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At least 1,027 records · Page 57

Search for heavy dark matter from dwarf spheroidal galaxies: leveraging cascades and subhalo models

Abstract TheFermiLarge Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) has been widely used to search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter signals due to its unparalleled sensitivity in the GeV energy band. The leading constraints for WIMP byFermi-LAT are obtained from the analyses of dwarf spheroidal galaxies within the Local Group, which are compelling targets for dark matter searches due to their relatively low astrophysical backgrounds and high dark matter content. In the meantime, the search for heavy dark matter with masses above TeV remains a compelling and relatively unexplored frontier. In this study, we utilize 14-yearFermi-LAT data to search for dark matter annihilation and decay signals in 8 classical dwarf spheroidal galaxies within the Local Group. We consider secondary emission caused by electromagnetic cascades of prompt gamma rays and electrons/positrons from dark matter, which enables us to extend the search withFermi-LAT to heavier dark matter cases. We also update the dark matter subhalo model with informative priors respecting the fact that they reside in subhalos of our Milky Way halo aiming to enhance the robustness of our results. We place constraints on dark matter annihilation cross section and decay lifetime for dark matter masses ranging from 10 3 GeV to 10 11 GeV, where our limits are more stringent than those obtained by many other high-energy gamma-ray instruments.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

TCP Throughput Profiles Using Measurements over Dedicated Connections

Wide-area data transfers in high-performance computing infrastructures are increasingly being carried over dynamically provisioned dedicated network connections that provide high capacities with no competing traffic. We present extensive TCP throughput measurements and time traces over a suite of physical and emulated 10 Gbps connections with 0-366 ms round-trip times (RTTs). Contrary to the general expectation, they show significant statistical and temporal variations, in addition to the overall dependencies on the congestion control mechanism, buffer size, and the number of parallel streams. We analyze several throughput profiles that have highly desirable concave regions wherein the throughput decreases slowly with RTTs, in stark contrast to the convex profiles predicted by various TCP analytical models. We present a generic throughput model that abstracts the ramp-up and sustainment phases of TCP flows, which provides insights into qualitative trends observed in measurements across TCP variants: (i) slow-start followed by well-sustained throughput leads to concave regions; (ii) large buffers and multiple parallel streams expand the concave regions in addition to improving the throughput; and (iii) stable throughput dynamics, indicated by a smoother Poincare map and smaller Lyapunov exponents, lead to wider concave regions. These measurements and analytical results together enable us to select a TCP variant and its parameters for a given connection to achieve high throughput with statistical guarantees.

Rao, Nageswara S.↗

Performance Evaluation of Darshan 3.0.0 on the Cray XC30

Abstract—Darshan is a lightweight I/O characterization tool used to gather and summarize salient I/O workload statistics from HPC applications. Darshan was designed to minimize any possible perturbations of an application’s performance, leading it to be enabled by default on a number of production HPC systems. For each file accessed by a given application, Darshan records the count and types of I/O operations performed, histograms of access sizes, cumulative timers on the amount of time spent doing I/O, and other statistical data. This type of data has proved invaluable in understanding and improving the I/O performance of HPC applications. Darshan 3.0.0 is the new modularized version of the traditional Darshan library and file format, allowing users to easily add more in-depth I/O characterization data to Darshan logs. In this work we perform an empirical evaluation of Darshan 3.0.0 to ensure that it continues to meet performance expectations for broad deployment. In particular, we evaluate the imposed overhead on instrumented I/O operations, time taken to shut down and generate corresponding Darshan log files, and resultant log file sizes for different workloads. These performance results are compared to results of Darshan 2.3.0 on the Edison XC30 system at NERSC to determine whether the new version is lightweight enough to run full-time on production HPC systems. Our evaluation shows that Darshan has limited impact on application I/O performance and can fully generate a corresponding log file for most application workloads in under two seconds.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

CRADA 611 Noria Energy R6 (Abstract)

For the past several years, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have provided technical assistance to the recipients of Department of Energy (DOE) -funded voucher programs, namely American-Made Challenges (AMC), the Incubator Program, and the Small Business Vouchers Program. Drawing on lessons learned and from first-hand experiences, NREL is leading a new holistic and streamlined voucher program aimed at strengthening ties between American innovators and the national labs. This new program, “Vouchers to Enable Laboratory and Organizational Collaboration for Innovation and Technology Improvements,” or VELOCITI, will leverage the successful elements of past programs, create administrative efficiencies, and enable the buildout of a national program to drive strong relationships between entrepreneurs and the national labs to accelerate the roll-out of new technologies in the US solar sector.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Vouchers to Enable Laboratory and Organizational Collaboration for Innovation and Technology Improvements (VELOCITI) (Abstract)

For the past several years, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) have provided technical assistance to the recipients of Department of Energy (DOE) -funded voucher programs, namely American-Made Challenges (AMC), the Incubator Program, and the Small Business Vouchers Program. Drawing on lessons learned and from first-hand experiences, NREL and SNL are co-leading a new holistic and streamlined voucher program aimed at strengthening ties between American innovators and the national labs. This new program, “Vouchers to Enable Laboratory and Organizational Collaboration for Innovation and Technology Improvements,” or VELOCITI, will leverage the successful elements of past programs, create administrative efficiencies, and enable the buildout of a national program to drive strong relationships between entrepreneurs and the national labs to accelerate the roll-out of new technologies in the US solar sector.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Syntaxin-4 is essential for IgE secretion by plasma cells

Highlights: •Knock-down of syntaxin-4 in U266 plasma cells resulted in reduction of IgE secretion. •Knock-down of syntaxin-4 also leads to the accumulation of IgE in the cell. •Immuno-fluorescence staining shows co-localisation of IgE and syntaxin-4 in U266 cells. •Findings suggest a critical requirement for syntaxin-4 in IgE secretion from plasma cells. -- Abstract: The humoral immune system provides a crucial first defense against the invasion of microbial pathogens via the secretion of antigen specific immunoglobulins (Ig). The secretion of Ig is carried out by terminally differentiated B-lymphocytes called plasma cells. Despite the key role of plasma cells in the immune response, the mechanisms by which they constitutively traffic large volumes of Ig out of the cell is poorly understood. The involvement of Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins in the regulation of protein trafficking from cells has been well documented. Syntaxin-4, a member of the Qa SNARE syntaxin family has been implicated in fusion events at the plasma membrane in a number of cells in the immune system. In this work we show that knock-down of syntaxin-4 in the multiple myeloma U266 human plasma cell line results in a loss of IgE secretion and accumulation of IgE within the cells. Furthermore, we show that IgE co-localises with syntaxin-4 in U266 plasma cells suggesting direct involvement in secretion at the plasma membrane. This study demonstrates that syntaxin-4 plays a critical role in the secretion of IgE from plasma cells and sheds some light on the mechanisms by which these cells constitutively traffic vesicles to the surface for secretion. An understanding of this machinery may be beneficial in identifying potential therapeutic targets in multiple myeloma and autoimmune disease where over-production of Ig leads to severe pathology in patients.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Refining whisker size of 2024Al/Al18B4O33w composite through extrusion and its effects on the material's micro-structures and mechanical properties

Highlights: • The nonuniform distributions of stress and velocity along whisker lead to whisker breakage. • The microcrack between broken whiskers can propagate into interface or matrix, related to the wedge angle of broken whisker. • The whisker breakage and staggered result in the decreasing distance between neighboring whiskers. • The smaller distance between neighboring whiskers reduces the resistance to the propagation of crack resulting in the lower ultimate tensile strength of extruded composite. - Abstract: Hot extrusion is used to improve the distribution of whiskers and refine the whisker sizes of 2024Al/Al{sub 18}B{sub 4}O{sub 33}w composite. The grain size and the ultimate tensile strength of the extruded 2024Al/Al{sub 18}B{sub 4}O{sub 33}w composite are analyzed. The results show that the average length of whiskers decreases due to the whisker breakage. The nonuniform distributions of stress and velocity along the whisker lead to whisker breakage. The microcrack between the broken whiskers can propagate into the interface or the matrix, related to the wedge angle of the broken whisker. The extrusion is beneficial to the whisker staggered and makes it easy for the microcracks filled with matrix. The whisker breakage and the whisker staggered result in the decreasing distance between the neighboring whiskers. Due to the dislocation motion constrained by matrix and the overlap of the deformation areas, the decreasing distance between the neighboring whiskers promoting the recrystallization results in the smaller grain size. During tensile tests, due to the smaller resistance with the smaller distance between the neighboring whiskers, the cracks between the progressive broken whiskers are easy to coalesce resulting in the lower ultimate tensile strength of the extruded composite.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Accounting for conformational flexibility and torsional anharmonicity in the H + CH{sub 3}CH{sub 2}OH hydrogen abstraction reactions: A multi-path variational transition state theory study

This work reports a detailed theoretical study of the hydrogen abstraction reactions from ethanol by atomic hydrogen. The calculated thermal rate constants take into account torsional anharmonicity and conformational flexibility, in addition to the variational and tunneling effects. Specifically, the kinetics calculations were performed by using multi-path canonical variational transition state theory with least-action path tunneling corrections, to which we have added the two-dimensional non-separable method to take into account torsional anharmonicity. The multi-path thermal rate constant is expressed as a sum over conformational reaction channels. Each of these channels includes all the transition states that can be reached by internal rotations. The results show that, in the interval of temperatures between 250 and 2500 K, the account for multiple paths leads to higher thermal rate constants with respect to the single path approach, mainly at low and at high temperatures. In addition, torsional anharmonicity enhances the slope of the Arrhenius plot in this range of temperatures. Finally, we show that the incorporation of tunneling into the hydrogen abstraction reactions substantially changes the contribution of each of the transition states to the conformational reaction channel.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Calculation of Dynamical Response Functions Using a Bound-State Method

Abstract We investigate a method to extract response functions (dynamical polarisabilities) directly from a bound-state approach applied to calculations of perturbation-induced reactions. The use of a square-integrable basis leads to a response in the form of a sum of $$\delta $$ δ functions. We integrate this over energy and fit a smooth function to the resulting stepwise-continuous one. Its derivative gives the final approximation to the physical response function. We show that the method reproduces analytical results where known, and analyse the details for a variety of models. We apply it to some simple models, using the stochastic variational method as the numerical method. Albeit we find that this approach, and other numerical techniques, have some difficulties with the threshold behavior in coupled-channel problems with multiple thresholds, its stochastic nature allows us to extract robust results even for such cases.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Trisomy of the Dscr1 gene suppresses early progression of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia driven by oncogenic Kras

Highlights: •A single extra copy of Dscr1 restrains progression of PanIN-1A to PanIN-1B lesions. •Dscr1 trisomy attenuates calcineurin–NFAT pathway in neoplastic ductal epithelium. •Dscr1 trisomy leads to upregulation of p15{sup INK4b} in neoplastic ductal epithelium. •A single extra copy of Dscr1 reduces epithelial proliferation in early PanIN lesions. •Dscr1 trisomy may protect Down syndrome individuals from pancreatic cancer. -- Abstract: Individuals with Down syndrome exhibit remarkably reduced incidence of most solid tumors including pancreatic cancer. Multiple mechanisms arising from the genetic complexity underlying Down syndrome has been suggested to contribute to such a broad cancer protection. In this study, utilizing a genetically engineered mouse model of pancreatic cancer, we demonstrate that trisomy of the Down syndrome critical region-1 (Dscr1), an endogenous calcineurin inhibitor localized on chromosome 21, suppresses the progression of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia-1A (PanIN-1A) to PanIN-1B lesions without affecting the initiation of PanIN lesions mediated by oncogenic Kras{sup G12D}. In addition, we show that Dscr1 trisomy attenuates nuclear localization of nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) accompanied by upregulation of the p15{sup Ink4b} tumor suppressor and reduction of cell proliferation in early PanIN lesions. Our data suggest that attenuation of calcineurin–NFAT signaling in neoplastic pancreatic ductal epithelium by a single extra copy of Dscr1 is sufficient to inhibit the progression of early PanIN lesions driven by oncogenic Kras, and thus may be a potential mechanism underlying reduced incidence of pancreatic cancer in Down syndrome individuals.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Age-dependent changes in diastolic Ca{sup 2+} and Na{sup +} concentrations in dystrophic cardiomyopathy: Role of Ca{sup 2+} entry and IP{sub 3}

Highlights: • Age-dependent increase in [Ca{sup 2+}]{sub d} and [Na{sup +}]{sub d} in mdx cardiomyocytes. • Gadolinium significantly reduced both [Ca{sup 2+}]{sub d} and [Na{sup +}]{sub d} at all ages. • IP{sub 3}-pathway inhibition reduced cations concentrations in dystrophic cardiomyocytes. - Abstract: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a lethal X-inherited disease caused by dystrophin deficiency. Besides the relatively well characterized skeletal muscle degenerative processes, DMD is also associated with a dilated cardiomyopathy that leads to progressive heart failure at the end of the second decade. The aim of the present study was to characterize the diastolic Ca{sup 2+} concentration ([Ca{sup 2+}]{sub d}) and diastolic Na{sup +} concentration ([Na{sup +}]{sub d}) abnormalities in cardiomyocytes isolated from 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month old mdx mice using ion-selective microelectrodes. In addition, the contributions of gadolinium (Gd{sup 3+})-sensitive Ca{sup 2+} entry and inositol triphosphate (IP{sub 3}) signaling pathways in abnormal [Ca{sup 2+}]{sub d} and [Na{sup +}]{sub d} were investigated. Our results showed an age-dependent increase in both [Ca{sup 2+}]{sub d} and [Na{sup +}]{sub d} in dystrophic cardiomyocytes compared to those isolated from age-matched wt mice. Gd{sup 3+} treatment significantly reduced both [Ca{sup 2+}]{sub d} and [Na{sup +}]{sub d} at all ages. In addition, blockade of the IP{sub 3}-pathway with either U-73122 or xestospongin C significantly reduced ion concentrations in dystrophic cardiomyocytes. Co-treatment with U-73122 and Gd{sup 3+} normalized both [Ca{sup 2+}]{sub d} and [Na{sup +}]{sub d} at all ages in dystrophic cardiomyocytes. These data showed that loss of dystrophin in mdx cardiomyocytes produced an age-dependent intracellular Ca{sup 2+} and Na{sup +} overload mediated at least in part by enhanced Ca{sup 2+} entry through Gd{sup 3+} sensitive transient receptor potential channels (TRPC), and by IP{sub 3} receptors.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

An interpenetrated pillared-layer MOF: Synthesis, structure, sorption and magnetic properties

A new three-dimensional porous framework [Co{sub 2}(bpdc){sub 2}(H{sub 2}bpz)]∙2(DMF)·5(H{sub 2}O) (1) (H{sub 2}bpdc=4,4′-biphenyldicarboxylic acid, H{sub 2}bpz=3,3′,5,5′-tetramethyl-4,4′-bipyrazole) has been solvothermally synthesized by employing mixed H{sub 2}bpdc and H{sub 2}bpz ligands. 1 is a pillared-layer framework based on a binuclear paddle-wheel Co{sub 2}(O{sub 2}C-R){sub 4} cluster, and exhibits a 2-fold interpenetrated 6-connected pcu topology. H{sub 2}bpz bridges Co{sub 2}(O{sub 2}C-R){sub 4} clusters with an angular coordination configuration to form interesting left- and right-handed helical chains. 1 possesses a two-dimensional porous system decorated by uncoordinated pyrazole –NH groups of H{sub 2}bpz, leading to high adsorption selectivities for CO{sub 2} over N{sub 2} and H{sub 2}. In addition, the strong antiferromagnetic interactions between the Co{sup 2+} ions in cluster were observed. - Graphical abstract: A new pillared-layer porous framework has been constructed by paddle-wheel Co{sub 2}(O{sub 2}C-R){sub 4} cluster and H{sub 2}bpdc–H{sub 2}bpz mixed ligands, displaying adsorption selectivity and antiferromagnetic properties. Display Omitted - Highlights: • We present a new pillared-layer framework based on paddle-wheel Co{sub 2}(O{sub 2}C-R){sub 4} cluster. • The framework possesses a 2-fold interpenetrated pcu topology. • The framework displays adsorption selectivity and antiferromagnetic properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Investigation on paper cup waste degradation by bacterial consortium and Eudrillus eugeinea through vermicomposting

Highlights: • This piece of work high lights the addition of microbial consortia to the vermin bin reduces the period of degradation of paper cup waste. • This study proves the degradation of paper cup waste through the instrumental analysis like FT-IR, SEM and XRD. • This experimental work leads to the fine separation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from paper cups through the action of microbial consortium. • This work highlights the reuse of waste (paper cup waste) into value added product (Organic manure). - Abstract: Disposable Paper cups are a threat to the environment and are composed of 90% high strength paper with 5% thin coating of polyethylene. This polyethylene prevents the paper cup from undergoing degradation in the soil. Hence, in the present study two different approaches towards the management of paper cup waste through vermicomposting technology has been presented. The experimental setup includes 2 plastic reactors namely Vermicompost (VC) (Cow dung + Paper cup waste + Earthworm (Eudrillus eugeinea)) and Vermicompost with bacterial consortium (VCB) (Cow dung + Paper cup waste + Eudrillus eugeinea + Microbial consortia such as Bacillus anthracis, B. endophyticus, B. funiculus, B. thuringiensis, B. cereus, B. toyonensis, Virigibacillius chiquenigi, Acinetobacter baumanni and Lactobacillus pantheries). After treatment the physicochemical parameters were analysed. The results showed that the values of TOC (26.52 and 37.47%), TOM (36.01 and 33.13%) and C/N (15.02 and 11.92%) ratio are reduced in both VC and VCB whereas, the values of pH (8.01 and 7.56), EC (1.2–1.9 µs{sup −1} and 1.4–1.9 µs{sup −1}), TP (46.1 and 51%), TMg (50.52 and 64.3%), TCa (50 and 64%), TNa (1.39 and 1.75%) and TK (1.75 and 1.86%) have increased. This study substantiates the addition of the microbial consortia augmenting the degradation in VCB reactor by reducing the period of process from 19 to 12 weeks. Further the characterisation of the vermicompost prepared from paper cup with FT-IR shows high degradation of carboxylic and aliphatic group; SEM analysis shows the disaggregation of cellulose and lignin; XRD shows the degradation of cellulose. All these analyses endorse the degradation of the paper cup waste faster with microbes (VCB). Thus, this present study high lights management of the paper cup waste in a relatively short period of time.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A DFT Investigation of the Mechanism of Propene Ammoxidation over α-Bismuth Molybdate

We investigated the mechanisms and energetics for the propene oxidation and ammoxidation occurring on the (010) surface of Bi 2 Mo 3 O 12 using density functional theory (DFT). An energetically feasible sequence of elementary steps for propene oxidation to acrolein, propene ammoxidation to acrylonitrile, and acrolein ammoxidation to acrylonitrile is proposed. Consistent with experimental findings, the rate-limiting step for both propene oxidation and ammoxidation is the initial hydrogen abstraction from the methyl group of propene, which is calculated to have an apparent activation energy of 27.3 kcal/mol. The allyl species produced in this reaction is stabilized as an allyl alkoxide, which can then undergo hydrogen abstraction to form acrolein or react with ammonia adsorbed on under-coordinated surface Bi 3+ cations to form allylamine. Dehydrogenation of allylamine is shown to produce acrylonitrile, whereas reaction with additional adsorbed ammonia leads to the formation of acetonitrile and hydrogen cyanide. The dehydrogenation of allyalkoxide species is found to have a significantly higher activation barrier than reaction with adsorbed ammonia, consistent with the observation that very little acrolein is produced when ammonia is present. Finally, we found that rapid reoxidation of the catalyst surface to release wate the driving force for all reactions involving the cleavage of C-H or N-H bonds, because practically all of these steps are endothermic. (Chemical Equation Presented).

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Understanding End‐of‐Century Snowpack Changes Over California's Sierra Nevada

Abstract This study uses dynamical and statistical methods to understand end‐of‐century mean changes to Sierra Nevada snowpack. Dynamical results reveal that middle‐elevation watersheds experience considerably more rain than snow during winter, leading to substantial snowpack declines by spring. Despite some high‐elevation watersheds receiving slightly more snow in January and February, the warming signal still dominates across the wet season and leads to notable declines by springtime. A statistical model is created to mimic dynamical results for 1 April snowpack, allowing for an efficient downscaling of all available general circulation models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5. For all general circulation models and emission scenarios, dramatic 1 April snowpack loss occurs at elevations below 2,500 m, despite increased precipitation in many general circulation models. Only 36% (±12%) of historical 1 April total snow water equivalent volume remains at the century's end under a “business‐as‐usual” emission scenario, with 70% (±12%) remaining under a realistic “mitigation” scenario.

Sun, Fengpeng↗