The relation between socioeconomic and demographic factors and tumour stage in women diagnosed with breast cancer in Denmark, 1983–1999

The authors investigated the association between socioeconomic position and stage of breast cancer at the time of diagnosis in a nationwide Danish study. All 28 765 women with a primary invasive breast cancer diagnosed between 1983 and 1999 were identified in a nationwide clinical database and information on socioeconomic variables was obtained from Statistics Denmark. The risk of being diagnosed with a high-risk breast cancer, that is size >20 mm, lymph-node positive, ductal histology/high histologic grade and hormone receptor negative, was analysed by multivariate logistic regression. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for high-risk breast cancer was reduced with longer education with a 12% reduced risk (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.80,0.96) in women with higher education and increased with reduced disposable income (low income group: OR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.10,1.34). There was an urban–rural gradient, with higher risk among rural women (OR 1.10; 95 % CI, 1.02, 1.18) and lower risk among women in the capital suburbs (OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.78, 0.93) and capital area (OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.84–1.02). These factors were significant only for postmenopausal women, although similar patterns were observed among the premenopausal women, suggesting a subgroup of aggressive premenopausal breast cancers less influenced by socioeconomic factors

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Search for the neutral Higgs bosons of the minimal supersymmetric standard model in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for neutral Higgs bosons of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) is reported. The analysis is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The data were recorded in 2011 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb-1 to 4.8 fb-1. Higgs boson decays into oppositely-charged muon or τ lepton pairs are considered for final states requiring either the presence or absence of b-jets. No statistically significant excess over the expected background is observed and exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level are derived. The exclusion limits are for the production cross-section of a generic neutral Higgs boson, φ, as a function of the Higgs boson mass and for h/A/H production in the MSSM as a function of the parameters mA and tan β in the mhmax scenario for mA in the range of 90GeV to 500 GeV. Copyright CERN

Search for R-parity-violating supersymmetry in events with four or more leptons in sqrt(s) =7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for new phenomena in final states with four or more leptons (electrons or muons) is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of $\sqrt{s}=7\;\mathrm{TeV}$ proton-proton collisions delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in two signal regions: one that requires moderate values of missing transverse momentum and another that requires large effective mass. The results are interpreted in a simplified model of R-parity-violating supersymmetry in which a 95% CL exclusion region is set for charged wino masses up to 540 GeV. In an R-parity-violating MSUGRA/CMSSM model, values of m 1/2 up to 820 GeV are excluded for 10 < tan β < 40

Search for high-mass resonances decaying to dilepton final states in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used to search for high-mass resonances decaying to an electron-positron pair or a muon-antimuon pair. The search is sensitive to heavy neutral Z′ gauge bosons, Randall-Sundrum gravitons, Z * bosons, techni-mesons, Kaluza-Klein Z/γ bosons, and bosons predicted by Torsion models. Results are presented based on an analysis of pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb−1 in the e + e − channel and 5.0 fb−1 in the μ + μ −channel. A Z ′ boson with Standard Model-like couplings is excluded at 95 % confidence level for masses below 2.22 TeV. A Randall-Sundrum graviton with coupling k/MPl=0.1 is excluded at 95 % confidence level for masses below 2.16 TeV. Limits on the other models are also presented, including Technicolor and Minimal Z′ Models

Discovering Cooperative Relationships of Chromatin Modifications in Human T Cells Based on a Proposed Closeness Measure

BACKGROUND: Eukaryotic transcription is accompanied by combinatorial chromatin modifications that serve as functional epigenetic markers. Composition of chromatin modifications specifies histone codes that regulate the associated gene. Discovering novel chromatin regulatory relationships are of general interest. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Based on the premise that the interaction of chromatin modifications is hypothesized to influence CpG methylation, we present a closeness measure to characterize the regulatory interactions of epigenomic features. The closeness measure is applied to genome-wide CpG methylation and histone modification datasets in human CD4+T cells to select a subset of potential features. To uncover epigenomic and genomic patterns, CpG loci are clustered into nine modules associated with distinct chromatin and genomic signatures based on terms of biological function. We then performed Bayesian network inference to uncover inherent regulatory relationships from the feature selected closeness measure profile and all nine module-specific profiles respectively. The global and module-specific network exhibits topological proximity and modularity. We found that the regulatory patterns of chromatin modifications differ significantly across modules and that distinct patterns are related to specific transcriptional levels and biological function. DNA methylation and genomic features are found to have little regulatory function. The regulatory relationships were partly validated by literature reviews. We also used partial correlation analysis in other cells to verify novel regulatory relationships. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The interactions among chromatin modifications and genomic elements characterized by a closeness measure help elucidate cooperative patterns of chromatin modification in transcriptional regulation and help decipher complex histone codes

DNA methylation, the early-life social environment and behavioral disorders

One of the outstanding questions in behavioral disorders is untangling the complex relationship between nurture and nature. Although epidemiological data provide evidence that there is an interaction between genetics (nature) and the social and physical environments (nurture) in a spectrum of behavioral disorders, the main open question remains the mechanism. Emerging data support the hypothesis that DNA methylation, a covalent modification of the DNA molecule that is a component of its chemical structure, serves as an interface between the dynamic environment and the fixed genome. We propose that modulation of DNA methylation in response to environmental cues early in life serves as a mechanism of life-long genome adaptation. Under certain contexts, this adaptation can turn maladaptive resulting in behavioral disorders. This hypothesis has important implications on understanding, predicting, preventing, and treating behavioral disorders including autism that will be discussed