In-Cave and Surface Geophysics to Detect a “Lost” River in the Upper Levels of the Mammoth Cave System

In early 1960, explorers accessed a significant underground river through a crawlspace beneath a ledge in Swinnerton Avenue southeast of the Duck-Under. However, later expeditions failed to find this crawlspace. Instead, the level of sediment in the passage is now generally at or above the rock ledge, leaving no openings to lower level passages other than the Duck-Under itself. Apparently recent organic material (leaves, twigs, etc.) observed in passages just below the Duck-Under may be related to open channel fl ow from storm events which could theoretically provide local sediment transport. Therefore we have used in-cave spontaneous potential (SP), ground penetrating radar (GPR), and acoustic profiling, as well as surface mise-a-la-masse resistivity profiling, in an attempt to locate the river itself rather than the missing crawlway. Incave dye studies and additional geophysical profiling are needed to work out the detailed 3-D hydraulics of this region of the cave system

Design and Applications of Multi-Frequency Holographic Subsurface Radar: Review and Case Histories

Holographic subsurface radar (HSR) is not currently in widespread usage. This is due to a historical perspective in the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) community that the high attenuation of electromagnetic waves in most media of interest and the inability to apply time-varying gain to the continuous-wave (CW) HSR signal preclude sufficient effective penetration depth. While it is true that the fundamental physics of HSR, with its use of a CW signal, does not allow amplification of later (i.e., deeper) arrivals in lossy media (as is possible with impulse subsurface radar (ISR)), HSR has distinct advantages. The most important of these is the ability to do shallow subsurface imaging with a resolution that is not possible with ISR. In addition, the design of an HSR system is simpler than for ISR due to the relatively low-tech transmitting and receiving antennae. This paper provides a review of the main principles of HSR through an optical analogy and describes possible algorithms for radar hologram reconstruction. We also present a review of the history of development of systems and applications of the RASCAN type, which is possibly the only commercially available holographic subsurface radar. Among the subsurface imaging and remote sensing applications considered are humanitarian demining, construction inspection, nondestructive testing of dielectric aerospace materials, surveys of historic architecture and artworks, paleontology, and security screening. Each application is illustrated with relevant data acquired in laboratory and/or field experiments

Co-Targeting FASN and mTOR Suppresses Uveal Melanoma Growth

Uveal melanoma (UM) displays a high frequency of metastasis; however, effective therapies for metastatic UM are limited. Identifying unique metabolic features of UM may provide a potential targeting strategy. A lipid metabolism protein expression signature was induced in a normal choroidal melanocyte (NCM) line transduced with GNAQ (Q209L), a driver in UM growth and development. Consistently, UM cells expressed elevated levels of fatty acid synthase (FASN) compared to NCMs. FASN upregulation was associated with increased mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) activation and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1) levels. FASN and mTOR inhibitors alone significantly reduced UM cell growth. Concurrent inhibition of FASN and mTOR further reduced UM cell growth by promoting cell cycle arrest and inhibiting glucose utilization, TCA cycle metabolism, and de novo fatty acid biosynthesis. Our findings indicate that FASN is important for UM cell growth and co-inhibition of FASN and mTOR signaling may be considered for treatment of UM

MUSiC : a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.Peer reviewe

Measurement of prompt open-charm production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

The production cross sections for prompt open-charm mesons in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV are reported. The measurement is performed using a data sample collected by the CMS experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 29 nb(-1). The differential production cross sections of the D*(+/-), D-+/-, and D-0 ((D) over bar (0)) mesons are presented in ranges of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity 4 < p(T) < 100 GeV and vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.1, respectively. The results are compared to several theoretical calculations and to previous measurements.Peer reviewe

Search for new particles in events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb(-1), collected in 2017-2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with an earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb(-1), collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.Peer reviewe