| 1. |
- Schael, S, et al.
(author)
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Precision electroweak measurements on the Z resonance
- 2006
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In: Physics Reports. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-1573 .- 1873-6270. ; 427:5-6, s. 257-454
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on the final electroweak measurements performed with data taken at the Z resonance by the experiments operating at the electron-positron colliders SLC and LEP. The data consist of 17 million Z decays accumulated by the ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL experiments at LEP, and 600 thousand Z decays by the SLID experiment using a polarised beam at SLC. The measurements include cross-sections, forward-backward asymmetries and polarised asymmetries. The mass and width of the Z boson, m(Z) and Gamma(Z), and its couplings to fermions, for example the p parameter and the effective electroweak mixing angle for leptons, are precisely measured: m(Z) = 91.1875 +/- 0.0021 GeV, Gamma(Z) = 2.4952 +/- 0.0023 GeV, rho(l) = 1.0050 +/- 0.0010, sin(2)theta(eff)(lept) = 0.23153 +/- 0.00016. The number of light neutrino species is determined to be 2.9840 +/- 0.0082, in agreement with the three observed generations of fundamental fermions. The results are compared to the predictions of the Standard Model (SM). At the Z-pole, electroweak radiative corrections beyond the running of the QED and QCD coupling constants are observed with a significance of five standard deviations, and in agreement with the Standard Model. Of the many Z-pole measurements, the forward-backward asymmetry in b-quark production shows the largest difference with respect to its SM expectation, at the level of 2.8 standard deviations. Through radiative corrections evaluated in the framework of the Standard Model, the Z-pole data are also used to predict the mass of the top quark, m(t) = 173(+10)(+13) GeV, and the mass of the W boson, m(W) = 80.363 +/- 0.032 GeV. These indirect constraints are compared to the direct measurements, providing a stringent test of the SM. Using in addition the direct measurements of m(t) and m(W), the mass of the as yet unobserved SM Higgs boson is predicted with a relative uncertainty of about 50% and found to be less than 285 GeV at 95% confidence level. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
- Jenab, M, et al.
(author)
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Plasma and dietary carotenoid, retinol and tocopherol levels and the risk of gastric adenocarcinomas in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition
- 2006
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In: British Journal of Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1532-1827 .- 0007-0920. ; 95:3, s. 406-415
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite declining incidence rates, gastric cancer (GC) is a major cause of death worldwide. Its aetiology may involve dietary antioxidant micronutrients such as carotenoids and tocopherols. The objective of this study was to determine the association of plasma levels of seven common carotenoids, their total plasma concentration, retinol and alpha- and gamma-tocopherol, with the risk of gastric adenocarcinoma in a case-control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), a large cohort involving 10 countries. A secondary objective was to determine the association of total sum of carotenoids, retinol and alpha-tocopherol on GCs by anatomical subsite (cardia/noncardia) and histological subtype (diffuse/intestinal). Analytes were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography in prediagnostic plasma from 244 GC cases and 645 controls matched by age, gender, study centre and date of blood donation. Conditional logistic regression models adjusted by body mass index, total energy intake, smoking and Helicobacter pylori infection status were used to estimate relative cancer risks. After an average 3.2 years of follow-up, a negative association with GC risk was observed in the highest vs the lowest quartiles of plasma beta-cryptoxanthin (odds ratio (OR) = 0.53, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 0.30-0.94, P(trend) = 0.006), zeaxanthin (OR = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.22-0.69, P(trend) = 0.005), retinol (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.33-0.93, P(trend) = 0.005) and lipid-unadjusted alpha-tocopherol (OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.37-0.94, P(trend) = 0.022). For all analytes, no heterogeneity of risk estimates or significant associations were observed by anatomical subsite. In the diffuse histological subtype, an inverse association was observed with the highest vs lowest quartile of lipid-unadjusted alpha-tocopherol (OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.11-0.65, P(trend) = 0.003). These results show that higher plasma concentrations of some carotenoids, retinol and alpha-tocopherol are associated with reduced risk of GC.
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| 3. |
- Engeset, D, et al.
(author)
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Fish consumption and breast cancer risk. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)
- 2006
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 119:1, s. 175-182
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There is current interest in fish consumption and marine omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids and breast cancer risk. Some in vitro and animal studies have suggested an inhibitory effect of marine n-3 fatty acids on breast cancer growth, but the results from epidemiological studies that have examined the association between fish consumption and breast cancer risk in humans are inconsistent. We examined fish consumption and breast cancer risk in 310,671 women aged between 25 and 70 yr at recruitment into the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). The participants completed a dietary questionnaire between 1992-98 and were followed up for incidence of breast cancer for a median of 6.4 yr. Hazard ratio for breast cancer by intake of total and lean and fatty fish were estimated, stratified by study centre and adjusted for established breast cancer risk factors. During follow-up, 4,776 invasive incident breast cancers were reported. No significant associations between intake of total fish and breast cancer risk were observed, hazard ratio (HR) 1.01 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.99-1.02; p = 0.28 per 10 g fish/day). When examining lean and ratty fish separately, we round a positive significant association only in the highest quintile for fatty fish (HR 1.13, 95% CI 1.01-1.26), but test for trend was not significant (p = 0.10). No associations with breast cancer risk were observed when the study participants were subdivided by menopausal status. Although the period of follow-up is relatively short, the results provide no evidence for an association between fish intake and breast cancer risk. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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| 4. |
- Rana, A., et al.
(author)
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An edge services framework (esf) for egee, lcg, AND osg
- 2006
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on first experiences with building and operating an Edge Services Framework (ESF) based on Xen virtual machines instantiated via the Workspace Service available in Globus Toolkit, and developed as a joint project between EGEE, LCG, and OSG. Many computing facilities are architected with their compute and storage clusters behind firewalls. Edge Services are instantiated on a small set of gateways to provide access to these clusters via standard grid interfaces. Experience on EGEE, LCG, and OSG has shown that at least two issues are of critical importance when designing an infrastructure in support of Edge Services. The first concerns Edge Service configuration. It is impractical to assume that each virtual organization (VO) using a facility will employ the same Edge Service configuration, or that different configurations will coexist easily. Even within a VO, it should be possible to run different versions of the same Edge Service simultaneously. The second issue concerns resource usage: since Edge Services may become a bottleneck to a site, it is essential that an ESF be able to effectively arbitrate resource usage (e.g., memory, CPU, and networking) among different VOs. By providing virtualization on the level of instruction set architecture, virtual machines allow configuration of independent software stacks for each VM executing on a resource. Modern implementations of this abstraction are extremely efficient and have outstanding fine-grained enforcement capabilities. To securely deploy virtual machines, we use the Workspace Service from the Globus Toolkit, which allows a VO administrator to dynamically launch appropriately-configured system images. In addition, we are developing a library of such images, reflecting the needs of presently participating communities ATLAS, CMS, and CDF. We will report on first experiences building and operating this Edge Services Framework.
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| 5. |
- Sato, T, et al.
(author)
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Short-term homing assay reveals a critical role for lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 in the hepatic recruitment of lymphocytes in graft-versus-host disease
- 2006
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In: Journal of Hepatology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-8278. ; 44:6, s. 1132-1140
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background/Aims: The liver is a major target organ of graft versus host disease (GvHD) with massive infiltration of alloreactive lymphocytes resulting in hepatitis and hepatocyte injury. Although adhesive mechanisms have been implicated in the biology of GvHD hepatitis, the identity of homing receptors involved in the initial recruitment of cells from the blood is not known. Methods: We have developed a short-term homing assay in a model of murine GvHD. Splenocytes from donors at an active stage of GvHD were injected intravenously into adoptive recipients also undergoing GvHD. The recruitment of cells to the liver was assessed 6 h after cell transfer. Results: Activated donor CD8 and CD4 lymphocytes expressed lymphocyte function antigen-1 (LITA-1), alpha 4-integrins, and P-selectin binding ligands, and localized more efficiently than naive T cells. Immunoneutralization of LFA-1 reduced the recruitment of CD8 and CD4 lymphocytes to the liver by more than 60%. Anti-LFA-1 antibody also markedly reduced infiltration of lymphocytes in periportal areas and protected against hepatocellular damage. Conclusions: We demonstrate a critical role of LFA-1 in the recruitment of activated lymphocytes to the liver and in immune-cell mediated hepatitis. LFA-1 may be an effective therapeutic target for protecting the liver following bone marrow transplantation. (c) 2005 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 6. |
- Schnabel, R., et al.
(author)
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Global cell sorting in the C. elegans embryo defines a new mechanism for pattern formation
- 2006
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In: Developmental Biology. - : Academic Press Inc.. - 0012-1606 .- 1095-564X. ; 294:2, s. 418-431
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 4D microscopic observations of Caenorhabditis elegans development show that the nematode uses an unprecedented strategy for development. The embryo achieves pattern formation by sorting cells, through far-ranging movements, into coherent regions before morphogenesis is initiated. This sorting of cells is coupled to their particular fate. If cell identity is altered by experiment, cells are rerouted to positions appropriate to their new fates even across the whole embryo. This cell behavior defines a new mechanism of pattern formation, a mechanism that is also found in other animals. We call this new mechanism "cell focusing". When the fate of cells is changed, they move to new positions which also affect the shape of the body. Thus, this process is also important for morphogenesis. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 9. |
- Pichlmair, A, et al.
(author)
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RIG-I-mediated antiviral responses to single-stranded RNA bearing 5'-phosphates
- 2006
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In: Science (New York, N.Y.). - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 1095-9203 .- 0036-8075. ; 314:5801, s. 997-1001
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) produced during viral replication is believed to be the critical trigger for activation of antiviral immunity mediated by the RNA helicase enzymes retinoic acid–inducible gene I (RIG-I) and melanoma differentiation–associated gene 5 (MDA5). We showed that influenza A virus infection does not generate dsRNA and that RIG-I is activated by viral genomic single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) bearing 5′-phosphates. This is blocked by the influenza protein nonstructured protein 1 (NS1), which is found in a complex with RIG-I in infected cells. These results identify RIG-I as a ssRNA sensor and potential target of viral immune evasion and suggest that its ability to sense 5'-phosphorylated RNA evolved in the innate immune system as a means of discriminating between self and nonself.
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| 10. |
- Tchaplyguine, Maxim, et al.
(author)
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Magnetron-based source of neutral metal vapors for photoelectron spectroscopy
- 2006
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In: Review of Scientific Instruments. - : AIP Publishing. - 1089-7623 .- 0034-6748. ; 77:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The construction of a magnetron-based source for neutral metal vapors is presented. The first photoelectron spectroscopy experiments with the source using synchrotron radiation at MAX-lab, Sweden are described. Photoelectron spectra of atomic copper, silver, and nickel are reported with an 80 meV resolution for Cu and Ag, previously not achieved in experiments using synchrotron light. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.
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