Mendelian randomization supports bidirectional causality between telomere length and clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential

Human genetic studies support an inverse causal relationship between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and coronary artery disease (CAD), but directionally mixed effects for LTL and diverse malignancies. Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), characterized by expansion of hematopoietic cells bearing leukemogenic mutations, predisposes both hematologic malignancy and CAD. TERT (which encodes telomerase reverse transcriptase) is the most significantly associated germline locus for CHIP in genome-wide association studies. Here, we investigated the relationship between CHIP, LTL, and CAD in the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program (n = 63,302) and UK Biobank (n = 47,080). Bidirectional Mendelian randomization studies were consistent with longer genetically imputed LTL increasing propensity to develop CHIP, but CHIP then, in turn, hastens to shorten measured LTL (mLTL). We also demonstrated evidence of modest mediation between CHIP and CAD by mLTL. Our data promote an understanding of potential causal relationships across CHIP and LTL toward prevention of CAD

Measurement of Direct fₒ(980) Photoproduction on the Proton

We report on the results of the first measurement of exclusive f0(980) meson photoproduction on protons for Eγ = 3.0–3.8  GeV and −t = 0.4–1.0  GeV2 . Data were collected with the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The resonance was detected via its decay in the π+π− channel by performing a partial wave analysis of the reaction γp→pπ+π− . Clear evidence of the f0(980) meson was found in the interference between P and S waves at M π+π− ∼1  GeV. The S -wave differential cross section integrated in the mass range of the f0(980) was found to be a factor of about 50 smaller than the cross section for the ρ meson. This is the first time the f0(980) meson has been measured in a photoproduction experiment

Precise Measurement of the Neutron Magnetic Form Factor GnM in the Few-GeV² Region

The neutron elastic magnetic form factor was extracted from quasielastic electron scattering on deuterium over the range Q2 = 1.0–4.8  GeV2 with the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab. High precision was achieved with a ratio technique and a simultaneous in situ calibration of the neutron detection efficiency. Neutrons were detected with electromagnetic calorimeters and time-of-flight scintillators at two beam energies. The dipole parametrization gives a good description of the dat

Photodisintegration of \u3csup\u3e4\u3c/sup\u3eHE into \u3ci\u3ep\u3c/i\u3e+\u3ci\u3et\u3c/i\u3e

The two-body photodisintegration of 4He into a proton and a triton has been studied using the CEBAF Large-Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Real photons produced with the Hall-B bremsstrahlung-tagging system in the energy range from 0.35 to 1.55 GeV were incident on a liquid 4He target. This is the first measurement of the photodisintegration of 4He above 0.4 GeV. The differential cross sections for the γ 4He →pt reaction were measured as a function of photon-beam energy and proton-scattering angle and are compared with the latest model calculations by J.-M. Laget. At 0.6−1.2 GeV, our data are in good agreement only with the calculations that include three-body mechanisms, thus confirming their importance. These results reinforce the conclusion of our previous study of the three-body breakup of 3He that demonstrated the great importance of three-body mechanisms in the energy region 0.5−0.8 GeV

Cross sections for the p -\u3e K*⁰ Σ⁺ reaction at E = 1.7-3.0 GeV

Differential cross sections for the reaction p→ K*0Σ+ are presented in the photon energy range of 1.7 to 3.0 GeV. The K*0 was detected by its decay products, K+π−, in the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility\u27s large acceptance spectrometer (CLAS) detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. These data are the first K*0 photoproduction cross sections ever published over a broad range of angles. Comparison with a theoretical model based on the vector and tensor K∗-quark couplings shows good agreement with the data, except at forward angles, suggesting that the role of scalar κ meson exchange should be investigated

Measurement of Semi-Inclusive π+ Electroproduction Off the Proton

Semi-inclusive π+ electroproduction on protons has been measured with the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab. The measurement was performed on a liquid-hydrogen target using a 5.75 GeV electron beam. The complete five-fold differential cross sections were measured over a wide kinematic range including the complete range of azimuthal angles between hadronic and leptonic planes, ϕ , enabling us to separate the ϕ-dependent terms. Our measurements of the ϕ -independent term of the cross section at low Bjorken x were found to be in fairly good agreement with pQCD calculations. Indeed, the conventional current fragmentation calculation can account for almost all of the observed cross section, even at small π+ momentum. The measured center-of-momentum spectra are in qualitative agreement with high-energy data, which suggests a surprising numerical similarity between the spectator diquark fragmentation in the present reaction and the antiquark fragmentation measured in e+e− collisions. We have observed that the two ϕ -dependent terms of the cross section are small. Within our precision the cos2ϕ term is compatible with zero, except for the low-z region, and the measured cos ϕ term is much smaller in magnitude than the sum of the Cahn and Berger effects

Search for the Photoexcitation of Exotic Mesons in the π+π+π- System

A search for exotic mesons in the π+π+π− system photoproduced by the charge exchange reaction γp→π+π+π−(n) was carried out by the CLAS Collaboration at Jefferson Lab. A tagged-photon beam with energies in the 4.8 to 5.4 GeV range, produced through bremsstrahlung from a 5.744 GeV electron beam, was incident on a liquid-hydrogen target. A partial wave analysis was performed on a sample of 83 000 events, the highest such statistics to date in this reaction at these energies. The main objective of this study was to look for the photoproduction of an exotic JPC=1−+ resonant state in the 1 to 2 GeV mass range. Our partial wave analysis shows production of the a2(1320) and the π2(1670) mesons, but no evidence for the a1(1260) , nor the π1(1600) exotic state at the expected levels. An upper limit of 13.5 nb is determined for the exotic π1(1600) cross section, less than 2% of the a2(1320) production

Cascade Production in the Reactions p → K⁺ K⁺(X) and p → K⁺K⁺ π⁻⁻(X)

Photoproduction of the cascade resonances has been investigated in the reactions γp → K + K +(X) and γp → K + K + π −(X). The mass splitting of the ground state (Ξ−,Ξ0) doublet is measured to be 5.4 ± 1.8 MeV/c2, consistent with existing measurements. The differential (total) cross sections for the Ξ− have been determined for photon beam energies from 2.75 to 3.85 (4.75) GeV and are consistent with a production mechanism of Y∗→K+Ξ− through a t-channel process. The reaction γp→K+K+π−[Ξ0] has also been investigated to search of excited cascade resonances. No significant signal of excited cascade states other than the Ξ−(1530) is observed. The cross-section results of the Ξ−(1530) have also been obtained for photon beam energies from 3.35 to 4.75 GeV