High Altitude test of RPCs for the ARGO-YBJ experiment

A 50 m**2 RPC carpet was operated at the YangBaJing Cosmic Ray Laboratory (Tibet) located 4300 m a.s.l. The performance of RPCs in detecting Extensive Air Showers was studied. Efficiency and time resolution measurements at the pressure and temperature conditions typical of high mountain laboratories, are reported.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instr. Met

Sciences of the USA 1418 -1421 ͉ PNAS

The discovery of the block-like structure of linkage disequilibrium (LD) in human populations holds the promise of delineating the etiology of common diseases. However, understanding the magnitude, mechanism, and utility of between-population LD sharing is critical for future genome-wide association studies. In this study, substantial LD sharing between six non-African populations was observed, although much less between African-American and non-African, based on 20,000 SNPs of chromosome 21. We also demonstrated the respective roles of recombination and demographic events in shaping LD sharing. Furthermore, we showed that the haplotype-tagged SNPs chosen from one population are portable to the others in East Asia. Therefore, we concluded that the magnitude of LD sharing between human populations justifies the use of representative populations for selecting haplotypetagged SNPs in genome-wide association studies of complex diseases. bottleneck ͉ genetic distance ͉ association study ͉ common disease ͉ genetic variant C omprehensive testing of the association between genetic variations in the human genome and common diseases holds the promise of delineating the genetic architecture of these diseases (1-5). Substantial sharing of the boundaries and specific haplotypes of linkage disequilibrium (LD) blocks between populations was observed (6). However, variations of haplotype and LD across populations were also reported, raising concerns on its practical hindrance for genomewide testing of association (7-9). Conflicting observations on the magnitude of LD sharing between human populations, therefore, call for a careful examination of the following three questions, which are fundamental in developing strategies for genomewide testing of association. First, measurement of LD sharing between populations should be made independent of the definition of LD blocks, which introduce inconsistent block boundaries (10). Second, the mechanisms that shape LD sharing between populations are yet to be fully explored although the roles of recombination hotspots and demographic events have been implicated To address the aforementioned questions, we typed Ͼ20,000 SNPs on chromosome 21 in seven populations: three representative continental populations [African-American (AFR), European (EUR), and Han Chinese (HAN)] and four other major East Asian (EA) populations. This design allows a close examination of LD sharing between continental groups as well as those within East Asia. In this report, we measured the LD sharing between populations independent of the definition of LD block; and we showed that bottleneck events play a critical role in shaping the LD sharing between Africans and nonAfricans, but much less so between non-Africans. An important question for applying HapMap results to disease studies is how tagSNPs selected from a HapMap population will be ported to disease studies performed in other populations. In this study, we showed that tagSNPs selected from representative continental populations are indeed portable to the others in the same continent for association studies, at least in East Asia, with reasonable efficiency. In addition, we proposed a simple guideline that allows a quick evaluation of the portability of tagSNPs between populations by typing a small number of SNPs. Results Overall 26,112 SNPs were selected and typed in this study, and the data from 19,060 SNPs passed the quality control criteria and were used for further analyses. The SNPs and quality control criteria for SNP selection are described in Materials and Methods. Seven world populations, including EUR, AFR, and five EA populations, were studied. The five EA populations, i.e., HAN, Miao (HMJ), Zhuang (CCY), Wa (WBM), and Uighur (UIG), represent five major linguistic families spoken in East Asia. Preservation of LD between populations, i.e., LD sharing (S, or S AB when the population A was given as reference), is measured by the proportion of SNP pairs in LD in one population (population A or the reference) that are also in LD in another (population B). In this study, LD sharing was estimated without invoking the inference of haplotype blocks; therefore, the measure is independent of the definition of haplotype blocks. LD between two loci was measured in r 2 (16). Detail for the measure of LD sharing is described in Materials and Methods. LD sharing between EAs ranges from 63-74% for r 2 Ն 0.1 and 70-84% for r 2 Ն 0.5 (se

Method of Entry Layout under Synergistic Effects of Abutment Stress and Dynamic Stress

In underground mining engineering, rocks around the entry are always subjected to large plastic deformation disasters, such as supporting body failure, roof rock collapse, and even rock burst under abutment stress and dynamic stress. To improve the stability of these rocks, the entry layout under abutment stress and dynamic stress (ELAD) method was put forward to protect the entry from high abutment stress and dynamic stress. Dynamic disturbance intensity (DDI) was determined as the key evaluation index in ELAD, which was divided into “Slightly Disturbed Type,” “Moderately Disturbed Type,” and “Violent Impact Type” by the dynamic disturbance threshold (DDT) and dynamic large-deformation threshold (DLT). The established servo calculation algorithm was applied into a dynamic and static numerical analysis model with FLAC3D500 software for the solving of DDT and DLT by the method of zero growth DDI of plastic failure zone and the engineering-permitted limitation deformation. This model was validated by comparing the displacement of entry with the measured results in the field. The model results validated that the entry should keep away from the dynamic stress of Violent Impact Type firstly and then be arranged in the zone where the dynamic stress belongs to Slightly Disturbed Type. DDT increases linearly and DLT decreases with a power function as the increasing of the abutment stress. ELAD method is reliable to protect this kind of underground entry and its applicability will be improved by the support resistance by comparing the results from ELAD with those from the widely used methods for field investigation discussion. The analysis procedure can be repeatable and necessary since the rock and coal materials may be different in geological and engineering conditions

Driving forces of land surface temperature anomalous changes in North America in 2002-2018.

The land surface temperature (LST) changes in North America are very abnormal recently, but few studies have systematically researched these anomalies from several aspects, especially the influencing forces. After reconstructing higher quality MODIS monthly LST data (0.05° * 0.05°) in 2002-2018, we analyzed the LST changes especially anomalous changes and their driving forces in North America. Here we show that North America warmed at the rate of 0.02 °C/y. The LST changes in three regions, including frigid region in the northwestern (0.12 °C/y), the west coast from 20°N-40°N (0.07 °C/y), and the tropics south of 20°N (0.04 °C/y), were extremely abnormal. The El Nino and La Nina were the main drivers for the periodical highest and lowest LST, respectively. The North Atlantic Oscillation was closed related to the opposite change of LST in the northeastern North America and the southeastern United States, and the warming trend of the Florida peninsula in winter was closely related to enhancement of the North Atlantic Oscillation index. The Pacific Decadal Oscillation index showed a positive correlation with the LST in most Alaska. Vegetation and atmospheric water vapor also had a profound influence on the LST changes, but it had obvious difference in latitude

Transient Receptor Potential Canonical 5-Scramblase Signaling Complex Mediates Neuronal Phosphatidylserine Externalization and Apoptosis

Phospholipid scramblase 1 (PLSCR1), a lipid-binding and Ca2+-sensitive protein located on plasma membranes, is critically involved in phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization, an important process in cell apoptosis. Transient receptor potential canonical 5 (TRPC5), is a nonselective Ca2+ channel in neurons that interacts with many downstream molecules, participating in diverse physiological functions including temperature or mechanical sensation. The interaction between TRPC5 and PLSCR1 has never been reported. Here, we showed that PLSCR1 interacts with TRPC5 through their C-termini in HEK293 cells and mouse cortical neurons. Formation of TRPC5-PLSCR1 complex stimulates PS externalization and promotes cell apoptosis in HEK293 cells and mouse cerebral neurons. Furthermore, in vivo studies showed that PS externalization in cortical neurons induced by artificial cerebral ischemia-reperfusion was reduced in TRPC5 knockout mice compared to wild-type mice, and that the percentage of apoptotic neurons was also lower in TRPC5 knockout mice than in wild-type mice. Collectively, the present study suggested that TRPC5-PLSCR1 is a signaling complex mediating PS externalization and apoptosis in neurons and that TRPC5 plays a pathological role in cerebral-ischemia reperfusion injury