Search for magnetic monopoles with ten years of the ANTARES neutrino telescope

This work presents a new search for magnetic monopoles using data taken with the ANTARES neutrino telescope over a period of 10 years (January 2008 to December 2017). Compared to previous ANTARES searches, this analysis uses a run-by-run simulation strategy, with a larger exposure as well as a new simulation of magnetic monopoles taking into account the Kasama, Yang and Goldhaber model for their interaction cross-section with matter. No signal compatible with the passage of relativistic magnetic monopoles is observed, and upper limits on the flux of magnetic monopoles with β=v/c≥0.55, are presented. For ultra-relativistic magnetic monopoles the flux limit is ∼7×10−18 cm−2s−1sr−1

KM3NeT broadcast optical data transport system

The optical data transport system of the KM3NeT neutrino telescope at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea will provide more than 6000 optical modules in the detector arrays with a point-to-point optical connection to the control stations onshore. The ARCA and ORCA detectors of KM3NeT are being installed at a depth of about 3500 m and 2500 m, respectively and their distance to the control stations is about 100 kilometers and 40 kilometers. In particular, the two detectors are optimised for the detection of cosmic neutrinos with energies above about 1 TeV (ARCA) and for the detection of atmospheric neutrinos with energies in the range 1 GeV-1 TeV (ORCA). The expected maximum data rate is 200 Mbps per optical module. The implemented optical data transport system matches the layouts of the networks of electro-optical cables and junction boxes in the deep sea. For efficient use of the fibres in the system the technology of Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing is applied. The performance of the optical system in terms of measured bit error rates, optical budget are presented. The next steps in the implementation of the system are also discussed

Long-term outcome after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for myelofibrosis

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant remains the only curative treatment for myelofibrosis. Most post-transplantation events Aoccur during the first two years and hence we aimed to analyze the outcome of 2-year disease-free survivors. A total of 1055 patients with myelofibrosis transplanted between 1995 and 2014 and registered in the registry of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation were included. Survival was compared to the matched general population to determine excess mortality and the risk factors that are associated. In the 2-year survivors, disease-free survival was 64% (60-68%) and overall survival was 74% (71-78%) at ten years; results were better in younger individuals and in women. Excess mortality was 14% (8-21%) in patients aged = 65 years. The main cause of death was relapse of the primary disease. Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) before two years decreased the risk of relapse. Multivariable analysis of excess mortality showed that age, male sex recipient, secondary myelofibrosis and no GvHD disease prior to the 2-year landmark increased the risk of excess mortality. This is the largest study to date analyzing long-term outcome in patients with myelofibrosis undergoing transplant. Overall it shows a good survival in patients alive and in remission at two years. However, the occurrence of late complications, including late relapses, infectious complications and secondary malignancies, highlights the importance of screening and monitoring of long-term survivors.Peer reviewe

Plant assemblages from SW Gondwana: further evidence for high-latitude vegetation in the Devonian of Argentina

Plant assemblages are described from the Talacasto and Punta Negra Formations, San Juan Province, the Argentine Precordillera. A detailed facies study involving trace fossil assemblages indicates that the plants were buried in shallow low- to high-energy marine environments, but not in turbidites as previously postulated. Apart from a single specimen resembling Cooksonia from the Lochkovian Talacasto Formation, the abundant compression fossils consist of short lengths of smooth axes, occasional defoliated lycopod stems, and very rare isolated sporangia. It is thus impossible to assign any to existing taxa with confidence nor are there sufficient distinguishing characters to erect new ones. Although the possible age of the formations in the Precordillera remains conjectural, the fossils themselves, even preserved in such fragmentary states, indicate much lower grades of organization than seen in coeval assemblages elsewhere, particularly on the Laurussian and South China palaeocontinents. Palaeocontinental reconstructions of Gondwana indicate that the localities are within 30° of the palaeo South Pole. Thus a global latitudinal gradient in vegetation is postulated for the Early Devonian with decreasing disparity and diversity at higher latitudes. An explanation for the latter is explored in terms of light regime and temperature in highly stressed environments

Enigmatic fossils from the Upper Silurian of Bolivia: evidence for marine productivity in high-latitude Gondwana

Specimens collected recently from the Las Carmelitas facies of the Kirusillas Formation exposed in the Cochabamba area, Bolivia and dated as Ludlow (Late Silurian) by graptolites, show bedding surfaces almost completely covered by coalified compressions and impressions. The majority comprise mixtures of fragmented amorphous, unidentifiable material (‘debris’), but some horizons are dominated by well-defined morphological entities with a particular type or combination of types confined to a particular layer. In all, five morphotypes have been circumscribed, but their affinities, based on a comprehensive review of the possibilities, remain conjectural. Algal affinities are suggested tentatively for abundant, unbranched, narrow, strap-shaped fossils lacking any further diagnostic features and the numerous coalified discs or three-dimensionally preserved spheres (?leiosphaerid acritarchs) occurring isolated in the matrix or, less often, in clusters. Following a discussion on the recognition of faecal pellets in the fossil record, it is postulated that elliptical, spiral or simply segmented structures may be the excreta of planktonic or benthic metazoans, although the latter seems less likely in view of the proposed anoxic depositional environment of the shales that lack any bioturbation. Such coalified remains, whether from primary producers or grazers, indicate high productivity at high palaeolatitudes in the late Silurian continental seas in this region of peri-Gondwana

Corumbella and in situ Cloudina in association with thrombolites in the Ediacaran Itapucumi Group, Paraguay

An in situ assemblage of Cloudina, thrombolites and an ichnofossil (cf. Archaeonassa), together with fragments of Corumbella werneri, is reported here, from a tidally influenced, shallow, lagoonal setting on a carbonate ramp within the Itapucumi Group, Paraguay. The association of Cloudina with thrombolites is comparable to other terminal Neoproterozoic occurrences, but the coexistence of shelly fossils in situ with trace fossils and microbially induced sedimentary structures is apparently unique. This discovery extends the record of Cloudina and Corumbella in South America and further elucidates the diversity, distribution and palaeoecology of shelled organisms in late Ediacaran time. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.Fil: Warren, Lucas V.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Fairchild, Thomas R.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Gaucher, Claudio. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Boggiani, Paulo C.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Poire, Daniel Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas; ArgentinaFil: Anelli, Luís E.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Inchausti, Julio C. G.. Ministerio de Obras Publicas y Comunicaciones; Paragua

The puzzle assembled: Ediacaran guide fossil Cloudina reveals an old proto-Gondwana seaway

During the Ediacaran the Clymene Ocean separated the Laurentia, Amazonia, and Río Apa cratons from several landmasses to the west forming the proto-Gondwana supercontinent. However, no clear evidence about the existence of Ediacaran epeiric seas over those landmasses has been found. Here we report and discuss the discovery of the Ediacaran guide fossil Cloudina sp. associated with other metazoan body and trace fossils in the Bambuí Group (central eastern Brazil). The Ediacaran age of the Bambuí Group and the paleogeographic position of Cloudina-bearing successions in Brazil, Antarctica, Namibia, and Argentina suggest a scenario of ocean connectivity among coeval intracratonic basins of South America, Africa, and Antarctica at the end of Neoproterozoic time. The new finding epitomizes one of the most important paleontological discoveries ever made in South America, helping to solve an old paleogeographic puzzle of the Gondwana supercontinent.Fil: Warren, Lucas V.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Quaglio, Fernanda. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Riccomini, Claudio. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Simoes, Marcelo. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Poire, Daniel Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas; ArgentinaFil: Strikis, Nicolás. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Anelli, Luis E.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Strikis, Pedro C.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; Brasi

Detrital zircon ages of Neoproterozoic sedimentary successions in Uruguay and Argentina: Insights into the geological evolution of the Río de la Plata Craton

Although the Río de la Plata craton is exposed over a relatively large area in Uruguay, eastern Argentina, and southernmost Brazil, its geological evolution is poorly known because of great geological complexity and paucity of data. We report here U-Pb ages of detrital zircons from samples of five Neoproterozoic sandstone units deposited on the Río de la Plata Craton (RPC) in Uruguay and Argentina. The zircon ages provide definitive evidence of a great range of ages of rocks composing the craton-ages that would not have been known without the geochronology of detrital zircons. In turn, these new ages allow for a much fuller understanding of the nature and history of the craton. Quartz arenites of the Piedras de Afilar Formation show typical Transamazonian ages with peaks at 2.00-2.07, 1.87 and 1.78 Ga. However, the most important zircon population in the sample analyzed is Mesoproterozoic with maxima at 1.49, 1.35, 1.24 and 1.0 Ga. Archean zircons are subordinate. On the other hand, zircons recovered from two sandstone levels in the Arroyo del Soldado Group (Yerbal and Cerros San Francisco formations) are mostly Archean in age with maxima at 3.2 and 2.72-2.78 Ga. Palaeoproterozoic zircons are also prominent in this unit with peaks at 2.45 and 2.19, of which the latter is a typical Transamazonian age. Two samples from the Sierras Bayas Group in Tandilia (Argentina) show different age spectra. Sandstones of the Villa Mónica Formation have a unimodal zircon population of Transamazonian age with a peak at 2.15 Ga. Sandstones of the Cerro Largo Formation are characterized by a dominant Transamazonian zircon population with peaks at 2.15, 2.0 and 1.78, but also display important Archean-earliest Palaeoproterozoic (3.33, 2.99, 2.7, 2.46 Ga) and Mesoproterozoic peaks (1.55, 1.23 and 1.05 Ga). The abundance of Mesoproterozoic detrital zircons is surprising, given the limited outcrop area of Mesoproterozoic units in the RPC. Thus, the Mesoproterozoic orogenic event responsible for the generation of the dextral Sarandí del Yí megashear is much more important than previously assumed. A proto-Andean, Mesoproterozoic belt is suggested as the source of the Mesoproterozoic detritus. Archean rocks of the RPC crop out only in the Nico Pérez Terrane in Uruguay. The presence of Archean zircons in sandstones of the Sierras Bayas Group in Argentina suggests that the Nico Pérez Terrane was much closer to Tandilia than it is today. This is in accordance with the proposed sinistral reactivation of the Sarandí del Yí Shear Zone in the Cambrian, which resulted from tangential collision of the Cuchilla Dionisio-Pelotas Terrane. Finally, the conspicuous absence of Neoproterozoic zircons confirm other lines of evidence suggesting that the Neoproterozoic strata were deposited on a stable continental margin opening to the east and south. The Neoproterozoic basins had obviously no contribution whatsoever from Brasiliano-Pan African belts, supporting the idea of Cambrian terrane accretion as the mechanism responsible for the present configuration of the Río de la Plata Craton and the final amalgamation of Gondwana. © 2008 Elsevier B.V.Fil: Gaucher, Claudio. Departamento de Geología, Facultad de Ciencias, Iguá 4225, 11400 Montevideo; UruguayFil: Finney, Stanley C.. Department of Geological Sciences, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA 90840-390; Estados UnidosFil: Poire, Daniel Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas; ArgentinaFil: Valencia, Víctor A.. Geosciences, University of Arizona, 1040 E Fourth Street, Tucson, AZ 85721-0077; Estados UnidosFil: Grove, Marty. Department of Earth & Space Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095; Estados UnidosFil: Blanco, Gonzalo. Departamento de Geología, Facultad de Ciencias, Iguá 4225, 11400 Montevideo; UruguayFil: Pamoukaghlian, Karina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas; ArgentinaFil: Gómez Peral, Lucia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas; Argentin