110 research outputs found
Proton Decay: Improving the sensitivity through nuclear dynamics?
The kinematics of the decay of a bound proton is governed by the proton
spectral function. We evaluate this quantity in 16O using the information from
nuclear physics experiments. It also includes a correlated part. The
reliability of this evaluation is sufficient to open the possibility of
correlated cuts in the missing mass and momentum variables in order to identify
the decay events from the bound protons with a possible increase of the signal
to noise ratio.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. CERN preprint: CERN-PH-TH/2010-036. To appear in
Phys Rev
Relativistic eikonal description of A(p,pN) reactions
The authors present a relativistic and cross-section factorized framework for
computing quasielastic A(p,pN) observables at intermediate and high energies.
The model is based on the eikonal approximation and can accomodate both optical
potentials and the Glauber method for dealing with the initial- and final-state
interactions (IFSI). At lower nucleon energies, the optical-potential
philosophy is preferred, whereas at higher energies the Glauber method is more
natural. This versatility in dealing with the IFSI allows one to describe
A(p,pN) reactions in a wide energy range. Most results presented here use
optical potentials as this approach is argued to be the optimum choice for the
kinematics of the experiments considered in the present paper. The properties
of the IFSI factor, a function wherein the entire effect of the IFSI is
contained, are studied in detail. The predictions of the presented framework
are compared with two kinematically different experiments. First, differential
cross sections for quasielastic proton scattering at 1 GeV off 12C, 16O, and
40Ca target nuclei are computed and compared to data from PNPI. Second, the
formalism is applied to the analysis of a 4He(p,2p) experiment at 250 MeV. The
optical-potential calculations are found to be in good agreement with the data
from both experiments, showing the reliability of the adopted model in a wide
energy range.Comment: 34 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Probing coherent charmonium photoproduction off light nuclei at medium energies
We demonstrate how the elementary amplitudes , the
amplitude of the nondiagonal transition, and
the total and cross sections can be determined from
measurements of the coherent and photoproduction off light
nuclei at moderate energies. For this purpose we provide a detailed numerical
analysis of the coherent charmonium photoproduction off silicon within the
generalized vector dominance model (GVDM) adjusted to account for the physics
of charmonium models and color transparency phenomenon.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures (color
Measurement of tensor analyzing powers in deuteron photodisintegration
New accurate measurement of tensor analyzing powers T20, T21 and T22 in
deuteron photodisintegration has been performed. Wide-aperture non-magnetic
detectors allowed to cover broad kinematic ranges in a single setup: photon
energy = 25 to 600 MeV, proton emission angle in CM = 24 to 48 deg. and 70 to
102 deg. New data provide a significant improvement of a few existing
measurements. The angular dependency of the tensor asymmetries in deuteron
photodisintegration is extracted for the first time.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Radio-frequency discharges in Oxygen. Part 1: Modeling
In this series of three papers we present results from a combined
experimental and theoretical effort to quantitatively describe capacitively
coupled radio-frequency discharges in oxygen. The particle-in-cell Monte-Carlo
model on which the theoretical description is based will be described in the
present paper. It treats space charge fields and transport processes on an
equal footing with the most important plasma-chemical reactions. For given
external voltage and pressure, the model determines the electric potential
within the discharge and the distribution functions for electrons, negatively
charged atomic oxygen, and positively charged molecular oxygen. Previously used
scattering and reaction cross section data are critically assessed and in some
cases modified. To validate our model, we compare the densities in the bulk of
the discharge with experimental data and find good agreement, indicating that
essential aspects of an oxygen discharge are captured.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
Nuclear Polarization of Molecular Hydrogen Recombined on a Non-metallic Surface
The nuclear polarization of molecules formed by recombination
of nuclear polarized H atoms on the surface of a storage cell initially coated
with a silicon-based polymer has been measured by using the longitudinal
double-spin asymmetry in deep-inelastic positron-proton scattering. The
molecules are found to have a substantial nuclear polarization, which is
evidence that initially polarized atoms retain their nuclear polarization when
absorbed on this type of surfac
Measurement of Angular Distributions and R= sigma_L/sigma_T in Diffractive Electroproduction of rho^0 Mesons
Production and decay angular distributions were extracted from measurements
of exclusive electroproduction of the rho^0(770) meson over a range in the
virtual photon negative four-momentum squared 0.5< Q^2 <4 GeV^2 and the
photon-nucleon invariant mass range 3.8< W <6.5 GeV. The experiment was
performed with the HERMES spectrometer, using a longitudinally polarized
positron beam and a ^3He gas target internal to the HERA e^{+-} storage ring.
The event sample combines rho^0 mesons produced incoherently off individual
nucleons and coherently off the nucleus as a whole. The distributions in one
production angle and two angles describing the rho^0 -> pi+ pi- decay yielded
measurements of eight elements of the spin-density matrix, including one that
had not been measured before. The results are consistent with the dominance of
helicity-conserving amplitudes and natural parity exchange. The improved
precision achieved at 47 GeV,
reveals evidence for an energy dependence in the ratio R of the longitudinal to
transverse cross sections at constant Q^2.Comment: 15 pages, 15 embedded figures, LaTeX for SVJour(epj) document class
Revision: Fig. 15 corrected, recent data added to Figs. 10,12,14,15; minor
changes to tex
Transcriptome analysis of haploid male gametophyte development in Arabidopsis
BACKGROUND: The haploid male gametophyte generation of flowering plants consists of two- or three-celled pollen grains. This functional specialization is thought to be a key factor in the evolutionary success of flowering plants. Moreover, pollen ontogeny is also an attractive model in which to dissect cellular networks that control cell growth, asymmetric cell division and cellular differentiation. Our objective, and an essential step towards the detailed understanding of these processes, was to comprehensively define the male haploid transcriptome throughout development. RESULTS: We have developed staged spore isolation procedures for Arabidopsis and used Affymetrix ATH1 genome arrays to identify a total of 13,977 male gametophyte-expressed mRNAs, 9.7% of which were male-gametophyte-specific. The transition from bicellular to tricellular pollen was accompanied by a decline in the number of diverse mRNA species and an increase in the proportion of male gametophyte-specific transcripts. Expression profiles of regulatory proteins and distinct clusters of coexpressed genes were identified that could correspond to components of gametophytic regulatory networks. Moreover, integration of transcriptome and experimental data revealed the early synthesis of translation factors and their requirement to support pollen tube growth. CONCLUSIONS: The progression from proliferating microspores to terminally differentiated pollen is characterized by large-scale repression of early program genes and the activation of a unique late gene-expression program in maturing pollen. These data provide a quantum increase in knowledge concerning gametophytic transcription and lay the foundations for new genomic-led studies of the regulatory networks and cellular functions that operate to specify male gametophyte development
Genome-wide search for breast cancer linkage in large Icelandic non-BRCA1/2 families
Abstract
Introduction:
A significant proportion of high-risk breast cancer families are not explained by mutations in known genes. Recent genome-wide searches (GWS) have not revealed any single major locus reminiscent of BRCA1 and BRCA2, indicating that still unidentified genes may explain relatively few families each or interact in a way obscure to linkage analyses. This has drawn attention to possible benefits of studying populations where genetic heterogeneity might be reduced. We thus performed a GWS for linkage on nine Icelandic multiple-case non-BRCA1/2 families of desirable size for mapping highly penetrant loci. To follow up suggestive loci, an additional 13 families from other Nordic countries were genotyped for selected markers.
Methods:
GWS was performed using 811 microsatellite markers providing about five centiMorgan (cM) resolution. Multipoint logarithm of odds (LOD) scores were calculated using parametric and nonparametric methods. For selected markers and cases, tumour tissue was compared to normal tissue to look for allelic loss indicative of a tumour suppressor gene.
Results:
The three highest signals were located at chromosomes 6q, 2p and 14q. One family contributed suggestive LOD scores (LOD 2.63 to 3.03, dominant model) at all these regions, without consistent evidence of a tumour suppressor gene. Haplotypes in nine affected family members mapped the loci to 2p23.2 to p21, 6q14.2 to q23.2 and 14q21.3 to q24.3. No evidence of a highly penetrant locus was found among the remaining families. The heterogeneity LOD (HLOD) at the 6q, 2p and 14q loci in all families was 3.27, 1.66 and 1.24, respectively. The subset of 13 Nordic families showed supportive HLODs at chromosome 6q (ranging from 0.34 to 1.37 by country subset). The 2p and 14q loci overlap with regions indicated by large families in previous GWS studies of breast cancer.
Conclusions:
Chromosomes 2p, 6q and 14q are candidate sites for genes contributing together to high breast cancer risk. A polygenic model is supported, suggesting the joint effect of genes in contributing to breast cancer risk to be rather common in non-BRCA1/2 families. For genetic counselling it would seem important to resolve the mode of genetic interaction
Metabolite profiling and associated gene expression reveal two metabolic shifts during the seed-to-seedling transition in Arabidopsis thaliana
- …