The Euganean thermal district (NE Italy) represents a unique reference for therapies based on the topical use of clay materials matured in thermal waters (pelotherapy, mud therapy, mud-pack therapy): ...approximately one hundred therapeutic spa centers are concentrated within a small area and share the same virgin clays and the same hypersaline hyperthermal groundwater. The therapeutic mud produced in this district is therefore an ideal test bench for assessing the application of scientific procedures aimed to check and improve the quality of spa products. The measurement of chlorophyll a content was previously suggested as a reliable, easy to acquire, economic and reproducible indicator of the “maturation” process; the new data acquired (>650 samples across two years), associated with mineralogical and geochemical data on approximately 30 therapeutic centers, show instead a more complex and different result. By comparing the analytical data of virgin clays (Della Costa lake sediments), therapeutic mud and mud stored excluding photosynthetic activity, chlorophyll a and its derivatives can be considered better indicators of maturation and recycling procedures than the proliferation of photosynthetic microorganisms in maturation ponds.
Some mineralogical and geochemical parameters, as well as the content of chlorophyll a and its derivatives, proved to be distinctive of the virgin clays and therapeutic mud; the latter shows gradual variations, in agreement with progressive departure from pristine composition after repeated use and recycling of the therapeutic mud. Minerals and chemical elements concentrated in the fine-grained fractions (such as illite, kaolinite and Rb, among others) are mechanically depleted compared to virgin clays, whereas for pyrite and organic components (including chlorophyll a and its derivatives), spontaneous degradation can be considered.
The rather high frequency of sampling (approximately 1 sample/month) over a long time period (two years) also enabled us to learn that the concentration of chlorophyll a and its derivatives is unique to different therapeutic centers: a few of them show dispersed values and are difficult to fit into a linear trend, whereas in several cases the low dispersion points to a reference value of the center and, in this instance, the degradation rate also turns out to be a characterizing feature of the center.
Mineralogical and chemical parameters that discriminate virgin clays and therapeutic mud can be therefore used to monitor the maturation procedures. In addition, for chlorophyll a and its derivatives a double effect can be observed: i) spontaneous degradation with the same rate of mud deprived of possible photosynthetic effects, and ii) possible attenuation or balance of decay after appropriate management of the recycling and replenishment of mud.
Display omitted
•Clay minerals and pyrite correlate with chlorophyll a and its derivatives (CaDs).•Amounts of CaDs are significant to distinguish virgin clays and therapeutic muds.•CaDs are not indicators of the biological activity but of their lacustrine origin.•Selected clay components lost during the shower are depleted in recycled mud.
The polarization observables T,E,P,H, and G in photoproduction of η mesons off protons are measured for photon energies from threshold to W=2400 MeV (T), 2280 MeV (E), 1620 MeV (P,H), or 1820 MeV ...(G), covering nearly the full solid angle. The data are compared to predictions from the SAID, MAID, JüBo, and BnGa partial-wave analyses. A refit within the BnGa approach including further data yields precise branching ratios for the Nη decay of nucleon resonances. A Nη-branching ratio of 0.33±0.04 for N(1650)1/2− is found, which reduces the large and controversially discussed Nη-branching ratio difference of the two lowest mass JP=1/2−-resonances significantly.
Data on the beam asymmetry Σ in the photoproduction of η mesons off protons are reported for tagged photon energies from 1130 to 1790 MeV (mass range from W = 1748 MeV to W = 2045 MeV). The data ...cover the full solid angle that allows for a precise moment analysis. For the first time, a strong cusp effect in a polarization observable has been observed that is an effect of a branch-point singularity at the pη′ threshold Eγ = 1447 MeV (W = 1896 MeV). The latest BnGa partial wave analysis includes the new beam asymmetry data and yields a strong indication for the N (1895)1/2− nucleon resonance, demonstrating the importance of including all singularities for a correct determination of partial waves and resonance parameters.
The target asymmetry
T
, recoil asymmetry
P
, and beam-target double polarization observable
H
were determined in exclusive
π
0
and
η
photoproduction off quasi-free protons and, for the first time, ...off quasi-free neutrons. The experiment was performed at the electron stretcher accelerator ELSA in Bonn, Germany, with the Crystal Barrel/TAPS detector setup, using a linearly polarized photon beam and a transversely polarized deuterated butanol target. Effects from the Fermi motion of the nucleons within deuterium were removed by a full kinematic reconstruction of the final state invariant mass. A comparison of the data obtained on the proton and on the neutron provides new insight into the isospin structure of the electromagnetic excitation of the nucleon. Earlier measurements of polarization observables in the
γ
p
→
π
0
p
and
γ
p
→
η
p
reactions are confirmed. The data obtained on the neutron are of particular relevance for clarifying the origin of the narrow structure in the
η
n
system at
W
=
1.68
GeV
. A comparison with recent partial wave analyses favors the interpretation of this structure as arising from interference of the
S
11
(
1535
)
and
S
11
(
1650
)
resonances within the
S
11
-partial wave.
Abstract
The target asymmetry
T
, recoil asymmetry
P
, and beam-target double polarization observable
H
were determined in exclusive
$$\pi ^0$$
π
0
and
$$\eta $$
η
photoproduction off quasi-free ...protons and, for the first time, off quasi-free neutrons. The experiment was performed at the electron stretcher accelerator ELSA in Bonn, Germany, with the Crystal Barrel/TAPS detector setup, using a linearly polarized photon beam and a transversely polarized deuterated butanol target. Effects from the Fermi motion of the nucleons within deuterium were removed by a full kinematic reconstruction of the final state invariant mass. A comparison of the data obtained on the proton and on the neutron provides new insight into the isospin structure of the electromagnetic excitation of the nucleon. Earlier measurements of polarization observables in the
$$\gamma p \rightarrow \pi ^0 p$$
γ
p
→
π
0
p
and
$$\gamma p \rightarrow \eta p$$
γ
p
→
η
p
reactions are confirmed. The data obtained on the neutron are of particular relevance for clarifying the origin of the narrow structure in the
$$\eta n$$
η
n
system at
$$W = 1.68\ \textrm{GeV}$$
W
=
1.68
GeV
. A comparison with recent partial wave analyses favors the interpretation of this structure as arising from interference of the
$$S_{11}(1535)$$
S
11
(
1535
)
and
$$S_{11}(1650)$$
S
11
(
1650
)
resonances within the
$$S_{11}$$
S
11
-partial wave.
With an ever-increasing resource of validated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), the limiting factors in genome-wide association analysis have become genotyping capacity and the availability of ...DNA. We provide a proof of concept of the use of pooled DNA as a means of efficiently screening SNPs and prioritizing them for further study. This approach reduces the final number of SNPs that undergo full, sample-by-sample genotyping as well as the quantity of DNA used overall. We have examined 15 SNPs in the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene, a gene previously demonstrated to be associated with serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. The SNPs were amplified in two pools of DNA derived from groups of individuals with extremely high and extremely low serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, respectively. P values <0.05 were obtained for 14 SNPs, supporting the described association. Genotyping of the individual samples showed that the average margin of error in frequency estimate was ≈4% when pools were used. These findings clearly demonstrate the potential of pooling techniques and their associated technologies as an initial screen in the search for genetic associations.
The target asymmetry
T
, recoil asymmetry
P
, and beam-target double polarization observable
H
were determined in exclusive
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\begin{document}$$\pi ^0$$\end{document}
π
0
and
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\begin{document}$$\eta $$\end{document}
η
photoproduction off quasi-free protons and, for the first time, off quasi-free neutrons. The experiment was performed at the electron stretcher accelerator ELSA in Bonn, Germany, with the Crystal Barrel/TAPS detector setup, using a linearly polarized photon beam and a transversely polarized deuterated butanol target. Effects from the Fermi motion of the nucleons within deuterium were removed by a full kinematic reconstruction of the final state invariant mass. A comparison of the data obtained on the proton and on the neutron provides new insight into the isospin structure of the electromagnetic excitation of the nucleon. Earlier measurements of polarization observables in the
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\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}
\begin{document}$$\gamma p \rightarrow \pi ^0 p$$\end{document}
γ
p
→
π
0
p
and
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\begin{document}$$\gamma p \rightarrow \eta p$$\end{document}
γ
p
→
η
p
reactions are confirmed. The data obtained on the neutron are of particular relevance for clarifying the origin of the narrow structure in the
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\begin{document}$$\eta n$$\end{document}
η
n
system at
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\begin{document}$$W = 1.68\ \textrm{GeV}$$\end{document}
W
=
1.68
GeV
. A comparison with recent partial wave analyses favors the interpretation of this structure as arising from interference of the
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\begin{document}$$S_{11}(1535)$$\end{document}
S
11
(
1535
)
and
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\begin{document}$$S_{11}(1650)$$\end{document}
S
11
(
1650
)
resonances within the
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\begin{document}$$S_{11}$$\end{document}
S
11
-partial wave.