Study of shape evolution in the neutron-rich osmium isotopes with the advanced gamma-tracking array AGATA

This thesis describes the major results of a γ-ray spectroscopy experiment aiming at the investigation of the shape evolution in the neutron-rich even-even osmium isotopes. The first in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy measurement of 196 Os has been performed and the results are compared to state-of-the-art beyond mean-field calculations, that have revealed its presumably γ-soft character. Finite many-body systems, such as molecules, many man-made nano materials and atomic nuclei can be understood as a drop of viscous liquids confined by an elastic membrane, where its equilibrium shape (ground state) has a unique feature: the existence of deformed (non-spherical) shapes. Non-spherical shapes represent spontaneous symmetry breaking. However, the shape of the nucleus is not a direct observable. By comparing its low-lying excited states to predictions of nuclear models, the shape of the nucleus can anyway be deduced, as it will be shown in this work. Nuclear deformation is caused by the subtle interplay between single-particle and collective degrees-of-freedom. Hence, studies of nuclear deformation open a window on the underlying NN interaction and its role in the microscopic origin of deformation. In particular, regions of the nuclear chart where oblate deformation is observed are of special interest due the paucity of oblate deformed nuclei in nature. For the neutron-rich osmium isotopes, a shape transition from prolate to oblate deformation with increasing neutron number is predicted. Experimentally, the yrast band of 194Os was interpreted to be prolate (rugby-ball) deformed, instead the low-lying excitations of 198Os were suggested to be characteristic of an oblate (pumpkin) shape. The even-even nucleus in between, 196Os, was investigated in the eighties and two excited levels were proposed. The uncertainties in the energy and in the spin assignment of the 2nd level prevented a clear comparison with nuclear models. With the current stable beam and target combinations the exotic nucleus 196 Os can not be populated in fusion-evaporation reactions. It is reachable via fragmentation reactions or multi-nucleon transfer reactions. 196Os was produced via fragmentation reactions in the large-scale radioactive ion beam facility GSI, Germany. However, in the isomeric decay spectroscopy no γ-rays were observed. Multi-nucleon transfer reactions are complementary to fragmentation reactions and were performed using the most powerful γ-detector array, Gammasphere, in Lawrence Berkeley and Argonne National laboratories, USA. However, the experiment setup was not sensitive enough to identify 96 Os among the reaction products. In order to study the structure of 196Os by means of γ-ray spectroscopy, a multi-nucleon transfer experiment was performed at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (Italy) using the new-generation Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) demonstrator in coincidence with the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA using a 82Se beam with an energy of 426 MeV on a 198Pt target. The very selective binary partner method was applied, i.e. the lighter beam-like recoil was identified in the magnetic spectrometer and the γ rays of the corresponding heavier target-like recoil were detected in coincidence with it. The AGATA demonstrator is a γ-tracking array which relies on Pulse Shape Analysis (PSA) for the identification of the interaction points of the γ ray, which is crucial for the reconstruction of its interaction path through the detector. Being one of the first experiments performed with the AGATA+PRISMA setup, the procedure for presorting, calibration and analysis of the data will be reported in detail. The information of the target-like recoil (such as 196Os) is reconstructed via the reaction kinematics. Due to the evaporation of neutrons a tight gate on the reconstructed Q value has to be applied in order to select the true binary partner. In the γ-ray spectrum in coincidence with 196Os, three γ rays are identified (324.4 keV, 467.0 keV and 639.2 keV) that are assigned to originate from the decay of the three lowest-lying 2+ , 4+ and 6+ states.The E(4+))/E(2+) ratio extracted from the new data is 2.44, deviating less than 3% from the expectation value of a γ-soft/triaxial rotor (2.5). The new excited states of 196 Os are compared, as well as the known levels in the even-even osmium isotopes 188−198Os, to state-of-the-art beyond mean field (BMF) calculations. The quality of the results allows a detailed analysis of the shape evolution from a predominantly prolate rotational in 188Os to a more vibrational one in 198Os. The new experimental data obtained for 196Os, reveals an almost perfect γ-soft/triaxial rotor yrast-band, which is in perfect agreement with the calculations. A great variety of nuclei were produced in the 82Se + 198Pt reaction. For example, the yrast band of 200Pt is extended to higher spin and the shape evolution of the even-even platinum isotopes 190−200Pt is compared to calculations based on the same nuclear model.The shape evolution through the platinum isotopes is less rapid than the one of the osmium isotopes, with a potential which remains γ-soft for all these nuclei. In particular, the yrast band of 200Pt has the most vibrational character among the investigated isotopes. For the beam like isotopes new data were also obtained and the yrast band of the even-even zinc isotopes 72−76Zn, populated in the 4 proton transfer channel, is reported. Previous to the AGATA spectrometer, large-scale γ-ray arrays have collimators and anti-Compton shields, in order to reach a good peak-to-total ratio. The conceptual design of the AGATA is substantially different and no such passive material exists in the setup. Hence, the sensitivity for the measurement of the decay of isomeric states belonging to the target-like recoils implanted in the target chamber or in the DANTE array, is higher than that of traditional γ-ray arrays. Through the measurement of the beam-like recoils in the PRISMA spectrometer it is possible to observe in coincidence the γ-rays belonging to the implanted binary partner and to discover new isomeric states. In this thesis the first lifetime measurement of isomeric states with AGATA will be reported. In total 44 isomeric states are identified, including 3 previously unknow

The Iceman's Last Meal Consisted of Fat, Wild Meat, and Cereals

The history of humankind is marked by the constant adoption of new dietary habits affecting human physiology, metabolism, and even the development of nutrition-related disorders. Despite clear archaeological evidence for the shift from hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture in Neolithic Europe [1], very little information exists on the daily dietary habits of our ancestors. By undertaking a complementary -omics approach combined with microscopy, we analyzed the stomach content of the Iceman, a 5,300-yearold European glacier mummy [2, 3]. He seems to have had a remarkably high proportion of fat in his diet, supplemented with fresh or dried wild meat, cereals, and traces of toxic bracken. Our multipronged approach provides unprecedented analytical depth, deciphering the nutritional habit, meal composition, and food-processing methods of this Copper Age individual

ENIGMA-anxiety working group : Rationale for and organization of large-scale neuroimaging studies of anxiety disorders

Altres ajuts: Anxiety Disorders Research Network European College of Neuropsychopharmacology; Claude Leon Postdoctoral Fellowship; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation, 44541416-TRR58); EU7th Frame Work Marie Curie Actions International Staff Exchange Scheme grant 'European and South African Research Network in Anxiety Disorders' (EUSARNAD); Geestkracht programme of the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw, 10-000-1002); Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) program within the National Institute of Mental Health under the Intramural Research Program (NIMH-IRP, MH002781); National Institute of Mental Health under the Intramural Research Program (NIMH-IRP, ZIA-MH-002782); SA Medical Research Council; U.S. National Institutes of Health grants (P01 AG026572, P01 AG055367, P41 EB015922, R01 AG060610, R56 AG058854, RF1 AG051710, U54 EB020403).Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and disabling but seem particularly tractable to investigation with translational neuroscience methodologies. Neuroimaging has informed our understanding of the neurobiology of anxiety disorders, but research has been limited by small sample sizes and low statistical power, as well as heterogenous imaging methodology. The ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group has brought together researchers from around the world, in a harmonized and coordinated effort to address these challenges and generate more robust and reproducible findings. This paper elaborates on the concepts and methods informing the work of the working group to date, and describes the initial approach of the four subgroups studying generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobia. At present, the ENIGMA-Anxiety database contains information about more than 100 unique samples, from 16 countries and 59 institutes. Future directions include examining additional imaging modalities, integrating imaging and genetic data, and collaborating with other ENIGMA working groups. The ENIGMA consortium creates synergy at the intersection of global mental health and clinical neuroscience, and the ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group extends the promise of this approach to neuroimaging research on anxiety disorders

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Impacts of the Tropical Pacific/Indian Oceans on the Seasonal Cycle of the West African Monsoon

The current consensus is that drought has developed in the Sahel during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of remote effects of oceanic anomalies amplified by local land–atmosphere interactions. This paper focuses on the impacts of oceanic anomalies upon West African climate and specifically aims to identify those from SST anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Oceans during spring and summer seasons, when they were significant. Idealized sensitivity experiments are performed with four atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). The prescribed SST patterns used in the AGCMs are based on the leading mode of covariability between SST anomalies over the Pacific/Indian Oceans and summer rainfall over West Africa. The results show that such oceanic anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Ocean lead to a northward shift of an anomalous dry belt from the Gulf of Guinea to the Sahel as the season advances. In the Sahel, the magnitude of rainfall anomalies is comparable to that obtained by other authors using SST anomalies confined to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The mechanism connecting the Pacific/Indian SST anomalies with West African rainfall has a strong seasonal cycle. In spring (May and June), anomalous subsidence develops over both the Maritime Continent and the equatorial Atlantic in response to the enhanced equatorial heating. Precipitation increases over continental West Africa in association with stronger zonal convergence of moisture. In addition, precipitation decreases over the Gulf of Guinea. During the monsoon peak (July and August), the SST anomalies move westward over the equatorial Pacific and the two regions where subsidence occurred earlier in the seasons merge over West Africa. The monsoon weakens and rainfall decreases over the Sahel, especially in August.Peer reviewe