Z boson events at the Large Hadron Collider can be selected with high purity and are sensitive to a diverse range of QCD phenomena. As a result, these events are often used to probe the nature of the strong force, improve Monte Carlo event generators, and search for deviations from standard model predictions. All previous measurements of Z boson production characterize the event properties using a small number of observables and present the results as differential cross sections in predetermined bins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh-energy nuclear collisions create a quark-gluon plasma, whose initial condition and subsequent expansion vary from event to event, impacting the distribution of the eventwise average transverse momentum [P([p_{T}])]. Disentangling the contributions from fluctuations in the nuclear overlap size (geometrical component) and other sources at a fixed size (intrinsic component) remains a challenge. This problem is addressed by measuring the mean, variance, and skewness of P([p_{T}]) in ^{208}Pb+^{208}Pb and ^{129}Xe+^{129}Xe collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNull mutations for genes encoding a major seed storage protein in pea, vicilin, were sought through screening a fast-neutron mutant population. Deletion mutations at four or five vicilin loci, where all vicilin genes within each locus were deleted, were combined to address the question of how removal or reduction of a major storage protein and potential allergen might impact the final concentration of protein per unit mature seed weight, seed yield and viability. While the concentration of seed protein was not reduced in mature seeds of mutant lines, indicative of a re-balancing of the proteome, notable differences were apparent in the metabolite, proteomic and amino acid profiles of the seeds, as well as in some functional properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Assess the effectiveness of digital health interventions (DHIs) in reducing blood pressure (BP) among individuals with high blood pressure and identify the impact of age, sex, and phone-based delivery methods on BP.
Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was undertaken according to the PRISMA and JBI. A comprehensive search was conducted across multiple databases.
Biomass gasification as a renewable energy technology has been a widely explored research and development area. The efficient and economic removal of harmful components, particularly tars, in raw syngas from the biomass gasifier is still a major challenge. In this study, a novel two-stage fluidized bed pilot-scale gasifier has been developed to enhance the steam-oxygen biomass gasification to generate low-tar syngas; while, a prototype hot syngas cleanup system has been designed, built and tested to further reduce the tar content and purify the syngas from the biomass gasifier for downstream applications.
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