269 research outputs found
Use of airborne laser scanning to assess effects of understorey vegetation structure on nest-site selection and breeding performance in an Australian passerine bird
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Thermochemical Modelling of Fluid-Rock Reactions in Vera Rubin ridge, Gale Crater, Mars.
Vera Rubin Ridge (VRR) in Gale Crater, Mars, is a ~200 m wide ~6.5 km long northeast- southwest resistant geomorphological feature on the northern slopes of Aeolis Mons (Mt. Sharp). Analysis of Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) orbital data showed that VRR has strong hematite spectral signatures. Hematite was confirmed in-situ at VRR with the Curiosity rover and has been shown to be present throughout the Mur- ray formation. VRR is stratigraphically continu-ous with the underlying Murray formation. Previous thermochemical modelling showed how hematite at VRR could have formed as the result of open-system weathering at high water/rock ratios. Here we use thermochemical modelling to investigate possible reaction pathways for the hematite-clay- bearing assemblage observed at VRR, starting from an identified least-altered (minimum clay content) Murray composition, and a Mars basal brine
Vegetation's Red Edge: A Possible Spectroscopic Biosignature of Extraterrestrial Plants
Earth's deciduous plants have a sharp order-of-magnitude increase in leaf
reflectance between approximately 700 and 750 nm wavelength. This strong
reflectance of Earth's vegetation suggests that surface biosignatures with
sharp spectral features might be detectable in the spectrum of scattered light
from a spatially unresolved extrasolar terrestrial planet. We assess the
potential of Earth's step-function-like spectroscopic feature, referred to as
the "red edge", as a tool for astrobiology. We review the basic characteristics
and physical origin of the red edge and summarize its use in astronomy: early
spectroscopic efforts to search for vegetation on Mars and recent reports of
detection of the red edge in the spectrum of Earthshine (i.e., the spatially
integrated scattered light spectrum of Earth). We present Earthshine
observations from Apache Point Observatory to emphasize that time variability
is key to detecting weak surface biosignatures such as the vegetation red edge.
We briefly discuss the evolutionary advantages of vegetation's red edge
reflectance, and speculate that while extraterrestrial "light harvesting
organisms" have no compelling reason to display the exact same red edge feature
as terrestrial vegetation, they might have similar spectroscopic features at
different wavelengths than terrestrial vegetation. This implies that future
terrestrial-planet-characterizing space missions should obtain data that allow
time-varying, sharp spectral features at unknown wavelengths to be identified.
We caution that some mineral reflectance edges are similar in slope and
strength to vegetation's red edge (albeit at different wavelengths); if an
extrasolar planet reflectance edge is detected care must be taken with its
interpretation.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Astrobiolog
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Enhanced groundwater flow on and below Vera Rubin ridge, the Murray Formation, Gale Crater: Evidence from thermochemical modeling
NASAs Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover has been exploring Vera Rubin ridge (VRR), part of the Murray formation in Gale crater, Mars, between sol 1809 and 2302. Evidence for Fe-oxides and phyllosilicates in mineralogical and geochemical data for this region was returned by Curiosity [1-5]. We applied thermochemical modeling to con-strain the formation conditions of the phyllosilicate-hematite assemblage identified on and below VRR. Average alteration compositions for the Murray formation on and below VRR were derived using CheMin and APXS data. These compositions were reacted with Gale Portage Water (GPW) between 25100 C and for 10% and 50% Fe3+/Fetot of the host rock [6]. Here we summarize models run at 50 C and 10% Fe3+/Fetot for alteration compositions derived from Murray host rock compositions
Nonperturbative Effects from the Resummation of Perturbation Theory
Using the general argument in Borel resummation of perturbation theory that
links the divergent perturbation theory to the nonperturbative effect we argue
that the nonperturbative effect associated with the perturbation theory should
have a branch cut only along the positive real axis in the complex coupling
plane. The component in the weak coupling expansion of the nonperturbative
amplitude, which usually includes the leading term in the weak coupling
expansion, that gives rise to the branch cut can be calculated in principle
from the perturbation theory combined with some exactly calculable properties
of the nonperturbative effect. The realization of this mechanism is
demonstrated in the double well potential and the two-dimensional O(N)
nonlinear sigma model. In these models the leading term in weak coupling of the
nonperturbative effect can be obtained with good accuracy from the first terms
of the perturbation theory. Applying this mechanism to the infrared renormalon
induced nonperturbative effect in QCD, we suggest some of the QCD condensate
effects can be calculated in principle from the perturbation theory.Comment: 21 Pages, 1 Figure; To appear in Phys Rev
Tuning antiviral CD8 T-cell response via proline-altered peptide ligand vaccination
Viral escape from CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses correlates with disease progression and represents a significant challenge for vaccination. Here, we demonstrate that CD8+ T cell recognition of the naturally occurring MHC-I-restricted LCMV-associated immune escape variant Y4F is restored following vaccination with a proline-altered peptide ligand (APL). The APL increases MHC/peptide (pMHC) complex stability, rigidifies the peptide and facilitates T cell receptor (TCR) recognition through reduced entropy costs. Structural analyses of pMHC complexes before and after TCR binding, combined with biophysical analyses, revealed that although the TCR binds similarly to all complexes, the p3P modification alters the conformations of a very limited amount of specific MHC and peptide residues, facilitating efficient TCR recognition. This approach can be easily introduced in peptides restricted to other MHC alleles, and can be combined with currently available and future vaccination protocols in order to prevent viral immune escape
Intratumoral heterogeneity of second-harmonic generation scattering from tumor collagen and its effects on metastatic risk prediction
Background: Metastases are the leading cause of breast cancer-related deaths. The tumor microenvironment impacts cancer progression and metastatic ability. Fibrillar collagen, a major extracellular matrix component, can be studied using the light scattering phenomenon known as second-harmonic generation (SHG). The ratio of forward- to backward-scattered SHG photons (F/B) is sensitive to collagen fiber internal structure and has been shown to be an independent prognostic indicator of metastasis-free survival time (MFS). Here we assess the effects of heterogeneity in the tumor matrix on the possible use of F/B as a prognostic tool. Methods: SHG imaging was performed on sectioned primary tumor excisions from 95 untreated, estrogen receptor-positive, lymph node negative invasive ductal carcinoma patients. We identified two distinct regions whose collagen displayed different average F/B values, indicative of spatial heterogeneity: the cellular tumor bulk and surrounding tumor-stroma interface. To evaluate the impact of heterogeneity on F/B’s prognostic ability, we performed SHG imaging in the tumor bulk and tumor-stroma interface, calculated a 21-gene recurrence score (surrogate for OncotypeDX®, or S-ODX) for each patient and evaluated their combined prognostic ability. Results: We found that F/B measured in tumor-stroma interface, but not tumor bulk, is prognostic of MFS using three methods to select pixels for analysis: an intensity threshold selected by a blinded observer, a histogram-based thresholding method, and an adaptive thresholding method. Using both regression trees and Random Survival Forests for MFS outcome, we obtained data-driven prediction rules that show F/B from tumor-stroma interface, but not tumor bulk, and S-ODX both contribute to predicting MFS in this patient cohort. We also separated patients into low-intermediate (S-ODX < 26) and high risk (S-ODX ≥26) groups. In the low-intermediate risk group, comprised of patients not typically recommended for adjuvant chemotherapy, we find that F/B from the tumor-stroma interface is prognostic of MFS and can identify a patient cohort with poor outcomes. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that intratumoral heterogeneity in F/B values can play an important role in its possible use as a prognostic marker, and that F/B from tumor-stroma interface of prim
Factors associated with adherence to immunomodulator treatment in people with multiple sclerosis
The Green, Green Grass of Home: an archaeo-ecological approach to pastoralist settlement in central Kenya
© 2016 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This paper considers the ecological residues of pastoralist occupation at the site of Maili Sita in Laikipia, central Kenya, drawing links with the archaeological record so as to contribute a fresh approach to the ephemeral settlement sites of mobile herding communities, a methodological aspect of African archaeology that remains problematic. Variations in the geochemical and micromorphological composition of soils along transects across the site are compared with vegetation distributions and satellite imagery to propose an occupation pattern not dissimilar to contemporary Cushitic-speaking groups further north. We argue that Maili Sita exemplifies the broad migratory and cultural exchange networks in place during the mid- to late second millennium AD, with pastoralist occupants who were both physically and culturally mobile.British Academy (2002-5 Funding)
European Union - Marie Curie Initiatives (EXT grant 2007-11
Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV
A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The
analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC
from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an
integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross
section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected
exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the
standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The
analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model
Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The
largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is
observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance
of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local
significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is
estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of
this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
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