2,423 research outputs found
Multifractality in Human Heartbeat Dynamics
Recent evidence suggests that physiological signals under healthy conditions
may have a fractal temporal structure. We investigate the possibility that time
series generated by certain physiological control systems may be members of a
special class of complex processes, termed multifractal, which require a large
number of exponents to characterize their scaling properties. We report on
evidence for multifractality in a biological dynamical system --- the healthy
human heartbeat. Further, we show that the multifractal character and nonlinear
properties of the healthy heart rate are encoded in the Fourier phases. We
uncover a loss of multifractality for a life-threatening condition, congestive
heart failure.Comment: 19 pages, latex2e using rotate and epsf, with 5 ps figures; to appear
in Nature, 3 June, 199
Co-evolution of density and topology in a simple model of city formation
We study the influence that population density and the road network have on
each others' growth and evolution. We use a simple model of formation and
evolution of city roads which reproduces the most important empirical features
of street networks in cities. Within this framework, we explicitely introduce
the topology of the road network and analyze how it evolves and interact with
the evolution of population density. We show that accessibility issues -pushing
individuals to get closer to high centrality nodes- lead to high density
regions and the appearance of densely populated centers. In particular, this
model reproduces the empirical fact that the density profile decreases
exponentially from a core district. In this simplified model, the size of the
core district depends on the relative importance of transportation and rent
costs.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figure
Genome sequencing of the extinct Eurasian wild aurochs, Bos primigenius, illuminates the phylogeography and evolution of cattle
Background
Domestication of the now-extinct wild aurochs, Bos primigenius, gave rise to the two major domestic extant cattle taxa, B. taurus and B. indicus. While previous genetic studies have shed some light on the evolutionary relationships between European aurochs and modern cattle, important questions remain unanswered, including the phylogenetic status of aurochs, whether gene flow from aurochs into early domestic populations occurred, and which genomic regions were subject to selection processes during and after domestication. Here, we address these questions using whole-genome sequencing data generated from an approximately 6,750-year-old British aurochs bone and genome sequence data from 81 additional cattle plus genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data from a diverse panel of 1,225 modern animals.
Results
Phylogenomic analyses place the aurochs as a distinct outgroup to the domestic B. taurus lineage, supporting the predominant Near Eastern origin of European cattle. Conversely, traditional British and Irish breeds share more genetic variants with this aurochs specimen than other European populations, supporting localized gene flow from aurochs into the ancestors of modern British and Irish cattle, perhaps through purposeful restocking by early herders in Britain. Finally, the functions of genes showing evidence for positive selection in B. taurus are enriched for neurobiology, growth, metabolism and immunobiology, suggesting that these biological processes have been important in the domestication of cattle.
Conclusions
This work provides important new information regarding the origins and functional evolution of modern cattle, revealing that the interface between early European domestic populations and wild aurochs was significantly more complex than previously thought
Dynamic biospeckle analysis, a new tool for the fast screening of plant nematicide selectivity
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Z boson production in Pb+Pb collisions at √Snn = 5.02 TeV measured by the ATLAS experiment
The production yield of Z bosons is measured in the electron and muon decay channels in Pb+Pb collisions at √S = 5.02 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Data from the 2015 LHC run corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.49 nb are used for the analysis. The Z boson yield, normalised by the total number of minimum-bias events and the mean nuclear thickness function, is measured as a function of dilepton rapidity and event centrality. The measurements in Pb+Pb collisions are compared with similar measurements made in proton-proton collisions at the same centre-of-mass energy. The nuclear modification factor is found to be consistent with unity for all centrality intervals. The results are compared with theoretical predictions obtained at next-to-leading order using nucleon and nuclear parton distribution functions. The normalised Z boson yields in Pb+Pb collisions lie 1-3σ above the predictions. The nuclear modification factor measured as a function of rapidity agrees with unity and is consistent with a next-to-leading-order QCD calculation including the isospin effect. nn -
Search for flavour-changing neutral currents in processes with one top quark and a photon using 81 fb−1 of pp collisions at s=13TeV with the ATLAS experiment
A search for flavour-changing neutral current (FCNC) events via the coupling of a top quark, a photon, and an up or charm quark is presented using 81 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data taken at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events with a photon, an electron or muon, a b-tagged jet, and missing transverse momentum are selected. A neural network based on kinematic variables differentiates between events from signal and background processes. The data are consistent with the background-only hypothesis, and limits are set on the strength of the tqγ coupling in an effective field theory. These are also interpreted as 95% CL upper limits on the cross section for FCNC tγ production via a left-handed (right-handed) tuγ coupling of 36 fb (78 fb) and on the branching ratio for t→γu of 2.8×10−5 (6.1×10−5). In addition, they are interpreted as 95% CL upper limits on the cross section for FCNC tγ production via a left-handed (right-handed) tcγ coupling of 40 fb (33 fb) and on the branching ratio for t→γc of 22×10−5 (18×10−5)
Measurement of J/ψ production in association with a W ± boson with pp data at 8 TeV
A measurement of the production of a prompt J/ψ meson in association with a W± boson with W± → μν and J/ψ → μ+μ− is presented for J/ψ transverse momenta in the range 8.5–150 GeV and rapidity |yJ/ψ| < 2.1 using ATLAS data recorded in 2012 at the LHC. The data were taken at a proton-proton centre-of-mass energy of s = 8 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. The ratio of the prompt J/ψ plus W± cross-section to the inclusive W± cross-section is presented as a differential measurement as a function of J/ψ transverse momenta and compared with theoretical predictions using different double-parton-scattering cross-sections. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
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