191 research outputs found
About the measurements of the hard X-ray background
We analyze uncertainties in the cosmic X-ray background measurements
performed by the INTEGRAL observatory. We find that the most important effect
limiting the accuracy of the measurements is related to the intrinsic
background variation in detectors. Taking into account all of the uncertainties
arising during the measurements we conclude that the X-ray background intensity
obtained in the INTEGRAL observations is compatible with the historic X-ray
background observations performed by the HEAO-1 satellite.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysics and
Space Scienc
Clinical practice guidelines for the management of non-specific low back pain in primary care: an updated overview
Objective: The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the recommendations regarding the diagnosis and treatment contained in current clinical practice guidelines for patients with non-specific low back pai
Maitotoxin-4, a Novel MTX Analog Produced by Gambierdiscus excentricus
Maitotoxins (MTXs) are among the most potent toxins known. These toxins are produced by epi-benthic dinoflagellates of the genera Gambierdiscus and Fukuyoa and may play a role in causing the symptoms associated with Ciguatera Fish Poisoning. A recent survey revealed that, of the species tested, the newly described species from the Canary Islands, G. excentricus, is one of the most maitotoxic. The goal of the present study was to characterize MTX-related compounds produced by this species. Initially, lysates of cells from two Canary Island G. excentricus strains VGO791 and VGO792 were partially purified by (i) liquid-liquid partitioning between dichloromethane and aqueous methanol followed by (ii) size-exclusion chromatography. Fractions from chromatographic separation were screened for MTX toxicity using both the neuroblastoma neuro-2a (N2a) cytotoxicity and Ca2+ flux functional assays. Fractions containing MTX activity were analyzed using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) to pinpoint potential MTX analogs. Subsequent non-targeted HRMS analysis permitted the identification of a novel MTX analog, maitotoxin-4 (MTX4, accurate mono-isotopic mass of 3292.4860 Da, as free acid form) in the most toxic fractions. HRMS/MS spectra of MTX4 as well as of MTX are presented. In addition, crude methanolic extracts of five other strains of G. excentricus and 37 other strains representing one Fukuyoa species and ten species, one ribotype and one undetermined strain/species of Gambierdiscus were screened for the presence of MTXs using low resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LRMS/MS). This targeted analysis indicated the original maitotoxin (MTX) was only present in one strain (G. australes S080911_1). Putative maitotoxin-2 (p-MTX2) and maitotoxin-3 (p-MTX3) were identified in several other species, but confirmation was not possible because of the lack of reference material. Maitotoxin-4 was detected in all seven strains of G. excentricus examined, independently of their origin (Brazil, Canary Islands and Caribbean), and not detected in any other species. MTX4 may therefore serve as a biomarker for the highly toxic G. excentricus in the Atlantic area
System Size and Energy Dependence of Jet-Induced Hadron Pair Correlation Shapes in Cu+Cu and Au+Au Collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 and 62.4 GeV
We present azimuthal angle correlations of intermediate transverse momentum
(1-4 GeV/c) hadrons from {dijets} in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) =
62.4 and 200 GeV. The away-side dijet induced azimuthal correlation is
broadened, non-Gaussian, and peaked away from \Delta\phi=\pi in central and
semi-central collisions in all the systems. The broadening and peak location
are found to depend upon the number of participants in the collision, but not
on the collision energy or beam nuclei. These results are consistent with sound
or shock wave models, but pose challenges to Cherenkov gluon radiation models.Comment: 464 authors from 60 institutions, 6 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables.
Submitted to Physical Review Letters. Plain text data tables for the points
plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be)
publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm
Improved Measurement of Double Helicity Asymmetry in Inclusive Midrapidity pi^0 Production for Polarized p+p Collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV
We present an improved measurement of the double helicity asymmetry for pi^0
production in polarized proton-proton scattering at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV employing
the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The
improvements to our previous measurement come from two main factors: Inclusion
of a new data set from the 2004 RHIC run with higher beam polarizations than
the earlier run and a recalibration of the beam polarization measurements,
which resulted in reduced uncertainties and increased beam polarizations. The
results are compared to a Next to Leading Order (NLO) perturbative Quantum
Chromodynamics (pQCD) calculation with a range of polarized gluon
distributions.Comment: 389 authors, 4 pages, 2 tables, 1 figure. Submitted to Phys. Rev. D,
Rapid Communications. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in
figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly
available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm
Measurement of the branching fraction
The branching fraction is measured in a data sample
corresponding to 0.41 of integrated luminosity collected with the LHCb
detector at the LHC. This channel is sensitive to the penguin contributions
affecting the sin2 measurement from The
time-integrated branching fraction is measured to be . This is the most precise measurement to
date
Measurement of the CP-violating phase \phi s in Bs->J/\psi\pi+\pi- decays
Measurement of the mixing-induced CP-violating phase phi_s in Bs decays is of
prime importance in probing new physics. Here 7421 +/- 105 signal events from
the dominantly CP-odd final state J/\psi pi+ pi- are selected in 1/fb of pp
collision data collected at sqrt{s} = 7 TeV with the LHCb detector. A
time-dependent fit to the data yields a value of
phi_s=-0.019^{+0.173+0.004}_{-0.174-0.003} rad, consistent with the Standard
Model expectation. No evidence of direct CP violation is found.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures; minor revisions on May 23, 201
Absolute luminosity measurements with the LHCb detector at the LHC
Absolute luminosity measurements are of general interest for colliding-beam
experiments at storage rings. These measurements are necessary to determine the
absolute cross-sections of reaction processes and are valuable to quantify the
performance of the accelerator. Using data taken in 2010, LHCb has applied two
methods to determine the absolute scale of its luminosity measurements for
proton-proton collisions at the LHC with a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. In
addition to the classic "van der Meer scan" method a novel technique has been
developed which makes use of direct imaging of the individual beams using
beam-gas and beam-beam interactions. This beam imaging method is made possible
by the high resolution of the LHCb vertex detector and the close proximity of
the detector to the beams, and allows beam parameters such as positions, angles
and widths to be determined. The results of the two methods have comparable
precision and are in good agreement. Combining the two methods, an overall
precision of 3.5% in the absolute luminosity determination is reached. The
techniques used to transport the absolute luminosity calibration to the full
2010 data-taking period are presented.Comment: 48 pages, 19 figures. Results unchanged, improved clarity of Table 6,
9 and 10 and corresponding explanation in the tex
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