Geometry effects in topologically confined bilayer graphene loops

We investigate the electronic confinement in bilayer graphene by topological loops of different shapes. These loops are created by lateral gates acting via gap inversion on the two graphene sheets. For large-area loops the spectrum is well described by a quantization rule depending only on the loop perimeter. For small sizes, the spectrum depends on the loop shape. We find that zero-energy states exhibit a characteristic pattern that strongly depends on the spatial symmetry. We show this by considering loops of higher to lower symmetry (circle, square, rectangle and irregular polygon). Interestingly, magnetic field causes valley splittings of the states, an asymmetry between energy reversal states, flux periodicities and the emergence of persistent currents.

Accurate detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 genomic and subgenomic mRNAs by ddPCR and meta-transcriptomics analysis

SARS-CoV-2 replication requires the synthesis of a set of structural proteins expressed through discontinuous transcription of ten subgenomic mRNAs (sgmRNAs). Here, we have fine-tuned droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assays to accurately detect and quantify SARS-CoV-2 genomic ORF1ab and sgmRNAs for the nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S) proteins. We analyzed 166 RNA samples from anonymized SARS-CoV-2 positive subjects and we observed a recurrent and characteristic pattern of sgmRNAs expression in relation to the total viral RNA content. Additionally, expression profiles of sgmRNAs, as determined by meta-transcriptomics sequencing of a subset of 110 RNA samples, were highly correlated with those obtained by ddPCR. By providing a comprehensive and dynamic snapshot of the levels of SARS-CoV-2 sgmRNAs in infected individuals, our results may contribute a better understanding of the dynamics of transcription and expression of the genome of SARS-CoV-2 and facilitate the development of more accurate molecular diagnostic tools for the stratification of COVID-19 patients.

Liquid testing with your smartphone

Surface tension is an important property of liquids. It has diverse uses such as testing water contamination, measuring alcohol concentration in drinks, and identifying the presence of protein in urine to detect the onset of kidney failure. Today, measurements of surface tension are done in a lab environment using costly instruments, making it hard to leverage this property in ubiquitous applications. In contrast, we show how to measure surface tension using only a smartphone. We introduce a new algorithm that uses the small waves on the liquid surface as a series of lenses that focus light and generate a characteristic pattern. We then use the phone camera to capture this pattern and measure the surface tension. Our approach is simple, accurate, and available to anyone with a smartphone. Empirical evaluations show that our mobile app can detect water contamination and measure alcohol concentration. Furthermore, it can track protein concentration in the urine, providing an initial at-home test for proteinuria, a dangerous complication that can lead to kidney failure.

Anticipatory 50-kHz Precontact Ultrasonic Vocalizations and Sexual Motivation: Characteristic Pattern of Ultrasound Subtypes in an Individual Analyzed Profile

We verified the hypothesis of the existence of forms of individual-specific differences in the emission of anticipatory precontact vocalization (PVs) indicating individualization related to sexual experience and motivation in male rats. Long-Evans males were individually placed in a chamber and 50-kHz ultrasounds were recorded during 5-min periods. In experiment 1, PVs were recorded before the introduction of a female in four consecutive sessions during the acquisition of sexual experience. In experiment 2, PVs were analyzed in three groups of sexually experienced males: with the highest, moderate, and the lowest sexual motivation based on previous copulatory activity. In both experiments, the total number of ultrasounds, as well as 14 different specific subtypes, was measured. The ultrasound profiles for each male were created by analyzing the proportions of specific dominant subtypes of so-called 50-kHz calls. We decided that the dominant ultrasounds were those that represented more than 10% of the total recorded signals in a particular session. The number of PVs was positively correlated with the acquisition of sexual experience and previous copulatory efficiency (measured as the number of sessions with ejaculation). Furthermore, PVs showed domination of the frequency modulated signals (complex and composite) as well as flat and short with upward ramp ultrasounds with some individual differences, regardless of the level of sexual motivation. The results show a characteristic pattern of PVs and confirm the hypothesis that the number of PVs is a parameter reflecting the level of sexual motivation.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage from sudden gravitational changes

Diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage is commonly attributed to the rupture of intracranial aneurysms or other vascular malformations. Non-aneurysmal hemorrhages often have a characteristic pattern or clear mechanism (e.g. trauma) with an often more benign clinical course. We report the case of a diffuse non-aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage due to sudden gravitational changes encountered during complex airflight maneuvers, complicated by hydrocephalus and cerebral vasospasm. This case illustrates a rare phenomenon that may again be encountered in the future with the advent and advancement of civilian spaceflight.

Analisis Ragam Bahasa Istilah Dalam Iklan Pariwisata Di Media Digital Pada Masa Pandemi Covid-19

This study aimed ro describe and determine the characteristic patterns and the word formation process of various language terms used in tourism advertisements on digital media during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are several new terms that are widely used by people all over the globe, and tourism adevertisements are no excpetion. This study used descriptive qualitative method. The data were taken from advertisements found on social media Facebook and Instagram. The thoery used in this research is the theory of language style proposed by Chaer & Agustina (2010) and theory of word formation process by Chaer (2008). It can be concluded that: (1) the characteristic pattern of the variety of languages used in tourism advertisements on social media Facebook and Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic is a variety of non-formal languages, and (2) the variety of terms used tourism advertisements on social media Facebook and Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic are formed from blending, abbreviations and compounding. Keywords: Language Varieties, Terms, Advertisement, COVID-19

Minimal Dark Matter bound states at future colliders

The hypothesis that Dark Matter is one electroweak multiplet leads to predictive candidates with multi-TeV masses that can form electroweak bound states. Bound states with the same quantum numbers as electroweak vectors are found to be especially interesting, as they can be produced resonantly with large cross sections at lepton colliders. Such bound states exist e.g. if DM is an automatically stable fermionic weak 5-plet with mass M ≈ 14 TeV such that the DM abundance is reproduced thermally. In this model, a muon collider could resolve three such bound states. Production rates are so large that details of DM spectroscopy can be probed with larger statistics: we compute the characteristic pattern of single and multiple γ lines.

Tell me who you hang out with and I will tell you who you are

This report will revolve around a paper published in 2012 by Saygin, which combines diffusion and functionalimaging to prove that the functionally-defined fusiform face area can be identified by a characteristic pattern ofextrinsic connectivity. As the saying goes: “tell me who you hang out with and I will tell who you are”. First, Iwill briefly review some proposals about the relationship between connectivity and function to unravel therelevance of the study at issue. Then, I will touch some issues related to structural connectivity data analysis and how they have been overcome within a probabilistic framework. Next, I will survey experimentswhich built on the latter and to which Saygin’s added. In the following section, I will describe the methods andresults of Saygin’s article, whose limitations and implications will be then explored in the discussion

Accurate detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 genomic and subgenomic mRNAs by ddPCR and meta-transcriptomics analysis

SARS-CoV-2 replication requires the synthesis of a set of structural proteins expressed through discontinuous transcription of ten subgenomic mRNAs (sgmRNAs). Here, we have fine-tuned a droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assays to accurately detect and quantify SARS-CoV-2 genomic ORF1ab and sgmRNAs for the nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S) proteins. We analyzed 166 RNAs from anonymized COVID-19 positive subjects and we found a recurrent and characteristic pattern of sgmRNAs expression in relation to the total viral RNA content. Further, we observed that expression profiles of sgmRNAs analyzed in a subset of 110 samples subjected to meta-transcriptomics sequencing were highly correlated with those obtained by ddPCR. Our results, providing a comprehensive and dynamic snapshot of SARS-CoV-2 sgmRNAs expression and replication, may contribute to provide a better understanding of SARS-CoV-2 transcription and expression mechanisms, and support the development of more accurate molecular diagnostic tools and for the stratification of COVID-19 patients.