416 research outputs found
Integrated chronological control on an archaeologically significant Pleistocene river terrace sequence: the Thames-Medway, eastern Essex, England
Late Middle Pleistocene Thames-Medway deposits in eastern Essex comprise both large expanses of Palaeolithic artefact-bearing river sands/gravels and deep channels infilled with thick sequences of fossiliferous fine-grained estuarine sediments that yield valuable palaeoenvironmental information. Until recently, chronological control on these deposits was limited to terrace stratigraphy and limited amino-acid racemisation (AAR) determinations. Recent developments in both this and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating make them potentially powerful tools for improving the chronological control on such sequences. This paper reports new AAR analyses and initial OSL dating from the deposits in this region. These results will help with ongoing investigation of patterns of early human settlement.
Using AAR, the attribution by previous workers of the interglacial channel deposits to both MIS 11 (Tillingham Clay) and MIS 9 (Rochford and Shoeburyness Clays) is reinforced. Where there are direct stratigraphic relationships between AAR and OSL as with the Cudmore Grove and Rochford Clays and associated gravels, they agree well. Where OSL dating is the only technique available, it seems to replicate well, but must be treated with caution since there are relatively few aliquots. It is suggested on the basis of this initial OSL dating that the gravel deposits date from MIS 8 (Rochford and Cudmore Grove Gravels) and potentially also MIS 6 (Dammer Wick and Barling Gravels). However, the archaeological evidence from the Barling Gravel and the suggested correlations between this sequence and upstream Thames terraces conflict with this latter age estimate and suggest that it may need more investigation
Sum rules and energy scales in the high-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O6+x
The Ferrell-Glover-Tinkham (FGT) sum rule has been applied to the temperature
dependence of the in-plane optical conductivity of optimally-doped
YBa_2Cu_3O_{6.95} and underdoped YBa_2Cu_3O_{6.60}. Within the accuracy of the
experiment, the sum rule is obeyed in both materials. However, the energy scale
\omega_c required to recover the full strength of the superfluid \rho_s in the
two materials is dramatically different; \omega_c \simeq 800 cm^{-1} in the
optimally doped system (close to twice the maximum of the superconducting gap,
2\Delta_0), but \omega_c \gtrsim 5000 cm^{-1} in the underdoped system. In both
materials, the normal-state scattering rate close to the critical temperature
is small, \Gamma < 2\Delta_0, so that the materials are not in the dirty limit
and the relevant energy scale for \rho_s in a BCS material should be twice the
energy gap. The FGT sum rule in the optimally-doped material suggests that the
majority of the spectral weight of the condensate comes from energies below
2\Delta_0, which is consistent with a BCS material in which the condensate
originates from a Fermi liquid normal state. In the underdoped material the
larger energy scale may be a result of the non-Fermi liquid nature of the
normal state. The dramatically different energy scales suggest that the nature
of the normal state creates specific conditions for observing the different
aspects of what is presumably a central mechanism for superconductivity in
these materials.Comment: RevTeX 4 file, 9 pages with 7 embedded eps figure
The Renormalization Effects in the Microstrip-SQUID Amplifier
The peculiarities of the microstrip-DC SQUID amplifier caused by the resonant
structure of the input circuit are analyzed. It is shown that the mutual
inductance, that couples the input circuit and the SQUID loop, depends on the
frequency of electromagnetic field. The renormalization of the SQUID parameters
due to the screening effect of the input circuit vanishes when the Josephson
frequency is much greater than the signal frequency.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure
Quantum Theory in Accelerated Frames of Reference
The observational basis of quantum theory in accelerated systems is studied.
The extension of Lorentz invariance to accelerated systems via the hypothesis
of locality is discussed and the limitations of this hypothesis are pointed
out. The nonlocal theory of accelerated observers is briefly described.
Moreover, the main observational aspects of Dirac's equation in noninertial
frames of reference are presented. The Galilean invariance of nonrelativistic
quantum mechanics and the mass superselection rule are examined in the light of
the invariance of physical laws under inhomogeneous Lorentz transformations.Comment: 25 pages, no figures, contribution to Springer Lecture Notes in
Physics (Proc. SR 2005, Potsdam, Germany, February 13 - 18, 2005
Black Hole Spin via Continuum Fitting and the Role of Spin in Powering Transient Jets
The spins of ten stellar black holes have been measured using the
continuum-fitting method. These black holes are located in two distinct classes
of X-ray binary systems, one that is persistently X-ray bright and another that
is transient. Both the persistent and transient black holes remain for long
periods in a state where their spectra are dominated by a thermal accretion
disk component. The spin of a black hole of known mass and distance can be
measured by fitting this thermal continuum spectrum to the thin-disk model of
Novikov and Thorne; the key fit parameter is the radius of the inner edge of
the black hole's accretion disk. Strong observational and theoretical evidence
links the inner-disk radius to the radius of the innermost stable circular
orbit, which is trivially related to the dimensionless spin parameter a_* of
the black hole (|a_*| < 1). The ten spins that have so far been measured by
this continuum-fitting method range widely from a_* \approx 0 to a_* > 0.95.
The robustness of the method is demonstrated by the dozens or hundreds of
independent and consistent measurements of spin that have been obtained for
several black holes, and through careful consideration of many sources of
systematic error. Among the results discussed is a dichotomy between the
transient and persistent black holes; the latter have higher spins and larger
masses. Also discussed is recently discovered evidence in the transient sources
for a correlation between the power of ballistic jets and black hole spin.Comment: 30 pages. Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Also to
appear in hard cover in the Space Sciences Series of ISSI "The Physics of
Accretion onto Black Holes" (Springer Publisher). Changes to Sections 5.2,
6.1 and 7.4. Section 7.4 responds to Russell et al. 2013 (MNRAS, 431, 405)
who find no evidence for a correlation between the power of ballistic jets
and black hole spi
Astroparticle Physics with a Customized Low-Background Broad Energy Germanium Detector
The MAJORANA Collaboration is building the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, a 60 kg
array of high purity germanium detectors housed in an ultra-low background
shield at the Sanford Underground Laboratory in Lead, SD. The MAJORANA
DEMONSTRATOR will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge while
demonstrating the feasibility of a tonne-scale experiment. It may also carry
out a dark matter search in the 1-10 GeV/c^2 mass range. We have found that
customized Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detectors produced by Canberra have
several desirable features for a neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment,
including low electronic noise, excellent pulse shape analysis capabilities,
and simple fabrication. We have deployed a customized BEGe, the MAJORANA
Low-Background BEGe at Kimballton (MALBEK), in a low-background cryostat and
shield at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility in Virginia. This paper
will focus on the detector characteristics and measurements that can be
performed with such a radiation detector in a low-background environment.Comment: Submitted to NIMA Proceedings, SORMA XII. 9 pages, 4 figure
Proteogenomic analysis of human colon cancer reveals new therapeutic opportunities
We performed the first proteogenomic study on a prospectively collected colon cancer cohort. Comparative proteomic and phosphoproteomic analysis of paired tumor and normal adjacent tissues produced a catalog of colon cancer-associated proteins and phosphosites, including known and putative new biomarkers, drug targets, and cancer/testis antigens. Proteogenomic integration not only prioritized genomically inferred targets, such as copy-number drivers and mutation-derived neoantigens, but also yielded novel findings. Phosphoproteomics data associated Rb phosphorylation with increased proliferation and decreased apoptosis in colon cancer, which explains why this classical tumor suppressor is amplified in colon tumors and suggests a rationale for targeting Rb phosphorylation in colon cancer. Proteomics identified an association between decreased CD8 T cell infiltration and increased glycolysis in microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) tumors, suggesting glycolysis as a potential target to overcome the resistance of MSI-H tumors to immune checkpoint blockade. Proteogenomics presents new avenues for biological discoveries and therapeutic development
Reproducibility of differential proteomic technologies in CPTAC fractionated xenografts
The NCI Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) employed a pair of reference xenograft proteomes for initial platform validation and ongoing quality control of its data collection for The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) tumors. These two xenografts, representing basal and luminal-B human breast cancer, were fractionated and analyzed on six mass spectrometers in a total of 46 replicates divided between iTRAQ and label-free technologies, spanning a total of 1095 LC-MS/MS experiments. These data represent a unique opportunity to evaluate the stability of proteomic differentiation by mass spectrometry over many months of time for individual instruments or across instruments running dissimilar workflows. We evaluated iTRAQ reporter ions, label-free spectral counts, and label-free extracted ion chromatograms as strategies for data interpretation (source code is available from http://homepages.uc.edu/~wang2x7/Research.htm). From these assessments, we found that differential genes from a single replicate were confirmed by other replicates on the same instrument from 61 to 93% of the time. When comparing across different instruments and quantitative technologies, using multiple replicates, differential genes were reproduced by other data sets from 67 to 99% of the time. Projecting gene differences to biological pathways and networks increased the degree of similarity. These overlaps send an encouraging message about the maturity of technologies for proteomic differentiation
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation have a high burden of left atrial fibrosis by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging
OBJECTIVES This study hypothesized that paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) reflects the presence of a more severe cardiac hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) phenotype.BACKGROUND HCM is characterized by myocyte hypertrophy, fibrosis, and a high prevalence of PAF. It is currently unresolved whether atrial fibrillation (AF) is a marker or a mediator of adverse outcomes in HCM.METHODS This study retrospectively examined 45 HCM patients who underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in sinus rhythm. The function of all 4 cardiac chambers was assessed, as well as late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in the left atrium (LA) and left ventricle (LV), as indicators of fibrosis. A fat-saturated, 3-dimensional inversion recovery-prepared, fast-spoiled, gradient-recalled echo sequence, and the image intensity ratio method were used to measure LA-LGE; LGE in the LV was quantified using a semi-automated threshold technique.RESULTS HCM patients (n = 45) were divided into 2 groups (PAF, no AF) based on history of PAF. All HCM patients had LGE in the LA posterior wall. The PAF group (n = 18) had higher LA volume, a lower LA ejection fraction, a lower global peak longitudinal LA strain (PLAS), and a higher amount of LA-LGE compared with the no AF group (n = 27). A modest inverse association was noted between the LA ejection fraction, PLAS, and LA-LGE; a positive association was present between LV-LGE and LA-LGE. The PAF group had lower ejection fractions in the LV, right atrium, and right ventricle compared with those in the no AF group.CONCLUSIONS PAF is associated with a greater degree of structural LA remodeling and global myopathy, which suggests a more severe cardiac HCM phenotype. (c) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier on behalf of the American College of Cardiology Foundation. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
- …