Root system traits and its relationship with photosynthesis and productivity in four maize genotypes under drought

The present study combined evaluations of agronomic parameters such as roots morphometry (using the WinRhizo program) and leaf gas exchange, in order to detect features in the root system which allow the maintenance of photosynthetic rates and productivity in four maize genotypes contrasting for tolerance to water deficit (WD), two tolerant (DKB 390 and BRS1055) and two sensitive (BRS 1010 and 2B710). The genotypes showed similar tolerance to dehydration of leaf tissue, but the tolerant genotypes DKB 390 and BRS1055 presented higher photosynthetic rate and yield compared to the sensitive BRS 1010 and 2B710. Nevertheless, divergent strategies of adaptation to drought among tolerant genotypes were observed. The genotype DKB 390 presented physiological mechanisms in shoots responsible for minimizing water loss, which decreases the dependence of root adjustments to increase the absorption of water. In turn, the BRS 1055 genotype showed a drought avoidance strategy by producing fine roots associated with a higher leaf area

The Fermi Liquid as a Renormalization Group Fixed Point: the Role of Interference in the Landau Channel

We apply the finite-temperature renormalization-group (RG) to a model based on an effective action with a short-range repulsive interaction and a rotation invariant Fermi surface. The basic quantities of Fermi liquid theory, the Landau function and the scattering vertex, are calculated as fixed points of the RG flow in terms of the effective action's interaction function. The classic derivations of Fermi liquid theory, which apply the Bethe-Salpeter equation and amount to summing direct particle-hole ladder diagrams, neglect the zero-angle singularity in the exchange particle-hole loop. As a consequence, the antisymmetry of the forward scattering vertex is not guaranteed and the amplitude sum rule must be imposed by hand on the components of the Landau function. We show that the strong interference of the direct and exchange processes of particle-hole scattering near zero angle invalidates the ladder approximation in this region, resulting in temperature-dependent narrow-angle anomalies in the Landau function and scattering vertex. In this RG approach the Pauli principle is automatically satisfied. The consequences of the RG corrections on Fermi liquid theory are discussed. In particular, we show that the amplitude sum rule is not valid.Comment: 25 pages, RevTeX 3.

Rare charm meson decays D->Pl^+l^- and c->ul^+l^- in SM and MSSM

We study the nine possible rare charm meson decays D->Pl^+l^- (P=pi,K,eta,eta') using the Heavy Meson Chiral Lagrangians and find them to be dominated by the long distance contributions. The decay D^+ -> pi^+l^+l^- with the branching ratio 1*10^(-6) is expected to have the best chances for an early experimental discovery. The short distance contribution in the five Cabibbo suppressed channels arises via the c->ul^+l^- transition; we find that this contribution is detectable only in the D->pi l^+l^- decay, where it dominates the differential spectrum at high-q^2. The general Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model can enhance the c->ul^+l^- rate by up to an order of magnitude; its effect on the D->Pl^+l^- rates is small since the c->ul^+l^- enhancement is sizable in low-q^2 region, which is inhibited in the hadronic decay.Comment: 17 page

The MIDAS telescope for microwave detection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays

We present the design, implementation and data taking performance of the MIcrowave Detection of Air Showers (MIDAS) experiment, a large field of view imaging telescope designed to detect microwave radiation from extensive air showers induced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays. This novel technique may bring a tenfold increase in detector duty cycle when compared to the standard fluorescence technique based on detection of ultraviolet photons. The MIDAS telescope consists of a 4.5 m diameter dish with a 53-pixel receiver camera, instrumented with feed horns operating in the commercial extended C-Band (3.4 -- 4.2 GHz). A self-trigger capability is implemented in the digital electronics. The main objectives of this first prototype of the MIDAS telescope - to validate the telescope design, and to demonstrate a large detector duty cycle - were successfully accomplished in a dedicated data taking run at the University of Chicago campus prior to installation at the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: 13 pages, 18 figure

An Integrated TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource to Drive High-Quality Survival Outcome Analytics

For a decade, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program collected clinicopathologic annotation data along with multi-platform molecular profiles of more than 11,000 human tumors across 33 different cancer types. TCGA clinical data contain key features representing the democratized nature of the data collection process. To ensure proper use of this large clinical dataset associated with genomic features, we developed a standardized dataset named the TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource (TCGA-CDR), which includes four major clinical outcome endpoints. In addition to detailing major challenges and statistical limitations encountered during the effort of integrating the acquired clinical data, we present a summary that includes endpoint usage recommendations for each cancer type. These TCGA-CDR findings appear to be consistent with cancer genomics studies independent of the TCGA effort and provide opportunities for investigating cancer biology using clinical correlates at an unprecedented scale. Analysis of clinicopathologic annotations for over 11,000 cancer patients in the TCGA program leads to the generation of TCGA Clinical Data Resource, which provides recommendations of clinical outcome endpoint usage for 33 cancer types

Update on the correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter

Data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory through 31 August 2007 showed evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays above the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min energy threshold, \nobreak{$6\times 10^{19}$eV}. The anisotropy was measured by the fraction of arrival directions that are less than $3.1^\circ$ from the position of an active galactic nucleus within 75 Mpc (using the V\'eron-Cetty and V\'eron $12^{\rm th}$ catalog). An updated measurement of this fraction is reported here using the arrival directions of cosmic rays recorded above the same energy threshold through 31 December 2009. The number of arrival directions has increased from 27 to 69, allowing a more precise measurement. The correlating fraction is $(38^{+7}_{-6})$, compared with $21$ expected for isotropic cosmic rays. This is down from the early estimate of $(69^{+11}_{-13})$. The enlarged set of arrival directions is examined also in relation to other populations of nearby extragalactic objects: galaxies in the 2 Microns All Sky Survey and active galactic nuclei detected in hard X-rays by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope. A celestial region around the position of the radiogalaxy Cen A has the largest excess of arrival directions relative to isotropic expectations. The 2-point autocorrelation function is shown for the enlarged set of arrival directions and compared to the isotropic expectation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics on 31 August 201

The Fluorescence Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory is a hybrid detector for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. It combines a surface array to measure secondary particles at ground level together with a fluorescence detector to measure the development of air showers in the atmosphere above the array. The fluorescence detector comprises 24 large telescopes specialized for measuring the nitrogen fluorescence caused by charged particles of cosmic ray air showers. In this paper we describe the components of the fluorescence detector including its optical system, the design of the camera, the electronics, and the systems for relative and absolute calibration. We also discuss the operation and the monitoring of the detector. Finally, we evaluate the detector performance and precision of shower reconstructions.Comment: 53 pages. Submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section

Measurement of charm production at central rapidity in proton-proton collisions at s=2.76\sqrt{s} = 2.76 TeV

The $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross sections of the prompt (B feed-down subtracted) charmed mesons D$^0$, D$^+$, and D$^{*+}$ in the rapidity range $|y|<0.5$, and for transverse momentum $1< p_{\rm T} <12$ GeV/$c$, were measured in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis exploited the hadronic decays D$^0 \rightarrow$K$\pi$, D$^+ \rightarrow$K$\pi\pi$, D$^{*+} \rightarrow$D$^0\pi$, and their charge conjugates, and was performed on a $L_{\rm int} = 1.1$ nb$^{-1}$ event sample collected in 2011 with a minimum-bias trigger. The total charm production cross section at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV and at 7 TeV was evaluated by extrapolating to the full phase space the $p_{\rm T}$-differential production cross sections at $\sqrt{s} = 2.76$ TeV and our previous measurements at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV. The results were compared to existing measurements and to perturbative-QCD calculations. The fraction of cdbar D mesons produced in a vector state was also determined.Comment: 20 pages, 5 captioned figures, 4 tables, authors from page 15, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/307

Search for First Harmonic Modulation in the Right Ascension Distribution of Cosmic Rays Detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory

We present the results of searches for dipolar-type anisotropies in different energy ranges above $2.5\times 10^{17}$ eV with the surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory, reporting on both the phase and the amplitude measurements of the first harmonic modulation in the right-ascension distribution. Upper limits on the amplitudes are obtained, which provide the most stringent bounds at present, being below 2% at 99% $C.L.$ for EeV energies. We also compare our results to those of previous experiments as well as with some theoretical expectations.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figure