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Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile genetic elements found in the majority of eukaryotic genomes. Genomic studies of protozoan parasites from the phylum Apicomplexa have only reported a handful of TEs in some species and a complete absence in others. Here, we studied sixty-four Apicomplexa genomes available in public databases, using a ‘de novo’ approach to build candidate TE models and multiple strategies from known TE sequence databases, pattern recognition of TEs, and protein domain databases, to identify possible TEs. We offer an insight into the distribution and the type of TEs that are present in these genomes, aiming to shed some light on the process of gains and losses of TEs in this phylum. We found that TEs comprise a very small portion in these genomes compared to other organisms, and in many cases, there are no apparent traces of TEs. We were able to build and classify 151 models from the TE consensus sequences obtained with RepeatModeler, 96 LTR TEs with LTRpred, and 44 LINE TEs with MGEScan. We found LTR Gypsy-like TEs in Eimeria, Gregarines, Haemoproteus, and Plasmodium genera. Additionally, we described LINE-like TEs in some species from the genera Babesia and Theileria. Finally, we confirmed the absence of TEs in the genus Cryptosporidium. Interestingly, Apicomplexa seem to be devoid of Class II transposons.

Introducción: La cirugía laparoscópica es una vía de abordaje fundamental para el tratamiento de la patología colorrectal. Se debe evaluar si los resultados de centros de referencia pueden ser reproducidos por centros de menor volumen con cirujanos entrenados en laparoscopía. Objetivo: Analizar resultados a corto plazo obtenidos con el abordaje laparoscópico de la patología colorrectal, factores asociados a conversión y reoperación. Diseño: Cohorte, retrospectivo. Materiales y Métodos: Pacientes tratados por laparoscopía entre Octubre 2014 y Agosto 2020 en un Hospital Privado de la Ciudad de Bahía Blanca; excluyendo cirugías de urgencia, tumores de ano y patología combinada. Conversión, readmisión y morbilidad fueron analizadas en base a las variables demográficas, técnica quirúrgica y curva de aprendizaje. Análisis multivariado para conversión y reoperación. Resultados: 167 pacientes, 51,5 % hombres, edad media 66,1 años, IMC promedio de 26,5 km/m2, estadía hospitalaria 4 días, conversión 5,4%. Tiempo operatorio 231,27 minutos, siendo significativamente mayor para los tumores de recto (p

We analyzed the kinetoplast (mitochondrial genome) of Trypanosoma vivax strains from America and Africa to determine their precise architecture and to understand their adaptive response to mechanical transmission. The use of long-read based assemblies that retain individuality of tandem repeats, without erasing inter-copy variability, allowed us to investigate the evolutionary dynamics of repetitive kinetoplast-DNA. This analysis revealed that repeat elements located in edges of repeat clusters are less active in terms of renewal, whereas internal copies appear to undergo a permanent process of birth-and-death. Comparing different American strains with the African Y486 strain, we found that in the former, protein coding genes from the maxicircle contain several function disrupting mutations that with very few exceptions are present in one or the other American strain but not in both, suggesting the absence of common ancestry for most of the genomic changes that led to their loss of oxidative phosphorylation capacity. Analysis of another component of kinetoplast, the minicircles, revealed great loss of diversity, and loss of their encoded guideRNAs. Both groups of American strains retain minimal sets required to edit the still functional A6-APTase and RPS12 genes. The extensive maxi- and minicircle divergence suggests a history of multiple introduction events in America of strains that probably started to degrade their kinetoplast in Africa. The notion that kinetoplast degradation began after incursion in America would imply a pace of accumulation of genetic changes considerably faster than other trypanosomatids.

Despite the introduction of drug-eluting stents (DES) significantly improved the efficacy and safety of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), particularly in a high-risk group of patients, the gap between PCI with his competitor’s coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) and/or optimal medical treatment alone was not reduced. In this revision, we highlighted the fact that in recent years landmark randomized studies reported at mid and long-term follow-ups a high incidence of non-cardiac death, cancer incidence, or both in the DES group of patients. The overall incidence of non-cardiac death was significantly higher in the DES vs. the comparator arm: 5.5% and 3.8%, respectively, p = 0.000018, and non-cardiac death appears to be more divergent between DES vs. the comparator at the extended follow-up to expenses of the last one. One of these trials reported five times greater cancer incidence in the DES arm at late follow-up, 5% vs. 0.7% p < 0.0018. We review the potential reason for these unexpected findings, although we can discard that DES biology could be involved in it. Until all these issues are resolved, we propose that DES implantation should be tailored accorded patient age, life expectancy, and lesion complexity.

Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile genetic elements found in the majority of eukaryotic genomes. Genomic studies of protozoan parasites from the phylum Apicomplexa have only reported a handful of TEs in some species and a complete absence in others. Here, we studied sixty-four Apicomplexa genomes available in public databases, using a 'de novo' approach to build candidate TE models and multiple strategies from known TE sequence databases, pattern recognition of TEs, and protein domain databases, to identify possible TEs. We offer an insight into the distribution and the type of TEs that are present in these genomes, aiming to shed some light on the process of gains and losses of TEs in this phylum. We found that TEs comprise a very small portion in these genomes compared to other organisms, and in many cases, there are no apparent traces of TEs. We were able to build and classify 151 models from the TE consensus sequences obtained with RepeatModeler, 96 LTR TEs with LTRpred, and 44 LINE TEs with MGEScan. We found LTR Gypsy-like TEs in Eimeria, Gregarines, Haemoproteus, and Plasmodium genera. Additionally, we described LINE-like TEs in some species from the genera Babesia and Theileria. Finally, we confirmed the absence of TEs in the genus Cryptosporidium. Interestingly, Apicomplexa seem to be devoid of Class II transposons.

Mobile elements and repetitive genomic regions are sources of lineage-specific genomic innovation and uniquely fingerprint individual genomes. Comprehensive analyses of such repeat elements, including those found in more complex regions of the genome, require a complete, linear genome assembly. We present a de novo repeat discovery and annotation of the T2T-CHM13 human reference genome. We identified previously unknown satellite arrays, expanded the catalog of variants and families for repeats and mobile elements, characterized classes of complex composite repeats, and located retroelement transduction events. We detected nascent transcription and delineated CpG methylation profiles to define the structure of transcriptionally active retroelements in humans, including those in centromeres. These data expand our insight into the diversity, distribution, and evolution of repetitive regions that have shaped the human genome.

BACKGROUND: Collective risk factors such as climate and pollution impact on the risk of acute cardiovascular events, including ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). There is limited data however on the precise temporal and independent association between these factors and STEMI, and the potentially interacting role of government policies against Coronavrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), especially for Latin America. METHODS: We retrospectively collected aggregate data on daily STEMI admissions at 10 tertiary care centers in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, Argentina, from January 1, 2017 to November 30, 2020. Daily measurements for temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind direction, wind speed, and rainfall, as well as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter

Transposable elements (TEs) are major genomic components in most eukaryotic genomes and play an important role in genome evolution. However, despite their relevance the identification of TEs is not an easy task and a number of tools were developed to tackle this problem. To better understand how they perform, we tested several widely used tools for de novo TE detection and compared their performance on both simulated data and well curated genomic sequences. As expected, tools that build TE-models performed better than k-mer counting ones, with RepeatModeler beating competitors in most datasets. However, there is a tendency for most tools to identify TE-regions in a fragmented manner and it is also frequent that small TEs or fragmented TEs are not detected. Consequently, the identification of TEs is still a challenging endeavor and it requires a significant manual curation by an experienced expert. The results will be helpful for identifying common issues associated with TE-annotation and for evaluating how comparable are the results obtained with different tools.

Investigation of the ion track morphologies and track etching behaviour in polycarbonate (PC) films was carried out using synchrotron based small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements. The tracks were induced by Au ions with kinetic energies of 1.7 and 2.2 GeV with applied fluences between 1 × 1010 and 1 × 1012 ions/cm2. The average radii of the un-etched tracks were studied as a function of the irradiation fluence, indicating a general ion induced degradation of the polymer, with a simultaneous increase in ion track radius from 2.6 ± 0.002 nm to 3.4 ± 0.03 nm. Chemical etching of the ion tracks in PC leads to the formation of cylindrical pores. The pore radius increases linearly with etching time. In 3 M NaOH at 55 °C, a radial etching rate of 9.2 nm/min is observed.

We report on the reduction of cross-section and length of amorphous ion tracks embedded within crystalline quartz during thermal annealing. The ion tracks were created via Au ion irradiation with an energy of 2.2 GeV. The use of synchrotron-based small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) allowed characterization of the latent tracks, without the need for chemical etching. Temperatures between 900 and 1000 °C were required to see a notable change in track size. The shrinkage in cross-section and length was found to be comparable for tracks aligned perpendicular and parallel to the c-axis.

Ion tracks in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) were created by swift heavy ion irradiation and subsequently characterized using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Due to their reduced density compared to the surrounding matrix, cylindrical geometry, and parallel orientation, ion tracks produce a characteristic scattering pattern which allows quantitative analysis of their radius with high precision. For ion tracks in PET thermal annealing led to a gradual fading with a decrease in density difference yet a simultaneous increase in ion track radius. Such an increase in radius is the direct opposite compared to temperature induced ion track shrinking in inorganic materials, and suggests a very different thermal response of the polymer.

This report summarises some of the activities of the HiggsTools initial training network working group in the period 2015–2017. The main goal of this working group was to produce a document discussing various aspects of state-of-the-art Higgs physics at the large hadron collider (LHC) in a pedagogic manner. The first part of the report is devoted to a description of phenomenological searches for new physics (NP) at the LHC. All of the available studies of the couplings of the new resonance discovered in 2012 by the ATLAS and CMS experiments (Aad et al (ATLAS Collaboration) 2012 Phys. Lett. B 716 1–29; Chatrchyan et al (CMS Collaboration) 2012 Phys. Lett. B 716 30–61) conclude that it is compatible with the Higgs boson of the standard model (SM) within present precision. So far the LHC experiments have given no direct evidence for any physical phenomena that cannot be described by the SM. As the experimental measurements become more and more precise, there is a pressing need for a consistent framework in which deviations from the SM predictions can be computed precisely. Such a framework should be applicable to measurements in all sectors of particle physics, not only LHC Higgs measurements but also electroweak precision data, etc. We critically review the use of the κ-framework, fiducial and simplified template cross sections, effective field theories, pseudoobservables and phenomenological Lagrangians. Some of the concepts presented here are well known and were used already at the time of the large electron–positron collider (LEP) experiment. However, after years of theoretical and experimental development, these techniques have been refined, and we describe new tools that have been introduced in order to improve the comparison between theory and experimental data. In the second part of the report, we propose $\phi^*_{\eta}$ as a new and complementary observable for studying Higgs boson production at large transverse momentum in the case where the Higgs boson decays to two photons. The $\phi^*_{\eta}$ variable depends on measurements of the angular directions and rapidities of the two Higgs decay products rather than the energies, and exploits the information provided by the calorimeter in the detector. We show that, even without tracking information, the experimental resolution for $\phi^*_{\eta}$ is better than that of the transverse momentum of the photon pair, particularly at low transverse momentum. We make a detailed study of the phenomenology of the $\phi^*_{\eta}$ variable, contrasting the behaviour with the Higgs transverse momentum distribution using a variety of theoretical tools including event generators and fixed order perturbative computations. We consider the theoretical uncertainties associated with both $p_{TH}$ and $\phi^*_{\eta}$ distributions. Unlike the transverse momentum distribution, the distribution is well predicted using the Higgs effective field theory in which the top quark is integrated out—even at large values of $\phi^*_{\eta}$ —thereby making this a better observable for extracting the parameters of the Higgs interaction. In contrast, the potential of the $\phi^*_{\eta}$ distribution as a probe of NP is rather limited, since although the overall rate is affected by the presence of additional heavy fields, the shape of the $\phi^*_{\eta}$ distribution is relatively insensitive to heavy particle thresholds.

Swift heavy ion (2 GeV 181Ta) irradiation-induced amorphization and temperature-induced recrystallization of cubic pyrochlore Gd2Ti2O7 ( Fd 3 ¯ m ) are compared with the response of a compositionally-similar material with a monoclinic-layered perovskite-type structure, La2Ti2O7 (P21). The averaged electronic energy loss, dE/dx, was 37 keV/nm and 35 keV/nm in Gd2Ti2O7 and La2Ti2O7, respectively. Systematic analysis of the structural modifications was completed using transmission electron microscopy, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering. Increasing ion-induced amorphization with increasing ion fluence was evident in the X-ray diffraction patterns of both compositions by a reduction in the intensity of the diffraction maxima concurrent with the growth in intensity of a broad diffuse scattering halo. Transmission electron microscopy analysis showed complete amorphization within ion tracks (diameter: ∼10 nm) for the perovskite-type material; whereas a concentric, core–shell morphology was evident in the ion tracks of the pyrochlore, with an outer shell of disordered yet still crystalline material with the fluorite structure surrounding an amorphous track core (diameter: ∼9 nm). The radiation response of both titanate oxides with the same stoichiometry can be understood in terms of differences in their structures and compositions. While the radiation damage susceptibility of pyrochlore A2B2O7 materials decreases as a function of the cation radius ratio rA/rB, the current study correlates this behavior with the stability field of monoclinic structures, where rLa/rTi > rGd/rTi. Isochronal annealing experiments of the irradiated materials showed complete recrystallization of La2Ti2O7 at 775 °C and of Gd2Ti2O7 at 850 °C. The annealing behavior is discussed in terms of enhanced damage recovery in La2Ti2O7, compared to the pyrochlore compounds Gd2Ti2O7. The difference in the recrystallization behavior may be related to structural constraints, i.e., reconstructing a low symmetry versus a high symmetry phase.

The mitochondrion role changes during the digenetic life cycle of African trypanosomes. Owing to the low abundance of glucose in the insect vector (tsetse flies) the parasites are dependent upon a fully functional mitochondrion, capable of performing oxidative phosphorylation. Nevertheless, inside the mammalian host (bloodstream forms), which is rich in nutrients, parasite proliferation relies on glycolysis, and the mitochondrion is partially redundant. In this work we perform a comparative study of the mitochondrial genome (kinetoplast) in different strains of Trypanosoma vivax. The comparison was conducted between a West African strain that goes through a complete life cycle and two American strains that are mechanically transmitted (by different vectors) and remain as bloodstream forms only. It was found that while the African strain has a complete and apparently fully functional kinetoplast, the American T. vivax strains have undergone a drastic process of mitochondrial genome degradation, in spite of the recent introduction of these parasites in America. Many of their genes exhibit different types of mutations that are disruptive of function such as major deletions, frameshift causing indels and missense mutations. Moreover, all but three genes (A6-ATPase, RPS12 and MURF2) are not edited in the American strains, whereas editing takes place normally in all (editable) genes from the African strain. Two of these genes, A6-ATPase and RPS12, are known to play an essential function during bloodstream stage. Analysis of the minicircle population shows that its diversity has been greatly reduced, remaining mostly those minicircles that carry guide RNAs necessary for the editing of A6-ATPase and RPS12. The fact that these two genes remain functioning normally, as opposed to that reported in Trypanosoma brucei-like trypanosomes that restrict their life cycle to the bloodstream forms, along with other differences, is indicative that the American T. vivax strains are following a novel evolutionary pathway.

American trypanosomiasis is a chronic and endemic disease, which affects millions of people. Trypanosoma cruzi, its causative agent, has a life cycle that involves complex morphological and functional transitions, as well as a variety of environmental conditions. This requires a tight regulation of gene expression, which is achieved mainly by post-transcriptional regulation. In this work we conducted an RNAseq analysis of the three major life cycle stages of T. cruzi, amastigotes, epimastigotes and trypomastigotes. This analysis allowed us to delineate specific transcriptomic profiling for each stage, and also to identify those biological processes of major relevance in each state. Stage specific expression profiling evidenced the plasticity of T. cruzi to adapt quickly to the different conditions, with particular focus on membrane remodeling and metabolic shifts along the life cycle. Epimastigotes, which replicate in the gut of insect vector, showed higher expression on genes related to energy metabolism, mainly Krebs cycle, respiratory chain and oxidative phosphorylation related genes, and anabolism related genes associated to nucleotide and steroid biosynthesis; also a general down regulation of surface glycoproteins was seen at this stage. Trypomastigotes, living extracellularly in the bloodstream of mammals, express a plethora of surface proteins and signaling genes involved in invasion and evasion of immune response. Amastigotes mostly express membrane transporters and genes involved in regulation of cell cycle, an also express a specific subset of surface glycoproteins coding genes. In addition, these results allowed to improve the annotation of Dm28c genome, identifying new ORFs and set the stage for construction of networks of co-expression, which can give clues about coded proteins of unknown functions.

Models with extended Higgs sectors can contain several additional Higgs states, heavier or lighter than the SM Higgs boson. The couplings of lighter extra states to SM particles can be strongly reduced, leading to small cross sections for their direct production. Heavier extra states can have larger couplings to SM particles and, moreover, have large branching fractions into lighter extra states, notably into a SM-like Higgs boson accompagnied by another Higgs state which can be lighter or heavier than 125$\sim$GeV. Motivated by corresponding scenarios in the NMSSM we study the prospects for the discovery or exclusion of cascade decays $ggF \to H_3 \to H_2 + H_1$ in the $b\bar{b}b\bar{b}$, $b\bar{b}\tau\tau$ and $b\bar{b}\gamma\gamma$ final states where either $H_1$ or $H_2$ can be SM-like. Significant regions of the NMSSM parameter space can be tested by these searches. These are, however, not confined to models of the NMSSM type., Comment: 34 pages, 64 figures, explanations, figures and reference added, to appear in JHEP

Polycrystalline La2Ti2O7 powders have been irradiated with 2.0 GeV 181Ta ions up to a fluence of 1 × 1013 ions/cm2. Radiation-induced structural modifications were analyzed using synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction (XRD), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). An increase in the amorphous fraction as a function of fluence was revealed by XRD and Raman analyses and is evidenced by the reduction in intensity of the sharp Bragg maxima from the crystalline regions. Concurrently, diffraction maxima and vibrational absorption bands broaden with the increasing amorphous fraction. The cross-section for the crystalline-to-amorphous transformation (ion tracks) was determined by quantitative analysis of XRD patterns yielding a track diameter of d = 7.2 ± 0.9 nm. Slightly larger track diameters were obtained directly from TEM images (d = 10.6 ± 0.8 nm) and SAXS analysis (d = 10.6 ± 0.3 nm). High-resolution TEM images revealed that single tracks are entirely amorphous without any outer crystalline, disordered shell as found in pyrochlore oxides of the same stoichiometry. The large ratio of ionic radii of the A- and B-site cations (rA/rB = 1.94) means that disordering over the A- and B-sites is energetically unfavorable.

The formation of ion tracks was studied in amorphous Ge for irradiation with Au ions with energies of 89 MeV, 185 MeV and 2.19 GeV. Synchrotron based small-angle X-ray scattering revealed an underlying core–shell morphology of the ion tracks for all irradiation energies. While the ion track dimensions increase with the electronic energy loss for the lower irradiation energies, the ion track radius remains unchanged for the highest energy which indicates an effect of the projectile velocity on the process of ion track formation.

Neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:Y3Al5O12 or Nd:YAG) crystals were irradiated with 2.2 GeV 197Au ions. Ion track formation was investigated using synchrotron based small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cylindrical ion tracks consisted of an amorphous core with sharp boundaries within the crystalline matrix. The SAXS results, modelled as long cylindrical tracks, provided a constant track density that is 0.6 ± 0.3% different to that of the surrounding matrix. The average track radii determined by both techniques were in excellent agreement, 4.4 ± 0.1 nm from SAXS and 4.4 ± 0.5 nm from TEM. A comparison with previous results of ion tracks in YAG indicates that the track radius is not affected by the presence of 1 mol% Nd dopant.

Small angle X-ray scattering measurements were performed on natural apatite of different thickness irradiated with 2.2 GeV Au swift heavy ions. The evolution of the track radius along the full ion track length was estimated by considering the electronic energy loss and the velocity of the ions. The shape of the track is nearly cylindrical, slightly widening with a maximum diameter approximately 30 μm before the ions come to rest, followed by a rapid narrowing towards the end within a cigar-like contour. Measurements of average ion track radii in samples of different thicknesses, i.e. containing different sections of the tracks are in good agreement with the shape estimate.

Ion tracks were created in olivine from San Carlos, Arizona (95% Mg2SiO4), apatite (Ca5(PO4)3(F,Cl,O)) from Durango, Mexico, and synthetic silicates with the apatite structure: Nd8Sr2(SiO4)6O2 and Nd8Ca2(SiO4)6O2 using 1.6 and 2.2 GeV Au ions. The morphology and annealing behaviour of the tracks were investigated by means of synchrotron based small angle X-ray scattering in combination with ex situ annealing. Tracks in olivine annealed above ∼400 °C undergo a significant change in track radius due to recrystallisation of the damage tracks. At temperatures higher than 620 °C, the scattering images indicate fragmentation of the track cylinders into smaller subsections. Ion tracks were annealed at elevated temperatures up to 400 °C in the Durango and Ca-britholite, and up to 560 °C in Sr-britholite. While there was a significant change in the track radii in the Durango apatite, tracks in the two synthetic samples remained almost unchanged.

Fission track (FT) thermochornology is essentially based on empirical fits to annealing data of FTs revealed by chemical etching, because, until now, unetched, latent FTs could not be examined analytically at the atomic-scale. The major challenge to such an analysis has been the random orientation of FTs and their extremely small diameters. Here we use high-energy ions (2.2 GeV Au or 80 MeV Xe) to simulate FT formation along specific crystallographic orientations. By combining results from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of single tracks and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) for millions of tracks, a precise picture of track morphology as a function of orientation is obtained. High-resolution analysis reveals that orientation affects the shape of tracks in apatite and zircon through the preferential creation of damage along directions with highest atomic density. However, track radius does not depend on orientation, contradicting previous reports. Independent of track orientation, track radii, as measured at each point along the entire length of 80 MeV Xe ion tracks in apatite, can be understood using the thermal spike model of Szenes. Thus, the well-known track annealing anisotropy of apatite is not due to track radius anisotropy. The combination of ion-irradiations with TEM and SAXS analysis provides a unique opportunity to understand and model track formation and annealing under various geologic conditions.

The main objective of this work is to verify the proposed models by comparing computed outcomes with experimental results. For metallic glasses the novel ideal amorphous solid model is used to simulate the structure and the atomic positions which are input into the Debye equation. Computations predict structure factor or scattered intensity which agree well with the experimentally obtained data. For covalent materials, such as amorphous silica or amorphous polyethylene with short range order the Warren approach offers a simple method to predict X-ray scattering in good agreement with experimental data. Neither of the two above methods works well for chalcogenide glasses which require calculations involving spherical harmonics.

American trypanosomiasis is a chronic and endemic disease which affects millions of people. Trypanosoma cruzi, its causative agent, has a life cycle that involves complex morphological and functional transitions, as well as a variety of environmental conditions. This requires a tight regulation of gene expression, which is achieved mainly by post-transcriptional regulation. In this work we conducted an RNAseq analysis of the three major life cycle stages of T. cruzi: amastigotes, epimastigotes and trypomastigotes. This analysis allowed us to delineate specific transcriptomic profiling for each stage, and also to identify those biological processes of major relevance in each state. Stage specific expression profiling evidenced the plasticity of T. cruzi to adapt quickly to different conditions, with particular focus on membrane remodeling and metabolic shifts along the life cycle. Epimastigotes, which replicate in the gut of insect vectors, showed higher expression of genes related to energy metabolism, mainly Krebs cycle, respiratory chain and oxidative phosphorylation related genes, and anabolism related genes associated to nucleotide and steroid biosynthesis; also, a general down-regulation of surface glycoprotein coding genes was seen at this stage. Trypomastigotes, living extracellularly in the bloodstream of mammals, express a plethora of surface proteins and signaling genes involved in invasion and evasion of immune response. Amastigotes mostly express membrane transporters and genes involved in regulation of cell cycle, and also express a specific subset of surface glycoprotein coding genes. In addition, these results allowed us to improve the annotation of the Dm28c genome, identifying new ORFs and set the stage for construction of networks of co-expression, which can give clues about coded proteins of unknown functions.

Ion tracks were created in natural quartz and fluorapatite from Durango, Mexico, by irradiation with 2.2 GeV Au ions at elevated temperatures of up to 913 K. The track radii were analysed using small-angle X-ray scattering, revealing an increase in the ion track radius of approximately 0.1 nm per 100 K increase in irradiation temperature. Molecular dynamics simulations and thermal spike calculations are in good agreement with these values and indicate that the increase in track radii at elevated irradiation temperatures is due to a lower energy required to reach melting of the material. The post-irradiation annealing behaviour studied for apatite remained unchanged.

Based on the Coulomb spike model, track formation depends strongly on the electrical resistivity of a material, and ion tracks form only in insulating materials. However, there are no systemic studies of the effect of resistivity on the track formation in materials, such as SrTiO 3 (STO), where with the addition of low concentrations of Nb, the resistivity dramatically decreases covering the entire electronic regime from an insulating to conducting material. In this study, high energy (8.6 MeV/u) ion-induced track formation in STO was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques as a function of Nb-doping concentrations. Contrary to the Coulomb spike model’s predictions, the Nb-doping had no evident influence on track formation, as confirmed by both TEM and SAXS. This may be the result of the low electron density in the bulk material or the minor effect of the Nb-doping on the bonding in the material. In situ TEM studies of low energy (1 MeV Kr 2+ ) ion irradiations show that the low concentration doping has a minor influence on the crystalline-to-amorphous transformation as a result of subtle structural variations of incorporated impurity atoms.

Spherical silver nanoparticles were prepared by means of ion beam synthesis in lithium niobate. The embedded nanoparticles were then irradiated with energetic (84)Kr and (197)Au ions, resulting in different electronic energy losses between 8.1 and 27.5 keV nm(-1) in the top layer of the samples. Due to the high electronic energy losses of the irradiating ions, molten ion tracks are formed inside the lithium niobate in which the elongated Ag nanoparticles are formed. This process is strongly dependent on the initial particle size and leads to a broad aspect ratio distribution. Extinction spectra of the samples feature the extinction maximum with shoulders on either side. While the maximum is caused by numerous remaining spherical nanoparticles, the shoulders can be attributed to elongated particles. The latter could be verified by COMSOL simulations. The extinction spectra are thus a superposition of the spectra of all individual particles.

Ion tracks were generated in crystalline San Carlos olivine (Mg,Fe) 2 SiO 4 and Durango apatite Ca 10 (PO 4 ) 6 F 2 using different heavy ions ( 58 Ni, 101 Ru, 129 Xe, 197 Au, and 238 U) with energies ranging between 185 MeV and 2.6 GeV. The tracks and their annealing behavior were studied by means of synchrotron based small angle X-ray scattering in combination with in situ annealing. Track radii vary as a function of electronic energy loss but are very similar in both minerals. Furthermore, the annealing behavior of the track radii has been investigated and preliminary results reveal a lower recovery rate of the damaged area in olivine compared with apatite.

A superconducting solenoidal fusion product separator, based on a 6.5 T solenoid, has been developed at the Australian National University to enable separation and detection of evaporation residues following heavy-ion fusion reactions. This device, with an angular coverage of 0.45 – 9 . 5 ∘ , produces a spatial separation between the fusion products and the intense background of elastically scattered beam particles. Its high efficiency allows precise measurement of nuclear fusion cross-sections, as well as being ideal for evaporation residue coincidence measurements. The essential features of the system and the first results obtained are described.

Many portable devices need a simple authentication system to protect them from being used by an unauthenticated person such as a thief. The security of traditional methods such as pin codes or passwords is limited by shoulder surfing where a casual or intentional observer observes an authentication session and derives all information necessary for authentication. Graphical authentication systems have been developed to forestall this attack. We present here an especially simple variant of a graphical authentication system based on the capacity of humans to recognize faces well. In our challenge-response scheme, a user is presented with a row of typically three faces and needs to decide whether the number of “friends” is even or odd. We present here an analysis of security and usability of this scheme.

Complete and incomplete fusion cross sections for the 9 Be + 144 Sm reaction have been measured at near-barrier energies, using the delayed X-ray detection technique. At above-barrier energies these show a suppression of complete fusion for this weakly bound projectile on an intermediate mass target. The suppression factor, attributed to 9 Be break-up, was deduced from a comparison of complete fusion yields with coupled-channels calculations, and appears consistent with measured incomplete fusion product yields. At ∼10%, it is considerably smaller than the value of ∼30% previously found for a 208 Pb target. Simultaneous measurements of elastic and inelastic scattering permit a clearer picture of the reaction mechanisms.

The performance diagnostic checklist (PDC) was administered to examine the variables influencing the offering of promotional stamps by employees at two sites of a restaurant franchise. PDC results suggested that a lack of appropriate antecedents, equipment and processes, and consequences were responsible for the deficits. Based on these results, an intervention consisting of task clarification, self-monitoring, equipment modification, goal setting, and graphic feedback was implemented and evaluated with a multiple baseline design across settings. The results for restaurant 1 yielded baseline and intervention means of 25% and 72%, respectively. The results for restaurant 2 yielded baseline and intervention means of 11% and 80%, respectively. Overall, these results suggest that the PDC is a useful tool for guiding intervention selection for performance deficits which occur across more than one site.

We describe the behaviour of the fusion, break-up, reaction cross sections and elastic scattering of weakly bound nuclei, at near and above barrier energies. The total fusion cross sections are not affected by the break-up process at this energy regime. The elastic break-up cross sections are important at energies close and above the Coulomb barrier, even in systems with light targets, and increase the reaction cross sections. We also show that the break-up process at near and sub-barrier energies is responsible for the vanishing of the usual threshold anomaly of the optical potential and gives rise to a new type of anomaly, named by us as break-up threshold anomaly.

Ion tracks in amorphous Fe"8"0B"2"0, produced by irradiation with 11.1MeV/u Au ions, were characterized using synchrotron based small angle X-ray scattering. The tracks resemble long cylindrical structures with a radius of 8.2+/-0.1nm. Annealing experiments reveal an activation energy for track recovery E"a=0.39+/-0.10eV. Wide angle X-ray scattering measurements of irradiated and unirradiated amorphous Fe"8"0B"2"0 samples indicate enhanced recrystallization for the irradiated material.