Prospects For Identifying Dark Matter With CoGeNT

It has previously been shown that the excess of events reported by the CoGeNT collaboration could be generated by elastically scattering dark matter particles with a mass of approximately 5-15 GeV. This mass range is very similar to that required to generate the annual modulation observed by DAMA/LIBRA and the gamma rays from the region surrounding the Galactic Center identified within the data of the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope. To confidently conclude that CoGeNT's excess is the result of dark matter, however, further data will likely be needed. In this paper, we make projections for the first full year of CoGeNT data, and for its planned upgrade. Not only will this body of data more accurately constrain the spectrum of nuclear recoil events, and corresponding dark matter parameter space, but will also make it possible to identify seasonal variations in the rate. In particular, if the CoGeNT excess is the product of dark matter, then one year of CoGeNT data will likely reveal an annual modulation with a significance of 2-3$\sigma$. The planned CoGeNT upgrade will not only detect such an annual modulation with high significance, but will be capable of measuring the energy spectrum of the modulation amplitude. These measurements will be essential to irrefutably confirming a dark matter origin of these events.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Dark Matter attempts for CoGeNT and DAMA

Recently, the CoGeNT collaboration presented a positive signal for an annual modulation in their data set. In light of the long standing annual modulation signal in DAMA/LIBRA, we analyze the compatibility of both of these signal within the hypothesis of dark matter (DM) scattering on nuclei, taking into account existing experimental constraints. We consider the cases of elastic and inelastic scattering with either spin-dependent or spin-independent coupling to nucleons. We allow for isospin violating interactions as well as for light mediators. We find that there is some tension between the size of the modulation signal and the time-integrated event excess in CoGeNT, making it difficult to explain both simultaneously. Moreover, within the wide range of DM interaction models considered, we do not find a simultaneous explanation of CoGeNT and DAMA/LIBRA compatible with constraints from other experiments. However, in certain cases part of the data can be made consistent. For example, the modulation signal from CoGeNT becomes consistent with the total rate and with limits from other DM searches at 90% CL (but not with the DAMA/LIBRA signal) if DM scattering is inelastic spin-independent with just the right couplings to protons and neutrons to reduce the scattering rate on xenon. Conversely the DAMA/LIBRA signal (but not CoGeNT) can be explained by spin-dependent inelastic DM scattering.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figure

Differential metabolism of deoxyribonucleosides by leukaemic T cells of immature and mature phenotype

Experimental evidence has indicated that T lymphoblasts are more sensitive to deoxynucleoside toxicity than are B lymphoblasts. These data have led to the use of purine enzyme inhibitors as selective chemotherapeutic drugs in the treatment of T cell malignancies ranging from T cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia to cutaneous T cell lymphomas. We have compared the toxicities of 2′-deoxyadenosine, 2′-deoxyguanosine, and thymidine for T cell lines derived from patients with T cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with those for mature T cell lines derived from patients with cutaneous T cell leukaemia/lymphoma. We have found that both deoxynucleosides are far less toxic to the mature T cell lies than to T lymphoblasts and that the mature cells accumulate much lower amounts of dATP and dGTP when exposed to deoxyadenosine and deoxyguanosine, respectively. Similar studies performed on peripheral blood cells from patients with T cell leukaemias of mature phenotype and on peripheral blood T cells demonstrate similar low amounts of deoxynucleotide accumulation. Measurements of the activities of several purine metabolizing enzymes that participate in deoxynucleoside phosphorylation or degradation do not reveal differences which would explain the toxicity of deoxynucleosides for immature, as compared to mature, T cells. We conclude that deoxynucleoside metabolism in leukaemic T cells varies with their degree of differentiation. These observations may be relevant to the design of chemotherapeutic regimes for T cell malignancies.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72479/1/j.1365-2141.1985.tb04067.x.pd

High Abundances of Species in Protected Areas in Parts of their Geographic Distributions Colonized during a Recent Period of Climatic Change

It is uncertain whether Protected Areas (PAs) will conserve high abundances of species as their distributions and abundances shift in response to climate change. We analyzed large datasets for 57 butterfly and 42 odonate species (including four that have recently colonized Britain). We found that 73 of 94 species with sufficient data for analysis were more abundant inside than outside PAs in the historical parts of their British distributions, showing that PAs have retained high conservation value. A significant majority (61 of 99 species) was also more abundant inside PAs in regions they have colonized during the last 30–40 years of climate warming. Species with relatively high abundances inside PAs in long-established parts of their distributions were also disproportionately associated with PAs in recently colonized regions, revealing a set of relatively PA-reliant species. Pas, therefore, play a vital role in the conservation of biodiversity as species’ ranges become more dynamic

Spontaneous Diabetes in Hemizygous Human Amylin Transgenic Mice That Developed Neither Islet Amyloid nor Peripheral Insulin Resistance

OBJECTIVES—We sought to 1) Determine whether soluble-misfolded amylin or insoluble-fibrillar amylin may cause or result from diabetes in human amylin transgenic mice and 2) determine the role, if any, that insulin resistance might play in these processes

Parametric POMDPs for planning in continuous state spaces

This thesis is concerned with planning and acting under uncertainty in partially-observable continuous domains. In particular, it focusses on the problem of mobile robot navigation given a known map. The dominant paradigm for robot localisation is to use Bayesian estimation to maintain a probability distribution over possible robot poses. In contrast, control algorithms often base their decisions on the assumption that a single state, such as the mode of this distribution, is correct. In scenarios involving significant uncertainty, this can lead to serious control errors. It is generally agreed that the reliability of navigation in uncertain environments would be greatly improved by the ability to consider the entire distribution when acting, rather than the single most likely state. The framework adopted in this thesis for modelling navigation problems mathematically is the Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP). An exact solution to a POMDP problem provides the optimal balance between reward-seeking behaviour and information-seeking behaviour, in the presence of sensor and actuation noise. Unfortunately, previous exact and approximate solution methods have had difficulty scaling to real applications. The contribution of this thesis is the formulation of an approach to planning in the space of continuous parameterised approximations to probability distributions. Theoretical and practical results are presented which show that, when compared with similar methods from the literature, this approach is capable of scaling to larger and more realistic problems. In order to apply the solution algorithm to real-world problems, a number of novel improvements are proposed. Specifically, Monte Carlo methods are employed to estimate distributions over future parameterised beliefs, improving planning accuracy without a loss of efficiency. Conditional independence assumptions are exploited to simplify the problem, reducing computational requirements. Scalability is further increased by focussing computation on likely beliefs, using metric indexing structures for efficient function approximation. Local online planning is incorporated to assist global offline planning, allowing the precision of the latter to be decreased without adversely affecting solution quality. Finally, the algorithm is implemented and demonstrated during real-time control of a mobile robot in a challenging navigation task. We argue that this task is substantially more challenging and realistic than previous problems to which POMDP solution methods have been applied. Results show that POMDP planning, which considers the evolution of the entire probability distribution over robot poses, produces significantly more robust behaviour when compared with a heuristic planner which considers only the most likely states and outcomes

Origins of the Ambient Solar Wind: Implications for Space Weather

The Sun's outer atmosphere is heated to temperatures of millions of degrees, and solar plasma flows out into interplanetary space at supersonic speeds. This paper reviews our current understanding of these interrelated problems: coronal heating and the acceleration of the ambient solar wind. We also discuss where the community stands in its ability to forecast how variations in the solar wind (i.e., fast and slow wind streams) impact the Earth. Although the last few decades have seen significant progress in observations and modeling, we still do not have a complete understanding of the relevant physical processes, nor do we have a quantitatively precise census of which coronal structures contribute to specific types of solar wind. Fast streams are known to be connected to the central regions of large coronal holes. Slow streams, however, appear to come from a wide range of sources, including streamers, pseudostreamers, coronal loops, active regions, and coronal hole boundaries. Complicating our understanding even more is the fact that processes such as turbulence, stream-stream interactions, and Coulomb collisions can make it difficult to unambiguously map a parcel measured at 1 AU back down to its coronal source. We also review recent progress -- in theoretical modeling, observational data analysis, and forecasting techniques that sit at the interface between data and theory -- that gives us hope that the above problems are indeed solvable.Comment: Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Special issue connected with a 2016 ISSI workshop on "The Scientific Foundations of Space Weather." 44 pages, 9 figure

Alginate-nanohydroxyapatite hydrogel system: Optimizing the formulation for enhanced bone regeneration

Ceramic/polymer-based biocomposites have emerged as potential biomaterials to fill, replace, repair or regenerate injured or diseased bone, due to their outstanding features in terms of biocompatibility, bioactivity, injectability, and biodegradability. However, these properties can be dependent on the amount of ceramic component present in the polymer-based composite. Therefore, in the present study, the influence of nanohydroxyapatite content (30 to 70 wt%) on alginate-based hydrogels was studied in order to evaluate the best formulation for maximizing bone tissue regeneration. The composite system was characterized in terms of physic-chemical properties and biological response, with in vitro cytocompatibility assessment with human osteoblastic cells and ex vivo functional evaluation in embryonic chick segmental bone defects. The main morphological characteristics of the alginate network were not affected by the addition of nanohydroxyapatite. However, physic-chemical features, like water-swelling rate, stability at extreme pH values, apatite formation, and Ca2+ release were nanoHA dose-dependent. Within in vitro cytocompatibility assays it was observed that hydrogels with nanoHA 30% content enhanced osteoblastic cells proliferation and expression of osteogenic transcription factors, while those with higher concentrations (50 and 70%) decreased the osteogenic cell response. Ex vivo data underlined the in vitro findings, revealing an enhanced collagenous deposition, trabecular bone formation and matrix mineralization with Alg-nanoHA30 composition, while compositions with higher nanoHA content induced a diminished bone tissue response. The outcomes of this study indicate that nanohydroxyapatite concentration plays a major role in physic-chemical properties and biological response of the composite system and the optimization of the components ratio must be met to maximize bone tissue regeneration.This work was financed by FEDER – Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020 – Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020, by Portuguese funds through FCT/MCTES in the framework of the project “institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274), by Project Biotherapies (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012) and by Joana Barrosʼ PhD grant (SFRH/BD/102148/2014). The authors would also like to acknowledge Rui Rocha (CEMUP), Rui Fernandes (HEMS), Rossana Correia (HEMS) and Liliana Grenho (FMDUP).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results