Spin and Chirality Effects in Antler-Topology Processes at High Energy e+e−e^+e^- Colliders

We perform a model-independent investigation of spin and chirality correlation effects in the antler-topology processes $e^+e^-\to\mathcal{P}^+\mathcal{P}^-\to (\ell^+ \mathcal{D}^0) (\ell^-\mathcal{\bar{D}}^0)$ at high energy $e^+e^-$ colliders with polarized beams. Generally the production process $e^+e^-\to\mathcal{P}^+\mathcal{P}^-$ can occur not only through the $s$-channel exchange of vector bosons, $\mathcal{V}^0$, including the neutral Standard Model (SM) gauge bosons, $\gamma$ and $Z$, but also through the $s$- and $t$-channel exchanges of new neutral states, $\mathcal{S}^0$ and $\mathcal{T}^0$, and the $u$-channel exchange of new doubly-charged states, $\mathcal{U}^{--}$. The general set of (non-chiral) three-point couplings of the new particles and leptons allowed in a renormalizable quantum field theory is considered. The general spin and chirality analysis is based on the threshold behavior of the excitation curves for $\mathcal{P}^+\mathcal{P}^-$ pair production in $e^+e^-$ collisions with longitudinal and transverse polarized beams, the angular distributions in the production process and also the production-decay angular correlations. In the first step, we present the observables in the helicity formalism. Subsequently, we show how a set of observables can be designed for determining the spins and chiral structures of the new particles without any model assumptions. Finally, taking into account a typical set of approximately chiral invariant scenarios, we demonstrate how the spin and chirality effects can be probed experimentally at a high energy $e^+e^-$ collider.Comment: 50 pages, 14 figures, 6 tables, matches version published in EPJ

Particle tracking velocimetry and accelerometry (PTVA) measurements applied to quasi-two-dimensional multi-scale flows

Accepted versio

The impact of self-reported exposure to whole-body-vibrations on the risk of disability pension among men: a 15 year prospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Whole-body-vibrations are often associated with adverse health effect but the long term effects are less known. This study investigates the association between occupational exposures to whole-body vibrations, and subsequent transition to disability pension.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 4215 male employees were followed up for subsequent disability pension retirement. Exposure to whole-body-vibration was self-reported while new cases of disability pension were retrieved from a national register.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The hazard ratio (HR) for disability pension retirement among men exposed to whole-body-vibrations was 1.61 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-2.40) after adjustment for age, smoking habits, BMI, physical job demands and awkward work postures. In our model, with the available explanatory variables, 5.6% of the male disability pension cases were attributable to whole-body-vibrations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Exposure to whole-body-vibrations predicts subsequent disability pension retirement. Continued reduction of whole-body-vibrations may reduce the number of new cases of disability pension.</p

On the effects of surface morphology on the structure of wall-turbulence

Experiments were conducted in the fully-rough regime on surfaces with large relative roughness (h/δ ≈ 0.1) generated by regularly distributed LEGO™ bricks of uniform height, arranged in different configurations. Measurements were made with high resolution PIV on six different frontal solidities, λF, at fixed plan solidity, λP. Results indicate that the spatial underlying structure of the turbulence across the different surface morphologies is universal in both its shape and orientation in relation to the flow velocity. Harpin packets inclination with respect of the wall is also found to be consistent not only across the different wall surfaces but also when compared to previous studies on smooth walls. Slices of two-point correlations for both streamwise and wall-normal velocity fluctuations and Reynolds shear stresses present a good collapse across the entire y/δ range for all wall morphologies

Quantifying the impact of climate change on drought regimes using the Standardised Precipitation Index

The study presents a methodology to characterise short- or long-term drought events, designed to aid understanding of how climate change may affect future risk. An indicator of drought magnitude, combining parameters of duration, spatial extent and intensity, is presented based on the Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI). The SPI is applied to observed (1955–2003) and projected (2003–2050) precipitation data from the Community Integrated Assessment System (CIAS). Potential consequences of climate change on drought regimes in Australia, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Spain, Portugal and the USA are quantified. Uncertainty is assessed by emulating a range of global circulation models to project climate change. Further uncertainty is addressed through the use of a high-emission scenario and a low stabilisation scenario representing a stringent mitigation policy. Climate change was shown to have a larger effect on the duration and magnitude of long-term droughts, and Australia, Brazil, Spain, Portugal and the USA were highlighted as being particularly vulnerable to multi-year drought events, with the potential for drought magnitude to exceed historical experience. The study highlights the characteristics of drought which may be more sensitive under climate change. For example, on average, short-term droughts in the USA do not become more intense but are projected to increase in duration. Importantly, the stringent mitigation scenario had limited effect on drought regimes in the first half of the twenty-first century, showing that adaptation to drought risk will be vital in these regions

Adaptive Evolution of the Myo6 Gene in Old World Fruit Bats (Family: Pteropodidae)

PMCID: PMC3631194This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Identification of Methylated Genes Associated with Aggressive Bladder Cancer

Approximately 500,000 individuals diagnosed with bladder cancer in the U.S. require routine cystoscopic follow-up to monitor for disease recurrences or progression, resulting in over $2 billion in annual expenditures. Identification of new diagnostic and monitoring strategies are clearly needed, and markers related to DNA methylation alterations hold great promise due to their stability, objective measurement, and known associations with the disease and with its clinical features. To identify novel epigenetic markers of aggressive bladder cancer, we utilized a high-throughput DNA methylation bead-array in two distinct population-based series of incident bladder cancer (n = 73 and n = 264, respectively). We then validated the association between methylation of these candidate loci with tumor grade in a third population (n = 245) through bisulfite pyrosequencing of candidate loci. Array based analyses identified 5 loci for further confirmation with bisulfite pyrosequencing. We identified and confirmed that increased promoter methylation of HOXB2 is significantly and independently associated with invasive bladder cancer and methylation of HOXB2, KRT13 and FRZB together significantly predict high-grade non-invasive disease. Methylation of these genes may be useful as clinical markers of the disease and may point to genes and pathways worthy of additional examination as novel targets for therapeutic treatment

Defining the roughness sublayer and its turbulent statistics

The roughness sublayer in a turbulent openchannel flow over a very rough wall is investigated experimentally both within the canopy and above using particle image velocimetry by gaining complete optical access with new methodologies without disturbing the flow. This enabled reliable estimates of the double-averaged mean and turbulence profiles to be obtained by minimizing and quantifying the usual errors introduced by limited temporal and spatial sampling. It is shown, for example, that poor spatial sampling can lead to erroneous vertical profiles in the roughness sublayer. Then, in order to better define and determine the roughness sublayer height, a methodology based on the measured spatial dispersion is proposed which takes into account temporal sampling errors. The results reveal values well below the usual more ad hoc estimates for all statistics. Finally, the doubleaveraged mean and turbulence statistics in the roughness sublayer are discussed

Environmental and Lifestyle Factors Associated with Perceived Facial Age in Chinese Women

Perceived facial age has been proposed as a biomarker of ageing with ‘looking young for one’s age' linked to physical and cognitive functioning and to increased survival for Caucasians. We have investigated the environmental and lifestyle factors associated with perceived facial ageing in Chinese women. Facial photographs were collected from 250 Chinese women, aged 25–70 years in Shanghai, China. Perceived facial age was determined and related to chronological age for each participant. Lifestyle and health information was collected by questionnaire. Bivariate analyses (controlling for chronological age) identified and quantified lifestyle variables associated with perceived facial age. Independent predictors of perceived age were identified by multivariate modelling. Factors which significantly associated with looking younger for one's chronological age included greater years of education (p<0.001), fewer household members (p = 0.027), menopausal status (p = 0.020), frequency of visiting one's doctor (p = 0.013), working indoors (p<0.001), spending less time in the sun (p = 0.015), moderate levels of physical activity (p = 0.004), higher frequency of teeth cleaning (p<0.001) and more frequent use of facial care products: cleanser (p<0.001); moisturiser (p = 0.016) or night cream (p = 0.016). Overall, 36.5% of the variation in the difference between perceived and chronological age could be explained by a combination of chronological age and 6 independent lifestyle variables. We have thus identified and quantified a number of factors associated with younger appearance in Chinese women. Presentation of these factors in the context of facial appearance could provide significant motivation for the adoption of a range of healthy behaviours at the level of both individuals and populations

Happy Aged People Are All Alike, While Every Unhappy Aged Person Is Unhappy in Its Own Way

Aging of the world's population represents one of the most remarkable success stories of medicine and of humankind, but it is also a source of various challenges. The aim of the collaborative cross-cultural European study of adult well being (ESAW) is to frame the concept of aging successfully within a causal model that embraces physical health and functional status, cognitive efficacy, material security, social support resources, and life activity. Within the framework of this project, we show here that the degree of heterogeneity among people who view aging in a positive light is significantly lower than the degree of heterogeneity of those who hold a negative perception of aging. We base this conclusion on our analysis of a survey involving 12,478 people aged 50 to 90 from six West European countries. We treat the survey database as a bipartite network in which individual respondents are linked to the actual answers they provide. Taking this perspective allows us to construct a projected network of respondents in which each link indicates a statistically validated similarity of answers profile between the connected respondents, and to identify clusters of individuals independently of demographics. We show that mental and physical well-being are key factors determining a positive perception of aging. We further observe that psychological aspects, like self-esteem and resilience, and the nationality of respondents are relevant aspects to discriminate among participants who indicate positive perception of aging