| 1. |
- Schael, S, et al.
(författare)
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Precision electroweak measurements on the Z resonance
- 2006
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Ingår i: Physics Reports. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-1573 .- 1873-6270. ; 427:5-6, s. 257-454
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)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. |
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| 3. |
- Kaput, J, et al.
(författare)
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The case for strategic international alliances to harness nutritional genomics for public and personal health
- 2005
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Ingår i: The British journal of nutrition. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0007-1145 .- 1475-2662. ; 94:5, s. 623-632
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nutrigenomics is the study of how constituents of the diet interact with genes, and their products, to alter phenotype and, conversely, how genes and their products metabolise these constituents into nutrients, antinutrients, and bioactive compounds. Results from molecular and genetic epidemiological studies indicate that dietary unbalance can alter gene–nutrient interactions in ways that increase the risk of developing chronic disease. The interplay of human genetic variation and environmental factors will make identifying causative genes and nutrients a formidable, but not intractable, challenge. We provide specific recommendations for how to best meet this challenge and discuss the need for new methodologies and the use of comprehensive analyses of nutrient–genotype interactions involving large and diverse populations. The objective of the present paper is to stimulate discourse and collaboration among nutrigenomic researchers and stakeholders, a process that will lead to an increase in global health and wellness by reducing health disparities in developed and developing countries.
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| 4. |
- Douglas, G, et al.
(författare)
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Functional characterization and sex differences in small mesenteric arteries of the estrogen receptor-beta knockout mouse
- 2008
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Ingår i: American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology. - : American Physiological Society. - 0363-6119 .- 1522-1490. ; 294:1, s. R112-R120
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The role of the estrogen receptor (ER) subtypes in the modulation of vascular function is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to characterize ex vivo the functional properties of small arteries and their response to estrogens in the mesenteric circulation of female and male ER-β knockout mice (β-ERKO) and their wild-type (WT) littermates. Responses to changes in intraluminal flow and pressure were obtained before and after incubation with 17β-estradiol or ER-α agonist propyl-pyrazole-triol (3 h; 10 nM). Cumulative concentration-response curves to acetylcholine, norepinephrine, and passive distensibility were compared with respect to sex and genotype. The collagen and elastin content within the vascular wall and ER expression were also determined. Endothelial morphology was visualized by scanning electron microscopy. 17β-Estradiol and propyl-pyrazole-triol-treated arteries from female β-ERKO and WT mice showed enhanced flow-mediated dilation, but this was not evident in males. Distensibility was decreased in arteries from β-ERKO females. Sex differences in myogenic tone were observed in 17β-estradiol-treated arteries, but were similar between β-ERKO and WT mice. Acetylcholine- and norepinephrine-induced responses were similar between groups and sexes. ER-α was similarly expressed in the endothelium and media of arteries from all groups studied, as well as ER-β in WT animals. Endothelial morphology was similar in arteries from animals of both sexes and genotype; however, arterial elastin content was decreased, and collagen content was increased in β-ERKO male compared with WT male and with β-ERKO female. We suggest that ERs play a sex-specific role in estrogen-mediated flow responses and distensibility, and that deletion of ER-β affects artery structure but only in male animals. Further studies in β-ERKO mice with established hypertension and in α-ERKO mice are warranted.
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