2,324 research outputs found
Structural Mapping and Functional Characterization of Zebrafish Class B G-Protein Coupled Receptor (GPCR) with Dual Ligand Selectivity towards GLP-1 and Glucagon
published_or_final_versio
Antimatter and Matter Production in Heavy Ion Collisions at CERN (The NEWMASS Experiment NA52)
Besides the dedicated search for strangelets NA52 measures light
(anti)particle and (anti)nuclei production over a wide range of rapidity.
Compared to previous runs the statistics has been increased in the 1998 run by
more than one order of magnitude for negatively charged objects at different
spectrometer rigidities. Together with previous data taking at a rigidity of
-20 GeV/c we obtained 10^6 antiprotons 10^3 antideuterons and two antihelium3
without centrality requirements. We measured nuclei and antinuclei
(p,d,antiprotons, antideuterons) near midrapidity covering an impact parameter
range of b=2-12 fm. Our results strongly indicate that nuclei and antinuclei
are mainly produced via the coalescence mechanism. However the centrality
dependence of the antibaryon to baryon ratios show that antibaryons are
diminished due to annihilation and breakup reactions in the hadron dense
environment. The volume of the particle source extracted from coalescence
models agrees with results from pion interferometry for an expanding source.
The chemical and thermal freeze-out of nuclei and antinuclei appear to coincide
with each other and with the thermal freeze-out of hadrons.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the conference
on 'Fundamental Issues in Elementary Matter' Bad Honnef, Germany, Sept.
25-29, 200
Comparative historical sociology and the State : problems of method
Historical sociology can be understood both as a specific sub-field of sociology and as providing general conceptual underpinnings of the discipline, to the extent that it provides an understanding of the specificity of the modern state and the perceived emergence of modernity within Europe. The association of modernity with Europe (and with a European history limited to the self-identified boundaries of the continent) is commonplace and pervasive within the social sciences and humanities. What such an understanding fails to take into consideration, however, are the connections between Europe and the rest of the world that constitute the broader context for the emergence of what is understood to be the modern world and its institutions, such as the state and market. In this article, I suggest that integral to this misunderstanding, and its reproduction over time, is the methodology of comparative historical sociology as represented by ideal types. In contrast, I argue for ‘connected sociologies’ as a more appropriate way to understand our shared past and its continuing impact upon the present. I examine these issues in the context of historical sociological understandings of nation-state formation
Risk factors for delayed presentation and referral of symptomatic cancer: Evidence for common cancers
Background:It has been suggested that the known poorer survival from cancer in the United Kingdom, compared with other European countries, can be attributed to more advanced cancer stage at presentation. There is, therefore, a need to understand the diagnostic process, and to ascertain the risk factors for increased time to presentation.Methods:We report the results from two worldwide systematic reviews of the literature on patient-mediated and practitioner-mediated delays, identifying the factors that may influence these.Results:Across cancer sites, non-recognition of symptom seriousness is the main patient-mediated factor resulting in increased time to presentation. There is strong evidence of an association between older age and patient delay for breast cancer, between lower socio-economic status and delay for upper gastrointestinal and urological cancers and between lower education level and delay for breast and colorectal cancers. Fear of cancer is a contributor to delayed presentation, while sanctioning of help seeking by others can be a powerful mediator of reduced time to presentation. For practitioner delay, ‘misdiagnosis’ occurring either through treating patients symptomatically or relating symptoms to a health problem other than cancer, was an important theme across cancer sites. For some cancers, this could also be linked to inadequate patient examination, use of inappropriate tests or failing to follow-up negative or inconclusive test results.Conclusion:Having sought help for potential cancer symptoms, it is therefore important that practitioners recognise these symptoms, and examine, investigate and refer appropriately. © 2009 Cancer Research UK All rights reserved
Robot-assisted laparoscopic transperitoneal pelvic lymphadenectomy and metastasectomy for melanoma: initial report of two cases
Robotic pelvic lymphadenectomy is a well established procedure in the urologic and gynecologic literature. To our knowledge robotic pelvic lymphadectomy for metastatic melanoma has yet to be described. Herein we present the first report of robot-assisted pelvic lymphadenectomy in malignant melanoma. After placement of six laparoscopic ports (12 mm camera, three 8-mm robotic ports, 12-mm and 5-mm assistant ports) the DaVinci S robot (Intuitive Surgical, CA, USA) was docked in standard fashion with the patient in low lithotomy. In both cases the patients had enlarged pelvic lymph nodes on computed tomography and complete excision of these masses was accomplished along with complete lymphadenectomy extending from Cooper’s ligament to just below the hypogastric artery in case 1 and to level of the bifurcation of aorta in case 2. A PK Maryland Dissector and monopolar scissors were used for dissection. Both patients were discharged on postoperative day #1. Robotic pelvic lymphadenectomy can be safely used for management of patients with metastatic melanoma involving the pelvic lymph nodes. Compared with the standard open procedure, pelvic lymphadenectomy with robotic assistance is associated with excellent vision and minimum morbidity
Commissioning of the CMS High Level Trigger
The CMS experiment will collect data from the proton-proton collisions
delivered by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at a centre-of-mass energy up to
14 TeV. The CMS trigger system is designed to cope with unprecedented
luminosities and LHC bunch-crossing rates up to 40 MHz. The unique CMS trigger
architecture only employs two trigger levels. The Level-1 trigger is
implemented using custom electronics, while the High Level Trigger (HLT) is
based on software algorithms running on a large cluster of commercial
processors, the Event Filter Farm. We present the major functionalities of the
CMS High Level Trigger system as of the starting of LHC beams operations in
September 2008. The validation of the HLT system in the online environment with
Monte Carlo simulated data and its commissioning during cosmic rays data taking
campaigns are discussed in detail. We conclude with the description of the HLT
operations with the first circulating LHC beams before the incident occurred
the 19th September 2008
Gonorrhoea and male bladder cancer in a prospective study
In a prospective cohort study, a close to two-fold elevated risk of bladder cancer was found among men reporting a history of gonorrhoea (relative risk=1.92, 95% CI=1.10–3.33). Our finding warrants further examination of the role of gonorrhoea in bladder carcinogenesis
Measurement of the B0_s semileptonic branching ratio to an orbitally excited D_s** state, Br(B0_s -> Ds1(2536) mu nu)
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
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
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