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- Bravo, L, et al.
(author)
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- 2021
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swepub:Mat__t
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- Tabiri, S, et al.
(author)
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- 2021
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swepub:Mat__t
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- Addazi, A., et al.
(author)
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New high-sensitivity searches for neutrons converting into antineutrons and/or sterile neutrons at the HIBEAM/NNBAR experiment at the European Spallation Source
- 2021
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In: Journal of Physics G. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0954-3899 .- 1361-6471. ; 48:7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The violation of baryon number, , is an essential ingredient for the preferential creation of matter over antimatter needed to account for the observed baryon asymmetry in the Universe. However, such a process has yet to be experimentally observed. The HIBEAM/NNBAR program is a proposed two-stage experiment at the European Spallation Source to search for baryon number violation. The program will include high-sensitivity searches for processes that violate baryon number by one or two units: free neutron–antineutron oscillation () via mixing, neutron–antineutron oscillation via regeneration from a sterile neutron state (), and neutron disappearance (n → n'); the effective process of neutron regeneration () is also possible. The program can be used to discover and characterize mixing in the neutron, antineutron and sterile neutron sectors. The experiment addresses topical open questions such as the origins of baryogenesis and the nature of dark matter, and is sensitive to scales of new physics substantially in excess of those available at colliders. A goal of the program is to open a discovery window to neutron conversion probabilities (sensitivities) by up to three orders of magnitude compared with previous searches. The opportunity to make such a leap in sensitivity tests should not be squandered. The experiment pulls together a diverse international team of physicists from the particle (collider and low energy) and nuclear physics communities, while also including specialists in neutronics and magnetics.
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- Coignard, J, et al.
(author)
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A case-only study to identify genetic modifiers of breast cancer risk for BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers
- 2021
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In: Nature communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1, s. 1078-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Breast cancer (BC) risk for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers varies by genetic and familial factors. About 50 common variants have been shown to modify BC risk for mutation carriers. All but three, were identified in general population studies. Other mutation carrier-specific susceptibility variants may exist but studies of mutation carriers have so far been underpowered. We conduct a novel case-only genome-wide association study comparing genotype frequencies between 60,212 general population BC cases and 13,007 cases with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. We identify robust novel associations for 2 variants with BC for BRCA1 and 3 for BRCA2 mutation carriers, P < 10−8, at 5 loci, which are not associated with risk in the general population. They include rs60882887 at 11p11.2 where MADD, SP11 and EIF1, genes previously implicated in BC biology, are predicted as potential targets. These findings will contribute towards customising BC polygenic risk scores for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.
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- Kropp, Heather, et al.
(author)
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Shallow soils are warmer under trees and tall shrubs across Arctic and Boreal ecosystems
- 2021
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In: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 16:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Soils are warming as air temperatures rise across the Arctic and Boreal region concurrent with the expansion of tall-statured shrubs and trees in the tundra. Changes in vegetation structure and function are expected to alter soil thermal regimes, thereby modifying climate feedbacks related to permafrost thaw and carbon cycling. However, current understanding of vegetation impacts on soil temperature is limited to local or regional scales and lacks the generality necessary to predict soil warming and permafrost stability on a pan-Arctic scale. Here we synthesize shallow soil and air temperature observations with broad spatial and temporal coverage collected across 106 sites representing nine different vegetation types in the permafrost region. We showed ecosystems with tall-statured shrubs and trees (>40 cm) have warmer shallow soils than those with short-statured tundra vegetation when normalized to a constant air temperature. In tree and tall shrub vegetation types, cooler temperatures in the warm season do not lead to cooler mean annual soil temperature indicating that ground thermal regimes in the cold-season rather than the warm-season are most critical for predicting soil warming in ecosystems underlain by permafrost. Our results suggest that the expansion of tall shrubs and trees into tundra regions can amplify shallow soil warming, and could increase the potential for increased seasonal thaw depth and increase soil carbon cycling rates and lead to increased carbon dioxide loss and further permafrost thaw.
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- Schrijver, Lieske H, et al.
(author)
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Oral contraceptive use and ovarian cancer risk for BRCA1/2 mutation carriers : an international cohort study
- 2021
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In: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1097-6868 .- 0002-9378. ; 225:1, s. 1-51
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer risk in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers has been shown to decrease with longer duration of oral contraceptive preparations (OCPs) use. While the effects of OCPs in the general population are well established (∼50% reduction), the estimated risk reduction in mutation carriers is much less precise due to potential bias and small sample sizes. In addition, only a few studies have examined the associations between duration of use, time since last use, starting age, and calendar year of start with risk of ovarian cancer.OBJECTIVE(S): To investigate in more detail the associations between various characteristics of OCP use and risk of ovarian cancer, to provide health care providers and carriers with better risk estimates.STUDY DESIGN: In this international retrospective study, ovarian cancer risk associations were assessed using OCP data on 3,989 BRCA1 and 2,445 BRCA2 mutation carriers. Age-dependent weighted Cox regression analyses were stratified by study and birth cohort and included breast cancer diagnosis as covariate. To minimize survival bias, analyses were left-truncated at 5 years before baseline questionnaire. Separate analysis were conducted for each of the aspects of OCP use and in a multivariate analysis including all these aspects. In addition, the analysis of duration of OCP use was stratified by recency of use.RESULTS: OCPs were less often used by mutation carriers who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer (Ever use: BRCA1 58.6%, BRCA2 53.5%) than by unaffected carriers (Ever use: BRCA1 88.9%, BRCA2 80.7%. The median duration of use was 7 years for both BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers who developed ovarian cancer, and 9 and 8 years for ovarian cancer unaffected BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers, respectively. For BRCA1 mutation carriers univariate analyses showed that both a longer duration of OCP use and more recent use of OCPs were inversely associated with risk of ovarian cancer. However, in multivariate analyses including duration of use, age at first use and time since last use, duration of use proved to be the prominent protective factor (compared with <5 years, 5-9 years HR=0.67;95%CI 0.40-1.12, 10+ years HR=0.37;95%CI 0.19-0.73; ptrend=0.008). The inverse association between duration of use and ovarian cancer risk persisted for more than 15 years (Duration of ≥10 years; BRCA1: <15 years since last use: HR=0.24 95%CI 0.14-0.43, 15+ years since last use: HR 0.56 95%CI 0.18-0.59). Univariate results for BRCA2 mutation carriers were similar, but due to limit sample size inconclusive.CONCLUSION: For BRCA1 mutation carriers, a longer duration of OCP use is associated with a greater reduction of ovarian cancer risk and the protection is long term.
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10. |
- Azorin-Molina, C., et al.
(author)
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A Decline of Observed Daily Peak Wind Gusts with Distinct Seasonality in Australia, 1941-2016
- 2021
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In: Journal of Climate. - : American Meteorological Society. - 0894-8755 .- 1520-0442. ; 34:8, s. 3103-3127
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Wind gusts represent one of the main natural hazards due to their increasing socioeconomic and environmental impacts on, for example, human safety, maritime-terrestrial-aviation activities, engineering and insurance applications, and energy production. However, the existing scientific studies focused on observed wind gusts are relatively few compared to those on mean wind speed. In Australia, previous studies found a slowdown of near-surface mean wind speed, termed "stilling," but a lack of knowledge on the multidecadal variability and trends in the magnitude (wind speed maxima) and frequency (exceeding the 90th percentile) of wind gusts exists. A new homogenized daily peak wind gusts (DPWG) dataset containing 548 time series across Australia for 1941-2016 is analyzed to determine long-term trends in wind gusts. Here we show that both the magnitude and frequency of DPWG declined across much of the continent, with a distinct seasonality: negative trends in summer-spring-autumn and weak negative or nontrending (even positive) trends in winter. We demonstrate that ocean-atmosphere oscillations such as the Indian Ocean dipole and the southern annular mode partly modulate decadal-scale variations of DPWG. The long-term declining trend of DPWG is consistent with the "stilling" phenomenon, suggesting that global warming may have reduced Australian wind gusts.
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