1,106 research outputs found

    Hydro-institutional mapping in the Steelpoort River Basin, South Africa

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    River basins / Institutions / Organizations / Private sector / Public sector / Local government / Mapping / Water resource management / Water policy / Legislation / Rural women / Constraints / Groundwater / Surface water / Water quality / Water use / Water users / Dams / Reservoirs / Large-scale systems / Irrigation management / Industrialization / Case studies / Operations / Maintenance / Canals / Conflict / Farmer-agency interactions / Policy / Water supply / Rural development

    Patent Human Infections with the Whipworm, Trichuris trichiura, Are Not Associated with Alterations in the Faecal Microbiota

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    Background: The soil-transmitted helminth (STH), Trichuris trichiura colonises the human large intestine where it may modify inflammatory responses, an effect possibly mediated through alterations in the intestinal microbiota. We hypothesised that patent T. trichiura infections would be associated with altered faecal microbiota and that anthelmintic treatment would induce a microbiota resembling more closely that observed in uninfected individuals. Materials and Methods: School children in Ecuador were screened for STH infections and allocated to 3 groups: uninfected, T. trichiura only, and mixed infections with T. trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides. A sample of uninfected children and those with T. trichiura infections only were given anthelmintic treatment. Bacterial community profiles in faecal samples were studied by 454 pyrosequencing of 16 S rRNA genes. Results: Microbiota analyses of faeces were done for 97 children: 30 were uninfected, 17 were infected with T. trichiura, and 50 with T. trichiura and A. lumbricoides. Post-treatment samples were analyzed for 14 children initially infected with T. trichiura alone and for 21 uninfected children. Treatment resulted in 100% cure of STH infections. Comparisons of the microbiota at different taxonomic levels showed no statistically significant differences in composition between uninfected children and those with T. trichiura infections. We observed a decreased proportional abundance of a few bacterial genera from the Clostridia class of Firmicutes and a reduced bacterial diversity among children with mixed infections compared to the other two groups, indicating a possible specific effect of A. lumbricoides infection. Anthelmintic treatment of children with T. trichiura did not alter faecal microbiota composition. Discussion: Our data indicate that patent human infections with T. trichiura may have no effect on faecal microbiota but that A. lumbricoides colonisation might be associated with a disturbed microbiota. Our results also catalogue the microbiota of rural Ecuadorians and indicate differences with individuals from more urban industrialised societies

    Measurement of the B0_s semileptonic branching ratio to an orbitally excited D_s** state, Br(B0_s -> Ds1(2536) mu nu)

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    In a data sample of approximately 1.3 fb-1 collected with the D0 detector between 2002 and 2006, the orbitally excited charm state D_s1(2536) has been observed with a measured mass of 2535.7 +/- 0.6 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst) MeV via the decay mode B0_s -> D_s1(2536) mu nu X. A first measurement is made of the branching ratio product Br(b(bar) -> D_s1(2536) mu nu X).Br(D_s1(2536)->D* K0_S). Assuming that D_s1(2536) production in semileptonic decay is entirely from B0_s, an extraction of the semileptonic branching ratio Br(B0_s -> D_s1(2536) mu nu X) is made.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX, version with minor changes as accepted by Phys. Rev. Let

    Simultaneous measurement of the ratio B(t->Wb)/B(t->Wq) and the top quark pair production cross section with the D0 detector at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV

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    We present the first simultaneous measurement of the ratio of branching fractions, R=B(t->Wb)/B(t->Wq), with q being a d, s, or b quark, and the top quark pair production cross section sigma_ttbar in the lepton plus jets channel using 0.9 fb-1 of ppbar collision data at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV collected with the D0 detector. We extract R and sigma_ttbar by analyzing samples of events with 0, 1 and >= 2 identified b jets. We measure R = 0.97 +0.09-0.08 (stat+syst) and sigma_ttbar = 8.18 +0.90-0.84 (stat+syst)} +/-0.50 (lumi) pb, in agreement with the standard model prediction.Comment: submitted to Phys.Rev.Letter

    Measurement of Semileptonic Branching Fractions of B Mesons to Narrow D** States

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    Using the data accumulated in 2002-2004 with the DO detector in proton-antiproton collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron collider with centre-of-mass energy 1.96 TeV, the branching fractions of the decays B -> \bar{D}_1^0(2420) \mu^+ \nu_\mu X and B -> \bar{D}_2^{*0}(2460) \mu^+ \nu_\mu X and their ratio have been measured: BR(\bar{b}->B) \cdot BR(B-> \bar{D}_1^0 \mu^+ \nu_\mu X) \cdot BR(\bar{D}_1^0 -> D*- pi+) = (0.087+-0.007(stat)+-0.014(syst))%; BR(\bar{b}->B)\cdot BR(B->D_2^{*0} \mu^+ \nu_\mu X) \cdot BR(\bar{D}_2^{*0} -> D*- \pi^+) = (0.035+-0.007(stat)+-0.008(syst))%; and (BR(B -> \bar{D}_2^{*0} \mu^+ \nu_\mu X)BR(D2*0->D*- pi+)) / (BR(B -> \bar{D}_1^{0} \mu^+ \nu_\mu X)\cdot BR(\bar{D}_1^{0}->D*- \pi^+)) = 0.39+-0.09(stat)+-0.12(syst), where the charge conjugated states are always implied.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

    Measurement of the forward-backward charge asymmetry and extraction of sin^2Theta^{eff}_W in ppbar -> Z/\gamma^{*}+X -> e+e+X events produced at \sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV

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    We present a measurement of the forward-backward charge asymmetry (AFBA_{FB}) in ppˉZ/γ+Xe+e+Xp\bar{p} \to Z/\gamma^{*}+X \to e^+e^-+X events at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV using 1.1 fb1^{-1} of data collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. AFBA_{FB} is measured as a function of the invariant mass of the electron-positron pair, and found to be consistent with the standard model prediction. We use the AFBA_{FB} measurement to extract the effective weak mixing angle sin2ThetaWeff=0.2327±0.0018(stat.)±0.0006(syst.)sin^2Theta^{eff}_W = 0.2327 \pm 0.0018 (stat.) \pm 0.0006 (syst.).Comment: 7 Pages, 1 Figure, 3 Tables, Accepted by Phys. Rev. Let

    Search for right-handed W bosons in top quark decay

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    We present a measurement of the fraction f+ of right-handed W bosons produced in top quark decays, based on a candidate sample of ttˉt\bar{t} events in the lepton+jets decay mode. These data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 230pb^-1, collected by the DO detector at the Fermilab Tevatron ppˉp\bar{p} Collider at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV. We use a constrained fit to reconstruct the kinematics of the ttˉt\bar{t} and decay products, which allows for the measurement of the leptonic decay angle θ\theta^* for each event. By comparing the cosθ\cos\theta^* distribution from the data with those for the expected background and signal for various values of f+, we find f+=0.00+-0.13(stat)+-0.07(syst). This measurement is consistent with the standard model prediction of f+=3.6x10^-4.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review D Rapid Communications 7 pages, 3 figure

    Search for charged Higgs bosons decaying to top and bottom quarks in ppbar collisions

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    We describe a search for production of a charged Higgs boson, q \bar{q'} -> H^+, reconstructed in the t\bar{b} final state in the mass range 180 <= M_{H^+} <= 300 GeV. The search was undertaken at the Fermilab Tevatron collider with a center-of-mass energy sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV and uses 0.9 fb^{-1} of data collected with the D0 detector. We find no evidence for charged Higgs boson production and set upper limits on the production cross section in the Types I, II and III two-Higgs-doublet models (2HDMs). An excluded region in the (M_{H^+},tan\beta) plane for Type I 2HDM is presented.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter
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