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Search for a dark baryon in the Ξ<sup>−</sup> → − + <i>invisible</i> decay
No full textA search for a dark baryon is performed for the first time in the two-body decay using (10.087 ± 0.044) × 109 J/ψ events collected at a center-of-mass energy of with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. No significant signal is observed, and the 90% (95%) confidence level upper limits on the branching fraction are determined to be (), (), (), () and (), under the dark baryon mass hypotheses of 1.07 GeV/c2, 1.10 GeV/c2, (1.116 GeV/c2), 1.13 GeV/c2, and 1.16 GeV/c2, respectively. The constraints obtained on the Wilson coefficients and are more stringent than the previous limits derived from the LHC searches for the colored mediators
Calculation of Compound Intake Levels Using Integrated Food Compound Databases and Food Intake Data
No full textBackground: Despite substantial research, the mechanisms through which food influences disease largely remain unclear. Analyzing cohort data at the level of food compounds (i.e. individual molecules present in foods) may reveal new insights, and as a first step, we previously integrated 3 food compound databases. Objectives: This study aimed to combine the integrated food compound databases with food intake data to estimate compound intake levels and evaluate their plausibility. Methods: We used food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) records from 135 adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease from University Medical Center Utrecht. Generic FFQ-based dietary data were translated into compound intake values. We dealt with differing compound values across the databases by applying a systematic prioritization strategy to obtain a single representative value per compound in each food item. Intake amounts of 770 compounds were calculated for all 135 subjects. For vitamins and minerals, plausibility was assessed by checking whether the p50 of our calculated intake fell within the p5 to p95 range of Dutch population intake data. For fatty acids and polyphenols, plausibility was assessed by evaluating whether percentile ranges overlapped with those reported in literature. Results: Our findings indicate that all p50 values of our calculated intake data fell within the p5 to p90 range of the Dutch population intake data for vitamins and minerals. For fatty acids and polyphenols, intake ranges overlapped with those reported in literature for all compounds, but showed more deviation, likely due to regional dietary differences and the absence of standardized population-based intake benchmarks. Conclusions: Our study provides a foundation for food-health research by offering plausible intake estimates for a wide range of dietary compounds derived from Dutch cohort data.</p
Integration of Imprint-Free and Low Coercivity Ferroelectric BaTiO<sub>3</sub>Thin Films on Silicon
No full textHighly crystalline ferroelectric oxides integrated on Si hold great promise for energy-efficient memory and logic technologies. Exploiting epitaxial strain engineering in these materials is, however, severely hampered on Si, where the large structural mismatch often results in an inferior interfacial quality and causes degradation of the ferroelectric switching characteristics. In this work, we present the growth of single-crystalline BaTiO3 thin films on Si, exhibiting imprint-free switching, low coercivity, high remanent polarization, and no fatigue for over 1010 switching cycles. We accomplish this via the insertion of a SrSn1–xTixO3 layer on SrTiO3-buffered Si. This layer serves as a pseudosubstrate that alleviates the thermal strain that the Si substrate imposes on the BaTiO3 layer, while simultaneously providing moderate compressive strain that stabilizes a pure out-of-plane polarization. Thus, our work paves the way toward the fabrication of Si-compatible, low-power-consuming ferroelectric devices.</p
De invloed van kiezers op de samenstelling van de Eerste Kamer in getallen
No full textDe verkiezing van de Eerste Kamer is aanhoudend onderwerp van discussie. In het debat blijft één cruciaal aspect echter onderbelicht: de wijze waarop de stemwaardeberekening sinds 1923 de verkiezing vormgeeft. Omdat een groot deel van deze berekening is gebaseerd op het inwonertal, roepen zowel de integratie van Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba in het Nederlandse staatsbestel als de verschuivingen in de bevolkingssamenstelling gedurende de afgelopen eeuw steeds nadrukkelijker de vraag op in hoeverre deze berekeningsmethode nog toekomstbestendig is. In het licht van de grondwettelijk gegarandeerde evenredige vertegenwoordiging en het gelijkelijke kiesrecht van Nederlanders in de Eerste Kamer rijst de vraag of de berekeningsmethode blijvend op het aantal inwoners moet worden afgestemd, of dat het tijd is over te stappen op het aantal kiesgerechtigden als berekeningsmethode
Path and bone-contour regularized unpaired MRI-to-CT translation
No full textAccurate MRI-to-CT translation promises the integration of complementary imaging information without the need for additional imaging sessions. Given the practical challenges associated with acquiring paired MRI and CT scans, the development of robust methods capable of leveraging unpaired datasets is essential for advancing the MRI-to-CT translation. Current unpaired MRI-to-CT translation methods, which predominantly rely on cycle consistency and contrastive learning frameworks, frequently encounter challenges in accurately translating anatomical features that are highly discernible on CT but less distinguishable on MRI, such as bone structures. This limitation renders these approaches less suitable for applications in radiation therapy, where precise bone representation is essential for accurate treatment planning. To address this challenge, we propose a path- and bone-contour regularized approach for unpaired MRI-to-CT translation. In our method, MRI and CT images are projected to a shared latent space, where the MRI-to-CT mapping is modeled as a continuous flow governed by neural ordinary differential equations. The optimal mapping is obtained by minimizing the transition path length of the flow. To enhance the accuracy of translated bone structures, we introduce a trainable neural network to generate bone contours from MRI and implement mechanisms to directly and indirectly encourage the model to focus on bone contours and their adjacent regions. Evaluations conducted on three datasets demonstrate that our method outperforms existing unpaired MRI-to-CT translation approaches, achieving lower overall error rates. Moreover, in a downstream bone segmentation task, our approach exhibits superior performance in preserving the fidelity of bone structures. Our code is available at: https://github.com/kennysyp/PaBoT.</p
Diamagnetic microchip traps for levitated nanoparticle entanglement experiments
No full textThe quantum gravity mediated entanglement protocol offers a method to probe the quantumness of gravitational interactions at nonrelativistic scales. This protocol leverages the Stern-Gerlach effect to create O(µm) spatial superpositions of two nanodiamonds (mass ∼10−15 kg) with nitrogen-vacancy spins, which are then allowed to interact and become entangled solely through the gravitational interaction. Since electromagnetic interactions such as Casimir-Polder and dipole-dipole interactions dominate at this scale, screening them to ensure the masses interact exclusively via gravity is crucial. In this paper, we propose using magnetic traps based on microfabricated wires, which provide strong gradients with relatively modest magnetic fields to trap nanoparticles for interferometric entanglement experiments. The design consists of a small trap to cool the center-of-mass motion of the nanodiamonds and a long trap with a weak direction suitable for creating macroscopic superpositions. In contrast to permanent-magnet-based long traps, the microfabricated wire-based approach allows fast switching of the magnetic trapping and state manipulation potentials and permits integrated superconducting shielding, which can screen both electrostatic and magnetic interactions between nanodiamonds in a gravitational entanglement experiment. The setup also provides a possible platform for other tests of quantum coherence in macroscopic systems and searches for novel short-range forces.</p
Complex Left Branches in Frisian verbs
No full textIn Nanosyntax, bound morphemes are stored pieces of syntactic structure (Starke 2013) that may differ in size and shape. This chapter examines the West Germanic language Modern West Frisian and argues that size differences alone cannot account for the variation in the verbal paradigms. Using the theory of Complex Left Branches (Blix 2022), the authors show how the shape of the relevant morphemes allows for the various phenomena in the Frisian paradigms. First, Frisian hosts two verb classes both having their own inflectional paradigm. Second, Frisian first-person forms are morphophonologically simplex, while the morphosyntactically less complex second and third persons are expressed by multi-morphemic forms. Third, Frisian hosts a phenomenon of so-called Wechselflexion (Dammel 2010) which involves stem allomorphy in some cells of the paradigm. To account for these phenomena, the authors show in this chapter that, besides the size of lexical entries, the shape of lexical entries also matters.</p
Freeze-Drying in Sucrose Followed by Cryomilling Enables the Formulation of sa-mRNA–LNP Powders for Inhalation
No full textBackground: Self-amplifying mRNA (sa-mRNA) represents a promising platform for vaccines and gene therapies, offering sustained protein expression at low doses through self-replication. For vaccines targeting respiratory pathogens, pulmonary delivery of sa-mRNA lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) is particularly advantageous, enabling direct delivery to the infection site and induction of mucosal immunity. Objective: In this study, we evaluated the stability of sa-mRNA–LNPs under refrigerated and frozen conditions and developed a dry powder formulation suitable for inhalation, produced by freeze-drying followed by cryomilling with leucine. Methods: sa-mRNA–LNPs formulated in HEPES buffer with 20% (w/v) sucrose were stored for up to 8 weeks as liquid or freeze-dried samples at various temperatures (−80 °C, −20 °C, 4 °C, and 20 °C). Biological stability was assessed by transfection efficiency in HeLa cells, while physical stability was characterized by encapsulation efficiency, zeta potential, particle size, and polydispersity index. Results: Liquid formulations remained stable for at least 8 weeks at −80 °C and −20 °C but rapidly lost stability at 4 °C and 20 °C. Freeze-drying effectively preserved sa-mRNA–LNP functionality and structural integrity for up to 8 weeks at 4 °C, with only minor structural changes. Subsequent cryomilling in the presence of 4 wt-% leucine produced a respirable dry powder while retaining approximately 60% of the original sa-mRNA–LNP functionality. Although cryomilling induced some structural alterations, the remaining functional fraction remained stable during storage. The resulting powders displayed favorable aerosol performance for deep lung delivery, as demonstrated by cascade impaction (MMAD = 4.13 ± 0.26 µm). Conclusions: In conclusion, freeze-drying effectively preserved sa-mRNA–LNP integrity at 4 °C, whereas cryomilling with leucine produced a respirable dry powder suitable for pulmonary delivery, providing a foundation for globally accessible, needle-free sa-mRNA vaccines against respiratory diseases.</p
