1,751 research outputs found
ASSESSMENT OF DIOXIN CONTAMINATION IN THE ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN POPULATION IN THE VICINITY OF DIOXIN HOTSPOT IN DA NANG AIRBASE, SOUTH VIETNAM
Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart
Prospects for the Search for a Standard Model Higgs Boson in ATLAS using Vector Boson Fusion
The potential for the discovery of a Standard Model Higgs boson in the mass
range m_H < 2 m_Z in the vector boson fusion mode has been studied for the
ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The characteristic signatures of additional jets
in the forward regions of the detector and of low jet activity in the central
region allow for an efficient background rejection. Analyses for the H -> WW
and H -> tau tau decay modes have been performed using a realistic simulation
of the expected detector performance. The results obtained demonstrate the
large discovery potential in the H -> WW decay channel and the sensitivity to
Higgs boson decays into tau-pairs in the low-mass region around 120 GeV.Comment: 20 pages, 13 ps figures, uses EPJ style fil
Genome landscapes and bacteriophage codon usage
Across all kingdoms of biological life, protein-coding genes exhibit unequal
usage of synonmous codons. Although alternative theories abound, translational
selection has been accepted as an important mechanism that shapes the patterns
of codon usage in prokaryotes and simple eukaryotes. Here we analyze patterns
of codon usage across 74 diverse bacteriophages that infect E. coli, P.
aeruginosa and L. lactis as their primary host. We introduce the concept of a
`genome landscape,' which helps reveal non-trivial, long-range patterns in
codon usage across a genome. We develop a series of randomization tests that
allow us to interrogate the significance of one aspect of codon usage, such a
GC content, while controlling for another aspect, such as adaptation to
host-preferred codons. We find that 33 phage genomes exhibit highly non-random
patterns in their GC3-content, use of host-preferred codons, or both. We show
that the head and tail proteins of these phages exhibit significant bias
towards host-preferred codons, relative to the non-structural phage proteins.
Our results support the hypothesis of translational selection on viral genes
for host-preferred codons, over a broad range of bacteriophages.Comment: 9 Color Figures, 5 Tables, 53 Reference
Engineering and manipulating topological qubits in 1D quantum wires
We investigate the Josephson effect in TNT and NTN junctions, consisting of
topological (T) and normal (N) phases of semiconductor-superconductor 1D
heterostructures in the presence of a Zeeman field. A key feature of our setup
is that, in addition to the variation of the phase of the superconducting order
parameter, we allow the orientation of the magnetic field to change along the
junction. We find a novel magnetic contribution to the Majorana Josephson
coupling that permits the Josephson current to be tuned by changing the
orientation of the magnetic field along the junction. We also predict that a
spin current can be generated by a finite superconducting phase difference,
rendering these materials potential candidates for spintronic applications.
Finally, this new type of coupling not only constitutes a unique fingerprint
for the existence of Majorana bound states but also provides an alternative
pathway for manipulating and braiding topological qubits in networks of wires.Comment: references and a note were added in v2; 6 pages, 2 figures; v1 had
been submitted for the ICM2012 proceedings on the 31st of May 201
On the (Parameterized) Complexity of Recognizing Well-covered (r,l)-graphs
An (r,ℓ)(r,ℓ)-partition of a graph G is a partition of its vertex set into r independent sets and ℓℓ cliques. A graph is (r,ℓ)(r,ℓ) if it admits an (r,ℓ)(r,ℓ)-partition. A graph is well-covered if every maximal independent set is also maximum. A graph is (r,ℓ)(r,ℓ)-well-covered if it is both (r,ℓ)(r,ℓ) and well-covered. In this paper we consider two different decision problems. In the (r,ℓ)(r,ℓ)-Well-Covered Graph problem ((r,ℓ)(r,ℓ) wcg for short), we are given a graph G, and the question is whether G is an (r,ℓ)(r,ℓ)-well-covered graph. In the Well-Covered (r,ℓ)(r,ℓ)-Graph problem (wc (r,ℓ)(r,ℓ) g for short), we are given an (r,ℓ)(r,ℓ)-graph G together with an (r,ℓ)(r,ℓ)-partition of V(G) into r independent sets and ℓℓ cliques, and the question is whether G is well-covered. We classify most of these problems into P, coNP-complete, NP-complete, NP-hard, or coNP-hard. Only the cases wc(r, 0)g for r≥3r≥3 remain open. In addition, we consider the parameterized complexity of these problems for several choices of parameters, such as the size αα of a maximum independent set of the input graph, its neighborhood diversity, or the number ℓℓ of cliques in an (r,ℓ)(r,ℓ)-partition. In particular, we show that the parameterized problem of deciding whether a general graph is well-covered parameterized by αα can be reduced to the wc (0,ℓ)(0,ℓ) g problem parameterized by ℓℓ, and we prove that this latter problem is in XP but does not admit polynomial kernels unless coNP⊆NP/polycoNP⊆NP/poly
Simple and Complex Metafluids and Metastructures with Sharp Spectral Features in a Broad Extinction Spectrum: Particle-Particle Interactions and Testing the Limits of the Beer-Lambert Law
Metallic nanocrystals (NCs) are useful instruments for light manipulation
around the visible spectrum. As their plasmonic resonances depend heavily on
the NC geometry, modern fabrication techniques afford a great degree of control
over their optical responses. We take advantage of this fact to create optical
filters in the visible-near IR. Our systems show an extinction spectrum that
covers a wide range of wavelengths (UV to mid-IR), while featuring a narrow
transparency band around a wavelength of choice. We achieve this by carefully
selecting the geometries of a collection of NCs with narrow resonances that
cover densely the spectrum from UV to mid-IR except for the frequencies
targeted for transmission. This fundamental design can be executed in different
kinds of systems, including a solution of colloidal metal NCs (metafluids), a
structured planar metasurface or a combination of both. Along with the theory,
we report experimental results, showing metasurface realizations of the system,
and we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these different approaches,
paying particular attention to particle-particle interaction and to what extent
it hinders the intended objective by shifting and modifying the profile of the
planned resonances through the hybridization of their plasmonic modes. We have
found that the Beer-Lambert law is very robust overall and is violated only
upon aggregation or in configurations with nearly-touching NCs. This striking
property favors the creation of metafluids with a narrow transparency window,
which are investigated here.Comment: Includes Supplementary Information, totaling 32 pages and 8 figure
MicroRNA-146a regulates ICOS–ICOSL signalling to limit accumulation of T follicular helper cells and germinal centres
Tight control of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells is required for optimal maturation of the germinal centre (GC) response. The molecular mechanisms controlling Tfh-cell differentiation remain incompletely understood. Here we show that microRNA-146a (miR-146a) is highly expressed in Tfh cells and peak miR-146a expression marks the decline of the Tfh response after immunization. Loss of miR-146a causes cell-intrinsic accumulation of Tfh and GC B cells. MiR-146a represses several Tfh-cell-expressed messenger RNAs, and of these, ICOS is the most strongly cell autonomously upregulated target in miR-146a-deficient T cells. In addition, miR-146a deficiency leads to increased ICOSL expression on GC B cells and antigen-presenting cells. Partial blockade of ICOS signalling, either by injections of low dose of ICOSL blocking antibody or by halving the gene dose of Icos in miR-146a-deficient T cells, prevents the Tfh and GC B-cell accumulation. Collectively, miR-146a emerges as a post-transcriptional brake to limit Tfh cells and GC responses.This work was funded by the National Health
and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) program and project grants and Elizabeth
Blackburn Fellowship to C.G.V., International Postgraduate Research Scholarship
to A.P., NHMRC/MSRA Betty Cuthbert Fellowship to M.A.J., National Research
Service Award F30HL110691 and UCLA/Caltech Medical Scientist Training Program
to J.L.Z
Spin-Nematic Squeezed Vacuum in a Quantum Gas
Using squeezed states it is possible to surpass the standard quantum limit of
measurement uncertainty by reducing the measurement uncertainty of one property
at the expense of another complementary property. Squeezed states were first
demonstrated in optical fields and later with ensembles of pseudo spin-1/2
atoms using non-linear atom-light interactions. Recently, collisional
interactions in ultracold atomic gases have been used to generate a large
degree of quadrature spin squeezing in two-component Bose condensates. For
pseudo spin-1/2 systems, the complementary properties are the different
components of the total spin vector , which fully characterize the state on
an SU(2) Bloch sphere. Here, we measure squeezing in a spin-1 Bose condensate,
an SU(3) system, which requires measurement of the rank-2 nematic or quadrupole
tensor as well to fully characterize the state. Following a quench
through a nematic to ferromagnetic quantum phase transition, squeezing is
observed in the variance of the quadratures up to -8.3(-0.7 +0.6) dB
(-10.3(-0.9 +0.7) dB corrected for detection noise) below the standard quantum
limit. This spin-nematic squeezing is observed for negligible occupation of the
squeezed modes and is analogous to optical two-mode vacuum squeezing. This work
has potential applications to continuous variable quantum information and
quantum-enhanced magnetometry
Top-transmon: hybrid superconducting qubit for parity-protected quantum computation
Qubits constructed from uncoupled Majorana fermions are protected from
decoherence, but to perform a quantum computation this topological protection
needs to be broken. Parity-protected quantum computation breaks the protection
in a minimally invasive way, by coupling directly to the fermion parity of the
system --- irrespective of any quasiparticle excitations. Here we propose to
use a superconducting charge qubit in a transmission line resonator (a socalled
transmon) to perform parity-protected rotations and read-out of a topological
(top) qubit. The advantage over an earlier proposal using a flux qubit is that
the coupling can be switched on and off with exponential accuracy, promising a
reduced sensitivity to charge noise.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Lack of benefits for prevention of cardiovascular disease with aspirin therapy in type 2 diabetic patients - a longitudinal observational study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The risk-benefit ratio of aspirin therapy in prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains contentious, especially in type 2 diabetes. This study examined the benefit and harm of low-dose aspirin (daily dose < 300 mg) in patients with type 2 diabetes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a longitudinal observational study with primary and secondary prevention cohorts based on history of CVD at enrolment. We compared the occurrence of primary composite (non-fatal myocardial infarction or stroke and vascular death) and secondary endpoints (upper GI bleeding and haemorrhagic stroke) between aspirin users and non-users between January 1995 and July 2005.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 6,454 patients (mean follow-up: median [IQR]: 4.7 [4.4] years), usage of aspirin was 18% (n = 1,034) in the primary prevention cohort (n = 5731) and 81% (n = 585) in the secondary prevention cohort (n = 723). After adjustment for covariates, in the primary prevention cohort, aspirin use was associated with a hazard-ratio of 2.07 (95% CI: 1.66, 2.59, p < 0.001) for primary endpoint. There was no difference in CVD event rate in the secondary prevention cohort. Overall, aspirin use was associated with a hazard-ratio of 2.2 (1.53, 3.15, p < 0.001) of GI bleeding and 1.71 (1.00, 2.95, p = 0.051) of haemorrhagic stroke. The absolute risk of aspirin-related GI bleeding was 10.7 events per 1,000 person-years of treatment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In Chinese type 2 diabetic patients, low dose aspirin was associated with a paradoxical increase in CVD risk in primary prevention and did not confer benefits in secondary prevention. In addition, the risk of GI bleeding in aspirin users was rather high.</p
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