California Institute of Technology

About: California Institute of Technology is a education organization based out in Pasadena, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Galaxy & Redshift. The organization has 57649 authors who have published 146691 publications receiving 8620287 citations. The organization is also known as: Caltech & Cal Tech.

First results from KamLAND: evidence for reactor antineutrino disappearance.

Abstract: KamLAND has measured the flux of ν _e’s from distant nuclear reactors. We find fewer ν _e events than expected from standard assumptions about ν _e propagation at the 99.95% C.L. In a 162 ton·yr exposure the ratio of the observed inverse β-decay events to the expected number without ν _e disappearance is 0.611±0.085(stat)±0.041(syst) for ν _e energies >3.4 MeV. In the context of two-flavor neutrino oscillations with CPT invariance, all solutions to the solar neutrino problem except for the “large mixing angle” region are excluded.

Solution of the Schrödinger Equation with a Hamiltonian Periodic in Time

Abstract: The interaction of a quantum system with an oscillating field is studied in a formalism which replaces the semiclassical time-dependent Hamiltonian with a time-independent Hamiltonian represented by an infinite matrix. The formalism is developed as a mathematical equivalent to the semiclassical treatment, and interpreted as a classical approximation to the quantum treatment of the field. Combined with a perturbation theory for two nearly degenerate states, the formalism provides a convenient method for determining resonance transition probabilities including frequency shifts and multiple quantum transitions. The theory is illustrated by a detailed study of the simple case of a two-state system excited by a strong oscillating field.

Animals in a bacterial world, a new imperative for the life sciences

Abstract: In the last two decades, the widespread application of genetic and genomic approaches has revealed a bacterial world astonishing in its ubiquity and diversity. This review examines how a growing knowledge of the vast range of animal–bacterial interactions, whether in shared ecosystems or intimate symbioses, is fundamentally altering our understanding of animal biology. Specifically, we highlight recent technological and intellectual advances that have changed our thinking about five questions: how have bacteria facilitated the origin and evolution of animals; how do animals and bacteria affect each other’s genomes; how does normal animal development depend on bacterial partners; how is homeostasis maintained between animals and their symbionts; and how can ecological approaches deepen our understanding of the multiple levels of animal–bacterial interaction. As answers to these fundamental questions emerge, all biologists will be challenged to broaden their appreciation of these interactions and to include investigations of the relationships between and among bacteria and their animal partners as we seek a better understanding of the natural world.

Submillimeter, millimeter, and microwave spectral line catalog

Abstract: This paper describes a computer-accessible catalog of submillimeter, millimeter, and microwave spectral lines in the frequency range between 0 and 10 000 GHz (i.e. wavelengths longer than 30 μm). The catalog can be used as a planning guide or as an aid in the identification and analysis of observed spectral lines in the interstellar medium, the Earth’s atmosphere, and the atmospheres of other planets. The information listed for each spectral line includes the frequency and its estimated error, the intensity, the lower state energy, and the quantum number assignment. The catalog is continuously updated and at present has information on 331 atomic and molecular species and includes a total of 1 845 866 lines. The catalog has been constructed by using theoretical least-squares fits of published spectral lines to accepted molecular models. The associated predictions and their estimated errors are based upon the resultant fitted parameters and their covariance. Future versions of this catalog will add more atoms and molecules and update the present listings as new data appear. The catalog is available on-line via anonymous FTP at spec.jpl.nasa.gov and on the world wide web at http: //spec.jpl.nasa.gov.

A microbial symbiosis factor prevents intestinal inflammatory disease

Abstract: Humans are colonized by multitudes of commensal organisms representing members of five of the six kingdoms of life; however, our gastrointestinal tract provides residence to both beneficial and potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Imbalances in the composition of the bacterial microbiota, known as dysbiosis, are postulated to be a major factor in human disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease. We report here that the prominent human symbiont Bacteroides fragilis protects animals from experimental colitis induced by Helicobacter hepaticus, a commensal bacterium with pathogenic potential. This beneficial activity requires a single microbial molecule (polysaccharide A, PSA). In animals harbouring B. fragilis not expressing PSA, H. hepaticus colonization leads to disease and pro-inflammatory cytokine production in colonic tissues. Purified PSA administered to animals is required to suppress pro-inflammatory interleukin-17 production by intestinal immune cells and also inhibits in vitro reactions in cell cultures. Furthermore, PSA protects from inflammatory disease through a functional requirement for interleukin-10-producing CD4+ T cells. These results show that molecules of the bacterial microbiota can mediate the critical balance between health and disease. Harnessing the immunomodulatory capacity of symbiosis factors such as PSA might potentially provide therapeutics for human inflammatory disorders on the basis of entirely novel biological principles.