New observations of the NGC 1275 phenomenon

Wetensch. publicatieFaculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappe

Oxygen defect in YBa\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3eCu\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3eO\u3csub\u3ex\u3c/sub\u3e: An x-ray photoemission approach

A combined x-ray photoemission and diamagnetic-susceptibility study of YBa2Cu3Ox with x≃6 and 7 has been performed, with emphasis on the oxygen defect and the effect of heating in vacuum. By comparing spectra taken at these two oxygen contents, the core levels observed in the O 1s and Ba 4d spectral range are identified. Peak-intensity analysis indicates (1) that the oxygen released during the in situ heating is derived from or near the Cu-O-Cu-O chains of YBa2Cu3O7 and (2) that there is a random distribution of oxygen defects in or near these chains leading to two chemically dissimilar barium atoms even in single-orthorhombic-phase samples

Associations between daily sitting time and the combinations of lifestyle risk factors in men

Background: Understanding the reciprocal role that multiple problematic behaviours play in men's health is important for intervention delivery and for reducing the healthcare burden. Data regarding the concurrence of problematic health behaviours is currently limited but offers insights into risk profiles, and should now include total time spent sitting/day. Methods: Self-reported data on lifestyle health behaviours was collected from 232 men aged ≥18 years who engaged in a men's health promotion programme delivered by 16 English Premier League Clubs. Results: Men at risk due to high sitting display multiple concurrent lifestyle risk factors, 88.6% displayed at least two ancillary risk factors and were three times more likely to report ≥2 lifestyle risk factors (OR. =3.13, 95% confidence interval (CI). =1.52-6.42) than those with low sitting risk. Significant differences in the mean number of risk factors reported between those participants in the higher risk (2.43. ±. 0.90) and lower risk (2.13. ±. 0.96) sitting categories were also found (P=0.015). Conclusions: Hard-to-reach men displayed multiple problematic concurrent behaviours, strongly linked to total sitting time. © 2012 WPMH GmbH

Reexamination of the long-range Potts model: a multicanonical approach

We investigate the critical behavior of the one-dimensional q-state Potts model with long-range (LR) interaction $1/r^{d+\sigma}$, using a multicanonical algorithm. The recursion scheme initially proposed by Berg is improved so as to make it suitable for a large class of LR models with unequally spaced energy levels. The choice of an efficient predictor and a reliable convergence criterion is discussed. We obtain transition temperatures in the first-order regime which are in far better agreement with mean-field predictions than in previous Monte Carlo studies. By relying on the location of spinodal points and resorting to scaling arguments, we determine the threshold value $\sigma_c(q)$ separating the first- and second-order regimes to two-digit precision within the range $3 \leq q \leq 9$. We offer convincing numerical evidence supporting $\sigma_c(q)Comment: 18 pages, 18 figure

Genetic Sharing with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Diabetes Reveals Novel Bone Mineral Density Loci.

Bone Mineral Density (BMD) is a highly heritable trait, but genome-wide association studies have identified few genetic risk factors. Epidemiological studies suggest associations between BMD and several traits and diseases, but the nature of the suggestive comorbidity is still unknown. We used a novel genetic pleiotropy-informed conditional False Discovery Rate (FDR) method to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with BMD by leveraging cardiovascular disease (CVD) associated disorders and metabolic traits. By conditioning on SNPs associated with the CVD-related phenotypes, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, triglycerides and waist hip ratio, we identified 65 novel independent BMD loci (26 with femoral neck BMD and 47 with lumbar spine BMD) at conditional FDR < 0.01. Many of the loci were confirmed in genetic expression studies. Genes validated at the mRNA levels were characteristic for the osteoblast/osteocyte lineage, Wnt signaling pathway and bone metabolism. The results provide new insight into genetic mechanisms of variability in BMD, and a better understanding of the genetic underpinnings of clinical comorbidity

Search for jet extinction in the inclusive jet-pT spectrum from proton-proton collisions at s=8 TeV

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published articles title, journal citation, and DOI.The first search at the LHC for the extinction of QCD jet production is presented, using data collected with the CMS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10.7  fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The extinction model studied in this analysis is motivated by the search for signatures of strong gravity at the TeV scale (terascale gravity) and assumes the existence of string couplings in the strong-coupling limit. In this limit, the string model predicts the suppression of all high-transverse-momentum standard model processes, including jet production, beyond a certain energy scale. To test this prediction, the measured transverse-momentum spectrum is compared to the theoretical prediction of the standard model. No significant deficit of events is found at high transverse momentum. A 95% confidence level lower limit of 3.3 TeV is set on the extinction mass scale

Searches for electroweak neutralino and chargino production in channels with Higgs, Z, and W bosons in pp collisions at 8 TeV

Searches for supersymmetry (SUSY) are presented based on the electroweak pair production of neutralinos and charginos, leading to decay channels with Higgs, Z, and W bosons and undetected lightest SUSY particles (LSPs). The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of about 19.5 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV collected in 2012 with the CMS detector at the LHC. The main emphasis is neutralino pair production in which each neutralino decays either to a Higgs boson (h) and an LSP or to a Z boson and an LSP, leading to hh, hZ, and ZZ states with missing transverse energy (E-T(miss)). A second aspect is chargino-neutralino pair production, leading to hW states with E-T(miss). The decays of a Higgs boson to a bottom-quark pair, to a photon pair, and to final states with leptons are considered in conjunction with hadronic and leptonic decay modes of the Z and W bosons. No evidence is found for supersymmetric particles, and 95% confidence level upper limits are evaluated for the respective pair production cross sections and for neutralino and chargino mass values

District-scale targeting for gold in the Yilgarn Craton: part 2 of the Yilgarn Gold Exploration Targeting Atlas

Part 2 of the Yilgarn Gold Exploration Targeting Atlas evaluates 22 targeting criteria that are considered useful for targeting prospects for more-detailed exploration within a project area. As in Part 1, the emphasis is on a conceptual approach, targeting mineralization that is either not exposed at the surface or is exposed as a 'distal footprint' that might provide a vector to buried 'proximal' mineralization. Gold in the Yilgarn Craton is found in a diverse range of host rocks, so host-rock lithology is not an efficient targeting criterion. Virtually all gold mineralization is controlled by proximity to lithological contacts, particularly contacts between units of strongly contrasting rheological properties. Targeting 'rheological contacts' within a specific range of orientations increases discovery efficiency, but the optimum contact orientations vary from district to district and may differ for small deposits versus large deposits. Analyses presented here for the Wiluna, Laverton, and Kalgoorlie – Ora Banda districts of the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane show a strong association between gold mineralization and Mafic Group intrusions. Proximity to district-scale faults is an effective targeting criterion, but is generally not as efficient as targeting rheological contacts. Fault intersection density, and proximity to fault jogs and faults bends, provide effective district-scale targeting tools. Although fault density is generally an effective targeting criterion, 50% or more of the gold endowment in some districts is within domains identified by the software as having zero fault density. These deposits are in fact controlled by faults or fractures that are too small to appear at the scale of the shape files used in the analyses. There is little advantage in targeting right-stepping over left-stepping jogs, or clockwise over anticlockwise fault bends. Fold axes are a powerful targeting criterion. Targeting anticlinal fold axes is two to three times more effective than targeting undivided fold axes. In high-temperature metamorphic settings such as the Southern Cross district, boudinage at all scales represents an important (perhaps the most important) targeting element for gold. Subjected to regional deformation, folds and boudins create stress heterogeneity, and computer-based techniques for predicting variations in minimum stress (paleostress modelling and stress transfer modelling) are other useful approaches for district-scale gold exploration in all metamorphic settings. District-scale maps of maximum downhole gold concentrations highlight the flow paths of gold-bearing ore fluids and provide a striking validation of published models relating fluid flow to heterogeneous stress distribution. Arsenic distribution is partially decoupled from gold, and anomalous arsenic may be partly controlled by proximity to thick sequences of metasedimentary (including felsic volcaniclastic) rocks. In regional shear zones, arsenic footprints are more extensive along strike than gold anomalies. Pathfinder element suites can be used to determine the extent of oxidized/alkaline (W+Mo+Bi) and reduced/acid (As+Sb) hydrothermal activity. The oxidized suite has potential for location of buried or poorly exposed intrusions. Oxidized and reduced hydrothermal cells can also be distinguished on the basis of white-mica species by using multispectral and hyperspectral mineral data or chemical parameters that identify albite-rich versus muscovite-rich hydrothermal alteration. However, the more useful spectral parameters for targeting gold mineralization are white-mica intensity and Fe-chlorite abundance. A chalcophile index (e.g. W+Mo+Bi+As+Sb) or the rare alkali index ([Rb+Cs]/Th)N are as effective or more so than using juxtaposed or overlapping oxidized and reduced pathfinder element suites. Geological complexity (expressed as fractal dimension) was not shown to be effective for targeting gold mineralization at district scale

MEIS proteins as partners of the TLX1/HOX11 oncoprotein

Aberrant expression of the TLX1/. HOX11 proto-oncogene is associated with a significant subset of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias (T-ALL). Yet the manner in which TLX1 contributes to oncogenesis is not fully understood. Since, typically, interactions of HOX and TALE homeodomain proteins are determinant of HOX function, and HOX/MEIS co-expression has been shown to accelerate some leukemias, we systematically examined whether TLX1 interacts with MEIS and PBX proteins. Here, we report that TLX1 and MEIS proteins both interact and are co-expressed in T-ALL, and suggest that co-operation between TLX1 and MEIS proteins may have a significant role in T-cell leukemogenesis