5,775 research outputs found
The neutron 'thunder' accompanying the extensive air shower
Simulations show that neutrons are the most abundant component among
extensive air shower hadrons. However, multiple neutrons which appear with long
delays in neutron monitors nearby the EAS core ('neutron thunder') are mostly
not the neutrons of the shower, but have a secondary origin. The bulk of them
is produced by high energy EAS hadrons hitting the monitors. The delays are due
to the termalization and diffusion of neutrons in the moderator and reflector
of the monitor accompanied by the production of secondary gamma-quanta. This
conclusion raises the important problem of the interaction of EAS with the
ground, the stuff of the detectors and their environment since they have often
hydrogen containing materials like polyethilene in neutron monitors. Such
interaction can give an additional contribution to the signal in the EAS
detectors. It can be particularly important for the signals from scintillator
or water tank detectors at km-long distances from the EAS core where neutrons
of the shower become the dominant component after a few mcsec behind the EAS
front.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, accepted by J.Phys.G: Nucl.Part.Phy
Different metastasis promotive potency of small G-proteins RalA and RalB in in vivo hamster tumor model
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previously we have shown that oncogenic Ha-Ras stimulated <it>in vivo </it>metastasis through RalGEF-Ral signaling. RalA and RalB are highly homologous small G proteins belonging to Ras superfamily. They can be activated by Ras-RalGEF signaling pathway and influence cellular growth and survival, motility, vesicular transport and tumor progression in humans and in animal models. Here we first time compared the influence of RalA and RalB on tumorigenic, invasive and metastatic properties of RSV transformed hamster fibroblasts.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Retroviral vectors encoding activated forms or effector mutants of RalA or RalB proteins were introduced into the low metastatic HET-SR cell line. Tumor growth and spontaneous metastatic activity (SMA) were evaluated on immunocompetent hamsters after subcutaneous injection of cells. The biological properties of cells, including proliferation, clonogenicity, migration and invasion were determined using MTT, wound healing, colony formation and Boyden chamber assays respectively. Protein expression and phosphorylation was detected by Westen blot analysis. Extracellular proteinases activity was assessed by substrate-specific zymography.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have showed that although both Ral proteins stimulated SMA, RalB was more effective in metastasis stimulation <it>in vivo </it>as well as in potentiating of directed movement and invasion <it>in vitro</it>. Simultaneous expression of active RalA and RalB didn't give synergetic effect on metastasis formation. RalB activity decreased expression of Caveolin-1, while active RalA stimulated MMP-1 and uPA proteolytic activity, as well as CD24 expression. Both Ral proteins were capable of Cyclin D1 upregulation, JNK1 kinase activation, and stimulation of colony growth and motility. Among three main RalB effectors (RalBP1, exocyst complex and PLD1), PLD1 was essential for RalB-dependent metastasis stimulation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Presented results are the first data on direct comparison of RalA and RalB impact as well as of RalA/RalB simultaneous expression influence on <it>in vivo </it>cell metastatic activity. We showed that RalB activation significantly more than RalA stimulates SMA. This property correlates with the ability of RalB to stimulate <it>in vitro </it>invasion and serum directed cell movement. We also found that RalB-PLD1 interaction is necessary for the acquisition of RalB-dependent high metastatic cell phenotype. These findings contribute to the identification of molecular mechanisms of metastasis and tumor progression.</p
The Physics of Heavy Flavours at SuperB
This is a review of the SuperB project, covering the accelerator, detector,
and highlights of the broad physics programme. SuperB is a flavour factory
capable of performing precision measurements and searches for rare and
forbidden decays of , , and
particles. These results can be used to test fundamental symmetries and
expectations of the Standard Model, and to constrain many different
hypothesised types of new physics. In some cases these measurements can be used
to place constraints on the existence of light dark matter and light Higgs
particles with masses below . The potential impact of the
measurements that will be made by SuperB on the field of high energy physics is
also discussed in the context of data taken at both high energy in the region
around the \Upsilon({\mathrm{4S}})$, and near charm threshold.Comment: 49 pages, topical review submitted to J. Phys
Search for the h_c meson in B^+- ->h_c K^+-
We report a search for the meson via the decay chain , \etac \gamma with and
. No significant signals are observed. We obtain upper limits on the
branching fractions for in bins of the
invariant mass. The results are based on an analysis of 253
fb of data collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB
collider.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Parental genome unification is highly error-prone in mammalian embryos
Most human embryos are aneuploid. Aneuploidy frequently arises during the early mitotic divisions of the embryo, but its origin remains elusive. Human zygotes that cluster their nucleoli at the pronuclear interface are thought to be more likely to develop into healthy euploid embryos. Here, we show that the parental genomes cluster with nucleoli in each pronucleus within human and bovine zygotes, and clustering is required for the reliable unification of the parental genomes after fertilization. During migration of intact pronuclei, the parental genomes polarize toward each other in a process driven by centrosomes, dynein, microtubules, and nuclear pore complexes. The maternal and paternal chromosomes eventually cluster at the pronuclear interface, in direct proximity to each other, yet separated. Parental genome clustering ensures the rapid unification of the parental genomes on nuclear envelope breakdown. However, clustering often fails, leading to chromosome segregation errors and micronuclei, incompatible with healthy embryo development
Spectral Correlation in Incommensurate Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes
We investigate the energy spectra of clean incommensurate double-walled
carbon nanotubes, and find that the overall spectral properties are described
by the so-called critical statistics of Anderson metal-insulator transition. In
the energy spectra, there exist three different regimes characterized by
Wigner-Dyson, Poisson, and semi-Poisson distributions. This feature implies
that the electron transport in incommensurate multi-walled nanotubes can be
either diffusive, ballistic, or intermediate between them, depending on the
position of the Fermi energy.Comment: final version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Evidence for CP Violation in B0 -> D+D- Decays
We report measurements of the branching fraction and CP violation parameters
in B0 -> D+D- decays. The results are based on a data sample that contains 535
x 10^6 BBbar pairs collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance, with the Belle
detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider. We obtain [1.97 +- 0.20
(stat) +- 0.20 (syst)] x 10^(-4) for the branching fraction of B0 -> D+D-. The
measured values of the CP violation parameters are: S = -1.13 +- 0.37 +- 0.09,
A = 0.91 +- 0.23 +- 0.06, where the first error is statistical and the second
is systematic. We find evidence of CP violation in B0 -> D+D- at the 4.1 sigma
confidence level. While the value of S is consistent with expectations from
other measurements, the value of the parameter A favors large direct CP
violation at the 3.2 sigma confidence level, in contradiction to Standard Model
expectations.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PR
Inclusive-jet Photoproduction at HERA and Determination of α \u3csub\u3es\u3c/sub\u3e
Inclusive-jet cross sections have been measured in the reaction ep→e+jet+X for photon virtuality Q 2γp centre-of-mass energies in the region 142γp-1. Jets were identified using the k T, anti-k T or SIScone jet algorithms in the laboratory frame. Single-differential cross sections are presented as functions of the jet transverse energy, ETjet, and pseudorapidity, jet, for jets with ETjet\u3e17 GeV and -1\u3c je
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