533 research outputs found
First-Principles Calculation of the Superconducting Transition in MgB2 within the Anisotropic Eliashberg Formalism
We present a study of the superconducting transition in MgB2 using the
ab-initio pseudopotential density functional method and the fully anisotropic
Eliashberg equation. Our study shows that the anisotropic Eliashberg equation,
constructed with ab-initio calculated momentum-dependent electron-phonon
interaction and anharmonic phonon frequencies, yields an average
electron-phonon coupling constant lambda = 0.61, a transition temperature Tc =
39 K, and a boron isotope-effect exponent alphaB = 0.31 with a reasonable
assumption of mu* = 0.12. The calculated values for Tc, lambda, and alphaB are
in excellent agreement with transport, specific heat, and isotope effect
measurements respectively. The individual values of the electron-phonon
coupling lambda(k,k') on the various pieces of the Fermi surface however vary
from 0.1 to 2.5. The observed Tc is a result of both the raising effect of
anisotropy in the electron-phonon couplings and the lowering effect of
anharmonicity in the relevant phonon modes.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
SN1987A and the Status of Oscillation Solutions to the Solar Neutrino Problem (including an appendix discussing the NC and day/night data from SNO)
We study neutrino oscillations and the level-crossing probability PLZ in
power-law potential profiles A(r)\propto r^n. We give local and global
adiabaticity conditions valid for all mixing angles theta and discuss different
representations for PLZ. For the 1/r^3 profile typical of supernova envelopes
we compare our analytical to numerical results and to earlier approximations
used in the literature. We then perform a combined likelihood analysis of the
observed SN1987A neutrino signal and of the latest solar neutrino data,
including the recent SNO CC measurement. We find that, unless all relevant
supernova parameters (released binding energy, \bar\nu_e and \bar\nu_{\mu,\tau}
temperatures) are near their lowest values found in simulations, the status of
large mixing type solutions deteriorates considerably compared to fits using
only solar data. This is sufficient to rule out the vacuum-type solutions for
most reasonable choices of astrophysics parameters. The LOW solution may still
be acceptable, but becomes worse than the SMA-MSW solution which may, in some
cases, be the best combined solution. On the other hand the LMA-MSW solution
can easily survive as the best overall solution, although its size is generally
reduced when compared to fits to the solar data only.Comment: 31 pages, 32 eps figures; 5 pages, 5 eps figures addendum in v2,
discussing the recent SNO NC data and changes in SN paramete
The metabolomic-gut-clinical axis of Mankai plant-derived dietary polyphenols
24openInternationalBothBackground: Polyphenols are secondary metabolites produced by plants to defend themselves from environmental stressors. We explored the effect of Wolffia globosa âMankaiâ, a novel cultivated strain of a polyphenol-rich aquatic plant, on the metabolomic-gut clinical axis in vitro, in-vivo and in a clinical trial. Methods: We used mass-spectrometry-based metabolomics methods from three laboratories to detect Mankai phenolic metabolites and examined predicted functional pathways in a Mankai artificial-gut bioreactor. Plasma and urine polyphenols were assessed among the 294 DIRECT-PLUS 18-month trial participants, comparing the effect of a polyphenol-rich green-Mediterranean diet (+1240 mg/polyphenols/day, provided by Mankai, green tea and walnuts) to a walnuts-enriched (+440 mg/polyphenols/day) Mediterranean diet and a healthy controlled diet. Results: Approximately 200 different phenolic compounds were specifically detected in the Mankai plant. The Mankai-supplemented bioreactor artificial gut displayed a significantly higher relative-abundance of 16S-rRNA bacterial gene sequences encoding for enzymes involved in phenolic compound degradation. In humans, several Mankai-related plasma and urine polyphenols were differentially elevated in the green Mediterranean group compared with the other groups (p < 0.05) after six and 18 months of intervention (e.g., urine hydroxy-phenyl-acetic-acid and urolithin-A; plasma Naringenin and 2,5-diOH-benzoic-acid). Specific polyphenols, such as urolithin-A and 4-ethylphenol, were directly involved with clinical weight-related changes. Conclusions: The Mankai new plant is rich in various unique potent polyphenols, potentially affecting the metabolomic-gut-clinical axisopenYaskolka Meir, A.; Tuohy, K.; von Bergen, M.; Krajmalnik-Brown, R.; Heinig, U.; Zelicha, H.; Tsaban, G.; Rinott. E.; Kaplan, A.; Aharoni, A.; Zeibich, L.; Chang, D.; Dirks, B.; Diotallevi, C.; Arapitsas, P.; Vrhovsek, U.; Ceglarek, U.; Haange, S.; Rolle-Kampczyk, U.; Engelmann, B.; Lapidot, M.; Colt, M.; Sun, Q.; Shai, I.Yaskolka Meir, A.; Tuohy, K.; von Bergen, M.; Krajmalnik-Brown, R.; Heinig, U.; Zelicha, H.; Tsaban, G.; Rinot, T.E.; Kaplan, A.; Aharoni, A.; Zeibich, L.; Chang, D.; Dirks, B.; Diotallevi, C.; Arapitsas, P.; Vrhovsek, U.; Ceglarek, U.; Haange, S.; Rolle-Kampczyk, U.; Engelmann, B.; Lapidot, M.; Colt, M.; Sun, Q.; Shai, I
Global models underestimate large decadal declining and rising water storage trends relative to GRACE satellite data
Assessing reliability of global models is critical because of increasing reliance on these models to address past and projected future climate and human stresses on global water resources. Here, we evaluate model reliability based on a comprehensive comparison of decadal trends (2002-2014) in land water storage from seven global models (WGHM, PCR-GLOBWB, GLDAS NOAH, MOSAIC, VIC, CLM, and CLSM) to trends from three Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite solutions in 186 river basins (âŒ60% of global land area). Medians of modeled basin water storage trends greatly underestimate GRACE-derived large decreasing (â€-0.5 km3/y) and increasing (â„0.5 km3/y) trends. Decreasing trends from GRACE are mostly related to human use (irrigation) and climate variations, whereas increasing trends reflect climate variations. For example, in the Amazon, GRACE estimates a large increasing trend of âŒ43 km3/y, whereas most models estimate decreasing trends (-71 to 11 km3/y). Land water storage trends, summed over all basins, are positive for GRACE (âŒ71-82 km3/y) but negative for models (-450 to -12 km3/y), contributing opposing trends to global mean sea level change. Impacts of climate forcing on decadal land water storage trends exceed those of modeled human intervention by about a factor of 2. The model-GRACE comparison highlights potential areas of future model development, particularly simulated water storage. The inability of models to capture large decadal water storage trends based on GRACE indicates that model projections of climate and human-induced water storage changes may be underestimated
De Novo Sequence and Copy Number Variants Are Strongly Associated with Tourette Disorder and Implicate Cell Polarity in Pathogenesis.
We previously established the contribution of de novo damaging sequence variants to Tourette disorder (TD) through whole-exome sequencing of 511 trios. Here, we sequence an additional 291 TD trios and analyze the combined set of 802 trios. We observe an overrepresentation of de novo damaging variants in simplex, but not multiplex, families; we identify a high-confidence TD risk gene, CELSR3 (cadherin EGF LAG seven-pass G-type receptor 3); we find that the genes mutated in TD patients are enriched for those related to cell polarity, suggesting a common pathway underlying pathobiology; and we confirm a statistically significant excess of de novo copy number variants in TD. Finally, we identify significant overlap of de novo sequence variants between TD and obsessive-compulsive disorder and de novo copy number variants between TD and autism spectrum disorder, consistent with shared genetic risk
Consideration of culture is vital if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
Integrating the social and natural sciences to effectively tackle the intertwined challenges represented by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been advocated for years. However, the practice is challenging, especially with respect to the beliefs, morals, and practices of individuals and groups or, more succinctly put, culture, which, despite attracting growing awareness, remains understated in sustainability. Here, we examine how and to what extent cultural values are linked to the achievement of the SDGs. Synthesizing knowledge from more than 300 publications, we show that cultural traits are linked to the achievement of all 17 SDGs and 79% of SDG targets. Further, empirical understanding obtained from a panel data analysis highlights that cultural values explain as much as 26% of the variations in the SDG achievements, yet the links are strikingly divergent across cultural traits and indicators. Our findings imply the need to consider more cultural contexts and nuances in sustainability science communications and policy design and to develop new cross-disciplinary solutions to sustainability challenges.FWN â Publicaties zonder aanstelling Universiteit Leide
Time-integrated luminosity recorded by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II e+e- collider
This article is the Preprint version of the final published artcile which can be accessed at the link below.We describe a measurement of the time-integrated luminosity of the data collected by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e+e- collider at the Ï(4S), Ï(3S), and Ï(2S) resonances and in a continuum region below each resonance. We measure the time-integrated luminosity by counting e+e-âe+e- and (for the Ï(4S) only) e+e-âÎŒ+ÎŒ- candidate events, allowing additional photons in the final state. We use data-corrected simulation to determine the cross-sections and reconstruction efficiencies for these processes, as well as the major backgrounds. Due to the large cross-sections of e+e-âe+e- and e+e-âÎŒ+ÎŒ-, the statistical uncertainties of the measurement are substantially smaller than the systematic uncertainties. The dominant systematic uncertainties are due to observed differences between data and simulation, as well as uncertainties on the cross-sections. For data collected on the Ï(3S) and Ï(2S) resonances, an additional uncertainty arises due to Ïâe+e-X background. For data collected off the Ï resonances, we estimate an additional uncertainty due to time dependent efficiency variations, which can affect the short off-resonance runs. The relative uncertainties on the luminosities of the on-resonance (off-resonance) samples are 0.43% (0.43%) for the Ï(4S), 0.58% (0.72%) for the Ï(3S), and 0.68% (0.88%) for the Ï(2S).This work is supported by the US Department of Energy and National Science Foundation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada), the Commissariat Ă lâEnergie Atomique and Institut National de Physique NuclĂ©aire et de Physiquedes Particules (France), the Bundesministerium fĂŒr Bildung und Forschung and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Germany), the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (Italy), the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (The Netherlands), the Research Council of Norway, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Ministerio de Ciencia e InnovaciĂłn (Spain), and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (United Kingdom). Individuals have received support from the Marie-Curie IEF program (European Union) and the A.P. Sloan Foundation (USA)
First-principles study of the effect of charge on the stability of a diamond nanocluster surface
Effects of net charge on the stability of the diamond nanocluster are investigated using the first-principles pseudopotential method with the local density approximation. We find that the charged nanocluster favors the diamond phase over the reconstruction into a fullerene-like structure. Occupying the dangling bond orbitals in the outermost surface, the excess charge can stabilize the bare diamond surface and destabilize the C-H bond on the hydrogenated surface. In combination with recent experimental results, our calculations suggest that negative charging could promote the nucleation and further growth of low-pressure diamond.open8
Technique for Resolving Low-lying Isomers in the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) and the Occurrence of an Isomeric State in 192Re
A recent experiment using projectile fragmentation of a 197Au beam on a 9Be target, combined with the fragment recoil separator and experimental storage ring at ring at GSI, has uncovered an isomeric state in 192Re at 267(10) keV with a half-life of âŒ6
Measurement of the inclusive isolated prompt photon cross-section in pp collisions at sqrt(s)= 7 TeV using 35 pb-1 of ATLAS data
A measurement of the differential cross-section for the inclusive production
of isolated prompt photons in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s)
= 7 TeV is presented. The measurement covers the pseudorapidity ranges
|eta|<1.37 and 1.52<=|eta|<2.37 in the transverse energy range 45<=E_T<400GeV.
The results are based on an integrated luminosity of 35 pb-1, collected with
the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The yields of the signal photons are measured
using a data-driven technique, based on the observed distribution of the
hadronic energy in a narrow cone around the photon candidate and the photon
selection criteria. The results are compared with next-to-leading order
perturbative QCD calculations and found to be in good agreement over four
orders of magnitude in cross-section.Comment: 7 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 4 tables, final
version published in Physics Letters
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