10,458 research outputs found
ATLAS monitored drift tube chambers for super-LHC
After the high-luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN,
the ATLAS muon spectrometer is expected to work at 10 times increased
background rates of gammas and neutrons. This is challenging as the momentum
resolution of the spectrometer is expected to be 10 %. This requires a single
tube resolution of the muon drift tubes of 80 mum. At background rates around
1000 Hz/cm2 space charge effects will lead in the slow and non-linear AR:CO2 =
93:7 gas mixture to a degradation of the drift-tube spatial resolution. This
was studied before experimentally for gammas and low energetic neutrons. Almost
no information exists for fast neutrons. Therefore, we organized our studies
under the following aspects: - We investigated the influence of 11 MeV neutrons
on the position resolution of ATLAS MDT chambers. At flux densities between 4
and 16 kHz/cm2, almost no influence on the position resolution was found, it
degrades by only 10 mum at a detection efficiency of only 4*10-4. - We
investigated inert gas mixtures on fastness and linearity of their
position-drifttime (r-t) relation. At a reduction of the maximum drift time by
a factor of 2, the use of the present hardware and electronics might be
possible. For our experimental studies we used our Munich cosmic ray facility.
Two gas mixtures show almost identical position resolution as the standard gas.
- For spectrometer regions of highest background rates we contributed to the
investigation of newly developed 15 mm drift tubes. Position resolutions have
been measured as a function of gamma background rates between 0 and 1400
Hz/cm2. - Garfield simulations have been performed to simulate space charge
effects due to gamma irradiation. Results will be presented for the standard
geometry as well as for the new 15 mm drift tubes.Comment: 3 pages, 7 figures, conferenc
A savings based method for real-life vehicle routing problems
This paper describes a Savings Based algorithm for the Extended Vehicle Routing Problem. This algorithm is compared with a Sequential Insertion algorithm on real-life data. Besides the traditional quality measures such as total distance traveled and total workload, we compare the routing plans of both algorithms according to non-standard quality measures that h
A Mouse Amidase Specific for N-terminal Asparagine: the gene, the enzyme, and their function in the N-end rule pathway
The N-end rule relates the in vivo half-life of a protein to the identity of its N-terminal residue. In both fungi and mammals, the tertiary destabilizing N-terminal residues asparagine and glutamine function through their conversion, by enzymatic deamidation, into the secondary destabilizing residues aspartate and glutamate, whose destabilizing activity requires their enzymatic conjugation to arginine, one of the primary destabilizing residues. We report the isolation and analysis of a mouse cDNA and the corresponding gene (termed Ntan1) that encode a 310-residue amidohydrolase (termed NtN-amidase) specific for N-terminal asparagine. The ~17-kilobase pair Ntan1 gene is located in the proximal region of mouse chromosome 16 and contains 10 exons ranging from 54 to 177 base pairs in length. The ~1.4-kilobase pair Ntan1 mRNA is expressed in all of the tested mouse tissues and cell lines and is down-regulated upon the conversion of myoblasts into myotubes. The Ntan1 promoter is located ~500 base pairs upstream of the Ntan1 start codon. The deduced amino acid sequence of mouse NtN-amidase is 88% identical to the sequence of its porcine counterpart, but bears no significant similarity to the sequence of the NTA1-encoded N-terminal amidohydrolase of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which can deamidate either N-terminal asparagine or glutamine. The expression of mouse NtN-amidase in S. cerevisiae nta1Delta was used to verify that NtN-amidase retains its asparagine selectivity in vivo and can implement the asparagine-specific subset of the N-end rule. Further dissection of mouse Ntan1, including its null phenotype analysis, should illuminate the functions of the N-end rule, most of which are still unknown
Crystalline and electronic structure of single-layer TaS
Single-layer TaS is epitaxially grown on Au(111) substrates. The
resulting two-dimensional crystals adopt the 1H polymorph. The electronic
structure is determined by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and found
to be in excellent agreement with density functional theory calculations. The
single layer TaS is found to be strongly n-doped, with a carrier
concentration of 0.3(1) extra electrons per unit cell. No superconducting or
charge density wave state is observed by scanning tunneling microscopy at
temperatures down to 4.7 K.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Band gap engineering by Bi intercalation of graphene on Ir(111)
We report on the structural and electronic properties of a single bismuth
layer intercalated underneath a graphene layer grown on an Ir(111) single
crystal. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) reveals a hexagonal surface
structure and a dislocation network upon Bi intercalation, which we attribute
to a Bi structure on the underlying Ir(111)
surface. Ab-initio calculations show that this Bi structure is the most
energetically favorable, and also illustrate that STM measurements are most
sensitive to C atoms in close proximity to intercalated Bi atoms. Additionally,
Bi intercalation induces a band gap (eV) at the Dirac point of
graphene and an overall n-doping (eV), as seen in angular-resolved
photoemission spectroscopy. We attribute the emergence of the band gap to the
dislocation network which forms favorably along certain parts of the moir\'e
structure induced by the graphene/Ir(111) interface.Comment: 5 figure
The urban economy as a scale-free network
We present empirical evidence that land values are scale-free and introduce a
network model that reproduces the observations. The network approach to urban
modelling is based on the assumption that the market dynamics that generates
land values can be represented as a growing scale-free network. Our results
suggest that the network properties of trade between specialized activities
causes land values, and likely also other observables such as population, to be
power law distributed. In addition to being an attractive avenue for further
analytical inquiry, the network representation is also applicable to empirical
data and is thereby attractive for predictive modelling.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. E. 7 pages, 3 figures. (Minor typos and
details fixed
Combinations of isoform-targeted histone deacetylase inhibitors and bryostatin analogues display remarkable potency to activate latent HIV without global T-cell activation
AbstractCurrent antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS slows disease progression by reducing viral loads and increasing CD4 counts. Yet ART is not curative due to the persistence of CD4+ T-cell proviral reservoirs that chronically resupply active virus. Elimination of these reservoirs through the administration of synergistic combinations of latency reversing agents (LRAs), such as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors and protein kinase C (PKC) modulators, provides a promising strategy to reduce if not eradicate the viral reservoir. Here, we demonstrate that largazole and its analogues are isoform-targeted histone deacetylase inhibitors and potent LRAs. Significantly, these isoform-targeted HDAC inhibitors synergize with PKC modulators, namely bryostatin-1 analogues (bryologs). Implementation of this unprecedented LRA combination induces HIV-1 reactivation to unparalleled levels and avoids global T-cell activation within resting CD4+ T-cells.</jats:p
Robo2 determines subtype-specific axonal projections of trigeminal sensory neurons
How neurons connect to form functional circuits is central to the understanding of the development and function of the nervous system. In the somatosensory system, perception of sensory stimuli to the head requires specific connections between trigeminal sensory neurons and their many target areas in the central nervous system. Different trigeminal subtypes have specialized functions and downstream circuits, but it has remained unclear how subtype-specific axonal projection patterns are formed. Using zebrafish as a model system, we followed the development of two trigeminal sensory neuron subtypes: one that expresses trpa1b, a nociceptive channel important for sensing environmental chemicals; and a distinct subtype labeled by an islet1 reporter (Isl1SS). We found that Trpa1b and Isl1SS neurons have overall similar axon trajectories but different branching morphologies and distributions of presynaptic sites. Compared with Trpa1b neurons, Isl1SS neurons display reduced branch growth and synaptogenesis at the hindbrain-spinal cord junction. The subtype-specific morphogenesis of Isl1SS neurons depends on the guidance receptor Robo2. robo2 is preferentially expressed in the Isl1SS subset and inhibits branch growth and synaptogenesis. In the absence of Robo2, Isl1SS afferents acquire many of the characteristics of Trpa1b afferents. These results reveal that subtype-specific activity of Robo2 regulates subcircuit morphogenesis in the trigeminal sensory system
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