1,476 research outputs found
Mitochondrial DNA analysis of eneolithic trypillians from Ukraine reveals neolithic farming genetic roots
The agricultural revolution in Eastern Europe began in the Eneolithic with the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture complex. In Ukraine, the Trypillian culture (TC) existed for over two millennia (ca. 5,400–2,700 BCE) and left a wealth of artifacts. Yet, their burial rituals remain a mystery and to date almost nothing is known about the genetic composition of the TC population. One of the very few TC sites where human remains can be found is a cave called Verteba in western Ukraine. This report presents four partial and four complete mitochondrial genomes from nine TC individuals uncovered in the cave. The results of this analysis, combined with the data from previous reports, indicate that the Trypillian population at Verteba carried, for the most part, a typical Neolithic farmer package of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages traced to Anatolian farmers and Neolithic farming groups of central Europe. At the same time, the find of two specimens belonging to haplogroup U8b1 at Verteba can be viewed as a connection of TC with the Upper Paleolithic European populations. At the level of mtDNA haplogroup frequencies, the TC population from Verteba demonstrates a close genetic relationship with population groups of the Funnel Beaker/ Trichterbecker cultural complex from central and northern Europe (ca. 3,950–2,500 BCE)
Charged Lepton Flavor Physics and Extra Dimensions
We estimate the charged lepton electric dipole moments and the branching
ratios of radiative lepton flavor violating decays in the framework of the two
Higgs doublet model with the inclusion two extra dimensions. Here, we consider
that the new Higgs doublet is accessible to one of the extra dimensions with a
Gaussian profile and the fermions are accessible to the other extra dimension
with uniform zero mode profile. We observe that the numerical values of the
physical quantities studied enhance with the additional effects due to the
extra dimensions and they are sensitive to the new Higgs localization.Comment: 23 pages, 13 page
Observing Ultra High Energy Cosmic Particles from Space: SEUSO, the Super Extreme Universe Space Observatory Mission
The experimental search for ultra high energy cosmic messengers, from eV to beyond eV, at the very end of the known energy
spectrum, constitutes an extraordinary opportunity to explore a largely unknown
aspect of our universe. Key scientific goals are the identification of the
sources of ultra high energy particles, the measurement of their spectra and
the study of galactic and local intergalactic magnetic fields. Ultra high
energy particles might, also, carry evidence of unknown physics or of exotic
particles relics of the early universe. To meet this challenge a significant
increase in the integrated exposure is required. This implies a new class of
experiments with larger acceptances and good understanding of the systematic
uncertainties. Space based observatories can reach the instantaneous aperture
and the integrated exposure necessary to systematically explore the ultra high
energy universe. In this paper, after briefly summarising the science case of
the mission, we describe the scientific goals and requirements of the SEUSO
concept. We then introduce the SEUSO observational approach and describe the
main instrument and mission features. We conclude discussing the expected
performance of the mission
Off-the-Wall Higgs in the Universal Randall-Sundrum Model
We outline a consistent Randall-Sundrum (RS) framework in which a fundamental
5-dimensional Higgs doublet induces electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB). In
this framework of a warped Universal Extra Dimension, the lightest Kaluza-Klein
(KK) mode of the bulk Higgs is tachyonic leading to a vacuum expectation value
(vev) at the TeV scale. The consistency of this picture imposes a set of
constraints on the parameters in the Higgs sector. A novel feature of our
scenario is the emergence of an adjustable bulk profile for the Higgs vev. We
also find a tower of non-tachyonic Higgs KK modes at the weak scale. We
consider an interesting implementation of this ``Off-the-Wall Higgs'' mechanism
where the 5-dimensional curvature-scalar coupling alone generates the tachyonic
mode responsible for EWSB. In this case, additional relations among the
parameters of the Higgs and gravitational sectors are established. We discuss
the experimental signatures of the bulk Higgs in general, and those of the
``Gravity-Induced'' EWSB in particular.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figure
Prva analiza izotopov in novi radiokarbonski datumi poljedelcev kulture Tripolje iz jame Verteba, Bilche Zolote, Ukrajina
This paper presents an analysis of human and animal remains from Verteba cave, near Bilche Zolote, western Ukraine. This study was prompted by a paucity of direct dates on this material and the need to contextualise these remains in relation both to the transition from hunting and gathering to farming in Ukraine, and their specific place within the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture sequence. The new absolute dating places the remains studied here in Trypillia stages BII/CI at c. 3900–3500 cal BC, with one individual now redated to the Early Scythian period. As such, these finds are even more exceptional than previously assumed, being some of the earliest discovered for this culture. The isotope analyses indicate that these individuals are local to the region, with the dietary stable isotopes indicating a C3 terrestrial diet for the Trypillia-period humans analysed. The Scythian period individual has δ13C ratios indicative of either c. 50% marine, or alternatively C4 plant inputs into the diet, despite δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr ratios that are comparable to the other individuals studied.V članku predstavljamo analizo človeških in živalskih ostankov iz jame Verteba blizu kraja Bilche Zolote v zahodni Ukrajini. Študija je nastala zaradi pomanjkljivega števila datumov iz teh ostankov in iz potrebe po kontekstualiziranju najdb v odnosu tako do prehoda iz lovsko-nabiralniške družbe v poljedelsko v Ukrajini kot tudi glede na poseben prostor, ki ga imajo te najdbe znotraj kulturne sekvence Cucuteni-Tripolje. Novi absolutni datumi postavljajo ostanke faze BII/CI kulture Tripolje v čas ok. 3900–3500 pr. n. št., medtem ko je eden od pokopov zdaj ponovno datiran v čas zgodnjega skitskega obdobja, kar pomeni, da gre za ene najstarejših najdb te kulture. Analiza izotopov kaže, da so bili pokojni lokalni prebivalci regije, analiza stabilnih izotopov pa kaže na C3 kopensko prehrano ljudi v času kulture Tripolje. Pokop iz skitskega obdobja kaže glede na δ13C vrednosti na ok. 50 % morske prehrane, oziroma na C4 rastline, vključene v prehrano, kljub temu da so deleži izotopov δ18O in 87Sr/86Sr primerljivi s preostalimi vzorci ljudi na najdišču
The radiative lepton flavor violating decays in the split fermion scenario in the two Higgs doublet model
We study the branching ratios of the lepton flavor violating processes \mu ->
e \gamma, \tau -> e \gamma and \tau -> \mu\gamma in the split fermion scenario,
in the framework of the two Higgs doublet model. We observe that the branching
ratios are relatively more sensitive to the compactification scale and the
Gaussian widths of the leptons in the extra dimensions, for two extra
dimensions and especially for the \tau -> \mu \gamma decay.Comment: 19 pages, 7 Figure
Induction of apoptosis in host cells: a survival mechanism for Leishmania parasites?
Leishmania parasites invade host macrophages, causing infections that are either limited to skin or spread to internal organs. In this study, 3 species causing cutaneous leishmaniasis, L. major, L. aethiopica and L. tropica, were tested for their ability to interfere with apoptosis in host macrophages in 2 different lines of human monocyte-derived macrophages (cell lines THP-1 and U937) and the results confirmed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). All 3 species induced early apoptosis 48 h after infection (expression of phosphatidyl serine on the outer membrane). There were significant increases in the percentage of apoptotic cells both for U937 and PBMC following infection with each of the 3 species. Early apoptotic events were confirmed by mitochondrial membrane permeabilization detection and caspase activation 48 and 72 h after infection. Moreover, the percentage of infected THP-1 and U937 macrophages increased significantly (up to 100%) following treatment with an apoptosis inducer. Since phosphatidyl serine externalization on apoptosing cells acts as a signal for engulfment by macrophages, induction of apoptosis in the parasitized cells could actively participate in spreading the infection. In summary, parasite-containing apoptotic bodies with intact membranes could be released and phagocytosed by uninfected macrophages
Soft-Wall Stabilization
We propose a general class of five-dimensional soft-wall models with AdS
metric near the ultraviolet brane and four-dimensional Poincar\'e invariance,
where the infrared scale is determined dynamically. A large UV/IR hierarchy can
be generated without any fine-tuning, thus solving the electroweak/Planck scale
hierarchy problem. Generically, the spectrum of fluctuations is discrete with a
level spacing (mass gap) provided by the inverse length of the wall, similar to
RS1 models with Standard Model fields propagating in the bulk. Moreover two
particularly interesting cases arise. They can describe: (a) a theory with a
continuous spectrum above the mass gap which can model unparticles
corresponding to operators of a CFT where the conformal symmetry is broken by a
mass gap, and; (b) a theory with a discrete spectrum provided by linear Regge
trajectories as in AdS/QCD models.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures, 1 table. v2: references added, version to appear
in NJP Focus Issue on Extra Dimension
New Higgs Production Mechanism in Composite Higgs Models
Composite Higgs models are only now starting to be probed at the Large Hadron
Collider by Higgs searches. We point out that new resonances, abundant in these
models, can mediate new production mechanisms for the composite Higgs. The new
channels involve the exchange of a massive color octet and single production of
new fermion resonances with subsequent decays into the Higgs and a Standard
Model quark. The sizable cross section and very distinctive kinematics allow
for a very clean extraction of the signal over the background with high
statistical significance. Heavy gluon masses up to 2.8 TeV can be probed with
data collected during 2012 and up to 5 TeV after the energy upgrade to
TeV.Comment: 27 pages, 22 figures. V2: typos corrected, matches published versio
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