The use of accelerated beams of electrons, protons or ions has furthered the development of nearly every scientific discipline. However, high-energy muon beams of equivalent quality have not yet been ...delivered. Muon beams can be created through the decay of pions produced by the interaction of a proton beam with a target. Such 'tertiary' beams have much lower brightness than those created by accelerating electrons, protons or ions. High-brightness muon beams comparable to those produced by state-of-the-art electron, proton and ion accelerators could facilitate the study of lepton-antilepton collisions at extremely high energies and provide well characterized neutrino beams
. Such muon beams could be realized using ionization cooling, which has been proposed to increase muon-beam brightness
. Here we report the realization of ionization cooling, which was confirmed by the observation of an increased number of low-amplitude muons after passage of the muon beam through an absorber, as well as an increase in the corresponding phase-space density. The simulated performance of the ionization cooling system is consistent with the measured data, validating designs of the ionization cooling channel in which the cooling process is repeated to produce a substantial cooling effect
. The results presented here are an important step towards achieving the muon-beam quality required to search for phenomena at energy scales beyond the reach of the Large Hadron Collider at a facility of equivalent or reduced footprint
.
Urbanisation causes a range of adverse impacts on stream physical and ecological conditions due to increases in catchment runoff caused by increased imperviousness. Developing ways to reduce these ...impacts on in-stream ecosystems is a major challenge and requires innovative catchment specific, high-time-resolution modelling methods. We employed a combination of high-time-resolution data collection, analysis and modelling methods to understand the underlying hydrological processes and evaluate a potentially significant management option – stormwater harvesting. A set of sensitive parameters of the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) were optimised using an automatic calibration method and hourly data in eight catchments in South East Queensland, Australia. Systematic investigation of the effects of urbanisation and its mitigation through stormwater harvesting was achieved by modelling the impacts of increasing impervious area for three of the relatively undeveloped catchments. As the extent of impervious areas across the catchments increased we typically found increases in the duration of high flow spells together with increases in mean flow and the frequency of runoff events. However, many hydrologic responses to increasing imperviousness were specific to the physical characteristics of catchments, and to the spatio-temporal pattern of urbanisation. By implementing stormwater harvesting options the hourly flows were reduced by up to 60 % but the maximum flow was unchanged. Thus the option was able to reduce, but not totally ameliorate, the negative hydrological impacts of increasing imperviousness.
The Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) collaboration seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of ionization cooling, the technique by which it is proposed to cool the muon beam at a future ...neutrino factory or muon collider. The emittance is measured from an ensemble of muons assembled from those that pass through the experiment. A pure muon ensemble is selected using a particle-identification system that can reject efficiently both pions and electrons. The position and momentum of each muon are measured using a high-precision scintillating-fibre tracker in a 4 T solenoidal magnetic field. This paper presents the techniques used to reconstruct the phase-space distributions in the upstream tracking detector and reports the first particle-by-particle measurement of the emittance of the MICE Muon Beam as a function of muon-beam momentum.
Performance of the MICE diagnostic system Bogomilov, M.; Tsenov, R.; Vankova-Kirilova, G. ...
Journal of instrumentation,
08/2021, Letnik:
16, Številka:
8
Journal Article
Abstract
Structural grey matter covariance networks provide an individual quantification of morphological patterns in the brain. The network integrity is disrupted in sporadic Alzheimer’s disease, ...and network properties show associations with the level of amyloid pathology and cognitive decline. Therefore, these network properties might be disease progression markers. However, it remains unclear when and how grey matter network integrity changes with disease progression. We investigated these questions in autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease mutation carriers, whose conserved age at dementia onset allows individual staging based upon their estimated years to symptom onset. From the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network observational cohort, we selected T1-weighted MRI scans from 269 mutation carriers and 170 non-carriers (mean age 38 ± 15 years, mean estimated years to symptom onset −9 ± 11), of whom 237 had longitudinal scans with a mean follow-up of 3.0 years. Single-subject grey matter networks were extracted, and we calculated for each individual the network properties which describe the network topology, including the size, clustering, path length and small worldness. We determined at which time point mutation carriers and non-carriers diverged for global and regional grey matter network metrics, both cross-sectionally and for rate of change over time. Based on cross-sectional data, the earliest difference was observed in normalized path length, which was decreased for mutation carriers in the precuneus area at 13 years and on a global level 12 years before estimated symptom onset. Based on longitudinal data, we found the earliest difference between groups on a global level 6 years before symptom onset, with a greater rate of decline of network size for mutation carriers. We further compared grey matter network small worldness with established biomarkers for Alzheimer disease (i.e. amyloid accumulation, cortical thickness, brain metabolism and cognitive function). We found that greater amyloid accumulation at baseline was associated with faster decline of small worldness over time, and decline in grey matter network measures over time was accompanied by decline in brain metabolism, cortical thinning and cognitive decline. In summary, network measures decline in autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease, which is alike sporadic Alzheimer’s disease, and the properties show decline over time prior to estimated symptom onset. These data suggest that single-subject networks properties obtained from structural MRI scans form an additional non-invasive tool for understanding the substrate of cognitive decline and measuring progression from preclinical to severe clinical stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Grey matter covariance networks are extracted from structural MRI. In the DIAN autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease family cohort, we demonstrate for the first time the trajectory of network properties in Alzheimer’s disease. These network properties related to other eurodegeneration markers and can form a non-invasive tool for studying Alzheimer’s disease progression.
Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
Muon beams of low emittance provide the basis for the intense, well-characterized neutrino beams necessary to elucidate the physics of flavor at a neutrino factory and to provide lepton-antilepton ...collisions at energies of up to several TeV at a muon collider. The international Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) aims to demonstrate ionization cooling, the technique by which it is proposed to reduce the phase-space volume occupied by the muon beam at such facilities. In an ionization-cooling channel, the muon beam passes through a material in which it loses energy. The energy lost is then replaced using rf cavities. The combined effect of energy loss and reacceleration is to reduce the transverse emittance of the beam (transverse cooling). A major revision of the scope of the project was carried out over the summer of 2014. The revised experiment can deliver a demonstration of ionization cooling. The design of the cooling demonstration experiment will be described together with its predicted cooling performance.
Objectives
There is a growing incidence of cognitive decline and dementia associated with the ageing population. Lifestyle factors such as diet, physical activity, and cognitive activities may ...individually or collectively be undertaken to increase one’s odds of preventing cognitive decline and future dementia. This study will examine whether clinical trials using multidomain lifestyle intervention can significantly decrease the risk of cognitive decline and therefore dementia.
Design, Setting and Participants
This systematic literature review of multidomain lifestyle interventions for the prevention of cognitive decline and dementia followed the PRISMA guidelines. Clinical trials involving multidomain intervention (i.e., diet and physical activity, or without cognitive training) in older adults (≥ 49 years old) at higher risk of dementia were identified through 5 electronic databases (EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Scopus). A comprehensive search was performed to identify and retrieve publications until 15 November 2022. Trials were published in English.
Results
The included studies (n=15) assessed change in cognition in response to a multidomain lifestyle intervention. However, the cognitive outcome measures used in these studies were heterogeneous. Despite this heterogeneity, two thirds of the studies showed improvement in cognition following a multidomain intervention (n=10 with a total of 9,439 participants). However, five studies reported no improvement in cognition following the multidomain intervention. The most common form of dietary intervention included higher amount of fruit and vegetable intake; whole-grain cereal products instead of refined; low fat options in milk and meat products; and limiting sucrose intake to less than 50 g/day. Most clinical trial studies were powered to examining the effects of multidomain interventions in cognition but were not designed to test the contribution of individual domains (i.e., dietary changes, increased physical activity, or increased cognitive stimulation alone).
Conclusion
This systematic review aimed to determine the effect of multimodal lifestyle interventions on cognitive outcomes in older adults at risk of dementia. We found that participants with conditions that may increase the risk of dementia, (e.g., hypertension, cardiovascular fragility) do benefit from multi-modal lifestyle changes including diet, physical activity, and cognitive training. Two thirds of studies using multidomain lifestyle interventions showed improvements in cognitive function. Trials with a focus on cognitive training, dietary improvement, and physical activity may prevent or delay cognitive decline in older adults including those at risk of developing dementia. Future studies should consider longer follow-up periods and adequate power to be able to examine the effects of each lifestyle component in the context of multimodal interventions.
Phenotypic diversity within cultivated tomato (Solarium lycopersicum) is particularly evident for fruit shape and size. Four genes that control tomato fruit shape have been cloned. SUN and OVATE ...control elongated shape whereas FASCIATED (FAS) and LOCULE NUMBER (EC) control fruit locule number and flat shape. We investigated the distribution of the fruit shape alleles in the tomato germplasm and evaluated their contribution to morphology in a diverse collection of 368 predominantly tomato and tomato var. cerasiforme accessions. Fruits were visually classified into eight shape categories that were supported by objective measurements obtained from image analysis using the Tomato Analyzer software. The allele distribution of SUN, OVATE, EC, and FAS in all accessions was strongly associated with fruit shape classification. We also genotyped 116 representative accessions with additional 25 markers distributed evenly across the genome. Through a model-based clustering we demonstrated that shape categories, germplasm classes, and the shape genes were nonrandomly distributed among five genetic clusters (P < 0.001), implying that selection for fruit shape genes was critical to subpopulation differentiation within cultivated tomato. Our data suggested that the EC, FAS, and SUN mutations arose in the same ancestral population while the OVATE mutation arose in a separate lineage. Furthermore, EC, OVATE, and FAS mutations may have arisen prior to domestication or early during the selection of cultivated tomato whereas the SUN mutation appeared to be a postdomestication event arising in Europe.
Network models of soil and plant microbiomes provide new opportunities for enhancing disease management, but also challenges for interpretation. We present a framework for interpreting microbiome ...networks, illustrating how observed network structures can be used to generate testable hypotheses about candidate microbes affecting plant health. The framework includes four types of network analyses. "General network analysis" identifies candidate taxa for maintaining an existing microbial community. "Host-focused analysis" includes a node representing a plant response such as yield, identifying taxa with direct or indirect associations with that node. "Pathogen-focused analysis" identifies taxa with direct or indirect associations with taxa known a priori as pathogens. "Disease-focused analysis" identifies taxa associated with disease. Positive direct or indirect associations with desirable outcomes, or negative associations with undesirable outcomes, indicate candidate taxa. Network analysis provides characterization not only of taxa with direct associations with important outcomes such as disease suppression, biofertilization, or expression of plant host resistance, but also taxa with indirect associations via their association with other key taxa. We illustrate the interpretation of network structure with analyses of microbiomes in the oak phyllosphere, and in wheat rhizosphere and bulk soil associated with the presence or absence of infection by Rhizoctonia solani.
PDF
