Complete Order alpha_s^3 Results for e^+ e^- to (gamma,Z) to Four Jets

We present the next-to-leading order (O(alpha_s^3)) perturbative QCD predictions for e^+e^- annihilation into four jets. A previous calculation omitted the O(alpha_s^3) terms suppressed by one or more powers of 1/N_c^2, where N_c is the number of colors, and the `light-by-glue scattering' contributions. We find that all such terms are uniformly small, constituting less than 10% of the correction. For the Durham clustering algorithm, the leading and next-to-leading logarithms in the limit of small jet resolution parameter y_{cut} can be resummed. We match the resummed results to our fixed-order calculation in order to improve the small y_{cut} prediction.Comment: Latex2e, 17 pages with 5 encapsulated figures. Note added regarding subsequent related work. To appear in Phys. Rev.

A Putative Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Involved in Regulating Plant Growth and Development1

We have functionally characterized an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) gene AtHSD1 (At5g50600) that encodes a protein with homology to animal 11-β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD). Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing AtHSD1 (designated AOHSD plants) under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter showed increased growth and seed yield as well as increased tolerance of saline stress and reduced seed dormancy. In canola (Brassica napus), transgenic plants overexpressing AtHSD1 also outgrew wild-type plants. AOHSD phenotypes were similar to those of plants that overproduced brassinosteroids (BRs) or overexpressed the BR receptor gene BRI1. A loss-of-function hsd mutant produced by RNA interference displayed a semidwarfed phenotype with reduced sensitivity to BRs. In contrast, AOHSD plants were hypersensitive to BRs and exhibited increased catabolism of abscisic acid (ABA). Germination of AOHSD seeds was less sensitive to ABA, while hsd seed was more sensitive to ABA during germination. AtHSD transcription was rapidly induced by BR treatment in wild type and was expressed widely in aerial plant parts, especially vascular tissues. This study demonstrates that AtHSD1 is involved in regulating growth and development in plants and is likely to promote or mediate BR effects. The gene has significant potential for improving growth and yield of canola and other agricultural crops

Environmental change and enteric zoonoses in New Zealand: a systematic review of the evidence

OBJECTIVE To review the available evidence that examines the association between climatic and agricultural land use factors and the risks of enteric zoonoses in humans and consider information needs and possible pathways of intervention. METHODS The electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science and Embase and government websites were searched systematically for published literature that investigated the association of climatic and/or agricultural exposures with the incidence of the four most common enteric zoonotic diseases in New Zealand (campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis). Results The 16 studies in the review demonstrated significant associations between climate, agricultural land use and enteric disease occurrence. The evidence suggests that enteric disease risk from environmental reservoirs is pathogen specific. In some rural regions, environmental pathogen load is considerable, with multiple opportunities for zoonotic transmission. CONCLUSIONS Enteric disease occurrence in NZ is associated with climate variability and agricultural land use. However, these relationships interact with demographic factors to influence disease patterns. IMPLICATIONS Improved understanding of how environmental and social factors interact can inform effective public health interventions under scenarios of projected environmental change

The Arabidopsis C2H2 Zinc Finger INDETERMINATE DOMAIN1/ENHYDROUS Promotes the Transition to Germination by Regulating Light and Hormonal Signaling during Seed Maturation[W]

This study investigates the function of ENHYDROUS (ENY), an Arabidopsis C2H2 zinc finger protein, during seed development. ENY promotes germination by counteracting aspects of seed maturation associated with abscisic acid. ENY may accomplish this partially through an interaction with the growth-restraining DELLA proteins and regulation of the gibberellin pathway

SECCHI observations of the Sun-s Garden-Hose Density spiral

The SECCHI HI2 white-light imagers on the STEREO A and B spacecraft show systematically different proper motions of material moving outward from the Sun in front of high-speed solar wind streams from coronal holes. As a group of ejections enters the eastern (A) field of view, the elements at the rear of the group appear to overrun the elements at the front. (This is a projection effect and does not mean that the different elements actually merge.) The opposite is true in the western (B) field; the elements at the front of the group appear to run away from the elements at the rear. Elongation/time maps show this effect as a characteristic grouping of the tracks of motion into convergent patterns in the east and divergent patterns in the west, consistent with ejections from a single longitude on the rotating Sun. Evidently, we are observing segments of the “garden-hose” spiral made visible when fast wind from a low-latitude coronal hole compresses blobs of streamer material being shed at the leading edge of the hole

Monitoring the magnetar SGR 1935+2154 with the MAGIC telescopes

The Galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154 was associated with a bright, millisecond-timescale fast radio burst (FRB) which occured in April 2020, during a flaring episode. This was the first time an FRB was unequivocally associated with a Galactic source, and the first FRB for which the nature of the emitting source was identified. Moreover, it was the first FRB with a counterpart at another wavelength correlated in time, an atypical, hard X-ray burst, which provides clear evidence for accompanying non-thermal processes. The MAGIC Telescopes are Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) sensitive to very-high-energy (VHE, E>100 GeV) gamma rays. Located at the center of the camera lies the MAGIC Central pixel, a single fully-modified photosensor-to- readout chain to measure millisecond-duration optical signals, displaying a maximum sensitivity at a wavelength of 350 nm. This allows MAGIC to operate simultaneously both as a VHE gamma- ray and a fast optical telescope. The MAGIC telescopes have monitored SGR 1935+2154 in a multiwavelength campaign involving X-ray, radio and optical facilities. In this contribution, we will show the results on the search for the VHE counterpart of the first SGR-FRB source in this multiwavelength context, as well as the search for fast optical bursts with the MAGIC Central Pixel.ISSN:1824-803