111 research outputs found
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Genome-wide trans-ancestry meta-analysis provides insight into the genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes susceptibility.
To further understanding of the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes (T2D) susceptibility, we aggregated published meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), including 26,488 cases and 83,964 controls of European, east Asian, south Asian and Mexican and Mexican American ancestry. We observed a significant excess in the directional consistency of T2D risk alleles across ancestry groups, even at SNPs demonstrating only weak evidence of association. By following up the strongest signals of association from the trans-ethnic meta-analysis in an additional 21,491 cases and 55,647 controls of European ancestry, we identified seven new T2D susceptibility loci. Furthermore, we observed considerable improvements in the fine-mapping resolution of common variant association signals at several T2D susceptibility loci. These observations highlight the benefits of trans-ethnic GWAS for the discovery and characterization of complex trait loci and emphasize an exciting opportunity to extend insight into the genetic architecture and pathogenesis of human diseases across populations of diverse ancestry
Two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations in central Pb-Pb collisions at = 2.76 TeV
The first measurement of two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations in central Pb-Pb
collisions at TeV at the Large Hadron Collider is
presented. We observe a growing trend with energy now not only for the
longitudinal and the outward but also for the sideward pion source radius. The
pion homogeneity volume and the decoupling time are significantly larger than
those measured at RHIC.Comment: 17 pages, 5 captioned figures, 1 table, authors from page 12,
published version, figures at
http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/388
Suppression of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in central Pb-Pb collisions at TeV
Inclusive transverse momentum spectra of primary charged particles in Pb-Pb
collisions at = 2.76 TeV have been measured by the ALICE
Collaboration at the LHC. The data are presented for central and peripheral
collisions, corresponding to 0-5% and 70-80% of the hadronic Pb-Pb cross
section. The measured charged particle spectra in and GeV/ are compared to the expectation in pp collisions at the same
, scaled by the number of underlying nucleon-nucleon
collisions. The comparison is expressed in terms of the nuclear modification
factor . The result indicates only weak medium effects ( 0.7) in peripheral collisions. In central collisions,
reaches a minimum of about 0.14 at -7GeV/ and increases
significantly at larger . The measured suppression of high- particles is stronger than that observed at lower collision energies,
indicating that a very dense medium is formed in central Pb-Pb collisions at
the LHC.Comment: 15 pages, 5 captioned figures, 3 tables, authors from page 10,
published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/98
Higher harmonic anisotropic flow measurements of charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV
We report on the first measurement of the triangular , quadrangular
, and pentagonal charged particle flow in Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76
TeV measured with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. We show
that the triangular flow can be described in terms of the initial spatial
anisotropy and its fluctuations, which provides strong constraints on its
origin. In the most central events, where the elliptic flow and
have similar magnitude, a double peaked structure in the two-particle azimuthal
correlations is observed, which is often interpreted as a Mach cone response to
fast partons. We show that this structure can be naturally explained from the
measured anisotropic flow Fourier coefficients.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, published version, figures at
http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/387
An embedding technique to determine ττ backgrounds in proton-proton collision data
An embedding technique is presented to estimate standard model tau tau backgrounds from data with minimal simulation input. In the data, the muons are removed from reconstructed mu mu events and replaced with simulated tau leptons with the same kinematic properties. In this way, a set of hybrid events is obtained that does not rely on simulation except for the decay of the tau leptons. The challenges in describing the underlying event or the production of associated jets in the simulation are avoided. The technique described in this paper was developed for CMS. Its validation and the inherent uncertainties are also discussed. The demonstration of the performance of the technique is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions collected by CMS in 2017 at root s = 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 41.5 fb(-1).Peer reviewe
Measurement of the anomalous precession frequency of the muon in the Fermilab Muon g-2 Experiment
The Muon g-2 Experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) has
measured the muon anomalous precession frequency to an uncertainty
of 434 parts per billion (ppb), statistical, and 56 ppb, systematic, with data
collected in four storage ring configurations during its first physics run in
2018. When combined with a precision measurement of the magnetic field of the
experiment's muon storage ring, the precession frequency measurement determines
a muon magnetic anomaly of (0.46 ppm). This article describes the multiple techniques employed
in the reconstruction, analysis and fitting of the data to measure the
precession frequency. It also presents the averaging of the results from the
eleven separate determinations of \omega_a, and the systematic uncertainties on
the result.Comment: 29 pages, 19 figures. Published in Physical Review
Performance of missing transverse momentum reconstruction in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV using the CMS detector
The performance of missing transverse momentum ((p) over right arrow (miss)(T)) reconstruction algorithms for the CMS experiment is presented, using proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected at the CERN LHC in 2016. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The results include measurements of the scale and resolution of (p) over right arrow (miss)(T), and detailed studies of events identified with anomalous (p) over right arrow (miss)(T). The performance is presented of a (p) over right arrow (miss)(T) reconstruction algorithm that mitigates the effects of multiple proton-proton interactions, using the "pileup per particle identification" method. The performance is shown of an algorithm used to estimate the compatibility of the reconstructed (p) over right arrow (miss)(T) with the hypothesis that it originates from resolution effects.Peer reviewe
Soil desiccation for Loess soils on natural and regrown areas
In the Loess Plateau, soil desiccation has become a serious problem for forest and grass vegetation. Soil desiccation leads to the formation of a dried soil layer (DSL). This paper presents the results of research carried out in the central part of the Loess Plateau. The objective of the research was to produce a statistically supported set of indicators for evaluating soil desiccation of forestlands, to present a heuristic idea for soil desiccation and to supply scientific support for replacing farmland with forest or grass in the Loess Plateau and other regions of China. Here, we suggest that more attention should be paid to soil desiccation and its effects on the ecosystem of the region in the future. The results showed that natural Quercus liaotungensis forestlands (NQF) retained more water content than regrown Robinnia pseudoscacia forestlands (RRF). Significant DSLs were formed in the RRF but not in the NQF. A possible reason for no formation of DSL in NQF could be due to the presence of an arbor-shrub-herb stand structure and large humus and litter accumulation, which increased the natural forest's (NF) adaptability to the environmental conditions. Soil water content in the north-facing slope was significantly larger than in the south-facing slope. DSLs formed in the 0-500 cm layer of the south-facing slope. When slope gradient was greater than 25 degrees, soil water content deceased sharply and showed significant difference compared with 9 degrees, 15 degrees and 20 degrees (P < 0.05). So, we conclude that plant species, aspect and slope angle could be the predicators for the formation of DSLs. The analysis on soil physical properties of 0-60 cm layer indicated that plant species, aspect and slope angle also have significant effects on bulk density, porosity, plant-available capacity, and hydraulic conductivity, especially in the 0-20 and 20-40 cm layers. In the NQF and RRF with north-facing slope, soil physical properties were improved. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Paleo-megalake termination in the Quaternary: Paleomagnetic andwater-level evidence from south Bohai Sea, China
Asian marginal seas play an important role in moderating material and energy flux linkages between Asia and the Northwest Pacific, and thus have profound climatic and environmental effects. In this study, by combining paleomagnetic study with sediment grain-size analysis on the Lz908 borehole sedimentary sequence from the southern Bohai Sea, new insights into regional geomorphological process since the late early Pleistocene are obtained. The main results are as follows. (1) Paleomagnetic findings suggest that the sequence recorded the Brunhes normal chron and the late Matuyama reverse chron, including the Jaramillo normal subchron. (2) The sedimentary processes in the study area since 1327 ka show a three-stage pattern, with depositional rates of 4.3, 17 and 107 cm/ka during 1327–260 ka (later part of the early and middle Pleistocene), 260–10 ka (late middle and late Pleistocene), and the Holocene, respectively. (3) The sedimentary basin was a part of the Bohai Paleolakes (BHPL) prior to 260 ka, whose water levels were consistently higher than 3 m above the present-day level. After 260 ka, seawater entered the Bohai basin, and relative sea level cyclically fluctuated with global sea-level changes. We therefore infer that the Miaodao Islands, which were the natural barrier of the BHPL blocking seawater entry, had partially subsided before 260 ka, only allowing seawater to enter the basin during a global sea-level maximum. The BHPL terminated around 260 ka, and the “barrier” subsided completely around ~ 130 ka, causing the Bohai basin to become an inner shelf sea
Magnetostratigraphy and luminescence dating on a sedimentary sequence from northern East China Sea: Constraints on evolutionary history of eastern marginal seas of China since the Early Pleistocene
Owing to the large and increasing population density in low-lying coastal regions, even small changes in sea level can have substantial societal and economic impacts. Alternations of terrestrial and marine sediments deposited in coastal areas or continental shelves are important and effective indicators of sea-level changes, and thus, have been widely studied in the marginal seas of China over the past 30 years. However, sea-level change results from not only eustatic factors but also tectonic activity. The Zhe-Min (or Zhejiang-Fujian) Uplift (ZMU) was such an important factor in geomorphology, and formed a barrier preventing entry of sea water into the northern marginal seas of China, but its Quaternary history is poorly known. In this study, a new borehole (ECS-DZ1) was drilled in the Zhoushan Islands, northern East China Sea to obtain information on the evolution of the ZMU during the Quaternary. Information from paleomagnetic and luminescence dating was combined with data on sedimentary changes. The main results are: (1) constrained by luminescence ages, the upper sedimentary units were extrapolated to have been deposited since similar to 0.2 Ma; (2) paleomagnetic results suggest that the ECS-DZ1 borehole sequence spans from the pre-Olduvai Matuyama reverse chron to the Brunhes normal chron, approximately constraining the age of the basal sedimentary unit to similar to 2.0 Ma; (3) a significant hiatus or erosion between two major sedimentary units possibly occurred between the late Early Pleistocene and Middle Pleistocene. As the Zhoushan Islands are within the ZMU and considering previous transgression studies around this region, it is inferred that the ZMU subsided at similar to 2.0 Ma, allowing seawater to invade northward in the Yellow Sea basin. The ZMU might have been uplifted again no later than 1.0 Ma, causing a sedimentary hiatus or lacustrine development. After similar to 0.2 Ma, the ZMU subsided completely, allowing large transgressions to develop across the northern marginal seas of China in the context of global sea-level changes.</p
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