Relativistic Effects in Nuclear Matter and Nuclei

The status of relativistic nuclear many-body calculations of nuclear systems to be built up in terms of protons and neutrons is reviewed. In detail, relativistic effects on several aspects of nuclear matter such as the effective mass, saturation mechanism, and the symmetry energy are considered. This review will especially focus on isospin asymmetric issues, since these aspects are of high interest in astrophysical and nuclear structure studies. Furthermore, from the experimental side these aspects are experiencing an additional boost from a new generation of radioactive beam facilities, e.g. the future GSI facility FAIR in Germany or SPIRAL2 at GANIL/France. Finally, the prospects of studying finite nuclei in microscopic calculations which are based on realistic $NN$ interactions by including relativistic effects in calculations of low momentum interactions are discussed.Comment: 57 pages, 16 figure

Expression of Ifnlr1 on intestinal epithelial cells is critical to the antiviral effects of IFN-lambda against norovirus and reovirus

Lambda interferon (IFN-λ) has potent antiviral effects against multiple enteric viral pathogens, including norovirus and rotavirus, in both preventing and curing infection. Because the intestine includes a diverse array of cell types, however, the cell(s) upon which IFN-λ acts to exert its antiviral effects is unclear. Here, we sought to identify IFN-λ-responsive cells by generation of mice with lineage-specific deletion of the receptor for IFN-λ, Ifnlr1. We found that expression of IFNLR1 on intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) in the small intestine and colon is required for enteric IFN-λ antiviral activity. IEC Ifnlr1 expression also determines the efficacy of IFN-λ in resolving persistent murine norovirus (MNoV) infection and regulates fecal shedding and viral titers in tissue. Thus, the expression of Ifnlr1 by IECs is necessary for the response to both endogenous and exogenous IFN-λ. We further demonstrate that IEC Ifnlr1 expression is required for the sterilizing innate immune effects of IFN-λ by extending these findings in Rag1-deficient mice. Finally, we assessed whether our findings pertained to multiple viral pathogens by infecting mice specifically lacking IEC Ifnlr1 expression with reovirus. These mice phenocopied Ifnlr1-null animals, exhibiting increased intestinal tissue titers and enhanced reovirus fecal shedding. Thus, IECs are the critical cell type responding to IFN-λ to control multiple enteric viruses. This is the first genetic evidence that supports an essential role for IECs in IFN-λ-mediated control of enteric viral infection, and these findings provide insight into the mechanism of IFN-λ-mediated antiviral activity. IMPORTANCE Human noroviruses (HNoVs) are the leading cause of epidemic gastroenteritis worldwide. Type III interferons (IFN-λ) control enteric viral infections in the gut and have been shown to cure mouse norovirus, a small-animal model for HNoVs. Using a genetic approach with conditional knockout mice, we identified IECs as the dominant IFN-λ-responsive cells in control of enteric virus infection in vivo. Upon murine norovirus or reovirus infection, Ifnlr1 depletion in IECs largely recapitulated the phenotype seen in Ifnlr1(−/−) mice of higher intestinal tissue viral titers and increased viral shedding in the stool. Moreover, IFN-λ-mediated sterilizing immunity against murine norovirus requires the capacity of IECs to respond to IFN-λ. These findings clarify the mechanism of action of this cytokine and emphasize the therapeutic potential of IFN-λ for treating mucosal viral infections

VIPER: Visualization Pipeline for RNA-seq, a Snakemake workflow for efficient and complete RNA-seq analysis

BACKGROUND: RNA sequencing has become a ubiquitous technology used throughout life sciences as an effective method of measuring RNA abundance quantitatively in tissues and cells. The increase in use of RNA-seq technology has led to the continuous development of new tools for every step of analysis from alignment to downstream pathway analysis. However, effectively using these analysis tools in a scalable and reproducible way can be challenging, especially for non-experts. RESULTS: Using the workflow management system Snakemake we have developed a user friendly, fast, efficient, and comprehensive pipeline for RNA-seq analysis. VIPER (Visualization Pipeline for RNA-seq analysis) is an analysis workflow that combines some of the most popular tools to take RNA-seq analysis from raw sequencing data, through alignment and quality control, into downstream differential expression and pathway analysis. VIPER has been created in a modular fashion to allow for the rapid incorporation of new tools to expand the capabilities. This capacity has already been exploited to include very recently developed tools that explore immune infiltrate and T-cell CDR (Complementarity-Determining Regions) reconstruction abilities. The pipeline has been conveniently packaged such that minimal computational skills are required to download and install the dozens of software packages that VIPER uses. CONCLUSIONS: VIPER is a comprehensive solution that performs most standard RNA-seq analyses quickly and effectively with a built-in capacity for customization and expansion

REMPI Spectroscopy of HfF

The spectrum of electronic states at 30000--33000 cm$^{-1}$ in hafnium fluoride has been studied using (1+1) resonance-enhanced multi-photon ionization (REMPI) and (1+1$'$) REMPI. Six $\Omega' = 3/2$ and ten $\Pi_{1/2}$ vibronic bands have been characterized. We report the molecular constants for these bands and estimate the electronic energies of the excited states using a correction derived from the observed isotope shifts. When either of two closely spaced $\Pi_{1/2}$ electronic states is used as an intermediate state to access autoionizing Rydberg levels, qualitatively distinct autoionization spectra are observed. The intermediate state-specificity of the autoionization spectra bodes well for the possibility of using a selected $\Pi_{1/2}$ state as an intermediate state to create ionic HfF$^+$ in various selected quantum states, an important requirement for our electron electric dipole moment (eEDM) search in HfF$^+$.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl

Rhenium Uptake, as Analogue for Tc-99, by Steel Corrosion Products

Static batch experiments were used to examine the sorption of dissolved perrhenate [Re(VII)], as a surrogate for pertechnetate [Tc(VII)], on corrosion products of A-516 carbon steel coupons contacted with synthetic groundwater or dilute water. After 109 days of contact time, the concentration of dissolved Re(VII) in the synthetic groundwater matrix decreased by approximately 26%; the dilute water matrix experienced a 99% decrease in dissolved Re(VII) over the same time period. Bulk XRD results for the corroded steel coupons showed that the corrosion products consisted primarily of maghemite, lepidocrocite, and goethite. Analyses of the coupons by SEM/EDS indicated that Re was present with the morphologically complex assemblages of Fe oxide/hydroxide corrosion products for samples spiked with the highest dissolved Re(VII) concentration (1.0 mmol/L) used for these experiments. Analyses of corroded steel coupons contacted with solutions containing 1.0 mmol/L Re(VII) by synchrotron-based methods confirmed the presence of Re sorbed with the corrosion product on the steel coupons. Analyses showed that the Re sorbed on these corroded coupons was in the +7 oxidation state, suggesting that the Re(VII) uptake mechanism did not involve reduction of Re to a lower oxidation state, such as +4. The results of our studies using Re(VII) as an analogue for Tc(VII)-99 suggest that Tc(VII)-99 would also be sorbed with steel corrosion products and that the inventory of Tc(VII)-99 released from breached waste packages would be lower than what is now conservatively estimated

Relativistic quantum transport theory of hadronic matter: the coupled nucleon, delta and pion system

We derive the relativistic quantum transport equation for the pion distribution function based on an effective Lagrangian of the QHD-II model. The closed time-path Green's function technique, the semi-classical, quasi-particle and Born approximation are employed in the derivation. Both the mean field and collision term are derived from the same Lagrangian and presented analytically. The dynamical equation for the pions is consistent with that for the nucleons and deltas which we developed before. Thus, we obtain a relativistic transport model which describes the hadronic matter with $N$, $\Delta$ and $\pi$ degrees of freedom simultaneously. Within this approach, we investigate the medium effects on the pion dispersion relation as well as the pion absorption and pion production channels in cold nuclear matter. In contrast to the results of the non-relativistic model, the pion dispersion relation becomes harder at low momenta and softer at high momenta as compared to the free one, which is mainly caused by the relativistic kinetics. The theoretically predicted free $\pi N \to \Delta$ cross section is in agreement with the experimental data. Medium effects on the $\pi N \to \Delta$ cross section and momentum-dependent $\Delta$-decay width are shown to be substantial.Comment: 66 pages, Latex, 12 PostScript figures included; replaced by the revised version, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Thomas Graham Brown (1882–1965): Behind the Scenes at the Cardiff Institute of Physiology

Thomas Graham Brown undertook seminal experiments on the neural control of locomotion between 1910 and 1915. Although elected to the Royal Society in 1927, his locomotion research was largely ignored until the 1960s when it was championed and extended by the distinguished neuroscientist, Anders Lundberg. Puzzlingly, Graham Brown's published research stopped in the 1920s and he became renowned as a mountaineer. In this article, we review his life and multifaceted career, including his active neurological service in WWI. We outline events behind the scenes during his tenure at Cardiff's Institute of Physiology in Wales, UK, including an interview with his technician, Terrence J. Surman, who worked in this institute for over half a century

Hanford Tanks 241-C-202 and 241-C-203 Residual Waste Contaminant Release Models and Supporting Data

As directed by Congress, the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) established the Office of River Protection in 1998 to manage DOE's largest, most complex environmental cleanup project – retrieval of radioactive waste from Hanford tanks for treatment and eventual disposal. Sixty percent by volume of the nation's high-level radioactive waste is stored at Hanford in aging deteriorating tanks. If not cleaned up, this waste is a threat to the Columbia River and the Pacific Northwest. CH2M Hill Hanford Group, Inc., is the Office of River Protection's prime contractor responsible for the storage, retrieval, and disposal of Hanford's tank waste. As part of this effort, CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. contracted with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to develop release models for key contaminants that are present in residual sludge remaining after closure of Hanford Tanks 241-C-203 (C-203) and 241-C-204 (C-204). The release models were developed from data generated by laboratory characterization and testing of samples from these two tanks. These release models are being developed to support the tank closure risk assessments performed by CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc., for DOE

Upper limits on the strength of periodic gravitational waves from PSR J1939+2134

The first science run of the LIGO and GEO gravitational wave detectors presented the opportunity to test methods of searching for gravitational waves from known pulsars. Here we present new direct upper limits on the strength of waves from the pulsar PSR J1939+2134 using two independent analysis methods, one in the frequency domain using frequentist statistics and one in the time domain using Bayesian inference. Both methods show that the strain amplitude at Earth from this pulsar is less than a few times $10^{-22}$.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the Proceedings of the 5th Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves, Tirrenia, Pisa, Italy, 6-11 July 200