Collective correlations in C12

The strong coupling of the giant resonance to the surface vibrations in C12 results in the splitting of the single one-particle, one-hole, 1- collective state into several components, thus improving the agreement between theory and experiment to a very large extent

Collective correlations in spherical nuclei and the structure of giant resonances

The theory of collective correlations in nuclei is formulated for giant resonances interacting with surface vibrations. The giant dipole states are treated in the particle-hole framework, while the surface vibrations are described by the collective model. Consequently, this treatment of nuclear structure goes beyond both the common particle-hole model (including its various improvements which take ground-state correlations into account) and the pure collective model. The interaction between giant resonances and surface degrees of freedom as known from the dynamic collective theory is formulated in the particle-hole language. Therefore, the theory contains the particle-hole structures and the most important "collective intermediate" structures of giant resonances. Detailed calculations are performed for 12C, 28Si, and 60Ni. A good detailed agreement between theory and experiment is obtained for all these nuclei, although only 60Ni is in the region where one would expect the theory to work well (50< A <110)

Hydrogen atom in a spherical well: linear approximation

We discuss the boundary effects on a quantum system by examining the problem of a hydrogen atom in a spherical well. By using an approximation method which is linear in energy we calculate the boundary corrections to the ground-state energy and wave function. We obtain the asymptotic dependence of the ground-state energy on the radius of the well.Comment: Revised version to appear in European Journal of Physic

An Organic Solvent-Flocculant Based System for Chemical Dewatering of Algae

The concentration of algal water in a raceway pond is around 0.5-1 gram of whole cell biomass per unit of volume (liter) of liquid. Because of its dilute nature, dewatering microalgae suspensions can account for a significant portion of downstream processing costs - and thus is a significant challenge for the sustainability of industrial scale algal processes. The Solvent Phase Algal Migration (SPAM) process presented here is a technique designed to separate suspended algal cells from their aqueous phase to a solvent while simultaneously displacing water. This investigation evaluates the dewatering performance of five factors pertinent to the SPAM process: algal surface modifier type, algal surface modifier concentration, solvent fraction, migration time, and initial algal broth concentration. The investigation revealed that the initial algal broth concentration, type of surface modifier and solvent fraction significantly affected the level of algal migration during the SPAM process

The Influence of Environmental Temperature and Substrate Initial Moisture Content on \u3cem\u3eAspergillus niger\u3c/em\u3e Growth and Phytase Production in Solid−State Cultivation

Aspergillus niger is being used commercially for phytase production utilizing solid-state cultivation; however, no studies have been published that investigated the optimal environmental temperature and initial substrate water content to maximize fungal growth and/or phytase production. Solid-state cultivations of Aspergillus niger on wheat bran and soybean meal were conducted at three temperatures (25°C, 30°C, and 35°C) and three initial moisture contents (50%, 55%, and 60% wet basis) in a split-plot full-factorial experimental design. Fermentations were conducted for 0, 24, 48, 72, and 120 h. The containers were sampled destructively and assayed for phytase activity and glucosamine concentration as an estimate of fungal biomass. Temperature affected phytase activity production, but substrate initial moisture content did not. The highest phytase activity was found at 30°C, 50% to 60% initial moisture content, and 72 h of fermentation. Initial substrate moisture content affected glucosamine production after 72 and 120 h of fermentation. The maximum glucosamine was produced at 35°C, either 50% or 60% initial moisture content, and 120 h of fermentation. The results show that the optimal biomass growth conditions are not the same as the optimal phytase production conditions, suggesting that phytase production is not entirely correlated with fungal growth

Multipotent adult progenitor cells sustain function of ischemic limbs in mice

Despite progress in cardiovascular research, a cure for peripheral vascular disease has not been found. We compared the vascularization and tissue regeneration potential of murine and human undifferentiated multipotent adult progenitor cells (mMAPC-U and hMAPC-U), murine MAPC-derived vascular progenitors (mMAPC-VP), and unselected murine BM cells (mBMCs) in mice with moderate limb ischemia, reminiscent of intermittent claudication in human patients. mMAPC-U durably restored blood flow and muscle function and stimulated muscle regeneration, by direct and trophic contribution to vascular and skeletal muscle growth. This was in contrast to mBMCs and mMAPC-VP, which did not affect muscle regeneration and provided only limited and transient improvement. Moreover, mBMCs participated in a sustained inflammatory response in the lower limb, associated with progressive deterioration in muscle function. Importantly, mMAPC-U and hMAPC-U also remedied vascular and muscular deficiency in severe limb ischemia, representative of critical limb ischemia in humans. Thus, unlike BMCs or vascular-committed progenitors, undifferentiated multipotent adult progenitor cells offer the potential to durably repair ischemic damage in peripheral vascular disease patients

Protective Intestinal Effects of Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Polypeptide

Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is an endogenous neuropeptide widely distributed throughout the body, including the gastrointestinal tract. Several effects have been described in human and animal intestines. Among others, PACAP infl uences secretion of intestinal glands, blood fl ow, and smooth muscle contraction. PACAP is a well-known cytoprotective peptide with strong anti-apoptotic, anti-infl ammatory, and antioxidant effects. The present review gives an overview of the intestinal protective actions of this neuropeptide. Exogenous PACAP treatment was protective in a rat model of small bowel autotransplantation. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) analysis of the intestinal tissue showed that endogenous PACAP levels gradually decreased with longer-lasting ischemic periods, prevented by PACAP addition. PACAP counteracted deleterious effects of ischemia on oxidative stress markers and cytokines. Another series of experiments investigated the role of endogenous PACAP in intestines in PACAP knockout (KO) mice. Warm ischemia–reperfusion injury and cold preservation models showed that the lack of PACAP caused a higher vulnerability against ischemic periods. Changes were more severe in PACAP KO mice at all examined time points. This fi nding was supported by increased levels of oxidative stress markers and decreased expression of antioxidant molecules. PACAP was proven to be protective not only in ischemic but also in infl ammatory bowel diseases. A recent study showed that PACAP treatment prolonged survival of Toxoplasma gondii infected mice suffering from acute ileitis and was able to reduce the ileal expression of proinfl ammatory cytokines. We completed the present review with recent clinical results obtained in patients suffering from infl ammatory bowel diseases. It was found that PACAP levels were altered depending on the activity, type of the disease, and antibiotic therapy, suggesting its probable role in infl ammatory events of the intestine

The Standardized Fish Bioassay Procedure for Detecting and Culturing Actively Toxic Pfiesteria, Used by Two Reference Laboratories for Atlantic and Gulf Coast States

In the absence of purified standards of toxins from Pfiesteria species, appropriately conducted fish bioassays are the gold standard that must be used to detect toxic strains of Pfiesteria slop. from natural estuarine water or sediment samples and to culture actively toxic Pfiesteria. In this article, we describe the standardized steps of our fish bioassay as an abbreviated term for a procedure that includes two sets of trials with fish, following the Henle-Koch postulates modified for toxic rather than infectious agents. This procedure was developed in 1991, and has been refined over more than 12 years of experience in research with toxic Pfiesteria. The steps involve isolating toxic strains of Pfiesteria (or other potentially, as-yet-undetected, toxic Pfiesteria or Pfiesteria-like species) from fish-killing bioassays with natural samples; growing the clones with axenic algal prey; and retesting the isolates in a second set of fish bioassays. The specific environmental conditions used (e.g., temperature, salinity, light, other factors) must remain flexible, given the wide range of conditions from which natural estuarine samples are derived. We present a comparison of information provided for fish culture conditions, reported in international science journals in which such research is routinely published, and we provide information from more than 2,000 fish bioassays with toxic Pfiesteria, along with recommendations for suitable ranges and frequency of monitoring of environmental variables. We present data demonstrating that algal assays, unlike these standardized fish bioassays, should not be used to detect toxic strains of Pfiesteria spp. Finally, we recommend how quality control/assurance can be most rapidly advanced among laboratories engaged in studies that require research-quality isolates of toxic Pfiesteria spp

NICE : A Computational solution to close the gap from colour perception to colour categorization

The segmentation of visible electromagnetic radiation into chromatic categories by the human visual system has been extensively studied from a perceptual point of view, resulting in several colour appearance models. However, there is currently a void when it comes to relate these results to the physiological mechanisms that are known to shape the pre-cortical and cortical visual pathway. This work intends to begin to fill this void by proposing a new physiologically plausible model of colour categorization based on Neural Isoresponsive Colour Ellipsoids (NICE) in the cone-contrast space defined by the main directions of the visual signals entering the visual cortex. The model was adjusted to fit psychophysical measures that concentrate on the categorical boundaries and are consistent with the ellipsoidal isoresponse surfaces of visual cortical neurons. By revealing the shape of such categorical colour regions, our measures allow for a more precise and parsimonious description, connecting well-known early visual processing mechanisms to the less understood phenomenon of colour categorization. To test the feasibility of our method we applied it to exemplary images and a popular ground-truth chart obtaining labelling results that are better than those of current state-of-the-art algorithms

Classification and identification of Pfiesteria and Pfiesteria-like species.

Dinoflagellates can be classified both botanically and zoologically; however, they are typically put in the botanical division Pyrrhophyta. As a group they appear most related to the protistan ciliates and apicomplexans at the ultrastructure level. Within the Pyrrhophyta are both unarmored and armored forms of the dominant, motile flagellated stage. Unarmored dinoflagellates do not have thecal or wall plates arranged in specific series, whereas armored species have plates that vary in thickness but are specific in number and arrangement. In armored dinoflagellates, the plate pattern and tabulation is a diagnostic character at the family, subfamily, and even genus levels. In most cases, the molecular characterization of dinoflagellates confirms the taxonomy on the basis of external morphology; this has been demonstrated for several groups. Together, both genetic and morphological criteria are becoming increasingly important for the characterization, separation, and identification of dinoflagellates species. Pfiesteria and Pfiesteria-like species are thinly armored forms with motile dinospore stages characterized by their distinct plate formulae. Pfiesteria piscicida is the best-known member of the genus; however, there is at least one other species. Other genetically and morphologically related genera, now grouped under the common names of "Lucy," "Shepherd's crook," and cryptoperidiniopsoid, are being studied and described in separate works. All these other heterotrophic dinoflagellate groups, many of which are thought to be benign, co-occur in estuarine waters where Pfiesteria has been found