Interamna lirenas and its territory (comune di pignataro interamna, provincia di frosinone, regione lazio)

The archaeological fieldwork at Interamna Lirenas is part of an integrated research project involving geophysical prospection, field survey and excavation, all aimed at exploring the long-term development of the Roman town and its territory from its colonial origin (late 4th c. BC) well into Late Antiquity (6th c. AD) (Bellini, Launaro and Millett 2014). The full coverage Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey of the urban area (in collaboration with Ghent University) and the main excavation of the roofed theatre (theatrum tectum) were brought to completion in the course of the eighth fieldwork season (2017)

Interamna lirenas and its territory (comune di pignataro interamna, provincia di frosinone, Regione Lazio)

Interim report on excavations 201

Interamna Lirenas and its territory (Comune di Pignataro Interamna, Provincia di Frosinone, Regione Lazio)

The fieldwork project at Interamna Lirenas has run for six consecutive years in 2015. Since its inception, our research has endeavoured to combine an integrated array of field methodologies including geophysical survey, fieldwalking and (since 2013) excavation (Bellini et al., 2012; 2013; 2014; Ballantyne et al., 2015). The range of data so collected not only has prompted a fundamental change in our understanding of the long-term development of the site and its hinterland (e.g. moving away from narratives of early decline), but it has also further reinforced our belief in the enormous informative potential of large-scale remote sensing (e.g. making it possible to cast the results of trench excavation and surface collections against a much broader and more complex interpretive canvas).The project is run in collaboration with the British School at Rome and the Soprintendenza Archeologia del Lazio e dell'Etruria Meridionale. It has benefited from the generous support of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the British Academy, the Leverhulme Trust, the Faculty of Classics (University of Cambridge), the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research (University of Cambridge) and the Comune di Pignataro Interamna

Loss-of-function of the Voltage-gated Sodium Channel NaV1.5 (Channelopathies) in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Background & Aims SCN5A encodes the α-subunit of the voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.5. Many patients with cardiac arrhythmias caused by mutations in SCN5A also have symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We investigated whether patients with IBS have SCN5A variants that affect the function of NaV1.5. Methods We performed genotype analysis of SCN5A in 584 persons with IBS and 1380 without IBS (controls). Mutant forms of SCN5A were expressed in human embryonic kidney-293 cells, and functions were assessed by voltage clamp analysis. A genome-wide association study was analyzed for an association signal for the SCN5A gene, and replicated in 1745 patients in 4 independent cohorts of IBS patients and controls. Results Missense mutations were found in SCN5A in 13 of 584 patients (2.2%, probands). Diarrhea-predominant IBS was the most prevalent form of IBS in the overall study population (25%). However, a greater percentage of individuals with SCN5A mutations had constipation-predominant IBS (31%) than diarrhea-predominant IBS (10%; P <.05). Electrophysiologic analysis showed that 10 of 13 detected mutations disrupted NaV1.5 function (9 loss-of-function and 1 gain-of-function function). The p. A997T-NaV1.5 had the greatest effect in reducing NaV1.5 function. Incubation of cells that expressed this variant with mexiletine restored their sodium current and administration of mexiletine to 1 carrier of this mutation (who had constipation-predominant IBS) normalized their bowel habits. In the genome-wide association study and 4 replicated studies, the SCN5A locus was strongly associated with IBS. Conclusions About 2% of patients with IBS carry mutations in SCN5A. Most of these are loss-of-function mutations that disrupt Na V1.5 channel function. These findings provide a new pathogenic mechanism for IBS and possible treatment options

Search for rare quark-annihilation decays, B --> Ds(*) Phi

We report on searches for B- --> Ds- Phi and B- --> Ds*- Phi. In the context of the Standard Model, these decays are expected to be highly suppressed since they proceed through annihilation of the b and u-bar quarks in the B- meson. Our results are based on 234 million Upsilon(4S) --> B Bbar decays collected with the BABAR detector at SLAC. We find no evidence for these decays, and we set Bayesian 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions BF(B- --> Ds- Phi) Ds*- Phi)<1.2x10^(-5). These results are consistent with Standard Model expectations.Comment: 8 pages, 3 postscript figues, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid Communications

Investigation of Dyslexia and SLI Risk Variants in Reading- and Language-Impaired Subjects

Dyslexia (or reading disability) and specific language impairment (or SLI) are common childhood disorders that show considerable co-morbidity and diagnostic overlaps and have been suggested to share some genetic aetiology. Recently, genetic risk variants have been identified for SLI and dyslexia enabling the direct evaluation of possible shared genetic influences between these disorders. In this study we investigate the role of variants in these genes (namely MRPL19/C20RF3,ROBO1,DCDC2, KIAA0319, DYX1C1, CNTNAP2, ATP2C2 and CMIP) in the aetiology of SLI and dyslexia. We perform case–control and quantitative association analyses using measures of oral and written language skills in samples of SLI and dyslexic families and cases. We replicate association between KIAA0319 and DCDC2 and dyslexia and provide evidence to support a role for KIAA0319 in oral language ability. In addition, we find association between reading-related measures and variants in CNTNAP2 and CMIP in the SLI families

Measurement of the branching fraction for B−→D0K∗−B^- \to D^0 K^{*-}

We present a measurement of the branching fraction for the decay B- --> D0 K*- using a sample of approximately 86 million BBbar pairs collected by the BaBar detector from e+e- collisions near the Y(4S) resonance. The D0 is detected through its decays to K- pi+, K- pi+ pi0 and K- pi+ pi- pi+, and the K*- through its decay to K0S pi-. We measure the branching fraction to be B.F.(B- --> D0 K*-)= (6.3 +/- 0.7(stat.) +/- 0.5(syst.)) x 10^{-4}

Observation of a significant excess of π0π0\pi^{0}\pi^{0} events in B meson decays

We present an observation of the decay $B^{0} \to \pi^{0} \pi^{0}$ based on a sample of 124 million $B\bar{B}$ pairs recorded by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy $B$ Factory at SLAC. We observe $46 \pm 13 \pm 3$ events, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic, corresponding to a significance of 4.2 standard deviations including systematic uncertainties. We measure the branching fraction \BR(B^{0} \to \pi^{0} \pi^{0}) = (2.1 \pm 0.6 \pm 0.3) \times 10^{-6}, averaged over $B^{0}$ and $\bar{B}^{0}$ decays

A Precision Measurement of the Lambda_c Baryon Mass

The $\Lambda_c^+$ baryon mass is measured using $\Lambda_c^+\to\Lambda K^0_S K^+$ and $\Lambda_c^+\to\Sigma^0 K^0_S K^+$ decays reconstructed in 232 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected with the BaBar detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy $e^+e^-$ storage ring. The $\Lambda_c^+$ mass is measured to be $2286.46\pm0.14\mathrm{MeV}/c^2$. The dominant systematic uncertainties arise from the amount of material in the tracking volume and from the magnetic field strength.Comment: 14 pages, 8 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.