Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum

Epigenetics and developmental programming of welfare and production traits in farm animals

The concept that postnatal health and development can be influenced by events that occur in utero originated from epidemiological studies in humans supported by numerous mechanistic (including epigenetic) studies in a variety of model species. Referred to as the ‘developmental origins of health and disease’ or ‘DOHaD’ hypothesis, the primary focus of large-animal studies until quite recently had been biomedical. Attention has since turned towards traits of commercial importance in farm animals. Herein we review the evidence that prenatal risk factors, including suboptimal parental nutrition, gestational stress, exposure to environmental chemicals and advanced breeding technologies, can determine traits such as postnatal growth, feed efficiency, milk yield, carcass composition, animal welfare and reproductive potential. We consider the role of epigenetic and cytoplasmic mechanisms of inheritance, and discuss implications for livestock production and future research endeavours. We conclude that although the concept is proven for several traits, issues relating to effect size, and hence commercial importance, remain. Studies have also invariably been conducted under controlled experimental conditions, frequently assessing single risk factors, thereby limiting their translational value for livestock production. We propose concerted international research efforts that consider multiple, concurrent stressors to better represent effects of contemporary animal production systems

Planck pre-launch status : The Planck mission

Peer reviewe

An Innovative Platform for Person-Centric Health and Wellness Support

3rd International Work-Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering (IWBBIO) -- APR 15-17, 2015 -- Grenada, SPAINWOS: 000410784400014Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)Modern digital technologies are paving the path to a revolutionary new concept of health and wellness care. Nowadays, many new solutions are being released and put at the reach of most consumers for promoting their health and wellness self-management. However, most of these applications are of very limited use, arguable accuracy and scarce interoperability with other similar systems. Accordingly, frameworks that may orchestrate, and intelligently leverage, all the data, information and knowledge generated through these systems are particularly required. This work introduces Mining Minds, an innovative framework that builds on some of the most prominent modern digital technologies, such as Big Data, Cloud Computing, and Internet of Things, to enable the provision of personalized healthcare and wellness support. This paper aims at describing the efficient and rational combination and interoperation of these technologies, as well as their integration with current and future personalized health and wellness services and business.Univ Granada, CITIC, BioMed Cent, E Hlth Business Dev BULL S A, Univ Granada, Fac Sci, Dept Comp Architecture & Comp TechnolKorean Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (MSIP) as part of the ICT; Industrial Core Technology Development Program - Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) [10049079]This research was partially funded by the Korean Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (MSIP) as part of the ICT R&D Program 2013. This work was also supported by the Industrial Core Technology Development Program, funded by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), under grant number #10049079

An fMRI Study to Analyze Neural Correlates of Presence during Virtual Reality Experiences

[EN] In the field of virtual reality (VR), many efforts have been made to analyze presence, the sense of being in the virtual world. However, it is only recently that functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to study presence during an automatic navigation through a virtual environment. In the present work, our aim was to use fMRI to study the sense of presence during a VR-free navigation task, in comparison with visualization of photographs and videos (automatic navigations through the same environment). The main goal was to analyze the usefulness of fMRI for this purpose, evaluating whether, in this context, the interaction between the subject and the environment is performed naturally, hiding the role of technology in the experience. We monitored 14 right-handed healthy females aged between 19 and 25 years. Frontal, parietal and occipital regions showed their involvement during free virtual navigation. Moreover, activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was also shown to be negatively correlated to sense of presence and the postcentral parietal cortex and insula showed a parametric increased activation according to the condition-related sense of presence, which suggests that stimulus attention and self-awareness processes related to the insula may be linked to the sense of presence.This study was funded by the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia Spain, Project Game Teen (TIN2010-20187) and partially by projects Consolider-C (SEJ2006-14301/PSIC), ‘CIBER of Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, an initiative of ISCIII’, the Excellence Research Program PROMETEO (Generalitat Valenciana. Conselleria de Educación, 2008-157) and the Consolider INGENIO program (CSD2007-00012). 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Search for new physics in high-mass diphoton events from proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV

Results are presented from a search for new physics in high-mass diphoton events from proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV. The data set was collected in 2016–2018 with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. Events with a diphoton invariant mass greater than 500 GeV are considered. Two different techniques are used to predict the standard model backgrounds: parametric fits to the smoothly-falling background and a first-principles calculation of the standard model diphoton spectrum at next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics calculations. The first technique is sensitive to resonant excesses while the second technique can identify broad differences in the invariant mass shape. The data are used to constrain the production of heavy Higgs bosons, Randall-Sundrum gravitons, the large extra dimensions model of Arkani-Hamed, Dimopoulos, and Dvali (ADD), and the continuum clockwork mechanism. No statistically significant excess is observed. The present results are the strongest limits to date on ADD extra dimensions and RS gravitons with a coupling parameter greater than 0.1

Evidence for Higgs boson decay to a pair of muons

Evidence for Higgs boson decay to a pair of muons is presented. This result combines searches in four exclusive categories targeting the production of the Higgs boson via gluon fusion, via vector boson fusion, in association with a vector boson, and in association with a top quark-antiquark pair. The analysis is performed using proton-proton collision data at s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb−1, recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC. An excess of events over the back- ground expectation is observed in data with a significance of 3.0 standard deviations, where the expectation for the standard model (SM) Higgs boson with mass of 125.38 GeV is 2.5. The combination of this result with that from data recorded at s = 7 and 8 TeV, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 5.1 and 19.7 fb−1, respectively, increases both the expected and observed significances by 1%. The measured signal strength, relative to the SM prediction, is 1.19−0.39+0.40(stat)−0.14+0.15(syst). This result constitutes the first evidence for the decay of the Higgs boson to second generation fermions and is the most precise measurement of the Higgs boson coupling to muons reported to dat

Measurement of the Higgs boson mass and width using the four-lepton final state in proton-proton collisions at √s =13 TeV

A measurement of the Higgs boson mass and width via its decay to two (Formula presented) bosons is presented. Proton-proton collision data collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of (Formula presented) at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, is used. The invariant mass distribution of four leptons in the on-shell Higgs boson decay is used to measure its mass and constrain its width. This yields the most precise single measurement of the Higgs boson mass to date, (Formula presented), and an upper limit on the width (Formula presented) at 95% confidence level. A combination of the on- and off-shell Higgs boson production decaying to four leptons is used to determine the Higgs boson width, assuming that no new virtual particles affect the production, a premise that is tested by adding new heavy particles in the gluon fusion loop model. This result is combined with a previous CMS analysis of the off-shell Higgs boson production with decay to two leptons and two neutrinos, giving a measured Higgs boson width of (Formula presented), in agreement with the standard model prediction of 4.1 MeV. The strength of the off-shell Higgs boson production is also reported. The scenario of no off-shell Higgs boson production is excluded at a confidence level corresponding to 3.8 standard deviations

Search for CP violation in D0 → KS0KS0 decays in proton-proton collisions at √s=13TeV

A search is reported for charge-parity CP violation in D0 → K0 SK0 S decays, using data collected in proton– proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV recorded by the CMS experiment in 2018. The analysis uses a dedicated data set that corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 41.6 fb−1 , which consists of about 10 billion events containing a pair of b hadrons, nearly all of which decay to charm hadrons. The flavor of the neutral D meson is determined by the pion charge in the reconstructed decays D∗+ → D0 π+ and D∗− → D0 π−. The CP asymmetry in D0 → K0 SK0 S is measured to be ACP(K0 SK0 S) = (6.2 ± 3.0 ± 0.2 ± 0.8)%, where the three uncertainties represent the statistical uncertainty, the systematic uncertainty, and the uncertainty in the measurement of theCP asymmetry in the D0 → K0 Sπ+π− decay. This is the first CP asymmetry measurement by CMS in the charm sector as well as the first to utilize a fully hadronic final state