Compensatory density feedback of Oncomelania hupensis populations in two different environmental settings in China

BACKGROUND: The most recent strategy for schistosomiasis control in the People's Republic of China aims to reduce the likelihood of environmental contamination of schistosome eggs. Despite considerable progress, it is believed that achievements would be further consolidated with additional intermediate host snail control measures. We provide an empirical framework for discerning the relative contribution of intrinsic effects (density feedback) from other extrinsic drivers of snail population dynamics. METHODS: We set up experiments in two study locations to collect reproduction data of Oncomelania hupensis, the intermediate host snail of Schistosoma japonicum. We applied a set of four population dynamic models that have been widely used to study phenomenological time-series data to examine the properties of demographic density feedback patterns from abundance data. We also contrasted the obtained results with the component feedback of density on survival rate to determine whether adult survival was the principal driver of the demographic feedback observed. RESULTS: Demographic density feedback models (Ricker- and Gompertz-logistic) accounted for <99% of Akaike's information criterion model weight, with the Gompertz ranking highest in all O. hupensis population groups. We found some evidence for stronger compensatory feedback in the O. hupensis population from Sichuan compared to a Jiangsu population. Survival rates revealed strong component feedback, but the log-linear relationships (i.e. Gompertz) had less support in the demographic feedback analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that integrated schistosomiasis control measures must continue to reduce parasite abundance further because intermediate host snail populations tend to grow exponentially at low densities, especially O. hupensis populations in mountainous regions. We conclude that density feedback in adult survival is the principal component contribution to the demographic phenomenon observed in the population fitness (r)-abundance relationship

Pathway-Based Association Analyses Identified TRAIL Pathway for Osteoporotic Fractures

) pathway were associated with bone metabolism. This study aims to verify the potential association between hip OF and TRAIL pathway.Using genome-wide genotype data from Affymetrix 500 K SNP arrays, we performed novel pathway-based association analyses for hip OF in 700 elderly Chinese Han subjects (350 with hip OF and 350 healthy matched controls).) of the pathway had minor alleles (A) that are associated with an increased risk of hip OF, with the ORs (odds ratios) of 16.51 (95%CI:3.83–71.24) and 1.37 (95%CI:1.08–1.74), respectively.Our study supports the potential role of the TRAIL pathway in the pathogenesis of hip OF in Chinese Han population. Further functional study of this pathway will be pursued to determine the mechanism by which it confers risk to hip OF

Seasonal climatic effects and feedbacks of anthropogenic heat release due to global energy consumption with CAM5

Anthropogenic heat release (AHR) is the heat generated in global energy consumption, which has not been considered in global climate models generally. The global high-resolution AHR from 1992 to 2013, which is estimated by using the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)/Operational Linescan System (OLS) satellite data, is implemented into the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CAM5). The seasonal climatic effects and possible feedbacks of AHR are examined in this study. The modeling results show that AHR increases the global annual mean surface temperature and land surface temperature by 0.02 ± 0.01 K (1σ uncertainty) and 0.05 ± 0.02 K (1σ uncertainty), respectively. The global climatic effect of AHR varies with season: with a stronger climatic effect in the boreal winter leading to global mean land surface temperature increases by 0.10 ± 0.01 K (1σ uncertainty). In the selected regions (40°N–60°N, 0°E–45°E) of Central and Western Europe the average surface temperature increases by 0.46 K in the boreal summer, and in the selected regions (45°N–75°N, 30°E–140°E) of northern Eurasia the average surface temperature increases by 0.83 K in the boreal winter. AHR changes the height and thermodynamic structure of the global planetary boundary layer, as well as the stability of the lower troposphere, which affects the global atmospheric circulation and low cloud fraction. In addition, at the surface both the shortwave radiation flux in the boreal summer and the down-welling longwave flux in the boreal winter change signifi- cantly, as a result of the change in low clouds caused by the effect of AHR. This study suggests a possible new mechanism of AHR effect on global climate through changing the global low-cloud fraction, which is crucial for global energy balance, by modifying the thermodynamic structure and stability of the lower troposphere. Thus this study improves our understanding of the global climate change caused by human activities

Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to all-hadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV;{\rm Te}{\rm V}$and correspond to an integrated luminosity of$4.6\;{\rm f}{{{\rm b}}^{-1}}$. The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-of-mass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum${{p}_{{\rm T}}}\gt 320\;{\rm Ge}{\rm V}$and pseudorapidity$|\eta |\lt 1.9$, is measured to be${{\sigma }_{W+Z}}=8.5\pm 1.7$ pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV

Search for pair-produced long-lived neutral particles decaying to jets in the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter in ppcollisions at √s=8TeV

The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN is used to search for the decay of a scalar boson to a pair of long-lived particles, neutral under the Standard Model gauge group, in 20.3fb−1of data collected in proton–proton collisions at √s=8TeV. This search is sensitive to long-lived particles that decay to Standard Model particles producing jets at the outer edge of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter or inside the hadronic calorimeter. No significant excess of events is observed. Limits are reported on the product of the scalar boson production cross section times branching ratio into long-lived neutral particles as a function of the proper lifetime of the particles. Limits are reported for boson masses from 100 GeVto 900 GeV, and a long-lived neutral particle mass from 10 GeVto 150 GeV

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