A study of final state deuteron events in 1.825 GeV/c pd interactions

The study of pd → ndπ⁺ and pd → pdπ^O reactions shows that the “slow deuteron” inelastic events are dominated by peripheral processes. Box diagrams are presented for the production mechanism of the 2.2 GeV/c² dπ enhancements. Evidence is presented that for ‘fast deuteron’ events d¹⁺⁺ and d¹⁺ resonances at 2.375 ± 0.010 GeV/c² with a width of 0.075 ± 0.015 GeV/c² are produced via baryon exchange. The elastic events have been compared with Glauber multiple scattering theory with reasonable agreement.     

Quadrupole splitting temperature dependence of high and low affinity deoxyhemoglobin encapsulated in wet silica gel

Hemoglobin (Hb) is still one of the most studied proteins due to its physiological function and because of its allosteric properties. It is actually well known that hemoglobin has at least two quaternary structures, one when the protein is fully oxygenated (R structure) and the other one when it is fully deoxygenated (T structure). In the last years, the encapsulation of hemoglobin in wet silica gel, preventing a change in the quaternary structure, gave the opportunity to show the existence of two T states: high affinity (HA) and low affinity (LA). Hb T state, in presence (LA) and in absence (HA) of allosteric effectors when it is encapsulated in wet silica gel, binds oxygen in non-cooperative way. Small differences between the quadrupole splitting values of HA and LA samples can be pointed out at low temperature regime. However, at present, these are too small differences to deduce that HA and LA Hbdeoxy states are different within the iron surrounding.     

Potential of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry as a rapid detection technique in plant pathology: identification of plant-associated microorganisms

Plant diseases caused by plant pathogens substantially reduce crop production every year, resulting in massive economic losses throughout the world. Accurate detection and identification of plant pathogens is fundamental to plant pathogen diagnostics and, thus, plant disease management. Diagnostics and disease-management strategies require techniques to enable simultaneous detection and quantification of a wide range of pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms. Over the past decade, rapid development of matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) techniques for characterization of microorganisms has enabled substantially improved detection and identification of microorganisms. In the biological sciences, MALDI-TOF MS is used to analyze specific peptides or proteins directly desorbed from intact bacteria, fungal spores, nematodes, and other microorganisms. The ability to record biomarker ions, in a broad m/z range, which are unique to and representative of individual microorganisms, forms the basis of taxonomic identification of microorganisms by MALDI-TOF MS. Recent advances in mass spectrometry have initiated new research, i.e. analysis of more complex microbial communities. Such studies are just beginning but have great potential for elucidation not only of the interactions between microorganisms and their host plants but also those among different microbial taxa living in association with plants. There has been a recent effort by the mass spectrometry community to make data from large scale mass spectrometry experiments publicly available in the form of a centralized repository. Such a resource could enable the use of MALDI-TOF MS as a universal technique for detection of plant pathogens and non-pathogens. The effects of experimental conditions are sufficiently understood, reproducible spectra can be obtained from computational database search, and microorganisms can be rapidly characterized by genus, species, or strain.     

Study of Te inclusions in CdMnTe crystals for nuclear detector applications

The concentration, size and spatial distribution of Te inclusions in the bulk of CdMnTe crystals mined from two batches of ingots were studied. An isolated planar layer decorated with Te inclusions was identified in CdMnTe crystals from the second ingot. The internal electric field of a CMT crystal was probed by infrared (IR) imaging employing Pockels electro-optic effect. The effect of an isolated plane of Te inclusions on the internal electric-field distribution within the CdMnTe crystal was studied. Space charge accumulation around the plane of Te inclusions was observed, which was found to be higher when the detector was reverse-biased. The effects of the plane of Te inclusions on the electric-field distribution within the CdMnTe crystal, and the quality of CdMnTe crystals for nuclear detector applications are discussed.     

Tsallis q-Stat and the Evidence of Long-Range Interactions in Soil Temperature Dynamics

The complexities in the variations of soil temperature and thermal diffusion poses a physical problem that requires more understanding. The quest for a better understanding of the complexities of soil temperature variation has prompted the study of the q-statistics in the soil temperature variation with the view of understanding the underlying dynamics of the temperature variation and thermal diffusivity of the soil. In this work, the values of Tsallis stationary state q index known as q-stat were computed from soil temperature measured at different stations in Nigeria. The intrinsic variations of the soil temperature were derived from the soil temperature time series by detrending method to extract the influences of other types of variations from the atmosphere. The detrended soil temperature data sets were further analysed to fit the q-Gaussian model. Our results show that our datasets fit into the Tsallis Gaussian distributions with lower values of q-stat during rainy season and around the wet soil regions of Nigeria and the values of q-stat obtained for monthly data sets were mostly in the range 1.2≤q≤2.9 for all stations, with very few values q closer to 1.2 for a few stations in the wet season. The distributions obtained from the detrended soil temperature data were mostly found to belong to the class of asymmetric q-Gaussians. The ability of the soil temperature data sets to fit into q-Gaussians might be due and the non-extensive statistical nature of the system and (or) consequently due to the presence of superstatistics. The possible mechanisms responsible this behaviour was further discussed.     

Characterisation of unbounded multiplier maps

This paper generalizes Wendel's theorem to cover an arbitrary closed linear map in L₁(G), G a locally compact group.     

Bound state solutions of the Deng–Fan molecular potential with the Pekeris-type approximation using the Nikiforov–Uvarov (N–U) method

By employing the Pekeris-type approximation to deal with the centrifugal term, we solve the Schrödinger equation with the Deng–Fan molecular potential for all values of $l$ (orbital angular momentum quantum number). Using the Nikiforov–Uvarov (N–U) method, the approximate analytical bound state energy eigenvalues and the corresponding wave functions are obtained. The results obtained are in good agreement with those ones found in the literature. The bound state energy eigenvalues for a set of diatomic molecules (HCl, LiH, H $_{2}$ , ScH, TiH, VH, CrH, CuLi, TiC, NiC, ScN and ScF) corresponding to the Deng–Fan molecular potential for arbitrary values of n and $l$ quantum numbers are reported.