Resolving the Axial Mass Anomaly in neutrino Scattering

We present a parametrization of the observed enhancement in the transverse electron quasielastic (QE) response function for nucleons bound in carbon as a function of the square of the four momentum transfer (Q2) in terms of a correction to the magnetic form factors of bound nucleons. The parametrization should also be applicable to the transverse cross section in neutrino scattering. If the transverse enhancement originates from meson exchange currents (MEC), then it is theoretically expected that any enhancement in the longitudinal or axial contributions is small. We present the predictions of the "Transverse Enhancement" model (which is based on electron scattering data only) for the neutrino and anti-neutrino differential and total QE cross sections for nucleons bound in carbon. The 2Q2 dependence of the transverse enhancement is observed to resolve much of the long standing discrepancy ("Axial Mass Anomaly}) in the QE total cross sections and differential distributions between low energy and high energy neutrino experiments on nuclear targets.Comment: 3 pages, 3 Figures, Presented by Arie Bodek at the 19th Particles and Nuclei International Conference, PANIC 2011, MIT, Cambridge, MA July 201

CONSUMER PREFERENCES FOR ORGANIC STANDARDS: GUIDING DEMAND-EXPANSION STRATEGIES FOR ORGANIC FOOD

Consumer/Household Economics,

Altitude dependence of atmospheric temperature trends: Climate models versus observation

As a consequence of greenhouse forcing, all state of the art general circulation models predict a positive temperature trend that is greater for the troposphere than the surface. This predicted positive trend increases in value with altitude until it reaches a maximum ratio with respect to the surface of as much as 1.5 to 2.0 at about 200 to 400 hPa. However, the temperature trends from several independent observational data sets show decreasing as well as mostly negative values. This disparity indicates that the three models examined here fail to account for the effects of greenhouse forcings.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Lipotoxicity, aging, and muscle contractility: does fiber type matter?

Sarcopenia is a universal characteristic of the aging process and is often accompanied by increases in whole-body adiposity. These changes in body composition have important clinical implications, given that loss of muscle and gain of fat mass are both significantly and independently associated with declining physical performance as well as an increased risk for disability, hospitalizations, and mortality in older individuals. This increased fat mass is not exclusively stored in adipose depots but may become deposited in non-adipose tissues, such as skeletal muscle, when the oxidative capacity of the adipose tissue itself is exceeded. The redistributed adipose tissue is thought to exert detrimental local effects on the muscle environment given the close proximity. Thus, sarcopenia observed with aging may be better defined in the context of loss of muscle quality rather than loss of muscle quantity per se. In this perspective, we briefly review the age-related physiological changes in cellularity, secretory profiles, and inflammatory status of adipose tissue which drive lipotoxicity (spillover) of skeletal muscle and then provide evidence of how this may affect specific fiber type contractility. We focus on biological contributors (cellular machinery) to contractility for which there is some evidence of vulnerability to lipid stress distinguishing between fiber types.Accepted manuscrip

THE ORGANIC LABEL: HOW TO RECONCILE ITS MEANING WITH CONSUMER PREFERENCES

The USDA's National Organic Program (NOP), with its unified definition and labeling requirements, holds great promise for increasing commerce in and decreasing transaction costs associated with purchasing organic food. However, the label and its meaning must both be well understood and reflect the traits consumers want if this promise is to be realized. This paper reports the results of a survey and experimental auction on consumers' preferences for organic standards. On one hand, the USDA NOP's Final Rule broadly conforms to consumer preferences regarding what practices should or should not be permitted in organic production and processing. Consumers support a strict definition of organic in general, opposing the use of a variety of practices historically banned by organic certifiers. For example, both the survey and auction methods found that consumers support the banning of Genetically Modified Organisms in organic food and are willing to pay a premium to avoid them. Consumers are also in accord with the Final Rule's exclusion of irradiation, biosolids, growth regulators, etc. On the other hand, the survey and auction results reveal a lack of understanding of the label's meaning as well as a disconnect between the label's function (detailing acceptable production practices) and consumers' stated motivations for buying organic (e.g., support for a local sustainable food system). Implications of these findings for decision makers in policy and industry are discussed. Of particular focus will be the role of these agents in promoting products that allow consumers to purchase items that reflect and support these values.Consumer/Household Economics,

Targeting of reactive isolevuglandins in mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation.

Inflammation is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Western societies. Despite use of multiple drugs, both chronic and acute inflammation still represent major health burdens. Inflammation produces highly reactive dicarbonyl lipid peroxidation products such as isolevuglandins which covalently modify and cross-link proteins via lysine residues. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been associated with inflammation; however, its molecular mechanisms and pathophysiological role are still obscure. We hypothesized that inflammation-induced isolevuglandins contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction and mortality. To test this hypothesis, we have (a) investigated the mitochondrial dysfunction in response to synthetic 15-E2-isolevuglandin (IsoLG) and its adducts; (b) developed a new mitochondria-targeted scavenger of isolevuglandins by conjugating 2-hydroxybenzylamine to the lipophilic cation triphenylphosphonium, (4-(4-aminomethyl)-3-hydroxyphenoxy)butyl)-triphenylphosphonium (mito2HOBA); (c) tested if mito2HOBA protects from mitochondrial dysfunction and mortality using a lipopolysaccharide model of inflammation. Acute exposure to either IsoLG or IsoLG adducts with lysine, ethanolamine or phosphatidylethanolamine inhibits mitochondrial respiration and attenuates Complex I activity. Complex II function was much more resistant to IsoLG. We confirmed that mito2HOBA markedly accumulates in isolated mitochondria and it is highly reactive with IsoLGs. To test the role of mitochondrial IsoLGs, we studied the therapeutic potential of mito2HOBA in lipopolysaccharide mouse model of sepsis. Mito2HOBA supplementation in drinking water (0.1 g/L) to lipopolysaccharide treated mice increased survival by 3-fold, improved complex I-mediated respiration, and histopathological analyses supported mito2HOBA-mediated protection of renal cortex from cell injury. These data support the role of mitochondrial IsoLG in mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation. We conclude that reducing mitochondrial IsoLGs may be a promising therapeutic target in inflammation and conditions associated with mitochondrial oxidative stress and dysfunction

Burst Production by Mesotrons

Assuming that, under great absorbing thicknesses, cosmic-ray bursts are cascade showers from high energy soft secondaries produced in the shielding matter by mesotron-electron collisions and by mesotron bremsstrahlung, we have calculated the frequency of burst production as a function of burst size. For the mesotron of spin 1 and moment eℏ/2μc, we have used the previously calculated knock-on formulae, supplemented by our own calculations of the bremsstrahlung; for the latter, the cross section has terms, significant for our work, in E, ln2 E, and ln E. Up to energies close to 10^11 ev, only slight modifications are introduced by omitting altogether those processes which cannot be treated by the Born approximation, and the minimum cross sections we used differ little from those given directly by the Born approximation. Using these cross sections, the cascade theory of showers, and a modified form of the Furry model to take into account the fluctuations, the frequency of burst production was calculated. The sea-level data of Schein and Gill give for the number of bursts of size greater than S, NS∼S^-γ, with γ=1.8. Our calculations give for spin 1, γ∼1.5 and numerically too many by a factor of 20. Similar calculations for the mesotron of spin 0 give γ∼1.8 and the same in number as the observations within an uncertainty of about a factor 1.5. For spin ½ and moment eℏ/2μc, the bursts are approximately twice as numerous as for spin 0. This evidence thus favors spin 0, or possibly spin ½, but tends to exclude spin 1

Self-Consistent Data Analysis of the Proton Structure Function g1 and Extraction of its Moments

The reanalysis of all available world data on the longitudinal asymmetry A|| is presented. The proton structure function g1 was extracted within a unique framework of data inputs and assumptions. These data allowed for a reliable evaluation of moments of the structure function g1 in the Q2 range from 0.2 up to 30 GeV2. The Q2 evolution of the moments was studied in QCD by means of Operator Product Expansion (OPE).Comment: Proceeding of 3rd International Symposium on the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn Sum Rule and its extensions, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia June 2-5, 200