Mitochondrial DNA analysis of eneolithic trypillians from Ukraine reveals neolithic farming genetic roots

The agricultural revolution in Eastern Europe began in the Eneolithic with the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture complex. In Ukraine, the Trypillian culture (TC) existed for over two millennia (ca. 5,400–2,700 BCE) and left a wealth of artifacts. Yet, their burial rituals remain a mystery and to date almost nothing is known about the genetic composition of the TC population. One of the very few TC sites where human remains can be found is a cave called Verteba in western Ukraine. This report presents four partial and four complete mitochondrial genomes from nine TC individuals uncovered in the cave. The results of this analysis, combined with the data from previous reports, indicate that the Trypillian population at Verteba carried, for the most part, a typical Neolithic farmer package of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages traced to Anatolian farmers and Neolithic farming groups of central Europe. At the same time, the find of two specimens belonging to haplogroup U8b1 at Verteba can be viewed as a connection of TC with the Upper Paleolithic European populations. At the level of mtDNA haplogroup frequencies, the TC population from Verteba demonstrates a close genetic relationship with population groups of the Funnel Beaker/ Trichterbecker cultural complex from central and northern Europe (ca. 3,950–2,500 BCE)

Charged Lepton Flavor Physics and Extra Dimensions

We estimate the charged lepton electric dipole moments and the branching ratios of radiative lepton flavor violating decays in the framework of the two Higgs doublet model with the inclusion two extra dimensions. Here, we consider that the new Higgs doublet is accessible to one of the extra dimensions with a Gaussian profile and the fermions are accessible to the other extra dimension with uniform zero mode profile. We observe that the numerical values of the physical quantities studied enhance with the additional effects due to the extra dimensions and they are sensitive to the new Higgs localization.Comment: 23 pages, 13 page

Observing Ultra High Energy Cosmic Particles from Space: SEUSO, the Super Extreme Universe Space Observatory Mission

The experimental search for ultra high energy cosmic messengers, from $E\sim 10^{19}$ eV to beyond $E\sim 10^{20}$ eV, at the very end of the known energy spectrum, constitutes an extraordinary opportunity to explore a largely unknown aspect of our universe. Key scientific goals are the identification of the sources of ultra high energy particles, the measurement of their spectra and the study of galactic and local intergalactic magnetic fields. Ultra high energy particles might, also, carry evidence of unknown physics or of exotic particles relics of the early universe. To meet this challenge a significant increase in the integrated exposure is required. This implies a new class of experiments with larger acceptances and good understanding of the systematic uncertainties. Space based observatories can reach the instantaneous aperture and the integrated exposure necessary to systematically explore the ultra high energy universe. In this paper, after briefly summarising the science case of the mission, we describe the scientific goals and requirements of the SEUSO concept. We then introduce the SEUSO observational approach and describe the main instrument and mission features. We conclude discussing the expected performance of the mission

Off-the-Wall Higgs in the Universal Randall-Sundrum Model

We outline a consistent Randall-Sundrum (RS) framework in which a fundamental 5-dimensional Higgs doublet induces electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB). In this framework of a warped Universal Extra Dimension, the lightest Kaluza-Klein (KK) mode of the bulk Higgs is tachyonic leading to a vacuum expectation value (vev) at the TeV scale. The consistency of this picture imposes a set of constraints on the parameters in the Higgs sector. A novel feature of our scenario is the emergence of an adjustable bulk profile for the Higgs vev. We also find a tower of non-tachyonic Higgs KK modes at the weak scale. We consider an interesting implementation of this ``Off-the-Wall Higgs'' mechanism where the 5-dimensional curvature-scalar coupling alone generates the tachyonic mode responsible for EWSB. In this case, additional relations among the parameters of the Higgs and gravitational sectors are established. We discuss the experimental signatures of the bulk Higgs in general, and those of the ``Gravity-Induced'' EWSB in particular.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figure

Prva analiza izotopov in novi radiokarbonski datumi poljedelcev kulture Tripolje iz jame Verteba, Bilche Zolote, Ukrajina

This paper presents an analysis of human and animal remains from Verteba cave, near Bilche Zolote, western Ukraine. This study was prompted by a paucity of direct dates on this material and the need to contextualise these remains in relation both to the transition from hunting and gathering to farming in Ukraine, and their specific place within the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture sequence. The new absolute dating places the remains studied here in Trypillia stages BII/CI at c. 3900–3500 cal BC, with one individual now redated to the Early Scythian period. As such, these finds are even more exceptional than previously assumed, being some of the earliest discovered for this culture. The isotope analyses indicate that these individuals are local to the region, with the dietary stable isotopes indicating a C3 terrestrial diet for the Trypillia-period humans analysed. The Scythian period individual has δ13C ratios indicative of either c. 50% marine, or alternatively C4 plant inputs into the diet, despite δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr ratios that are comparable to the other individuals studied.V članku predstavljamo analizo človeških in živalskih ostankov iz jame Verteba blizu kra­ja Bilche Zolote v zahodni Ukrajini. Študija je nastala zaradi pomanjkljivega števila datumov iz teh ostankov in iz potrebe po kontekstualiziranju najdb v odnosu tako do prehoda iz lovsko-nabiral­niške družbe v poljedelsko v Ukrajini kot tudi glede na poseben prostor, ki ga imajo te najdbe znotraj kulturne sekvence Cucuteni-Tripolje. Novi absolutni datumi postavljajo ostanke faze BII/CI kulture Tripolje v čas ok. 3900–3500 pr. n. št., medtem ko je eden od pokopov zdaj ponovno datiran v čas zgod­­njega skitskega obdobja, kar pomeni, da gre za ene najstarejših najdb te kulture. Analiza izoto­pov kaže, da so bili pokojni lokalni prebi­val­ci regije, analiza stabilnih izotopov pa kaže na C3 ko­pen­sko prehrano ljudi v času kulture Tri­po­lje. Pokop iz skitskega obdobja kaže glede na δ13C vredno­sti na ok. 50 % morske prehrane, oziroma na C4 rastline, vključene v prehrano, kljub temu da so deleži izotopov δ18O in 87Sr/86Sr primerljivi s preo­sta­limi vzorci ljudi na najdišču

The radiative lepton flavor violating decays in the split fermion scenario in the two Higgs doublet model

We study the branching ratios of the lepton flavor violating processes \mu -> e \gamma, \tau -> e \gamma and \tau -> \mu\gamma in the split fermion scenario, in the framework of the two Higgs doublet model. We observe that the branching ratios are relatively more sensitive to the compactification scale and the Gaussian widths of the leptons in the extra dimensions, for two extra dimensions and especially for the \tau -> \mu \gamma decay.Comment: 19 pages, 7 Figure

Induction of apoptosis in host cells: a survival mechanism for Leishmania parasites?

Leishmania parasites invade host macrophages, causing infections that are either limited to skin or spread to internal organs. In this study, 3 species causing cutaneous leishmaniasis, L. major, L. aethiopica and L. tropica, were tested for their ability to interfere with apoptosis in host macrophages in 2 different lines of human monocyte-derived macrophages (cell lines THP-1 and U937) and the results confirmed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). All 3 species induced early apoptosis 48 h after infection (expression of phosphatidyl serine on the outer membrane). There were significant increases in the percentage of apoptotic cells both for U937 and PBMC following infection with each of the 3 species. Early apoptotic events were confirmed by mitochondrial membrane permeabilization detection and caspase activation 48 and 72 h after infection. Moreover, the percentage of infected THP-1 and U937 macrophages increased significantly (up to 100%) following treatment with an apoptosis inducer. Since phosphatidyl serine externalization on apoptosing cells acts as a signal for engulfment by macrophages, induction of apoptosis in the parasitized cells could actively participate in spreading the infection. In summary, parasite-containing apoptotic bodies with intact membranes could be released and phagocytosed by uninfected macrophages

Soft-Wall Stabilization

We propose a general class of five-dimensional soft-wall models with AdS metric near the ultraviolet brane and four-dimensional Poincar\'e invariance, where the infrared scale is determined dynamically. A large UV/IR hierarchy can be generated without any fine-tuning, thus solving the electroweak/Planck scale hierarchy problem. Generically, the spectrum of fluctuations is discrete with a level spacing (mass gap) provided by the inverse length of the wall, similar to RS1 models with Standard Model fields propagating in the bulk. Moreover two particularly interesting cases arise. They can describe: (a) a theory with a continuous spectrum above the mass gap which can model unparticles corresponding to operators of a CFT where the conformal symmetry is broken by a mass gap, and; (b) a theory with a discrete spectrum provided by linear Regge trajectories as in AdS/QCD models.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures, 1 table. v2: references added, version to appear in NJP Focus Issue on Extra Dimension

New Higgs Production Mechanism in Composite Higgs Models

Composite Higgs models are only now starting to be probed at the Large Hadron Collider by Higgs searches. We point out that new resonances, abundant in these models, can mediate new production mechanisms for the composite Higgs. The new channels involve the exchange of a massive color octet and single production of new fermion resonances with subsequent decays into the Higgs and a Standard Model quark. The sizable cross section and very distinctive kinematics allow for a very clean extraction of the signal over the background with high statistical significance. Heavy gluon masses up to 2.8 TeV can be probed with data collected during 2012 and up to 5 TeV after the energy upgrade to $\sqrt{s}=14$ TeV.Comment: 27 pages, 22 figures. V2: typos corrected, matches published versio