| 1. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(författare)
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The ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Instrumentation. - 1748-0221. ; 3:S08002
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is a general-purpose, heavy-ion detector at the CERN LHC which focuses on QCD, the strong-interaction sector of the Standard Model. It is designed to address the physics of strongly interacting matter and the quark-gluon plasma at extreme values of energy density and temperature in nucleus-nucleus collisions. Besides running with Pb ions, the physics programme includes collisions with lighter ions, lower energy running and dedicated proton-nucleus runs. ALICE will also take data with proton beams at the top LHC energy to collect reference data for the heavy-ion programme and to address several QCD topics for which ALICE is complementary to the other LHC detectors. The ALICE detector has been built by a collaboration including currently over 1000 physicists and engineers from 105 Institutes in 30 countries, Its overall dimensions are 16 x 16 x 26 m(3) with a total weight of approximately 10 000 t. The experiment consists of 18 different detector systems each with its own specific technology choice and design constraints, driven both by the physics requirements and the experimental conditions expected at LHC. The most stringent design constraint is to cope with the extreme particle multiplicity anticipated in central Pb-Pb collisions. The different subsystems were optimized to provide high-momentum resolution as well as excellent Particle Identification (PID) over a broad range in momentum, up to the highest multiplicities predicted for LHC. This will allow for comprehensive studies of hadrons, electrons, muons, and photons produced in the collision of heavy nuclei. Most detector systems are scheduled to be installed and ready for data taking by mid-2008 when the LHC is scheduled to start operation, with the exception of parts of the Photon Spectrometer (PHOS), Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) and Electro Magnetic Calorimeter (EMCal). These detectors will be completed for the high-luminosity ion run expected in 2010. This paper describes in detail the detector components as installed for the first data taking in the summer of 2008.
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| 2. |
- Haas, Brian J., et al.
(författare)
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Genome sequence and analysis of the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans
- 2009
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 461:7262, s. 393-398
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Phytophthora infestans is the most destructive pathogen of potato and a model organism for the oomycetes, a distinct lineage of fungus-like eukaryotes that are related to organisms such as brown algae and diatoms. As the agent of the Irish potato famine in the mid-nineteenth century, P. infestans has had a tremendous effect on human history, resulting in famine and population displacement(1). To this day, it affects world agriculture by causing the most destructive disease of potato, the fourth largest food crop and a critical alternative to the major cereal crops for feeding the world's population(1). Current annual worldwide potato crop losses due to late blight are conservatively estimated at $6.7 billion(2). Management of this devastating pathogen is challenged by its remarkable speed of adaptation to control strategies such as genetically resistant cultivars(3,4). Here we report the sequence of the P. infestans genome, which at similar to 240 megabases (Mb) is by far the largest and most complex genome sequenced so far in the chromalveolates. Its expansion results from a proliferation of repetitive DNA accounting for similar to 74% of the genome. Comparison with two other Phytophthora genomes showed rapid turnover and extensive expansion of specific families of secreted disease effector proteins, including many genes that are induced during infection or are predicted to have activities that alter host physiology. These fast-evolving effector genes are localized to highly dynamic and expanded regions of the P. infestans genome. This probably plays a crucial part in the rapid adaptability of the pathogen to host plants and underpins its evolutionary potential.
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| 4. |
- Brownlie, Rebecca J, et al.
(författare)
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Distinct cell-specific control of autoimmunity and infection by FcgammaRIIb.
- 2008
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Ingår i: The Journal of experimental medicine. - : Rockefeller University Press. - 1540-9538 .- 0022-1007. ; 205:4, s. 883-95
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- FcgammaRIIb is an inhibitory Fc receptor expressed on B cells and myeloid cells. It is important in controlling responses to infection, and reduced expression or function predisposes to autoimmunity. To determine if increased expression of FcgammaRIIb can modulate these processes, we created transgenic mice overexpressing FcgammaRIIb on B cells or macrophages. Overexpression of FcgammaRIIb on B cells reduced the immunoglobulin G component of T-dependent immune responses, led to early resolution of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), and reduced spontaneous systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In contrast, overexpression on macrophages had no effect on immune responses, CIA, or SLE but increased mortality after Streptococcus pneumoniae infection. These results help define the role of FcgammaRIIb in immune responses, demonstrate the contrasting roles played by FcgammaRIIb on B cells and macrophages in the control of infection and autoimmunity, and emphasize the therapeutic potential for modulation of FcgammaRIIb expression on B cells in inflammatory and autoimmune disease.
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| 5. |
- Johnsson, C, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of consumption of freshwater fish on mercury levels in hair, blood, urine, and alveolar air
- 2005
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Ingår i: Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Part A: Current Issues. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1087-2620 .- 1528-7394. ; 68:2, s. 129-140
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Human exposure to methylmercury occurs mainly via consumption of fish. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of freshwater fish consumption on mercury levels in hair, blood, urine, and end-exhaled air. Twenty subjects without dental amalgam fillings were recruited from sport-fishing societies. They ranged in age from 61 to 87 yr. Six individuals ate freshwater fish at least once a week and were categorized as high consumers. Eight individuals were classified as medium consumers and ate freshwater fish at least once a month but less than once a week. Six individuals were categorized as low consumers and had not eaten freshwater fish in the past 3 mo. Among the high consumers, median concentrations of mercury were 8.6 mug/L in blood, 2.4 mug/g in hair, 10 mug/L in end-exhaled air, and 1.1 mug/g creatinine in urine. The relationship between freshwater fish consumption and mercury was significant in all biological media. The high-consumption group had much higher mercury levels in blood (9-fold), hair (7-fold), alveolar air (3-fold), and urine (15-fold) than the low-consumption group. The latter finding may be explained by demethylation of methylmercury in the body. The ratio between mercury concentration in blood and hair was 1:270. This implies that the typical blood-hair ratio of 1:250, specified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1990, is valid also for exposure to low amounts of methylmercury.
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| 7. |
- Martin, Andrés, et al.
(författare)
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Early to bed : a study of adaptation among sexually active urban adolescent girls younger than age sixteen.
- 2005
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0890-8567 .- 1527-5418. ; 44:4, s. 358-67
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between sexual activity among urban adolescent girls and four global measures of psychosocial adaptation (academic motivation, school achievement, depressive symptoms, and expectations about the future).METHOD: Data derived from the Social and Health Assessment, a self-report survey administered in 1998 to students in the public school system in New Haven, CT (149 classes at 17 middle and high schools).RESULTS: Of 1,413 respondents (57% black, 28% Hispanic; mean age 13.4 +/- 1.7 years), 414 (29%) acknowledged prior sexual intercourse; the proportions of sexually active girls in 6th, 8th, and 10th grades were 14%, 30%, and 50%, respectively. In multivariate analyses of covariance, sexual activity was significantly associated with all four measures of psychosocial adaptation (p < .001). Other correlates of at least one measure of maladaptation included socioeconomic status, sensation seeking, and lower school grade (p < .001 for each), peer pressure (p < .01), and black ethnicity, and the interaction of sexual activity by lower school grade (p < .05 for each).CONCLUSIONS: Compared with their sexually naive peers, sexually active adolescent girls had lower scores on global measures of psychosocial adaptation. These findings have clinical, policy, and research relevance to a vulnerable population at high risk of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
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