61 research outputs found

    Tension over equitable allocation of water : estimating renewable groundwater resources beneath the West Bank and Israel

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    Competition for water resources between Palestine and Israel is an ongoing cause of tension. The Western Aquifer Basin forms a major part of the complex, largely karst, limestone system of the West Bank Mountain Aquifer. The aquifer crops out and is recharged solely in the semi-arid uplands of the West Bank and groundwater flows west beneath Israel to discharge at the Yarqon and Nahal Taninim springs near the Mediterranean coast. Annual recharge to the aquifer is not easy to quantify but lies within the range 270×106 to 455×106 m3 a−1, and current uncertainties do not support definition of a single value of long-term average recharge. The resource is heavily exploited and abstraction is directly controlled and apportioned between Israel and the West Bank by Israel. The key to equitable apportionment is the determination of the long-term average recharge to the basin, which also requires definition of the eastern boundary of the basin to confirm the recharge area. Calculations include empirical formulae and process-based models that are likely to constrain the best estimate provided that there is appropriate, ongoing monitoring. Improved understanding can then be fed back into the model

    The centrosomal protein 83 (CEP83) regulates human pluripotent stem cell differentiation towards the kidney lineage

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    During embryonic development, the mesoderm undergoes patterning into diverse lineages including axial, paraxial, and lateral plate mesoderm (LPM). Within the LPM, the so-called intermediate mesoderm (IM) forms kidney and urogenital tract progenitor cells, while the remaining LPM forms cardiovascular, hematopoietic, mesothelial, and additional progenitor cells. The signals that regulate these early lineage decisions are incompletely understood. Here, we found that the centrosomal protein 83 (CEP83), a centriolar component necessary for primary cilia formation and mutated in pediatric kidney disease, influences the differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) towards intermediate mesoderm. We induced inactivating deletions of (CEP83) in hiPSCs and applied a 7 day in vitro protocol of intermediate mesoderm kidney progenitor differentiation, based on timed application of WNT and FGF agonists. We characterized induced mesodermal cell populations using single cell and bulk transcriptomics and tested their ability to form kidney structures in subsequent organoid culture. While hiPSCs with homozygous (CEP83) inactivation were normal regarding morphology and transcriptome, their induced differentiation into IM progenitor cells was perturbed. Mesodermal cells induced after 7 days of monolayer culture of (CEP83)-deficient hiPCS exhibited absent or elongated primary cilia, displayed decreased expression of critical IM genes ((PAX8), (EYA1), (HOXB7)), and an aberrant induction of LPM markers (e. g. (FOXF1), (FOXF2), (FENDRR), (HAND1) ,(HAND2)). Upon subsequent organoid culture, wildtype cells differentiated to form kidney tubules and glomerular-like structures, whereas (CEP83)-deficient cells failed to generate kidney cell types, instead upregulating cardiomyocyte, vascular, and more general LPM progenitor markers. Our data suggest that (CEP83) regulates the balance of intermediate mesoderm and lateral plate mesoderm formation from human pluripotent stem cells, identifying a potential link between centriolar or ciliary function and mesodermal lineage induction

    Ultrafast carrier relaxation in GaN, In_(0.05)Ga_(0.95)N and an In_(0.05)Ga_(0.95)/In_(0.15)Ga_(0.85)N Multiple Quantum Well

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    Room temperature, wavelength non-degenerate ultrafast pump/probe measurements were performed on GaN and InGaN epilayers and an InGaN multiple quantum well structure. Carrier relaxation dynamics were investigated as a function of excitation wavelength and intensity. Spectrally-resolved sub-picosecond relaxation due to carrier redistribution and QW capture was found to depend sensitively on the wavelength of pump excitation. Moreover, for pump intensities above a threshold of 100 microJ/cm2, all samples demonstrated an additional emission feature arising from stimulated emission (SE). SE is evidenced as accelerated relaxation (< 10 ps) in the pump-probe data, fundamentally altering the re-distribution of carriers. Once SE and carrier redistribution is completed, a slower relaxation of up to 1 ns for GaN and InGaN epilayers, and 660 ps for the MQW sample, indicates carrier recombination through spontaneous emission.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.

    Measurement of the View the tt production cross-section using eÎŒ events with b-tagged jets in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

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    This paper describes a measurement of the inclusive top quark pair production cross-section (σttÂŻ) with a data sample of 3.2 fb−1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 13 TeV, collected in 2015 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. This measurement uses events with an opposite-charge electron–muon pair in the final state. Jets containing b-quarks are tagged using an algorithm based on track impact parameters and reconstructed secondary vertices. The numbers of events with exactly one and exactly two b-tagged jets are counted and used to determine simultaneously σttÂŻ and the efficiency to reconstruct and b-tag a jet from a top quark decay, thereby minimising the associated systematic uncertainties. The cross-section is measured to be: σttÂŻ = 818 ± 8 (stat) ± 27 (syst) ± 19 (lumi) ± 12 (beam) pb, where the four uncertainties arise from data statistics, experimental and theoretical systematic effects, the integrated luminosity and the LHC beam energy, giving a total relative uncertainty of 4.4%. The result is consistent with theoretical QCD calculations at next-to-next-to-leading order. A fiducial measurement corresponding to the experimental acceptance of the leptons is also presented

    Search for TeV-scale gravity signatures in high-mass final states with leptons and jets with the ATLAS detector at sqrt [ s ] = 13TeV

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    A search for physics beyond the Standard Model, in final states with at least one high transverse momentum charged lepton (electron or muon) and two additional high transverse momentum leptons or jets, is performed using 3.2 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2015 at √s = 13 TeV. The upper end of the distribution of the scalar sum of the transverse momenta of leptons and jets is sensitive to the production of high-mass objects. No excess of events beyond Standard Model predictions is observed. Exclusion limits are set for models of microscopic black holes with two to six extra dimensions

    Search for dark matter produced in association with a hadronically decaying vector boson in pp collisions at sqrt (s) = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

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    A search is presented for dark matter produced in association with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson using 3.2 fb−1 of pp collisions at View the MathML sources=13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with a hadronic jet compatible with a W or Z boson and with large missing transverse momentum are analysed. The data are consistent with the Standard Model predictions and are interpreted in terms of both an effective field theory and a simplified model containing dark matter

    Measurement of the cross section for isolated-photon plus jet production in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV using the ATLAS detector

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    The dynamics of isolated-photon production in association with a jet in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV are studied with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using a dataset with an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb−1. Photons are required to have transverse energies above 125 GeV. Jets are identified using the anti- algorithm with radius parameter and required to have transverse momenta above 100 GeV. Measurements of isolated-photon plus jet cross sections are presented as functions of the leading-photon transverse energy, the leading-jet transverse momentum, the azimuthal angular separation between the photon and the jet, the photon–jet invariant mass and the scattering angle in the photon–jet centre-of-mass system. Tree-level plus parton-shower predictions from Sherpa and Pythia as well as next-to-leading-order QCD predictions from Jetphox and Sherpa are compared to the measurements

    Search for resonances in the mass distribution of jet pairs with one or two jets identified as b-jets in proton–proton collisions at √s=13TeV with the ATLAS detector

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    Searches for high-mass resonances in the dijet invariant mass spectrum with one or two jets identi-fied as b-jets are performed using an integrated luminosity of 3.2fb−1of proton–proton collisions with a centre-of-mass energy of √s=13TeVrecorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Noevidence of anomalous phenomena is observed in the data, which are used to exclude, at 95%credibility level, excited b∗quarks with masses from 1.1TeVto 2.1TeVand leptophobic Z bosons with masses from 1.1TeVto 1.5TeV. Contributions of a Gaussian signal shape with effective cross sections ranging from approximately 0.4 to 0.001pb are also excluded in the mass range 1.5–5.0TeV

    Measurement of the double-differential high-mass Drell-Yan cross section in pp collisions at √s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

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    This paper presents a measurement of the double-differential cross section for the Drell-Yan Z/γ∗ → ℓ+ℓ− and photon-induced γγ → ℓ+ℓ− processes where ℓ is an electron or muon. The measurement is performed for invariant masses of the lepton pairs, mℓℓ, between 116 GeV and 1500 GeV using a sample of 20.3 fb−1 of pp collisions data at centre-of-mass energy of √s = 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2012. The data are presented double differentially in invariant mass and absolute dilepton rapidity as well as in invariant mass and absolute pseudorapidity separation of the lepton pair. The single-differential cross section as a function of mℓℓ is also reported. The electron and muon channel measurements are combined and a total experimental precision of better than 1% is achieved at low mℓℓ. A comparison to next-to-next-to-leading order perturbative QCD predictions using several recent parton distribution functions and including next-to-leading order electroweak effects indicates the potential of the data to constrain parton distribution functions. In particular, a large impact of the data on the photon PDF is demonstrated

    Measurement of W± and Z-boson production cross sections in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

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    See paper for full list of authors - 17 pages plus author list + cover pages (34 pages total), 5 figures, 3 tables, submitted to Phys. Lett. B, All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2015-03/International audienceMeasurements of the W±→ℓ±ΜW^{\pm} \rightarrow \ell^{\pm} \nu and Z→ℓ+ℓ−Z \rightarrow \ell^+ \ell^- production cross sections (where ℓ±=e±,Ό±\ell^{\pm}=e^{\pm},\mu^{\pm}) in proton-proton collisions at s=13\sqrt{s}=13 TeV are presented using data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 81 pb−1^{-1}. The total inclusive W±W^{\pm}-boson production cross sections times the single-lepton-flavour branching ratios are σW+tot=11.78±0.02(stat)±0.32(sys)±0.59(lumi)\sigma_{W^+}^{tot}= 11.78 \pm 0.02 (stat) \pm 0.32 (sys) \pm 0.59 (lumi) nb and σW−tot=8.75±0.02(stat)±0.24(sys)±0.44(lumi)\sigma_{W^-}^{tot} = 8.75 \pm 0.02 (stat) \pm 0.24 (sys) \pm 0.44 (lumi) nb for W+W^+ and W−W^-, respectively. The total inclusive ZZ-boson production cross section times leptonic branching ratio, within the invariant mass window 66<mℓℓ<11666 < m_{\ell\ell} < 116 GeV, is σZtot=1.97±0.01(stat)±0.04(sys)±0.10(lumi)\sigma_{Z}^{tot} = 1.97 \pm 0.01 (stat) \pm 0.04 (sys) \pm 0.10 (lumi) nb. The W+W^+, W−W^-, and ZZ-boson production cross sections and cross-section ratios within a fiducial region defined by the detector acceptance are also measured. The cross-section ratios benefit from significant cancellation of experimental uncertainties, resulting in σW+fid/σW−fid=1.295±0.003(stat)±0.010(sys)\sigma_{W^+}^{fid}/\sigma_{W^-}^{fid} = 1.295 \pm 0.003 (stat) \pm 0.010 (sys) and σW±fid/σZfid=10.31±0.04(stat)±0.20(sys)\sigma_{W^{\pm}}^{fid}/\sigma_{Z}^{fid} = 10.31 \pm 0.04 (stat) \pm 0.20 (sys). Theoretical predictions, based on calculations accurate to next-to-next-to-leading order for quantum chromodynamics and next-to-leading order for electroweak processes and which employ different parton distribution function sets, are compared to these measurements
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