The vitamin D hormone 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 1,25(OH)2D3 is essential for the preservation of serum calcium and phosphate levels but may also be important for the regulation of cardiovascular ...function. Epidemiological data in humans have shown that vitamin D insufficiency is associated with hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, increased arterial stiffness, and endothelial dysfunction in normal subjects and in patients with chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes. However, the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these associations remain largely unexplained. In this study, we aimed to decipher the mechanisms by which 1,25(OH)2D3 may regulate systemic vascular tone and cardiac function, using mice carrying a mutant, functionally inactive vitamin D receptor (VDR). To normalize calcium homeostasis in VDR mutant mice, we fed the mice lifelong with the so-called rescue diet enriched with calcium, phosphate, and lactose. Here, we report that VDR mutant mice are characterized by lower bioavailability of the vasodilator nitric oxide (NO) due to reduced expression of the key NO synthesizing enzyme, endothelial NO synthase, leading to endothelial dysfunction, increased arterial stiffness, increased aortic impedance, structural remodeling of the aorta, and impaired systolic and diastolic heart function at later ages, independent of changes in the renin-angiotensin system. We further demonstrate that 1,25(OH)2D3 is a direct transcriptional regulator of endothelial NO synthase. Our data demonstrate the importance of intact VDR signaling in the preservation of vascular function and may provide a mechanistic explanation for epidemiological data in humans showing that vitamin D insufficiency is associated with hypertension and endothelial dysfunction.
Backward angle (
u
-channel) scattering provides complementary information for studies of hadron spectroscopy and structure, but has been less comprehensively studied than the corresponding forward ...angle case. As a result, the physics of
u
-channel scattering poses a range of new experimental and theoretical opportunities and questions. We summarize recent progress in measuring and understanding high energy reactions with baryon charge exchange in the
u
-channel, as discussed in the first
Backward angle (u-channel) Physics Workshop
. In particular, we discuss backward angle measurements and their theoretical description via both hadronic models and the collinear factorization approach, and discuss planned future measurements of
u
-channel physics. Finally, we propose outstanding questions and challenges for
u
-channel physics.
We present results of an R&D program to develop a forward calorimeter system (FCS) for the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at BNL. The FCS is a very compact, compensated, ...finely granulated, high resolution calorimeter system being developed for p+p and p+A program at RHIC. The FCS prototype consists of both electromagnetic and hadron calorimeters. The electromagnetic portion of the detector is constructed with W powder and scintillation fibers. The hadronic calorimeter is a traditional Pb/Sc-plate sandwich design. Both calorimeters were readout with Hamamatsu MPPCs. A full- scale prototype of the FCS was tested with a beam at FNAL in March 2014. We present details of the design, construction technique and performance of the FCS prototype during the test run at FNAL.
We studied the 12C(p,2p+n) reaction at beam momenta of 5.9, 8.0, and 9.0 GeV/c. For quasielastic (p,2p) events p(f), the momentum of the knocked-out proton before the reaction, was compared (event by ...event) with p(n), the coincident neutron momentum. For |p(n)|>k(F)=0.220 GeV/c (the Fermi momentum) a strong back-to-back directional correlation between p(f) and p(n) was observed, indicative of short-range n-p correlations. From p(n) and p(f) we constructed the distributions of c.m. and relative motion in the longitudinal direction for correlated pairs. We also determined that 49+/-13% of events with |p(f)|>k(F) had directionally correlated neutrons with |p(n)|>k(F).
We report on results of an R&D program to develop new, simple and cost effective techniques to build compact sampling calorimeters utilizing tungsten powder and scintillating fibers. Such calorimeter ...detectors are under consideration for experiments at the planned Electron Ion Collider and the future upgrade of the STAR experiment at RHIC (BNL). In the first year of this R&D project we built two prototypes of very compact electromagnetic calorimeters and tested them at FNAL test beam T1018 in January 2012. Details of the construction technique, results of the test run and future plan will be presented.
The transparency of carbon for (p,2p) quasielastic events was measured at beam momenta ranging from 5.9 to 14.5 GeV/c at 90 degrees c.m. The four-momentum transfer squared (Q2) ranged from 4.7 to ...12.7 (GeV/c)(2). We present the observed beam momentum dependence of the ratio of the carbon to hydrogen cross sections. We also apply a model for the nuclear momentum distribution of carbon to obtain the nuclear transparency. We find a sharp rise in transparency as the beam momentum is increased to 9 GeV/c and a reduction to approximately the Glauber level at higher energies.
Future of low-x forward physics at RHIC Bland, L. C.; Bieser, F.; Brown, R. L. ...
The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields,
08/2005, Volume:
43, Issue:
1-4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Comparisons of particle production from high-energy ion collisions with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations show good agreement down to moderate transverse momentum values. ...Distributions of azimuthal angle differences between coincident hadrons in these collisions support a partonic origin to the particle production, again down to moderate transverse momentum values. The rapidity dependence of inclusive and coincident particle production can therefore be used to probe parton distribution functions down to small momentum fractions where theory anticipates that parton saturation could be present. This paper describes how such experiments could be completed.
We present STAR measurements of strange hadron ( K S0, Λ , Λ ¯, Ξ -, Ξ ¯+, Ω -, Ω ¯+ , and Φ ) production at midrapidity ( |y|<0.5 ) in Au+Au collisions at sNN = 7.7–39 GeV from the Beam Energy Scan ...Program at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Transverse-momentum spectra, averaged transverse mass, and the overall integrated yields of these strange hadrons are presented versus the centrality and collision energy. Antibaryon-to-baryon ratios ( Λ ¯/ Λ , Ξ ¯+/ Ξ -, Ω ¯+/ Ω - ) are presented as well and used to test a thermal statistical model and to extract the temperature normalized strangeness and baryon chemical potentials at hadronic freeze-out ( μB/Tch and μS/Tch ) in central collisions. Strange baryon-to-pion ratios are compared to various model predictions in central collisions for all energies. The nuclear modification factors ( RCP ) and antibaryon-to-meson ratios as a function of transverse momentum are presented for all collision energies. The K S0 RCP shows no suppression for pT up to 3.5 GeV/c at energies of 7.7 and 11.5 GeV. The Λ ¯/ K S0 ratio also shows baryon-to-meson enhancement at intermediate pT ( ≈2.5 GeV/c ) in central collisions at energies above 19.6 GeV. Lastly, both observations suggest that there is likely a change of the underlying strange quark dynamics at collision energies below 19.6 GeV.
PDF
