A novel, high-rate, anaerobic digester to treat high-solids waste ensuring reuse and good sanitation planning

A consortium of UK universities is working on developing a novel anaerobic digester that will treat pit latrine waste and transform it into a safe and valuable product. Physico-chemical characteristics of fresh human waste and pit latrine sludge are being determined. This is informing the development of a bioreactor containing biofilms, or slimes, of several microbial ‘trophic’ groups growing preferentially on distinct surfaces and materials. The ecologically-engineered bioreactor design will optimise the efficiency of the treatment and underpin successful digestion of high-solids waste. The potential use of the digestate will be reused in agriculture to recycle nutrients and prevent environmental, and watercourse pollution. Attitudes to sanitation, as well as to resource recovery from, and reuse of, waste, are being investigated so the participatory sanitation planning process can work effectively

Extent of Social Inequalities in Disability in the Elderly: Results From a Population-based Study of British Men

Purpose Little is known about social inequalities in disability in the elderly. We examined the extent and determinants of socioeconomic inequalities in disability and functional limitation in elderly men in Britain. Methods Disability was ascertained as problems with activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADL in a socioeconomically representative sample of 3981 men from 24 British towns who were between 63 to 82 years of age in 2003. We also examined functional limitation. Measures of socioeconomic position were social class, age at leaving full-time education, and car and house ownership. Results Men in lower social classes had greater risks of both ADL and instrumental ADL disability and functional limitation compared with higher social classes; odds ratios (95% CI) for social class V compared with I were 3.13 (1.64–5.97), 2.87 (1.49–5.51), and 2.65 (1.31–5.35), respectively. Behavioral risk factors (smoking, body mass index, physical activity) and particularly co-morbidity attenuated these differences; together, they reduced relative risks to 1.11 (0.49–2.51), 1.01 (0.45–2.25), and 1.05 (0.46–2.42). Age at leaving full-time education had no relation to functional limitations after taking social class into account. Men who were not house or car owners had greater odds of functional limitation and ADL disability compared with house or car owners, independent of behavioural risk factors, comorbidities and social class. Conclusion Strong socioeconomic inequalities in disability exist in the elderly, which were considerably explained by behavioral factors and comorbidity. Policy efforts are needed to reduce the social disparities in disability in the elderly

Novel Approach to Confront Electroweak Data and Theory

A novel approach to study electroweak physics at one-loop level in generic ${\rm SU(2)_L \times U(1)_Y}$ theories is introduced. It separates the 1-loop corrections into two pieces: process specific ones from vertex and box contributions, and universal ones from contributions to the gauge boson propagators. The latter are parametrized in terms of four effective form factors $\bar{e}^2(q^2)$, $\bar{s}^2(q^2)$, $\bar{g}_Z^2(q^2)$ and $\bar{g}_W^2 (q^2)$ corresponding to the $\gamma\gamma$, $\gamma Z$, $ZZ$ and $WW$ propagators. Under the assumption that only the Standard Model contributes to the process specific corrections, the magnitudes of the four form factors are determined at $q^2=0$ and at q^2=\mmz by fitting to all available precision experiments. These values are then compared systematically with predictions of ${\rm SU(2)_L \times U(1)_Y}$ theories. In all fits \alpha_s(\mz) and \bar{\alpha}(\mmz) are treated as external parameters in order to keep the interpretation as flexible as possible. The treatment of the electroweak data is presented in detail together with the relevant theoretical formulae used to interpret the data. No deviation from the Standard Model has been identified. Ranges of the top quark and Higgs boson masses are derived as functions of \alpha_s(\mz) and \bar{\alpha}(\mmz). Also discussed are consequences of the recent precision measurement of the left-right asymmetry at SLC as well as the impact of a top quark mass and an improved $W$ mass measurement.Comment: 123 pages, LaTeX (33 figures available via anonymous ftp), KEK-TH-375, KEK preprint 93-159, KANAZAWA-94-19, DESY 94-002, YUMS 94-22, SNUTP 94-82, to be published in Z.Phys.

2-Aminophenoxazine-3-one and 2-amino-4,4α-dihydro-4α,7-dimethyl-3H-phenoxazine-3-one cause cellular apoptosis by reducing higher intracellular pH in cancer cells

We examined intracellular pH (pHi) of ten cancer cell lines derived from different organs and two normal cell lines including human embryonic lung fibroblast cells (HEL) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in vitro, and found that pHi of most of these cancer cells was evidently higher (pH 7.5 to 7.7) than that of normal cells (7.32 and 7.44 for HEL and HUVEC, respectively) and that of primary leukemic cells and erythrocytes hitherto reported (≤7.2). Higher pHi in these cancer cells could be related to the Warburg effect in cancer cells with enhanced glycolytic metabolism. Since reversal of the Warburg effect may perturb intracellular homeostasis in cancer cells, we looked for compounds that cause extensive reduction of pHi, a major regulator of the glycolytic pathway and its associated metabolic pathway. We found that phenoxazine compounds, 2-aminophenoxazine-3-one (Phx-3) and 2-amino-4,4α-dihydro-4α,7-dimethyl-3H-phenoxazine-3-one (Phx-1) caused a rapid and drastic dose-dependent decrease of pHi in ten different cancer cells within 30 min, though the extent of the decrease of pHi was significantly larger for Phx-3 (ΔpHi = 0.6 pH units or more for 100 µM Phx-3) than for Phx-1 (ΔpHi = 0.1 pH units or more for 100 µM Phx-1). This rapid and drastic decrease of pHi in a variety of cancer cells caused by Phx-3 and Phx-1 possibly perturbed their intracellular homeostasis, and extensively affected the subsequent cell death, because these phenoxazines exerted dose-dependent proapoptotic and cytotoxic effects on these cells during 72 h incubation, confirming a causal relationship between ΔpHi and cytotoxic effects due to Phx-3 and Phx-1. Phx-3 and Phx-1 also reduced pHi of normal cells including HEL and HUVEC, although they exerted less proapoptotic and cytotoxic effects on these cells than on cancer cells. Drugs such as Phx-3 and Phx-1 that reduce pHi and thereby induce cellular apoptosis might serve as benevolent anticancer drugs

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Search for new physics in events with opposite-sign leptons, jets, and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model (BSM) in final states with a pair of opposite-sign isolated leptons accompanied by jets and missing transverse energy. The search uses LHC data recorded at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 5 inverse femtobarns. Two complementary search strategies are employed. The first probes models with a specific dilepton production mechanism that leads to a characteristic kinematic edge in the dilepton mass distribution. The second strategy probes models of dilepton production with heavy, colored objects that decay to final states including invisible particles, leading to very large hadronic activity and missing transverse energy. No evidence for an event yield in excess of the standard model expectations is found. Upper limits on the BSM contributions to the signal regions are deduced from the results, which are used to exclude a region of the parameter space of the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Additional information related to detector efficiencies and response is provided to allow testing specific models of BSM physics not considered in this paper.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO