Theory of hard photoproduction

The present theoretical knowledge about photons and hard photoproduction processes, i.e. the production of jets, light and heavy hadrons, quarkonia, and prompt photons in photon-photon and photon-hadron collisions, is reviewed. Virtual and polarized photons and prompt photon production in hadron collisions are also discussed. The most important leading and next-to-leading order QCD results are compiled in analytic form. A large variety of numerical predictions is compared to data from TRISTAN, LEP, and HERA and extended to future electron and muon colliders. The sources of all relevant results are collected in a rich bibliography.Comment: Habilitationsschrift, scheduled for publication in Rev. Mod. Phys., 126 pages, 61 figure

Primary biliary cirrhosis with multinucleated hepatocellular giant cells : implications for pathogenesis of primary biliary cirrhosis

Histological and clinical features of syncytial giant cell hepatitis (GCH) are rarely observed in adults, and the disease has been associated with several autoimmune disorders and drug reactions. We describe here the case of a 62-year-old woman who presented with evidence of severe acute hepatocellular injury and cholestasis. Serum work-up demonstrated antimitochondrial antibodies specific for primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) autoantigens, whereas markers of viral infection including hepatitis viruses, paramyxovirus and measles virus were negative. Liver histology revealed the presence of multinucleated hepatocellular giant cells in the parenchymal areas surrounding bridging necrosis. Importantly, damaged interlobular bile ducts were also observed within the lymphocyte-infiltrated portal tracts. Further study using transmission electron microscopy demonstrated the presence of filamentous strands and particles resembling paramyxovirus nucleocapsids in the cytoplasm of syncytial giant cells. To our knowledge, this is the first case of PBC with histological and clinical evidence of syncytial GCH in an adult, and we submit that it might provide novel clues in the enigma of PBC pathogenesi

Orbital forcing and evolution of the Southern African Monsoon from IODP Site U1476 within latest Miocene (7.4 Ma) to early Pliocene (4.5 Ma) interval

Marine sediments from the western Indian Ocean are potentially an ideal archive for monitoring local changes in the Southern African Monsoon (SAFM) as riverine discharge fluctuations are controlled by monsoon precipitation linked to the Intertropical Convergence Zone movement. Regarding the pottential role played by the SAFM in climate systems from latest Miocene to early Pliocene, we reconstructed this monsoonal system based on elemental geochemistry (Ca/Ti and Si/K ratios), stable isotope geochemistry (δ18O and δ13C recorded in the planktonic foraminifera Orbulina universa), and marine sediment grain size data from the International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1476. Here we demonstrated that precession cycles governed precipitation from 7.4 to ~6.9 Ma and during the early Pliocene. From ~6.9 to 5.9 Ma, the precession and long eccentricity cycles drove the SAFM. The major Antarctic ice sheet expansion across this interval appear to influence the isotopic records of Orbulina universa imprinting its long-term variability signal as a response to the ocean and atmospheric reorganization. Precession cycles markedly weakened from 5.9 to 5.3 Ma, almost the same period when the Mediterranean Outflow Water ceased. These findings highlight important teleconnections among the SAFM, Mediterranean Sea, and other tropical regions