13,764 research outputs found
Distribution of TT virus (TTV), TTV-like minivirus, and related viruses in humans and nonhuman primates
AbstractTT virus (TTV) and TTV-like minivirus (TLMV) are small DNA viruses with single-stranded, closed circular, antisense genomes infecting man. Despite their extreme sequence heterogeneity (>50%), a highly conserved region in the untranslated region (UTR) allows both viruses to be amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). TTV/TLMV infection was detected in 88 of 100 human plasma samples; amplified sequences were differentiated into TTV and TLMV by analysis of melting profiles, showing that both viruses were similarly prevalent. PCR with UTR primers also detected frequent infection with TTV/TLMV-related viruses in a wide range of apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, gibbons) and African monkey species (mangabeys, drills, mandrills). These findings support the hypothesis for the co-evolution of TTV-like viruses with their hosts over the period of primate speciation, potentially analogous to the evolution of primate herpesviruses
Short-range ordering in face-centered-cubic Ni3Al
Films of fcc Ni3Al with suppressed short-range order (SRO) were prepared by physical vapor deposition of Ni3Al onto room-temperature substrates. Extended electron energy-loss fine-structure spectra were obtained from both Al K and Ni L23 edges. After the samples were annealed for various times at 150 Ā°C, a moderate growth of SRO was observed in the first-nearest-neighbor environments of both the Al and Ni atoms. As prepared, these fcc Ni3Al materials, and presumably others having similar heat evolutions as measured by differential scanning calorimetry, have a high degree of chemical disorder
Anomalous behavior of the spin gap of a spin-1/2 two-leg antiferromagnetic ladder with Ising-like rung interactions
Using mainly numerical methods, we investigate the width of the spin gap of a
spin-1/2 two-leg ladder described by \cH= J_\rl \sum_{j=1}^{N/2} [ \vS_{j,a}
\cdot \vS_{j+1,a} + \vS_{j,b} \cdot \vS_{j+1,b} ] + J_\rr \sum_{j=1}^{N/2}
[\lambda (S^x_{j,a} S^x_{j,b} + S^y_{j,a} S^y_{j,b}) + S^z_{j,a} S^z_{j,b}] ,
where denotes the -component of the spin-1/2
operator at the -th site of the chain. We mainly focus on the J_\rr
\gg J_\rl > 0 and case. The width of the spin gap as a
function of anomalously increases near ; for instance,
for when . The gap formation
mechanism is thought to be different for the
cases. Since, in usual cases, the width of the gap becomes zero or small at the
point where the gap formation mechanism changes, the above gap-increasing
phenomenon in the present case is anomalous. We explain the origin of this
anomalous phenomenon by use of the degenerate perturbation theory. We also draw
the ground-state phase diagram.Comment: 4 pages, 11 figures; Proc. "The International Conference on Quantum
Criticality and Novel Phases" (2012), to be published in Phys. Stat. Solidi
Nonlocal Position Changes of a Photon Revealed by Quantum Routers
Since its publication, Aharonov and Vaidman's three-box paradox has undergone
three major advances: i). A non-counterfactual scheme by the same authors in
2003 with strong rather than weak measurements for verifying the particle's
subtle presence in two boxes. ii) A realization of the latter by Okamoto and
Takeuchi in 2016. iii) A dynamic version by Aharonov et al. in 2017, with
disappearance and reappearance of the particle. We now combine these advances
together. Using photonic quantum routers the particle acts like a quantum
"shutter." It is initially split between Boxes A, B and C, the latter located
far away from the former two. The shutter particle's whereabouts can then be
followed by a probe photon, split in both space and time and reflected by the
shutter in its varying locations. Measuring the former is expected to reveal
the following time-evolution: The shutter particle was, with certainty, in
boxes A+C at t1, then only in C at t2, and finally in B+C at t3. Another branch
of the split probe photon can show that boxes A+B were empty at t2. A Bell-like
theorem applied to this experiment challenges any alternative interpretation
that avoids disappearance-reappearance in favor of local hidden variables.Comment: Revised versio
From antiferromagnetism to superconductivity in Fe 1+y(Te1-x,Sex) (0 < x < 0.20): a neutron powder diffraction analysis
The nuclear and magnetic structure of Fe1+y(Te1-x,Sex) (0 < x < 0.20)
compounds was analyzed between 2 K and 300 K by means of Rietveld refinement of
neutron powder diffraction data. Samples with x < 0.075 undergo a tetragonal to
monoclinic phase transition at low temperature, whose critical temperature
decreases with increasing Se content; this structural transition is strictly
coupled to a long range antiferromagnetic ordering at the Fe site. Both the
transition to a monoclinic phase and the long range antiferromagnetism are
suppressed for 0.10 < x < 0.20. The onset of the structural and of the magnetic
transition remains coincident with the increase of Se substitution. The low
temperature monoclinic crystal structure has been revised. Superconductivity
arises for x > 0.05, therefore a significant region where superconductivity and
long range antiferromagnetism coexist is present in the pseudo-binary FeTe -
FeSe phase diagram.Comment: 33 pages, 4 tables, 13 figure
Stellar structures in the outer regions of M33
We present Subaru/Suprime-Cam deep V and I imaging of seven fields in the
outer regions of M33. Our aim is to search for stellar structures corresponding
to extended HI clouds found in a recent 21-cm survey of the galaxy. Three
fields probe a large HI complex to the southeastern (SE) side of the galaxy. An
additional three fields cover the northwestern (NW) side of the galaxy along
the HI warp. A final target field was chosen further north, at a projected
distance of approximately 25 kpc, to study part of the large stellar plume
recently discovered around M33. We analyse the stellar population at R > 10 kpc
by means of V, I colour magnitude diagrams reaching the red clump. Evolved
stellar populations are found in all fields out to 120' (~ 30 kpc), while a
diffuse population of young stars (~ 200 Myr) is detected out to a
galactocentric radius of 15 kpc. The mean metallicity in the southern fields
remains approximately constant at [M/H] = -0.7 beyond the edge of the optical
disc, from 40' out to 80'. Along the northern fields probing the outer \hi
disc, we also find a metallicity of [M/H] = -0.7 between 35' and 70' from the
centre, which decreases to [M/H] = -1.0 at larger angular radii out to 120'. In
the northernmost field, outside the disc extent, the stellar population of the
large stellar feature possibly related to a M33-M31 interaction is on average
more metal-poor ([M/H] = -1.3) and older (> 6 Gyr). An exponential disc with a
large scale-length (~ 7 kpc) fits well the average distribution of stars
detected in both the SE and NW regions from a galactocentric distance of 11 kpc
out to 30 kpc. The stellar distribution at large radii is disturbed and,
although there is no clear correlation between the stellar substructures and
the location of the HI clouds, this gives evidence for tidal interaction or
accretion events.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publications in Astronomy and
Astrophysics; minor revisions of the tex
Transverse radiation force in a tailored optical fiber
We show, by means of simple model calculations, how a weak laser beam sent
through an optical fiber exerts a transverse radiation force if there is an
azimuthal asymmetry present in the fiber such that one side has a slightly
different refractive index than the other. The refractive index difference
needs only to be very small, of order , in order to produce
an appreciable transverse displacement of order 10 microns. We argue that the
effect has probably already been seen in a recent experiment of She et al.
[Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 243601 (2008)], and we discuss correspondence between
these observations and the theory presented. The effect could be used to bend
optical fibers in a predictable and controlled manner and we propose that it
could be useful for micron-scale devices.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication as Rapid Communication
in Phys. Rev.
{\bf -Function Evaluation of Gap Probabilities in Orthogonal and Symplectic Matrix Ensembles}
It has recently been emphasized that all known exact evaluations of gap
probabilities for classical unitary matrix ensembles are in fact
-functions for certain Painlev\'e systems. We show that all exact
evaluations of gap probabilities for classical orthogonal matrix ensembles,
either known or derivable from the existing literature, are likewise
-functions for certain Painlev\'e systems. In the case of symplectic
matrix ensembles all exact evaluations, either known or derivable from the
existing literature, are identified as the mean of two -functions, both
of which correspond to Hamiltonians satisfying the same differential equation,
differing only in the boundary condition. Furthermore the product of these two
-functions gives the gap probability in the corresponding unitary
symmetry case, while one of those -functions is the gap probability in
the corresponding orthogonal symmetry case.Comment: AMS-Late
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