Ancient Yersinia pestis genomes from across Western Europe reveal early diversification during the First Pandemic (541–750)

The first historically documented pandemic caused by Yersinia pestis began as the Justinianic Plague in 541 within the Roman Empire and continued as the so-called First Pandemic until 750. Although paleogenomic studies have previously identified the causative agent as Y. pestis, little is known about the bacterium’s spread, diversity, and genetic history over the course of the pandemic. To elucidate the microevolution of the bacterium during this time period, we screened human remains from 21 sites in Austria, Britain, Germany, France, and Spain for Y. pestis DNA and reconstructed eight genomes. We present a methodological approach assessing single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ancient bacterial genomes, facilitating qualitative analyses of low coverage genomes from a metagenomic background. Phylogenetic analysis on the eight reconstructed genomes reveals the existence of previously undocumented Y. pestis diversity during the sixth to eighth centuries, and provides evidence for the presence of multiple distinct Y. pestis strains in Europe. We offer genetic evidence for the presence of the Justinianic Plague in the British Isles, previously only hypothesized from ambiguous documentary accounts, as well as the parallel occurrence of multiple derived strains in central and southern France, Spain, and southern Germany. Four of the reported strains form a polytomy similar to others seen across the Y. pestis phylogeny, associated with the Second and Third Pandemics. We identified a deletion of a 45-kb genomic region in the most recent First Pandemic strains affecting two virulence factors, intriguingly overlapping with a deletion found in 17th- to 18th-century genomes of the Second Pandemic. © 2019 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

Dynamical Structure Factors of the Spin-1/2 XXZ Chain with Inverse-Square Exchange and Ising Anisotropy

The dynamical properties of the S=1/2 antiferromagnetic XXZ chain are studied by the exact diagonalization and the recursion method of finite systems up to 24 sites. Two types of the exchange interaction are considered: one is the nearest-neighbor type, and the other is the inverse-square one. As the Ising anisotropy becomes larger, there appears a noticeable difference in the transverse component S^{xx}(q,\omega) between the two types of the exchange. For the nearest-neighbor type, the peak frequency of S^{xx}(q,\omega) for each q approaches the center of the continuum spectrum. On the contrary, the peak frequency for the inverse-square type moves to the upper edge of the continuum, and separates from the continuum for the anisotropy larger than the threshold value. Whether the interaction between domain walls (solitons) is absent or repulsive in the Ising limit leads to this difference in the behavior of S^{xx}(q,\omega). In the longitudinal component S^{zz}(q,\omega), on the other hand, the feature of the dynamics is scarcely different between the two types. The energy gap and the static properties are also discussed.Comment: 10 pages. A hard copy of 16 figures is available on request. Submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Superconductivity from correlated hopping

We consider a chain described by a next-nearest-neighbor hopping combined with a nearest-neighbor spin flip. In two dimensions this three-body term arises from a mapping of the three-band Hubbard model for CuO$_2$ planes to a generalized $t-J$ model and for large O-O hopping favors resonance-valence-bond superconductivity of predominantly $d$-wave symmetry. Solving the ground state and low-energy excitations by analytical and numerical methods we find that the chain is a Luther-Emery liquid with correlation exponent $K_{\rho} = (2-n)^2/2$, where $n$ is the particle density.Comment: 10 pages, RevTeX 3.0 + 2 PostScript figs. Accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.

Spin Dynamics of the One-Dimensional J-J' Model and Spin-Peierls Transition in CuGeO_3

Spin dynamics as well as static properties of the one-dimensional J-J' model (S=1/2, J>0 and 0\le \alpha=J'/J\le 0.5) are studied by the exact diagonalization and the recursion method of finite systems up to 26 sites. Especially, the dynamical structure factor S(q,\omega) is investigated carefully for various values of \alpha. As \alpha increases beyond the gapless-gapful critical value \alpha_c=0.2411, there appear features definitely different from the Heisenberg model but the same with the Majumdar-Ghosh model. Some of these features depend only on the value of \alpha and not on \delta: a parameter introduced for the coupling alternation. By comparing these results with a recent inelastic neutron scattering spectrum of an inorganic spin-Peierls compound CuGeO_3 [M. Arai et al.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 77 (1996) 3649], it is found that the frustration by J' in CuGeO_3 is unexpectedly strong (\alpha=0.4-0.45), and at least \alpha must be larger than \alpha_c to some extent. The value of J is evaluated at \sim 180K consistent with other estimations. The coupling alternation is extremely small. This large frustration is a primary origin of the various anomalous properties CuGeO_3 possesses. For comparison we refer also to \alpha'-NaV_2O_5.Comment: 14 pages. A hard copy of 20 figures is available on request. To be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. Vol. 66 No. 11 (1997

Added Value of Molecular Biological Analysis in Diagnosis and Clinical Management of Liposarcoma: A 30-Year Single-Institution Experience

Biological, physical and clinical aspects of cancer treatment with ionising radiatio

Vampires in the village Žrnovo on the island of Korčula: following an archival document from the 18th century

Središnja tema rada usmjerena je na raščlambu spisa pohranjenog u Državnom arhivu u Mlecima (fond: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) koji se odnosi na događaj iz 1748. godine u korčulanskom selu Žrnovo, kada su mještani – vjerujući da su se pojavili vampiri – oskvrnuli nekoliko mjesnih grobova. U radu se podrobno iznose osnovni podaci iz spisa te rečeni događaj analizira u širem društvenom kontekstu i prate se lokalna vjerovanja.The main interest of this essay is the analysis of the document from the State Archive in Venice (file: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) which is connected with the episode from 1748 when the inhabitants of the village Žrnove on the island of Korčula in Croatia opened tombs on the local cemetery in the fear of the vampires treating. This essay try to show some social circumstances connected with this event as well as a local vernacular tradition concerning superstitions

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

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