226 research outputs found
Three-dimensional character of the deformation twin in magnesium
Deformation twins are three-dimensional domains, traditionally viewed as ellipsoids because of their two-dimensional lenticular sections. In this work, we performed statistical analysis of twin shapes viewing along three orthogonal directions: the âdark sideâ (DS) view along the twin shear direction (η1), the twinning plane normal (TPN) view (k1) and the âbright sideâ (BS) view along the direction λ(=k1 à η1). Our electron back-scatter diffraction results show that twins in the DS and BS views normally exhibit a lenticular shape, whereas they show an irregular shape in the TPN view. Moreover, the findings in the TPN view revealed that twins grow faster along λ the lateral direction than along η1 the forward propagation direction at the initial stages of twin growth. These twin sections are irregular, indicating that growth is locally controlled and the overall shape is not perfectly ellipsoidal. We explain these findings using atomistic models, and ascribe them to differences in the mobility of the edge and screw components of the twinning dislocations
Quenching Capabilities of Long-Chain Carotenoids in Light-Harvesting-2 Complexes from Rhodobacter sphaeroides with an Engineered Carotenoid Synthesis Pathway
Six light-harvesting-2 complexes (LH2) from genetically modified
strains of the purple photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter (Rb.) sphaeroides were
studied using static and ultrafast optical methods and resonance Raman
spectroscopy. These strains were engineered to incorporate carotenoids for
which the number of conjugated groups (N = NCC + NCO) varies from 9 to 15.
The Rb. sphaeroides strains incorporate their native carotenoids spheroidene (N =
10) and spheroidenone (N = 11), as well as longer-chain analogues including
spirilloxanthin (N = 13) and diketospirilloxantion (N = 15) normally found in
Rhodospirillum rubrum. Measurements of the properties of the carotenoid first
singlet excited state (S1) in antennas from the Rb. sphaeroides set show that
carotenoid-bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl a) interactions are similar to those in LH2 complexes from various other bacterial species
and thus are not significantly impacted by differences in polypeptide composition. Instead, variations in carotenoid-to-BChl a
energy transfer are primarily regulated by the N-determined energy of the carotenoid S1 excited state, which for long-chain (N â„
13) carotenoids is not involved in energy transfer. Furthermore, the role of the long-chain carotenoids switches from a lightharvesting
supporter (via energy transfer to BChl a) to a quencher of the BChl a S1 excited state B850*. This quenching is
manifested as a substantial (âŒ2-fold) reduction of the B850* lifetime and the B850* fluorescence quantum yield for LH2
housing the longest carotenoids
The liquid-vapor interface of an ionic fluid
We investigate the liquid-vapor interface of the restricted primitive model
(RPM) for an ionic fluid using a density-functional approximation based on
correlation functions of the homogeneous fluid as obtained from the
mean-spherical approximation (MSA). In the limit of a homogeneous fluid our
approach yields the well-known MSA (energy) equation of state. The ionic
interfacial density profiles, which for the RPM are identical for both species,
have a shape similar to those of simple atomic fluids in that the decay towards
the bulk values is more rapid on the vapor side than on the liquid side. This
is the opposite asymmetry of the decay to that found in earlier calculations
for the RPM based on a square-gradient theory. The width of the interface is,
for a wide range of temperatures, approximately four times the second moment
correlation length of the liquid phase. We discuss the magnitude and
temperature dependence of the surface tension, and argue that for temperatures
near the triple point the ratio of the dimensionless surface tension and
critical temperature is much smaller for the RPM than for simple atomic fluids.Comment: 6 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Cardiac involvement in patients recovered from COVID-2019 identified using magnetic resonance imaging
OBJECTIVES This study evaluated cardiac involvement in patients recovered from coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR).BACKGROUND Myocardial injury caused by COVID-19 was previously reported in hospitalized patients. It is unknown if there is sustained cardiac involvement after patients' recovery from COVID-19.METHODS Twenty-six patients recovered from COVID-19 who reported cardiac symptoms and underwent CMR examinations were retrospectively included. CMR protocols consisted of conventional sequences (cine, T2-weighted imaging, and late gadolinium enhancement [LGE]) and quantitative mapping sequences (T1, T2, and extracellular volume [ECV] mapping). Edema ratio and LGE were assessed in post-COVID-19 patients. Cardiac function, native T1/T2, and ECV were quantitatively evaluated and compared with controls.RESULTS Fifteen patients (58%) had abnormal CMR findings on conventional CMR sequences: myocardial edema was found in 14 (54%) patients and LGE was found in 8 (31%) patients. Decreased right ventricle functional parameters including ejection fraction, cardiac index, and stroke volume/body surface area were found in patients with positive conventional CMR findings. Using quantitative mapping, global native T1, T2, and ECV were all found to be significantly elevated in patients with positive conventional CMR findings, compared with patients without positive findings and controls (median [interquartile range]: native T1 1,271 ms [1,243 to 1,298 ms] vs. 1,237 ms [1,216 to 1,262 ms] vs. 1,224 ms [1,217 to 1,245 ms]; mean +/- SD: T2 42.7 +/- 3.1 ms vs. 38.1 ms +/- 2.4 vs. 39.1 ms +/- 3.1; median [interquartile range]: 28.2% [24.8% to 36.2%] vs. 24.8% [23.1% to 25.4%] vs. 23.7% [22.2% to 25.2%]; p = 0.002; p < 0.001, and p =0.002, respectively).CONCLUSIONS Cardiac involvement was found in a proportion of patients recovered from COVID-19. CMR manifestation included myocardial edema, fibrosis, and impaired right ventricle function. Attention should be paid to the possible myocardial involvement in patients recovered from COVID-19 with cardiac symptoms. (C) 2020 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation.Cardiovascular Aspects of Radiolog
Forward jet production in deep inelastic ep scattering and low-x parton dynamics at HERA
Differential inclusive jet cross sections in neutral current deep inelastic
ep scattering have been measured with the ZEUS detector. Three phase-space
regions have been selected in order to study parton dynamics where the effects
of BFKL evolution might be present. The measurements have been compared to the
predictions of leading-logarithm parton shower Monte Carlo models and
fixed-order perturbative QCD calculations. In the forward region, QCD
calculations at order alpha_s^1 underestimate the data up to an order of
magnitude at low x. An improved description of the data in this region is
obtained by including QCD corrections at order alpha_s^2, which account for the
lowest-order t-channel gluon-exchange diagrams, highlighting the importance of
such terms in parton dynamics at low x.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figure
An Integrated TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource to Drive High-Quality Survival Outcome Analytics
For a decade, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program collected clinicopathologic annotation data along with multi-platform molecular profiles of more than 11,000 human tumors across 33 different cancer types. TCGA clinical data contain key features representing the democratized nature of the data collection process. To ensure proper use of this large clinical dataset associated with genomic features, we developed a standardized dataset named the TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource (TCGA-CDR), which includes four major clinical outcome endpoints. In addition to detailing major challenges and statistical limitations encountered during the effort of integrating the acquired clinical data, we present a summary that includes endpoint usage recommendations for each cancer type. These TCGA-CDR findings appear to be consistent with cancer genomics studies independent of the TCGA effort and provide opportunities for investigating cancer biology using clinical correlates at an unprecedented scale. Analysis of clinicopathologic annotations for over 11,000 cancer patients in the TCGA program leads to the generation of TCGA Clinical Data Resource, which provides recommendations of clinical outcome endpoint usage for 33 cancer types
Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities
A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by
the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an
explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were
chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in
2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that
time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the
broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles
could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII
program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the -factories and CLEO-c
flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the
Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the
deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality,
precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for
continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states
unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such
as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the
spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b},
and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical
approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The
intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have
emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and
cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review
systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing
directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K.
Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D.
Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A.
Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair
Hindrance of heavy-ion fusion at extreme sub-barrier energies in open-shell colliding systems
The excitation function for the fusion-evaporation reaction 64Ni + 100Mo has been measured down to a cross section of âŒ5 nb. Extensive coupled-channels calculations have been performed, which cannot reproduce the steep falloff of the excitation function at extreme sub-barrier energies. Thus, this system exhibits a hindrance for fusion, a phenomenon that has been discovered only recently. In the S-factor representation introduced to quantify the hindrance, a maximum is observed at Es = 120.6 MeV, which corresponds to 90% of the reference energy Esref, a value expected from systematics of closed-shell systems. A systematic analysis of Ni-induced fusion reactions leading to compound nuclei with mass A = 100-200 is presented in order to explore a possible dependence of fusion hindrance on nuclear structure
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