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- 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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- Schael, S., et al.
(author)
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Electroweak measurements in electron positron collisions at W-boson-pair energies at LEP
- 2013
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In: Physics Reports. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-1573 .- 1873-6270. ; 532:4, s. 119-244
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Electroweak measurements performed with data taken at the electron positron collider LEP at CERN from 1995 to 2000 are reported. The combined data set considered in this report corresponds to a total luminosity of about 3 fb(-1) collected by the four LEP experiments ALEPH, DELPHI, 13 and OPAL, at centre-of-mass energies ranging from 130 GeV to 209 GeV. Combining the published results of the four LEP experiments, the measurements include total and differential cross-sections in photon-pair, fermion-pair and four-fermion production, the latter resulting from both double-resonant WW and ZZ production as well as singly resonant production. Total and differential cross-sections are measured precisely, providing a stringent test of the Standard Model at centre-of-mass energies never explored before in electron positron collisions. Final-state interaction effects in four-fermion production, such as those arising from colour reconnection and Bose Einstein correlations between the two W decay systems arising in WW production, are searched for and upper limits on the strength of possible effects are obtained. The data are used to determine fundamental properties of the W boson and the electroweak theory. Among others, the mass and width of the W boson, m(w) and Gamma(w), the branching fraction of W decays to hadrons, B(W -> had), and the trilinear gauge-boson self-couplings g(1)(Z), K-gamma and lambda(gamma), are determined to be: m(w) = 80.376 +/- 0.033 GeV Gamma(w) = 2.195 +/- 0.083 GeV B(W -> had) = 67.41 +/- 0.27% g(1)(Z) = 0.984(-0.020)(+0.018) K-gamma - 0.982 +/- 0.042 lambda(gamma) = 0.022 +/- 0.019. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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- Antoniou, Antonis C., et al.
(author)
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Common alleles at 6q25.1 and 1p11.2 are associated with breast cancer risk for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers
- 2011
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In: Human Molecular Genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 20:16, s. 3304-3321
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 6q25.1, near the ESR1 gene, have been implicated in the susceptibility to breast cancer for Asian (rs2046210) and European women (rs9397435). A genome-wide association study in Europeans identified two further breast cancer susceptibility variants: rs11249433 at 1p11.2 and rs999737 in RAD51L1 at 14q24.1. Although previously identified breast cancer susceptibility variants have been shown to be associated with breast cancer risk for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers, the involvement of these SNPs to breast cancer susceptibility in mutation carriers is currently unknown. To address this, we genotyped these SNPs in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers from 42 studies from the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2. In the analysis of 14 123 BRCA1 and 8053 BRCA2 mutation carriers of European ancestry, the 6q25.1 SNPs (r(2) = 0.14) were independently associated with the risk of breast cancer for BRCA1 mutation carriers [ hazard ratio (HR) = 1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11-1.23, P-trend = 4.5 x 10(-9) for rs2046210; HR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.18-1.40, P-trend = 1.3 x 10(-8) for rs9397435], but only rs9397435 was associated with the risk for BRCA2 carriers (HR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.01-1.28, P-trend = 0.031). SNP rs11249433 (1p11.2) was associated with the risk of breast cancer for BRCA2 mutation carriers (HR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.02-1.17, P-trend = 0.015), but was not associated with breast cancer risk for BRCA1 mutation carriers (HR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.92-1.02, P-trend = 0.20). SNP rs999737 (RAD51L1) was not associated with breast cancer risk for either BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers (P-trend = 0.27 and 0.30, respectively). The identification of SNPs at 6q25.1 associated with breast cancer risk for BRCA1 mutation carriers will lead to a better understanding of the biology of tumour development in these women.
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9. |
- Boschini, M. J., et al.
(author)
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Deciphering the Local Interstellar Spectra of Primary Cosmic-Ray Species with HELMOD
- 2018
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 858:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Local interstellar spectra (LIS) of primary cosmic ray (CR) nuclei, such as helium, oxygen, and mostly primary carbon are derived for the rigidity range from 10 MV to similar to 200 TV using the most recent experimental results combined with the state-of-the-art models for CR propagation in the Galaxy and in the heliosphere. Two propagation packages, GALPROP and HELMOD, are combined into a single framework that is used to reproduce direct measurements of CR species at different modulation levels, and at both polarities of the solar magnetic field. The developed iterative maximum-likelihood method uses GALPROP-predicted LIS as input to HELMOD, which provides the modulated spectra for specific time periods of the selected experiments for model-data comparison. The interstellar and heliospheric propagation parameters derived in this study are consistent with our prior analyses using the same methodology for propagation of CR protons, helium, antiprotons, and electrons. The resulting LIS accommodate a variety of measurements made in the local interstellar space (Voyager 1) and deep inside the heliosphere at low (ACE/CRIS, HEAO-3) and high energies (PAMELA, AMS-02).
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- Boschini, M. J., et al.
(author)
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HelMod in the Works : From Direct Observations to the Local Interstellar Spectrum of Cosmic-Ray Electrons
- 2018
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 854:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The local interstellar spectrum (LIS) of cosmic-ray (CR) electrons for the energy range 1 MeV to 1 TeV is derived using the most recent experimental results combined with the state-of-the-art models for CR propagation in the Galaxy and in the heliosphere. Two propagation packages, GALPROP and HELMOD, are combined to provide a single framework that is run to reproduce direct measurements of CR species at different modulation levels, and at both polarities of the solar magnetic field. An iterative maximum-likelihood method is developed that uses GALPROP-predicted LIS as input to HELMOD, which provides the modulated spectra for specific time periods of the selected experiments for model-data comparison. The optimized HelMod parameters are then used to adjust GALPROP parameters to predict a refined LIS with the procedure repeated subject to a convergence criterion. The parameter optimization uses an extensive data set of proton spectra from 1997 to 2015. The proposed CR electron LIS accommodates both the low-energy interstellar spectra measured by Voyager 1 as well as the high-energy observations by PAMELA and AMS-02 that are made deep in the heliosphere; it also accounts for Ulysses counting rate features measured out of the ecliptic plane. The interstellar and heliospheric propagation parameters derived in this study agree well with our earlier results for CR protons, helium nuclei, and anti-protons propagation and LIS obtained in the same framework.
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11. |
- Boschini, M. J., et al.
(author)
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Solution of Heliospheric Propagation : Unveiling the Local Interstellar Spectra of Cosmic-ray Species
- 2017
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 840:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Local interstellar spectra (LIS) for protons, helium, and antiprotons are built using the most recent experimental results combined with state-of-the-art models for propagation in the Galaxy and heliosphere. Two propagation packages, GALPROP and HelMod, are combined to provide a single framework that is run to reproduce direct measurements of cosmic-ray (CR) species at different modulation levels and at both polarities of the solar magnetic field. To do so in a self-consistent way, an iterative procedure was developed, where the GALPROP LIS output is fed into HelMod, providing modulated spectra for specific time periods of selected experiments to compare with the data; the HelMod parameter optimization is performed at this stage and looped back to adjust the LIS using the new GALPROP run. The parameters were tuned with the maximum likelihood procedure using an extensive data set of proton spectra from 1997 to 2015. The proposed LIS accommodate both the low-energy interstellar CR spectra measured by Voyager 1 and the high-energy observations by BESS, Pamela, AMS-01, and AMS-02 made from the balloons and near-Earth payloads; it also accounts for Ulysses counting rate features measured out of the ecliptic plane. The found solution is in a good agreement with proton, helium, and antiproton data by AMS-02, BESS, and PAMELA in the whole energy range.
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- Kuchenbaecker, Karoline B., et al.
(author)
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Evaluation of polygenic risk scores for breast and ovarian cancer risk prediction in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers
- 2017
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In: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0027-8874 .- 1460-2105. ; 109:7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 94 common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with breast cancer (BC) risk and 18 associated with ovarian cancer (OC) risk. Several of these are also associated with risk of BC or OC for women who carry a pathogenic mutation in the high-risk BC and OC genes BRCA1 or BRCA2. The combined effects of these variants on BC or OC risk for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers have not yet been assessed while their clinical management could benefit from improved personalized risk estimates. Methods: We constructed polygenic risk scores (PRS) using BC and OC susceptibility SNPs identified through population-based GWAS: for BC (overall, estrogen receptor [ER]-positive, and ER-negative) and for OC. Using data from 15 252 female BRCA1 and 8211 BRCA2 carriers, the association of each PRS with BC or OC risk was evaluated using a weighted cohort approach, with time to diagnosis as the outcome and estimation of the hazard ratios (HRs) per standard deviation increase in the PRS. Results: The PRS for ER-negative BC displayed the strongest association with BC risk in BRCA1 carriers (HR = 1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.23 to 1.31, P = 8.2 × 10-53). InBRCA2 carriers, the strongest association with BC risk was seen for the overall BCPRS (HR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.17 to 1.28, P = 7.2 × 10-20). The OC PRS was strongly associated with OC risk for both BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers. These translate to differences in absolute risks (more than 10% in each case) between the top and bottom deciles of the PRS distribution; for example, the OC risk was 6% by age 80 years for BRCA2 carriers at the 10th percentile of the OC PRS compared with 19% risk for those at the 90th percentile of PRS. Conclusions: BC and OC PRS are predictive of cancer risk in BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers. Incorporation of the PRS into risk prediction models has promise to better inform decisions on cancer risk management.
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14. |
- Mavaddat, Nasim, et al.
(author)
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Prediction of Breast Cancer Risk Based on Profiling With Common Genetic Variants
- 2015
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In: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1460-2105 .- 0027-8874. ; 107:5, s. 036-036
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Data for multiple common susceptibility alleles for breast cancer may be combined to identify women at different levels of breast cancer risk. Such stratification could guide preventive and screening strategies. However, empirical evidence for genetic risk stratification is lacking. Methods: We investigated the value of using 77 breast cancer-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for risk stratification, in a study of 33 673 breast cancer cases and 33 381 control women of European origin. We tested all possible pair-wise multiplicative interactions and constructed a 77-SNP polygenic risk score (PRS) for breast cancer overall and by estrogen receptor (ER) status. Absolute risks of breast cancer by PRS were derived from relative risk estimates and UK incidence and mortality rates. Results: There was no strong evidence for departure from a multiplicative model for any SNP pair. Women in the highest 1% of the PRS had a three-fold increased risk of developing breast cancer compared with women in the middle quintile (odds ratio [OR] = 3.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.95 to 3.83). The ORs for ER-positive and ER-negative disease were 3.73 (95% CI = 3.24 to 4.30) and 2.80 (95% CI = 2.26 to 3.46), respectively. Lifetime risk of breast cancer for women in the lowest and highest quintiles of the PRS were 5.2% and 16.6% for a woman without family history, and 8.6% and 24.4% for a woman with a first-degree family history of breast cancer. Conclusions: The PRS stratifies breast cancer risk in women both with and without a family history of breast cancer. The observed level of risk discrimination could inform targeted screening and prevention strategies. Further discrimination may be achievable through combining the PRS with lifestyle/environmental factors, although these were not considered in this report.
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