “The ghost of Roger Casement”

OpenAIRE

Bolfarine, Mariana; Universidade de São Paulo

2015-01-01

Of the several fictional works about the Irish revolutionary Roger David Casement, none has reached the notoriety of William Butler Yeats’s poem “The ghost of Roger Casement” (1936). Roger Casement is known for acting as British Consul in Africa and in Brazil, having reported atrocities committed against the natives in these regions by imperial rubber companies. The aftermath of having witnessed the effects of such atrocities eventually turned Casement against the British Empire for which he ...

Increased lipid peroxidation in pregnant women after iron and vitamin C supplementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lachili, B; Hininger, I; Faure, H; Arnaud, J; Richard, M J; Favier, A; Roussel, A M

2001-11-01

Iron overload could promote the generation of free radicals and result in deleterious cellular damages. A physiological increase of oxidative stress has been observed in pregnancy. A routine iron supplement, especially a combined iron and vitamin C supplementation, without biological justifications (low hemoglobin [Hb] and iron stores) could therefore aggravate this oxidative risk. We investigated the effect of a daily combined iron supplementation (100 mg/d as fumarate) and vitamin C (500 mg/d as ascorbate) for the third trimester of pregnancy on lipid peroxidation (plasma TBARS), antioxidant micronutriments (Zn, Se, retinol, vitamin E, (beta-carotene) and antioxidant metalloenzymes (RBC Cu-Zn SOD and Se-GPX). The iron-supplemented group (n = 27) was compared to a control group (n = 27), age and number of pregnancies matched. At delivery, all the women exhibited normal Hb and ferritin values. In the supplemented group, plasma iron level was higher than in the control group (26.90 +/- 5.52 mmol/L) and TBARs plasma levels were significantly enhanced (p cell antioxidant metalloenzymes. Furthermore, the alpha-tocopherol plasma level was lowered in the iron-supplemented groups, suggesting an increased utilization of vitamin E. These data show that pharmalogical doses of iron, associated with high vitamin C intakes, can result in uncontrolled lipid peroxidation. This is predictive of adverse effects for the mother and the fetus. This study illustrates the potential harmful effects of iron supplementation when prescribed only on the assumption of anemia and not on the bases of biological criteria.

Evolution of RLSB, a nuclear-encoded S1 domain RNA binding protein associated with post-transcriptional regulation of plastid-encoded rbcL mRNA in vascular plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Yerramsetty, Pradeep; Stata, Matt; Siford, Rebecca; Sage, Tammy L; Sage, Rowan F; Wong, Gane Ka-Shu; Albert, Victor A; Berry, James O

2016-06-29

RLSB, an S-1 domain RNA binding protein of Arabidopsis, selectively binds rbcL mRNA and co-localizes with Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) within chloroplasts of C3 and C4 plants. Previous studies using both Arabidopsis (C3) and maize (C4) suggest RLSB homologs are post-transcriptional regulators of plastid-encoded rbcL mRNA. While RLSB accumulates in all Arabidopsis leaf chlorenchyma cells, in C4 leaves RLSB-like proteins accumulate only within Rubisco-containing bundle sheath chloroplasts of Kranz-type species, and only within central compartment chloroplasts in the single cell C4 plant Bienertia. Our recent evidence implicates this mRNA binding protein as a primary determinant of rbcL expression, cellular localization/compartmentalization, and photosynthetic function in all multicellular green plants. This study addresses the hypothesis that RLSB is a highly conserved Rubisco regulatory factor that occurs in the chloroplasts all higher plants. Phylogenetic analysis has identified RLSB orthologs and paralogs in all major plant groups, from ancient liverworts to recent angiosperms. RLSB homologs were also identified in algae of the division Charophyta, a lineage closely related to land plants. RLSB-like sequences were not identified in any other algae, suggesting that it may be specific to the evolutionary line leading to land plants. The RLSB family occurs in single copy across most angiosperms, although a few species with two copies were identified, seemingly randomly distributed throughout the various taxa, although perhaps correlating in some cases with known ancient whole genome duplications. Monocots of the order Poales (Poaceae and Cyperaceae) were found to contain two copies, designated here as RLSB-a and RLSB-b, with only RLSB-a implicated in the regulation of rbcL across the maize developmental gradient. Analysis of microsynteny in angiosperms revealed high levels of conservation across eudicot species and for both paralogs in

The influence of irradiation potential on the degree of conversion and mechanical properties of two bulk-fill flowable RBC base materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Finan, Leah; Palin, William M; Moskwa, Natalia; McGinley, Emma Louise; Fleming, Garry J P

2013-08-01

To assess the depth of cure claims of two bulk-fill flowable RBC bases (SDR and x-tra base) using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, biaxial flexure strength (BFS), and Vickers hardness number (VHN) for specimen depths of 8mm (in 1mm increments). The degree of conversion (DC) was measured by monitoring the peak height (6164cm(-1)) of specimens (11.0±0.1mm diameter, 1.0±0.1mm thickness) during light irradiation for 20s using a quartz tungsten halogen light curing unit at 650±26mW/cm(2). DC was measured up to 120s post irradiation and repeated (n=3) for irradiation depths up to 8mm (in 1mm increments). Further series (n=20) of eight discs were prepared, stacked, light irradiated and numbered from one to eight (distance from the LCU). The specimens were stored at 37±1°C for 24h and BFS tested with the fracture fragments used to determine the VHN for each specimen. X-tra base can be irradiated to 8mm without a change in DC, something the SDR material cannot claim. However, the DC results confirm both bulk-fill flowable RBC bases have a depth of cure in excess of 4mm. One-way ANOVAs of BFS and VHN data showed significant differences between irradiation depths for x-tra base and SDR with increasing irradiation depth (4mm) resulting in significant reductions in mean BFS and VHN. The claims that the bulk-fill flowable RBC bases have a depth of cure in excess of 4mm can be confirmed but the differing chemistry of the resin formulations and filler characteristics contribute to significant differences in DC, BFS and VHN data between the two materials tested. Copyright © 2013 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ghost forest creation and the conversion of uplands to wetlands

Science.gov (United States)

Kirwan, M. L.; Schieder, N. W.; Reay, W.

2017-12-01

Global sea level rise rates began accelerating sharply in the late 19th century, with an approximate tripling in sea level rise rates in many regions of the world. Some portions of the coastal landscape, such as marshes and barrier islands, survive relative sea level rise by natural eco-geomorphic processes that allow them to build elevation vertically and migrate landward. In contrast, adjacent uplands typically occupied by forests and agricultural fields have limited ability to resist the impacts of sea level rise. This portion of the coastal landscape consists of mostly salt intolerant plants, receives little mineral sediment deposition, and rarely builds elevation through the accumulation of soil organic matter. Thus, ghost forests- dead trees surrounded by marshland- are a prominent feature of many low-relief coastal landscapes, and represent a striking visual indicator of upland to wetland conversion. Here, we report preliminary results of several efforts designed to quantify rates and drivers of upland to wetland conversion in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Drone based canopy monitoring and ground-based seedling experiments suggest that ghost forests are created by episodic, storm-driven adult tree mortality paired with continuous seedling mortality. Preliminary comparisons between sediment cores and historical photographs from 5 sites in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina suggest that modern coastal forest retreat is 2-10 times faster than late-Holocene retreat rates, and that rates have accelerated in most decades since the 1930's. Finally, historical T-Sheet maps suggest that approximately 100,000 acres (400 km2) of uplands have converted to wetlands in the Chesapeake region, and that about 1/3 of all present-day marsh was created by upland drowning since the late 19th Century. Together, these observations indicate rapid coastal transgression, where low-relief, terrestrial portions of the coastal landscape are perhaps more sensitive to

The Ghosts of Justice and the Law of Historical Memory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mónica López Lerma

2011-04-01

representational practices (words, images, expressions that seek to do justice to the victims, with unequal success. The novel’s recurring expressions (i.e., shadows, the repressed, eternal return, ghosts, and blindness stress the importance of coming to terms with the “ghosts of the past.” The law focuses instead on other words and images (i.e., foundation, reconciliation, concord, and closure that allude to the idea of historical progress, it will be argued, without proper acknowledgment of the injustices of the past. In doing so, the law becomes a commemorative site for the Spanish Transition, but not for the recovery of the victims’ memory. The law’s re-appropriation of the “spirit of the Transition” reveals Spain’s deep fear of confronting the ghosts of the past, a fear that can be perceived still today.

Short term depression unmasks the ghost frequency.

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Tjeerd V Olde Scheper

Full Text Available Short Term Plasticity (STP has been shown to exist extensively in synapses throughout the brain. Its function is more or less clear in the sense that it alters the probability of synaptic transmission at short time scales. However, it is still unclear what effect STP has on the dynamics of neural networks. We show, using a novel dynamic STP model, that Short Term Depression (STD can affect the phase of frequency coded input such that small networks can perform temporal signal summation and determination with high accuracy. We show that this property of STD can readily solve the problem of the ghost frequency, the perceived pitch of a harmonic complex in absence of the base frequency. Additionally, we demonstrate that this property can explain dynamics in larger networks. By means of two models, one of chopper neurons in the Ventral Cochlear Nucleus and one of a cortical microcircuit with inhibitory Martinotti neurons, it is shown that the dynamics in these microcircuits can reliably be reproduced using STP. Our model of STP gives important insights into the potential roles of STP in self-regulation of cortical activity and long-range afferent input in neuronal microcircuits.

Investigation of shape memory of red blood cells using optical tweezers and quantitative phase microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Cardenas, Nelson; Mohanty, Samarendra K.

2012-03-01

RBC has been shown to possess shape memory subsequent to shear-induced shape transformation. However, this property of RBC may not be generalized to all kinds of stresses. Here, we report our observation on the action of radiation pressure forces on RBC's shape memory using optical manipulation and quantitative phase microscopy (OMQPM). QPM, based on Mach-Zehnder interferrometry, allowed measurement of dynamic changes of shape of RBC in optical tweezers at different trapping laser powers. In high power near-infrared optical tweezers (>200mW), the RBC was found to deform significantly due to optical forces. Upon removal of the tweezers, hysteresis in recovering its original resting shape was observed. In very high power tweezers or long-term stretching events, shape memory was almost erased. This irreversibility of the deformation may be due to temperature rise or stress-induced phase transformation of lipids in RBC membrane.

Oxidative stress and anxiety-like symptoms related to withdrawal of passive cigarette smoke in mice: beneficial effects of pecan nut shells extract, a by-product of the nut industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Reckziegel, P; Boufleur, N; Barcelos, R C S; Benvegnú, D M; Pase, C S; Muller, L G; Teixeira, A M; Zanella, R; Prado, A C P; Fett, R; Block, J M; Burger, M E

2011-09-01

The present study evaluated the role of pecan nut (Carya illinoensis) shells aqueous extract (AE) against oxidative damage induced by cigarette smoke exposure (CSE) and behavioral parameters of smoking withdrawal. Mice were passively exposed to cigarette smoke for 3 weeks (6, 10, and 14 cigarettes/day) and orally treated with AE (25 g/L). CSE induced lipid peroxidation in brain and red blood cells (RBC), increased catalase (CAT) activity in RBC, and decreased plasma ascorbic acid levels. AE prevented oxidative damage and increased antioxidant defenses of mice exposed to cigarette smoke. In addition, AE reduced the locomotor activity and anxiety symptoms induced by smoking withdrawal, and these behavioral parameters showed a positive correlation with RBC lipid peroxidation. Our results showed the beneficial effects of this by-product of the pecan industry, indicating its usefulness in smoking cessation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High performance optical encryption based on computational ghost imaging with QR code and compressive sensing technique

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Zhao, Shengmei; Wang, Le; Liang, Wenqiang; Cheng, Weiwen; Gong, Longyan

2015-10-01

In this paper, we propose a high performance optical encryption (OE) scheme based on computational ghost imaging (GI) with QR code and compressive sensing (CS) technique, named QR-CGI-OE scheme. N random phase screens, generated by Alice, is a secret key and be shared with its authorized user, Bob. The information is first encoded by Alice with QR code, and the QR-coded image is then encrypted with the aid of computational ghost imaging optical system. Here, measurement results from the GI optical system's bucket detector are the encrypted information and be transmitted to Bob. With the key, Bob decrypts the encrypted information to obtain the QR-coded image with GI and CS techniques, and further recovers the information by QR decoding. The experimental and numerical simulated results show that the authorized users can recover completely the original image, whereas the eavesdroppers can not acquire any information about the image even the eavesdropping ratio (ER) is up to 60% at the given measurement times. For the proposed scheme, the number of bits sent from Alice to Bob are reduced considerably and the robustness is enhanced significantly. Meantime, the measurement times in GI system is reduced and the quality of the reconstructed QR-coded image is improved.

Greenhouse Observations of the Stratosphere and Troposphere (GHOST): a novel shortwave infrared spectrometer developed for the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Humpage, Neil; Boesch, Hartmut; Palmer, Paul; Parr-Burman, Phil; Vick, Andy; Bezawada, Naidu; Black, Martin; Born, Andy; Pearson, David; Strachan, Jonathan; Wells, Martyn

2014-05-01

The tropospheric distribution of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is dependent on surface flux variations, atmospheric chemistry and transport processes over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Errors in assumed atmospheric transport can adversely affect surface flux estimates inferred from surface, aircraft or satellite observations of greenhouse gas concentrations using inverse models. We present a novel, compact shortwave infrared spectrometer (GHOST) for installation on the NASA Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle to provide tropospheric column observations of CO2, CO, CH4, H2O and HDO over the ocean to address the need for large-scale, simultaneous, finely resolved measurements of key GHGs. These species cover a range of lifetimes and source processes, and measurements of their tropospheric columns will reflect the vertically integrated signal of their vertical and horizontal transport within the troposphere. The primary science objectives of GHOST are to: 1) provide observations which can be used to test atmospheric transport models; 2) validate satellite observations of GHG column observations over oceans, thus filling a critical gap in current validation capabilities; and 3) complement in-situ tropopause transition layer tracer observations from other instrumentation on board the Global Hawk to provide a link between upper and lower troposphere concentration measurements. The GHOST spectrometer system comprises a target acquisition module (TAM), a fibre slicer and feed system, and a multiple order spectrograph. The TAM design utilises a gimbal behind an optical dome, which is programmed to direct solar radiation reflected by the ocean surface into a fibre optic bundle. The fibre slicer and feed system then splits the light into the four spectral bands using order sorting filters. The fibres corresponding to each band are arranged with a small sideways offset to correctly centre each spectrum on the detector array. The spectrograph design is unique in that a

Mrs. Shipley’s Ghost: The Right to Travel and Terrorist Watchlists (by Jeffrey Kahn, University of Michigan Press, 2013

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan Ginsburg

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Since 9/11, migration-related security measures, including a growing reliance on watch-lists, have limited the right to travel. Jeffrey Kahn’s book, Mrs. Shipley’s Ghost: The Right to Travel and Terrorist Watchlists, examines the legal and policy questions raised by prohibitions on travel by US citizens. 

Gravitational field of static p -branes in linearized ghost-free gravity

Science.gov (United States)

Boos, Jens; Frolov, Valeri P.; Zelnikov, Andrei

2018-04-01

We study the gravitational field of static p -branes in D -dimensional Minkowski space in the framework of linearized ghost-free (GF) gravity. The concrete models of GF gravity we consider are parametrized by the nonlocal form factors exp (-□/μ2) and exp (□2/μ4) , where μ-1 is the scale of nonlocality. We show that the singular behavior of the gravitational field of p -branes in general relativity is cured by short-range modifications introduced by the nonlocalities, and we derive exact expressions of the regularized gravitational fields, whose geometry can be written as a warped metric. For large distances compared to the scale of nonlocality, μ r →∞ , our solutions approach those found in linearized general relativity.

Unusual square roots in the ghost-free theory of massive gravity

Science.gov (United States)

Golovnev, Alexey; Smirnov, Fedor

2017-06-01

A crucial building block of the ghost free massive gravity is the square root function of a matrix. This is a problematic entity from the viewpoint of existence and uniqueness properties. We accurately describe the freedom of choosing a square root of a (non-degenerate) matrix. It has discrete and (in special cases) continuous parts. When continuous freedom is present, the usual perturbation theory in terms of matrices can be critically ill defined for some choices of the square root. We consider the new formulation of massive and bimetric gravity which deals directly with eigenvalues (in disguise of elementary symmetric polynomials) instead of matrices. It allows for a meaningful discussion of perturbation theory in such cases, even though certain non-analytic features arise.

Taxonomy, phylogenetics and biogeography of Chesneya (Fabaceae), evidenced from data of three sequences, ITS, trnS-trnG, and rbcL

Science.gov (United States)

Ming-Li Zhang; Zhi-Bin Wen; Xiao-Li Hao; Vyacheslav V. Byalt; Alexander P. Sukhorukov; Stewart C. Sanderson

2015-01-01

Plants of Central Asia have played a significant role in the origin of floras of Eurasia and the Northern Hemisphere. Chesneya, a small leguminous genus occurring in Central Asia, western Asia, and Tibet, is used to establish phylogenetic relationships and discuss the evolutionary and biogeographical history based on sequence data of ITS and trnS-trnG and rbcL.We...

Avanti lipid tools: connecting lipids, technology, and cell biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Sims, Kacee H; Tytler, Ewan M; Tipton, John; Hill, Kasey L; Burgess, Stephen W; Shaw, Walter A

2014-08-01

Lipid research is challenging owing to the complexity and diversity of the lipidome. Here we review a set of experimental tools developed for the seasoned lipid researcher, as well as, those who are new to the field of lipid research. Novel tools for probing protein-lipid interactions, applications for lipid binding antibodies, enhanced systems for the cellular delivery of lipids, improved visualization of lipid membranes using gold-labeled lipids, and advances in mass spectrometric analysis techniques will be discussed. Because lipid mediators are known to participate in a host of signal transduction and trafficking pathways within the cell, a comprehensive lipid toolbox that aids the science of lipidomics research is essential to better understand the molecular mechanisms of interactions between cellular components. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Tools to study lipid functions. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A two-locus global DNA barcode for land plants: the coding rbcL gene complements the non-coding trnH-psbA spacer region.

Science.gov (United States)

Kress, W John; Erickson, David L

2007-06-06

A useful DNA barcode requires sufficient sequence variation to distinguish between species and ease of application across a broad range of taxa. Discovery of a DNA barcode for land plants has been limited by intrinsically lower rates of sequence evolution in plant genomes than that observed in animals. This low rate has complicated the trade-off in finding a locus that is universal and readily sequenced and has sufficiently high sequence divergence at the species-level. Here, a global plant DNA barcode system is evaluated by comparing universal application and degree of sequence divergence for nine putative barcode loci, including coding and non-coding regions, singly and in pairs across a phylogenetically diverse set of 48 genera (two species per genus). No single locus could discriminate among species in a pair in more than 79% of genera, whereas discrimination increased to nearly 88% when the non-coding trnH-psbA spacer was paired with one of three coding loci, including rbcL. In silico trials were conducted in which DNA sequences from GenBank were used to further evaluate the discriminatory power of a subset of these loci. These trials supported the earlier observation that trnH-psbA coupled with rbcL can correctly identify and discriminate among related species. A combination of the non-coding trnH-psbA spacer region and a portion of the coding rbcL gene is recommended as a two-locus global land plant barcode that provides the necessary universality and species discrimination.

Diagnosis of hemodynamic compromise in patients with chronic cerebral ischemia; Measurement of cerebral blood volume (CBV) with sup 99m Tc-RBC SPECT

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Kuroda, Satoshi; Sakuragi, Mitsugi; Motomiya, Mineo; Nakagawa, Tango; Mitsumori, Kenji; Tsuru, Mitsuo (Hokkaido Neurosurgical Memorial Hospital (Japan)); Takigawa, Shugo; Kamiyama, Hiroyasu; Abe, Hiroshi

1990-03-01

To evaluate the efficacy of tests for selecting patients with hemodynamic compromise, measurement of cerebral blood volume (CBV) with {sup 99m}Tc-RBC single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was performed in thirteen patients with occlusive cerebrovascular disease, and was compared with results obtained by {sup 133}Xe SPECT and acetazolamide (Diamox) test. All patients in our study suffered TIA, RIND, or minor completed stroke. Cerebral angiography demonstrated severe stenosis or occlusion in the ipsilateral internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery, although plain CT scan or MRI revealed no or, if any, only localized infarcted lesions. Regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) was measured with {sup 99m}Tc-RBC SPECT and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured with {sup 133}Xe SPECT before and after intravenous injection of 10 - 12 mg/kg acetazolamide (Diamox). Our results suggest that the ipsilateral rCBV/rCBF (mean transit time) is a more sensitive index of the cerebral perfusion reserve than the use of only rCBV or rCBF of the ipsilateral hemisphere. Also, the ipsilateral rCBV/rCBF is significantly correlated (r= -0.72) with the Diamox reactivity of rCBF, which is considered to represent the cerebral vasodilatory capacity in patients with chronic cerebral ischemia. Postoperative SPECT study revealed remarkable improvement of ipsilateral rCBV/rCBF and Diamox reactivity in four patients who underwent EC/IC bypass surgery to improve the hemodynamic compromise. In conclusion, our results suggest that the measurement of rCBV/rCBF with {sup 133}Xe SPECT and {sup 99m}Tc-RBC SPECT is useful for detecting the hemodynamic compromise in patients with occlusive cerebrovascular disease. (author).

An accurate conservative level set/ghost fluid method for simulating turbulent atomization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desjardins, Olivier; Moureau, Vincent; Pitsch, Heinz

2008-01-01

This paper presents a novel methodology for simulating incompressible two-phase flows by combining an improved version of the conservative level set technique introduced in [E. Olsson, G. Kreiss, A conservative level set method for two phase flow, J. Comput. Phys. 210 (2005) 225-246] with a ghost fluid approach. By employing a hyperbolic tangent level set function that is transported and re-initialized using fully conservative numerical schemes, mass conservation issues that are known to affect level set methods are greatly reduced. In order to improve the accuracy of the conservative level set method, high order numerical schemes are used. The overall robustness of the numerical approach is increased by computing the interface normals from a signed distance function reconstructed from the hyperbolic tangent level set by a fast marching method. The convergence of the curvature calculation is ensured by using a least squares reconstruction. The ghost fluid technique provides a way of handling the interfacial forces and large density jumps associated with two-phase flows with good accuracy, while avoiding artificial spreading of the interface. Since the proposed approach relies on partial differential equations, its implementation is straightforward in all coordinate systems, and it benefits from high parallel efficiency. The robustness and efficiency of the approach is further improved by using implicit schemes for the interface transport and re-initialization equations, as well as for the momentum solver. The performance of the method is assessed through both classical level set transport tests and simple two-phase flow examples including topology changes. It is then applied to simulate turbulent atomization of a liquid Diesel jet at Re=3000. The conservation errors associated with the accurate conservative level set technique are shown to remain small even for this complex case

Spontaneous charged lipid transfer between lipid vesicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Richens, Joanna L; Tyler, Arwen I I; Barriga, Hanna M G; Bramble, Jonathan P; Law, Robert V; Brooks, Nicholas J; Seddon, John M; Ces, Oscar; O'Shea, Paul

2017-10-03

An assay to study the spontaneous charged lipid transfer between lipid vesicles is described. A donor/acceptor vesicle system is employed, where neutrally charged acceptor vesicles are fluorescently labelled with the electrostatic membrane probe Fluoresceinphosphatidylethanolamine (FPE). Upon addition of charged donor vesicles, transfer of negatively charged lipid occurs, resulting in a fluorescently detectable change in the membrane potential of the acceptor vesicles. Using this approach we have studied the transfer properties of a range of lipids, varying both the headgroup and the chain length. At the low vesicle concentrations chosen, the transfer follows a first-order process where lipid monomers are transferred presumably through the aqueous solution phase from donor to acceptor vesicle. The rate of transfer decreases with increasing chain length which is consistent with energy models previously reported for lipid monomer vesicle interactions. Our assay improves on existing methods allowing the study of a range of unmodified lipids, continuous monitoring of transfer and simplified experimental procedures.

Use of rbcL and trnL-F as a two-locus DNA barcode for identification of NW-European ferns: an ecological perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groot, de G.A.; During, H.J.; Maas, J.W.; Schneider, H.; Erkens, R.H.J.

2011-01-01

Although consensus has now been reached on a general two-locus DNA barcode for land plants, the selected combination of markers (rbcL + matK) is not applicable for ferns at the moment. Yet especially for ferns, DNA barcoding is potentially of great value since fern gametophytes—while playing an

Influence of iron deficiency in the radiopharmaceutical behavior of red blood cells labeled with 99mTc(99mTC-RBC)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calmanovici, G.; Salgueiro, M.J.; Pernas, L.; Collia, N.; Leonardi, N.; Zubillaga, M.

2005-01-01

Full text: Red blood cells (RBCs) labeled with 99m Tc are commonly used in the evaluation of cardiac function, gastrointestinal tract bleeding, red blood cell volume or splenic sequestration. Generally stannous ion is used as reducing agent. A proposed mechanism is that once the stannous ion (Sn) and the pertechnetate ( 99m Tc) reach the interior of the RBC, the radionuclide is mainly house in the β-chain of hemoglobin. The aim of this study was to determine if hemoglobin content reduction, an indicator of iron deficiency anemia, could affect the efficiency of RBC labeling and the biological distribution of this radiopharmaceutical. We studied 30 rats fed for 3 weeks after weaning with diets with iron contents of 6.5 ppm (group A), 18 ppm (group B) and 100 ppm (control). For all groups, the labeling yields were always higher than 97%; the percentage of radioactivity was mostly founded in blood with almost negligible radioactivity the rest of the studied organs. We can conclude that the decrease in hemoglobin content, an indicator of iron deficiency anemia, does not interfere neither in the labeling nor in the biodistribution of red blood cells labeled with 99m Tc. (author)

Optical identity authentication technique based on compressive ghost imaging with QR code

Science.gov (United States)

Wenjie, Zhan; Leihong, Zhang; Xi, Zeng; Yi, Kang

2018-04-01

With the rapid development of computer technology, information security has attracted more and more attention. It is not only related to the information and property security of individuals and enterprises, but also to the security and social stability of a country. Identity authentication is the first line of defense in information security. In authentication systems, response time and security are the most important factors. An optical authentication technology based on compressive ghost imaging with QR codes is proposed in this paper. The scheme can be authenticated with a small number of samples. Therefore, the response time of the algorithm is short. At the same time, the algorithm can resist certain noise attacks, so it offers good security.

Bovine serum albumin bioconjugated graphene oxide: Red blood cell adhesion and hemolysis studied by QCM-D

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Bing; Hu, Kebang; Li, Chunming; Jin, Jing; Hu, Yuexin

2015-11-01

Graphene oxide (GO) had great potential in various applications especial biomedical materials. In this study, we improved the hemocompatibility especial hemolysis properties of GO nanosheets by grafting bovine serum albumin (BSA). The hemocompatibility of GO-g-BSA was improved. The hemolysis ratio of GO-g-BSA was lower than 0.2% and no visible hemoglobin release was observed. In a flowed condition, the interaction between GO and RBC was monitored real time by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and the hemolysis rates of eluted RBC solution was determined. The balance between the adsorption and degradation of RBC on the surface of GO was a linear process. The GO-g-BSA surface decreased the adhesion of RBC in a flowed condition, maintained the morphology of RBC and reduced the hemolysis rate in the most effective manner. The inert of BSA resisted GO interacting with the lipid bilayers of RBC and the negative charge on the surface of BSA repelled the approach of negative charged RBC. The excellent hemocompatibility of the BSA modified GO might confer its great potentials for various biomedical applications.

Investigating effects of nano-particles infiltration on mechanical properties of cell membrane using atomic force microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, XiaoYue; Zhang, Yong; Zheng, Yue; Wang, Biao

2012-06-01

In this paper, we introduce our finding of the effects of C60 nanoparticles (NP) infiltration on mechanical properties of cell and its membrane. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used to perform indentation on both normal and C60 infiltrated red blood cells (RBC) to gain data of mechanical characteristics of the membrane. Our results show that the mechanical properties of human RBC membrane seem to be altered due to the presence of C60 NPs. The resistance and ultimate strength of the C60 infiltrated RBC membrane significantly decrease. We also explain the mechanism of how C60 NPs infiltration changes the mechanical properties of the cell membrane by predicting the structural change of the lipid bilayer caused by the C60 infiltration at molecular level and analyze the interactions among molecules in the lipid bilayer. The potential hazards and application of the change in mechanical characteristics of the RBCs membrane are also discussed. Nanotoxicity of C60 NPs may be significant for some biological cells.

The anomalous dimension of the gluon-ghost mass operator in Yang-Mills theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dudal, D.; Verschelde, H.; Lemes, V.E.R.; Sarandy, M.S.; Sobreiro, R.; Sorella, S.P.; Picariello, M.; Gracey, J.A.

2003-01-01

The local composite gluon-ghost operator (((1)/(2))A aμ A μ a +αc-bar a c a ) is analysed in the framework of the algebraic renormalization in SU(N) Yang-Mills theories in the Landau, Curci-Ferrari and maximal abelian gauges. We show, to all orders of perturbation theory, that this operator is multiplicatively renormalizable. Furthermore, its anomalous dimension is not an independent parameter of the theory, being given by a general expression valid in all these gauges. We also verify the relations we obtain for the operator anomalous dimensions by explicit 3-loop calculations in the MS-bar scheme for the Curci-Ferrari gauge

An A/r/tographic Inquiry of a Silenced First Nation Ancestry, Hauntology, G(hosts) and Art(works): An Exhibition Catalogue

Science.gov (United States)

Cloutier, Geneviève

2016-01-01

As a hauntological artist, I deconstruct my silenced First Nation Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) ancestry and look towards the intergenerational narratives of my grandmother, mother, and I. Employing the methodology of a/r/tography, the intersection of autobiography and art-making, I utilize diverse art forms to find that g(hosts) reside amongst spaces…

Dermot Bolger’s Ghosting the War

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Aleksandra Kędzierska

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Dermot Bolger’s Walking the Road (2007 is a tribute to Francis Ledwidge (1887–1917, one of the greatest Irish poets of the First World War. Focusing on the life and afterlife of Ledwidge who, as depicted in Bolger’s play, emblematizes the condition of other Great War combatants doomed to oblivion, this essay, concerned with the various functions of the deployment of ghosts in Bolger’s drama, argues that spectrality can become an effective means of revealing the plight of the war dead: the unremembered, whose names were effectively erased from public memory and who, thus turned into homeless revenants, were forced into a continual involvement in the war from which they cannot escape, even after death. As a spectral witness who moves between pre-war Ireland and the world of the trenches, Bolger’s hero makes one aware how similar these realities are. Furthermore, as a classic case of shell shock, he demonstrates the role of haunting in the narrative of trauma, identity and memory. Last but not least, whilst enhancing the gothic dimension of the war, Frank’s perceptions, as well as his spectral discourse, not only contribute significantly to illuminating the enigma which he personified, but, by providing an insight into his search for himself, they convey the plight of truth seekers who grasp, yet never fully encompass the Irish experience of the war.

Two-Photon Ghost Image and Interference-Diffraction

Science.gov (United States)

Shih, Y. H.; Sergienko, A. V.; Pittman, T. B.; Strekalov, D. V.; Klyshko, D. N.

1996-01-01

One of the most surprising consequences of quantum mechanics is entanglement of two or more distance particles. The two-particle entangled state was mathematically formulated by Schrodinger. Based on this unusual quantum behavior, EPR defined their 'physical reality' and then asked the question: 'Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?' One may not appreciate EPR's criterion of physical reality and insist that 'no elementary quantum phenomenon is a phenomenon until it is a recorded phenomenon'. Optical spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) is the most effective mechanism to generate an EPR type entangled two-photon state. In SPDC, an optical beam, called the pump, is incident on a birefringent crystal. The pump is intense enough so that nonlinear effects lead to the conversion of pump photons into pairs of photons, historically called signal and idler. Technically, the SPDC is said to be type-1 or type-2, depending on whether the signal and idler beams have parallel or orthogonal polarization. The SPDC conversion efficiency is typically on the order of 10(exp -9) to 10(exp -11), depending on the SPDC nonlinear material. The signal and idler intensities are extremely low, only single photon detection devices can register them. The quantum entanglement nature of SPDC has been demonstrated in EPR-Bohm experiments and Bell's inequality measurements. The following two experiments were recently performed in our laboratory, which are more closely related to the original 1935 EPR gedankenezperiment. The first experiment is a two-photon optical imaging type experiment, which has been named 'ghost image' by the physics community. The signal and idler beams of SPDC are sent in different directions, so that the detection of the signal and idler photons can be performed by two distant photon counting detectors. An aperture object (mask) is placed in front of the signal photon detector and illuminated by the signal beam through a

Gravity's ghost and big dog scientific discovery and social analysis in the twenty-first century

CERN Document Server

Collins, Harry

2013-01-01

Gravity's Ghost and Big Dog brings to life science's efforts to detect cosmic gravitational waves. These ripples in space-time are predicted by general relativity, and their discovery will not only demonstrate the truth of Einstein's theories but also transform astronomy. Although no gravitational wave has ever been directly detected, the previous five years have been an especially exciting period in the field. Here sociologist Harry Collins offers readers an unprecedented view of gravitational wave research and explains what it means for an analyst to do work of this kind.

A benign property of the ghost mode in massive theory of gravitation

Science.gov (United States)

Chugreev, Yu. V.

2018-01-01

It was shown in the frameworks of massive gravitational theories having in linear approximation mass term {m^2}( {φ ^{α β }}{φ_{α β }} - 1/2{φ ^2}} ) in the lagrangian, that created some time ago spherically-symmetric static sources should possess inside their light cone not only Yukawa potential, but also nonstationary component. It leads to the long ( 1/ m) period of gravitational evaporation of such sources with the mass loss Ṁ m 2 M 2 The magnitude of the flux is c 4/ v 4 times ( c—speed of light, v—velocity of the source particles) bigger then negative gravitational radiation flux corresponding to the ghost scalar mode in the spectrum of such gravitational field, with stabilizing the source.

The weathered Carboniferous Limestone at Bullslaughter Bay, South Wales: the first example of ghost-rock recorded in the British Isles

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Rowberry, Matthew David; Battiau-Queney, Y.; Walsh, P.; Blažejowski, B.; Bout-Roumazeilles, V.; Trentesaux, A.; Křížová, L.; Griffiths, H.

2014-01-01

Roč. 17, č. 1 (2014), s. 33-42 ISSN 1374-8505 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30460519 Keywords : deep weathering * saprolite * ghost -rock * Gash Breccia Subject RIV: DE - Earth Magnetism, Geodesy, Geography Impact factor: 0.782, year: 2014 http://popups.ulg.ac.be/1374-8505/index.php?id=4353&file=1&pid=4150

Lipids, lipid bilayers and vesicles as seen by neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seto, Hideki

2011-01-01

Lipid molecules self-assemble into bilayers in water with their hydrocarbon chains facing inward due to their amphiphilic nature. The structural and dynamical properties of lipids and lipid bilayers have been studied by neutron scattering intensively. In this article, 3 topics are shown as typical examples. 1) a time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering on uni-lamellar vesicles composed of deuterated and protonated lipids to determine lipid kinetics, 2) small-angle neutron scattering to investigate spontaneous formation of nanopores on uni-lamellar vesicles, and 3) neutron spin echo study to determine bending modulus of lipid bilayers. (author)

The Ghost-Image on Metropolitan Borders—In Terms of Phantom of the Opera and 19th-Century Metropolis Paris

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Changnam Lee

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera in the context of the social and cultural changes of the metropolis Paris at the end of the 19th century. The Phantom of the Opera, a success in the literary world and widely proliferated in its musical and film renditions afterward, is considered and interpreted mainly in the literary and artistic tradition. In this paper, however, this work will be considered from an urban sociological perspective, especially from that of Walter Benjamin, who developed the theory of the urban culture, focusing on the dreaming collectives at the end of the 19th century. Leroux’s novel can be regarded as an exemplary social form of the collective dreams of the period expressed in arts, architectures, popular stories and films and other popular arts. Given the premise that the dream images in the novel, so-called kitsch, reflect the fears and desires of the bourgeois middle class that were pathologized in the figure of the ghost, this paper reveals the cultural, social and transnational implications of the Ghost-Image in relation to the rapidly changing borders of the 19th century metropolis.

Ghost-gluon vertex in the presence of the Gribov horizon

Science.gov (United States)

Mintz, B. W.; Palhares, L. F.; Sorella, S. P.; Pereira, A. D.

2018-02-01

We consider Yang-Mills theories quantized in the Landau gauge in the presence of the Gribov horizon via the refined Gribov-Zwanziger (RGZ) framework. As the restriction of the gauge path integral to the Gribov region is taken into account, the resulting gauge field propagators display a nontrivial infrared behavior, being very close to the ones observed in lattice gauge field theory simulations. In this work, we explore a higher correlation function in the refined Gribov-Zwanziger theory: the ghost-gluon interaction vertex, at one-loop level. We show explicit compatibility with kinematical constraints, as required by the Ward identities of the theory, and obtain analytical expressions in the limit of vanishing gluon momentum. We find that the RGZ results are nontrivial in the infrared regime, being compatible with lattice Yang-Mills simulations in both SU(2) and SU(3), as well as with solutions from Schwinger-Dyson equations in different truncation schemes, Functional Renormalization Group analysis, and the renormalization group-improved Curci-Ferrari model.

Lipid Cell Biology: A Focus on Lipids in Cell Division.

Science.gov (United States)

Storck, Elisabeth M; Özbalci, Cagakan; Eggert, Ulrike S

2018-06-20

Cells depend on hugely diverse lipidomes for many functions. The actions and structural integrity of the plasma membrane and most organelles also critically depend on membranes and their lipid components. Despite the biological importance of lipids, our understanding of lipid engagement, especially the roles of lipid hydrophobic alkyl side chains, in key cellular processes is still developing. Emerging research has begun to dissect the importance of lipids in intricate events such as cell division. This review discusses how these structurally diverse biomolecules are spatially and temporally regulated during cell division, with a focus on cytokinesis. We analyze how lipids facilitate changes in cellular morphology during division and how they participate in key signaling events. We identify which cytokinesis proteins are associated with membranes, suggesting lipid interactions. More broadly, we highlight key unaddressed questions in lipid cell biology and techniques, including mass spectrometry, advanced imaging, and chemical biology, which will help us gain insights into the functional roles of lipids.

Scalable Failure Masking for Stencil Computations using Ghost Region Expansion and Cell to Rank Remapping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gamell, Marc; Kolla, Hemanth; Mayo, Jackson; Heroux, Michael A.

2017-01-01

In order to achieve exascale systems, application resilience needs to be addressed. Some programming models, such as task-DAG (directed acyclic graphs) architectures, currently embed resilience features whereas traditional SPMD (single program, multiple data) and message-passing models do not. Since a large part of the community's code base follows the latter models, it is still required to take advantage of application characteristics to minimize the overheads of fault tolerance. To that end, this paper explores how recovering from hard process/node failures in a local manner is a natural approach for certain applications to obtain resilience at lower costs in faulty environments. In particular, this paper targets enabling online, semitransparent local recovery for stencil computations on current leadership-class systems as well as presents programming support and scalable runtime mechanisms. Also described and demonstrated in this paper is the effect of failure masking, which allows the effective reduction of impact on total time to solution due to multiple failures. Furthermore, we discuss, implement, and evaluate ghost region expansion and cell-to-rank remapping to increase the probability of failure masking. To conclude, this paper shows the integration of all aforementioned mechanisms with the S3D combustion simulation through an experimental demonstration (using the Titan system) of the ability to tolerate high failure rates (i.e., node failures every five seconds) with low overhead while sustaining performance at large scales. In addition, this demonstration also displays the failure masking probability increase resulting from the combination of both ghost region expansion and cell-to-rank remapping.

Ghosting effect in Siemens electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) for step and shoot IMRT dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deshpande, S.; Vial, P.; Goozee, G.; Holloway, L.

2010-01-01

Full text: To assess the ghosting effect of a Siemens EPID (Optivue 1000: while acquiring IMRT fluence with step and shoot delivery. Six sets of segmented fields with 1,2,3,5, J( and 20 monitor units (MU) per segment were designed. Each set consisted of ten segments of equal MU and field size (J 0 x 10 cm 2 ) Standard single fields (non-segmented) of the same total MU as the segmented fields were also created (10-200 MU). EPID images for these fields were acquired with multi-frame acquisition mode. The integrated EPID response was determined as the mean central 20 x 21 pixel readout multiplied by the number of frames. The same fields wen measured with an ionization chamber at a depth of dose maximum in, solid water phantom. The total signal measured from the segmented fields was compared to the corresponding non-segmented fields. The ratio of EPID response between segmented and non-segmented delivery indicates an under-response for segmented fields by 5, 4, 2.5 and 2% for 1,2,3, and 5 MU per segment exposures respectively compared to ionisation chamber response (se Fig. I). The ratio was within 2% for 5 MU per segment and above. Th error bar in Fig. I indicate the intra-segment response variation. The Siemens EPID exhibited significant ghosting effect and variation in response for small M U segments. EPID dosimetry ( IMRT fields with less than 5 MU per segment requires corrections t maintain dose calibration accuracy to within 2%. (author)

Dentinoameloblastoma with ghost cells: A rare case report with emphasis on its biological behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiran Kumar

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Ameloblastomas are regarded as a homogeneous group of neoplasms with locally invasive character. They generally do not show induction of dental hard tissue formation except in few cases. Biological behavior and histogenesis of these tumors is still unexplored as there is lack of relevant studies and long follow-up of these patients. So, we aimed to report this rare case of dentinoameloblastoma with unique presence of ghost cells in middle-aged female involving maxilla with emphasis on its biological behavior. We conclude that although histogenesis of this tumor is not clear but biological potential is similar to conventional ameloblastoma requiring wider excision.

Review of A* (A Star Navigation Mesh Pathfinding as the Alternative of Artificial Intelligent for Ghosts Agent on the Pacman Game

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moh. Zikky

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Shortest pathfinding problem has become a populer issue in Game’s Artificial Intelligent (AI. This paper discussed the effective way to optimize the shortest pathfinding problem, namely Navigation Mesh (NavMesh. This method is very interesting because it has a large area of implementation, especially in games world. In this paper, NavMesh was implemented by using A* (A star algorithm and examined in Unity 3D game engine. A* was an effective algorithm in shortest pathfinding problem because its optimization was made with effective tracing using segmentation line. Pac-Man game was chosen as the example of the shortest pathfinding by using NavMesh in Unity 3D. A* algorithm was implemented on the enemies of Pac-Man (three ghosts,  which path was designed by using NavMesh concept. Thus, the movement of ghosts in catching Pac-Man was the result of this review of the effectiveness of this concept. In further research, this method could be implemented on several optimization programmes, such as Geographic Information System (GIS, robotics, and statistics.

Determination of electric field threshold for electrofusion of erythrocyte ghosts. Comparison of pulse-first and contact-first protocols.

OpenAIRE

Wu, Y; Montes, J G; Sjodin, R A

1992-01-01

Rabbit erythrocyte ghosts were fused by means of electric pulses to determine the electrofusion thresholds for these membranes. Two protocols were used to investigate fusion events: contact-first, and pulse-first. Electrical capacitance discharge (CD) pulses were used to induce fusion. Plots of fusion yield vs peak field strength yielded curves that intersected the field strength axis at positive values (pseudothresholds) which depended on the protocol and decay half time of the pulses. It wa...

Incorporating Quantitative Reasoning in Common Core Courses: Mathematics for The Ghost Map

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John R. Jungck

2012-01-01

Full Text Available How can mathematics be integrated into multi-section interdisciplinary courses to enhance thematic understandings and shared common readings? As an example, four forms of quantitative reasoning are used to understand and critique one such common reading: Steven Berlin Johnson’s "The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How it Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World" (Riverhead Books, 2006. Geometry, statistics, modeling, and networks are featured in this essay as the means of depicting, understanding, elaborating, and critiquing the public health issues raised in Johnson’s book. Specific pedagogical examples and resources are included to illustrate applications and opportunities for generalization beyond this specific example. Quantitative reasoning provides a robust, yet often neglected, lens for doing literary and historical analyses in interdisciplinary education.

Tempo e percezione in The Body Artist di Don DeLillo e Ghost Trio di Samuel Beckett

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Davide Barbuscia

2013-03-01

Full Text Available This essay provides a critical analysis of Don DeLillo’s novel The Body Artist and Samuel Beckett’s work for television Ghost Trio. In particular it analyses the representation of time and its perception in both these works, highlighting some shared aesthetic modalities such as their attempt to depict duration through a poetics of slow motion. The essay also foregrounds how both these works give narrative form to Merleau-Ponty’s understanding of ‘time as its perception’.

Thermal and ghost reflection modeling for a 180-deg. field-of-view long-wave infrared lens

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Weimin; Couture, Michael E.

2001-03-01

Optics 1, Inc. has successfully designed and developed a 180 degree(s) field of view long wave infrared lens for USAF/AFRL under SBIR phase I and II funded projects in support of the multi-national Programmable Integrated Ordinance Suite (PIOS) program. In this paper, a procedure is presented on how to evaluate image degradation caused by asymmetric aerodynamic dome heating. In addition, a thermal gradient model is proposed to evaluate degradation caused by axial temperature gradient throughout the entire PIOS lens. Finally, a ghost reflection analysis is demonstrated with non-sequential model.

Lipid Structure in Triolein Lipid Droplets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chaban, Vitaly V; Khandelia, Himanshu

2014-01-01

of a mass of hydrophobic lipid esters coved by phospholipid monolayer. The small size and unique architecture of LDs makes it complicated to study LD structure by modern experimental methods. We discuss coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of LD formation in systems containing 1-palmitoyl-2...... to coarse-grained simulations, the presence of PE lipids at the interface has a little impact on distribution of components and on the overall LD structure. (4) The thickness of the lipid monolayer at the surface of the droplet is similar to the thickness of one leaflet of a bilayer. Computer simulations......Lipid droplets (LDs) are primary repositories of esterified fatty acids and sterols in animal cells. These organelles originate on the lumenal or cytoplasmic side of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane and are released to the cytosol. In contrast to other intracellular organelles, LDs are composed...

More on ghost condensation in Yang-Mills theory: BCS versus Overhauser effect and the breakdown of the Nakanishi-Ojima annex SL(2,R) symmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dudal, David; Verschelde, Henri; Lemes, Vitor E.R.; Sarandy, Marcelo S.; Sorella, Silvio P.; Picariello, Marco; Vicini, Alessandro; Gracey, John A.

2003-01-01

We analyze the ghost condensates abc c b c c >, abc c-bar b c-bar c > and abc c-barbc c > in Yang-Mills theory in the Curci-Ferrari gauge. By combining the local composite operator formalism with the algebraic renormalization technique, we are able to give a simultaneous discussion of abc c b c c >, abc c-bar b c-bar c > and abc c-bar b c c >, which can be seen as playing the role of the BCS, respectively Overhauser effect in ordinary superconductivity. The Curci-Ferrari gauge exhibits a global continuous symmetry generated by the Nakanishi-Ojima (NO) algebra. This algebra includes, next to the {(anti-)BRST} transformation, a SL(2,R) subalgebra. We discuss the dynamical symmetry breaking of the NO algebra through these ghost condensates. Particular attention is paid to the Landau gauge, a special case of the Curci-Ferrari gauge. (author)

rbcL gene sequences provide evidence for the evolutionary lineages of leptosporangiate ferns.

Science.gov (United States)

Hasebe, M; Omori, T; Nakazawa, M; Sano, T; Kato, M; Iwatsuki, K

1994-06-07

Pteriodophytes have a longer evolutionary history than any other vascular land plant and, therefore, have endured greater loss of phylogenetically informative information. This factor has resulted in substantial disagreements in evaluating characters and, thus, controversy in establishing a stable classification. To compare competing classifications, we obtained DNA sequences of a chloroplast gene. The sequence of 1206 nt of the large subunit of the ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase gene (rbcL) was determined from 58 species, representing almost all families of leptosporangiate ferns. Phlogenetic trees were inferred by the neighbor-joining and the parsimony methods. The two methods produced almost identical phylogenetic trees that provided insights concerning major general evolutionary trends in the leptosporangiate ferns. Interesting findings were as follows: (i) two morphologically distinct heterosporous water ferns, Marsilea and Salvinia, are sister genera; (ii) the tree ferns (Cyatheaceae, Dicksoniaceae, and Metaxyaceae) are monophyletic; and (iii) polypodioids are distantly related to the gleichenioids in spite of the similarity of their exindusiate soral morphology and are close to the higher indusiate ferns. In addition, the affinities of several "problematic genera" were assessed.

Illusion and Disillusionment in the Name of the “Ghost”:A Study of Xu Xu’s “Ghost Love”

OpenAIRE

Qin, Chen

2017-01-01

As one of the most popular writers of the Republican period, Xu Xu (1908-1980) is famous for fiction characterized by a cosmopolitan atmosphere, exoticism, and fantastic encounters. Ghost Love, his first well-known work, presents the traditional narrative of “a man encountering a female ghost” and offers serious contemplation about the nature of reality from the perspective of psychology, philosophy, and politics. In examining the intertextualit...

Analysis of lipid profile in lipid storage myopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguennouz, M'hammed; Beccaria, Marco; Purcaro, Giorgia; Oteri, Marianna; Micalizzi, Giuseppe; Musumesci, Olimpia; Ciranni, Annmaria; Di Giorgio, Rosa Maria; Toscano, Antonio; Dugo, Paola; Mondello, Luigi

2016-09-01

Lipid dysmetabolism disease is a condition in which lipids are stored abnormally in organs and tissues throughout the body, causing muscle weakness (myopathy). Usually, the diagnosis of this disease and its characterization goes through dosage of Acyl CoA in plasma accompanied with evidence of droplets of intra-fibrils lipids in the patient muscle biopsy. However, to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of lipid storage diseases, it is useful to identify the nature of lipids deposited in muscle fiber. In this work fatty acids and triglycerides profile of lipid accumulated in the muscle of people suffering from myopathies syndromes was characterized. In particular, the analyses were carried out on the muscle biopsy of people afflicted by lipid storage myopathy, such as multiple acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency, and neutral lipid storage disease with myopathy, and by the intramitochondrial lipid storage dysfunctions, such as deficiencies of carnitine palmitoyltransferase II enzyme. A single step extraction and derivatization procedure was applied to analyze fatty acids from muscle tissues by gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector and with an electronic impact mass spectrometer. Triglycerides, extracted by using n-hexane, were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometer equipped with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization interface. The most representative fatty acids in all samples were: C16:0 in the 13-24% range, C18:1n9 in the 20-52% range, and C18:2n6 in the 10-25% range. These fatty acids were part of the most representative triglycerides in all samples. The data obtained was statistically elaborated performing a principal component analysis. A satisfactory discrimination was obtained among the different diseases. Using component 1 vs component 3 a 43.3% of total variance was explained. Such results suggest the important role that lipid profile characterization can have in supporting a correct

Implications of resin-based composite (RBC) restoration on cuspal deflection and microleakage score in molar teeth: Placement protocol and restorative material.

Science.gov (United States)

McHugh, Lauren E J; Politi, Ioanna; Al-Fodeh, Rami S; Fleming, Garry J P

2017-09-01

To assess the cuspal deflection of standardised large mesio-occluso-distal (MOD) cavities in third molar teeth restored using conventional resin-based composite (RBC) or their bulk fill restorative counterparts compared with the unbound condition using a twin channel deflection measuring gauge. Following thermocycling, the cervical microleakage of the restored teeth was assessed to determine marginal integrity. Standardised MOD cavities were prepared in forty-eight sound third molar teeth and randomly allocated to six groups. Restorations were placed in conjunction with (and without) a universal bonding system and resin restorative materials were irradiated with a light-emitting-diode light-curing-unit. The dependent variable was the restoration protocol, eight oblique increments for conventional RBCs or two horizontal increments for the bulk fill resin restoratives. The cumulative buccal and palatal cuspal deflections from a twin channel deflection measuring gauge were summed, the restored teeth thermally fatigued, immersed in 0.2% basic fuchsin dye for 24h, sectioned and examined for cervical microleakage score. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) identified third molar teeth restored using conventional RBC materials had significantly higher mean total cuspal deflection values compared with bulk fill resin restorative restoration (all pmaterial selection is vital in the absence of clinical data. Copyright © 2017 The Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Accumulated lipids rather than the rigid cell walls impede the extraction of genetic materials for effective colony PCRs in Chlorella vulgaris

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Failure of colony PCRs in green microalga Chlorella vulgaris is typically attributed to the difficulty in disrupting its notoriously rigid cell walls for releasing the genetic materials and therefore the development of an effective colony PCR procedure in C. vulgaris presents a challenge. Results Here we identified that colony PCR results were significantly affected by the accumulated lipids rather than the rigid cell walls of C. vulgaris. The higher lipids accumulated in C. vulgaris negatively affects the effective amplification by DNA polymerase. Based on these findings, we established a simple and extremely effective colony PCR procedure in C. vulgaris. By simply pipetting/votexing the pellets of C. vulgaris in 10 ul of either TE (10 mM Tris/1 mM EDTA) or 0.2% SDS buffer at room temperature, followed by the addition of 10 ul of either hexane or Phenol:Chloroform:Isoamyl Alcohol in the same PCR tube for extraction. The resulting aqueous phase was readily PCR-amplified as genomic DNA templates as demonstrated by successful amplification of the nuclear 18S rRNA and the chloroplast rbcL gene. This colony PCR protocol is effective and robust in C. vulgaris and also demonstrates its effectiveness in other Chlorella species. Conclusions The accumulated lipids rather than the rigid cell walls of C. vulgaris significantly impede the extraction of genetic materials and subsequently the effective colony PCRs. The finding has the potential to aid the isolation of high-quality total RNAs and mRNAs for transcriptomic studies in addition to the genomic DNA isolation in Chlorella. PMID:24219401

Analysis of RBC-microparticles in stored whole blood bags - a promising marker to detect blood doping in sports?

Science.gov (United States)

Voss, Sven Christian; Jaganjac, Morana; Al-Thani, Amna Mohamed; Grivel, Jean-Charles; Raynaud, Christophe Michel; Al-Jaber, Hind; Al-Menhali, Afnan Saleh; Merenkov, Zeyed Ahmad; Alsayrafi, Mohammed; Latiff, Aishah; Georgakopoulos, Costas

2017-11-01

Blood doping in sports is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). To find a possible biomarker for the detection of blood doping, we investigated the changes in blood stored in CPDA-1 blood bags of eight healthy subjects who donated one unit of blood. Aliquots were taken on days 0, 14, and 35. Platelet-free plasma was prepared and stored at -80°C until analysis on a flow cytometer dedicated for the analysis of microparticles (MPs). Changes in the number of red blood cell (RBC) -MPs were highly significant (p doping control but confirmation by a transfusion study is necessary. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Chemical and structural investigation of lipid nanoparticles: drug-lipid interaction and molecular distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Anantachaisilp, Suranan; Meejoo Smith, Siwaporn; Treetong, Alongkot; Pratontep, Sirapat; Puttipipatkhachorn, Satit; Rungsardthong Ruktanonchai, Uracha

2010-03-01

Lipid nanoparticles are a promising alternative to existing carriers in chemical or drug delivery systems. A key challenge is to determine how chemicals are incorporated and distributed inside nanoparticles, which assists in controlling chemical retention and release characteristics. This study reports the chemical and structural investigation of γ-oryzanol loading inside a model lipid nanoparticle drug delivery system composed of cetyl palmitate as solid lipid and Miglyol 812® as liquid lipid. The lipid nanoparticles were prepared by high pressure homogenization at varying liquid lipid content, in comparison with the γ-oryzanol free systems. The size of the lipid nanoparticles, as measured by the photon correlation spectroscopy, was found to decrease with increased liquid lipid content from 200 to 160 nm. High-resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) measurements of the medium chain triglyceride of the liquid lipid has confirmed successful incorporation of the liquid lipid in the lipid nanoparticles. Differential scanning calorimetric and powder x-ray diffraction measurements provide complementary results to the 1H-NMR, whereby the crystallinity of the lipid nanoparticles diminishes with an increase in the liquid lipid content. For the distribution of γ-oryzanol inside the lipid nanoparticles, the 1H-NMR revealed that the chemical shifts of the liquid lipid in γ-oryzanol loaded systems were found at rather higher field than those in γ-oryzanol free systems, suggesting incorporation of γ-oryzanol in the liquid lipid. In addition, the phase-separated structure was observed by atomic force microscopy for lipid nanoparticles with 0% liquid lipid, but not for lipid nanoparticles with 5 and 10% liquid lipid. Raman spectroscopic and mapping measurements further revealed preferential incorporation of γ-oryzanol in the liquid part rather than the solid part of in the lipid nanoparticles. Simple models representing the distribution of γ-oryzanol and

Chemical and structural investigation of lipid nanoparticles: drug-lipid interaction and molecular distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anantachaisilp, Suranan; Smith, Siwaporn Meejoo; Treetong, Alongkot; Ruktanonchai, Uracha Rungsardthong; Pratontep, Sirapat; Puttipipatkhachorn, Satit

2010-01-01

Lipid nanoparticles are a promising alternative to existing carriers in chemical or drug delivery systems. A key challenge is to determine how chemicals are incorporated and distributed inside nanoparticles, which assists in controlling chemical retention and release characteristics. This study reports the chemical and structural investigation of γ-oryzanol loading inside a model lipid nanoparticle drug delivery system composed of cetyl palmitate as solid lipid and Miglyol 812 as liquid lipid. The lipid nanoparticles were prepared by high pressure homogenization at varying liquid lipid content, in comparison with the γ-oryzanol free systems. The size of the lipid nanoparticles, as measured by the photon correlation spectroscopy, was found to decrease with increased liquid lipid content from 200 to 160 nm. High-resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H-NMR) measurements of the medium chain triglyceride of the liquid lipid has confirmed successful incorporation of the liquid lipid in the lipid nanoparticles. Differential scanning calorimetric and powder x-ray diffraction measurements provide complementary results to the 1 H-NMR, whereby the crystallinity of the lipid nanoparticles diminishes with an increase in the liquid lipid content. For the distribution of γ-oryzanol inside the lipid nanoparticles, the 1 H-NMR revealed that the chemical shifts of the liquid lipid in γ-oryzanol loaded systems were found at rather higher field than those in γ-oryzanol free systems, suggesting incorporation of γ-oryzanol in the liquid lipid. In addition, the phase-separated structure was observed by atomic force microscopy for lipid nanoparticles with 0% liquid lipid, but not for lipid nanoparticles with 5 and 10% liquid lipid. Raman spectroscopic and mapping measurements further revealed preferential incorporation of γ-oryzanol in the liquid part rather than the solid part of in the lipid nanoparticles. Simple models representing the distribution of γ-oryzanol and

Lipid alterations in lipid rafts from Alzheimer's disease human brain cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Martín, Virginia; Fabelo, Noemí; Santpere, Gabriel; Puig, Berta; Marín, Raquel; Ferrer, Isidre; Díaz, Mario

2010-01-01

Lipid rafts are membrane microdomains intimately associated with cell signaling. These biochemical microstructures are characterized by their high contents of sphingolipids, cholesterol and saturated fatty acids and a reduced content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Here, we have purified lipid rafts of human frontal brain cortex from normal and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and characterized their biochemical lipid composition. The results revealed that lipid rafts from AD brains exhibit aberrant lipid profiles compared to healthy brains. In particular, lipid rafts from AD brains displayed abnormally low levels of n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA, mainly 22:6n-3, docosahexaenoic acid) and monoenes (mainly 18:1n-9, oleic acid), as well as reduced unsaturation and peroxidability indexes. Also, multiple relationships between phospholipids and fatty acids were altered in AD lipid rafts. Importantly, no changes were observed in the mole percentage of lipid classes and fatty acids in rafts from normal brains throughout the lifespan (24-85 years). These indications point to the existence of homeostatic mechanisms preserving lipid raft status in normal frontal cortex. The disruption of such mechanisms in AD brains leads to a considerable increase in lipid raft order and viscosity, which may explain the alterations in lipid raft signaling observed in AD.

Giant wormholes in ghost-free bigravity theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sushkov, Sergey V.; Volkov, Mikhail S., E-mail: sergey_sushkov@mail.ru, E-mail: volkov@lmpt.univ-tours.fr [Department of General Relativity and Gravitation, Institute of Physics, Kazan Federal University, Kremlevskaya street 18, 420008 Kazan (Russian Federation)

2015-06-01

We study Lorentzian wormholes in the ghost-free bigravity theory described by two metrics, g and f. Wormholes can exist if only the null energy condition is violated, which happens naturally in the bigravity theory since the graviton energy-momentum tensors do not apriori fulfill any energy conditions. As a result, the field equations admit solutions describing wormholes whose throat size is typically of the order of the inverse graviton mass. Hence, they are as large as the universe, so that in principle we might all live in a giant wormhole. The wormholes can be of two different types that we call W1 and W2. The W1 wormholes interpolate between the AdS spaces and have Killing horizons shielding the throat. The Fierz-Pauli graviton mass for these solutions becomes imaginary in the AdS zone, hence the gravitons behave as tachyons, but since the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound is fulfilled, there should be no tachyon instability. For the W2 wormholes the g-geometry is globally regular and in the far field zone it becomes the AdS up to subleading terms, its throat can be traversed by timelike geodesics, while the f-geometry has a completely different structure and is not geodesically complete. There is no evidence of tachyons for these solutions, although a detailed stability analysis remains an open issue. It is possible that the solutions may admit a holographic interpretation.

Giant wormholes in ghost-free bigravity theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sushkov, Sergey V. [Department of General Relativity and Gravitation, Institute of Physics,Kazan Federal University, Kremlevskaya street 18, 420008 Kazan (Russian Federation); Volkov, Mikhail S. [Department of General Relativity and Gravitation, Institute of Physics,Kazan Federal University, Kremlevskaya street 18, 420008 Kazan (Russian Federation); Laboratoire de Mathématiques et Physique Théorique CNRS-UMR 7350, Université de Tours, Parc de Grandmont, 37200 Tours (France)

2015-06-09

We study Lorentzian wormholes in the ghost-free bigravity theory described by two metrics, g and f. Wormholes can exist if only the null energy condition is violated, which happens naturally in the bigravity theory since the graviton energy-momentum tensors do not apriori fulfill any energy conditions. As a result, the field equations admit solutions describing wormholes whose throat size is typically of the order of the inverse graviton mass. Hence, they are as large as the universe, so that in principle we might all live in a giant wormhole. The wormholes can be of two different types that we call W1 and W2. The W1 wormholes interpolate between the AdS spaces and have Killing horizons shielding the throat. The Fierz-Pauli graviton mass for these solutions becomes imaginary in the AdS zone, hence the gravitons behave as tachyons, but since the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound is fulfilled, there should be no tachyon instability. For the W2 wormholes the g-geometry is globally regular and in the far field zone it becomes the AdS up to subleading terms, its throat can be traversed by timelike geodesics, while the f-geometry has a completely different structure and is not geodesically complete. There is no evidence of tachyons for these solutions, although a detailed stability analysis remains an open issue. It is possible that the solutions may admit a holographic interpretation.

Sponge-Like: A New Protocol for Preparing Bacterial Ghosts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amro A. Amara

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Bacterial Ghosts (BGs received an increasing interest in the recent years for their promising medicinal and pharmaceutical applications. In this study, for the first time we introduce a new protocol for BGs production. E. coli BL21 (DE3 pLysS (Promega was used as a model to establish a general protocol for BGs preparation. The protocol is based on using active chemical compounds in concentrations less than the Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC. Those chemical compounds are SDS, NaOH, and H2O2. Plackett-Burman experimental design was used to map the best conditions for BGs production. Normal and electronic microscopes were used to evaluate the BGs quality (BGQ. Spectrophotometer was used to evaluate the amount of the released protein and DNA. Agarose gel electrophoresis was used to determine the existence of any residue of DNA after each BGs preparation. Viable cells, which existed after running this protocol, were subjected to lysis by inducing the lysozyme gene carried on pLysS plasmid. This protocol is able to produce BGs that can be used in different biotechnological applications.

Reduction of respiratory ghosting motion artifacts in conventional two-dimensional multi-slice Cartesian turbo spin-echo: which k-space filling order is the best?

Science.gov (United States)

Inoue, Yuuji; Yoneyama, Masami; Nakamura, Masanobu; Takemura, Atsushi

2018-06-01

The two-dimensional Cartesian turbo spin-echo (TSE) sequence is widely used in routine clinical studies, but it is sensitive to respiratory motion. We investigated the k-space orders in Cartesian TSE that can effectively reduce motion artifacts. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the relationship between k-space order and degree of motion artifacts using a moving phantom. We compared the degree of motion artifacts between linear and asymmetric k-space orders. The actual spacing of ghost artifacts in the asymmetric order was doubled compared with that in the linear order in the free-breathing situation. The asymmetric order clearly showed less sensitivity to incomplete breath-hold at the latter half of the imaging period. Because of the actual number of partitions of the k-space and the temporal filling order, the asymmetric k-space order of Cartesian TSE was superior to the linear k-space order for reduction of ghosting motion artifacts.

Chemical and structural investigation of lipid nanoparticles: drug-lipid interaction and molecular distribution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anantachaisilp, Suranan; Smith, Siwaporn Meejoo [Department of Chemistry and Center of Excellence for Innovation in Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Rama VI Road, Bangkok 10400 (Thailand); Treetong, Alongkot; Ruktanonchai, Uracha Rungsardthong [National Nanotechnology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency, 111 Thailand Science Park, Paholyothin Road, Klong 1, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 (Thailand); Pratontep, Sirapat [College of KMITL Nanotechnology, King Mongkut' s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok (Thailand); Puttipipatkhachorn, Satit, E-mail: uracha@nanotec.or.th [Department of Manufacturing Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400 (Thailand)

2010-03-26

Lipid nanoparticles are a promising alternative to existing carriers in chemical or drug delivery systems. A key challenge is to determine how chemicals are incorporated and distributed inside nanoparticles, which assists in controlling chemical retention and release characteristics. This study reports the chemical and structural investigation of {gamma}-oryzanol loading inside a model lipid nanoparticle drug delivery system composed of cetyl palmitate as solid lipid and Miglyol 812 as liquid lipid. The lipid nanoparticles were prepared by high pressure homogenization at varying liquid lipid content, in comparison with the {gamma}-oryzanol free systems. The size of the lipid nanoparticles, as measured by the photon correlation spectroscopy, was found to decrease with increased liquid lipid content from 200 to 160 nm. High-resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance ({sup 1}H-NMR) measurements of the medium chain triglyceride of the liquid lipid has confirmed successful incorporation of the liquid lipid in the lipid nanoparticles. Differential scanning calorimetric and powder x-ray diffraction measurements provide complementary results to the {sup 1}H-NMR, whereby the crystallinity of the lipid nanoparticles diminishes with an increase in the liquid lipid content. For the distribution of {gamma}-oryzanol inside the lipid nanoparticles, the {sup 1}H-NMR revealed that the chemical shifts of the liquid lipid in {gamma}-oryzanol loaded systems were found at rather higher field than those in {gamma}-oryzanol free systems, suggesting incorporation of {gamma}-oryzanol in the liquid lipid. In addition, the phase-separated structure was observed by atomic force microscopy for lipid nanoparticles with 0% liquid lipid, but not for lipid nanoparticles with 5 and 10% liquid lipid. Raman spectroscopic and mapping measurements further revealed preferential incorporation of {gamma}-oryzanol in the liquid part rather than the solid part of in the lipid nanoparticles. Simple models

Ulva and Enteromorpha (Ulvaceae, Chlorophyta) from two sides of the Yellow Sea: analysis of nuclear rDNA ITS and plastid rbcL sequence data

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jinfeng; Li, Nan; Jiang, Peng; Boo, Sung Min; Lee, Wook Jae; Cui, Yulin; Lin, Hanzhi; Zhao, Jin; Liu, Zhengyi; Qin, Song

2010-07-01

Ulvacean green seaweeds are common worldwide; they formed massive green tides in the Yellow Sea in recent years, which caused marine ecological problems as well as a social issue. We investigated two major genera of the Ulvaceae, Ulva and Enteromorpha, and collected the plastid rbcL and nuclear ITS sequences of specimens of the genera in two sides of the Yellow Sea and analyzed them. Phylogenetic trees of rbcL data show the occurrence of five species of Enteromorpha ( E. compressa, E. flexuosa, E. intestinalis, E. linza and E. prolifera) and three species of Ulva ( U. pertusa, U. rigida and U. ohnoi). However, we found U. ohnoi, which is known as a subtropical to tropical species, at two sites on Jeju Island, Korea. Four ribotypes in partial sequences of 5.8S rDNA and ITS2 from E. compressa were also found. Ribotype network analysis revealed that the common ribotype, occurring in China, Korea and Europe, is connected with ribotypes from Europe and China/Japan. Although samples of the same species were collected from both sides of the Yellow Sea, intraspecific genetic polymorphism of each species was low among samples collected worldwide.