94 research outputs found
Search for pentaquark in high statistics measurement of at CLAS
The exclusive reaction was studied in the
photon energy range between 1.6-3.8 GeV searching for evidence of the exotic
baryon . The decay to requires the assignment of
strangeness to any observed resonance. Data were collected with the CLAS
detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility corresponding to
an integrated luminosity of 70 . No evidence for the
pentaquark was found. Upper limits were set on the production cross section as
function of center-of-mass angle and mass. The 95% CL upper limit on the
total cross section for a narrow resonance at 1540 MeV was found to be 0.8 nb.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review Letter
First measurement of direct photoproduction on the proton
We report on the results of the first measurement of exclusive
meson photoproduction on protons for GeV and GeV. Data were collected with the CLAS detector at the Thomas
Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The resonance was detected via its
decay in the channel by performing a partial wave analysis of the
reaction . Clear evidence of the meson
was found in the interference between and waves at GeV. The -wave differential cross section integrated in the mass range of
the was found to be a factor of 50 smaller than the cross section
for the meson. This is the first time the meson has been
measured in a photoproduction experiment
Global Spatial Risk Assessment of Sharks Under the Footprint of Fisheries
Effective ocean management and conservation of highly migratory species depends on resolving overlap between animal movements and distributions and fishing effort. Yet, this information is lacking at a global scale. Here we show, using a big-data approach combining satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and global fishing fleets, that 24% of the mean monthly space used by sharks falls under the footprint of pelagic longline fisheries. Space use hotspots of commercially valuable sharks and of internationally protected species had the highest overlap with longlines (up to 76% and 64%, respectively) and were also associated with significant increases in fishing effort. We conclude that pelagic sharks have limited spatial refuge from current levels of high-seas fishing effort. Results demonstrate an urgent need for conservation and management measures at high-seas shark hotspots and highlight the potential of simultaneous satellite surveillance of megafauna and fishers as a tool for near-real time, dynamic management
Search for the pentaquark in the reactions and
The exclusive reactions and have been studied in the photon energy range 1.6--3.8 GeV, searching
for evidence of the exotic baryon in the decays and . Data were collected with the CLAS detector at
the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The integrated luminosity
was about 70 pb. The reactions have been isolated by detecting the
and proton directly, the neutral kaon via its decay to
and the neutron or neutral kaon via the missing mass technique. The mass and
width of known hyperons such as , and were
used as a check of the mass determination accuracy and experimental resolution.
Approximately 100,000 's and 150,000 's were observed in
the and final state respectively. No evidence
for the pentaquark was found in the or invariant mass
spectra. Upper limits were set on the production cross section of the reaction
as functions of center-of-mass angle,
and masses. Combining the results of the two reactions, the 95% C.L.
upper limit on the total cross section for a resonance peaked at 1540 MeV was
found to be 0.7 nb. Within most of the available theoretical models, this
corresponds to an upper limit on the width, ,
ranging between 0.01 and 7 MeV.Comment: 1 tex file (16 pages) + 23 figures (25 eps files
Diving into the vertical dimension of elasmobranch movement ecology
Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first global synthesis of vertical habitat use by elasmobranchs from data obtained by deployment of 989 biotelemetry tags on 38 elasmobranch species. Elasmobranchs displayed high intra- and interspecific variability in vertical movement patterns. Substantial vertical overlap was observed for many epipelagic elasmobranchs, indicating an increased likelihood to display spatial overlap, biologically interact, and share similar risk to anthropogenic threats that vary on a vertical gradient. We highlight the critical next steps toward incorporating vertical movement into global management and monitoring strategies for elasmobranchs, emphasizing the need to address geographic and taxonomic biases in deployments and to concurrently consider both horizontal and vertical movements
Diving into the vertical dimension of elasmobranch movement ecology
Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first global synthesis of vertical habitat use by elasmobranchs from data obtained by deployment of 989 biotelemetry tags on 38 elasmobranch species. Elasmobranchs displayed high intra- and interspecific variability in vertical movement patterns. Substantial vertical overlap was observed for many epipelagic elasmobranchs, indicating an increased likelihood to display spatial overlap, biologically interact, and share similar risk to anthropogenic threats that vary on a vertical gradient. We highlight the critical next steps toward incorporating vertical movement into global management and monitoring strategies for elasmobranchs, emphasizing the need to address geographic and taxonomic biases in deployments and to concurrently consider both horizontal and vertical movements
Diving into the vertical dimension of elasmobranch movement ecology
Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first global synthesis of vertical habitat use by elasmobranchs from data obtained by deployment of 989 biotelemetry tags on 38 elasmobranch species. Elasmobranchs displayed high intra- and interspecific variability in vertical movement patterns. Substantial vertical overlap was observed for many epipelagic elasmobranchs, indicating an increased likelihood to display spatial overlap, biologically interact, and share similar risk to anthropogenic threats that vary on a vertical gradient. We highlight the critical next steps toward incorporating vertical movement into global management and monitoring strategies for elasmobranchs, emphasizing the need to address geographic and taxonomic biases in deployments and to concurrently consider both horizontal and vertical movements
Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome
Author Posting. © The Authors, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of Nature Publishing Group. The definitive version was published in Nature 486 (2012): 207-214, doi:10.1038/nature11234.Studies of the human microbiome have revealed that even healthy individuals differ remarkably in the microbes that occupy habitats such as the gut, skin and vagina. Much of this diversity remains unexplained, although diet, environment, host genetics and early microbial exposure have all been implicated. Accordingly, to characterize the ecology of human-associated microbial communities, the Human Microbiome Project has analysed the largest cohort and set of distinct, clinically relevant body habitats so far. We found the diversity and abundance of each habitat’s signature microbes to vary widely even among healthy subjects, with strong niche specialization both within and among individuals. The project encountered an estimated 81–99% of the genera, enzyme families and community configurations occupied by the healthy Western microbiome. Metagenomic carriage of metabolic pathways was stable among individuals despite variation in community structure, and ethnic/racial background proved to be one of the strongest associations of both pathways and microbes with clinical metadata. These results thus delineate the range of structural and functional configurations normal in the microbial communities of a healthy population, enabling future characterization of the epidemiology, ecology and translational applications of the human microbiome.This research was supported in
part by National Institutes of Health grants U54HG004969 to B.W.B.; U54HG003273
to R.A.G.; U54HG004973 to R.A.G., S.K.H. and J.F.P.; U54HG003067 to E.S.Lander;
U54AI084844 to K.E.N.; N01AI30071 to R.L.Strausberg; U54HG004968 to G.M.W.;
U01HG004866 to O.R.W.; U54HG003079 to R.K.W.; R01HG005969 to C.H.;
R01HG004872 to R.K.; R01HG004885 to M.P.; R01HG005975 to P.D.S.;
R01HG004908 to Y.Y.; R01HG004900 to M.K.Cho and P. Sankar; R01HG005171 to
D.E.H.; R01HG004853 to A.L.M.; R01HG004856 to R.R.; R01HG004877 to R.R.S. and
R.F.; R01HG005172 to P. Spicer.; R01HG004857 to M.P.; R01HG004906 to T.M.S.;
R21HG005811 to E.A.V.; M.J.B. was supported by UH2AR057506; G.A.B. was
supported by UH2AI083263 and UH3AI083263 (G.A.B., C. N. Cornelissen, L. K. Eaves
and J. F. Strauss); S.M.H. was supported by UH3DK083993 (V. B. Young, E. B. Chang,
F. Meyer, T. M. S., M. L. Sogin, J. M. Tiedje); K.P.R. was supported by UH2DK083990 (J.
V.); J.A.S. and H.H.K. were supported by UH2AR057504 and UH3AR057504 (J.A.S.);
DP2OD001500 to K.M.A.; N01HG62088 to the Coriell Institute for Medical Research;
U01DE016937 to F.E.D.; S.K.H. was supported by RC1DE0202098 and
R01DE021574 (S.K.H. and H. Li); J.I. was supported by R21CA139193 (J.I. and
D. S. Michaud); K.P.L. was supported by P30DE020751 (D. J. Smith); Army Research
Office grant W911NF-11-1-0473 to C.H.; National Science Foundation grants NSF
DBI-1053486 to C.H. and NSF IIS-0812111 to M.P.; The Office of Science of the US
Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231 for P.S. C.; LANL
Laboratory-Directed Research and Development grant 20100034DR and the US
Defense Threat Reduction Agency grants B104153I and B084531I to P.S.C.; Research
Foundation - Flanders (FWO) grant to K.F. and J.Raes; R.K. is an HHMI Early Career
Scientist; Gordon&BettyMoore Foundation funding and institutional funding fromthe
J. David Gladstone Institutes to K.S.P.; A.M.S. was supported by fellowships provided by
the Rackham Graduate School and the NIH Molecular Mechanisms in Microbial
Pathogenesis Training Grant T32AI007528; a Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of
Canada Grant in Aid of Research to E.A.V.; 2010 IBM Faculty Award to K.C.W.; analysis
of the HMPdata was performed using National Energy Research Scientific Computing
resources, the BluBioU Computational Resource at Rice University
A framework for human microbiome research
A variety of microbial communities and their genes (the microbiome) exist throughout the human body, with fundamental roles in human health and disease. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Human Microbiome Project Consortium has established a population-scale framework to develop metagenomic protocols, resulting in a broad range of quality-controlled resources and data including standardized methods for creating, processing and interpreting distinct types of high-throughput metagenomic data available to the scientific community. Here we present resources from a population of 242 healthy adults sampled at 15 or 18 body sites up to three times, which have generated 5,177 microbial taxonomic profiles from 16S ribosomal RNA genes and over 3.5 terabases of metagenomic sequence so far. In parallel, approximately 800 reference strains isolated from the human body have been sequenced. Collectively, these data represent the largest resource describing the abundance and variety of the human microbiome, while providing a framework for current and future studies
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