Diffusion and Current of Brownian Particles in Tilted Piecewise Linear Potentials: Amplification and Coherence

Overdamped motion of Brownian particles in tilted piecewise linear periodic potentials is considered. Explicit algebraic expressions for the diffusion coefficient, current, and coherence level of Brownian transport are derived. Their dependencies on temperature, tilting force, and the shape of the potential are analyzed. The necessary and sufficient conditions for the non-monotonic behavior of the diffusion coefficient as a function of temperature are determined. The diffusion coefficient and coherence level are found to be extremely sensitive to the asymmetry of the potential. It is established that at the values of the external force, for which the enhancement of diffusion is most rapid, the level of coherence has a wide plateau at low temperatures with the value of the Peclet factor 2. An interpretation of the amplification of diffusion in comparison with free thermal diffusion in terms of probability distribution is proposed.Comment: To appear in PR

Structural Ordering and Antisite Defect Formation in Double Perovskites

We formulate an effective model for B-B' site ordering in double perovskite materials A_2BB'O_6. Even within the simple framework of lattice-gas type models, we are able to address several experimentally observed issues including nonmonotonic dependence of the degree of order on annealing temperature, and the rapid decrease of order upon overdoping with either B or B' species. We also study ordering in the `ternary' compounds A_2BB'_{1-y}B''_yO_6 Although our emphasis is on the double perovskites, our results are easily generalizable to a wide variety of binary and ternary alloys.Comment: 9 pages pdflatex, 21 embedded png fig

Bulk-sensitive photoemission spectroscopy of A_2FeMoO_6 double perovskites (A=Sr, Ba)

Electronic structures of Sr_2FeMoO_6 (SFMO) and Ba_2FeMoO_6 (BFMO) double perovskites have been investigated using the Fe 2p->3d resonant photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and the Cooper minimum in the Mo 4d photoionization cross section. The states close to the Fermi level are found to have strongly mixed Mo-Fe t_{2g} character, suggesting that the Fe valence is far from pure 3+. The Fe 2p_{3/2} XAS spectra indicate the mixed-valent Fe^{3+}-Fe^{2+} configurations, and the larger Fe^{2+} component for BFMO than for SFMO, suggesting a kind of double exchange interaction. The valence-band PES spectra reveal good agreement with the LSDA+U calculation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

A large sub-Neptune transiting the thick-disk M4 V TOI-2406

We thank the anonymous referee for their corrections and help in improving the paper. We warmly thank the entire technical staff of the Observatorio Astronomico Nacional at San Pedro Martir in Mexico for their unfailing support to SAINT-EX operations, namely: E. Cadena, T. Calvario, E. Colorado, B. Garcia, G. Guisa, A. Franco, L. Figueroa, B. Hernandez, J. Herrera, E. Lopez, E. Lugo, B. Martinez, J. M. Nunez, J. L. Ochoa, M. Pereyra, F. Quiroz, T. Verdugo, I. Zavala. B.V.R. thanks the Heising-Simons Foundation for support. Y.G.M.C acknowledges support from UNAM-PAPIIT IG-101321. B.-O. D. acknowledges support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (PP00P2-163967 and PP00P2-190080). R.B. acknowledges the support from the Swiss National Science Foundation under grant P2BEP2_195285. M.N.G. acknowledges support from MIT's Kavli Institute as a Juan Carlos Torres Fellow. A.H.M.J.T acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement nffi 803193/BEBOP), from the MERAC foundation, and from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC; grant nffi ST/S00193X/1). T.D. acknowledges support from MIT's Kavli Institute as a Kavli postdoctoral fellow Part of this work received support from the National Centre for Competence in Research PlanetS, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The research leading to these results has received funding from the ARC grant for Concerted Research Actions, financed by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. TRAPPIST is funded by the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (Fond National de la Recherche Scientifique, FNRS) under the grant FRFC 2.5.594.09.F, with the participation of the Swiss National Science Fundation (SNF). M.G. and E.J. are F.R.S.-FNRS Senior Research Associate. This publication benefits from the support of the French Community of Belgium in the context of the FRIA Doctoral Grant awarded to MT. We acknowledge the use of public TESS data from pipelines at the TESS Science Office and at the TESS Science Processing Operations Center. We acknowledge the use of public TESS Alert data from pipelines at the TESS Science Office and at the TESS Science Processing Operations Center. Resources supporting this work were provided by the NASA High-End Computing (HEC) Program through the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division at Ames Research Center for the production of the SPOC data products. Funding for the TESS mission is provided by NASA's Science Mission Directorate. This research has made use of the Exoplanet Follow-up Observation Program website, which is operated by the California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under the Exoplanet Exploration Program. This paper includes data collected by the TESS mission that are publicly available from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST). We thank the TESS GI program G03274 PI, Ryan Cloutier, for proposing the target of this work for 2-min-cadence observations in Sector 30. This work is based upon observations carried out at the Observatorio Astronomico Nacional on the Sierra de San Pedro Martir (OAN-SPM), Baja California, Mexico. This work makes use of observations from the LCOGT network. Part of the LCOGT telescope time was granted by NOIRLab through the Mid-Scale Innovations Program (MSIP). MSIP is funded by NSF. This work includes data collected at the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) on Mt. Graham. This paper includes data taken on the EDEN telescope network. We acknowledge support from the Earths in Other Solar Systems Project (EOS) and Alien Earths (grant numbers NNX15AD94G and 80NSSC21K0593), sponsored by NASA. Some of the observations in the paper made use of the High-Resolution Imaging instrument Zorro (Gemini program GS-2020B-LP-105). Zorro was funded by the NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program and built at the NASA Ames Research Center by Steve B. Howell, Nic Scott, Elliott P. Horch, and Emmett Quigley. Zorro was mounted on the Gemini South telescope of the international Gemini Observatory, a program of NSF's OIR Lab, which is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. on behalf of the Gemini partnership: the National Science Foundation (United States), National Research Council (Canada), Agencia Nacional de Investigacion y Desarrollo (Chile), Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacion (Argentina), Ministerio da Ciencia, Tecnologia, Inovacoes e Comunicacoes (Brazil), and Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (Republic of Korea). This research has made use of the NASA Exoplanet Archive, which is operated by the California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under the Exoplanet Exploration Program. This work made use of the following Python packages: astropy (Astropy Collaboration 2013, 2018), lightkurve (Lightkurve Collaboration 2018), matplotlib (Hunter 2007), pandas (Wes McKinney 2010), seaborn (Waskom & The Seaborn Development team 2021), scipy (Virtanen et al. 2020) and numpy (Harris et al. 2020).Context. Large sub-Neptunes are uncommon around the coolest stars in the Galaxy and are rarer still around those that are metal-poor. However, owing to the large planet-to-star radius ratio, these planets are highly suitable for atmospheric study via transmission spectroscopy in the infrared, such as with JWST. Aims. Here we report the discovery and validation of a sub-Neptune orbiting the thick-disk, mid-M dwarf star TOI-2406. The star's low metallicity and the relatively large size and short period of the planet make TOI-2406 b an unusual outcome of planet formation, and its characterisation provides an important observational constraint for formation models. Methods. We first infer properties of the host star by analysing the star's near-infrared spectrum, spectral energy distribution, and Gaia parallax. We use multi-band photometry to confirm that the transit event is on-target and achromatic, and we statistically validate the TESS signal as a transiting exoplanet. We then determine physical properties of the planet through global transit modelling of the TESS and ground-based time-series data. Results. We determine the host to be a metal-poor M4 V star, located at a distance of 56 pc, with properties T-eff = 3100 +/- 75 K, M-* = 0.162 +/- 0.008M(circle dot), R-* = 0.202 +/- 0.011R(circle dot), and [Fe/H] = -0.38 +/- 0.07, and a member of the thick disk. The planet is a relatively large sub-Neptune for the M-dwarf planet population, with R-p = 2.94 +/- 0.17R(circle plus) and P= 3.077 d, producing transits of 2% depth. We note the orbit has a non-zero eccentricity to 3 sigma, prompting questions about the dynamical history of the system. Conclusions. This system is an interesting outcome of planet formation and presents a benchmark for large-planet formation around metal-poor, low-mass stars. The system warrants further study, in particular radial velocity follow-up to determine the planet mass and constrain possible bound companions. Furthermore, TOI-2406 b is a good target for future atmospheric study through transmission spectroscopy. Although the planet's mass remains to be constrained, we estimate the S/N using amass-radius relationship, ranking the system fifth in the population of large sub-Neptunes, with TOI-2406 b having a much lower equilibrium temperature than other spectroscopically accessible members of this population.Heising-Simons FoundationPrograma de Apoyo a Proyectos de Investigacion e Innovacion Tecnologica (PAPIIT)Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico IG-101321Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)European Commission PP00P2-163967 PP00P2-190080 P2BEP2_195285MIT's Kavli Institute as a Juan Carlos Torres FellowEuropean Research Council (ERC) nffi 803193/BEBOPMERAC foundationUK Research & Innovation (UKRI)Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC)Science and Technology Development Fund (STDF) nffi ST/S00193X/1MIT's Kavli Institute as a Kavli postdoctoral fellowSwiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)Australian Research CouncilFonds de la Recherche Scientifique - FNRS FRFC 2.5.594.09.FSwiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)French Community of Belgium in the context of the FRIA Doctoral GrantNASA High-End Computing (HEC) Program through the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division at Ames Research CenterNASA's Science Mission DirectorateNational Aeronautics and Space Administration under the Exoplanet Exploration ProgramTESS GI program G03274National Science Foundation (NSF)Earths in Other Solar Systems Project (EOS)Alien Earths - NASA NNX15AD94G 80NSSC21K0593High-Resolution Imaging instrument Zorro (Gemini program) GS-2020B-LP-105NASA Exoplanet Exploration ProgramNational Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)National Science Foundation (NSF

Impact of long-term exposure to ambient ozone on lung function over a course of 20 years (The ECRHS study): a prospective cohort study in adults

Background While the adverse effects of short-term ambient ozone exposure on lung function are well-documented, the impact of long-term exposure remains poorly understood, especially in adults. Methods We aimed to investigate the association between long-term ozone exposure and lung function decline. The 3014 participants were drawn from 17 centers across eight countries, all of which were from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS). Spirometry was conducted to measure pre-bronchodilation forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) at approximately 35, 44, and 55 years of age. We assigned annual mean values of daily maximum running 8-h average ozone concentrations to individual residential addresses. Adjustments were made for PM2.5, NO2, and greenness. To capture the ozone-related change in spirometric parameters, our linear mixed effects regression models included an interaction term between long-term ozone exposure and age. Findings Mean ambient ozone concentrations were approximately 65 μg/m³. A one interquartile range increase of 7 μg/m³ in ozone was associated with a faster decline in FEV1 of −2.08 mL/year (95% confidence interval: −2.79, −1.36) and in FVC of −2.86 mL/year (−3.73, −1.99) mL/year over the study period. Associations were robust after adjusting for PM2.5, NO2, and greenness. The associations were more pronounced in residents of northern Europe and individuals who were older at baseline. No consistent associations were detected with the FEV1/FVC ratio. Interpretation Long-term exposure to elevated ambient ozone concentrations was associated with a faster decline of spirometric lung function among middle-aged European adults over a 20-year period

Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries

People across the world and throughout history have gone to great lengths to enhance their physical appearance. Evolutionary psychologists and ethologists have largely attempted to explain this phenomenon via mating preferences and strategies. Here, we test one of the most popular evolutionary hypotheses for beauty-enhancing behaviors, drawn from mating market and parasite stress perspectives, in a large cross-cultural sample. We also test hypotheses drawn from other influential and non-mutually exclusive theoretical frameworks, from biosocial role theory to a cultural media perspective. Survey data from 93,158 human participants across 93 countries provide evidence that behaviors such as applying makeup or using other cosmetics, hair grooming, clothing style, caring for body hygiene, and exercising or following a specific diet for the specific purpose of improving ones physical attractiveness, are universal. Indeed, 99% of participants reported spending >10 min a day performing beauty-enhancing behaviors. The results largely support evolutionary hypotheses: more time was spent enhancing beauty by women (almost 4 h a day, on average) than by men (3.6 h a day), by the youngest participants (and contrary to predictions, also the oldest), by those with a relatively more severe history of infectious diseases, and by participants currently dating compared to those in established relationships. The strongest predictor of attractiveness-enhancing behaviors was social media usage. Other predictors, in order of effect size, included adhering to traditional gender roles, residing in countries with less gender equality, considering oneself as highly attractive or, conversely, highly unattractive, TV watching time, higher socioeconomic status, right-wing political beliefs, a lower level of education, and personal individualistic attitudes. This study provides novel insight into universal beauty-enhancing behaviors by unifying evolutionary theory with several other complementary perspectives

Telomerase promoter mutations in cancer: an emerging molecular biomarker?

João Vinagre, Vasco Pinto and Ricardo Celestino contributed equally to the manuscript.Cell immortalization has been considered for a long time as a classic hallmark of cancer cells. Besides telomerase reactivation, such immortalization could be due to telomere maintenance through the “alternative mechanism of telomere lengthening” (ALT) but the mechanisms underlying both forms of reactivation remained elusive. Mutations in the coding region of telomerase gene are very rare in the cancer setting, despite being associated with some degenerative diseases. Recently, mutations in telomerase (TERT) gene promoter were found in sporadic and familial melanoma and subsequently in several cancer models, notably in gliomas, thyroid cancer and bladder cancer. The importance of these findings has been reinforced by the association of TERT mutations in some cancer types with tumour aggressiveness and patient survival. In the first part of this review, we summarize the data on the biology of telomeres and telomerase, available methodological approaches and non-neoplastic diseases associated with telomere dysfunction. In the second part, we review the information on telomerase expression and genetic alterations in the most relevant types of cancer (skin, thyroid, bladder and central nervous system) on record, and discuss the value of telomerase as a new biomarker with impact on the prognosis and survival of the patients and as a putative therapeutic target