475 research outputs found
High heterogeneity in Plasmodium falciparum risk illustrates the need for detailed mapping to guide resource allocation: a new malaria risk map of the Lao People's Democratic Republic
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Accurate information on the geographical distribution of malaria is important for efficient resource allocation. The Lao People's Democratic Republic has experienced a major decline in malaria morbidity and mortality in the past decade. However, efforts to respond effectively to these changes have been impeded by lack of detailed data on malaria distribution. In 2008, a countrywide survey on <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>diagnosed in health centres and villages was initiated to develop a detailed <it>P. falciparum </it>risk map with the aim to identify priority areas for malaria control, estimate population at risk, and guide resource allocation in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>P. falciparum </it>incidence data were collected from point-referenced villages and health centres for the period 2006-2008 during a country-wide survey between December 2008 and January 2009. Using the highest recorded annual rate, continuous surfaces of <it>P. falciparum </it>incidence were produced by the inverse distance weighted interpolation technique.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Incidence rates were obtained from 3,876 villages and 685 health centres. The risk map shows that <it>P. falciparum </it>is highly heterogeneous in the northern and central regions of the country with large areas of no transmission. In the southern part, transmission is pervasive and the risk of <it>P. falciparum </it>is high. It was estimated that 3.4 million people (60% of the population) live at risk of malaria.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This paper presents the first comprehensive malaria risk map of the Lao People's Democratic Republic based entirely on empirical data. The estimated population at risk is substantially lower than previous estimates, reflecting the presence of vast areas with focal or no malaria transmission as identified in this study. These findings provide important guidance for malaria control interventions in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and underline the need for detailed data on malaria to accurately predict risk in countries with heterogeneous transmission.</p
Weak Decays Beyond Leading Logarithms
We review the present status of QCD corrections to weak decays beyond the
leading logarithmic approximation including particle-antiparticle mixing and
rare and CP violating decays. After presenting the basic formalism for these
calculations we discuss in detail the effective hamiltonians for all decays for
which the next-to-leading corrections are known. Subsequently, we present the
phenomenological implications of these calculations. In particular we update
the values of various parameters and we incorporate new information on m_t in
view of the recent top quark discovery. One of the central issues in our review
are the theoretical uncertainties related to renormalization scale ambiguities
which are substantially reduced by including next-to-leading order corrections.
The impact of this theoretical improvement on the determination of the
Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix is then illustrated in various cases.Comment: 229 pages, 32 PostScript figures (included); uses RevTeX, epsf.sty,
rotate.sty, rmpbib.sty (included), times.sty (included; requires LaTeX 2e);
complete PostScript version available at
ftp://feynman.t30.physik.tu-muenchen.de/pub/preprints/tum-100-95.ps.gz or
ftp://feynman.t30.physik.tu-muenchen.de/pub/preprints/tum-100-95.ps2.gz
(scaled down and rotated version to print two pages on one sheet of paper
Measurement of the ratio of branching fractions BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma)/BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma)
The ratio of branching fractions of the radiative B decays B0 -> K*0 gamma
and Bs0 -> phi gamma has been measured using 0.37 fb-1 of pp collisions at a
centre of mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, collected by the LHCb experiment. The
value obtained is BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma)/BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) = 1.12 +/- 0.08
^{+0.06}_{-0.04} ^{+0.09}_{-0.08}, where the first uncertainty is statistical,
the second systematic and the third is associated to the ratio of fragmentation
fractions fs/fd. Using the world average for BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma) = (4.33 +/-
0.15) x 10^{-5}, the branching fraction BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) is measured to be
(3.9 +/- 0.5) x 10^{-5}, which is the most precise measurement to date.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure, 2 table
Impacts of climate change on plant diseases â opinions and trends
There has been a remarkable scientific output on the topic of how climate change is likely to affect plant diseases in the coming decades. This review addresses the need for review of this burgeoning literature by summarizing opinions of previous reviews and trends in recent studies on the impacts of climate change on plant health. Sudden Oak Death is used as an introductory case study: Californian forests could become even more susceptible to this emerging plant disease, if spring precipitations will be accompanied by warmer temperatures, although climate shifts may also affect the current synchronicity between host cambium activity and pathogen colonization rate. A summary of observed and predicted climate changes, as well as of direct effects of climate change on pathosystems, is provided. Prediction and management of climate change effects on plant health are complicated by indirect effects and the interactions with global change drivers. Uncertainty in models of plant disease development under climate change calls for a diversity of management strategies, from more participatory approaches to interdisciplinary science. Involvement of stakeholders and scientists from outside plant pathology shows the importance of trade-offs, for example in the land-sharing vs. sparing debate. Further research is needed on climate change and plant health in mountain, boreal, Mediterranean and tropical regions, with multiple climate change factors and scenarios (including our responses to it, e.g. the assisted migration of plants), in relation to endophytes, viruses and mycorrhiza, using long-term and large-scale datasets and considering various plant disease control methods
Observation of associated production of a boson with a meson in the~forward region
A search for associated production of a boson with an open charm meson is
presented using a data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of
of proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy
of 7\,TeV, collected by the LHCb experiment. %% Seven candidate events for
associated production of a boson with a meson and four candidate
events for a boson with a meson are observed with a combined
significance of 5.1standard deviations. The production cross-sections in the
forward region are measured to be where the first uncertainty is statistical and the
second systematic.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figure
Measurements of the , , meson and baryon lifetimes
Measurements of -hadron lifetimes are reported using collision data,
corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0fb, collected by the
LHCb detector at a centre-of-mass energy of Tev. Using the exclusive decays
, , ,
and the average decay
times in these modes are measured to be = 0.004 0.003 ps, =
0.006 0.004 ps, = 0.013
0.005 ps, = 0.027
0.006 ps and = 0.011
0.005 ps, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is
systematic. These represent the most precise lifetime measurements in these
decay modes. In addition, ratios of these lifetimes, and the ratio of the
decay-width difference, , to the average width, , in
the system, , are
reported. All quantities are found to be consistent with Standard Model
expectations.Comment: 28 pages, 4 figures. Updated reference
Search for CP violation in decays
A model-independent search for direct CP violation in the Cabibbo suppressed
decay in a sample of approximately 370,000 decays is
carried out. The data were collected by the LHCb experiment in 2010 and
correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35 pb. The normalized Dalitz
plot distributions for and are compared using four different
binning schemes that are sensitive to different manifestations of CP violation.
No evidence for CP asymmetry is found.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Differential branching fraction and angular analysis of the decay B0âKâ0ÎŒ+ÎŒâ
The angular distribution and differential branching fraction of the decay B 0â K â0 ÎŒ + ÎŒ â are studied using a data sample, collected by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at sâ=7 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fbâ1. Several angular observables are measured in bins of the dimuon invariant mass squared, q 2. A first measurement of the zero-crossing point of the forward-backward asymmetry of the dimuon system is also presented. The zero-crossing point is measured to be q20=4.9±0.9GeV2/c4 , where the uncertainty is the sum of statistical and systematic uncertainties. The results are consistent with the Standard Model predictions
Opposite-side flavour tagging of B mesons at the LHCb experiment
The calibration and performance of the oppositeside
flavour tagging algorithms used for the measurements
of time-dependent asymmetries at the LHCb experiment
are described. The algorithms have been developed using
simulated events and optimized and calibrated with
B
+ âJ/ÏK
+, B0 âJ/ÏK
â0 and B0 âD
ââ
Ό
+
ΜΌ decay
modes with 0.37 fbâ1 of data collected in pp collisions
at
â
s = 7 TeV during the 2011 physics run. The oppositeside
tagging power is determined in the B
+ â J/ÏK
+
channel to be (2.10 ± 0.08 ± 0.24) %, where the first uncertainty
is statistical and the second is systematic
Measurement of the CP-violating phase phi_s in the decay Bs->J/psi phi
We present a measurement of the time-dependent CP-violating asymmetry in B_s
-> J/psi phi decays, using data collected with the LHCb detector at the LHC.
The decay time distribution of B_s -> J/psi phi is characterized by the decay
widths Gamma_H and Gamma_L of the heavy and light mass eigenstates of the
B_s-B_s-bar system and by a CP-violating phase phi_s. In a sample of about 8500
B_s -> J/psi phi events isolated from 0.37 fb^-1 of pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7
TeV we measure phi_s = 0.15 +/- 0.18 (stat) +/- 0.06 (syst) rad. We also find
an average B_s decay width Gamma_s == (Gamma_L + Gamma_H)/2 = 0.657 +/- 0.009
(stat) +/- 0.008 (syst) ps^-1 and a decay width difference Delta Gamma_s ==
Gamma_L - Gamma_H} = 0.123 +/- 0.029 (stat) +/- 0.011 (syst) ps^-1. Our
measurement is insensitive to the transformation (phi_s,DeltaGamma_s --> pi -
phi_s, - Delta Gamma_s.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
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