Measurement of top quark polarization in top-antitop events from proton-proton collisions at √s=7 TeV using the ATLAS detector

[Diagnostic Algorithm and Screening of Pulmonary Hypertension]

The new guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension include a new diagnostic algorithm and provide specific recommendations for the required diagnostic procedures, including screening methods. These recommendations are commented on by national experts under the auspices of the DACH. These comments provide additional decision support and background information, serving as a further guide for the complex diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension.

Azimuthal Angular Correlation as a Boosted Top Jet Substructure

We propose a novel jet substructure observable of boosted tops that is related to the linear polarization of the W boson in boosted top quark decay, which results in a cos2ϕ angular correlation between the t→bW and W→ff^{'}[over ¯] decay planes. We discuss in detail the origin of such linear polarization by applying Wigner's little group transformation. We show that the unique cos2ϕ angular correlation only exists in the boosted regime but not in the top quark rest frame. We construct an experimental observable for such correlation based on the transverse energy deposition asymmetry in the top jet that does not require the reconstruction of W decay products. The degree of this asymmetry can be used to measure the longitudinal polarization of the top quark, which is an important probe of new physics that couples to the top sector, and can discriminate a boosted top quark jet from its background events, such as QCD jets. A numerical simulation is also performed and found to agree well with the analytic prediction of the standard model.

Testing Bell Inequalities at the LHC with Top-Quark Pairs

Correlations between the spins of top-quark pairs produced at a collider can be used to probe quantum entanglement at energies never explored so far. We show how the measurement of a single observable can provide a test of the violation of a Bell inequality at the 98% C.L. with the statistical uncertainty of the data already collected at the Large Hadron Collider, and at the 99.99% C.L. with the higher luminosity of the next run. Detector acceptance, efficiency, and migration effects are taken into account. The test relies on the spin correlations alone and does not require the determination of probabilities-in contrast to all other tests of Bell inequalities.

Fano feature induced by a bound state in the continuum via resonant state expansion

We consider light scattering by an anisotropic defect layer embedded into anisotropic photonic crystal in the spectral vicinity of an optical bound state in the continuum (BIC). Using a resonant state expansion method we derive an analytic solution for reflection and transmission amplitudes. The analytic solution is constructed via a perturbative approach with the BIC as the zeroth order approximation. The solution is found to describe the collapsing Fano feature in the spectral vicinity of the BIC. The findings are confirmed via comparison against direct numerical simulations with the Berreman transfer matrix method.

[Troponin elevation in acute ischemic stroke-unspecific or acute myocardial infarction? : Diagnostics and clinical implications]

Routine determination of troponin levels is recommended for all patients with acute ischemic stroke. In 20-55% of these patients the troponin levels are elevated, which may be caused by ischemic as well as non-ischemic myocardial damage and particularly neurocardiogenic myocardial damage. In patients with acute ischemic stroke, the prevalence of previously unknown coronary heart disease is reported to be up to 27% and is prognostically relevant for these patients; however, relevant coronary stenoses are less frequently detected in stroke patients with troponin elevation compared to patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. The risk of secondary intracerebral hemorrhage due to the necessity for dual platelet aggregation inhibition illustrates the challenging indication for invasive coronary diagnostics and revascularization. Therefore, a diagnostic work-up and interdisciplinary risk evaluation appropriate to the urgency are necessary in order to be able to determine a reasonable treatment approach with timing of the intervention, type and duration of blood thinning. In addition to conventional examination methods, multimodal cardiac imaging is increasingly used for this purpose. This review article aims to provide a pragmatic and clinically oriented approach to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, taking into account the available evidence.

Sociodemographic characteristics, sexual behaviour and knowledge about cervical cancer prevention as risk factors for high-risk human papillomavirus infection in Arkhangelsk, North-West Russia

While sociodemographic predictors of cervical cancer (CC) are well understood, predictors of high-risk (HR) human papillomavirus (HPV) infection have not been fully elucidated. This study explored the HR-HPV infection positivity in relation to sociodemographic, sexual behavior characteristics and knowledge about HPV and CC prevention among women who visited the Arkhangelsk clinical maternity hospital named after Samoylova, Russia. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the city of Arkhangelsk, Northwest Russia. Women who consulted a gynecologist for any reason between 1 January 2015 and 30 April 2015 were residents of Arkhangelsk, 25-65 years of age were included. The Mann-Whitney and Pearson's χ² tests were used. To determine the HR-HPV status, we used the Amplisens HPV-DNA test. We used a questionnaire to collect the information on sociodemographic factors. Logistic regression was applied. The prevalence of HR-HPV infection was 16.7% (n = 50). HR-HPV infection was more prevalent in younger women, cohabiting, nulliparae, smokers, having had over three sexual partners and early age of sexual debut. The odds of having a positive HR-HPV status increased by 25% with an annual decrease in the age of sexual debut. Moreover women with one child or more were less likely to have positive HR-HPV status.

The Prion Concept and Synthetic Prions

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies or prion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases caused by unconventional infectious agents, known as prions (PrP^Sc). Prions derive from a conformational conversion of the normally folded prion protein (PrP^C), which acquires pathological and infectious features. Moreover, PrP^Sc is able to transmit the pathological conformation to PrP^C through a mechanism that is still not well understood. The generation of synthetic prions, which behave like natural prions, is of fundamental importance to study the process of PrP^C conversion and to assess the efficacy of therapeutic strategies to interfere with this process. Moreover, the ability of synthetic prions to induce pathology in animals confirms that the pathological properties of the prion strains are all enciphered in abnormal conformations, characterizing these infectious agents.

Role of Minimally Invasive Surgery in the Reoperative Abdomen or Pelvis

Laparoscopy has become widely accepted as the preferred surgical approach in the management of benign and malignant colorectal diseases. Once considered a relative contraindication in patients with prior abdominal surgery (PAS), as surgeons have continued to gain expertise in advanced laparoscopy, minimally invasive approaches have been increasingly incorporated in the reoperative abdomen and pelvis. Although earlier studies have described conversion rates, most contemporary series evaluating the impact of PAS in laparoscopic colorectal resection have reported equivalent conversion and morbidity rates between reoperative and non-reoperative cases, and series evaluating the impact of laparoscopy in reoperative cases have demonstrated improved short-term outcomes with laparoscopy. The data overall highlight the importance of case selection, careful preoperative preparation and planning, and the critical role of surgeons' expertise in advanced laparoscopic techniques. Challenges to the widespread adoption of minimally invasive techniques in reoperative colorectal cases include the longer learning curve and longer operative time. However, with the steady increase in adoption of minimally invasive techniques worldwide, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is likely to continue to be applied in the management of increasingly complex reoperative colorectal cases in an effort to improve patient outcomes. In the hands of experienced MIS surgeons and in carefully selected cases, laparoscopy is both safe and efficacious for reoperative procedures in the abdomen and pelvis, with measurable short-term benefits.

NANOMEDICINE: will it offer possibilities to overcome multiple drug resistance in cancer?

This review is written with the purpose to review the current nanomedicine literature and provide an outlook on the developments in utilizing nanoscale drug constructs in treatment of solid cancers as well as in the potential treatment of multi-drug resistant cancers. No specific design principles for this review have been utilized apart from our active choice to avoid results only based on in vitro studies. Few drugs based on nanotechnology have progressed to clinical trials, since most are based only on in vitro experiments which do not give the necessary data for the research to progress towards pre-clinical studies. The area of nanomedicine has indeed spark much attention and holds promise for improved future therapeutics in the treatment of solid cancers. However, despite much investment few targeted therapeutics have successfully progressed to early clinical trials, indicating yet again that the human body is complicated and that much more understanding of the fundamentals of receptor interactions, physics of nanomedical constructs and their circulation in the body is indeed needed. We believe that nanomedical therapeutics can allow for more efficient treatments of resistant cancers, and may well be a cornerstone for RNA based therapeutics in the future given their general need for shielding from the harsh environment in the blood stream.

Measurements of tt spin correlations and top-quark polarization using dilepton final states in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 TeV

Spin correlations and polarization in the top quark-antiquark system are measured using dilepton final states produced in pp collisions at the LHC at sqrt[s]=7  TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.0  fb(-1) collected with the CMS detector. The measurements are performed using events with two oppositely charged leptons (electrons or muons), a significant imbalance in transverse momentum, and two or more jets, where at least one of the jets is identified as originating from a b quark. The spin correlations and polarization are measured through asymmetries in angular distributions of the two selected leptons, unfolded to the parton level. All measurements are found to be in agreement with predictions of the standard model.