Simultaneously recorded subthalamic and cortical LFPs reveal different lexicality effects during reading aloud

Many language functions are traditionally assigned to cortical brain areas, leaving the contributions of subcortical structures to language processing largely unspecified. The present study examines a potential role of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in lexical processing, specifically, reading aloud of words (e.g., 'fate') and pseudowords (e.g., 'fape'). We recorded local field potentials simultaneously from the STN and the cortex (precentral, postcentral, and superior temporal gyri) of 13 people with Parkinson's disease undergoing awake deep brain stimulation and compared STN's lexicality-related neural activity with that of the cortex. Both STN and cortical activity demonstrated significant task-related modulations, but the lexicality effects were different in the two brain structures. In the STN, an increase in gamma band activity (31-70 Hz) was present in pseudoword trials compared to word trials during subjects' spoken response. In the cortex, a greater decrease in beta band activity (12-30 Hz) was observed for pseudowords in the precentral gyrus. Additionally, 11 individual cortical sites showed lexicality effects with varying temporal and topographic characteristics in the alpha and beta frequency bands. These findings suggest that the STN and the sampled cortical regions are involved differently in the processing of lexical distinctions.

Experimental Evidence for an Attractive p-ϕ Interaction

This Letter presents the first experimental evidence of the attractive strong interaction between a proton and a ϕ meson. The result is obtained from two-particle correlations of combined p-ϕ⊕ p[over ¯]-ϕ pairs measured in high-multiplicity pp collisions at sqrt[s]=13  TeV by the ALICE Collaboration. The spin-averaged scattering length and effective range of the p-ϕ interaction are extracted from the fully corrected correlation function employing the Lednický-Lyuboshits approach. In particular, the imaginary part of the scattering length vanishes within uncertainties, indicating that inelastic processes do not play a prominent role for the p-ϕ interaction. These data demonstrate that the interaction is dominated by elastic p-ϕ scattering. Furthermore, an analysis employing phenomenological Gaussian- and Yukawa-type potentials is conducted. Under the assumption of the latter, the N-ϕ coupling constant is found to be g_{N-ϕ}=0.14±0.03(stat)±0.02(syst). This work provides valuable experimental input to accomplish a self-consistent description of the N-ϕ interaction, which is particularly relevant for the more fundamental studies on partial restoration of chiral symmetry in nuclear medium.

Adipose-derived exosomes impairs endothelial transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 channels and elevates blood pressure in abdominal obesity

Aim

Large epidemiological studies have found that abdominal obesity is a strong risk factor for hypertension. Impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation is a hallmark of obesity-induced hypertension. Adipose-derived exosomes can regulate distant tissues as novel adipokines, providing a new mechanism for cell-cell interactions. However, the effects of adipose-derived exosomes on obesity-induced hypertension are unknown.

Methods

We extracted three adipose-derived exosomes, including high-fat diet (HFD) mouse serum exosome, adipose tissue exosome, and adipose-derived stem cell exosome, and further explored their effects on endothelium-dependent vasodilation in vivo and in vitro.

Results

Impairment of endothelial transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) channel activity and vasodilation were observed in the arteries from abdominal obesity patients. Ca2+ influx through TRPV4 channels at myoendothelial projections to smooth muscle cells decreases resting blood pressure in nonobese mice, a response that is diminished in HFD mice. Administration of three exosomes elevated blood pressure by promoting artery endothelial barrier permeability, impairing the expression of adherens junctions, and aggravating inflammatory response in vivo and in vitro, accompanied by TRPV4/Ca2+ pathway inhibition.

Conclusions

Impairment of endothelial TRPV4 channels contributes to obesity-induced hypertension and imply that HFD-induced obesity plays a role in blood pressure by aggravating the artery endothelial barrier injury and inflammatory response via adipose-derived exosomes, at least partially, through inhibiting the TRPV4/Ca2+ pathway.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None. Main funding source(s): This research was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81970262) (P.J.W.), Innovation Team Project Department of Education of Sichuan Province (18TD0030) (PJW), Central Funds Guiding the Local Science and Technology Development of Sichuan Province (2020ZYD036, P.W.), and grants from the Scientific Research Fund of Chengdu Medical College (CYZYB20-07) (J.W.).

Use of left ventricular support devices during transcatheter aortic valve replacement and balloon aortic valvuloplasty: a single center experience

Background

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) are definitive and bridging therapies in patients with aortic stenosis. Data on utilization of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) in this population is scarce. This study sought to evaluate the clinical outcomes of the use of Impella (Abiomed, Danvers, MA) in patients undergoing TAVR or BAV at a tertiary-care center.

Methods

We reviewed all TAVRs and BAVs that required Impella from 2012 and 2020. Patient demographics, procedural outcomes, complications, and 30-day mortality were analyzed.

Results

A total of 1,965 TAVR and 715 BAV cases were performed in the study period. 30 TAVR and 94 BAV cases required an Impella. 65% of these cases were due to cardiogenic shock (CS) (100% of TAVR and 55% of BAV). 31% were performed in female patients. Transfemoral access was utilized in 98% of cases. Impella CP was used in 98% of cases, other types of MCS were used in 8.7% of cases. 32.2% of cases required MCS for more than 24 hours. In the TAVR population the indication for MCS was 46.6% profound hypotension post valve deployment requiring vasopressors, 16.6% cardiac arrest, 10% sustained ventricular arrhythmia, 10% cardiac tamponade [Office1] and 10% coronary occlusion. In the BAV group the indication was 44% high-risk PCI and 56% CS. The 30-day mortality in TAVR was 40% and 28% in BAV; from the BAV group in CS the mortality was 45%. VARC-2 vascular complications and bleeding complications were observed in 4.8% and 1.5%, respectively. 0.7% of the total cohort required conversion to open-heart surgery.

Conclusions

Impella support is required in a minority of TAVR or BAV cases. In those who require MCS with Impella for either BAV or TAVR, the total mortality remains high especially in those experiencing CS.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None.

Probiotics with vitamin C for the prevention of upper respiratory tract symptoms in children aged 3-10 years: randomised controlled trial

In a double-blind, randomised, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study, healthy school children aged 3-10 years received a probiotic based supplement daily for 6 months to assess the impact on the incidence and duration of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) symptoms. The intervention comprised Lab4 probiotic (Lactobacillus acidophilus CUL21 and CUL60, Bifidobacterium bifidum CUL20 and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis CUL34) at 12.5 billion cfu/day plus 50 mg vitamin C or a matching placebo. 171 children were included in the analysis (85 in placebo and 86 in active group). Incidence of coughing was 16% (P=0.0300) significantly lower in the children receiving the active intervention compared to the placebo. No significant differences in the incidence rate of other URTI symptoms were observed. There was significantly lower risk of experiencing five different URTI related symptoms in one day favouring the active group (Risk ratio: 0.31, 95% confidence interval: 0.12, 0.81, P=0.0163). Absenteeism from school and the use of antibiotics was also significantly reduced for those in the active group (-16%, P=0.0060 and -27%, P=0.0203, respectively). Our findings indicate that six months daily supplementation with the Lab4 probiotic and vitamin C combination reduces the incidence of coughing, absenteeism and antibiotic usage in 3 to 10 year old children.

[Early outcome of valve sparing aortic root replacement with partial upper sternotomy]

Objective: To examine the early outcome of valve sparing aortic root replacement with reimplantation technique (David procedure) with partial upper sternotomy. Methods: From April 2016 to April 2020, 31 patients underwent valve sparing aortic root replacement under partial upper sternotomy at Vascular Surgery Center, Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College. There were 28 males and 3 females, aging (44±13) years (range: 11 to 65 years). Preoperative aortic regurgitation was found greater than moderate in 15 patients, moderate in 6 patients and less than moderate in 10 patients. The diameter of aortic annulus was (26±3) mm (range: 21 to 34 mm), the diameter of aortic sinus was (51±6) mm (range: 41 to 68 mm), the diameter of ascending aorta was (43±8) mm (range: 26 to 62 mm). The preoperative ejection fraction was (65±4) % (range: 59% to 72%) and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter was (55±6) mm (range: 42 to 68 mm). All cases were treated with David Ⅰ procedure, including simple David procedure in 26 patients, David+ascending aorta and partial aortic arch replacement in 3 patients, David+thoracic endovascular aortic repair in 1 patient, David+stent elephant trunk implantation in 1 patient. Results: The operation time, cardiopulmonary bypass time and aortic cross-clamping time were (330±58) minutes (range: 214 to 481 minutes), (138±23) minutes (range: 106 to 192 minutes) and (108±17) minutes (range: 82 to 154 minutes), respectively. There were no death and serious complications (stroke, myocardial infarction, renal insufficiency, severe infection, etc.). The postoperative drainage volume within 24 hours was (314±145) ml (range: 130 to 830 ml). The intubation time was (14±3) hours (range: 8 to 21 hours), and the ICU time was (M(Q_R)) 2.1(1.5) days (range: 1.0 to 5.0 days). Eight patients had no blood transfusion, the proportion of red blood cell use was 9.7% (3/31), plasma use was 22.6% (7/31), and platelet use was 71.0% (22/31). The postoperative left ventricular ejection fraction was (62±4)% (range: 54% to 69%), and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter was (48±4) mm (range: 39 to 56 mm). After operation, aortic regurgitation was significantly improved, with no more than moderate regurgitation, small to moderate regurgitation in 3 patients, minor regurgitation in 3 patients, micro regurgitation in 12 patients and no regurgitation in 13 patients. The follow-up period was 3.5(6.1) months (range: 2.0 to 39.0 months). Echocardiographic follow-up data were obtained in 26 cases, including moderate regurgitation in 1 patient, small to moderate regurgitation in 9 patients, minor regurgitation in 5 patients, micro regurgitation in 6 patients and no regurgitation in 5 patients. There were no major adverse cardiovascular events and aortic events during the follow-up period. No patient was reoperated for aortic regurgitation. Conclusion: Valve sparing aortic root replacement under partial upper sternotomy is safe and feasible, and the early result is satisfactory.

Measurements of angular distance and momentum ratio distributions in three-jet and Z + two-jet final states in pp collisions

Collinear (small-angle) and large-angle, as well as soft and hard radiations are investigated in three-jet and Z  + two-jet events collected in proton-proton collisions at the LHC. The normalized production cross sections are measured as a function of the ratio of transverse momenta of two jets and their angular separation. The measurements in the three-jet and Z  + two-jet events are based on data collected at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV , corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.8 fb - 1 . The Z  + two-jet events are reconstructed in the dimuon decay channel of the Z  boson. The three-jet measurement is extended to include s = 13 TeV data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 fb - 1 . The results are compared to predictions from event generators that include parton showers, multiple parton interactions, and hadronization. The collinear and soft regions are in general well described by parton showers, whereas the regions of large angular separation are often best described by calculations using higher-order matrix elements.

Observation of Forward Neutron Multiplicity Dependence of Dimuon Acoplanarity in Ultraperipheral Pb-Pb Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV

The first measurement of the dependence of γγ→μ^{+}μ^{-} production on the multiplicity of neutrons emitted very close to the beam direction in ultraperipheral heavy ion collisions is reported. Data for lead-lead interactions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV, with an integrated luminosity of approximately 1.5  nb^{-1}, are collected using the CMS detector at the LHC. The azimuthal correlations between the two muons in the invariant mass region 8<m_{μμ}<60  GeV are extracted for events including 0, 1, or at least 2 neutrons detected in the forward pseudorapidity range |η|>8.3. The back-to-back correlation structure from leading-order photon-photon scattering is found to be significantly broader for events with a larger number of emitted neutrons from each nucleus, corresponding to interactions with a smaller impact parameter. This observation provides a data-driven demonstration that the average transverse momentum of photons emitted from relativistic heavy ions has an impact parameter dependence. These results provide new constraints on models of photon-induced interactions in ultraperipheral collisions. They also provide a baseline to search for possible final-state effects on lepton pairs caused by traversing a quark-gluon plasma produced in hadronic heavy ion collisions.

M, Kveton A, Ayala E, Jarrin EC, Zeid SA, Khalil S, Salama E, Mahmoud MA, Mohammed Y, Bhowmik S, De Oliveira ACA, Dewanjee RK, Ehataht K, Kadastik M, Pata J, Raidal M, Veelken C, Eerola P, Forthomme L, Kirschenmann H, Osterberg K, Voutilainen M, Brücken E, Garcia F, Havukainen J, Karimäki V, Kim MS, Kinnunen R, Lampén T, Lassila-Perini K, Lehti S, Lindén T, Siikonen H, Tuominen E, Tuominiemi J, Luukka P, Petrow H, Tuuva T, Amendola C, Besancon M, Couderc F, Dejardin M, Denegri D, Faure JL, Ferri F, Ganjour S, Givernaud A, Gras P, de Monchenault GH, Jarry P, Lenzi B, Locci E, Malcles J, Rander J, Rosowsky A, Sahin MÖ, Savoy-Navarro A, Titov M, Yu GB, Ahuja S, Beaudette F, Bonanomi M, Perraguin AB, Busson P, Charlot C, Davignon O, Diab B, Falmagne G, Ghosh S, de Cassagnac RG, Hakimi A, Kucher I, Lobanov A, Nguyen M, Ochando C, Paganini P, Rembser J, Salerno R, Sauvan JB, Sirois Y, Zabi A, Zghiche A, Agram JL, Andrea J, Apparu D, Bloch D, Bourgatte G, Brom JM, Chabert EC, Collard C, Darej D, Fontaine JC, Goerlach U, Grimault C, Bihan ACL, Van Hove P, Asilar E, Beauceron S, Bernet C, Boudoul G, Camen C, Carle A, Chanon N, Contardo D, Depasse P, El Mamouni H, Fay J, Gascon S, Gouzevitch M, Ille B, Jain S, Laktineh IB, Lattaud H, Lesauvage A, Lethuillier M, Mirabito L, Shchablo K, Torterotot L, Touquet G, Vander Donckt M, Viret S, Khvedelidze A, Tsamalaidze Z, Feld L, Klein K, Lipinski M, Meuser D, Pauls A, Rauch MP, Schulz J, Teroerde M, Eliseev D, Erdmann M, Fackeldey P, Fischer B, Ghosh S, Hebbeker T, Hoepfner K, Keller H, Mastrolorenzo L, Merschmeyer M, Meyer A, Mocellin G, Mondal S, Mukherjee S, Noll D, Novak A, Pook T, Pozdnyakov A, Rath Y, Reithler H, Roemer J, Schmidt A, Schuler SC, Sharma A, Wiedenbeck S, Zaleski S, Dziwok C, Flügge G, Ahmad WH, Hlushchenko O, Kress T, Nowack A, Pistone C, Pooth O, Roy D, Sert H, Stahl A, Ziemons T, Petersen HA, Martin MA, Asmuss P, Babounikau I, Baxter S, Behnke O, Martínez AB, Anuar AAB, Borras K, Botta V, Brunner D, Campbell A, Cardini A, Connor P, Rodríguez SC, Danilov V, Defranchis MM, Didukh L, Eckerlin G, Eckstein D, Banos LIE, Gallo E, Geiser A, Giraldi A, Grohsjean A, Guthoff M, Harb A, Jafari A, Jomhari NZ, Jung H, Kasem A, Kasemann M, Kaveh H, Kleinwort C, Knolle J, Krücker D, Lange W, Lenz T, Leonard J, Lidrych J, Lipka K, Lohmann W, Madlener T, Mankel R, Melzer-Pellmann IA, Metwally J, Meyer AB, Meyer M, Mnich J, Mussgiller A, Myronenko V, Otarid Y, Adán DP, Pitzl D, Raspereza A, Lopes BR, Rübenach J, Saggio A, Saibel A, Savitskyi M, Scheurer V, Schwanenberger C, Singh A, Ricardo RES, Tonon N, Turkot O, Vagnerini A, Van De Klundert M, Walsh R, Walter D, Wen Y, Wichmann K, Wissing C, Wuchterl S, Zlebcik R, Aggleton R, Bein S, Benato L, Benecke A, De Leo K, Dreyer T, Eich M, Feindt F, Fröhlich A, Garbers C, Garutti E, Gunnellini P, Haller J, Hinzmann A, Karavdina A, Kasieczka G, Klanner R, Kogler R, Kutzner V, Lange J, Lange T, Malara A, Nigamova A, Rodriguez KJP, Rieger O, Schleper P, Schröder M, Schwandt J, Schwarz D, Sonneveld J, Stadie H, Steinbrück G, Tews A, Vormwald B, Zoi I, Bechtel J, Berger T, Butz E, Caspart R, Chwalek T, De Boer W, Dierlamm A, Droll A, El Morabit K, Faltermann N, Flöh K, Giffels M, Gosewisch JO, Gottmann A, Hartmann F, Heidecker C, Husemann U, Katkov I, Keicher P, Koppenhöfer R, Maier S, Mallows S, Metzler M, Mitra S, Müller T, Musich M, Neukum M, Quast G, Rabbertz K, Rauser J, Savoiu D, Schäfer D, Schnepf M, Seith D, Shvetsov I, Simonis HJ, Ulrich R, Van Der Linden J, Von Cube RF, Wassmer M, Weber M, Wieland S, Wolf R, Wozniewski S, Wunsch S, Anagnostou G, Asenov P, Daskalakis G, Geralis T, Kyriakis A, Loukas D, Stakia A, Diamantopoulou M, Karasavvas D, Karathanasis G, Kontaxakis P, Koraka CK, Manousakis-Katsikakis A, Panagiotou A, Papavergou I, Saoulidou N, Theofilatos K, Tziaferi E, Vellidis K, Vourliotis E, Bakas G, Kousouris K, Papakrivopoulos I, Tsipolitis G, Zacharopoulou A, Evangelou I, Foudas C, Gianneios P, Katsoulis P, Kokkas P, Manthos N, Papadopoulos I, Strologas J, Csanad M, Gadallah MMA, Lökös S, Major P, Mandal K, Mehta A, Pasztor G, Rádl AJ, Surányi O, Veres GI, Bartók M, Bencze G, Hajdu C, Horvath D, Sikler F, Veszpremi V, Vesztergombi G, Czellar S, Karancsi J, Molnar J, Szillasi Z, Teyssier D, Raics P, Trocsanyi ZL, Ujvari B, Csorgo T, Nemes F, Novak T, Choudhury S, Komaragiri JR, Kumar D, Panwar L, Tiwari PC, Bahinipati S, Dash D, Kar C, Mal P, Mishra T, Bindhu VKMN, Nayak A, Saha P, Sur N, Swain SK, Bansal S, Beri SB, Bhatnagar V, Chaudhary G, Chauhan S, Dhingra N, Gupta R, Kaur A, Kaur S, Kumari P, Meena M, Sandeep K, Singh JB, Virdi AK, Ahmed A, Bhardwaj A, Choudhary BC, Garg RB, Gola M, Keshri S, Kumar A, Naimuddin M, Priyanka P, Ranjan K, Shah A, Bharti M, Bhattacharya R, Bhattacharya S, Bhowmik D, Dutta S, Gomber B, Maity M, Nandan S, Palit P, Rout PK, Saha G, Sahu B, Sarkar S, Sharan M, Singh B, Thakur S, Behera PK, Behera SC, Kalbhor P, Muhammad A, Pradhan R, Pujahari PR, Sharma A, Sikdar AK, Dutta D, Jha V, Kumar V, Mishra DK, Naskar K, Netrakanti PK, Pant LM, Shukla P, Aziz T, Dugad S, Mohanty GB, Sarkar U, Banerjee S, Bhattacharya S, Chudasama R, Guchait M, Karmakar S, Kumar S, Majumder G, Mazumdar K, Mukherjee S, Roy D, Dube S, Kansal B, Pandey S, Rane A, Rastogi A, Sharma S, Bakhshiansohi H, Zeinali M, Chenarani S, Etesami SM, Khakzad M, Najafabadi MM, Felcini M, Grunewald M, Abbrescia M, Aly R, Aruta C, Colaleo A, Creanza D, De Filippis N, De Palma M, Di Florio A, Di Pilato A, Elmetenawee W, Fiore L, Gelmi A, Gul M, Iaselli G, Ince M, Lezki S, Maggi G, Maggi M, Margjeka I, Mastrapasqua V, Merlin JA, My S, Nuzzo S, Pompili A, Pugliese G, Ranieri A, Selvaggi G, Silvestris L, Simone FM, Venditti R, Verwilligen P, Abbiendi G, Battilana C, Bonacorsi D, Borgonovi L, Braibant-Giacomelli S, Brigliadori L, Campanini R, Capiluppi P, Castro A, Cavallo FR, Ciocca C, Cuffiani M, Dallavalle GM, Diotalevi T, Fabbri F, Fanfani A, Fontanesi E, Giacomelli P, Giommi L, Grandi C, Guiducci L, Iemmi F, Meo SL, Marcellini S, Masetti G, Navarria FL, Perrotta A, Primavera F, Rossi AM, Rovelli T, Siroli GP, Tosi N, Albergo S, Costa S, Mattia AD, Potenza R, Tricomi A, Tuve C, Barbagli G, Cassese A, Ceccarelli R, Ciulli V, Civinini C, D’Alessandro R, Fiori F, Focardi E, Latino G, Lenzi P, Lizzo M, Meschini M, Paoletti S, Seidita R, Sguazzoni G, Viliani L, Benussi L, Bianco S, Piccolo D, Bozzo M, Ferro F, Mulargia R, Robutti E, Tosi S, Benaglia A, Brivio F, Cetorelli F, Ciriolo V, De Guio F, Dinardo ME, Dini P, Gennai S, Ghezzi A, Govoni P, Guzzi L, Malberti M, Malvezzi S, Massironi A, Menasce D, Monti F, Moroni L, Paganoni M, Pedrini D, Ragazzi S, de Fatis TT, Valsecchi D, Zuolo D, Buontempo S, Carnevali F, Cavallo N, De Iorio A, Fabozzi F, Iorio AOM, Lista L, Meola S, Paolucci P, Rossi B, Sciacca C, Azzi P, Bacchetta N, Bisello D, Bortignon P, Bragagnolo A, Carlin R, Checchia P, De Castro Manzano P, Dorigo T, Gasparini F, Gasparini U, Hoh SY, Layer L, Margoni M, Meneguzzo AT, Presilla M, Ronchese P, Rossin R, Simonetto F, Strong G, Tosi M, YARAR H, Zanetti M, Zotto P, Zucchetta A, Zumerle G, Aime‘ C, Braghieri A, Calzaferri S, Fiorina D, Montagna P, Ratti SP, Re V, Ressegotti M, Riccardi C, Salvini P, Vai I, Vitulo P, Bilei GM, Ciangottini D, Fanò L, Lariccia P, Mantovani G, Mariani V, Menichelli M, Moscatelli F, Piccinelli A, Rossi A, Santocchia A, Spiga D, Tedeschi T, Azzurri P, Bagliesi G, Bertacchi V, Bianchini L, Boccali T, Bossini E, Castaldi R, Ciocci MA, Dell’Orso R, Domenico MRD, Donato S, Giassi A, Grippo MT, Ligabue F, Manca E, Mandorli G, Messineo A, Palla F, Ramirez-Sanchez G, Rizzi A, Rolandi G, Chowdhury SR, Scribano A, Shafiei N, Spagnolo P, Tenchini R, Tonelli G, Turini N, Venturi A, Verdini PG, Cavallari F, Cipriani M, Re DD, Marco ED, Diemoz M, Longo E, Meridiani P, Organtini G, Pandolfi F, Paramatti R, Quaranta C, Rahatlou S, Rovelli C, Santanastasio F, Soffi L, Tramontano R, Amapane N, Arcidiacono R, Argiro S, Arneodo M, Bartosik N, Bellan R, Bellora A, Antequera JB, Biino C, Cappati A, Cartiglia N, Cometti S, Costa M, Covarelli R, Demaria N, Kiani B, Legger F, Mariotti C, Maselli S, Migliore E, Monaco V, Monteil E, Monteno M, Obertino MM, Ortona G, Pacher L, Pastrone N, Pelliccioni M, Angioni GLP, Ruspa M, Salvatico R, Shchelina K, Siviero F, Sola V, Solano A, Soldi D, Staiano A, Tornago M, Trocino D, Belforte S, Candelise V, Casarsa M, Cossutti F, Da Rold A, Ricca GD, Sorrentino G, Vazzoler F, Dogra S, Huh C, Kim B, Kim DH, Kim GN, Lee J, Lee SW, Moon CS, Oh YD, Pak SI, Radburn-Smith BC, Sekmen S, Yang YC, Kim H, Moon DH, Kim TJ, Park J, Cho S, Choi S, Go Y, Hong B, Lee K, Lee KS, Lim J, Park J, Park SK, Yoo J, Goh J, Gurtu A, Kim HS, Kim Y, Almond J, Bhyun JH, Choi J, Jeon S, Kim J, Kim JS, Ko S, Kwon H, Lee H, Lee S, Oh BH, Oh M, Oh SB, Seo H, Yang UK, Yoon I, Jeon D, Kim JH, Ko B, Lee JSH, Park IC, Roh Y, Song D, Watson IJ, Ha S, Yoo HD, Choi Y, Jeong Y, Lee H, Lee Y, Yu I, Beyrouthy T, Maghrbi Y, Veckalns V, Ambrozas M, Juodagalvis A, Rinkevicius A, Tamulaitis G, Vaitkevicius A, Abdullah WATW, Yusli MN, Zolkapli Z, Benitez JF, Hernandez AC, Quijada JAM, Palomo LV, Ayala G, Castilla-Valdez H, De La Cruz-Burelo E, La Cruz IHD, Lopez-Fernandez R, Herrera CAM, Navarro DAP, Sanchez-Hernandez A, Moreno SC, Barrera CO, Ramirez-Garcia M, Valencia FV, Pedraza I, Ibarguen HAS, Estrada CU, Mijuskovic J, Raicevic N, Krofcheck D, Bheesette S, Butler APH, Butler PH, Lokhovitskiy A, Lujan P, Ahmad A, Asghar MI, Awais A, Awan MIM, Hoorani HR, Khan WA, Shah MA, Shoaib M, Waqas M, Avati V, Grzanka L, Malawski M, Bialkowska H, Bluj M, Boimska B, Frueboes T, Górski M, Kazana M, Szleper M, Traczyk P, Zalewski P, Bunkowski K, Doroba K, Kalinowski A, Konecki M, Krolikowski J, Walczak M, Araujo M, Bargassa P, Bastos D, Boletti A, Faccioli P, Gallinaro M, Hollar J, Leonardo N, Niknejad T, Seixas J, Toldaiev O, Varela J, Afanasiev S, Budkouski D, Bunin P, Gavrilenko M, Golutvin I, Gorbunov I, Kamenev A, Karjavine V, Lanev A, Malakhov A, Matveev V, Palichik V, Perelygin V, Savina M, Seitova D, Shalaev V, Shmatov S, Shulha S, Smirnov V, Teryaev O, Voytishin N, Zarubin A, Zhizhin I, Gavrilov G, Golovtcov V, Ivanov Y, Kim V, Kuznetsova E, Murzin V, Oreshkin V, Smirnov I, Sosnov D, Sulimov V, Uvarov L, Volkov S, Vorobyev A, Andreev Y, Dermenev A, Gninenko S, Golubev N, Karneyeu A, Kirsanov M, Krasnikov N, Pashenkov A, Pivovarov G, Tlisov D, Toropin A, Epshteyn V, Gavrilov V, Lychkovskaya N, Nikitenko A, Popov V, Safronov G, Spiridonov A, Stepennov A, Toms M, Vlasov E, Zhokin A, Aushev T, Bychkova O, Danilov M, Parygin P, Popova E, Rusinov V, Andreev V, Azarkin M, Dremin I, Kirakosyan M, Terkulov A, Belyaev A, Boos E, Dubinin M, Dudko L, Ershov A, Gribushin A, Kaminskiy A, Klyukhin V, Kodolova O, Lokhtin I, Obraztsov S, Petrushanko S, Savrin V, Blinov V, Dimova T, Kardapoltsev L, Ovtin I, Skovpen Y, Azhgirey I, Bayshev I, Kachanov V, Kalinin A, Konstantinov D, Petrov V, Ryutin R, Sobol A, Troshin S, Tyurin N, Uzunian A, Volkov A, Babaev A, Okhotnikov V, Sukhikh L, Borchsh V, Ivanchenko V, Tcherniaev E, Adzic P, Dordevic M, Milenovic P, Milosevic J, Milosevic V, Aguilar-Benitez M, Maestre JA, Fernández AÁ, Bachiller I, Luna MB, Bedoya CF, Montoya CAC, Cepeda M, Cerrada M, Colino N, De La Cruz B, Peris AD, Ramos JPF, Flix J, Fouz MC, Lopez OG, Lopez SG, Hernandez JM, Josa MI, Holgado JL, Moran D, Tobar ÁN, Yzquierdo APC, Pelayo JP, Redondo I, Romero L, Navas SS, Soares MS, Gómez LU, Willmott C, de Trocóniz JF, Reyes-Almanza R, Gonzalez BA, Cuevas J, Erice C, Menendez JF, Folgueras S, Caballero IG, Cortezon EP, Álvarez CR, Sau JR, Bouza VR, Trapote A, Cifuentes JAB, Cabrillo IJ, Calderon A, Quero BC, Campderros JD, Fernandez M, Madrazo CF, Manteca PJF, Alonso AG, Gomez G, Rivero CM, Arbol PMRD, Matorras F, Gomez JP, Prieels C, Ricci-Tam F, Rodrigo T, Ruiz-Jimeno A, Scodellaro L, Trevisani N, Vila I, Garcia JMV, Jayananda MK, Kailasapathy B, Sonnadara DUJ, Wickramarathna DDC, Dharmaratna WGD, Liyanage K, Perera N, Wickramage N, Aarrestad TK, Abbaneo D, Alimena J, Auffray E, Auzinger G, Baechler J, Baillon P, Ball AH, Barney D, Bendavid J, Beni N, Bianco M, Bocci A, Brondolin E, Camporesi T, Garrido MC, Cerminara G, Chhibra SS, Cristella L, d’Enterria D, Dabrowski A, Daci N, David A, De Roeck A, Deile M, Maria RD, Dobson M, Dünser M, Dupont N, Elliott-Peisert A, Emriskova N, Fallavollita F, Fasanella D, Fiorendi S, Florent A, Franzoni G, Fulcher J, Funk W, Giani S, Gigi D, Gill K, Glege F, Gouskos L, Haranko M, Hegeman J, Iiyama Y, Innocente V, James T, Janot P, Kaspar J, Kieseler J, Komm M, Kratochwil N, Lange C, Laurila S, Lecoq P, Long K, Lourenço C, Malgeri L, Mallios S, Mannelli M, Meijers F, Mersi S, Meschi E, Moortgat F, Mulders M, Orfanelli S, Orsini L, Pantaleo F, Pape L, Perez E, Peruzzi M, Petrilli A, Petrucciani G, Pfeiffer A, Pierini M, Qu H, Quast T, Rabady D, Racz A, Rieger M, Rovere M, Sakulin H, Salfeld-Nebgen J, Scarfi S, Schäfer C, Schwick C, Selvaggi M, Sharma A, Silva P, Snoeys W, Sphicas P, Summers S, Tavolaro VR, Treille D, Tsirou A, Tsrunchev P, Onsem GPV, Verzetti M, Wanczyk J, Wozniak KA, Zeuner WD, Caminada L, Ebrahimi A, Erdmann W, Horisberger R, Ingram Q, Kaestli HC, Kotlinski D, Langenegger U, Missiroli M, Rohe T, Androsov K, Backhaus M, Berger P, Calandri A, Chernyavskaya N, De Cosa A, Dissertori G, Dittmar M, Donegà M, Dorfer C, Eble F, Gadek T, Espinosa TAG, Grab C, Hits D, Lustermann W, Lyon AM, Manzoni RA, Perez CM, Meinhard MT, Micheli F, Nessi-Tedaldi F, Niedziela J, Pauss F, Perovic V, Perrin G, Pigazzini S, Ratti MG, Reichmann M, Reissel C, Reitenspiess T, Ristic B, Ruini D, Becerra DAS, Schönenberger M, Stampf V, Steggemann J, Wallny R, Zhu DH, Amsler C, Botta C, Brzhechko D, Canelli MF, De Wit A, Burgo RD, Heikkilä JK, Huwiler M, Jofrehei A, Kilminster B, Leontsinis S, Macchiolo A, Meiring P, Mikuni VM, Molinatti U, Neutelings I, Rauco G, Reimers A, Robmann P, Cruz SS, Schweiger K, Takahashi Y, Adloff C, Kuo CM, Lin W, Roy A, Sarkar T, Yu SS, Ceard L, Chang P, Chao Y, Chen KF, Chen PH, Hou WS, Li YY, Lu RS, Paganis E, Psallidas A, Steen A, Yazgan E, Yu PR, Asavapibhop B, Asawatangtrakuldee C, Srimanobhas N, Boran F, Damarseckin S, Demiroglu ZS, Dolek F, Dumanoglu I, Eskut E, Gokbulut G, Guler Y, Guler EG, Hos I, Isik C, Kangal EE, Kara O, Topaksu AK, Kiminsu U, Onengut G, Ozdemir K, Polatoz A, Simsek AE, Tali B, Tok UG, Turkcapar S, Zorbakir IS, Zorbilmez C, Isildak B, Karapinar G, Ocalan K, Yalvac M, Akgun B, Atakisi IO, Cekmecelioglu YC, Gülmez E, Kaya M, Kaya O, Özçelik Ö, Tekten S, Yetkin EA, Cakir A, Cankocak K, Komurcu Y, Sen S, Sen FA, Cerci S, Kaynak B, Ozkorucuklu S, Cerci DS, Grynyov B, Levchuk L, Bhal E, Bologna S, Brooke JJ, Bundock A, Clement E, Cussans D, Flacher H, Goldstein J, Heath GP, Heath HF, Kreczko L, Krikler B, Paramesvaran S, Sakuma T, Nasr-Storey SSE, Smith VJ, Stylianou N, Taylor J, Titterton A, Bell KW, Belyaev A, Brew C, Brown RM, Cockerill DJA, Ellis KV, Harder K, Harper S, Linacre J, Manolopoulos K, Newbold DM, Olaiya E, Petyt D, Reis T, Schuh T, Shepherd-Themistocleous CH, Thea A, Tomalin IR, Williams T, Bainbridge R, Bloch P, Bonomally S, Borg J, Breeze S, Buchmuller O, Cepaitis V, Chahal GS, Colling D, Dauncey P, Davies G, Negra MD, Fayer S, Fedi G, Hall G, Hassanshahi MH, Iles G, Langford J, Lyons L, Magnan AM, Malik S, Martelli A, Nash J, Palladino V, Pesaresi M, Raymond DM, Richards A, Rose A, Scott E, Seez C, Shtipliyski A, Tapper A, Uchida K, Virdee T, Wardle N, Webb SN, Winterbottom D, Zecchinelli AG, Cole JE, Khan A, Kyberd P, Mackay CK, Reid ID, Teodorescu L, Zahid S, Abdullin S, Brinkerhoff A, Caraway B, Dittmann J, Hatakeyama K, Kanuganti AR, McMaster B, Pastika N, Sawant S, Smith C, Sutantawibul C, Wilson J, Bartek R, Dominguez A, Uniyal R, Hernandez AMV, Buccilli A, Charaf O, Cooper SI, Croce DD, Gleyzer SV, Henderson C, Perez CU, Rumerio P, West C, Akpinar A, Albert A, Arcaro D, Cosby C, Demiragli Z, Gastler D, Rohlf J, Salyer K, Sperka D, Spitzbart D, Suarez I, Tsatsos A, Yuan S, Zou D, Benelli G, Burkle B, Coubez X, Cutts D, Duh YT, Hadley M, Heintz U, Hogan JM, Laird E, Landsberg G, Lau KT, Lee J, Luo J, Narain M, Sagir S, Usai E, Wong WY, Yan X, Yu D, Zhang W, Brainerd C, Breedon R, De La Barca Sanchez MC, Chertok M, Conway J, Cox PT, Erbacher R, Jensen F, Kukral O, Lander R, Mulhearn M, Pellett D, Regnery B, Taylor D, Tripathi M, Yao Y, Zhang F, Bachtis M, Cousins R, Dasgupta A, Datta A, Hamilton D, Hauser J, Ignatenko M, Iqbal MA, Lam T, Mccoll N, Nash WA, Regnard S, Saltzberg D, Schnaible C, Stone B, Valuev V, Burt K, Chen Y, Clare R, Gary JW, Hanson G, Karapostoli G, Long OR, Manganelli N, Negrete MO, Si W, Wimpenny S, Zhang Y, Branson JG, Chang P, Cittolin S, Cooperstein S, Deelen N, Duarte J, Gerosa R, Giannini L, Gilbert D, Guiang J, Kansal R, Krutelyov V, Lee R, Letts J, Masciovecchio M, May S, Padhi S, Pieri M, Narayanan BVS, Sharma V, Tadel M, Vartak A, Würthwein F, Xiang Y, Yagil A, Amin N, Campagnari C, Citron M, Dorsett A, Dutta V, Incandela J, Kilpatrick M, Marsh B, Mei H, Ovcharova A, Quinnan M, Richman J, Sarica U, Stuart D, Wang S, Bornheim A, Cerri O, Dutta I, Lawhorn JM, Lu N, Mao J, Newman HB, Ngadiuba J, Nguyen TQ, Spiropulu M, Vlimant JR, Wang C, Xie S, Zhang Z, Zhu RY, Alison J, Andrews MB, Ferguson T, Mudholkar T, Paulini M, Vorobiev I, Cumalat JP, Ford WT, MacDonald E, Patel R, Perloff A, Stenson K, Ulmer KA, Wagner SR, Alexander J, Cheng Y, Chu J, Cranshaw DJ, Mcdermott K, Monroy J, Patterson JR, Quach D, Reichert J, Ryd A, Sun W, Tan SM, Tao Z, Thom J, Wittich P, Zientek M, Albrow M, Alyari M, Apollinari G, Apresyan A, Apyan A, Banerjee S, Bauerdick LAT, Beretvas A, Berry D, Berryhill J, Bhat PC, Burkett K, Butler JN, Canepa A, Cerati GB, Cheung HWK, Chlebana F, Cremonesi M, Petrillo KFD, Elvira VD, Freeman J, Gecse Z, Gray L, Green D, Grünendahl S, Gutsche O, Harris RM, Heller R, Herwig TC, Hirschauer J, Jayatilaka B, Jindariani S, Johnson M, Joshi U, Klabbers P, Klijnsma T, Klima B, Kortelainen MJ, Kwok KHM, Lammel S, Lincoln D, Lipton R, Liu T, Lykken J, Madrid C, Maeshima K, Mantilla C, Mason D, McBride P, Merkel P, Mrenna S, Nahn S, O’Dell V, Papadimitriou V, Pedro K, Pena C, Prokofyev O, Ravera F, Hall AR, Ristori L, Schneider B, Sexton-Kennedy E, Smith N, Soha A, Spiegel L, Stoynev S, Strait J, Taylor L, Tkaczyk S, Tran NV, Uplegger L, Vaandering EW, Weber HA, Woodard A, Acosta D, Avery P, Bourilkov D, Cadamuro L, Cherepanov V, Errico F, Field RD, Guerrero D, Joshi BM, Kim M, Konigsberg J, Korytov A, Lo KH, Matchev K, Menendez N, Mitselmakher G, Rosenzweig D, Shi K, Sturdy J, Wang J, Yigitbasi E, Zuo X, Adams T, Askew A, Diaz D, Habibullah R, Hagopian S, Hagopian V, Johnson KF, Khurana R, Kolberg T, Martinez G, Prosper H, Schiber C, Yohay R, Zhang J, Baarmand MM, Butalla S, Elkafrawy T, Hohlmann M, Verma RK, Noonan D, Rahmani M, Saunders M, Yumiceva F, Adams MR, Apanasevich L, Gonzalez HB, Cavanaugh R, Chen X, Dittmer S, Evdokimov O, Gerber CE, Hangal DA, Hofman DJ, Mills C, Oh G, Roy T, Tonjes MB, Varelas N, Viinikainen J, Wang X, Wu Z, Ye Z, Alhusseini M, Dilsiz K, Durgut S, Gandrajula RP, Haytmyradov M, Khristenko V, Köseyan OK, Merlo JP, Mestvirishvili A, Moeller A, Nachtman J, Ogul H, Onel Y, Ozok F, Penzo A, Snyder C, Tiras E, Wetzel J, Amram O, Blumenfeld B, Corcodilos L, Eminizer M, Gritsan AV, Kyriacou S, Maksimovic P, Roskes J, Swartz M, Vámi T, Barrera CB, Baringer P, Bean A, Bylinkin A, Isidori T, Khalil S, King J, Krintiras G, Kropivnitskaya A, Lindsey C, Minafra N, Murray M, Rogan C, Royon C, Sanders S, Schmitz E, Takaki JDT, Wang Q, Williams J, Wilson G, Duric S, Ivanov A, Kaadze K, Kim D, Maravin Y, Mitchell T, Modak A, Nam K, Rebassoo F, Wright D, Adams E, Baden A, Baron O, Belloni A, Eno SC, Feng Y, Hadley NJ, Jabeen S, Kellogg RG, Koeth T, Mignerey AC, Nabili S, Seidel M, Skuja A, Tonwar SC, Wang L, Wong K, Abercrombie D, Andreassi G, Bi R, Brandt S, Busza W, Cali IA, Chen Y, D’Alfonso M, Ceballos GG, Goncharov M, Harris P, Hu M, Klute M, Kovalskyi D, Krupa J, Lee YJ, Maier B, Marini AC, Mironov C, Paus C, Rankin D, Roland C, Roland G, Shi Z, Stephans GSF, Tatar K, Wang J, Wang Z, Wyslouch B, Chatterjee RM, Evans A, Hansen P, Hiltbrand J, Jain S, Krohn M, Kubota Y, Lesko Z, Mans J, Revering M, Rusack R, Saradhy R, Schroeder N, Strobbe N, Wadud MA, Acosta JG, Oliveros S, Bloom K, Bryson M, Chauhan S, Claes DR, Fangmeier C, Finco L, Golf F, Fernández JRG, Joo C, Kravchenko I, Siado JE, Snow GR, Tabb W, Yan F, Agarwal G, Bandyopadhyay H, Hay L, Iashvili I, Kharchilava A, McLean C, Nguyen D, Pekkanen J, Rappoccio S, Williams A, Alverson G, Barberis E, Freer C, Haddad Y, Hortiangtham A, Li J, Madigan G, Marzocchi B, Morse DM, Nguyen V, Orimoto T, Parker A, Skinnari L, Tishelman-Charny A, Wamorkar T, Wang B, Wisecarver A, Wood D, Bhattacharya S, Bueghly J, Chen Z, Gilbert A, Gunter T, Hahn KA, Odell N, Schmitt MH, Sung K, Velasco M, Band R, Bucci R, Dev N, Goldouzian R, Hildreth M, Anampa KH, Jessop C, Lannon K, Loukas N, Marinelli N, Mcalister I, Meng F, Mohrman K, Musienko Y, Ruchti R, Siddireddy P, Wayne M, Wightman A, Wolf M, Zarucki M, Zygala L, Bylsma B, Cardwell B, Durkin LS, Francis B, Hill C, Lefeld A, Winer BL, Yates BR, Addesa FM, Bonham B, Das P, Dezoort G, Elmer P, Frankenthal A, Greenberg B, Haubrich N, Higginbotham S, Kalogeropoulos A, Kopp G, Kwan S, Lange D, Lucchini MT, Marlow D, Mei K, Ojalvo I, Olsen J, Palmer C, Stickland D, Tully C, Xie Z, Malik S, Norberg S, Bakshi AS, Barnes VE, Chawla R, Das S, Gutay L, Jones M, Jung AW, Karmarkar S, Liu M, Negro G, Neumeister N, Paspalaki G, Peng CC, Piperov S, Purohit A, Schulte JF, Stojanovic M, Thieman J, Wang F, Xiao R, Xie W, Dolen J, Parashar N, Baty A, Dildick S, Ecklund KM, Freed S, Geurts FJM, Kumar A, Li W, Padley BP, Redjimi R, Roberts J, Shi W, Leiton AGS, Bodek A, de Barbaro P, Demina R, Dulemba JL, Fallon C, Ferbel T, Galanti M, Garcia-Bellido A, Hindrichs O, Khukhunaishvili A, Ranken E, Taus R, Chiarito B, Chou JP, Gandrakota A, Gershtein Y, Halkiadakis E, Hart A, Heindl M, Hughes E, Kaplan S, Karacheban O, Laflotte I, Lath A, Montalvo R, Nash K, Osherson M, Salur S, Schnetzer S, Somalwar S, Stone R, Thayil SA, Thomas S, Wang H, Acharya H, Delannoy AG, Spanier S, Bouhali O, Dalchenko M, Delgado A, Eusebi R, Gilmore J, Huang T, Kamon T, Kim H, Luo S, Malhotra S, Mueller R, Overton D, Rathjens D, Safonov A, Akchurin N, Damgov J, Hegde V, Kunori S, Lamichhane K, Lee SW, Mengke T, Muthumuni S, Peltola T, Undleeb S, Volobouev I, Wang Z, Whitbeck A, Appelt E, Greene S, Gurrola A, Johns W, Maguire C, Melo A, Ni H, Padeken K, Romeo F, Sheldon P, Tuo S, Velkovska J, Arenton MW, Cox B, Cummings G, Hakala J, Hirosky R, Joyce M, Ledovskoy A, Li A, Neu C, Tannenwald B, Wolfe E, Karchin PE, Poudyal N, Thapa P, Black K, Bose T, Buchanan J, Caillol C, Dasu S, De Bruyn I, Everaerts P, Fienga F, Galloni C, He H, Herndon M, Hervé A, Hussain U, Lanaro A, Loeliger A, Loveless R, Sreekala JM, Mallampalli A, Mohammadi A, Pinna D, Savin A, Shang V, Sharma V, Smith WH, Teague D, Trembath-Reichert S, Vetens W. Precision luminosity measurement in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016 at CMS

The measurement of the luminosity recorded by the CMS detector installed at LHC interaction point 5, using proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016, is reported. The absolute luminosity scale is measured for individual bunch crossings using beam-separation scans (the van der Meer method), with a relative precision of 1.3 and 1.0% in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The dominant sources of uncertainty are related to residual differences between the measured beam positions and the ones provided by the operational settings of the LHC magnets, the factorizability of the proton bunch spatial density functions in the coordinates transverse to the beam direction, and the modeling of the effect of electromagnetic interactions among protons in the colliding bunches. When applying the van der Meer calibration to the entire run periods, the integrated luminosities when CMS was fully operational are 2.27 and 36.3 fb - 1 in 2015 and 2016, with a relative precision of 1.6 and 1.2%, respectively. These are among the most precise luminosity measurements at bunched-beam hadron colliders.

Genetic parameters and weighted single-step genome-wide association study for supernumerary teats in Holstein cattle

Supernumerary teats (SNT) are a common epidermal abnormality of udders in mammals. The SNT negatively affect machine milking ability, udder health, and animal welfare and sometimes act as reservoirs for undesirable bacteria, resulting in economic losses on calves and lactating cows due to the cost of SNT removal surgery, early culling, and low milk yield. This study aimed to analyze the incidence and genetic parameter of SNT and detect SNT-related genes in Chinese Holstein cattle. In this study, the incidence of SNT was recorded in 4,670 Chinese Holstein cattle (born between 2008 and 2017) from 2 farms, including 734 genotyped cows with 114,485 SNPs. The SNT had a total frequency of 9.8% and estimated heritability of 0.22 (SE = 0.07), which were obtained using a threshold model in the studied Chinese Holstein population. Furthermore, we calculated approximate genetic correlations between SNT and the following indicator traits: 12 milk production, 28 body conformation, 5 fertility and reproduction, 5 health, and 9 longevity. Generally, the estimated correlations, such as 305-d milk yield for third parity (-0.55; SE = 0.02) and age at first calving in heifer (0.19; SE = 0.03), were low to moderate. A single-step GWAS was implemented, and 10 genes associated with SNT located in BTA4 were identified. The region (112.70-112.90 Mb) on BTA4 showed the highest genetic variance for SNT. The quantitative trait loci on BTA4 was mapped into the RARRES2 gene, which was previously shown to affect adipogenesis and hormone secretion. The WIF1 gene, which was located in BTA5, was also considered as a candidate gene for SNT. Overall, these findings provide useful information for breeders who are interested in reducing SNT.

Constraints on the Initial State of Pb-Pb Collisions via Measurements of Z-Boson Yields and Azimuthal Anisotropy at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV

The CMS experiment at the LHC has measured the differential cross sections of Z bosons decaying to pairs of leptons, as functions of transverse momentum and rapidity, in lead-lead collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 5.02  TeV. The measured Z boson elliptic azimuthal anisotropy coefficient is compatible with zero, showing that Z bosons do not experience significant final-state interactions in the medium produced in the collision. Yields of Z bosons are compared to Glauber model predictions and are found to deviate from these expectations in peripheral collisions, indicating the presence of initial collision geometry and centrality selection effects. The precision of the measurement allows, for the first time, for a data-driven determination of the nucleon-nucleon integrated luminosity as a function of lead-lead centrality, thereby eliminating the need for its estimation based on a Glauber model.

[Correlation of serum lipid profile and disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease]

To analyze the correlation between lipid profile and disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).A total of 307 Crohn's disease (CD) patients, 232 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and 165 healthy subjects from the same geographic region were included. Total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and lipoprotein(a)[Lp(a)] were retrieved from their medical records. Crohn disease activity index (CDAI) and Mayo scores were calculated as measurement of disease severity for CD and UC separately. Patients with CD and UC had lower TC, TG, HDL-C and LDL-C levels than those in control group (P<0.05). Additionally, CDAI was negatively associated with TC, HDL-C and LDL-C levels (r=-0.218, -0.210, -0.176, P<0.05), while TG level was not associated with CDAI. Mayo scores was not significantly associated with TC, HDL-C, LDL-C and TG. Patients with CD had higher Lp(a) levels than those in UC and control group (P<0.05). Furthermore, patients with active CD had higher Lp (a) levels than those with inactive disease (P<0.05).The Lp(a) levels in CD patients were positively associated with CDAI (r=0.151, P<0.05), while Lp(a) level in UC group was nor assocriated with Mayo score. Patients with IBD have dyslipidemia and lipid profile is associated with disease activity in CD patients.

Articulatory Gain Predicts Motor Cortex and Subthalamic Nucleus Activity During Speech

Speaking precisely is important for effective verbal communication, and articulatory gain is one component of speech motor control that contributes to achieving this goal. Given that the basal ganglia have been proposed to regulate the speed and size of limb movement, that is, movement gain, we explored the basal ganglia contribution to articulatory gain, through local field potentials (LFP) recorded simultaneously from the subthalamic nucleus (STN), precentral gyrus, and postcentral gyrus. During STN deep brain stimulation implantation for Parkinson's disease, participants read aloud consonant-vowel-consonant syllables. Articulatory gain was indirectly assessed using the F2 Ratio, an acoustic measurement of the second formant frequency of/i/vowels divided by/u/vowels. Mixed effects models demonstrated that the F2 Ratio correlated with alpha and theta activity in the precentral gyrus and STN. No correlations were observed for the postcentral gyrus. Functional connectivity analysis revealed that higher phase locking values for beta activity between the STN and precentral gyrus were correlated with lower F2 Ratios, suggesting that higher beta synchrony impairs articulatory precision. Effects were not related to disease severity. These data suggest that articulatory gain is encoded within the basal ganglia-cortical loop.

Intracervical intracapsular myomectomy using loop ligation: a proposed technique

Performing laparoscopic myomectomy for an intracervical myoma, especially a single giant myoma, is challenging. Only skilled surgeons attempt this operation. Surgeons frequently encounter cases of massive intraoperative bleeding, difficulty suturing the cervical incision, risk of injuring the neighbouring tissues, haematoma formation and conversion to laparotomy or hysterectomy. We previously developed a the technique of loop ligation of the pseudocapsule and have been using it to treat sizeable intracervical myomas laparoscopically. Its advantages include less blood loss, lower risk of injuries to the neighbouring tissues, maintenance of the cervical canal and sparing of the pseudocapsule. This technique is safe and feasible, and facilitates fertility.

Search for charged Higgs bosons produced in vector boson fusion processes and decaying into vector boson pairs in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV

A search for charged Higgs bosons produced in vector boson fusion processes and decaying into vector bosons, using proton-proton collisions ats = 13 TeV at the LHC, is reported. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 137fb - 1 collected with the CMS detector. Events are selected by requiring two or three electrons or muons, moderate missing transverse momentum, and two jets with a large rapidity separation and a large dijet mass. No excess of events with respect to the standard model background predictions is observed. Model independent upper limits at 95% confidence level are reported on the product of the cross section and branching fraction for vector boson fusion production of charged Higgs bosons as a function of mass, from 200 to 3000GeV . The results are interpreted in the context of the Georgi-Machacek model.

O-189 Male fertility restoration by direct transplantation of human infant testicular cells into infertile recipient mouse testis

Study question

Is colonization of human gonocytes and spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) directly transplanted to seminiferous tubules of busulfan sterilised mice testis during an 8-week period feasible? 

Summary answer

Gonocytes and SSCs from infant boys can settle on the basal membrane and form germline stem cell colonies in the seminiferous tubules of recipient mice.

What is known already

The neonatal or immature animal provides higher populations of gonocytes and/or SSCs than adults, and the number of transplanted donor SSCs directly affects the colonization rate of the recipient testes. Along with SSC transplantation restoring the recipient’s spermatogenesis, donor gonocyte was also reported to be capable of establishing spermatogenesis in rodents.

Study design, size, duration

Transplantation of human testicular cells including gonocytes and SSCs into seminiferous tubules of infertile recipient mice. We included 10 infant testis biopsies from which single-cell suspension was transplanted individually into the seminiferous tubules of 10 immunodeficient mice. The immunodeficient mouse testes were injected with busulfan to deplete germ cells. Four weeks later, we did the xenotransplantation. Then after eight weeks, we collected all mouse testes to do further analysis.

Participants/materials, setting, methods

Testis biopsies were obtained from cryptorchid boys undergoing orchidopexy. After enzymatic digestion of the testis biopsies, dissociated single-cell suspensions were pre-labeled with a green fluorescent dye. Then the single-cell suspensions were transplanted into seminiferous tubules of the infertile recipient mice. Eight weeks later, the presence of gonocytes and SSCs was determined by immunohistochemistry and whole-mount immunofluorescence.

Main results and the role of chance

Without in vitro propagation, naturally enriched human germline stem cells settled on the basal membrane of seminiferous tubules and survived in the mouse testes at least for two months demonstrating that human gonocytes and SSCs were capable of colonizing the recipient mouse seminiferous tubules.

Limitations, reasons for caution

The study samples were from infant boys with undescended testes that were more likely to contain gonocytes. It was not possible to determine which germ-cell type at transplantation resulted in the detected gonocytes and SSC colonies after xenotransplantation. Transplantation of gonocytes may include the potential risk of stem cell-related malignancy.

Wider implications of the findings

Without in vitro propagation, male germline stem cell-based transplantation could provide a relatively safe therapeutic treatment for prepubertal boys with cryptorchidism and boys diagnosed with cancer. This method could also facilitate clinical translation.

Trial registration number

not applicable

Search for a heavy vector resonance decaying to a Z boson and a Higgs boson in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 Te

A search is presented for a heavy vector resonance decaying into a Z boson and the standard model Higgs boson, where the Z boson is identified through its leptonic decays to electrons, muons, or neutrinos, and the Higgs boson is identified through its hadronic decays. The search is performed in a Lorentz-boosted regime and is based on data collected from 2016 to 2018 at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137fb - 1 . Upper limits are derived on the production of a narrow heavy resonanceZ ' , and a mass below 3.5 and 3.7Te is excluded at 95% confidence level in models where the heavy vector boson couples predominantly to fermions and to bosons, respectively. These are the most stringent limits placed on the Heavy Vector TripletZ ' model to date. If the heavy vector boson couples exclusively to standard model bosons, upper limits on the product of the cross section and branching fraction are set between 23 and 0.3fb for aZ ' mass between 0.8 and 4.6Te , respectively. This is the first limit set on a heavy vector boson coupling exclusively to standard model bosons in its production and decay.

Cell adhesion molecule L1 like plays a role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism

PURPOSE

The pathogenesis of idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) is genetically complex. The aims of this study were to investigate the genetic profile and clinical manifestation of IHH in a Chinese pedigree and to discover new IHH-associated genes.

METHODS

The first step was to follow up the clinical phenotype and therapeutic outcomes of the pedigree in university hospital. The second step was that mutation screening was performed in this pedigree and 100 healthy controls. The third step was to further verify the pathogenicity of the discovered rare sequencing variant (RSV) by functional experiments. Whole exome sequencing, Sanger sequencing, testicular volume (TV), semen analysis, assessment of cell migration and necroptosis were performed.

RESULTS

One heterozygous RSV (p.G517E) in CHL1 was identified in two male IHH patients and their mother in the pedigree, but not in healthy controls. All the three individuals exhibited olfactory impairment. hCG/hMG treatment significantly improved TV, serum testosterone and/or semen parameters of the two male patients. Functional analysis indicated that CHL1 significantly regulated GnRH neuronal cell line (GN11 cells) migration and necroptosis, with alteration of ERK1/2 activation, calcium loading, and transcription of RIPK3 and MLKL. However, the above processes were negatively influenced by the CHL1 RSV.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study reports the genetic relevance of CHL1 in IHH, and characterizes the phenotypic and therapeutic profiles in patients carrying the CHL1 RSV. CHL1 may act as a new IHH-associated gene, and should be taken into consideration in future investigations for this field.

Plasma metabolite changes in anestrous dairy cows with negative energy balance identified using 1H NMR technology

ABSTRACT The objective of the present study was to investigate the different plasma metabolites between anestrus and estrus postpartum dairy cows and to provide a theoretical basis for prevention of anestrus in dairy farm cows. In the experiment, one hundred and sixty-seven Holstein dairy cows were selected with similar age and parity. According to the concentration of β-hydroxybutyric acid, non-esterified fatty acids and glucose in plasma during 14 to 21 days in milk, all dairy cows were determined as having a status of energy balance. According to the results of clinical symptom, rectal and B ultrasound examination at 60 to 90 days postpartum, these cows were divided into twenty estrus and twenty-four anestrus group, other dairy cows were removed. 1H nuclear magnetic resonance technology was utilized to detect the plasma metabolites changes and screen different plasma metabolites between anestrus and estrus cows. Ten different metabolites including alanine, glutamic acid, asparagine, creatine, choline, phosphocholine, glycerophosphocholine, low-density lipoprotein, and very-low-density lipoprotein were significantly decreased in anestrous cows compared with estrous cows. Metabolic pathway analyses indicated that differential metabolites were primarily involved in amino acid and glycerophospholipid metabolism. These metabolites and their enrichment pathways indicate that reduced steroid hormone synthesis precursors result in lower levels of estradiol and progesterone and cause anestrus in negative energy balance. These data provide a better understanding of the changes that may affect estrus of postpartum dairy cows at NEB status and lay the ground for further research.

[Analysis of families with fetal congenital abnormalities but negative prenatal diagnosis by whole exome sequencing]

Objective: To evaluate the value of whole exome sequencing (WES) in prenatal clinical application. Methods: A total of 1 152 cases of congenital abnormal [including structural malformation, nuchal translucency (NT) thickening and intrauterine growth restriction] with traditional prenatal diagnosis [including G-band karyotype analysis and chromosome microarray analysis (CMA)] negative were analyzed. The congenital abnormal fetuses were divided into retrospective group and prospective group according to the time of WES detection, that is whether the pregnancy termination or not. According to the specific location of fetal malformation and their family history, the cohort was divided into subgroups. The clinical prognosis of all fetuses were followed up, and the effect of WES test results on pregnancy decision-making and clinical intervention were analyzed. According to the follow-up results, the data of fetuses with new phenotypes in the third trimester or after birth were re-analyzed. Results: Among 1 152 families who received WES, 5 families were excluded because of nonbiological parents. Among the remaining 1 147 families, 152 fetuses obtained positive diagnosis (13.3%,152/1 147), including 74 fetuses in the retrospective group (16.1%,74/460) and 78 fetuses in the prospective group (11.4%,78/687). In fetuses with negative CMA and G-band karyotype analysis results but new phenotypes in the third trimester or after birth, the positive rate by WES data re-analysis was 4.9% (8/163). A total of 34 (21.3%, 34/160) fetuses were directly affected by the corresponding positive molecular diagnosis. Among 68 cases of live births with diagnostic variation grade 4, 29 cases (42.7%, 29/68) received appropriate medical intervention through rapid review of WES results. Conclusions: WES could increase the detection rate of abnormal fetuses with negative G-banding karyotype analysis and CMA by 13.3%. Prenatal WES could guide pregnancy decision-making and early clinical intervention. It might be an effective strategy to pay attention to the special follow-up of the third trimester and postnatal fetus and to re-analyze the WES data.

MUSiC: a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV , corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb - 1 , are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.

Bifidobacterium bifidum-Mediated Specific Delivery of Nanoparticles for Tumor Therapy

Purpose

Hypoxia is considered to be obstructive to tumor treatment, but the reduced oxygen surroundings provide a suitable habitat for Bifidobacterium bifidum (BF) to colonize. The anaerobe BF selectively colonizes into tumors following systemic injection due to its preference for the hypoxia in the tumor cores. Therefore, BF may be a potential targeting agent which could be used effectively in tumor treatment. We aimed to determine whether a novel BF-mediated strategy, that was designed to deliver AP-PFH/PLGA NPs (aptamers CCFM641-5-functionalized Perfluorohexane (PFH) loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles) by aptamer-directed approach into solid tumor based on the tumor-targeting ability of BF, could improve efficiency of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment of breast cancer.

Methods

We synthesized AP-PFH/PLGA NPs using double emulsion method and carbodiimide method. Then, we evaluated targeting ability of AP-PFH/PLGA NPs to BF in vivo. Finally, we studied the efficacy of HIFU ablation based on BF plus AP-PFH/PLGA NPs (BF-mediated HIFU ablation) in tumor.

Results

The elaborately designed AP-PFH/PLGA NPs can target BF colonized in tumor to achieve high tumor accumulation, which can significantly enhance HIFU therapeutic efficiency. We also found that, compared with traditional chemotherapy, this therapy not only inhibits tumor growth, but also significantly prolongs the survival time of mice. More importantly, this treatment strategy has no obvious side effects.

Conclusion

We successfully established a novel therapy method, BF-mediated HIFU ablation, which provides an excellent platform for highly efficient and non-invasive therapy of tumor.

Sustained benefit of cognitive behaviour therapy for health anxiety in medical patients (CHAMP) over 8 years: a randomised-controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Health anxiety is an under-recognised but a frequent cause of distress. It is particularly common in general hospitals.

METHODS

We carried out an 8-year follow-up of medical out-patients with health anxiety (hypochondriasis) enrolled in a randomised-controlled trial in five general hospitals in London, Middlesex and Nottinghamshire. Randomisation was to a mean of six sessions of cognitive behaviour therapy adapted for health anxiety (CBT-HA) or to standard care in the clinics. The primary outcome was a change in score on the Short Health Anxiety Inventory, with generalised anxiety and depression as secondary outcomes. Of 444 patients aged 16-75 years seen in cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, neurology and respiratory medicine clinics, 306 (68.9%) were followed-up 8 years after randomisation, including 36 who had died. The study is registered with controlled-trials.com, ISRCTN14565822.

RESULTS

There was a significant difference in the HAI score in favour of CBT-HA over standard care after 8 years [1.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.25-3.40, p = 0.023], between group differences in generalised anxiety were less (0.54, 95% CI -0.29 to 1.36), p = 0.20, ns), but those for depression were greater at 8 years (1.22, 95% CI 0.42-2.01, p < 0.003) in CBT-HA than in standard care, most in standard care satisfying the criteria for clinical depression. Those seen by nurse therapists and in cardiology and gastrointestinal clinics achieved the greatest gains with CBT-HA, with greater improvement in both symptoms and social function.

CONCLUSIONS

CBT-HA is a highly long-term effective treatment for pathological health anxiety with long-term benefits. Standard care for health anxiety in medical clinics promotes depression. Nurse therapists are effective practitioners.

Protective effect of MAPK signaling pathway mediated by ITGB3 gene silencing on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in mice and its mechanism

OBJECTIVE

To explore the effect of integrin β3 (ITGB3) gene silencing mediated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) in mice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

MIRI mice model was established, and myocardial tissues of MIRI mice and sham operation group mice were extracted. Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining was used to observe the pathological changes of myocardial tissue; terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining was used to detect the apoptosis of myocardial cells; ELISA method was used to detect the levels of interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in the two groups. The infarct size was measured by TTC staining. Myocardial cells of MIRI model mice were isolated and cultured, and then grouped and transfected. The cells were transfected with the grouping of MIRI group, negative control (NC) group, MAPK signal pathway agonist Anisomycin group, MAPK signal pathway inhibitor SB203580 group, ITGB3-siRNA group, SB203580 + ITGB3-siRNA group. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expressions of ITGB3, p38MAPK/p-p38MAPK, GSK-3β/p-GSK-3β, Cx43/p-Cx43, pro-apoptotic factor Bax and anti-apoptotic factor Bcl-2. 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo (-z-y1)-3,5-di-phenytetrazoliumromide (MTT) assay was used to detect cell proliferation and flow cytometry to detect cell apoptosis.

RESULTS

The expression of ITGB3 in myocardial tissue of MIRI mice was significantly higher than that of sham operated mice (p<0.05). Compared with the sham operation group, the apoptosis rate of myocardial cells in MIRI group was significantly increased, the expression levels of IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly increased, and the myocardial infarction area was significantly increased (all p<0.05). Compared with MIRI and NC groups, ITGB3 mRNA and protein expression levels in ITGB3-siRNA group and SB203580 + ITGB3-siRNA group were significantly decreased (all p<0.05), but no significant change was found in Anisomycin group and SB203580 group (p>0.05). Furthermore, ITGB3-siRNA group and Anisomycin group had markedly decreased mRNA and protein expressions of ITGB3 and Bax, increased mRNA and protein expressions of p38MAPK/p-p38MAPK, GSK-3β/p-GSK-3β, Cx43/p-Cx43 and Bcl-2, as well as increased cell proliferation and decreased cell apoptosis (all p<0.05); SB203580 group indicated an opposite result with Anisomycin group; while SB203580 + ITGB3-siRNA revealed none significant statistical difference. In addition, compared with ITGB3-siRNA group, SB203580 + ITGB3-siRNA group showed significantly upregulated mRNA and protein expressions of Bax, downregulated mRNA and protein expressions of p38MAPK/p-p38MAPK, GSK-3β/p-GSK-3β, Cx43/p-Cx43 and Bcl-2, as well as decreased cell proliferation and increased cell apoptosis (all p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Silencing ITGB3 gene expression can promote the activation of MAPK signaling pathway, elevate the phosphorylation of GSK-3β and Cx43 in the downstream, promote the proliferation of mouse myocardial cells, inhibit myocardial cell apoptosis and inflammatory reaction, and thus have protective effect on MIRI in mice.

Measurement of the Wγ Production Cross Section in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV and Constraints on Effective Field Theory Coefficients

A fiducial cross section for Wγ production in proton-proton collisions is measured at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in 137  fb^{-1} of data collected using the CMS detector at the LHC. The W→eν and μν decay modes are used in a maximum-likelihood fit to the lepton-photon invariant mass distribution to extract the combined cross section. The measured cross section is compared with theoretical expectations at next-to-leading order in quantum chromodynamics. In addition, 95% confidence level intervals are reported for anomalous triple-gauge couplings within the framework of effective field theory.