3,489 research outputs found
The ZEUS Forward Plug Calorimeter with Lead-Scintillator Plates and WLS Fiber Readout
A Forward Plug Calorimeter (FPC) for the ZEUS detector at HERA has been built
as a shashlik lead-scintillator calorimeter with wave length shifter fiber
readout. Before installation it was tested and calibrated using the X5 test
beam facility of the SPS accelerator at CERN. Electron, muon and pion beams in
the momentum range of 10 to 100 GeV/c were used. Results of these measurements
are presented as well as a calibration monitoring system based on a Co
source.Comment: 38 pages (Latex); 26 figures (ps
Can seed production and restricted dispersal limit recruitment in Pinus pinaster Aiton from the Spanish Northern Plateau?
Natural regeneration faces increasing difficulties in dry forests from the Mediterranean basin, including for normally well-regenerating species such as maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton). In this paper, we studied female fertility, seed dispersal and spread rates in P. pinaster from the Spanish Northern Plateau, where natural regeneration failure is a main concern for forest managers. For this purpose we periodically collected data from seed traps and trees located at two core locations across several years. We found significant variation in interannual cone production, with the best seed trees being the same across years. In addition, we found highly skewed distributions of female reproductive effort and large fertility differences across stands located few kilometres away. Annual seed dispersal kernels fitted lognormal or 2Dt models depending on the stand analysed, with median dispersal distances between 14 and 25 m. Kernels fitted for maximum dispersal periods showed an outstanding intraseasonal variation of median dispersal distances, from 10 to 54 m, in association to variable patterns of rainfall and maximum wind speed. The amount of seed produced appeared to be enough to guarantee the natural regeneration of the stands during the typical 20-year regeneration period. Colonisation simulations concluded that Mediterranean maritime pine has a notable dispersion capacity, which is strongly influenced by levels of fecundity and, especially, by the number and frequency of long-distance dispersal events. The latter play a key role in tree dispersion processes through enlarging the occupied area and fostering the invasion of abandoned crop land
Tamoxifen ameliorates peritoneal membrane damage by blocking mesothelial to mesenchymal transition in peritoneal dialysis
Mesothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (MMT) is an auto-regulated physiological process of tissue repair that in uncontrolled conditions such as peritoneal dialysis (PD) can lead to peritoneal fibrosis. The maximum expression of peritoneal fibrosis induced by PD fluids and other peritoneal processes is the encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) for which no specific treatment exists. Tamoxifen, a synthetic estrogen, has successfully been used to treat retroperitoneal fibrosis and EPS associated with PD. Hence, we used in vitro and animal model approaches to evaluate the efficacy of Tamoxifen to inhibit the MMT as a trigger of peritoneal fibrosis. In vitro studies were carried out using omentum-derived mesothelial cells (MCs) and effluent-derived MCs. Tamoxifen blocked the MMT induced by transforming growth factor (TGF)-ÎČ1, as it preserved the expression of E-cadherin and reduced the expression of mesenchymal-associated molecules such as snail, fibronectin, collagen-I, α-smooth muscle actin, and matrix metalloproteinse-2. Tamoxifen-treatment preserved the fibrinolytic capacity of MCs treated with TGF-ÎČ1 and decreased their migration capacity. Tamoxifen did not reverse the MMT of non-epitheliod MCs from effluents, but it reduced the expression of some mesenchymal molecules. In mice PD model, we demonstrated that MMT progressed in parallel with peritoneal membrane thickness. In addition, we observed that Tamoxifen significantly reduced peritoneal thickness, angiogenesis, invasion of the compact zone by mesenchymal MCs and improved peritoneal function. Tamoxifen also reduced the effluent levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and leptin. These results demonstrate that Tamoxifen is a therapeutic option to treat peritoneal fibrosis, and that its protective effect is mediated via modulation of the MMT processThis work was supported by grant SAF2010-21249 from the ââMinisterio de Economia y Competitividadââ to MLC and by grant S2010/BMD-2321 from
ââComunidad AutĂłnoma de Madridââ to MLC and RS. This work was also partially supported by grants PI 09/0776 from ââFondo de Investigaciones Sanitariasââ to AA,
and RETICS 06/0016 (REDinREN, Fondos FEDER, EU) to R
Energy Linearity and Resolution of the ATLAS Electromagnetic Barrel Calorimeter in an Electron Test-Beam
A module of the ATLAS electromagnetic barrel liquid argon calorimeter was
exposed to the CERN electron test-beam at the H8 beam line upgraded for
precision momentum measurement. The available energies of the electron beam
ranged from 10 to 245 GeV. The electron beam impinged at one point
corresponding to a pseudo-rapidity of eta=0.687 and an azimuthal angle of
phi=0.28 in the ATLAS coordinate system. A detailed study of several effects
biasing the electron energy measurement allowed an energy reconstruction
procedure to be developed that ensures a good linearity and a good resolution.
Use is made of detailed Monte Carlo simulations based on Geant which describe
the longitudinal and transverse shower profiles as well as the energy
distributions. For electron energies between 15 GeV and 180 GeV the deviation
of the measured incident electron energy over the beam energy is within 0.1%.
The systematic uncertainty of the measurement is about 0.1% at low energies and
negligible at high energies. The energy resolution is found to be about 10%
sqrt(E) for the sampling term and about 0.2% for the local constant term
Position resolution and particle identification with the ATLAS EM calorimeter
In the years between 2000 and 2002 several pre-series and series modules of
the ATLAS EM barrel and end-cap calorimeter were exposed to electron, photon
and pion beams. The performance of the calorimeter with respect to its finely
segmented first sampling has been studied. The polar angle resolution has been
found to be in the range 50-60 mrad/sqrt(E (GeV)). The neutral pion rejection
has been measured to be about 3.5 for 90% photon selection efficiency at pT=50
GeV/c. Electron-pion separation studies have indicated that a pion fake rate of
(0.07-0.5)% can be achieved while maintaining 90% electron identification
efficiency for energies up to 40 GeV.Comment: 32 pages, 22 figures, to be published in NIM
Markers of endothelial damage in patients with chronic kidney disease on hemodialysis
Patients with Stage 5 chronic kidney disease who are on hemodialysis (HD) remain in a chronic inflammatory state, characterized by the accumulation of uremic toxins that induce endothelial damage and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Our aim was to examine microvesicles (MVs), monocyte subpopulations, and angiopoietins (Ang) to identify prognostic markers in HD patients with or without diabetes mellitus (DM). A total of 160 prevalent HD patients from 10 centers across Spain were obtained from the Biobank of the Nephrology Renal Network (Madrid, Spain): 80 patients with DM and 80 patients without DM who were matched for clinical and demographic criteria. MVs from plasma and several monocyte subpopulations (CD142+/CD16+, CD14+/CD162+) were analyzed by flow cytometry, and the plasma concentrations of Ang1 and Ang2 were quantified by ELISA. Data on CVD were gathered over the 5.5 yr after these samples were obtained. MV level, monocyte subpopulations (CD14+/CD162+ and CD142+/CD16+), and Ang2-to-Ang1 ratios increased in HD patients with DM compared with non-DM patients. Moreover, MV level above the median (264 MVs/”l) was associated independently with greater mortality. MVs, monocyte subpopulations, and Ang2-to-Ang1 ratio can be used as predictors for CVD. In addition, MV level has a potential predictive value in the prevention of CVD in HD patients. These parameters undergo more extensive changes in patients with DM.Support for this work was provided by Plan Nacional de IDi Proyectos de InvestigaciĂłn en Salud of Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)âSubdirecciĂłn General de EvaluaciĂłn, Fondos de desarrollo regional (FEDER; PI11/01536, PI12/01489, PI14/00806, PI15/01785); Junta de AndalucĂa grants (P010-CTS-6337, P11-CTS-7352); and FundaciĂłn NefrolĂłgica. P. BuendĂa, A.
Carmona, and C. Luna-Ruiz are fellows from ConsejerĂa de Innovacion, Ciencia y Empresa, Junta de AndalucĂa
High-E_T dijet photoproduction at HERA
The cross section for high-E_T dijet production in photoproduction has been
measured with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 81.8
pb-1. The events were required to have a virtuality of the incoming photon,
Q^2, of less than 1 GeV^2 and a photon-proton centre-of-mass energy in the
range 142 < W < 293 GeV. Events were selected if at least two jets satisfied
the transverse-energy requirements of E_T(jet1) > 20 GeV and E_T(jet2) > 15 GeV
and pseudorapidity requirements of -1 < eta(jet1,2) < 3, with at least one of
the jets satisfying -1 < eta(jet) < 2.5. The measurements show sensitivity to
the parton distributions in the photon and proton and effects beyond
next-to-leading order in QCD. Hence these data can be used to constrain further
the parton densities in the proton and photon.Comment: 36 pages, 13 figures, 20 tables, including minor revisions from
referees. Accepted by Phys. Rev.
Hadron Energy Reconstruction for the ATLAS Calorimetry in the Framework of the Non-parametrical Method
This paper discusses hadron energy reconstruction for the ATLAS barrel
prototype combined calorimeter (consisting of a lead-liquid argon
electromagnetic part and an iron-scintillator hadronic part) in the framework
of the non-parametrical method. The non-parametrical method utilizes only the
known ratios and the electron calibration constants and does not require
the determination of any parameters by a minimization technique. Thus, this
technique lends itself to an easy use in a first level trigger. The
reconstructed mean values of the hadron energies are within of the
true values and the fractional energy resolution is . The value of the ratio
obtained for the electromagnetic compartment of the combined calorimeter is
and agrees with the prediction that for this
electromagnetic calorimeter. Results of a study of the longitudinal hadronic
shower development are also presented. The data have been taken in the H8 beam
line of the CERN SPS using pions of energies from 10 to 300 GeV.Comment: 33 pages, 13 figures, Will be published in NIM
EFNA3 long noncoding RNAs induced by hypoxia promote metastatic dissemination
The presence of hypoxic regions in solid tumors is an adverse prognostic factor for patient outcome. Here, we show that hypoxia induces the expression of Ephrin-A3 through a novel hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-mediated mechanism. In response to hypoxia, the coding EFNA3 mRNA levels remained relatively stable, but HIFs drove the expression of previously unknown long noncoding (lnc) RNAs from EFNA3 locus and these lncRNA caused Ephrin-A3 protein accumulation. Ephrins are cell surface proteins that regulate diverse biological processes by modulating cellular adhesion and repulsion. Mounting evidence implicates deregulated ephrin function in multiple aspects of tumor biology. We demonstrate that sustained expression of both Ephrin-A3 and novel EFNA3 lncRNAs increased the metastatic potential of human breast cancer cells, possibly by increasing the ability of tumor cells to extravasate from the blood vessels into surrounding tissue. In agreement, we found a strong correlation between high EFNA3 expression and shorter metastasis-free survival in breast cancer patients. Taken together, our results suggest that hypoxia could contribute to metastatic spread of breast cancer via HIF-mediated induction of EFNA3 lncRNAs and subsequent Ephrin-A3 protein accumulation
Measurement of event shapes in deep inelastic scattering at HERA
Inclusive event-shape variables have been measured in the current region of
the Breit frame for neutral current deep inelastic ep scattering using an
integrated luminosity of 45.0 pb^-1 collected with the ZEUS detector at HERA.
The variables studied included thrust, jet broadening and invariant jet mass.
The kinematic range covered was 10 < Q^2 < 20,480 GeV^2 and 6.10^-4 < x < 0.6,
where Q^2 is the virtuality of the exchanged boson and x is the Bjorken
variable. The Q dependence of the shape variables has been used in conjunction
with NLO perturbative calculations and the Dokshitzer-Webber non-perturbative
corrections (`power corrections') to investigate the validity of this approach.Comment: 7+25 pages, 6 figure
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