Reducing Polarization Mode Dispersion With Controlled Polarization Rotations

One of the fundamental limitations to high bit rate, long distance, telecommunication in optical fibers is Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD). Here we introduce a conceptually new method to reduce PMD in optical fibers by carrying out controlled rotations of polarization at predetermined locations along the fiber. The distance between these controlled polarization rotations must be less than both the beat length and the mode coupling length of the fiber. This method can also be combined with the method in which the fiber is spun while it drawn. The incidence of imperfections on the efficiency of the method is analysed.Comment: 4 page

MDMA Decreases Gluatamic Acid Decarboxylase (GAD) 67-Immunoreactive Neurons in the Hippocampus and Increases Seizure Susceptibility: Role for Glutamate

3,4-Methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) is a unique psychostimulant that continues to be a popular drug of abuse. It has been well documented that MDMA reduces markers of 5-HT axon terminals in rodents, as well as humans. A loss of parvalbumin-immunoreactive (IR) interneurons in the hippocampus following MDMA treatment has only been documented recently. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that MDMA reduces glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) 67-IR, another biochemical marker of GABA neurons, in the hippocampus and that this reduction in GAD67-IR neurons and an accompanying increase in seizure susceptibility involve glutamate receptor activation. Repeated exposure to MDMA (3×10mg/kg, ip) resulted in a reduction of 37–58% of GAD67-IR cells in the dentate gyrus (DG), CA1, and CA3 regions, as well as an increased susceptibility to kainic acid-induced seizures, both of which persisted for at least 30 days following MDMA treatment. Administration of the NMDA antagonist MK-801 or the glutamate transporter type 1 (GLT-1) inducer ceftriaxone prevented both the MDMA-induced loss of GAD67-IR neurons and the increased vulnerability to kainic acid-induced seizures. The MDMA-induced increase in the extracellular concentration of glutamate in the hippocampus was significantly diminished in rats treated with ceftriaxone, thereby implicating a glutamatergic mechanism in the neuroprotective effects of ceftriaxone. In summary, the present findings support a role for increased extracellular glutamate and NMDA receptor activation in the MDMA-induced loss of hippocampal GAD67-IR neurons and the subsequent increased susceptibility to evoked seizures

Illinois Precipitation Enhancement Program, Phase 1: Interim Report for 1 September 1971 - 30 June 1972

published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewedOpe

Muonium Decay

Modifications of the mu+ lifetime in matter due to muonium (M = mu+ e-) formation and other medium effects are examined. Muonium and free mu+ decay spectra are found to differ at O(alpha m_e/m_mu) from Doppler broadening and O(alpha^2 m_e/m_mu) from the Coulomb bound state potential. However, both types of corrections are shown to cancel in the total decay rate due to Lorentz and gauge invariance respectively, leaving a very small time dilation lifetime difference, (tau_M - tau_mu+)/tau_mu+ = alpha^2 m_e^2/ 2m_mu^2 \simeq 6\times 10^-10, as the dominant bound state effect. It is argued that other medium effects on the stopped mu+ lifetime are similarly suppressed.Comment: 14 pages, revte

Electron Self Energy for the K and L Shell at Low Nuclear Charge

A nonperturbative numerical evaluation of the one-photon electron self energy for the K- and L-shell states of hydrogenlike ions with nuclear charge numbers Z=1 to 5 is described. Our calculation for the 1S state has a numerical uncertainty of 0.8 Hz in atomic hydrogen, and for the L-shell states (2S and 2P) the numerical uncertainty is 1.0 Hz. The method of evaluation for the ground state and for the excited states is described in detail. The numerical results are compared to results based on known terms in the expansion of the self energy in powers of (Z alpha).Comment: 21 pages, RevTeX, 5 Tables, 6 figure

The geography of recent genetic ancestry across Europe

The recent genealogical history of human populations is a complex mosaic formed by individual migration, large-scale population movements, and other demographic events. Population genomics datasets can provide a window into this recent history, as rare traces of recent shared genetic ancestry are detectable due to long segments of shared genomic material. We make use of genomic data for 2,257 Europeans (the POPRES dataset) to conduct one of the first surveys of recent genealogical ancestry over the past three thousand years at a continental scale. We detected 1.9 million shared genomic segments, and used the lengths of these to infer the distribution of shared ancestors across time and geography. We find that a pair of modern Europeans living in neighboring populations share around 10-50 genetic common ancestors from the last 1500 years, and upwards of 500 genetic ancestors from the previous 1000 years. These numbers drop off exponentially with geographic distance, but since genetic ancestry is rare, individuals from opposite ends of Europe are still expected to share millions of common genealogical ancestors over the last 1000 years. There is substantial regional variation in the number of shared genetic ancestors: especially high numbers of common ancestors between many eastern populations likely date to the Slavic and/or Hunnic expansions, while much lower levels of common ancestry in the Italian and Iberian peninsulas may indicate weaker demographic effects of Germanic expansions into these areas and/or more stably structured populations. Recent shared ancestry in modern Europeans is ubiquitous, and clearly shows the impact of both small-scale migration and large historical events. Population genomic datasets have considerable power to uncover recent demographic history, and will allow a much fuller picture of the close genealogical kinship of individuals across the world.Comment: Full size figures available from http://www.eve.ucdavis.edu/~plralph/research.html; or html version at http://ralphlab.usc.edu/ibd/ibd-paper/ibd-writeup.xhtm

Results from 730 kg days of the CRESST-II Dark Matter Search

The CRESST-II cryogenic Dark Matter search, aiming at detection of WIMPs via elastic scattering off nuclei in CaWO$_4$ crystals, completed 730 kg days of data taking in 2011. We present the data collected with eight detector modules, each with a two-channel readout; one for a phonon signal and the other for coincidently produced scintillation light. The former provides a precise measure of the energy deposited by an interaction, and the ratio of scintillation light to deposited energy can be used to discriminate different types of interacting particles and thus to distinguish possible signal events from the dominant backgrounds. Sixty-seven events are found in the acceptance region where a WIMP signal in the form of low energy nuclear recoils would be expected. We estimate background contributions to this observation from four sources: 1) "leakage" from the e/\gamma-band 2) "leakage" from the \alpha-particle band 3) neutrons and 4) Pb-206 recoils from Po-210 decay. Using a maximum likelihood analysis, we find, at a high statistical significance, that these sources alone are not sufficient to explain the data. The addition of a signal due to scattering of relatively light WIMPs could account for this discrepancy, and we determine the associated WIMP parameters.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figure

APOBEC3B-mediated Corruption of the Tumor Cell Immunopeptidome Induces Heteroclitic Neoepitopes for Cancer Immunotherapy

APOBEC3B, an anti-viral cytidine deaminase which induces DNA mutations, has been implicated as a mediator of cancer evolution and therapeutic resistance. Mutational plasticity also drives generation of neoepitopes, which prime anti-tumor T cells. Here, we show that overexpression of APOBEC3B in tumors increases resistance to chemotherapy, but simultaneously heightens sensitivity to immune checkpoint blockade in a murine model of melanoma. However, in the vaccine setting, APOBEC3B-mediated mutations reproducibly generate heteroclitic neoepitopes in vaccine cells which activate de novo T cell responses. These cross react against parental, unmodified tumors and lead to a high rate of cures in both subcutaneous and intra-cranial tumor models. Heteroclitic Epitope Activated Therapy (HEAT) dispenses with the need to identify patient specific neoepitopes and tumor reactive T cells ex vivo. Thus, actively driving a high mutational load in tumor cell vaccines increases their immunogenicity to drive anti-tumor therapy in combination with immune checkpoint blockade

Analytical chemistry of aluminum salt cake

Component phases of Al salt cake or products from processing salt cake, resist dissolution, a key first step in most analysis procedures. In this work (analysis support to a study of conversion of salt cake fines to value-added oxide products), analysis methods were adapted or devised for determining leachable salt, total halides (Cl and F), Al metal, and elemental composition. Leaching of salt cake fines was by ultrasonic agitation with deionized water. The leachate was analyzed for anions by ion chromatography and for cations by ICP-atomic emission spectroscopy. Only chloride could be measured in the anions, and charge balances between cations and chloride were near unity, indicating that all major dissolved species were chloride salts. For total halides, the chloride and fluorides components were first decomposed by KOH fusion, and the dissolved chloride and fluoride were measured by ion chromatography. Al metal in the fines was determined by a hydrogen evolution procedure adapted for submilligram quantities of metallic Al: the Al was reacted with HCl in a closed system containing a measured amount of high-purity He. After reaction, the H/He ratio was measured by mass spectroscopy. Recoveries of Al metal standards (about 30mg) averaged 93%. Comparison of the acid evolution with caustic reaction of the Al metal showed virtually identical results, but reaction was faster in the acid medium. Decomposition of the salt cake with mineral acids left residues that had to be dissolved by fusion with Na carbonate. Better dissolution was obtained by fusing the salt cake with Li tetraborate; the resulting solution could be used for accurate Al assay of salt cake materials by classical 8-hydroxyquinolate gravimetry