The functional role of the Carabelli trait in early and late hominins

The Carabelli trait is a dental feature that forms along the lingual margin of the protocone of deciduous and permanent maxillary molars. It is variably expressed, ranging from a small pit or furrow to a large cusp, and its development seems to be associated with crown size and molar cusp spatial configuration. The degree of expression of the Carabelli trait differs systematically between hominin taxa, and for this reason, it has been used extensively in the reconstruction of their phylogeny. However, the functional implications of having a large Carabelli trait remain unclear. In this study, we analyze the macrowear pattern of maxillary molars of early and late hominins using the occlusal fingerprint analysis method, an approach based on digital models of teeth that helps in reconstructing occlusal dynamics occurring during mastication. Tooth crowns with a small Carabelli cusp generally exhibit larger wear contact areas that extended cervically, while two additional new occlusal contact areas are common in teeth characterized by a large Carabelli cusp. These wear areas are created at the beginning of the chewing cycle, when occluding with the slopes of the lingual groove of the lower molars, between the metaconid and entoconid cusps. Advancing tooth wear leads to a slight enlargement of Carabelli occlusal contacts increasing their functional area. A steep inclination could be mechanically important in food reduction and in balancing the functional load distribution during mastication contacts. Steep wear areas are particularly developed in primates that process foods characterized by tough and fibrous textural properties. Future biomechanical and microwear texture analyses could provide additional information on the mechanical adaptation of this dental trait.Luca Fiorenza, Colin G. Menter, Sarah Fung, Jinyoung Lee, John Kaidonis, Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi, Grant Townsend, Ottmar Kullme

Global perspective of familial hypercholesterolaemia: a cross-sectional study from the EAS Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Studies Collaboration (FHSC)

none724siBackground The European Atherosclerosis Society Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Studies Collaboration (FHSC) global registry provides a platform for the global surveillance of familial hypercholesterolaemia through harmonisation and pooling of multinational data. In this study, we aimed to characterise the adult population with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia and described how it is detected and managed globally.Methods Using FHSC global registry data, we did a cross-sectional assessment of adults (aged 18 years or older) with a clinical or genetic diagnosis of probable or definite heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia at the time they were entered into the registries. Data were assessed overall and by WHO regions, sex, and index versus non-index cases.Findings Of the 61 612 individuals in the registry, 42 167 adults (21 999 [53.6%] women) from 56 countries were included in the study. Of these, 31 798 (75.4%) were diagnosed with the Dutch Lipid Clinic Network criteria, and 35 490 (84.2%) were from the WHO region of Europe. Median age of participants at entry in the registry was 46.2 years (IQR 34.3-58.0); median age at diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia was 44.4 years (32.5-56.5), with 40.2% of participants younger than 40 years when diagnosed. Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors increased progressively with age and varied by WHO region. Prevalence of coronary disease was 17.4% (2.1% for stroke and 5.2% for peripheral artery disease), increasing with concentrations of untreated LDL cholesterol, and was about two times lower in women than in men. Among patients receiving lipid-lowering medications, 16 803 (81.1%) were receiving statins and 3691 (21.2%) were on combination therapy, with greater use of more potent lipid-lowering medication in men than in women. Median LDL cholesterol was 5.43 mmol/L (IQR 4.32-6.72) among patients not taking lipid-lowering medications and 4.23 mmol/L (3.20-5.66) among those taking them. Among patients taking lipid-lowering medications, 2.7% had LDL cholesterol lower than 1.8 mmol/L; the use of combination therapy, particularly with three drugs and with proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 inhibitors, was associated with a higher proportion and greater odds of having LDL cholesterol lower than 1.8 mmol/L. Compared with index cases, patients who were non-index cases were younger, with lower LDL cholesterol and lower prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular diseases (all p<0.001).Interpretation Familial hypercholesterolaemia is diagnosed late. Guideline-recommended LDL cholesterol concentrations are infrequently achieved with single-drug therapy. Cardiovascular risk factors and presence of coronary disease were lower among non-index cases, who were diagnosed earlier. Earlier detection and greater use of combination therapies are required to reduce the global burden of familial hypercholesterolaemia. Copyright (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.mixedVallejo-Vaz, Antonio J.; Stevens, Christophe A.T.; Lyons, Alexander R.M.; Dharmayat, Kanika I.; Freiberger, Tomas; Hovingh, G. Kees; Mata, Pedro; Raal, Frederick J.; Santos, Raul D.; Soran, Handrean; Watts, Gerald F.; Abifadel, Marianne; Aguilar-Salinas, Carlos A.; Alhabib, Khalid F.; Alkhnifsawi, Mutaz; Almahmeed, Wael; Alnouri, Fahad; Alonso, Rodrigo; Al-Rasadi, Khalid; Al-Sarraf, Ahmad; Al-Sayed, Nasreen; Araujo, Francisco; Ashavaid, Tester F.; Banach, Maciej; Béliard, Sophie; Benn, Marianne; Binder, Christoph J.; Bogsrud, Martin P.; Bourbon, Mafalda; Chlebus, Krzysztof; Corral, Pablo; Davletov, Kairat; Descamps, Olivier S.; Durst, Ronen; Ezhov, Marat; Gaita, Dan; Genest, Jacques; Groselj, Urh; Harada-Shiba, Mariko; Holven, Kirsten B.; Kayikcioglu, Meral; Khovidhunkit, Weerapan; Lalic, Katarina; Latkovskis, Gustavs; Laufs, Ulrich; Liberopoulos, Evangelos; Lima-Martinez, Marcos M.; Lin, Jie; Maher, Vincent; Marais, A. David; März, Winfried; Mirrakhimov, Erkin; Miserez, André R.; Mitchenko, Olena; Nawawi, Hapizah; Nordestgaard, Børge G.; Panayiotou, Andrie G.; Paragh, György; Petrulioniene, Zaneta; Pojskic, Belma; Postadzhiyan, Arman; Raslova, Katarina; Reda, Ashraf; Reiner, Željko; Sadiq, Fouzia; Sadoh, Wilson Ehidiamen; Schunkert, Heribert; Shek, Aleksandr B.; Stoll, Mario; Stroes, Erik; Su, Ta-Chen; Subramaniam, Tavintharan; Susekov, Andrey V.; Tilney, Myra; Tomlinson, Brian; Truong, Thanh Huong; Tselepis, Alexandros D.; Tybjærg-Hansen, Anne; Vázquez Cárdenas, Alejandra; Viigimaa, Margus; Wang, Luya; Yamashita, Shizuya; Kastelein, John J.P.; Bruckert, Eric; Vohnout, Branislav; Schreier, Laura; Pang, Jing; Ebenbichler, Christoph; Dieplinger, Hans; Innerhofer, Reinhold; Winhofer-Stöckl, Yvonne; Greber-Platzer, Susanne; Krychtiuk, Konstantin; Speidl, Walter; Toplak, Hermann; Widhalm, Kurt; Stulnig, Thomas; Huber, Kurt; Höllerl, Florian; Rega-Kaun, Gersina; Kleemann, Lucas; Mäser, Martin; Scholl-Bürgi, Sabine; Säly, Christoph; Mayer, Florian J.; Sablon, Gaelle; Tarantino, Eric; Nzeyimana, Charlotte; Pojskic, Lamija; Sisic, Ibrahim; Nalbantic, Azra D.; Jannes, Cinthia E.; Pereira, Alexandre C.; Krieger, Jose E.; Petrov, Ivo; Goudev, Assen; Nikolov, Fedya; Tisheva, Snejana; Yotov, Yoto; Tzvetkov, Ivajlo; Baass, Alexis; Bergeron, Jean; Bernard, Sophie; Brisson, Diane; Brunham, Liam R.; Cermakova, Lubomira; Couture, Patrick; Francis, Gordon A.; Gaudet, Daniel; Hegele, Robert A.; Khoury, Etienne; Mancini, G.B. John; McCrindle, Brian W.; Paquette, Martine; Ruel, Isabelle; Cuevas, Ada; Asenjo, Sylvia; Wang, Xumin; Meng, Kang; Song, Xiantao; Yong, Qiang; Jiang, Tao; Liu, Ziyou; Duan, Yanyu; Hong, Jing; Ye, Pucong; Chen, Yan; Qi, Jianguang; Liu, Zesen; Li, Yuntao; Zhang, Chaoyi; Peng, Jie; Yang, Ya; Yu, Wei; Wang, Qian; Yuan, Hui; Cheng, Shitong; Jiang, Long; Chong, Mei; Jiao, Jian; Wu, Yue; Wen, Wenhui; Xu, Liyuan; Zhang, Ruiying; Qu, Yichen; He, Jianxun; Fan, Xuesong; Wang, Zhenjia; Chow, Elaine; Pećin, Ivan; Perica, Dražen; Symeonides, Phivos; Vrablik, Michal; Ceska, Richard; Soska, Vladimir; Tichy, Lukas; Adamkova, Vera; Franekova, Jana; Cifkova, Renata; Kraml, Pavel; Vonaskova, Katerina; Cepova, Jana; Dusejovska, Magdalena; Pavlickova, Lenka; Blaha, Vladimir; Rosolova, Hana; Nussbaumerova, Barbora; Cibulka, Roman; Vaverkova, Helena; Cibickova, Lubica; Krejsova, Zdenka; Rehouskova, Katerina; Malina, Pavel; Budikova, Milena; Palanova, Vaclava; Solcova, Lucie; Lubasova, Alena; Podzimkova, Helena; Bujdak, Juraj; Vesely, Jiri; Jordanova, Marta; Salek, Tomas; Urbanek, Robin; Zemek, Stanislav; Lacko, Jan; Halamkova, Hana; Machacova, Sona; Mala, Sarka; Cubova, Eva; Valoskova, Katerina; Burda, Lukas; Bendary, Ahmed; Daoud, Ihab; Emil, Sameh; Elbahry, Atef; Rafla, Samir; Sanad, Osama; Kazamel, Ghada; Ashraf, Mohamed; Sobhy, Mohamed; El-Hadidy, Amro; Shafy, Mohamed A.; Kamal, Saif; Bendary, Mohamed; Talviste, Grete; Angoulvant, Denis; Boccara, Franck; Cariou, Bertrand; Carreau, Valérie; Carrie, Alain; Charrieres, Sybil; Cottin, Yves; Di-Fillipo, Mathilde; Ducluzeau, Pierre H.; Dulong, Sonia; Durlach, Vincent; Farnier, Michel; Ferrari, Emile; Ferrieres, Dorota; Ferrieres, Jean; Gallo, Antonio; hankard, Regis; Inamo, Jocelyne; Lemale, Julie; Moulin, Philippe; Paillard, François; Peretti, Noel; Perrin, Agnès; Pradignac, Alain; Rabes, Jean P.; Rigalleau, Vincent; Sultan, Ariane; Schiele, François; Tounian, Patrick; Valero, René; Verges, Bruno; Yelnik, Cécile; Ziegler, Olivier; Haack, Ira A.; Schmidt, Nina; Dressel, Alexander; Klein, Isabel; Christmann, Jutta; Sonntag, Antonia; Stumpp, Christine; Boger, Diana; Biedermann, Dana; Usme, Monica M.N.; Beil, F. Ulrich; Klose, Gerald; König, Christel; Gouni-Berthold, Ioanna; Otte, Britta; Böll, Gereon; Kirschbaum, Anja; Merke, Jürgen; Scholl, Johannes; Segiet, Thomas; Gebauer, Marco; Predica, Florentina; Mayer, Manfred; Leistikow, Frank; Füllgraf-Horst, Sabine; Müller, Cornelius; Schüler, Melanie; Wiener, Judith; Hein, Konrad; Baumgartner, Peter; Kopf, Stefan; Busch, Reinhold; Schömig, Michael; Matthias, Stephan; Allendorf-Ostwald, Nicole; Fink, Bruno; Böhm, Dieter; Jäkel, Alexander; Koschker, Ann-Cathrin; Schweizer, Rüdiger; Vogt, Anja; Parhofer, Klaus; König, Wolfgang; Reinhard, Wibke; Bäßler, Andrea; Stadelmann, Alexander; Schrader, Volker; Katzmann, Julius; Tarr, Adrienne; Steinhagen-Thiessen, Elisabeth; Kassner, Ursula; Paulsen, Gerret; Homberger, Jürgen; Zemmrich, Claudia; Seeger, Wolfgang; Biolik, Kathrin; Deiss, Dorothee; Richter, Corinna; Pantchechnikova, Elina; Dorn, Elena; Schatz, Ulrike; Julius, Ulrich; Spens, Antje; Wiesner, Tobias; Scholl, Michael; Rizos, Christos V.; Sakkas, Nikolaos; Elisaf, Moses; Skoumas, Ioannis; Tziomalos, Konstantinos; Rallidis, Loukianos; Kotsis, Vasileios; Doumas, Michalis; Athyros, Vasileios; Skalidis, Emmanouil; Kolovou, Genovefa; Garoufi, Anastasia; Bilianou, Eleni; Koutagiar, Iosif; Agapakis, Dimitrios; Kiouri, Estela; Antza, Christina; Katsiki, Niki; Zacharis, Evangelos; Attilakos, Achilleas; Sfikas, George; Koumaras, Charalambos; Anagnostis, Panagiotis; Anastasiou, Georgia; Liamis, George; Koutsogianni, Amalia-Despoina; Karányi, Zsolt; Harangi, Mariann; Bajnok, László; Audikovszky, Mária; Márk, László; Benczúr, Béla; Reiber, István; Nagy, Gergely; Nagy, András; Reddy, Lakshmi L.; Shah, Swarup A.V.; Ponde, Chandrashekhar K.; Dalal, Jamshed J.; Sawhney, Jitendra P.S.; Verma, Ishwar C.; Altaey, Mays; Al-Jumaily, Khalid; Rasul, Dilshad; Abdalsahib, Ali F.; Jabbar, Amer A.; Al-ageedi, Mohanad; Agar, Ruth; Cohen, Hofit; Ellis, Avishay; Gavishv, Dov; Harats, Dror; Henkin, Yaacov; Knobler, Hila; Leavit, Leah; Leitersdorf, Eran; Rubinstein, Ardon; Schurr, Daniel; Shpitzen, Shoshi; Szalat, Auryan; Casula, Manuela; Zampoleri, Veronica; Gazzotti, Marta; Olmastroni, Elena; Sarzani, Riccardo; Ferri, Claudio; Repetti, Elena; Sabbà, Carlo; Bossi, Antonio Carlo; Borghi, Claudio; Muntoni, Sandro; Cipollone, Francesco; Purrello, Francesco; Pujia, Arturo; Passaro, Angelina; Marcucci, Rossella; Pecchioli, Valerio; Pisciotta, Livia; Mandraffino, Giuseppe; Pellegatta, Fabio; Mombelli, Giuliana; Branchi, Adriana; Fiorenza, Anna Maria; Pederiva, Cristina; Werba, Josè Pablo; Parati, Gianfranco; Carubbi, Francesca; Iughetti, Lorenzo; Iannuzzi, Arcangelo; Iannuzzo, Gabriella; Calabrò, Paolo; Averna, Maurizio; Biasucci, Giacomo; Zambon, Sabina; Roscini, Anna Rita; Trenti, Chiara; Arca, Marcello; Federici, Massimo; Del Ben, Maria; Bartuli, Andrea; Giaccari, Andrea; Pipolo, Antonio; Citroni, Nadia; Guardamagna, Ornella; Bonomo, Katia; Benso, Andrea; Biolo, Gianni; Maroni, Lorenzo; Lupi, Alessandro; Bonanni, Luca; Zenti, Maria Grazia; Matsuki, Kota; Hori, Mika; Ogura, Masatsune; Masuda, Daisaku; Kobayashi, Takuya; Nagahama, Kumiko; Al-Jarallah, Mohammed; Radovic, Mirjana; Lunegova, Olga; Bektasheva, Erkayim; Khodzhiboboev, Elyor; Erglis, Andrejs; Gilis, Dainus; Nesterovics, Georgijs; Saripo, Vita; Meiere, Ruta; Upena-RozeMicena, Arta; Terauda, Elizabete; Jambart, Selim; Khoury, Petra E.; Elbitar, Sandy; Ayoub, Carine; Ghaleb, Youmna; Aliosaitiene, Urte; Kutkiene, Sandra; Kasim, Noor A.M.; Nor, Noor S.M.; Ramli, Anis S.; Razak, Suraya A.; Al-Khateeb, Alyaa; Kadir, Siti H.S.A.; Muid, Suhaila A.; Rahman, Thuhairah A.; Kasim, Sazzli S.; Radzi, Ahmad B.M.; Ibrahim, Khairul S.; Razali, Salmi; Ismail, Zaliha; Ghani, Rohana A.; Hafidz, Muhammad I.A.; Chua, Ang L.; Rosli, Marshima M.; Annamalai, Muthukkaruppan; Teh, Lay K.; Razali, Rafezah; Chua, Yung A.; Rosman, Azhari; Sanusi, Abdul R.; Murad, Nor A.A.; Jamal, A. Rahman A.; Nazli, Sukma A.; Razman, Aimi Z.; Rosman, Norhidayah; Rahmat, Radzi; Hamzan, Nur S.; Azzopardi, C.; Mehta, Roopa; Martagon, Alexandro J.; Ramirez, Gabriela A.G.; Villa, Neftali E.A.; Vazquez, Arsenio V.; Elias-Lopez, Daniel; Retana, Gustavo G.; Rodriguez, Betsabel; Macías, Jose J.C.; Zazueta, Alejandro R.; Alvarado, Rocio M.; Portano, Julieta D.M.; Lopez, Humberto A.; Sauque-Reyna, Leobardo; Herrera, Laura G.G.; Mendia, Luis E.S.; Aguilar, Humberto Garcia; Cooremans, Elizabeth R.; Aparicio, Berenice P.; Zubieta, Victoria M.; Gonzalez, Perla A.C.; Ferreira-Hermosillo, Aldo; Portilla, Nacu C.; Dominguez, Guadalupe J.; Garcia, Alinna Y.R.; Cazares, Hector E.A.; Gonzalez, Jesus R.; Valencia, Carla V.M.; Padilla, Francisco G.; Prado, Ramon M.; De los Rios Ibarra, Manuel O.; Villicaña, Ruy D.A.; Rivera, Karina J.A.; Carrera, Ricardo A.; Alvarez, Jose A.; Martinez, Jose C.A.; de los Reyes Barrera Bustillo, Manuel; Vargas, Gonzalo C.; Chacon, Roberto C.; Andrade, Mario H.F.; Ortega, Ashanty F.; Alcala, Hector G.; de Leon, Laura E.G.; Guzman, Berenice G.; Garcia, Jose J.G.; Cuellar, Juan C.G.; Cruz, Jose R.G.; Garcia, Anell Hernandez; Almada, Jesus R.H.; Herrera, Ursulo J.; Sobrevilla, Fabiola L.; Rodriguez, Eduardo M.; Sibaja, Cristina M.; Rodriguez, Alma B.M.; Oyervides, Jose C.M.; Vazquez, Daniel I.P.; Rodriguez, Eduardo A.R.; Osorio, Ma L.R.; Saucedo, Juan R.; Tamayo, Margarita T.; Talavera, Luis A.V.; Arroyo, Luis E.V.; Carrillo, Eloy A.Z.; Isara, Alphonsus; Obaseki, Darlington E.; Al-Waili, Khalid; Al-Zadjali, Fahad; Al-Zakwani, Ibrahim; Al-Kindi, Mohammed; Al-Mukhaini, Suad; Al-Barwani, Hamida; Rana, Asim; Shah, Lahore S.U.; Starostecka, Ewa; Konopka, Agnieszka; Lewek, Joanna; Bartłomiejczyk, Marcin; Gąsior, Mariusz; Dyrbuś, Krzysztof; Jóźwiak, Jacek; Gruchała, Marcin; Pajkowski, Marcin; Romanowska-Kocejko, Marzena; Żarczyńska-Buchowiecka, Marta; Chmara, Magdalena; Wasąg, Bartosz; Parczewska, Aleksandra; Gilis-Malinowska, Natasza; Borowiec-Wolna, Justyna; Stróżyk, Aneta; Woś, Marlena; Michalska-Grzonkowska, Aleksandra; Medeiros, Ana M.; Alves, Ana C.; Silva, Francisco; Lobarinhas, Goreti; Palma, Isabel; de Moura, Jose P.; Rico, Miguel T.; Rato, Quitéria; Pais, Patrícia; Correia, Susana; Moldovan, Oana; Virtuoso, Maria J.; Salgado, Jose M.; Colaço, Ines; Dumitrescu, Andreea; Lengher, Calin; Mosteoru, Svetlana; Meshkov, Alexey; Ershova, Alexandra; Rozkova, Tatiana; Korneva, Victoria; Yu, Kuznetsova T.; Zafiraki, Vitaliy; Voevoda, Mikhail; Gurevich, Victor; Duplyakov, Dmitry; Ragino, Yulia; Safarova, Maya; Shaposhnik, Igor; Alkaf, Fahmi; Khudari, Alia; Rwaili, Nawal; Al-Allaf, Faisal; Alghamdi, Mohammad; Batais, Mohammed A.; Almigbal, Turky H.; Kinsara, Abdulhalim; AlQudaimi, Ashraf H.A.; Awan, Zuhier; Elamin, Omer A.; Altaradi, Hani; Rajkovic, Natasa; Popovic, Ljiljana; Singh, Sandra; Stosic, Ljubica; Rasulic, Iva; Lalic, Nebojsa M.; Lam, Carolyn; Le, Tan J.; Siang, Eric L.T.; Dissanayake, Sanjaya; I-Shing, Justin T.; Shyong, Tai E.; Jin, Terrance C.S.; Balinth, Karin; Buganova, Ingrid; Fabryova, Lubomira; Kadurova, Michaela; Klabnik, Alexander; Kozárová, Miriam; Sirotiakova, Jana; Battelino, Tadej; Kovac, Jernej; Mlinaric, Matej; Sustar, Ursa; Podkrajsek, Katarina T.; Fras, Zlatko; Jug, Borut; Cevc, Matija; Pilcher, Gillian J.; Blom, D.J.; Wolmarans, K.H.; Brice, B.C.; Muñiz-Grijalvo, Ovidio; Díaz-Díaz, Jose L.; de Isla, Leopoldo P.; Fuentes, Francisco; Badimon, Lina; Martin, François; Lux, Angela; Chang, Nien-Tzu; Ganokroj, Poranee; Akbulut, Mehmet; Alici, Gökhan; Bayram, Fahri; Can, Levent H.; Celik, Ahmet; Ceyhan, Ceyhun; Coskun, Fatma Y.; Demir, Mesut; Demircan, Sabri; Dogan, Volkan; Durakoglugil, Emre; Dural, Ibrahim E.; Gedikli, Omer; Hacioglu, Aysa; Ildizli, Muge; Kilic, Salih; Kirilmaz, Bahadir; Kutlu, Merih; Oguz, Aytekin; Ozdogan, Oner; Onrat, Ersel; Ozer, Savas; Sabuncu, Tevfik; Sahin, Tayfun; Sivri, Fatih; Sonmez, Alper; Temizhan, Ahmet; Topcu, Selim; Tuncez, Abdullah; Vural, Mirac; Yenercag, Mustafa; Yesilbursa, Dilek; Yigit, Zerrin; Yildirim, Aytul B.; Yildirir, Aylin; Yilmaz, Mehmet B.; Atallah, Bassam; Traina, Mahmoud; Sabbour, Hani; Hay, Dana A.; Luqman, Neama; Elfatih, Abubaker; Abdulrasheed, Arshad; Kwok, See; Oca, Nicolas D.; Reyes, Ximena; Alieva, Rano B.; Kurbanov, Ravshanbek D.; Hoshimov, Shavkat U.; Nizamov, Ulugbek I.; Ziyaeva, Adolat V.; Abdullaeva, Guzal J.; Do, Doan L.; Nguyen, Mai N.T.; Kim, Ngoc T.; Le, Thanh T.; Le, Hong A.; Tokgozoglu, Lale; Catapano, Alberico L.; Ray, Kausik K.Vallejo-Vaz, Antonio J.; Stevens, Christophe A. T.; Lyons, Alexander R. M.; Dharmayat, Kanika I.; Freiberger, Tomas; Hovingh, G. Kees; Mata, Pedro; Raal, Frederick J.; Santos, Raul D.; Soran, Handrean; Watts, Gerald F.; Abifadel, Marianne; Aguilar-Salinas, Carlos A.; Alhabib, Khalid F.; Alkhnifsawi, Mutaz; Almahmeed, Wael; Alnouri, Fahad; Alonso, Rodrigo; Al-Rasadi, Khalid; Al-Sarraf, Ahmad; Al-Sayed, Nasreen; Araujo, Francisco; Ashavaid, Tester F.; Banach, Maciej; Béliard, Sophie; Benn, Marianne; Binder, Christoph J.; Bogsrud, Martin P.; Bourbon, Mafalda; Chlebus, Krzysztof; Corral, Pablo; Davletov, Kairat; Descamps, Olivier S.; Durst, Ronen; Ezhov, Marat; Gaita, Dan; Genest, Jacques; Groselj, Urh; Harada-Shiba, Mariko; Holven, Kirsten B.; Kayikcioglu, Meral; Khovidhunkit, Weerapan; Lalic, Katarina; Latkovskis, Gustavs; Laufs, Ulrich; Liberopoulos, Evangelos; Lima-Martinez, Marcos M.; Lin, Jie; Maher, Vincent; Marais, A. David; März, Winfried; Mirrakhimov, Erkin; Miserez, André R.; Mitchenko, Olena; Nawawi, Hapizah; Nordestgaard, Børge G.; Panayiotou, Andrie G.; Paragh, György; Petrulioniene, Zaneta; Pojskic, Belma; Postadzhiyan, Arman; Raslova, Katarina; Reda, Ashraf; Reiner, Željko; Sadiq, Fouzia; Sadoh, Wilson Ehidiamen; Schunkert, Heribert; Shek, Aleksandr B.; Stoll, Mario; Stroes, Erik; Su, Ta-Chen; Subramaniam, Tavintharan; Susekov, Andrey V.; Tilney, Myra; Tomlinson, Brian; Truong, Thanh Huong; Tselepis, Alexandros D.; Tybjærg-Hansen, Anne; Vázquez Cárdenas, Alejandra; Viigimaa, Margus; Wang, Luya; Yamashita, Shizuya; Kastelein, John J. P.; Bruckert, Eric; Vohnout, Branislav; Schreier, Laura; Pang, Jing; Ebenbichler, Christoph; Dieplinger, Hans; Innerhofer, Reinhold; Winhofer-Stöckl, Yvonne; Greber-Platzer, Susanne; Krychtiuk, Konstantin; Speidl, Walter; Toplak, Hermann; Widhalm, Kurt; Stulnig, Thomas; Huber, Kurt; Höllerl, Florian; Rega-Kaun, Gersina; Kleemann, Lucas; Mäser, Martin; Scholl-Bürgi, Sabine; Säly, Christoph; Mayer, Florian J.; Sablon, Gaelle; Tarantino, Eric; Nzeyimana, Charlotte; Pojskic, Lamija; Sisic, Ibrahim; Nalbantic, Azra D.; Jannes, Cinthia E.; Pereira, Alexandre C.; Krieger, Jose E.; Petrov, Ivo; Goudev, Assen; Nikolov, Fedya; Tisheva, Snejana; Yotov, Yoto; Tzvetkov, Ivajlo; Baass, Alexis; Bergeron, Jean; Bernard, Sophie; Brisson, Diane; Brunham, Liam R.; Cermakova, Lubomira; Couture, Patrick; Francis, Gordon A.; Gaudet, Daniel; Hegele, Robert A.; Khoury, Etienne; Mancini, G. B. John; Mccrindle, Brian W.; Paquette, Martine; Ruel, Isabelle; Cuevas, Ada; Asenjo, Sylvia; Wang, Xumin; Meng, Kang; Song, Xiantao; Yong, Qiang; Jiang, Tao; Liu, Ziyou; Duan, Yanyu; Hong, Jing; Ye, Pucong; Chen, Yan; Qi, Jianguang; Liu, Zesen; Li, Yuntao; Zhang, Chaoyi; Peng, Jie; Yang, Ya; Yu, Wei; Wang, Qian; Yuan, Hui; Cheng, Shitong; Jiang, Long; Chong, Mei; Jiao, Jian; Wu, Yue; Wen, Wenhui; Xu, Liyuan; Zhang, Ruiying; Qu, Yichen; He, Jianxun; Fan, Xuesong; Wang, Zhenjia; Chow, Elaine; Pećin, Ivan; Perica, Dražen; Symeonides, Phivos; Vrablik, Michal; Ceska, Richard; Soska, Vladimir; Tichy, Lukas; Adamkova, Vera; Franekova, Jana; Cifkova, Renata; Kraml, Pavel; Vonaskova, Katerina; Cepova, Jana; Dusejovska, Magdalena; Pavlickova, Lenka; Blaha, Vladimir; Rosolova, Hana; Nussbaumerova, Barbora; Cibulka, Roman; Vaverkova, Helena; Cibickova, Lubica; Krejsova, Zdenka; Rehouskova, Katerina; Malina, Pavel; Budikova, Milena; Palanova, Vaclava; Solcova, Lucie; Lubasova, Alena; Podzimkova, Helena; Bujdak, Juraj; Vesely, Jiri; Jordanova, Marta; Salek, Tomas; Urbanek, Robin; Zemek, Stanislav; Lacko, Jan; Halamkova, Hana; Machacova, Sona; Mala, Sarka; Cubova, Eva; Valoskova, Katerina; Burda, Lukas; Bendary, Ahmed; Daoud, Ihab; Emil, Sameh; Elbahry, Atef; Rafla, Samir; Sanad, Osama; Kazamel, Ghada; Ashraf, Mohamed; Sobhy, Mohamed; El-Hadidy, Amro; Shafy, Mohamed A.; Kamal, Saif; Bendary, Mohamed; Talviste, Grete; Angoulvant, Denis; Boccara, Franck; Cariou, Bertrand; Carreau, Valérie; Carrie, Alain; Charrieres, Sybil; Cottin, Yves; Di-Fillipo, Mathilde; Ducluzeau, Pierre H.; Dulong, Sonia; Durlach, Vincent; Farnier, Michel; Ferrari, Emile; Ferrieres, Dorota; Ferrieres, Jean; Gallo, Antonio; Hankard, Regis; Inamo, Jocelyne; Lemale, Julie; Moulin, Philippe; Paillard, François; Peretti, Noel; Perrin, Agnès; Pradignac, Alain; Rabes, Jean P.; Rigalleau, Vincent; Sultan, Ariane; Schiele, François; Tounian, Patrick; Valero, René; Verges, Bruno; Yelnik, Cécile; Ziegler, Olivier; Haack, Ira A.; Schmidt, Nina; Dressel, Alexander; Klein, Isabel; Christmann, Jutta; Sonntag, Antonia; Stumpp, Christine; Boger, Diana; Biedermann, Dana; Usme, Monica M. N.; Beil, F. Ulrich; Klose, Gerald; König, Christel; Gouni-Berthold, Ioanna; Otte, Britta; Böll, Gereon; Kirschbaum, Anja; Merke, Jürgen; Scholl, Johannes; Segiet, Thomas; Gebauer, Marco; Predica, Florentina; Mayer, Manfred; Leistikow, Frank; Füllgraf-Horst, Sabine; Müller, Cornelius; Schüler, Melanie; Wiener, Judith; Hein, Konrad; Baumgartner, Peter; Kopf, Stefan; Busch, Reinhold; Schömig, Michael; Matthias, Stephan; Allendorf-Ostwald, Nicole; Fink, Bruno; Böhm, Dieter; Jäkel, Alexander; Koschker, Ann-Cathrin; Schweizer, Rüdiger; Vogt, Anja; Parhofer, Klaus; König, Wolfgang; Reinhard, Wibke; Bäßler, Andrea; Stadelmann, Alexander; Schrader, Volker; Katzmann, Julius; Tarr, Adrienne; Steinhagen-Thiessen, Elisabeth; Kassner, Ursula; Paulsen, Gerret; Homberger, Jürgen; Zemmrich, Claudia; Seeger, Wolfgang; Biolik, Kathrin; Deiss, Dorothee; Richter, Corinna; Pantchechnikova, Elina; Dorn, Elena; Schatz, Ulrike; Julius, Ulrich; Spens, Antje; Wiesner, Tobias; Scholl, Michael; Rizos, Christos V.; Sakkas, Nikolaos; Elisaf, Moses; Skoumas, Ioannis; Tziomalos, Konstantinos; Rallidis, Loukianos; Kotsis, Vasileios; Doumas, Michalis; Athyros, Vasileios; Skalidis, Emmanouil; Kolovou, Genovefa; Garoufi, Anastasi

Technical design report for the upgrade of the ALICE inner tracking system

ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is studying the physics of strongly interacting matter, and in particular the properties of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), using proton-proton, proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions at the CERN LHC (Large Hadron Collider). The ALICE Collaboration is preparing a major upgrade of the experimental apparatus, planned for installation in the second long LHC shutdown in the years 2018-2019. A key element of the ALICE upgrade is the construction of a new, ultra-light, high-resolution Inner Tracking System (ITS) based on monolithic CMOS pixel detectors. The primary focus of the ITS upgrade is on improving the performance for detection of heavy-flavour hadrons, and of thermal photons and low-mass di-electrons emitted by the QGP. With respect to the current detector, the new Inner Tracking System will significantly enhance the determination of the distance of closest approach to the primary vertex, the tracking efficiency at low transverse momenta, and the read-out rate capabilities. This will be obtained by seven concentric detector layers based on a 50 \uce\ubcm thick CMOS pixel sensor with a pixel pitch of about 30\uc3\u9730 \uce\ubcm2. This document, submitted to the LHCC (LHC experiments Committee) in September 2013, presents the design goals, a summary of the R&D activities, with focus on the technical implementation of the main detector components, and the projected detector and physics performance. \uc2\ua9 2014 CERN on behalf of The ALICE Collaboration