379 research outputs found
Low-Background gamma counting at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility
The next generation of low-background physics experiments will require the
use of materials with unprecedented radio-purity. A gamma-counting facility at
the Kimballton Underground Research Facility (KURF) has been commissioned to
perform initial screening of materials for radioactivity primarily from
nuclides in the 238U and 232Th decay chains, 40K and cosmic-ray induced
isotopes. The facility consists of two commercial low-background high purity
germanium (HPGe) detectors. A continuum background reduction better than a
factor of 10 was achieved by going underground. This paper describes the
facility, detector systems, analysis techniques and selected assay results.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures. Submitted to NIM
Subclinical thyroid dysfunction and the risk of heart failure events: an individual participant data analysis from 6 prospective cohorts.
BACKGROUND: American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for the diagnosis and management of heart failure recommend investigating exacerbating conditions such as thyroid dysfunction, but without specifying the impact of different thyroid-stimulation hormone (TSH) levels. Limited prospective data exist on the association between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and heart failure events.
METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed a pooled analysis of individual participant data using all available prospective cohorts with thyroid function tests and subsequent follow-up of heart failure events. Individual data on 25 390 participants with 216 248 person-years of follow-up were supplied from 6 prospective cohorts in the United States and Europe. Euthyroidism was defined as TSH of 0.45 to 4.49 mIU/L, subclinical hypothyroidism as TSH of 4.5 to 19.9 mIU/L, and subclinical hyperthyroidism as TSH <0.45 mIU/L, the last two with normal free thyroxine levels. Among 25 390 participants, 2068 (8.1%) had subclinical hypothyroidism and 648 (2.6%) had subclinical hyperthyroidism. In age- and sex-adjusted analyses, risks of heart failure events were increased with both higher and lower TSH levels (P for quadratic pattern <0.01); the hazard ratio was 1.01 (95% confidence interval, 0.81-1.26) for TSH of 4.5 to 6.9 mIU/L, 1.65 (95% confidence interval, 0.84-3.23) for TSH of 7.0 to 9.9 mIU/L, 1.86 (95% confidence interval, 1.27-2.72) for TSH of 10.0 to 19.9 mIU/L (P for trend <0.01) and 1.31 (95% confidence interval, 0.88-1.95) for TSH of 0.10 to 0.44 mIU/L and 1.94 (95% confidence interval, 1.01-3.72) for TSH <0.10 mIU/L (P for trend=0.047). Risks remained similar after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors.
CONCLUSION: Risks of heart failure events were increased with both higher and lower TSH levels, particularly for TSH â„10 and <0.10 mIU/L
Search for the Flavor-Changing Neutral Current Decay with the HERA-B Detector
We report on a search for the flavor-changing neutral current decay using events recorded with a dimuon trigger in
interactions of 920 GeV protons with nuclei by the HERA-B experiment. We find
no evidence for such decays and set a 90% confidence level upper limit on the
branching fraction .Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures (of which 1 double), paper to be submitted to
Physics Letters
Measurement of the J/Psi Production Cross Section in 920 GeV/c Fixed-Target Proton-Nucleus Interactions
The mid-rapidity (dsigma_(pN)/dy at y=0) and total sigma_(pN) production
cross sections of J/Psi mesons are measured in proton-nucleus interactions.
Data collected by the HERA-B experiment in interactions of 920 GeV/c protons
with carbon, titanium and tungsten targets are used for this analysis. The
J/Psi mesons are reconstructed by their decay into lepton pairs. The total
production cross section obtained is sigma_(pN)(J/Psi) = 663 +- 74 +- 46
nb/nucleon. In addition, our result is compared with previous measurements
Subclinical Hypothyroidism and the Risk of Stroke Events and Fatal Stroke: An Individual Participant Data Analysis.
OBJECTIVE: The objective was to determine the risk of stroke associated with subclinical hypothyroidism.
DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SELECTION: Published prospective cohort studies were identified through a systematic search through November 2013 without restrictions in several databases. Unpublished studies were identified through the Thyroid Studies Collaboration. We collected individual participant data on thyroid function and stroke outcome. Euthyroidism was defined as TSH levels of 0.45-4.49 mIU/L, and subclinical hypothyroidism was defined as TSH levels of 4.5-19.9 mIU/L with normal T4 levels.
DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: We collected individual participant data on 47 573 adults (3451 subclinical hypothyroidism) from 17 cohorts and followed up from 1972-2014 (489 192 person-years). Age- and sex-adjusted pooled hazard ratios (HRs) for participants with subclinical hypothyroidism compared to euthyroidism were 1.05 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.91-1.21) for stroke events (combined fatal and nonfatal stroke) and 1.07 (95% CI, 0.80-1.42) for fatal stroke. Stratified by age, the HR for stroke events was 3.32 (95% CI, 1.25-8.80) for individuals aged 18-49 years. There was an increased risk of fatal stroke in the age groups 18-49 and 50-64 years, with a HR of 4.22 (95% CI, 1.08-16.55) and 2.86 (95% CI, 1.31-6.26), respectively (p trend 0.04). We found no increased risk for those 65-79 years old (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.86-1.18) or â„ 80 years old (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 0.79-2.18). There was a pattern of increased risk of fatal stroke with higher TSH concentrations.
CONCLUSIONS: Although no overall effect of subclinical hypothyroidism on stroke could be demonstrated, an increased risk in subjects younger than 65 years and those with higher TSH concentrations was observed
Thyroid Function Within the Reference Range and the Risk of Stroke: An Individual Participant Data Analysis.
The currently applied reference ranges for thyroid function are under debate. Despite evidence that thyroid function within the reference range is related with several cardiovascular disorders, its association with the risk of stroke has not been evaluated previously.
We identified studies through a systematic literature search and the Thyroid Studies Collaboration, a collaboration of prospective cohort studies. Studies measuring baseline TSH, free T4, and stroke outcomes were included, and we collected individual participant data from each study, including thyroid function measurements and incident all stroke (combined fatal and nonfatal) and fatal stroke. The applied reference range for TSH levels was between 0.45 and 4.49 mIU/L.
We collected individual participant data on 43 598 adults with TSH within the reference range from 17 cohorts, with a median follow-up of 11.6 years (interquartile range 5.1-13.9), including 449 908 person-years. Age- and sex-adjusted pooled hazard ratio for TSH was 0.78 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.65-0.95 across the reference range of TSH) for all stroke and 0.83 (95% CI 0.62-1.09) for fatal stroke. For the free T4 analyses, the hazard ratio was 1.08 (95% CI 0.99-1.15 per SD increase) for all stroke and 1.10 (95% CI 1.04-1.19) for fatal stroke. This was independent of cardiovascular risk factors including systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, smoking, and prevalent diabetes.
Higher levels of TSH within the reference range may decrease the risk of stroke, highlighting the need for further research focusing on the clinical consequences associated with differences within the reference range of thyroid function
Measurement of the B0-anti-B0-Oscillation Frequency with Inclusive Dilepton Events
The - oscillation frequency has been measured with a sample of
23 million \B\bar B pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II
asymmetric B Factory at SLAC. In this sample, we select events in which both B
mesons decay semileptonically and use the charge of the leptons to identify the
flavor of each B meson. A simultaneous fit to the decay time difference
distributions for opposite- and same-sign dilepton events gives ps.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities
A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by
the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an
explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were
chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in
2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that
time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the
broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles
could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII
program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the -factories and CLEO-c
flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the
Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the
deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality,
precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for
continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states
unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such
as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the
spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b},
and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical
approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The
intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have
emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and
cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review
systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing
directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K.
Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D.
Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A.
Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair
Proton irradiation of CVD diamond detectors for high-luminosity experiments at the LHC
CVD diamond shows promising properties for use as a position sensitive detector for experiments in the highest radiation areas at the Large Hadron Collider. In order to study the radiation hardn ess of diamond we exposed CVD diamond detector samples to 24~GeV/ and 500~MeV protons up to a fluence of . We measured the charge collection distance, the ave rage distance electron hole pairs move apart in an external electric field, and leakage currents before, during, and after irradiation. The charge collection distance remains unchanged up to and decreases by 40~\% at . Leakage currents of diamond samples were below 1~pA before and after irradiation. The particle indu ced currents during irradiation correlate well with the proton flux. In contrast to diamond, a silicon diode, which was irradiated for comparison, shows the known large increase in leakage curren t. We conclude that CVD diamond detectors are radiation hard to 24~GeV/ and 500~MeV protons up to at least without signal loss
Subclinical Hyperthyroidism and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease and Mortality
Geriatrics in primary car
- âŠ