2,208 research outputs found
Top Quark Physics at the Tevatron
We review the field of top-quark physics with an emphasis on experimental
techniques. The role of the top quark in the Standard Model of particle physics
is summarized and the basic phenomenology of top-quark production and decay is
introduced. We discuss how contributions from physics beyond the Standard Model
could affect top-quark properties or event samples. The many measurements made
at the Fermilab Tevatron, which test the Standard Model predictions or probe
for direct evidence of new physics using the top-quark event samples, are
reviewed here.Comment: 50 pages, 17 figures, 2 tables; version accepted by Review of Modern
Physic
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Mitral Annulus Segmentation From Three-Dimensional Ultrasound
An accurate and reproducible segmentation of the mitral valve annulus from 3D ultrasound is useful to clinicians and researchers in applications such as pathology diagnosis and mitral valve modeling. Current segmentation methods, however, are based on 2D information, resulting in inaccuracies and a lack of spatial coherence. We present a segmentation algorithm which, given a single user-specified point near the center of the valve, uses maxflow and active contour methods to delineate the annulus geometry in 3D. Preliminary comparisons to manual segmentations and a sensitivity study show the algorithm is both accurate and robust.Engineering and Applied Science
Achieving an Optimal Childhood Vaccine Policy
Policies to remove parents' ability to opt-out from school immunization requirements on the basis of religious or personal beliefs (ie, nonmedical exemptions) may be a useful strategy to increase immunization rates and prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease. However, there is uncertainty about the effectiveness of this strategy and the range of possible outcomes. We advocate for a more deliberative process through which a broad range of outcomes is scrutinized and the balance of values underlying the policy decision to eliminate nonmedical exemptions is clearly articulated. We identify 3 outcomes that require particular consideration before policies to eliminate nonmedical exemptions are implemented widely and outline a process for making the values underlying such policies more explicit
Computing exponentially faster: Implementing a nondeterministic universal Turing machine using DNA
The theory of computer science is based around Universal Turing Machines
(UTMs): abstract machines able to execute all possible algorithms. Modern
digital computers are physical embodiments of UTMs. The nondeterministic
polynomial (NP) time complexity class of problems is the most significant in
computer science, and an efficient (i.e. polynomial P) way to solve such
problems would be of profound economic and social importance. By definition
nondeterministic UTMs (NUTMs) solve NP complete problems in P time. However,
NUTMs have previously been believed to be physically impossible to construct.
Thue string rewriting systems are computationally equivalent to UTMs, and are
naturally nondeterministic. Here we describe the physical design for a NUTM
that implements a universal Thue system. The design exploits the ability of DNA
to replicate to execute an exponential number of computational paths in P time.
Each Thue rewriting step is embodied in a DNA edit implemented using a novel
combination of polymerase chain reactions and site-directed mutagenesis. We
demonstrate that this design works using both computational modelling and in
vitro molecular biology experimentation. The current design has limitations,
such as restricted error-correction. However, it opens up the prospect of
engineering NUTM based computers able to outperform all standard computers on
important practical problems
Long-term and recent changes in sea level in the Falkland Islands
Mean sea level measurements made at Port Louis in the Falkland Islands in 1981-2, 1984 and 2009, together with values from the nearby permanent tide gauge at Port Stanley, have been compared to measurements made at Port Louis in 1842 by James Clark Ross. The long-term rate of change of sea level is estimated to have been +0.75 ± 0.35 mm/year between 1842 and the early 1980s, after correction for air pressure effects and for vertical land movement due to Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA). The 2009 Port Louis data set is of particular importance due to the availability of simultaneous information from Port Stanley. The data set has been employed in two ways, by providing a short recent estimate of mean sea level itself, and by enabling the effective combination of measurements at the two sites. The rate of sea level rise observed since 1992, when the modern Stanley gauge was installed, has been larger at 2.51 ± 0.58 mm/year, after correction for air pressure and GIA. This rate compares to a value of 2.79 ± 0.42 mm/year obtained from satellite altimetry in the region over the same period. Such a relatively recent acceleration in the rate of sea level rise is consistent with findings from other locations in the southern hemisphere and globall
Structural basis of Ac-SDKP hydrolysis by Angiotensin-I converting enzyme
Angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) is a zinc dipeptidylcarboxypeptidase with two active domains and plays a key role in the regulation of blood pressure and electrolyte homeostasis, making it the principal target in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. More recently, the tetrapetide N-acetyl-Ser–Asp–Lys–Pro (Ac-SDKP) has emerged as a potent antifibrotic agent and negative regulator of haematopoietic stem cell differentiation which is processed exclusively by ACE. Here we provide a detailed biochemical and structural basis for the domain preference of Ac-SDKP. The high resolution crystal structures of N-domain ACE in complex with the dipeptide products of Ac-SDKP cleavage were obtained and offered a template to model the mechanism of substrate recognition of the enzyme. A comprehensive kinetic study of Ac-SDKP and domain co-operation was performed and indicated domain interactions affecting processing of the tetrapeptide substrate. Our results further illustrate the molecular basis for N-domain selectivity and should help design novel ACE inhibitors and Ac-SDKP analogues that could be used in the treatment of fibrosis disorders
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