| 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. |
- Elsik, Christine G., et al.
(author)
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The Genome Sequence of Taurine Cattle : A Window to Ruminant Biology and Evolution
- 2009
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In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 324:5926, s. 522-528
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To understand the biology and evolution of ruminants, the cattle genome was sequenced to about sevenfold coverage. The cattle genome contains a minimum of 22,000 genes, with a core set of 14,345 orthologs shared among seven mammalian species of which 1217 are absent or undetected in noneutherian (marsupial or monotreme) genomes. Cattle-specific evolutionary breakpoint regions in chromosomes have a higher density of segmental duplications, enrichment of repetitive elements, and species-specific variations in genes associated with lactation and immune responsiveness. Genes involved in metabolism are generally highly conserved, although five metabolic genes are deleted or extensively diverged from their human orthologs. The cattle genome sequence thus provides a resource for understanding mammalian evolution and accelerating livestock genetic improvement for milk and meat production.
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| 3. |
- Shaikh, M G, et al.
(author)
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Skewed X inactivation is associated with phenotype in a female with adrenal hypoplasia congenita.
- 2008
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In: Journal of medical genetics. - : BMJ. - 1468-6244. ; 45:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Adrenal hypoplasia congenita (AHC) can occur due to deletions or mutations in the DAX 1 (NR0B1) gene on the X chromosome (OMIM 300200). This form of AHC is therefore predominantly seen in boys. Deletion of the DAX 1 gene can also be part of a larger contiguous deletion including the centromeric dystrophin and glycerol kinase (GK) genes. We report a girl with a de novo deletion at Xp21.2 on the maternal chromosome, including DAX1, the GK gene and 3' end of the dystrophin gene, who presented with salt losing adrenal insufficiency and moderate developmental delay, but relatively mild features of muscular dystrophy. Investigation using the androgen receptor as a marker gene identified skewed inactivation of the X chromosome. In the patient's leucocytes, the paternal X chromosome was completely inactive, but in muscle 20% of the active chromosomes were of paternal origin. Thus skewed X inactivation (deletion on the active maternal X chromosome with an inactive paternal X chromosome) is associated with AHC in a female. Variability in X inactivation between tissues may account for the pronounced salt loss and adrenal insufficiency but mild muscular dystrophy.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Massey, Philip, et al.
(author)
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RED SUPERGIANTS IN THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY (M31)
- 2009
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 703:1, s. 420-440
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Red supergiants (RSGs) are a short-lived stage in the evolution of moderately massive stars (10-25 M-circle dot), and as such their location in the H-R diagram provides an exacting test of stellar evolutionary models. Since massive star evolution is strongly affected by the amount of mass loss a star suffers, and since the mass-loss rates depend upon metallicity, it is highly desirable to study the physical properties of these stars in galaxies of various metallicities. Here we identify a sample of RSGs in M31, the most metal-rich of the Local Group galaxies. We determine the physical properties of these stars using both moderate resolution spectroscopy and broadband V-K photometry. We find that on average the RSGs of our sample are variable in V by 0.5 mag, smaller but comparable to the 0.9 mag found for Magellanic Cloud (MC) RSGs. No such variability is seen at K, also in accord with what we know of Galactic and MC RSGs. We find that there is a saturation effect in the model TiO band strengths with metallicities higher than solar. The physical properties we derive for the RSGs from our analysis with stellar atmosphere models agree well with the current evolutionary tracks, a truly remarkable achievement given the complex physics involved in each. We do not confirm an earlier result that the upper luminosities of RSGs depend upon metallicity; instead, the most luminous RSGs have log L/L-circle dot similar to 5.2-5.3, broadly consistent but slightly larger than that recently observed by Smartt et al. as the upper luminosity limit to Type II-P supernovae, believed to have come from RSGs. We find that, on average, the RSGs are considerably more reddened than O and B stars, suggesting that circumstellar dust is adding a significant amount of extra extinction, similar to 0.5 mag, on average. This is in accord with our earlier findings on Milky Way and Magellanic Cloud stars. Finally, we call attention to a peculiar star whose spectrum appears to be heavily veiled, possibly due to scattering by an expanding dust shell.
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