516 research outputs found
Contribution of commercial fish species to human mercury exposure: an evaluation near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Fish consumption is frequently associated with the prevention of some human diseases, being simultaneously a major pathway of mercury (Hg) exposure. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the contribution of 28 commercial fish species to the human Hg exposure in the Azores archipelago (Portuguese region with highest fish consumption per capita). These species potentially contributed on average to 7.47 mg of Hg per capita, although low Hg levels had been detected in fish. Mora moro and Zeus faber exceeded the maximum permitted for fish consumption (> 0.5 μg g−1 ww) even though they were not the species contributing the most to human Hg exposure. On the other hand, Katsuwonus pelamis was the main contributor due to increased fish landings. Furthermore, an increase in Hg content with trophic level has been suggested, as carnivore fish exhibited higher Hg levels than omnivores. In addition, demersal fish generally presented higher Hg concentration (although non-significant) than pelagic ones, possibly related with increased Hg values of their prey at this depth. Notwithstanding, THQ (Target Hazard Quotient) being < 1 for all species indicates that the daily human exposure to Hg via fish consumption is not likely to cause any negative health risks.publishe
First Record Along The Uruguayan Coast Of The Largest Sea Nettle Jellyfish, Chrysaora Plocamia (lesson, 1830) (cnidaria: Scyphozoa)
Chrysaora plocamia is one of the 15 species of the jellyfish genus Chrysaora. This species has an unusualdistribution pattern, occurring on both Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America. It is distributed along the southeastern Pacific Ocean, encompassing coastal areas of Peru and Chile, and reaching the Patagonian coast of Argentina in the southwestern Atlantic. During two separate events, two large specimens of Chrysaora were collected on the east coast of Uruguay at La Paloma. Based on morphology and molecular data, these specimens were identified as Chrysaora plocamia. These records are described along with oceanographic features observed at that time. Unusual oceanographic and atmospheric conditions may explain the presence of these specimens 1,100 km north of the current northernmost known distribution. © 2016 Check List and Authors.12
Search for heavy neutrinos mixing with tau neutrinos
We report on a search for heavy neutrinos (\nus) produced in the decay
D_s\to \tau \nus at the SPS proton target followed by the decay \nudecay in
the NOMAD detector. Both decays are expected to occur if \nus is a component
of .\
From the analysis of the data collected during the 1996-1998 runs with
protons on target, a single candidate event consistent with
background expectations was found. This allows to derive an upper limit on the
mixing strength between the heavy neutrino and the tau neutrino in the \nus
mass range from 10 to 190 . Windows between the SN1987a and Big Bang
Nucleosynthesis lower limits and our result are still open for future
experimental searches. The results obtained are used to constrain an
interpretation of the time anomaly observed in the KARMEN1 detector.\Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, a few comments adde
Search for R-parity Violating Decays of Supersymmetric Particles in e+e- Collisions at LEP
A search, in e^+e^- collisions, for chargino, neutralino, scalar lepton and
scalar quark pair-production is performed, without assuming R-parity
conservation in decays, in the case that only one of the coupling constants
lambda_ijk or lambda''_ijk is non-negligible. No signal is found in data up to
a centre-of-mass energy of 208GeV. Limits on the production cross sections and
on the masses of supersymmetric particles are derived
Determination of |Vcb| using the semileptonic decay \bar{B}^0 --> D^{*+}e^-\bar{\nu}
We present a measurement of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix
element |Vcb| using a 10.2 fb^{-1} data sample recorded at the \Upsilon(4S)
resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric e^+e^- storage ring.
By extrapolating the differential decay width of the \bar{B}^0 -->
D^{*+}e^-\bar{\nu} decay to the kinematic limit at which the D^{*+} is at rest
with respect to the \bar{B}^0, we extract the product of |Vcb| with the
normalization of the decay form factor F(1), |Vcb |F(1)=
(3.54+/-0.19+/-0.18)x10^{-2}, where the first error is statistical and the
second is systematic. A value of |Vcb| = (3.88+/-0.21+/-0.20+/-0.19)x10^{-2} is
obtained using a theoretical calculation of F(1), where the third error is due
to the theoretical uncertainty in the value of F(1). The branching fraction
B(\bar{B}^0 --> D^{*+}e^-\bar{\nu}) is measured to be
(4.59+/-0.23+/-0.40)x10^{-2}.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, elsart.cls, submitted to PL
Measurement of Bose-Einstein Correlations in e+e- -> W+W- at root(s)=189GeV
We investigate Bose-Einstein correlations (BEC) in W-pair production at
root(s)=189GeV using the L3 detector at LEP. We observe BEC between particles
from a single W decay in good agreement with those from a light-quark Z decay
sample. We investigate their possible existence between particles coming from
different W's. No evidence for such inter-W BEC is found
Inclusive production of and mesons in charged current interactions
The inclusive production of the meson resonances ,
and in neutrino-nucleus charged current interactions has been
studied with the NOMAD detector exposed to the wide band neutrino beam
generated by 450 GeV protons at the CERN SPS. For the first time the
meson is observed in neutrino interactions. The statistical
significance of its observation is 6 standard deviations. The presence of
in neutrino interactions is reliably established. The average
multiplicity of these three resonances is measured as a function of several
kinematic variables. The experimental results are compared to the
multiplicities obtained from a simulation based on the Lund model. In addition,
the average multiplicity of in antineutrino - nucleus
interactions is measured.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures, 8 tables. To appear in Nucl. Phys.
Study of the e+e- -> Ze+e- process at LEP
The cross section of the process e+e- -> Ze+e is measured with 0.7fb^-1 of
data collected with the L3 detector at LEP. Decays of the Z boson into quarks
and muons are considered at centre-of-mass energies ranging from 183GeV up to
209GeV. The measurements are found to agree with Standard Model predictions,
achieving a precision of about 10% for the hadronic channel
Search for Heavy Neutral and Charged Leptons in e+ e- Annihilation at LEP
A search for exotic unstable neutral and charged heavy leptons as well as for
stable charged heavy leptons is performed with the L3 detector at LEP.
Sequential, vector and mirror natures of heavy leptons are considered. No
evidence for their existence is found and lower limits on their masses are set
Measurement of the inclusive semileptonic branching fraction of B mesons and |Vcb|
We present a measurement of the electron spectrum from inclusive semileptonic
{\it B} decay, using 5.1 fb of data collected with the
Belle detector. A high-momentum lepton tag was used to separate the
semileptonic {\it B} decay electrons from secondary decay electrons. We
obtained the branching fraction, , with minimal model dependence.
From this measurement, we derive a value for the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa
matrix element .Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, 3 table
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