Restriction enzyme-free mutagenesis via the light regulation of DNA polymerization

The effects of photocaged nucleosides on the DNA polymerization reaction was investigated, finding that most polymerases are unable to recognize and read through the presence of a single caging group on the DNA template. Based on this discovery, a new method of introducing mutations into plasmid DNA via a light-mediated mutagenesis protocol was developed. This methodology is advantageous over several common approaches in that it requires the use of only two polymerase chain reaction primers, and does not require any restriction sites or use of restriction enzymes. Additionally, this approach enables not only site-directed mutations, but also the insertion of DNA strands of any length into plasmids and the deletion of entire genes from plasmids

Search for Anomalous Couplings in the Higgs Sector at LEP

Anomalous couplings of the Higgs boson are searched for through the processes e^+ e^- -> H gamma, e^+ e^- -> e^+ e^- H and e^+ e^- -> HZ. The mass range 70 GeV < m_H < 190 GeV is explored using 602 pb^-1 of integrated luminosity collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies sqrt(s)=189-209 GeV. The Higgs decay channels H -> ffbar, H -> gamma gamma, H -> Z\gamma and H -> WW^(*) are considered and no evidence is found for anomalous Higgs production or decay. Limits on the anomalous couplings d, db, Delta(g1z), Delta(kappa_gamma) and xi^2 are derived as well as limits on the H -> gamma gamma and H -> Z gamma decay rates

Search for Charged Higgs Bosons at LEP

A search for pair-produced charged Higgs bosons is performed with the L3 detector at LEP using data collected at centre-of-mass energies between 189 and 209GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 629.4/pb. Decays into a charm and a strange quark or into a tau lepton and its neutrino are considered. No significant excess is observed and lower limits on the mass of the charged Higgs boson are derived at the 95% confidence level. They vary from 76.5 to 82.7GeV, as a function of the H->tv branching ratio

Search for a Higgs Boson Decaying to Weak Boson Pairs at LEP

A Higgs particle produced in association with a Z boson and decaying into weak boson pairs is searched for in 336.4 1/pb of data collected by the L3 experiment at LEP at centre-of-mass energies from 200 to 209 GeV. Limits on the branching fraction of the Higgs boson decay into two weak bosons as a function of the Higgs mass are derived. These results are combined with the L3 search for a Higgs boson decaying to photon pairs. A Higgs produced with a Standard Model e+e- --> Zh cross section and decaying only into electroweak boson pairs is excluded at 95% CL for a mass below 107 GeV

Flavour Independent Search for Neutral Higgs Bosons at LEP

A flavour independent search for the CP-even and CP-odd neutral Higgs bosons h and A is performed in 624/pb of data collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies between 189 and 209GeV. Higgs boson production through the e^+e^- -> Z h and the e^+e^- ->h A processes is considered and decays of the Higgs bosons into hadrons are studied. No significant signal is observed and 95% confidence level limits on the hZZ and hAZ couplings are derived as a function of the Higgs boson masses. Assuming the Standard Model cross section for the Higgs-strahlung process and a 100% branching fraction into hadrons, a 95% confidence level lower limit on the mass of the Higgs boson is set at 110.3GeV

Standard Model Higgs Boson with the L3 Experiment at LEP

Final results of the search for the Standard Model Higgs boson are presented for the data collected by the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies up to about 209 GeV. These data are compared with the expectations of Standard Model processes for Higgs boson masses up to 120 GeV. A lower limit on the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson of 112.0 GeV is set at the 95 % confidence level. The most significant high mass candidate is a Hnunu event. It has a reconstructed Higgs mass of 115 GeV and it was recorded at root(s)=206.4 GeV

Measurement of charged-particle multiplicity distributions and their H_q moments in hadronic Z decays at LEP

The charged-particle multiplicity distribution is measured for all hadronic events as well as for light-quark and b-quark events produced in e+e- collisions at the Z pole. Moments of the charged-particle multiplicity distributions are calculated. The H moments of the multiplicity distributions are studied, and their quasi-oscillations as a function of the rank of the moment are investigated.Comment: Matches published versio