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. |
- Ablikim, M., et al.
(author)
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Measurements of (XcJ)-> K+K-K+K- decays
- 2006
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In: Physics Letters B. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-2693 .- 1873-2445. ; 642:3, s. 197-202
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Using 14M psi(2S) events taken with the BESII detector, chi(cJ) -> 2(K+K-) decays are studied. For the four-kaon final state, the branching fractions are B(chi(c0,1,2) ->.2(K+K-)) = (3.48 +/- 0.23 +/- 0.47) x 10(-3), (0.70 +/- 0.13 +/- 0.10) x 10(-3), and (2.17 +/- 0.20 +/- 0.31) x 10(-3). For the phi K+K- final state, the branching fractions, which are measured for the first time, are B(chi(c0,1,2) -> phi K+K-) = (1.03 +/- 0.22 +/- 0.15) x 10(-3), (0.46 +/- 0.16 +/- 0.06) x 10(-3), and (1.67 +/- 0.26 +/- 0.24) x 10(-4). For the phi phi final state, B(chi(c0,2) -> phi phi) = (0.94 +/- 0.21 +/- 0.13) x 10(-3) and (1.70 +/- 0.30 +/- 0.25) x 10(-3).
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3. |
- Iacopetta, B, et al.
(author)
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Functional categories of TP53 mutation in colorectal cancer: results of an International Collaborative Study.
- 2006
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In: Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology / ESMO. - : Elsevier BV. - 0923-7534. ; 17:5, s. 842-7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Loss of TP53 function through gene mutation is a critical event in the development and progression of many tumour types including colorectal cancer (CRC). In vitro studies have found considerable heterogeneity amongst different TP53 mutants in terms of their transactivating abilities. The aim of this work was to evaluate whether TP53 mutations classified as functionally inactive (< or=20% of wildtype transactivation ability) had different prognostic and predictive values in CRC compared with mutations that retained significant activity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TP53 mutations within a large, international database of CRC (n = 3583) were classified according to functional status for transactivation. RESULTS: Inactive TP53 mutations were found in 29% of all CRCs and were more frequent in rectal (32%) than proximal colon (22%) tumours (P < 0.001). Higher frequencies of inactive TP53 mutations were also seen in advanced stage tumours (P = 0.0003) and in tumours with the poor prognostic features of vascular (P = 0.006) and lymphatic invasion (P = 0.002). Inactive TP53 mutations were associated with significantly worse outcome only in patients with Dukes' stage D tumours (RR = 1.71, 95%CI 1.25-2.33, P < 0.001). Patients with Dukes' C stage tumours appeared to gain a survival benefit from 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy regardless of TP53 functional status for transactivation ability. CONCLUSIONS: Mutations that inactivate the transactivational ability of TP53 are more frequent in advanced CRC and are associated with worse prognosis in this stage of disease.
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4. |
- Yu, G., et al.
(author)
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Structures, electronic states, photoluminescence, and carrier transport properties of 1,1-disubstituted 2,3,4,5-tetraphenylsiloles
- 2005
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In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0002-7863 .- 1520-5126. ; 127:17, s. 6335-6346
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The excellent electroluminescent (EL) properties of 1,1-disubstituted 2,3,4,5-tetraphenylsiloles, 1-methyl-1,2,3,4,5-pentaphenylsilole (MPPS), and 1,1,2,3,4,5-hexaphenylsilole (HPS) have been found. Despite some studies devoted to these materials, very little is known about the real origin of their unique EL properties. Therefore, we investigated the structures, photoluminescence (PL), and charge carrier transport properties of 1,1-disubstituted 2,3,4,5-tetraphenylsiloles as well as the effect of substituents on these characteristics. The single crystals of the three siloles involving 1,1-dimethyl-2,3,4,5-tetraphenylsilole (DMTPS), MPPS, and HIPS were grown and their crystal structures were determined by X-ray diffraction. Three siloles have nonplanar molecular structures. The substituents at 1,1-positions enhance the steric hindrance and have predominant influence on the twisted degree of phenyl groups at ring carbons. This nonplanar structure reduces the intermolecular interaction and the likelihood of excimer formation, and increases PL efficiency in the solid state. The silole films show high fluorescence quantum yields (75-85%), whereas their dilute solutions exhibit a faint emission. The electronic structures of the three siloles were investigated using quantum chemical calculations. The highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMOs) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMOs) are mainly localized on the silole ring and two phenyl groups at 2,5-positions in all cases, while the LUMOs have a significant orbital density at two exocyclic Si-C bonds. The extremely theoretical studies of luminescent properties were carried out. We calculated the nonradiative decay rate of the first excited state as well as the radiative one. It is found that the faint emission of DMTPS in solutions mainly results from the huge nonradiative decay rate. In solid states, molecular packing can remarkably restrict the intramolecular rotation of the peripheral side phenyl ring, which has a large contribution to the nonradiative transition process. This explains why the 1,1-disubstituted 2,3,4,5-tetraphenylsiloles in the thin films exhibit high fluorescence quantum yields. The charge carrier mobilities of the MPPS and HPS films were measured using a transient EL technique. We obtained a mobility of 2.1 x 10(-6) cm(2)/V(.)s in the MPPS film at an electric field of 1.2 x 10(6) V/cm. This mobility is comparable to that of Alq(3), which is one of the most extensively used electron transport materials in organic light-emitting diodes (LEDs), at the same electric field. The electron mobility of the HPS film is about similar to 1.5 times higher than that of the MPPS film. To the best of our knowledge, this kind of material is one of the most excellent emissive materials that possess both high charge carrier mobility and high PL efficiency in the solid states simultaneously. The excellent EL performances of MPPS and HPS are presumably ascribed to these characteristics.
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6. |
- Deng, X. H., et al.
(author)
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Dynamics and waves near multiple magnetic null points in reconnection diffusion region
- 2009
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In: Journal of Geophysical Research. - : Blackwell Publishing. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 114:7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Identifying the magnetic structure in the region where the magnetic field lines break and how reconnection happens is crucial to improving our understanding of three-dimensional reconnection. Here we show the in situ observation of magnetic null structures in the diffusion region, the dynamics, and the associated waves. Possible spiral null pair has been identified near the diffusion region. There is a close relation among the null points, the bipolar signature of the Z component of the magnetic field, and enhancement of the flux of energetic electrons up to 100 keV. Near the null structures, whistler-mode waves were identified by both the polarity and the power law of the spectrum of electric and magnetic fields. It is found that the angle between the fans of the nulls is quite close to the theoretically estimated maximum value of the group-velocity cone angle for the whistler wave regime of reconnection.
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7. |
- Tang, C A, et al.
(author)
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Fracture spacing in layered materials and pattern transition from parallel to polygonal fractures
- 2006
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In: Physical Review E. Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics. - 1539-3755 .- 1550-2376. ; 73:5, s. 056120-28
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We perform three-dimensional simulations of fracture growth in a three-layered plate model with an embedded heterogeneous layer under horizontal biaxial stretch (representing stretch from directional to isotropic) by the finite element approach. The fractures develop under a quasistatical, slowly increasing biaxial strain. The material inhomogeneities are accounted for by assigning each element a failure threshold that is defined by a given statistical distribution. A universal scale law of fracture spacing to biaxial strain in terms of principal stress ratio is well demonstrated in a three-dimensional fashion. The numerically obtained fracture patterns show a continuous pattern transition from parallel fractures, laddering fracture to polygonal fractures, which depends strongly on the far-field loading conditions in terms of principal stress ratio ......
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8. |
- Walther, G.R., et al.
(author)
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Palms tracking climate change
- 2007
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In: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 1466-8238 .- 1466-822X. ; 16, s. 801-809
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim Many species are currently expanding their ranges in response to climate change, but the mechanisms underlying these range expansions are in many cases poorly understood. In this paper we explore potential climatic factors governing the recent establishment of new palm populations far to the north of any other viable palm population in the world. Location Southern Switzerland, Europe, Asia and the world. Methods We identified ecological threshold values for the target species, Trachycarpus fortunei, based on gridded climate data, altitude and distributional records from the native range and applied them to the introduced range using local field monitoring and measured meteorological data as well as a bioclimatic model. Results We identified a strong relationship between minimum winter temperatures, influenced by growing season length and the distribution of the palm in its native range. Recent climate change strongly coincides with the palm's recent spread into southern Switzerland, which is in concert with the expansion of the global range of palms across various continents. Main conclusions Our results strongly suggest that the expansion of palms into (semi-)natural forests is driven by changes in winter temperature and growing season length and not by delayed population expansion. This implies that this rapid expansion is likely to continue in the future under a warming climate. Palms in general, and T. fortunei in particular, are significant bioindicators across continents for present-day climate change and reflect a global signal towards warmer conditions.
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