Effective double-beta-decay operator for 76Ge and 82Se

We use diagrammatic many-body perturbation theory in combination with low-momentum interactions derived from chiral effective field theory to construct effective shell-model transition operators for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge and 82Se. We include all unfolded diagrams to first- and second-order in the interaction and all singly folded diagrams that can be constructed from them. The resulting effective operator, which accounts for physics outside the shell-model space, increases the nuclear matrix element by about 20% in 76Ge and 30% in 82Se.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Unclamped hand-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for predominantly endophytic renal tumors

PURPOSE: To describe our initial experience with unclamped laparoscopic hand-assisted partial nephrectomy for predominantly endophytic renal masses in the setting of relative contraindication to warm ischemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Unclamped laparoscopic hand-assisted partial nephrectomy was performed on eight consecutive patients from June 2009 to March 2010. All patients had predominantly endophytic renal masses with a preferential enhancing rim noted on the pre-operative computed tomography. The unclamped hand-assisted approach was utilized for no warm ischemia, minimal blood loss, and enhanced visualization of the tumor bed with improved operative exposure. RESULTS: Mean age of the participants was 55.8 years. All patients underwent unclamped hand-assisted partial nephrectomy (ie, zero ischemia). Mean estimated blood loss was 368.8 cc (range, 100 to 800 cc) and mean operation time was 236.9 minutes (range, 175 to 272 minutes). There were no intra-operative complications and no open conversions. There was one grade II (ileus with small pneumothorax) and one grade IV (pulmonary embolism) in the 90-day peri-operative period. There was one positive surgical margin, which was recognized intra-operatively. CONCLUSION: While our results are preliminary, we feel this technique provides superior visualization and adequate hemostasis while preserving oncologic efficacy and renal function in this patient population

First Direct Double-Beta Decay Q-value Measurement of 82Se in Support of Understanding the Nature of the Neutrino

In anticipation of results from current and future double-beta decay studies, we report a measurement resulting in a 82Se double-beta decay Q-value of 2997.9(3) keV, an order of magnitude more precise than the currently accepted value. We also present preliminary results of a calculation of the 82Se neutrinoless double-beta decay nuclear matrix element that corrects in part for the small size of the shell model single-particle space. The results of this work are important for designing next generation double-beta decay experiments and for the theoretical interpretations of their observations.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Developmental cues and persistent neurogenic potential within an in vitro neural niche

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neurogenesis, the production of neural cell-types from neural stem cells (NSCs), occurs during development as well as within select regions of the adult brain. NSCs in the adult subependymal zone (SEZ) exist in a well-categorized niche microenvironment established by surrounding cells and their molecular products. The components of this niche maintain the NSCs and their definitive properties, including the ability to self-renew and multipotency (neuronal and glial differentiation).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We describe a model <it>in vitro </it>NSC niche, derived from embryonic stem cells, that produces many of the cells and products of the developing subventricular zone (SVZ) and adult SEZ NSC niche. We demonstrate a possible role for apoptosis and for components of the extracellular matrix in the maintenance of the NSC population within our niche cultures. We characterize expression of genes relevant to NSC self-renewal and the process of neurogenesis and compare these findings to gene expression produced by an established neural-induction protocol employing retinoic acid.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The <it>in vitro </it>NSC niche shows an identity that is distinct from the neurally induced embryonic cells that were used to derive it. Molecular and cellular components found in our <it>in vitro </it>NSC niche include NSCs, neural progeny, and ECM components and their receptors. Establishment of the <it>in vitro </it>NSC niche occurs in conjunction with apoptosis. Applications of this culture system range from studies of signaling events fundamental to niche formation and maintenance as well as development of unique NSC transplant platforms to treat disease or injury.</p

Observations of Arp 220 using Herschel-SPIRE: An Unprecedented View of the Molecular Gas in an Extreme Star Formation Environment

We present Herschel SPIRE-FTS observations of Arp~220, a nearby ULIRG. The FTS continuously covers 190 -- 670 microns, providing a good measurement of the continuum and detection of several molecular and atomic species. We detect luminous CO (J = 4-3 to 13-12) and water ladders with comparable total luminosity; very high-J HCN absorption; OH+, H2O+, and HF in absorption; and CI and NII. Modeling of the continuum yields warm dust, with T = 66 K, and an unusually large optical depth of ~5 at 100 microns. Non-LTE modeling of the CO shows two temperature components: cold molecular gas at T ~ 50 K and warm molecular gas at T ~1350 K. The mass of the warm gas is 10% of the cold gas, but dominates the luminosity of the CO ladder. The temperature of the warm gas is in excellent agreement with H2 rotational lines. At 1350 K, H2 dominates the cooling (~20 L_sun/M_sun) in the ISM compared to CO (~0.4 L_sun/M_sun). We found that only a non-ionizing source such as the mechanical energy from supernovae and stellar winds can excite the warm gas and satisfy the energy budget of ~20 L_sun/M_sun. We detect a massive molecular outflow in Arp 220 from the analysis of strong P-Cygni line profiles observed in OH+, H2O+, and H2O. The outflow has a mass > 10^{7} M_sun and is bound to the nuclei with velocity < 250 km/s. The large column densities observed for these molecular ions strongly favor the existence of an X-ray luminous AGN (10^{44} ergs/s) in Arp 220.Comment: Accepted in ApJ on September 1, 201

Three Pseudomonas putida FNR Family Proteins with Different Sensitivities to O-2

The Escherichia coli fumarate-nitrate reduction regulator (FNR) protein is the paradigm for bacterial O2-sensing transcription factors. However, unlike E. coli, some bacterial species possess multiple FNR proteins that presumably have evolved to fulfill distinct roles. Here, three FNR proteins (ANR, PP_3233, and PP_3287) from a single bacterial species, Pseudomonas putida KT2440, have been analyzed. Under anaerobic conditions, all three proteins had spectral properties resembling those of [4Fe-4S] proteins. The reactivity of the ANR [4Fe-4S] cluster with O2 was similar to that of E. coli FNR, and during conversion to the apo-protein, via a [2Fe-2S] intermediate, cluster sulfur was retained. Like ANR, reconstituted PP_3233 and PP_3287 were converted to [2Fe-2S] forms when exposed to O2, but their [4Fe-4S] clusters reacted more slowly. Transcription from an FNR-dependent promoter with a consensus FNR-binding site in P. putida and E. coli strains expressing only one FNR protein was consistent with the in vitro responses to O2. Taken together, the experimental results suggest that the local environments of the iron-sulfur clusters in the different P. putida FNR proteins influence their reactivity with O2, such that ANR resembles E. coli FNR and is highly responsive to low concentrations of O2, whereas PP_3233 and PP_3287 have evolved to be less sensitive to O2

Toward visualization of nanomachines in their native cellular environment

The cellular nanocosm is made up of numerous types of macromolecular complexes or biological nanomachines. These form functional modules that are organized into complex subcellular networks. Information on the ultra-structure of these nanomachines has mainly been obtained by analyzing isolated structures, using imaging techniques such as X-ray crystallography, NMR, or single particle electron microscopy (EM). Yet there is a strong need to image biological complexes in a native state and within a cellular environment, in order to gain a better understanding of their functions. Emerging methods in EM are now making this goal reachable. Cryo-electron tomography bypasses the need for conventional fixatives, dehydration and stains, so that a close-to-native environment is retained. As this technique is approaching macromolecular resolution, it is possible to create maps of individual macromolecular complexes. X-ray and NMR data can be ‘docked’ or fitted into the lower resolution particle density maps to create a macromolecular atlas of the cell under normal and pathological conditions. The majority of cells, however, are too thick to be imaged in an intact state and therefore methods such as ‘high pressure freezing’ with ‘freeze-substitution followed by room temperature plastic sectioning’ or ‘cryo-sectioning of unperturbed vitreous fully hydrated samples’ have been introduced for electron tomography. Here, we review methodological considerations for visualizing nanomachines in a close-to-physiological, cellular context. EM is in a renaissance, and further innovations and training in this field should be fully supported

Metabolic Rift or Metabolic Shift? Dialectics, Nature, and the World-Historical Method

Abstract In the flowering of Red-Green Thought over the past two decades, metabolic rift thinking is surely one of its most colorful varieties. The metabolic rift has captured the imagination of critical environmental scholars, becoming a shorthand for capitalism’s troubled relations in the web of life. This article pursues an entwined critique and reconstruction: of metabolic rift thinking and the possibilities for a post-Cartesian perspective on historical change, the world-ecology conversation. Far from dismissing metabolic rift thinking, my intention is to affirm its dialectical core. At stake is not merely the mode of explanation within environmental sociology. The impasse of metabolic rift thinking is suggestive of wider problems across the environmental social sciences, now confronted by a double challenge. One of course is the widespread—and reasonable—sense of urgency to evolve modes of thought appropriate to an era of deepening biospheric instability. The second is the widely recognized—but inadequately internalized—understanding that humans are part of nature

Line orientation adaptation: local or global?

Prolonged exposure to an oriented line shifts the perceived orientation of a subsequently observed line in the opposite direction, a phenomenon known as the tilt aftereffect (TAE). Here we consider whether the TAE for line stimuli is mediated by a mechanism that integrates the local parts of the line into a single global entity prior to the site of adaptation, or the result of the sum of local TAEs acting separately on the parts of the line. To test between these two alternatives we used the fact the TAE transfers almost completely across luminance contrast polarity [1]. We measured the TAE using adaptor and test lines that (1) either alternated in luminance polarity or were of a single polarity, and (2) either alternated in local orientation or were of a single orientation. We reasoned that if the TAE was agnostic to luminance polarity and was parts-based, we should obtain large TAEs using alternating-polarity adaptors with single-polarity tests. However we found that (i) TAEs using one-alternating-polarity adaptors with all-white tests were relatively small, increased slightly for two-alternating-polarity adaptors, and were largest with all-white or all-black adaptors. (ii) however TAEs were relatively large when the test was one-alternating polarity, irrespective of the adaptor type. (iii) The results with orientation closely mirrored those obtained with polarity with the difference that the TAE transfer across orthogonal orientations was weak. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the TAE for lines is mediated by a global shape mechanism that integrates the parts of lines into whole prior to the site of orientation adaptation. The asymmetry in the magnitude of TAE depending on whether the alternating-polarity lines was the adaptor or test can be explained by an imbalance in the population of neurons sensitive to 1st-and 2nd-order lines, with the 2nd-order lines being encoded by a subset of the mechanisms sensitive to 1st-order lines