When intense light interacts with an atomic gas, recollision between an ionizing electron and its parent ion creates high-order harmonics of the fundamental laser frequency. This sub-cycle effect ...generates coherent soft X-rays and attosecond pulses, and provides a means to image molecular orbitals. Recently, high harmonics have been generated from bulk crystals, but what mechanism dominates the emission remains uncertain. To resolve this issue, we adapt measurement methods from gas-phase research to solid zinc oxide driven by mid-infrared laser fields of 0.25 volts per ångström. We find that when we alter the generation process with a second-harmonic beam, the modified harmonic spectrum bears the signature of a generalized recollision between an electron and its associated hole. In addition, we find that solid-state high harmonics are perturbed by fields so weak that they are present in conventional electronic circuits, thus opening a route to integrate electronics with attosecond and high-harmonic technology. Future experiments will permit the band structure of a solid to be tomographically reconstructed.
We aimed to investigate the differences in plasma concentrations and in intakes of amino acids between male meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the Oxford arm of the European ...Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.
This cross-sectional analysis included 392 men, aged 30-49 years. Plasma amino acid concentrations were measured with a targeted metabolomic approach using mass spectrometry, and dietary intake was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Differences between diet groups in mean plasma concentrations and intakes of amino acids were examined using analysis of variance, controlling for potential confounding factors and multiple testing.
In plasma, concentrations of 6 out of 21 amino acids varied significantly by diet group, with differences of -13% to +16% between meat-eaters and vegans. Concentrations of methionine, tryptophan and tyrosine were highest in fish-eaters and vegetarians, followed by meat-eaters, and lowest in vegans. A broadly similar pattern was seen for lysine, whereas alanine concentration was highest in fish-eaters and lowest in meat-eaters. For glycine, vegans had the highest concentration and meat-eaters the lowest. Intakes of all 18 dietary amino acids differed by diet group; for the majority of these, intake was highest in meat-eaters followed by fish-eaters, then vegetarians and lowest in vegans (up to 47% lower than in meat-eaters).
Men belonging to different habitual diet groups have significantly different plasma concentrations of lysine, methionine, tryptophan, alanine, glycine and tyrosine. However, the differences in plasma concentrations were less marked than and did not necessarily mirror those seen for amino acid intakes.
Detection of Silica-Rich Deposits on Mars Squyres, S.W; Arvidson, R.E; Ruff, S ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
05/2008, Letnik:
320, Številka:
5879
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Mineral deposits on the martian surface can elucidate ancient environmental conditions on the planet. Opaline silica deposits (as much as 91 weight percent SiO₂) have been found in association with ...volcanic materials by the Mars rover Spirit. The deposits are present both as light-toned soils and as bedrock. We interpret these materials to have formed under hydrothermal conditions and therefore to be strong indicators of a former aqueous environment. This discovery is important for understanding the past habitability of Mars because hydrothermal environments on Earth support thriving microbial ecosystems.
Diagnosis of Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is difficult, thus a noninvasive approach towards (i) assessing and (ii) monitoring the tumor-specific mutational profile is desirable to improve diagnosis and ...tailor treatment. Tumor tissue and corresponding ctDNA samples were collected from patients with CCA prior to and during chemotherapy and were subjected to deep sequencing of 15 genes frequently mutated in CCA. A set of ctDNA samples was also submitted for 710 gene oncopanel sequencing to identify progression signatures. The blood/tissue concordance was 74% overall and 92% for intrahepatic tumors only. Variant allele frequency (VAF) in ctDNA correlated with tumor load and in the group of intrahepatic CCA with PFS. 63% of therapy naive patients had their mutational profile changed during chemotherapy. A set of 76 potential progression driver genes was identified among 710 candidates. The molecular landscape of CCA is accessible via ctDNA. This could be helpful to facilitate diagnosis and personalize and adapt therapeutic strategies.
The band structure of matter determines its properties. In solids, it is typically mapped with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, in which the momentum and the energy of incoherent electrons ...are independently measured. Sometimes, however, photoelectrons are difficult or impossible to detect. Here we demonstrate an all-optical technique to reconstruct momentum-dependent band gaps by exploiting the coherent motion of electron-hole pairs driven by intense midinfrared femtosecond laser pulses. Applying the method to experimental data for a semiconductor ZnO crystal, we identify the split-off valence band as making the greatest contribution to tunneling to the conduction band. Our new band structure measurement technique is intrinsically bulk sensitive, does not require a vacuum, and has high temporal resolution, making it suitable to study reactions at ambient conditions, matter under extreme pressures, and ultrafast transient modifications to band structures.
Pollen and spore monitoring in the world Buters, J. T. M.; Antunes, C.; Galveias, A. ...
Clinical and translational allergy,
04/2018, Letnik:
8, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Background
Ambient air quality monitoring is a governmental duty that is widely carried out in order to detect non‐biological (“chemical”) components in ambient air, such as particles of < 10 µm ...(PM10, PM2.5 ), ozone, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. These monitoring networks are publicly funded and air quality data are open to the public. The situation for biological particles that have detrimental effects on health, as is the case of pollen and fungal spores, is however very different. Most pollen and spore monitoring networks are not publicly funded and data are not freely available. The information regarding which biological particle is being monitored, where and by whom, is consequently often not known, even by aerobiologists themselves. This is a considerable problem, as local pollen data are an important tool for the prevention of allergic symptoms.
Objective
The aim of this study was to review pollen monitoring stations throughout the world and to create an interactive visualization of their distribution.
Methods
The method employed to collect information was based on: (a) a review of the recent and historical bibliography related to pollen and fungal spore monitoring, and (b) personal surveys of the managers of national and regional monitoring networks. The interactive application was developed using the R programming language.
Results
We have created an inventory of the active pollen and spore monitoring stations in the world. There are at least 879 active pollen monitoring stations in the world, most of which are in Europe (> 500). The prevalent monitoring method is based on the Hirst principle (> 600 stations). The inventory is visualised as an interactive and on‐line map. It can be searched, its appearance can be adjusted to the users’ needs and it is updated regularly, as new stations or changes to those that already exist can be submitted online.
Conclusions
The map shows the current situation of pollen and spore monitoring and facilitates collaboration among those individuals who are interested in pollen and spore counts. It might also help to improve the monitoring of biological particles up to the current level employed for non‐biological components.
We present the new parton distribution functions (PDFs) from the CTEQ-TEA collaboration, obtained using a wide variety of high-precision Large Hadron Collider (LHC) data, in addition to the combined ...HERA I + II deep-inelastic scattering dataset, along with the datasets present in the CT14 global QCD analysis. New LHC measurements in single-inclusive jet production with the full rapidity coverage, as well as production of Drell-Yan pairs, top-quark pairs, and high-pT Z bosons, are included to achieve the greatest sensitivity to the PDFs. The parton distributions are determined at next-to-leading order and next-to-next-to-leading order, with each of these PDFs accompanied by error sets determined using the Hessian method. Fast PDF survey techniques, based on the Hessian representation and the Lagrange multiplier method, are used to quantify the preference of each data set to quantities such as αs(mZ), and the gluon and strange quark distributions. We designate the main resulting PDF set as CT18. The ATLAS 7 TeV precision W / Z data are not included in CT18, due to their tension with other datasets in the global fit. Alternate PDF sets are generated including the ATLAS precision 7 TeV W / Z data (CT18A), a new scale choice for low- x DIS data (CT18X), or all of the above with a slightly higher choice for the charm mass (CT18Z). Theoretical calculations of standard candle cross sections at the LHC (such as the g g fusion Higgs boson cross section) are presented.
Purpose
Studies have shown that screen detection by national screening programs is independently associated with better prognosis of breast cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the ...association between tumor biology according to the 70-gene signature (70-GS) and survival of patients with screen-detected and interval breast cancers.
Methods
All Dutch breast cancer patients enrolled in the MINDACT trial (EORTC-10041/BIG3-04) accrued 2007–2011, who participated in the national screening program (biennial screening, ages 50–75) were included (
n
= 1102). Distant Metastasis-Free Interval (DMFI) was evaluated according to the 70-GS for patients with screen-detected (
n
= 754) and interval cancers (
n
= 348).
Results
Patients with screen-detected cancers had 8-year DMFI rates of 98.2% for 70-GS ultralow-, 94.6% for low-, and 93.8% for high-risk tumors (
p
= 0.4). For interval cancers, there was a significantly lower 8-year DMFI rate for patients with 70-GS high-risk tumors (85.2%) compared to low- (92.2%) and ultralow-risk tumors (97.4%,
p
= 0.0023). Among patients with 70-GS high-risk tumors, a significant difference in 8-year DMFI rate was observed between interval (85.2%,
n
= 166) versus screen-detected cancers (93.8%,
n
= 238;
p
= 0.002) with a HR of 2.3 (95%CI 1.2–4.4,
p
= 0.010) adjusted for clinical-pathological characteristics and adjuvant systemic treatment.
Conclusion
Among patients with 70-GS high-risk tumors, a significant difference in DMFI was observed between screen-detected and interval cancers, suggesting that method of detection is an additional prognostic factor in this subgroup and should be taken into account when deciding on adjuvant treatment strategies.
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