2,509 research outputs found
Statistical Physics of Fracture Surfaces Morphology
Experiments on fracture surface morphologies offer increasing amounts of data
that can be analyzed using methods of statistical physics. One finds scaling
exponents associated with correlation and structure functions, indicating a
rich phenomenology of anomalous scaling. We argue that traditional models of
fracture fail to reproduce this rich phenomenology and new ideas and concepts
are called for. We present some recent models that introduce the effects of
deviations from homogeneous linear elasticity theory on the morphology of
fracture surfaces, succeeding to reproduce the multiscaling phenomenology at
least in 1+1 dimensions. For surfaces in 2+1 dimensions we introduce novel
methods of analysis based on projecting the data on the irreducible
representations of the SO(2) symmetry group. It appears that this approach
organizes effectively the rich scaling properties. We end up with the
proposition of new experiments in which the rotational symmetry is not broken,
such that the scaling properties should be particularly simple.Comment: A review paper submitted to J. Stat. Phy
Bi-allelic mutations in uncoordinated mutant number-45 myosin chaperone B are a cause for congenital myopathy
Congenital myopathies (CM) form a genetically heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by perinatal muscle weakness. Here, we report an 11-year old male offspring of consanguineous parents of Lebanese origin. He presented with proximal weakness including Gower's sign, and skeletal muscle biopsy revealed myopathic changes with core-like structures. Whole exome sequencing of this index patient lead to the discovery of a novel genetically defined CM subtype based on bi-allelic mutations in the uncoordinated mutant number-45 myosin chaperone B (UNC45B) NM_173167:c.2261G > A, p.Arg754Gln. The mutation is conserved in evolution and co-segregates within the pedigree with the phenotype, and located in the myosin binding armadillo repeat domain 3 (ARM3), and has a CADD Score of 35. On a multimeric level, UNC45B aggregates to a chain which serves as an assembly line and functions as a template defining the geometry, regularity, and periodicity of myosin arranged into muscle thick filaments. Our discovery is in line with the previously described myopathological phenotypes in C. elegans and in vertebrate mutants and knockdown-models. In conclusion, we here report for the first time a patient with an UNC45B mutation causing a novel genetically defined congenital myopathy disease entity
Cytomegalovirus-based vaccine expressing Ebola virus glycoprotein protects nonhuman primates from Ebola virus infection.
Ebolaviruses pose significant public health problems due to their high lethality, unpredictable emergence, and localization to the poorest areas of the world. In addition to implementation of standard public health control procedures, a number of experimental human vaccines are being explored as a further means for outbreak control. Recombinant cytomegalovirus (CMV)-based vectors are a novel vaccine platform that have been shown to induce substantial levels of durable, but primarily T-cell-biased responses against the encoded heterologous target antigen. Herein, we demonstrate the ability of rhesus CMV (RhCMV) expressing Ebola virus (EBOV) glycoprotein (GP) to provide protective immunity to rhesus macaques against lethal EBOV challenge. Surprisingly, vaccination was associated with high levels of GP-specific antibodies, but with no detectable GP-directed cellular immunity
Phenomenological Implications of Deflected Mirage Mediation: Comparison with Mirage Mediation
We compare the collider phenomenology of mirage mediation and deflected
mirage mediation, which are two recently proposed "mixed" supersymmetry
breaking scenarios motivated from string compactifications. The scenarios
differ in that deflected mirage mediation includes contributions from gauge
mediation in addition to the contributions from gravity mediation and anomaly
mediation also present in mirage mediation. The threshold effects from gauge
mediation can drastically alter the low energy spectrum from that of pure
mirage mediation models, resulting in some cases in a squeezed gaugino spectrum
and a gluino that is much lighter than other colored superpartners. We provide
several benchmark deflected mirage mediation models and construct model lines
as a function of the gauge mediation contributions, and discuss their discovery
potential at the LHC.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figure
Risk of infections transmitted by arthropods and rodents in forestry workers.
One hundred and fifty-one forestry workers and 151 matched office clerks were compared as to the presence of antibodies against Borelia burgdorferi, tick-borne encephalitis virus, Puumalavirus and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Their occupational risks of being infected by Borrelia was fourfold and significant, by Puumalavirus and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus was increased but not significant. No seropositivity has been established against tick-borne encephalitis virus
Measurement of GEp/GMp in ep -> ep to Q2 = 5.6 GeV2
The ratio of the electric and magnetic form factors of the proton, GEp/GMp,
was measured at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) using
the recoil polarization technique. The ratio of the form factors is directly
proportional to the ratio of the transverse to longitudinal components of the
polarization of the recoil proton in the elastic
reaction. The new data presented in this article span the range 3.5 < Q2 < 5.6
GeV2 and are well described by a linear Q2 fit. Also, the ratio QF2p/F1p
reaches a constant value above Q2=2 GeV2.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures Added two names to the main author lis
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