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- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
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The ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC
- 2008
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In: Journal of Instrumentation. - 1748-0221. ; 3:S08002
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Research review (peer-reviewed)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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- 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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- Sodergren, Erica, et al.
(author)
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The genome of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus.
- 2006
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In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 1095-9203 .- 0036-8075. ; 314:5801, s. 941-52
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report the sequence and analysis of the 814-megabase genome of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, a model for developmental and systems biology. The sequencing strategy combined whole-genome shotgun and bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) sequences. This use of BAC clones, aided by a pooling strategy, overcame difficulties associated with high heterozygosity of the genome. The genome encodes about 23,300 genes, including many previously thought to be vertebrate innovations or known only outside the deuterostomes. This echinoderm genome provides an evolutionary outgroup for the chordates and yields insights into the evolution of deuterostomes.
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4. |
- Sokka, T., et al.
(author)
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Disparities in rheumatoid arthritis disease activity according to gross domestic product in 25 countries in the QUEST-RA database
- 2009
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In: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. - : BMJ. - 0003-4967 .- 1468-2060. ; 68:11, s. 1666-1672
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To analyse associations between the clinical status of patients with rheumatoid arthritis ( RA) and the gross domestic product (GDP) of their resident country. Methods: The Quantitative Standard Monitoring of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (QUEST-RA) cohort includes clinical and questionnaire data from 6004 patients who were seen in usual care at 70 rheumatology clinics in 25 countries as of April 2008, including 18 European countries. Demographic variables, clinical characteristics, RA disease activity measures, including the disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28), and treatment-related variables were analysed according to GDP per capita, including 14 "high GDP'' countries with GDP per capita greater than US$ 24 000 and 11 "low GDP'' countries with GDP per capita less than US$ 11 000. Results: Disease activity DAS28 ranged between 3.1 and 6.0 among the 25 countries and was significantly associated with GDP (r = -0.78, 95% CI -0.56 to -0.90, r(2) = 61%). Disease activity levels differed substantially between "high GDP'' and "low GDP'' countries at much greater levels than according to whether patients were currently taking or not taking methotrexate, prednisone and/or biological agents. Conclusions: The clinical status of patients with RA was correlated significantly with GDP among 25 mostly European countries according to all disease measures, associated only modestly with the current use of antirheumatic medications. The burden of arthritis appears substantially greater in "low GDP'' than in "high GDP'' countries. These findings may alert healthcare professionals and designers of health policy towards improving the clinical status of patients with RA in all countries.
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5. |
- Richards, Stephen, et al.
(author)
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The genome of the model beetle and pest Tribolium castaneum.
- 2008
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In: Nature. - 1476-4687. ; 452:7190, s. 949-55
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Tribolium castaneum is a representative of earth’s most numerous eukaryotic order, a powerful model organism for the study of generalized insect development, and also an important pest of stored agricultural products. We describe its genome sequence here. This omnivorous beetle has evolved an ability to interact with a diverse chemical environment as evidenced by large expansions in odorant and gustatory receptors, as well as p450 and other detoxification enzymes. Developmental patterns in Tribolium are more representative of other arthropods than those found in Drosophila, a fact represented in gene content and function. For one, Tribolium has retained more ancestral genes involved in cell-cell communication than Drosophila, and some are expressed in the growth zone crucial for axial elongation in short germ development. Systemic RNAi in T. castaneum appears to use mechanisms distinct from those found in C. elegans, but nevertheless offers similar power for the elucidation of gene function and identification of targets for selective insect control.
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7. |
- Carlos, L. D., et al.
(author)
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Nanoscopic photoluminescence memory as a fingerprint of complexity in self-assembled alkyl/siloxane hybrids
- 2007
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In: Advanced Materials. - : Wiley. - 0935-9648 .- 1521-4095. ; 19:3, s. 341-348
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A thermally activated photoluminescence memory effect, induced by a reversible order-disorder phase transition of the alkyl chains, is reported for highly organized bilayer alkyl/siloxane hybrids (see figure; left at room temperature, right at 120 degrees C). The emission energy is sensitive to the annihilation/formation of the hydrogen-bonded amide-amide array displaying a unique nanoscopic sensitivity (ca. 150 nm).
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8. |
- Nunes, S. C., et al.
(author)
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Sol-gel-derived potassium-based di-ureasils for "smart windows''
- 2007
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In: Journal of Materials Chemistry. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1364-5501 .- 0959-9428. ; 17:40, s. 4239-4248
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sol-gel-derived KCF3SO3-doped di-urea cross-linked poly(oxyethylene) (POE)/siloxane (di-ureasil) ormolytes with infinity > n >= 1 (n is the number of oxyethylene units per K+ ion) have been analysed. Samples with n. 40 are thermally stable up to 310 degrees C. At n >= 100, POE crystallites are present. At n = 5, a crystalline POE-KCF3SO3 complex with stoichiometry 1 : 1 is formed. In the xerogel with n = 1 this complex coexists with free salt. The highest ionic conductivity is reached at n = 20. The redox stability domain of this material spans 5.0 V. "Free'' anions and weakly coordinated CF3SO3- ions appear to be the main charge carriers at n = 20. The K+ ions interact with the urea carbonyl oxygen atoms at all salt concentrations. Complexation of the cations by POE occurs at n
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10. |
- Nunes, S. C., et al.
(author)
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Structure and photoluminescent features of di-amide cross-linked alkylene-siloxane hybrids
- 2005
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In: Journal of Materials Chemistry. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1364-5501 .- 0959-9428. ; 15:35-36, s. 3876-3886
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Novel amide cross-linked alkylene-siloxane hybrid materials (di-amidosils) synthesized by the sol-gel process have been investigated. Two samples identified by the notation d-A(x) with x = 4 and 8 (where x is the number of methylene groups of the alkylene chain) have been produced as transparent, amorphous, rigid monoliths. The d-A(8) material is thermally stable up to approximately 245°C. In this hybrid the siliceous framework is mainly composed of [-(CH2)Si(OSi)3)] and [-(CH 2)Si(OSi)2(OH)] substructures. Structural unit distances of 4.1 and 4.2 Å and average interparticle distances of 12 and 17 A have been determined for d-A(4) and d-A(8), respectively. In these compounds the alkylene chains are disordered and adopt gauche conformations. While a negligible proportion of the amide linkages remain non-bonded, the great majority of these groups belong to highly disordered strong hydrogen-bonded amide-amide associations. The hybrids introduced are room temperature white light emitters, presenting an intense, broad emission band in the blue/purplish-blue spectral region. The origin of such a band has been ascribed to the convolution of donor-acceptor pair (D-A) recombinations that occur in the NH groups of the amide linkages and in the siliceous nanodomains. The maximum quantum yield value of the d-A(8) di-amidosil is 5.4%.
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