Monsoon versus Uplift in Southwestern China–Late Pliocene Climate in Yuanmou Basin, Yunnan

Yuanmou Basin of Yunnan, SW China, is a famous locality with hominids, hominoids, mammals and plant fossils. Based on the published megaflora and palynoflora data from Yuanmou Basin, the climate of Late Pliocene is reconstructed using the Coexistence Approach. The results indicate a warm and humid subtropical climate with a mean annual temperature of ca. 16–17°C and a mean annual precipitation of ca. 1500–1600 mm in the Late Pliocene rather than a dry, hot climate today, which may be due to the local tectonic change and gradual intensification of India monsoon. The comparison of Late Pliocene climate in Eryuan, Yangyi, Longling, and Yuanmou Basin of Yunnan Province suggests that the mean annual temperatures generally show a latitudinal gradient and fit well with their geographic position, while the mean annual precipitations seem to be related to the different geometries of the valleys under the same monsoon system

Current clinical applications of spectral tissue Doppler echocardiography (E/E' ratio) as a noninvasive surrogate for left ventricular diastolic pressures in the diagnosis of heart failure with preserved left ventricular systolic function

Congestive heart failure with preserved left ventricular systolic function has emerged as a growing epidemic medical syndrome in developed countries, which is characterized by high morbidity and mortality rates. Rapid and accurate diagnosis of this condition is essential for optimizing the therapeutic management. The diagnosis of congestive heart failure is challenging in patients presenting without obvious left ventricular systolic dysfunction and additional diagnostic information is most commonly required in this setting. Comprehensive Doppler echocardiography is the single most useful diagnostic test recommended by the ESC and ACC/AHA guidelines for assessing left ventricular ejection fraction and cardiac abnormalities in patients with suspected congestive heart failure, and non-invasively determined basal or exercise-induced pulmonary capillary hypertension is likely to become a hallmark of congestive heart failure in symptomatic patients with preserved left ventricular systolic function. The present review will focus on the current clinical applications of spectral tissue Doppler echocardiography used as a reliable noninvasive surrogate for left ventricular diastolic pressures at rest as well as during exercise in the diagnosis of heart failure with preserved left ventricular systolic function. Chronic congestive heart failure, a disease of exercise, and acute heart failure syndromes are characterized by specific pathophysiologic and diagnostic issues, and these two clinical presentations will be discussed separately

Interoception in anxiety and depression

We review the literature on interoception as it relates to depression and anxiety, with a focus on belief, and alliesthesia. The connection between increased but noisy afferent interoceptive input, self-referential and belief-based states, and top-down modulation of poorly predictive signals is integrated into a neuroanatomical and processing model for depression and anxiety. The advantage of this conceptualization is the ability to specifically examine the interface between basic interoception, self-referential belief-based states, and enhanced top-down modulation to attenuate poor predictability. We conclude that depression and anxiety are not simply interoceptive disorders but are altered interoceptive states as a consequence of noisily amplified self-referential interoceptive predictive belief states

Observation of Two New Excited Ξb0 States Decaying to Λb0 K-π+

Two narrow resonant states are observed in the Λb0K-π+ mass spectrum using a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected by the LHCb experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 6 fb-1. The minimal quark content of the Λb0K-π+ system indicates that these are excited Ξb0 baryons. The masses of the Ξb(6327)0 and Ξb(6333)0 states are m[Ξb(6327)0]=6327.28-0.21+0.23±0.12±0.24 and m[Ξb(6333)0]=6332.69-0.18+0.17±0.03±0.22 MeV, respectively, with a mass splitting of Δm=5.41-0.27+0.26±0.12 MeV, where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic, and due to the Λb0 mass measurement. The measured natural widths of these states are consistent with zero, with upper limits of Γ[Ξb(6327)0]<2.20(2.56) and Γ[Ξb(6333)0]<1.60(1.92) MeV at a 90% (95%) credibility level. The significance of the two-peak hypothesis is larger than nine (five) Gaussian standard deviations compared to the no-peak (one-peak) hypothesis. The masses, widths, and resonant structure of the new states are in good agreement with the expectations for a doublet of 1D Ξb0 resonances

Test of lepton universality in b→sℓ+ℓ−b \rightarrow s \ell^+ \ell^- decays

The first simultaneous test of muon-electron universality using $B^{+}\rightarrow K^{+}\ell^{+}\ell^{-}$ and $B^{0}\rightarrow K^{*0}\ell^{+}\ell^{-}$ decays is performed, in two ranges of the dilepton invariant-mass squared, $q^{2}$. The analysis uses beauty mesons produced in proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector between 2011 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$. Each of the four lepton universality measurements reported is either the first in the given $q^{2}$ interval or supersedes previous LHCb measurements. The results are compatible with the predictions of the Standard Model.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-046.html (LHCb public pages

Precision measurement of CP\it{CP} violation in the penguin-mediated decay Bs0→ϕϕB_s^{0}\rightarrow\phi\phi

A flavor-tagged time-dependent angular analysis of the decay $B_s^{0}\rightarrow\phi\phi$ is performed using $pp$ collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at % at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV, the center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 6 fb^{-1}. The $\it{CP}$-violating phase and direct $\it{CP}$-violation parameter are measured to be $\phi_{s\bar{s}s} = -0.042 \pm 0.075 \pm 0.009$ rad and $|\lambda|=1.004\pm 0.030 \pm 0.009$, respectively, assuming the same values for all polarization states of the $\phi\phi$ system. In these results, the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. These parameters are also determined separately for each polarization state, showing no evidence for polarization dependence. The results are combined with previous LHCb measurements using $pp$ collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, yielding $\phi_{s\bar{s}s} = -0.074 \pm 0.069$ rad and $|lambda|=1.009 \pm 0.030$. This is the most precise study of time-dependent $\it{CP}$ violation in a penguin-dominated $B$ meson decay. The results are consistent with $\it{CP}$ symmetry and with the Standard Model predictions.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2023-001.html (LHCb public pages

Observation of a resonant structure near the Ds+Ds−D_s^+ D_s^- threshold in the B+→Ds+Ds−K+B^+\to D_s^+ D_s^- K^+ decay

An amplitude analysis of the $B^+\to D_s^+ D_s^- K^+$ decay is carried out to study for the first time its intermediate resonant contributions, using proton-proton collision data collected with the LHCb detector at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV. A near-threshold peaking structure, referred to as $X(3960)$, is observed in the $D_s^+ D_s^-$ invariant-mass spectrum with significance greater than 12 standard deviations. The mass, width and the quantum numbers of the structure are measured to be $3956\pm5\pm10$ MeV, $43\pm13\pm8$ MeV and $J^{PC}=0^{++}$, respectively, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The properties of the new structure are consistent with recent theoretical predictions for a state composed of $c\bar{c}s\bar{s}$ quarks. Evidence for an additional structure is found around 4140 MeV in the $D_s^+ D_s^-$ invariant mass, which might be caused either by a new resonance with the $0^{++}$ assignment or by a $J/\psi \phi\leftrightarrow D_s^+ D_s^-$ coupled-channel effect.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-018.html (LHCb public pages