Measurement of the electron charge asymmetry in inclusive W production in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 TeV

A measurement of the electron charge asymmetry in inclusive pp→W+X→eν+X production at sqrt[s]=7  TeV is presented based on data recorded by the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 840  pb(-1). The electron charge asymmetry reflects the unequal production of W(+) and W(-) bosons in pp collisions. The electron charge asymmetry is measured in bins of the absolute value of electron pseudorapidity in the range of |η|<2.4. The asymmetry rises from about 0.1 to 0.2 as a function of the pseudorapidity and is measured with a relative precision better than 7%. This measurement provides new stringent constraints for parton distribution functions.

Loss of HtrA2/Omi activity in non-neuronal tissues of adult mice causes premature aging

mnd2 mice die prematurely as a result of neurodegeneration 30-40 days after birth due to loss of the enzymatic activity of the mitochondrial quality control protease HtrA2/Omi. Here, we show that transgenic expression of human HtrA2/Omi in the central nervous system of mnd2 mice rescues them from neurodegeneration and prevents their premature death. Interestingly, adult transgenic mnd2 mice develop accelerated aging phenotypes, such as premature weight loss, hair loss, reduced fertility, curvature of the spine, heart enlargement, increased autophagy, and death by 12-17 months of age. These mice also have elevated levels of clonally expanded mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions in their tissues. Our results provide direct genetic evidence linking mitochondrial protein quality control to mtDNA deletions and aging in mammals.

Search for new physics with same-sign isolated dilepton events with jets and missing transverse energy

A search for new physics is performed in events with two same-sign isolated leptons, hadronic jets, and missing transverse energy in the final state. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.98 fb(-1) produced in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. This constitutes a factor of 140 increase in integrated luminosity over previously published results. The observed yields agree with the standard model predictions and thus no evidence for new physics is found. The observations are used to set upper limits on possible new physics contributions and to constrain supersymmetric models. To facilitate the interpretation of the data in a broader range of new physics scenarios, information on the event selection, detector response, and efficiencies is provided.

The effects of different exercise intensity on myokine and angiogenesis factors

AIM

Myokines and angiogenesis factors, studies on trainings according to the difference of exercise intensity are not sufficient, and it has not been elucidated. Particularly, studies on the effect of resistance exercise according to the intensity of resistance exercise on blood myokines and angiogenesis may be essential in the metabolic process of angiogenesis and the formation of muscle.

METHODS

The subjects of our studies were healthy male college students (N.=30) randomly assigned to the high intensity exercise group (N.=10), the moderate intensity exercise group (N.=10), and the control group (N.=10). The study was performed after obtaining a consent in advance, and the approval from the Institutional Review Board of Dong-A University Hospital. In the body composition test, height, weight, BMI (body mass index), %fat, and LBM (lean body mass) were measured by electric impedance. In blood analysis, myokines (interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-15) and angiogenesis factors (vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietin (Ang)1, follistatin (FLRG)) were analyzed by ELISA methods.

RESULTS

The results show %body fat and LBM of the three groups were significantly different (P<0.05). IL-6 and IL-8 of the three groups were significantly different (P<0.05). Particularly, IL-8 of RE60 (60% of 1RM) was shown to be significantly higher than other groups (P<0.05). IL-15 also showed significant differences with time (P<0.05). In addition, VEGF and Ang 1 showed significant differences with time (P<0.05), nonetheless, FLRG did not showed statistical differences.

CONCLUSION

Many of muscle contraction through 8 weeks resistance exercise exerted positive effects on the concentration of blood myokines as well as angiogenesis. Particularly, in regard to blood myokines, moderate intensity exercise were more effective than high intensity exercise, which is considered to be due to that continuous muscle contraction of moderate intensity exercises exerted more positive effects on the elevation of the concentration of myokines than less muscle contraction of high intensity exercise.

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles at high transverse momenta in Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt[s(NN)] = 2.76 TeV

The azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=2.76  TeV is measured with the CMS detector at the LHC over an extended transverse momentum (p(T)) range up to approximately 60  GeV/c. The data cover both the low-p(T) region associated with hydrodynamic flow phenomena and the high-p(T) region where the anisotropies may reflect the path-length dependence of parton energy loss in the created medium. The anisotropy parameter (v2) of the particles is extracted by correlating charged tracks with respect to the event-plane reconstructed by using the energy deposited in forward-angle calorimeters. For the six bins of collision centrality studied, spanning the range of 0-60% most-central events, the observed v2 values are found to first increase with p(T), reaching a maximum around p(T)=3  GeV/c, and then to gradually decrease to almost zero, with the decline persisting up to at least pp(T)=40  GeV/c over the full centrality range measured.

Search for dark matter and large extra dimensions in pp collisions yielding a photon and missing transverse energy

Results are presented from a search for new physics in the final state containing a photon (γ) and missing transverse energy (E[combininb /](T)). The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb(-1) collected in pp collisions at √[s]=7 TeV by the CMS experiment. The observed event yield agrees with standard-model expectations for the γ+E[combininb /](T) events. Using models for the production of dark-matter particles (χ), we set 90% confidence level (C.L.) upper limits of 13.6-15.4 fb on χ production in the γ+E[combininb /](T) state. These provide the most sensitive upper limits for spin-dependent χ-nucleon scattering for χ masses (M(χ)) between 1 and 100 GeV. For spin-independent contributions, the present limits are extended to M(χ)<3.5 GeV. For models with 3-6 large extra dimensions, our data exclude extra-dimensional Planck scales between 1.64 and 1.73 TeV at 95% C.L.

Observation of a new Ξb baryon

The observation of a new b baryon via its strong decay into Ξ(b)(-) π(+) (plus charge conjugates) is reported. The measurement uses a data sample of pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.3 fb(-1). The known Ξ(b)(-) baryon is reconstructed via the decay chain Ξ(b)(-) → J/ψΞ(-) → μ(+) μ(-) Λ(0) π(-), with Λ(0) → pπ(-). A peak is observed in the distribution of the difference between the mass of the Ξ(b)(-) π(+) system and the sum of the masses of the Ξ(b)(-) and π(+), with a significance exceeding 5 standard deviations. The mass difference of the peak is 14.84 ± 0.74(stat) ± 0.28(syst) MeV. The new state most likely corresponds to the J(P) = 3/2(+) companion of the Ξ(b).

SU-E-J-137: A Theoretical Model for the Analysis of Residual Motion Artifacts in 4D CT Scans

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to analysis the residual motion artifact in 4D-CT scan using a simple one-dimension theoretical model.

METHODS

In order to evaluate the target displacement at each phase image, We used phantom (Dynamic Thorax Phantom, CIRS, Norfolk, VA) which could control programmable regular 1D sine motion and belt type respiratory monitoring system. 2cm diameter spherical target was inserted in the phantom and then we set-up regular 1D sine motion and adjusted three level of amplitude (10, 20, 30 mm) with fixed period (4s). Four dimensional (4D) CT images were acquired by CT scanner (Sensation Open, Siemens Medical Systems, Forchheim, Germany) with a slice thickness of 1.5 mm and 0.1 pitch in helical mode. Respiratory monitoring system (AZ-733V, Anzai MEDICAL) was placed on the abdominal surface of phantom, and the respiratory signal was acquired. CorePLAN (RTP, SC&J) software was used to acquire static target diameter and each ten phase diameters.

RESULTS

The displacements (?S) peak at the 20∼30% or 70∼80% phases, and are minimized at the 50% phase. This is because the target velocity is minimum at 50% phase and maximum at 30 and 70% phases; hence, the large image blur. The measured diameters of target are compared to the simulation results and we observed similar trends of target diameter change.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, we presented simple one-dimensional model to analyze the residual motion artifact in 4D-CT scan. The model was used to explain the effect of residual motion on each phase target displacement and also shown that residual motion artifact was affected that the target velocity at each phase. Lastly based on this model, we developed simulation program and acquired similar results of target displacement compared with measured data. This research was supported by Leading Foreign Re-search Institute Recruitment Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NFR) (Grant No. K20901000001-09E0100-00110,) and the program of Basic Atomic Energy Research Institute (BAERI) which is a part of the Nuclear R and D Programs (No.20110006324) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technol-ogy(MEST).

Procoagulant and prothrombotic effects of the herbal medicine, Dipsacus asper and its active ingredient, dipsacus saponin C, on human platelets

BACKGROUND

In spite of the growing popularity of herbal medicines and natural food supplements, their effects on cardiovascular homeostasis remain largely unknown, especially regarding pro-thrombotic risks.

OBJECTIVE

In the present study, 21 herbal tea extracts were screened for the procoagulant activities on platelets, an important promoter of thrombosis to examine if herbal medicines or natural products may have prothrombotic risks. We discovered that Dipsacus asper (DA), known to have analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, potently induced procoagulant activities in platelets. We tried to identify the active ingredient and elucidate the underlying mechanism.

RESULTS

Among 10 major ingredients of DA, dipsacus saponin C (DSC) was identified as a key active ingredient in DA-induced procoagulant activities. DSC-induced procoagulant activities were achieved by the exposure of phosphatidylserine (PS) and PS-bearing microparticle generation that were caused by the alteration in the activities of phospholipid translocases: scramblase and flippase. These events were initiated by increased intracellular calcium and ATP depletion. Notably, DSC induced a series of apoptotic events including the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, translocation of Bax and Bak, cytochrome c release and caspase-3 activation. The key roles of apoptotic pathway and caspase activation were demonstrated by the reversal of DSC-induced PS exposure and procoagulant activities with the pretreatment of caspase inhibitors. Interestingly, EGTA reversed DSC-induced procoagulant activities and apoptotic events suggesting that an intracellular calcium increase may play a central role. These results were also confirmed in vivo where platelets of the rats exposed to DSC or DA exhibited PS exposure. Most importantly, DSC or DA administration led to increased thrombus formation.

CONCLUSION

These results demonstrate that herbal medicines or natural products such as DA or DSC might have prothrombotic risks through procoagulant activation of platelets.

Identification of pathogenicity-related genes in the vascular wilt fungus Verticillium dahliae by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated T-DNA insertional mutagenesis

Verticillium dahliae is the causal agent of vascular wilt in many economically important crops worldwide. Identification of genes that control pathogenicity or virulence may suggest targets for alternative control methods for this fungus. In this study, Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) was applied for insertional mutagenesis of V. dahliae conidia. Southern blot analysis indicated that T-DNAs were inserted randomly into the V. dahliae genome and that 69% of the transformants were the result of single copy T-DNA insertion. DNA sequences flanking T-DNA insertion were isolated through inverse PCR (iPCR), and these sequences were aligned to the genome sequence to identify the genomic position of insertion. V. dahliae mutants of particular interest selected based on culture phenotypes included those that had lost the ability to form microsclerotia and subsequently used for virulence assay. Based on the virulence assay of 181 transformants, we identified several mutant strains of V. dahliae that did not cause symptoms on lettuce plants. Among these mutants, T-DNA was inserted in genes encoding an endoglucanase 1 (VdEg-1), a hydroxyl-methyl glutaryl-CoA synthase (VdHMGS), a major facilitator superfamily 1 (VdMFS1), and a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) mannosyltransferase 3 (VdGPIM3). These results suggest that ATMT can effectively be used to identify genes associated with pathogenicity and other functions in V. dahliae.

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the decay channel H→ZZ→4ℓ in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson in the four-lepton decay channel H→ZZ, with each Z boson decaying to an electron or muon pair, is reported. The search covers Higgs boson mass hypotheses in the range of 110<m(H)<600 GeV. The analysis uses data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb(-1) recorded by the CMS detector in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV from the LHC. Seventy-two events are observed with four-lepton invariant mass m(4ℓ)>100 GeV (with 13 below 160 GeV), while 67.1±6.0 (9.5±1.3) events are expected from background. The four-lepton mass distribution is consistent with the expectation of standard model background production of ZZ pairs. Upper limits at 95% confidence level exclude the standard model Higgs boson in the ranges of 134-158 GeV, 180-305 GeV, and 340-465 GeV. Small excesses of events are observed around masses of 119, 126, and 320 GeV, making the observed limits weaker than expected in the absence of a signal.

Search for signatures of extra dimensions in the diphoton mass spectrum at the large hadron collider

A search for signatures of extra spatial dimensions in the diphoton invariant-mass spectrum has been performed with the CMS detector at the LHC. No excess of events above the standard model expectation is observed using a data sample collected in proton-proton collisions at √s=7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.2 fb(-1). In the context of the large-extra-dimensions model, lower limits are set on the effective Planck scale in the range of 2.3-3.8 TeV at the 95% confidence level. These limits are the most restrictive bounds on virtual-graviton exchange to date. The most restrictive lower limits to date are also set on the mass of the first graviton excitation in the Randall-Sundrum model in the range of 0.86-1.84 TeV, for values of the associated coupling parameter between 0.01 and 0.10.