Hamiltonian Theory of the Composite Fermion Wigner Crystal

Experimental results indicating the existence of the high magnetic field Wigner Crystal have been available for a number of years. While variational wavefunctions have demonstrated the instability of the Laughlin liquid to a Wigner Crystal at sufficiently small filling, calculations of the excitation gaps have been hampered by the strong correlations. Recently a new Hamiltonian formulation of the fractional quantum Hall problem has been developed. In this work we extend the Hamiltonian approach to include states of nonuniform density, and use it to compute the excitation gaps of the Wigner Crystal states. We find that the Wigner Crystal states near $\nu=1/5$ are quantitatively well described as crystals of Composite Fermions with four vortices attached. Predictions for gaps and the shear modulus of the crystal are presented, and found to be in reasonable agreement with experiments.Comment: 41 page, 6 figures, 3 table

Thermal Bremsstrahlung photons probing the nuclear caloric curve

Hard-photon (E$_{\gamma}>$ 30 MeV) emission from second-chance nucleon-nucleon Bremsstrahlung collisions in intermediate energy heavy-ion reactions is studied employing a realistic thermal model. Photon spectra and yields measured in several nucleus-nucleus reactions are consistent with an emission from hot nuclear systems with temperatures $T\approx$ 4 - 7 MeV. The corresponding caloric curve in the region of excitation energies $\epsilon^\star\approx$ 3{\it A} - 8{\it A} MeV shows lower values of $T$ than those expected for a Fermi fluid.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. To appear in Physics Letters

The Volume of the Past Light-Cone and the Paneitz Operator

We study a conjecture involving the invariant volume of the past light-cone from an arbitrary observation point back to a fixed initial value surface. The conjecture is that a 4th order differential operator which occurs in the theory of conformal anomalies gives $8\pi$ when acted upon the invariant volume of the past light-cone. We show that an extended version of the conjecture is valid for an arbitrary homogeneous and isotropic geometry. First order perturbation theory about flat spacetime reveals a violation of the conjecture which, however, vanishes for any vacuum solution of the Einstein equation. These results may be significant for constructing quantum gravitational observables, for quantifying the back-reaction on spacetime expansion and for alternate gravity models which feature a timelike vector field.Comment: 22 pages, no figures, 5 tables. Version 2 substantially extended to cover nonzero spatial curvature, and with simplified derivation

Stabilities of nanohydrated thymine radical cations: insights from multiphoton ionization experiments and ab initio calculations

Multi-photon ionization experiments have been carried out on thymine-water clusters in the gas phase. Metastable H2O loss from T+(H2O)n was observed at n ≥ 3 only. Ab initio quantum-chemical calculations of a large range of optimized T+(H2O)n conformers have been performed up to n = 4, enabling binding energies of water to be derived. These decrease smoothly with n, consistent with the general trend of increasing metastable H2O loss in the experimental data. The lowest-energy conformers of T+(H2O)3 and T+(H2O)4 feature intermolecular bonding via charge-dipole interactions, in contrast with the purely hydrogen-bonded neutrals. We found no evidence for a closed hydration shell at n = 4, also contrasting with studies of neutral clusters

Charge and spin configurations in the coupled quantum dots with Coulomb correlations induced by tunneling current

We investigated the peculiarities of non-equilibrium charge states and spin configurations in the system of two strongly coupled quantum dots (QDs) weakly connected to the electrodes in the presence of Coulomb correlations. We analyzed the modification of non-equilibrium charge states and different spin configurations of the system in a wide range of applied bias voltage and revealed well pronounced ranges of system parameters where negative tunneling conductivity appears due to the Coulomb correlations.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Molecular profiling of circulating tumor cells links plasticity to the metastatic process in endometrial cancer

Background: About 20% of patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer (EC) are considered high-risk with unfavorable prognosis. In the framework of the European Network for Individualized Treatment in EC (ENITEC), we investigated the presence and phenotypic features of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC) in high-risk EC patients. Methods: CTC isolation was carried out in peripheral blood samples from 34 patients, ranging from Grade 3 Stage IB to Stage IV carcinomas and recurrences, and 27 healthy controls using two methodologies. Samples were subjected to EpCAM-based immunoisolation using the CELLection™ Epithelial Enrich kit (Invitrogen, Dynal) followed by RTqPCR analysis. The phenotypic determinants of endometrial CTC in terms of pathogenesis, hormone receptor pathways, stem cell markers and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) drivers were asked. Kruskal-Wallis analysis followed by Dunn's post-test was used for comparisons between groups. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: EpCAM-based immunoisolation positively detected CTC in high-risk endometrial cancer patients. CTC characterization indicated a remarkable plasticity phenotype defined by the expression of the EMT markers ETV5, NOTCH1, SNAI1, TGFB1, ZEB1 and ZEB2. In addition, the expression of ALDH and CD44 pointed to an association with stemness, while the expression of CTNNB1, STS, GDF15, RELA, RUNX1, BRAF and PIK3CA suggested potential therapeutic targets. We further recapitulated the EMT phenotype found in endometrial CTC through the up-regulation of ETV5 in an EC cell line, and validated in an animal model of systemic dissemination the propensity of these CTC in the accomplishment of metastasis. Conclusions: Our results associate the presence of CTC with high-risk EC. Gene-expression profiling characterized a CTC-plasticity phenotype with stemness and EMT features. We finally recapitulated this CTC-phenotype by over-expressing ETV5 in the EC cell line Hec1A and demonstrated an advantage in the promotion of metastasis in an in vivo mouse model of CTC dissemination and homing

Plasma copeptin as biomarker of disease progression and prognosis in cirrhosis

Lay summary: Copeptin is a fragment of the vasopressin precursor, a hormone that is known to be increased in patients with cirrhosis and that plays a role in the development of complications of the disease. Vasopressin is difficult to measure, but copeptin is a more stable molecule and is easier to measure in blood. Sola and Kerbert and colleagues have shown in a series of 361 patients that copeptin is markedly increased in patients with cirrhosis who develop complications during the following 3 months, compared to those patients who do not develop complications. Moreover, copeptin correlates with prognosis. (C) 2016 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Cellular mechanisms in basic and clinical gastroenterology and hepatolog

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 provides an up-to-date synthesis of the evidence for risk factor exposure and the attributable burden of disease. By providing national and subnational assessments spanning the past 25 years, this study can inform debates on the importance of addressing risks in context. Methods: We used the comparative risk assessment framework developed for previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease Study to estimate attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and trends in exposure by age group, sex, year, and geography for 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks from 1990 to 2015. This study included 388 risk-outcome pairs that met World Cancer Research Fund-defined criteria for convincing or probable evidence. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from randomised controlled trials, cohorts, pooled cohorts, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. We developed a metric that allows comparisons of exposure across risk factors—the summary exposure value. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk level, we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We decomposed trends in attributable burden into contributions from population growth, population age structure, risk exposure, and risk-deleted cause-specific DALY rates. We characterised risk exposure in relation to a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings: Between 1990 and 2015, global exposure to unsafe sanitation, household air pollution, childhood underweight, childhood stunting, and smoking each decreased by more than 25%. Global exposure for several occupational risks, high body-mass index (BMI), and drug use increased by more than 25% over the same period. All risks jointly evaluated in 2015 accounted for 57·8% (95% CI 56·6–58·8) of global deaths and 41·2% (39·8–42·8) of DALYs. In 2015, the ten largest contributors to global DALYs among Level 3 risks were high systolic blood pressure (211·8 million [192·7 million to 231·1 million] global DALYs), smoking (148·6 million [134·2 million to 163·1 million]), high fasting plasma glucose (143·1 million [125·1 million to 163·5 million]), high BMI (120·1 million [83·8 million to 158·4 million]), childhood undernutrition (113·3 million [103·9 million to 123·4 million]), ambient particulate matter (103·1 million [90·8 million to 115·1 million]), high total cholesterol (88·7 million [74·6 million to 105·7 million]), household air pollution (85·6 million [66·7 million to 106·1 million]), alcohol use (85·0 million [77·2 million to 93·0 million]), and diets high in sodium (83·0 million [49·3 million to 127·5 million]). From 1990 to 2015, attributable DALYs declined for micronutrient deficiencies, childhood undernutrition, unsafe sanitation and water, and household air pollution; reductions in risk-deleted DALY rates rather than reductions in exposure drove these declines. Rising exposure contributed to notable increases in attributable DALYs from high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, occupational carcinogens, and drug use. Environmental risks and childhood undernutrition declined steadily with SDI; low physical activity, high BMI, and high fasting plasma glucose increased with SDI. In 119 countries, metabolic risks, such as high BMI and fasting plasma glucose, contributed the most attributable DALYs in 2015. Regionally, smoking still ranked among the leading five risk factors for attributable DALYs in 109 countries; childhood underweight and unsafe sex remained primary drivers of early death and disability in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation: Declines in some key environmental risks have contributed to declines in critical infectious diseases. Some risks appear to be invariant to SDI. Increasing risks, including high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, drug use, and some occupational exposures, contribute to rising burden from some conditions, but also provide opportunities for intervention. Some highly preventable risks, such as smoking, remain major causes of attributable DALYs, even as exposure is declining. Public policy makers need to pay attention to the risks that are increasingly major contributors to global burden. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Measurement of the mass difference between top quark and antiquark in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Search for leptophobic Z ' bosons decaying into four-lepton final states in proton-proton collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe