3,486 research outputs found
Target Design for XUV Probing of Radiative Shock Experiments
Radiative shocks are strong shocks characterized by plasma at a high
temperature emitting an important fraction of its energy as radiation.
Radiative shocks are commonly found in many astrophysical systems and are
templates of radiative hydrodynamic flows, which can be studied experimentally
using high-power lasers. This is not only important in the context of
laboratory astrophysics but also to benchmark numerical studies. We present
details on the design of experiments on radiative shocks in xenon gas performed
at the kJ scale PALS laser facility. It includes technical specifications for
the tube targets design and numerical studies with the 1-D radiative
hydrodynamics code MULTI. Emphasis is given to the technical feasibility of an
XUV imaging diagnostic with a 21 nm (~58 eV) probing beam, which allows to
probe simultaneously the post-shock and the precursor region ahead of the
shock. The novel design of the target together with the improved X-ray optics
and XUV source allow to show both the dense post-shock structure and the
precursor of the radiative shock.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
The decay Z -> neutrino antineutrino photon in the Standard Model
A complete study of the one-loop induced decay Z -> neutrino antineutrino
photon is presented within the framework of the Standard Model. The advantages
of using a nonlinear gauge are stressed. We have found that the main
contributions come from the electric dipole and the magnetic dipole transitions
of the Z gauge boson and the neutrino, respectively. We obtain a branching
ratio B=7.16E-10, which is about four orders of magnitude smaller than the
bound recentely obtained by the L3 collaboration and thus it leaves open a
window to search for new physics effects in single-photon decays of the Z
boson.Comment: REVTEX,15 pp, 5 eps figures, Approved for publication in Physical
Review
Signatures of the anomalous and ZZ production at the lepton and hadron Colliders
The possible form of New Physics (NP) interactions affecting the ZZZ, and vertices, is critically examined. Their signatures
and the possibilities to study them, through ZZ and production, at
the e^-e^+ Colliders LEP and LC and at the hadronic Colliders Tevatron and LHC,
are investigated. Experimental limits obtained or expected on each coupling are
collected. A simple theoretical model based on virtual effects due to some
heavy fermions is used for acquiring some guidance on the plausible forms of
these NP vertices. In such a case specific relations among the various neutral
couplings are predicted, which can be experimentally tested and possibly used
to constrain the form of the responsible NP structure.Comment: 17 pages and 9 figures, version to appear in Phys. ReV. e-mail:
[email protected]
What is the southern limit of the distribution of red palm mite, Raoiella indica (Acari: Tenuipalpidae), in agricultural lands in Brazil?
Production of the neutral toppion at the e gamma colliders
In the framework of topcolor-assisted technicolor(TC2) model, we study a
neutral toppion production process in this
paper. Our results show that the production cross section of can reach the level of several tens fb, and over
neutral toppion events can be produced in the planned linear colliders
each year. Therefore, such a toppion production process provides us a unique
chance to detect toppion events and test the TC2 model. On the other hand, the
cross section of is about one order of
magnitude larger than those of some similar processes in SM and MSSM(i.e.,
in SM and in
MSSM). So, we can easily distinguish the neutral toppion from other neutral
Higgs bosons in SM and MSSM.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, The paper has been accepted by Phys.Rev.
Probing the charged Higgs boson at the LHC in the CP-violating type-II 2HDM
We present a phenomenological study of a CP-violating two-Higgs-doublet Model
with type-II Yukawa couplings at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In the light
of recent LHC data, we focus on the parameter space that survives the current
and past experimental constraints as well as theoretical bounds on the model.
Once the phenomenological scenario is set, we analyse the scope of the LHC in
exploring this model through the discovery of a charged Higgs boson produced in
association with a W boson, with the former decaying into the lightest neutral
Higgs and a second W state, altogether yielding a b\bar b W^+W^- signature, of
which we exploit the W^+W^- semileptonic decays.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figures; v2 updated treatment of LHC constraint
Very light CP-odd scalar in the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model
We show that a general two-Higgs-doublet model (THDM) with a very light
CP-odd scalar (A) can be compatible with the rho parameter, Br(b --> s\gamma),
R_b, A_b, (g-2) of muon, Br(Upsilon --> A gamma), and the direct search via the
Yukawa process at LEP. For its mass around 0.2 GeV, the muon (g-2) and
Br(Upsilon --> A \gamma) data require tan(beta) to be about 1. Consequently, A
can behave like a fermiophobic CP-odd scalar and predominantly decay into a
photon pair ("gamma gamma"), which registers in detectors of high energy
collider experiments as a single photon signature when the momentum of A is
large. We compute the partial decay width of Z --> A A A and the production
rate of f \bar{f} --> Z A A --> Z +"gamma gamma", f^' {\bar f} --> W^{\pm} A A
--> W^\pm + "gamma gamma" and f \bar f --> H^+ H^- --> W^+ W^- A A --> W^+ W^-
+ "gamma gamma" at high energy colliders such as LEP, Tevatron, LHC, and future
Linear Colliders. Other production mechanisms of a light A, such as gg --> h
--> AA --> "gamma gamma", are also discussed.Comment: Some improvementes, references updated, 3 new figures, one new
appendix, abstract and conclusions unchaged. Version to appear in Physical
Review
Genome-wide association scan meta-analysis identifies three Loci influencing adiposity and fat distribution.
To identify genetic loci influencing central obesity and fat distribution, we performed a meta-analysis of 16 genome-wide association studies (GWAS, N = 38,580) informative for adult waist circumference (WC) and waist-hip ratio (WHR). We selected 26 SNPs for follow-up, for which the evidence of association with measures of central adiposity (WC and/or WHR) was strong and disproportionate to that for overall adiposity or height. Follow-up studies in a maximum of 70,689 individuals identified two loci strongly associated with measures of central adiposity; these map near TFAP2B (WC, P = 1.9x10(-11)) and MSRA (WC, P = 8.9x10(-9)). A third locus, near LYPLAL1, was associated with WHR in women only (P = 2.6x10(-8)). The variants near TFAP2B appear to influence central adiposity through an effect on overall obesity/fat-mass, whereas LYPLAL1 displays a strong female-only association with fat distribution. By focusing on anthropometric measures of central obesity and fat distribution, we have identified three loci implicated in the regulation of human adiposity
Anti-HIV-1 activity of cellulose acetate phthalate: Synergy with soluble CD4 and induction of "dead-end" gp41 six-helix bundles
BACKGROUND: Cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP), a promising candidate microbicide for prevention of sexual transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and other sexually transmitted disease (STD) pathogens, was shown to inactivate HIV-1 and to block the coreceptor binding site on the virus envelope glycoprotein gp120. It did not interfere with virus binding to CD4. Since CD4 is the primary cellular receptor for HIV-1, it was of interest to study CAP binding to HIV-1 complexes with soluble CD4 (sCD4) and its consequences, including changes in the conformation of the envelope glycoprotein gp41 within virus particles. METHODS: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to study CAP binding to HIV-1-sCD4 complexes and to detect gp41 six-helix bundles accessible on virus particles using antibodies specific for the α-helical core domain of gp41. RESULTS: 1) Pretreatment of HIV-1 with sCD4 augments subsequent binding of CAP; 2) there is synergism between CAP and sCD4 for inhibition of HIV-1 infection; 3) treatment of HIV-1 with CAP induced the formation of gp41 six-helix bundles. CONCLUSIONS: CAP and sCD4 bind to distinct sites on HIV-1 IIIB and BaL virions and their simultaneous binding has profound effects on virus structure and infectivity. The formation of gp41 six-helical bundles, induced by CAP, is known to render the virus incompetent for fusion with target cells thus preventing infection
Common Variants at 10 Genomic Loci Influence Hemoglobin A(1C) Levels via Glycemic and Nonglycemic Pathways
OBJECTIVE Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), used to monitor and diagnose diabetes, is influenced by average glycemia over a 2- to 3-month period. Genetic factors affecting expression, turnover, and abnormal glycation of hemoglobin could also be associated with increased levels of HbA1c. We aimed to identify such genetic factors and investigate the extent to which they influence diabetes classification based on HbA1c levels.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We studied associations with HbA1c in up to 46,368 nondiabetic adults of European descent from 23 genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and 8 cohorts with de novo genotyped single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We combined studies using inverse-variance meta-analysis and tested mediation by glycemia using conditional analyses. We estimated the global effect of HbA1c loci using a multilocus risk score, and used net reclassification to estimate genetic effects on diabetes screening.
RESULTS Ten loci reached genome-wide significant association with HbA1c, including six new loci near FN3K (lead SNP/P value, rs1046896/P = 1.6 × 10−26), HFE (rs1800562/P = 2.6 × 10−20), TMPRSS6 (rs855791/P = 2.7 × 10−14), ANK1 (rs4737009/P = 6.1 × 10−12), SPTA1 (rs2779116/P = 2.8 × 10−9) and ATP11A/TUBGCP3 (rs7998202/P = 5.2 × 10−9), and four known HbA1c loci: HK1 (rs16926246/P = 3.1 × 10−54), MTNR1B (rs1387153/P = 4.0 × 10−11), GCK (rs1799884/P = 1.5 × 10−20) and G6PC2/ABCB11 (rs552976/P = 8.2 × 10−18). We show that associations with HbA1c are partly a function of hyperglycemia associated with 3 of the 10 loci (GCK, G6PC2 and MTNR1B). The seven nonglycemic loci accounted for a 0.19 (% HbA1c) difference between the extreme 10% tails of the risk score, and would reclassify ∼2% of a general white population screened for diabetes with HbA1c.
CONCLUSIONS GWAS identified 10 genetic loci reproducibly associated with HbA1c. Six are novel and seven map to loci where rarer variants cause hereditary anemias and iron storage disorders. Common variants at these loci likely influence HbA1c levels via erythrocyte biology, and confer a small but detectable reclassification of diabetes diagnosis by HbA1c
- …