Uranium series disequilibria in ground waters from a fractured bedrock aquifer (Morungaba Granitoids-Southern Brazil): Implications to the hydrochemical behavior of dissolved U and Ra

Activity concentrations of dissolved U-234, U-238, Ra-226 and Ra-228 were determined in ground waters fromtwo deep wells drilled in Morungaba Granitoids (Southern Brazil). Sampling was done monthly for little longer than 1 year. Significant disequilibrium between U-238, U-234 and Ra-226 were observed in all samples. The variation of U-238 and U-234 activity concentrations and U-234/U-238 activity ratios is related to seasonal changes. Although the distance between the two wells is short (about 900m), systematic differences of activity concentrations of U isotopes, as well as of U-234/U-238, Ra-226/U-234 and Ra-228/Ra-226 activity ratios were noticed, indicating distinct host rock-water interactions. Slightly acidic ground water percolation through heterogeneous host rock, associated with different recharge processes, may explain uranium and radium isotope behavior. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contribution of SHRIMP U-Pb zircon geochronology to unravelling the evolution of Brazilian Neoproterozoic fold belts

The South-American continent is constituted of three major geologic-geotectonic entities the homonym platform (consolidated at the end of the Cambrian) the Andean chain (essentially Meso-Cenozoic) and the Patagonian terrains affected by tectonism and magmatism through almost all of the Phanerozoic The platform is constituted by a series of cratonic nuclei (pre-Tonian fragments of the Rodinia fission) surrounded by a complex fabric of Neoproterozoic structural provinces Two major groups of orogenic processes (plate interaction cycles) constitute the evolution of these provinces the older occurred in the Tonian (smaller in area) and the younger Brasiliano that is present in all provinces The Tonian cycles (pre-Rodinia fission?) are still being sorted out and many questions still need to be answered The Brasiliano orogenic collage events (post-Rodinia fission?) developed in three main stages in part coeval from a province to another and are 650-600 580-560 and 540-500 Ma respectively (the late event reaching the Ordovician) The first group of orogenies is recorded in practically all provinces The third group is restricted to part of the Mantiqueira Province (southeast of the platform Buzios Orogeny) and present in the Pampean province (SW of the platform) For all these groups of orogenic events there are considerable records of rock assemblages related to processes of convergent plate interaction opening accretion collision and further extrusion There is a good correlation between the geologic and geotectonic data and geochemical and isotopic data The late tectonic processes (post-orogenic magmatism foreland basins etc) of the first two groups compete in time in distinct spaces with the peak of orogenic processes in the third group The introduction of the SHRIMP U-Pb methodology was fundamental to separate the Tonian and post-Tonian orogenic groups and their respective divisions in time and space Thus there are still many open points/problems which lead to expectations of addressing these issues in the near future with the more Intense use of this methodology (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved

Multicenter Analysis of Glucocerebrosidase Mutations in Parkinson`s Disease

Background Recent studies indicate an increased frequency of mutations in the gene encoding glucocerebrosidase (GBA), a deficiency of which causes Gaucher`s disease, among patients with Parkinson`s disease. We aimed to ascertain the frequency of GBA mutations in an ethnically diverse group of patients with Parkinson`s disease. Methods Sixteen centers participated in our international, collaborative study: five from the Americas, six from Europe, two from Israel, and three from Asia. Each center genotyped a standard DNA panel to permit comparison of the genotyping results across centers. Genotypes and phenotypic data from a total of 5691 patients with Parkinson`s disease (780 Ashkenazi Jews) and 4898 controls (387 Ashkenazi Jews) were analyzed, with multivariate logistic-regression models and the Mantel-Haenszel procedure used to estimate odds ratios across centers. Results All 16 centers could detect two GBA mutations, L444P and N370S. Among Ashkenazi Jewish subjects, either mutation was found in 15% of patients and 3% of controls, and among non-Ashkenazi Jewish subjects, either mutation was found in 3% of patients and less than 1% of controls. GBA was fully sequenced for 1883 non-Ashkenazi Jewish patients, and mutations were identified in 7%, showing that limited mutation screening can miss half the mutant alleles. The odds ratio for any GBA mutation in patients versus controls was 5.43 across centers. As compared with patients who did not carry a GBA mutation, those with a GBA mutation presented earlier with the disease, were more likely to have affected relatives, and were more likely to have atypical clinical manifestations. Conclusions Data collected from 16 centers demonstrate that there is a strong association between GBA mutations and Parkinson`s disease.

The spectrum of an open vertex model based on the U(q)[SU(2)] algebra at roots of unity

We study the exact solution of an N-state vertex model based on the representation of the U(q)[SU(2)] algebra at roots of unity with diagonal open boundaries. We find that the respective reflection equation provides us one general class of diagonal K-matrices having one free-parameter. We determine the eigenvalues of the double-row transfer matrix and the respective Bethe ansatz equation within the algebraic Bethe ansatz framework. The structure of the Bethe ansatz equation combine a pseudomomenta function depending on a free-parameter with scattering phase-shifts that are fixed by the roots of unity and boundary variables. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

U-Pb zircon and (40)Ar-(39)Ar K-feldspar dating of syn-sedimentary volcanism of the Neoproterozoic Marica Formation: constraining the age of foreland basin inception and inversion in the Camaqua Basin of southern Brazil

New U-Pb zircon and (40)Ar-(39)Ar K-feldspar data are presented for syn-sedimentary volcanogenic rocks from the Neoproterozoic Marica Formation, located in the southern Brazilian shield. Seven (of nine) U-Pb sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe analyses of zircons from pyroclastic cobbles yield an age of 630.2 +/- 3.4 Ma (2 sigma), interpreted as the age of syn-sedimentary volcanism, and thus of the deposition itself. This result indicates that the Marica Formation was deposited during the main collisional phase (640-620 Ma) of the Brasiliano II orogenic system, probably as a forebulge or back-bulge, craton-derived foreland succession. Thus, this unit is possibly correlative of younger portions of the Porongos, Brusque, Passo Feio, Abapa (Itaiacoca) and Lavalleja (Fuente del Puma) metamorphic complexes. Well-defined, step-heating (40)Ar-(39)Ar K-feldspar plateau ages obtained from volcanogenic beds and pyroclastic cobbles of the lower and upper successions of the Marica Formation yielded 507.3 +/- 1.8 Ma and 506.7 +/- 1.4 Ma (2 sigma), respectively. These data are interpreted to reflect total isotopic resetting during deep burial and thermal effects related to magmatic events. Late Middle Cambrian cooling below ca. 200 degrees C, probably related to uplift, is tentatively associated with intraplate effects of the Rio Doce and/or Pampean orogenies (Brasiliano III system). In the southern Brazilian shield, these intraplate stresses are possibly related to the dominantly extensional opening of a rift or a pull-apart basin, where sedimentary rocks of the Camaqua Group (Santa Barbara and Guaritas Formations) accumulated.

Longitudinal scaling property of the charge balance function in Au plus Au collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV

We present measurements of the charge balance function, from the charged particles, for diverse pseudorapidity and transverse momentum ranges in Au + Au collisions at root S(NN) = 200 GeV using the STAR detector at RHIC. We observe that the balance function is boost-invariant within the pseudorapidity coverage vertical bar-1.3, 1.3 vertical bar. The balance function properly scaled by the width of the observed pseudorapidity window does not depend on the position or size of the pseudorapidity window. This scaling property also holds for particles in different transverse momentum ranges. In addition, we find that the width of the balance function decreases monotonically with increasing transverse momentum for all centrality classes. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Observation of an Antimatter Hypernucleus

Nuclear collisions recreate conditions in the universe microseconds after the Big Bang. Only a very small fraction of the emitted fragments are light nuclei, but these states are of fundamental interest. We report the observation of antihypertritons-comprising an antiproton, an antineutron, and an antilambda hyperon-produced by colliding gold nuclei at high energy. Our analysis yields 70 +/- 17 antihypertritons (3/Lambda(H) over bar) and 157 +/- 30 hypertritons ((3)(Lambda)H). The measured yields of (3)(Lambda)H (3/Lambda(H) over bar) and (3)He ((3)(He) over bar) are similar, suggesting an equilibrium in coordinate and momentum space populations of up, down, and strange quarks and antiquarks, unlike the pattern observed at lower collision energies. The production and properties of antinuclei, and of nuclei containing strange quarks, have implications spanning nuclear and particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.

System size dependence of associated yields in hadron-triggered jets STAR Collaboration

We present results on the system size dependence of high transverse momentum di-hadron correlations at root s(NN) = 200 GeV as measured by STAR at RHIC. Measurements in d + Au, Cu + Cu and Au + Au collisions reveal similar jet-like near-side correlation yields (correlations at small angular separation Delta phi similar to 0, Delta eta similar to 0) for all systems and centralities. Previous measurements have shown Chat the away-side (Delta phi similar to pi) yield is suppressed in heavy-ion collisions. We present measurements of the away-side Suppression as a function of transverse momentum and centrality in Cu + Cu and Au + Au collisions. The suppression is found to be similar in Cu + Cu and An + An collisions at a similar number of participants. The results are compared to theoretical calculations based on the patron quenching model and the modified fragmentation model. The observed differences between data and theory indicate that the correlated yields presented here will further constrain dynamic energy loss models and provide information about the dynamic density profile in heavy-ion collisions. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Center of mass energy and system-size dependence of photon production at forward rapidity at RHIC

We present the multiplicity and pseudorapidity distributions of photons produced in Au + Au and Cu + Cu collisions at root(s)NN = 62.4 and 200 GeV. The photons are measured in the region -3.7 < eta < -2.3 using the photon Multiplicity detector in the STAR experiment at RHIC. The number of photons produced per average number of participating nucleon pairs increases with the beam energy and is independent of (lie collision centrality. For collisions with similar average numbers of participating nucleons the photon multiplicities are observed to be similar for An + Au and Cu + Cu collisions at a given beam energy. The ratios of the number of charged particles to photons in the measured pseudorapidity range are found to be 1.4 +/- 0.1 and 1.2 +/- 0.1 for root(s)NN = 62.4 and 200 GeV, respectively. The energy dependence of this ratio could reflect varying contributions from baryons to charged particles, while mesons are the dominant contributors to photon production in the given kinematic region. The photon pseudorapidity distributions normalized by average number of participating nucleon pairs, when plotted as a function of eta-Y(beam), are found to follow a longitudinal scaling independent of centrality and colliding ion species at both beam energies. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Observation of the antimatter helium-4 nucleus

High-energy nuclear collisions create an energy density similar to that of the Universe microseconds after the Big Bang(1); in both cases, matter and antimatter are formed with comparable abundance. However, the relatively short-lived expansion in nuclear collisions allows antimatter to decouple quickly from matter, and avoid annihilation. Thus, a high-energy accelerator of heavy nuclei provides an efficient means of producing and studying antimatter. The antimatter helium-4 nucleus ((4)(He) over bar), also known as the anti-alpha ((alpha) over bar), consists of two antiprotons and two antineutrons (baryon number B = -4). It has not been observed previously, although the alpha-particle was identified a century ago by Rutherford and is present in cosmic radiation at the ten per cent level(2). Antimatter nuclei with B -1 have been observed only as rare products of interactions at particle accelerators, where the rate of antinucleus production in high-energy collisions decreases by a factor of about 1,000 with each additional antinucleon(3-5). Here we report the observation of (4)<(He) over bar, the heaviest observed antinucleus to date. In total, 18 (4)(He) over bar counts were detected at the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC; ref. 6) in 10(9) recorded gold-on-gold (Au+Au) collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 200 GeV and 62 GeV per nucleon-nucleon pair. The yield is consistent with expectations from thermodynamic(7) and coalescent nucleosynthesis(8) models, providing an indication of the production rate of even heavier antimatter nuclei and a benchmark for possible future observations of (4)(He) over bar in cosmic radiation.