Inclusive pion double charge exchange on Oxygen(16) at 0.6-1.1 GeV

The inclusive pion double charge exchange (DCX) on oxygen nuclei has been measured in the region where additional pion production is kinematically forbidden. The experiment was performed at ITEP PS at incident pi- kinetic energies T_0= 0.59, 0.75 and 1.1 GeV. The integrated forward differential cross section was found to decrease with energy slowly. At 1.1 GeV it exceeds the theoretical prediction within the conventional sequential single charge exchange mechanism with a neutral pion in the intermediate state (Glauber elastic rescattering) by about half an order of magnitude. The sequential mechanism with two pions in the intermediate state (Glauber inelastic rescatterings), which was proposed recently, seems to be able to explain the observed slow energy dependence and allows to predict the DCX cross section for higher energies.Comment: 27 pages, 13 figures. Minor corrections, one figure added. Accepted in NP

Launch of the Space experiment PAMELA

PAMELA is a satellite borne experiment designed to study with great accuracy cosmic rays of galactic, solar, and trapped nature in a wide energy range protons: 80 MeV-700 GeV, electrons 50 MeV-400 GeV). Main objective is the study of the antimatter component: antiprotons (80 MeV-190 GeV), positrons (50 MeV-270 GeV) and search for antimatter with a precision of the order of 10^-8). The experiment, housed on board the Russian Resurs-DK1 satellite, was launched on June, 15, 2006 in a 350*600 km orbit with an inclination of 70 degrees. The detector is composed of a series of scintillator counters arranged at the extremities of a permanent magnet spectrometer to provide charge, Time-of-Flight and rigidity information. Lepton/hadron identification is performed by a Silicon-Tungsten calorimeter and a Neutron detector placed at the bottom of the device. An Anticounter system is used offline to reject false triggers coming from the satellite. In self-trigger mode the Calorimeter, the neutron detector and a shower tail catcher are capable of an independent measure of the lepton component up to 2 TeV. In this work we describe the experiment, its scientific objectives and the performance in the first months after launch.Comment: Accepted for publication on Advances in Space Researc

Energy and Flux Measurements of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays Observed During the First ANITA Flight

The first flight of the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment recorded 16 radio signals that were emitted by cosmic-ray induced air showers. For 14 of these events, this radiation was reflected from the ice. The dominant contribution to the radiation from the deflection of positrons and electrons in the geomagnetic field, which is beamed in the direction of motion of the air shower. This radiation is reflected from the ice and subsequently detected by the ANITA experiment at a flight altitude of 36km. In this paper, we estimate the energy of the 14 individual events and find that the mean energy of the cosmic-ray sample is 2.9 EeV. By simulating the ANITA flight, we calculate its exposure for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We estimate for the first time the cosmic-ray flux derived only from radio observations. In addition, we find that the Monte Carlo simulation of the ANITA data set is in agreement with the total number of observed events and with the properties of those events.Comment: Added more explanation of the experimental setup and textual improvement

Coherent π0 photoproduction on the deuteron up to 4 GeV

The differential cross section for 2H(γ,d)π0 has been measured at deuteron center-of-mass angles of 90° and 136°. This work reports the first data for this reaction above a photon energy of 1 GeV, and permits a test of the apparent constituent counting rule and reduced nuclear amplitude behavior as observed in elastic ed scattering. Measurements were performed up to a photon energy of 4.0 GeV, and are in good agreement with previous lower energy measurements. Overall, the data are inconsistent with both constituent-counting rule and reduced nuclear amplitude predictions

SARS-CoV-2 Spike triggers barrier dysfunction and vascular leak via integrins and TGF-β signaling

Severe COVID-19 is associated with epithelial and endothelial barrier dysfunction within the lung as well as in distal organs. While it is appreciated that an exaggerated inflammatory response is associated with barrier dysfunction, the triggers of vascular leak are unclear. Here, we report that cell-intrinsic interactions between the Spike (S) glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 and epithelial/endothelial cells are sufficient to induce barrier dysfunction in vitro and vascular leak in vivo, independently of viral replication and the ACE2 receptor. We identify an S-triggered transcriptional response associated with extracellular matrix reorganization and TGF-β signaling. Using genetic knockouts and specific inhibitors, we demonstrate that glycosaminoglycans, integrins, and the TGF-β signaling axis are required for S-mediated barrier dysfunction. Notably, we show that SARS-CoV-2 infection caused leak in vivo, which was reduced by inhibiting integrins. Our findings offer mechanistic insight into SARS-CoV-2-triggered vascular leak, providing a starting point for development of therapies targeting COVID-19

Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. VII. Understanding the Ultraviolet Anomaly in NGC 5548 with X-Ray Spectroscopy

During the Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project observations of NGC 5548, the continuum and emission-line variability became decorrelated during the second half of the six-month-long observing campaign. Here we present Swift and Chandra X-ray spectra of NGC 5548 obtained as part of the campaign. The Swift spectra show that excess flux (relative to a power-law continuum) in the soft X-ray band appears before the start of the anomalous emission-line behavior, peaks during the period of the anomaly, and then declines. This is a model-independent result suggesting that the soft excess is related to the anomaly. We divide the Swift data into on- and off-anomaly spectra to characterize the soft excess via spectral fitting. The cause of the spectral differences is likely due to a change in the intrinsic spectrum rather than to variable obscuration or partial covering. The Chandra spectra have lower signal-to-noise ratios, but are consistent with the Swift data. Our preferred model of the soft excess is emission from an optically thick, warm Comptonizing corona, the effective optical depth of which increases during the anomaly. This model simultaneously explains all three observations: the UV emission-line flux decrease, the soft-excess increase, and the emission-line anomaly

Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study

A41 Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study In: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2017, 12(Suppl 1): A4

Measurements of Deuteron Photodisintegration up to 4.0 GeV

The first measurements of the differential cross section for the d(γ,p)n reaction up to 4.0 GeV were performed at the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at Thomas Jefferson Laboratory. We report the cross sections at the proton center-of-mass angles of 36°, 52°, 69°, and 89°. These results are in reasonable agreement with previous measurements at lower energy. The 89° and 69° data show constituent-counting-rule behavior up to 4.0 GeV photon energy. The 52° and 36° data disagree with the counting-rule behavior. The quantum chromodynamics (QCD) model of nuclear reactions involving reduced amplitudes disagrees with the present data.U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundatio