5,410 research outputs found
ALICE potential for heavy-flavour physics
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), where lead nuclei will collide at the
unprecedented c.m.s. energy of 5.5 TeV per nucleon-nucleon pair, will offer new
and unique opportunities for the study of the properties of strongly
interacting matter at high energy density over extended volumes. We will
briefly explain why heavy-flavour particles are well-suited tools for such a
study and we will describe how the ALICE experiment is preparing to make use of
these tools.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, prepared for the Proceedings of "Strange Quark
Matter 2007", Levoca, Slovaki
PMD67 The Cost-Effectiveness of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Elderly Patients with Severe Aortic Stenosis Who are Contraindicated for Conventional Surgical Aortic Valve replacement in the United Kingdom
Characterization of the glass transition in vitreous silica by temperature scanning small-angle X-ray scattering
The temperature dependence of the x-ray scattering in the region below the
first sharp diffraction peak was measured for silica glasses with low and high
OH content (GE-124 and Corning 7980). Data were obtained upon scanning the
temperature at 10, 40 and 80 K/min between 400 K and 1820 K. The measurements
resolve, for the first time, the hysteresis between heating and cooling through
the glass transition for silica glass, and the data have a better signal to
noise ratio than previous light scattering and differential thermal analysis
data. For the glass with the higher hydroxyl concentration the glass transition
is broader and at a lower temperature. Fits of the data to the
Adam-Gibbs-Fulcher equation provide updated kinetic parameters for this very
strong glass. The temperature derivative of the observed X-ray scattering
matches that of light scattering to within 14%.Comment: EurophysicsLetters, in pres
In situ measurements of density fluctuations and compressibility in silica glass as a function of temperature and thermal history
In this paper, small-angle X-ray scattering measurements are used to
determine the different compressibility contributions, as well as the
isothermal compressibility, in thermal equilibrium in silica glasses having
different thermal histories. Using two different methods of analysis, in the
supercooled liquid and in the glassy state, we obtain respectively the
temperature and fictive temperature dependences of the isotheraml
compressibility. The values obtained in the glass and supercooled liquid states
are very close to each other. They agree with previous determinations of the
literature. The compressibility in the glass state slightly decreases with
increasing fictive temperature. The relaxational part of the compressibility is
also calculated and compared to previous determinations. We discussed the small
differences between the different determinations
Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Microspectroscopy Enables the Direct Characterization of Biomineral-Associated Organic Material on Single Calcareous Microskeletons
Biominerals are composite materials with inorganic and organic components. The latter provide insights into how organisms control mineralization and, if derived from micro/nannofossils, into past climates. Many calcifying organisms cannot be cultured or are extinct; the only materials available for their study are therefore complex environmental samples in which the organism of interest may only be a minor component. There is currently no method for characterizing the biomineral-associated organic material from single particles within such assemblages, so its compositional diversity is unknown. Focusing on coccoliths, we demonstrate that surface-enhanced Raman scattering microspectroscopy can be used to determine the origin and composition of fossil organic matter at the single-particle level in a heterogeneous micro/nannofossil assemblage. This approach may find applications in the study of micro/nannofossil assemblages and uncultivated species, providing evolutionary insights into the macromolecular repertoire involved in biomineralization
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering microspectroscopy enables the direct characterization of biomineral-associated organic material on single calcareous microskeletons
The impact of population-based faecal occult blood test screening on colorectal cancer mortality:a matched cohort study
BACKGROUND: Randomised trials show reduced colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality with faecal occult blood testing (FOBT). This outcome is now examined in a routine, population-based, screening programme. METHODS: Three biennial rounds of the UK CRC screening pilot were completed in Scotland (2000–2007) before the roll out of a national programme. All residents (50–69 years) in the three pilot Health Boards were invited for screening. They received a FOBT test by post to complete at home and return for analysis. Positive tests were followed up with colonoscopy. Controls, selected from non-pilot Health Boards, were matched by age, gender, and deprivation and assigned the invitation date of matched invitee. Follow-up was from invitation date to 31 December 2009 or date of death if earlier. RESULTS: There were 379 655 people in each group (median age 55.6 years, 51.6% male). Participation was 60.6%. There were 961 (0.25%) CRC deaths in invitees, 1056 (0.28%) in controls, rate ratio (RR) 0.90 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.83–0.99) overall and 0.73 (95% CI 0.65–0.82) for participants. Non-participants had increased CRC mortality compared with controls, RR 1.21 (95% CI 1.06–1.38). CONCLUSION: There was a 10% relative reduction in CRC mortality in a routine screening programme, rising to 27% in participants
Eutectic Colony Formation: A Stability Analysis
Experiments have widely shown that a steady-state lamellar eutectic
solidification front is destabilized on a scale much larger than the lamellar
spacing by the rejection of a dilute ternary impurity and forms two-phase cells
commonly referred to as `eutectic colonies'. We extend the stability analysis
of Datye and Langer for a binary eutectic to include the effect of a ternary
impurity. We find that the expressions for the critical onset velocity and
morphological instability wavelength are analogous to those for the classic
Mullins-Sekerka instability of a monophase planar interface, albeit with an
effective surface tension that depends on the geometry of the lamellar
interface and, non-trivially, on interlamellar diffusion. A qualitatively new
aspect of this instability is the occurence of oscillatory modes due to the
interplay between the destabilizing effect of the ternary impurity and the
dynamical feedback of the local change in lamellar spacing on the front motion.
In a transient regime, these modes lead to the formation of large scale
oscillatory microstructures for which there is recent experimental evidence in
a transparent organic system. Moreover, it is shown that the eutectic front
dynamics on a scale larger than the lamellar spacing can be formulated as an
effective monophase interface free boundary problem with a modified
Gibbs-Thomson condition that is coupled to a slow evolution equation for the
lamellar spacing. This formulation provides additional physical insights into
the nature of the instability and a simple means to calculate an approximate
stability spectrum. Finally, we investigate the influence of the ternary
impurity on a short wavelength oscillatory instability that is already present
at off-eutectic compositions in binary eutectics.Comment: 26 pages RevTex, 14 figures (28 EPS files); some minor changes;
references adde
Environmental stress affects the expression of a carotenoid-based sexual trait in male zebra finches.
Abiotic factors including thermal stress are suggested to exert constrains on sexual ornaments through trade-offs between sexual displays and physiological functions related to self-maintenance. Given the health properties of carotenoid pigments, carotenoid-based ornaments offer a relevant context in which to investigate the effect of environmental stress, such as ambient temperature, on the production and maintenance of secondary sexual traits and, also, to explore the proximate mechanisms shaping their expression. In this study, we exposed male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to environmental stress by exposing them to two temperature regimes (6 and 26 degrees C) over a 4 week period. Simultaneously, half of the males in each temperature group were supplemented with carotenoids, whereas the other half were not. The expression of a carotenoid-based sexual trait (bill colour) and the amount of circulating carotenoids were assessed before and at the end of the experiment. Carotenoid-supplemented males developed a redder bill, but the effect of supplementation was reduced under cold exposure. However, we found evidence that birds facing a cold stress were carotenoid limited, since supplemented males developed redder bills than the non-supplemented ones. Interestingly, while cold-exposed and non-supplemented males developed duller bills, they circulated a higher amount of carotenoids at the end of the experiment compared to the pre-experimental values. Together, these results suggest that ambient temperature might contribute to the modulation of the expression of carotenoid-based ornaments. Our findings suggest that carotenoids are a limiting resource under cold exposure and that they might be prioritized for self-maintenance at the expense of the ornament. The physiological functions related to self-maintenance that might have benefited from carotenoid saving are discussed
Estimation of screening test (Hemoccult®) sensitivity in colorectal cancer mass screening
3 controlled cohorts of mass-screening for colorectal cancer using a biennial faecal occult blood (HemoccultII®) test on well-defined European populations have demonstrated a 14% to 18% reduction in specific mortality. We aimed to estimate the sensitivity (S) of this HemoccultII®test and and also mean sojourn time (MST) from French colorectal mass-screening programme data. 6 biennial screening rounds were performed from 1988 to 1998 in 45 603 individuals aged 45–74 years in Saône-et-Loire (Burgundy, France). The prevalent/incidence ratio was calculated in order to obtain a direct estimate of the product S.MST. The analysis of the proportional incidence and its modelling was used to derive an indirect estimate of S and MST. The product S.MST was higher for males than females and higher for left colon than either the right colon or rectum. The analysis of the proportional incidence confirmed the result for subsites but no other significant differences were found. The sensitivity was estimated at 0.57 and the MST at 2.56 years. This study confirms that the sensitivity of the Hemoccult test is relatively low and that the relatively short sojourn time is in favour of annual screening. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co
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