521 research outputs found
Observation of Spin Flips with a Single Trapped Proton
Radio-frequency induced spin transitions of one individual proton are
observed for the first time. The spin quantum jumps are detected via the
continuous Stern-Gerlach effect, which is used in an experiment with a single
proton stored in a cryogenic Penning trap. This is an important milestone
towards a direct high-precision measurement of the magnetic moment of the
proton and a new test of the matter-antimatter symmetry in the baryon sector
Resolution of Single Spin-Flips of a Single Proton
The spin magnetic moment of a single proton in a cryogenic Penning trap was
coupled to the particle's axial motion with a superimposed magnetic bottle.
Jumps in the oscillation frequency indicate spin-flips and were identified
using a Bayesian analysis.Comment: accepted for publication by Phys. Rev. Lett., submitted 6.June.201
Direct high-precision measurement of the magnetic moment of the proton
The spin-magnetic moment of the proton is a fundamental property of
this particle. So far has only been measured indirectly, analysing the
spectrum of an atomic hydrogen maser in a magnetic field. Here, we report the
direct high-precision measurement of the magnetic moment of a single proton
using the double Penning-trap technique. We drive proton-spin quantum jumps by
a magnetic radio-frequency field in a Penning trap with a homogeneous magnetic
field. The induced spin-transitions are detected in a second trap with a strong
superimposed magnetic inhomogeneity. This enables the measurement of the
spin-flip probability as a function of the drive frequency. In each measurement
the proton's cyclotron frequency is used to determine the magnetic field of the
trap. From the normalized resonance curve, we extract the particle's magnetic
moment in units of the nuclear magneton . This
measurement outperforms previous Penning trap measurements in terms of
precision by a factor of about 760. It improves the precision of the forty year
old indirect measurement, in which significant theoretical bound state
corrections were required to obtain , by a factor of 3. By application
of this method to the antiproton magnetic moment the fractional
precision of the recently reported value can be improved by a factor of at
least 1000. Combined with the present result, this will provide a stringent
test of matter/antimatter symmetry with baryons.Comment: published in Natur
Demonstration of the Double Penning Trap Technique with a Single Proton
Spin flips of a single proton were driven in a Penning trap with a
homogeneous magnetic field. For the spin-state analysis the proton was
transported into a second Penning trap with a superimposed magnetic bottle, and
the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect was applied. This first demonstration of
the double Penning trap technique with a single proton suggests that the
antiproton magnetic moment measurement can potentially be improved by three
orders of magnitude or more
Towards a high-precision measurement of the antiproton magnetic moment
The recent observation of single spins flips with a single proton in a
Penning trap opens the way to measure the proton magnetic moment with high
precision. Based on this success, which has been achieved with our apparatus at
the University of Mainz, we demonstrated recently the first application of the
so called double Penning-trap method with a single proton. This is a major step
towards a measurement of the proton magnetic moment with ppb precision. To
apply this method to a single trapped antiproton our collaboration is currently
setting up a companion experiment at the antiproton decelerator of CERN. This
effort is recognized as the Baryon Antibaryon Symmetry Experiment (BASE). A
comparison of both magnetic moment values will provide a stringent test of CPT
invariance with baryons.Comment: Submitted to LEAP 2013 conference proceeding
Beta amyloid and hyperphosphorylated tau deposits in the pancreas in type 2 diabetes.
Strong epidemiologic evidence suggests an association between Alzheimer disease (AD) and type 2 diabetes. To determine if amyloid beta (Abeta) and hyperphosphorylated tau occurs in type 2 diabetes, pancreas tissues from 21 autopsy cases (10 type 2 diabetes and 11 controls) were analyzed. APP and tau mRNAs were identified in human pancreas and in cultured insulinoma beta cells (INS-1) by RT-PCR. Prominent APP and tau bands were detected by Western blotting in pancreatic extracts. Aggregated Abeta, hyperphosphorylated tau, ubiquitin, apolipoprotein E, apolipoprotein(a), IB1/JIP-1 and JNK1 were detected in Langerhans islets in type 2 diabetic patients. Abeta was co-localized with amylin in islet amyloid deposits. In situ beta sheet formation of islet amyloid deposits was shown by infrared microspectroscopy (SIRMS). LPS increased APP in non-neuronal cells as well. We conclude that Abeta deposits and hyperphosphorylated tau are also associated with type 2 diabetes, highlighting common pathogenetic features in neurodegenerative disorders, including AD and type 2 diabetes and suggesting that Abeta deposits and hyperphosphorylated tau may also occur in other organs than the brain
Aging induced changes on NEXAFS fingerprints in individual combustion particles
Soot particles can significantly influence the Earth's climate by absorbing and scattering solar radiation as well as by acting as cloud condensation nuclei. However, despite their environmental (as well as economic and political) importance, the way these properties are affected by atmospheric processing of the combustion exhaust gases is still a subject of discussion. In this work, individual soot particles emitted from two different vehicles, a EURO 2 transporter, a EURO 3 passenger car, and a wood stove were investigated on a single-particle basis. The emitted exhaust, including the particulate and the gas phase, was processed in a smog chamber with artificial solar radiation. Single particle specimens of both unprocessed and aged soot were characterized using near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) and scanning electron microscopy. Comparison of NEXAFS spectra from the unprocessed particles and those resulting from exhaust photooxidation in the chamber revealed changes in the carbon functional group content. For the wood stove emissions, these changes were minor, related to the relatively mild oxidation conditions. For the EURO 2 transporter emissions, the most apparent change was that of carboxylic carbon from oxidized organic compounds condensing on the primary soot particles. For the EURO 3 car emissions oxidation of primary soot particles upon photochemical aging has likely contributed as well. Overall, the changes in the NEXAFS fingerprints were in qualitative agreement with data from an aerosol mass spectrometer. Furthermore, by taking full advantage of our in situ microreactor concept, we show that the soot particles from all three combustion sources changed their ability to take up water under humid conditions upon photochemical aging of the exhaust. Due to the selectivity and sensitivity of the NEXAFS technique for the water mass, also small amounts of water taken up into the internal voids of agglomerated particles could be detected. Because such small amounts of water uptake do not lead to measurable changes in particle diameter, it may remain beyond the limits of volume growth measurements, especially for larger agglomerated particles
Prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing in the general population: the HypnoLaus study.
BACKGROUND: Sleep-disordered breathing is associated with major morbidity and mortality. However, its prevalence has mainly been selectively studied in populations at risk for sleep-disordered breathing or cardiovascular diseases. Taking into account improvements in recording techniques and new criteria used to define respiratory events, we aimed to assess the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing and associated clinical features in a large population-based sample.
METHODS: Between Sept 1, 2009, and June 30, 2013, we did a population-based study (HypnoLaus) in Lausanne, Switzerland. We invited a cohort of 3043 consecutive participants of the CoLaus/PsyCoLaus study to take part. Polysomnography data from 2121 people were included in the final analysis. 1024 (48%) participants were men, with a median age of 57 years (IQR 49-68, range 40-85) and mean body-mass index (BMI) of 25·6 kg/m(2) (SD 4·1). Participants underwent complete polysomnographic recordings at home and had extensive phenotyping for diabetes, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and depression. The primary outcome was prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing, assessed by the apnoea-hypopnoea index.
FINDINGS: The median apnoea-hypopnoea index was 6·9 events per h (IQR 2·7-14·1) in women and 14·9 per h (7·2-27·1) in men. The prevalence of moderate-to-severe sleep-disordered breathing (≥15 events per h) was 23·4% (95% CI 20·9-26·0) in women and 49·7% (46·6-52·8) in men. After multivariable adjustment, the upper quartile for the apnoea-hypopnoea index (>20·6 events per h) was associated independently with the presence of hypertension (odds ratio 1·60, 95% CI 1·14-2·26; p=0·0292 for trend across severity quartiles), diabetes (2·00, 1·05-3·99; p=0·0467), metabolic syndrome (2·80, 1·86-4·29; p<0·0001), and depression (1·92, 1·01-3·64; p=0·0292).
INTERPRETATION: The high prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing recorded in our population-based sample might be attributable to the increased sensitivity of current recording techniques and scoring criteria. These results suggest that sleep-disordered breathing is highly prevalent, with important public health outcomes, and that the definition of the disorder should be revised.
FUNDING: Faculty of Biology and Medicine of Lausanne, Lausanne University Hospital, Swiss National Science Foundation, Leenaards Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline, Ligue Pulmonaire Vaudoise
The magnetic moments of the proton and the antiproton
Recent exciting progress in the preparation and manipulation of the motional
quantum states of a single trapped proton enabled the first direct detection of
the particle's spin state. Based on this success the proton magnetic moment
was measured with ppm precision in a Penning trap with a superimposed
magnetic field inhomogeneity. An improvement by an additional factor of 1000 in
precision is possible by application of the so-called double Penning trap
technique. In a recent paper we reported the first demonstration of this method
with a single trapped proton, which is a major step towards the first direct
high-precision measurement of . The techniques required for the proton
can be directly applied to measure the antiproton magnetic moment
. An improvement in precision of by more than
three orders of magnitude becomes possible, which will provide one of the most
sensitive tests of CPT invariance. To achieve this research goal we are
currently setting up the Baryon Antibaryon Symmetry Experiment (BASE) at the
antiproton decelerator (AD) of CERN
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