Ordering of droplets and light scattering in polymer dispersed liquid crystal films

We study the effects of droplet ordering in initial optical transmittance through polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films prepared in the presence of an electrical field. The experimental data are interpreted by using a theoretical approach to light scattering in PDLC films that explicitly relates optical transmittance and the order parameters characterizing both the orientational structures inside bipolar droplets and orientational distribution of the droplets. The theory relies on the Rayleigh-Gans approximation and uses the Percus-Yevick approximation to take into account the effects due to droplet positional correlations.Comment: revtex4, 18 pages, 8 figure

Finite element Analysis of Honeycomb filled Metallic Tubes Subjected to Axial Loading

A comprehensive study of buckling behavior of polygonal tubes with honeycomb filler under axial loading is presented in this paper. Honeycomb filled tubes have got a lot more attention due to their strong and stiff behavior with enhanced energy absorption capacity. For simulating the buckling behavior events of finite element models eigen value buckling code was used using the Abaqus/Explicit. This paper firstly investigates the buckling behavior of polygonal tubes without honeycomb filler and then the antipodal with honeycomb filler. The calculated buckling response of polygonal tubes is shown to better resembled when honeycomb filler is used

Fecal Enterobacteriales enrichment is associated with increased in vivo intestinal permeability in humans

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been linked with increased intestinal permeability, but the clinical significance of this phenomenon remains unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential link between glucose control, intestinal permeability, diet and intestinal microbiota in patients with T2D. Thirty‐two males with well‐controlled T2D and 30 age‐matched male controls without diabetes were enrolled in a case–control study. Metabolic parameters, inflammatory markers, endotoxemia, and intestinal microbiota in individuals subdivided into high (HP) and normal (LP) colonic permeability groups, were the main outcomes. In T2D, the HP group had significantly higher fasting glucose (P = 0.034) and plasma nonesterified fatty acid levels (P = 0.049) compared with the LP group. Increased colonic permeability was also linked with altered abundances of selected microbial taxa. The microbiota of both T2D and control HP groups was enriched with Enterobacteriales. In conclusion, high intestinal permeability was associated with poorer fasting glucose control in T2D patients and changes in some microbial taxa in both T2D patients and nondiabetic controls. Therefore, enrichment in the gram‐negative order Enterobacteriales may characterize impaired colonic permeability prior to/independently from a disruption in glucose tolerance

Measurement of the t-channel single-top-quark production cross section and of the |Vtb| CKM matrix element in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV

Measurements are presented of the t-channel single-top-quark production cross section in proton-proton collisions at s 1a = 8 TeV. The results are based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb 121 recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC. The cross section is measured inclusively, as well as separately for top (t) and antitop (t\uaf), in final states with a muon or an electron. The measured inclusive t-channel cross section is \u3c3t-ch. = 83.6 \ub1 2.3 (stat.) \ub1 7.4 (syst.) pb. The single t and t\uaf cross sections are measured to be \u3c3t-ch.(t) = 53.8 \ub1 1.5 (stat.) \ub1 4.4 (syst.) pb and \u3c3t-ch.(t\uaf) = 27.6 \ub1 1.3 (stat.) \ub1 3.7 (syst.) pb, respectively. The measured ratio of cross sections is Rt-ch. = \u3c3t-ch.(t)/\u3c3t-ch.(t\uaf) = 1.95 \ub1 0.10 (stat.) \ub1 0.19 (syst.), in agreement with the standard model prediction. The modulus of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element Vtb is extracted and, in combination with a previous CMS result at s 1a = 7 TeV, a value |Vtb| = 0.998 \ub1 0.038 (exp.) \ub1 0.016 (theo.) is obtained

Observation of the diphoton decay of the Higgs boson and measurement of its properties

Observation of the diphoton decay mode of the recently discovered Higgs boson and measurement of some of its properties are reported. The analysis uses the entire dataset collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions during the 2011 and 2012 LHC running periods. The data samples correspond to integrated luminosities of 5.1fb-1at s 1a=7TeV and 19.7fb-1at 8TeV . A clear signal is observed in the diphoton channel at a mass close to 125GeV with a local significance of 5.7\u3c3, where a significance of 5.2\u3c3 is expected for the standard model Higgs boson. The mass is measured to be 124.70\ub10.34GeV=124.70\ub10.31(stat)\ub10.15(syst)GeV , and the best-fit signal strength relative to the standard model prediction is 1.14+0.26 120.23=1.14\ub10.21(stat)+0.09 120.05(syst)+0.13 120.09(theo). Additional measurements include the signal strength modifiers associated with different production mechanisms, and hypothesis tests between spin-0 and spin-2 models

Search for the associated production of the Higgs boson with a top-quark pair

A search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a top-quark pair (tt\uafH) is presented, using data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of up to 5.1 fb 121 and 19.7 fb 121 collected in pp collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 TeV and 8 TeV respectively. The search is based on the following signatures of the Higgs boson decay: H \u2192 hadrons, H \u2192 photons, and H \u2192 leptons. The results are characterized by an observed tt\uafH signal strength relative to the standard model cross section, \u3bc=\u3c3/\u3c3 SM,under the assumption that the Higgs boson decays as expected in the standard model. The best fit value is \u3bc = 2.8 \ub1 1.0 for a Higgs boson mass of 125.6 GeV

Measurement of the muon charge asymmetry in inclusive pp -> W+X production at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and an improved determination of light parton distribution functions

Measurements of the muon charge asymmetry in inclusive pp\u2192W+X production at s 1a=7\u2009\u2009TeV are presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.7\u2009\u2009fb 121 recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC. With a sample of more than 20 million W\u2192\u3bc\u3bd events, the statistical precision is greatly improved in comparison to previous measurements. These new results provide additional constraints on the parton distribution functions of the proton in the range of the Bjorken scaling variable x from 10 123 to 10 121. These measurements and the recent CMS measurement of associated W+charm production are used together with the cross sections for inclusive deep inelastic e\ub1p scattering at HERA in a next-to-leading-order QCD analysis. The determination of the valence quark distributions is improved, and the strange-quark distribution is probed directly through the leading-order process g+s\u2192W+c in proton-proton collisions at the LHC

Search for new physics in events with same-sign dileptons and jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV

A search for new physics is performed based on events with jets and a pair of isolated, same-sign leptons. The results are obtained using a sample of proton-proton collision data collected by the CMS experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 fb 121. In order to be sensitive to a wide variety of possible signals beyond the standard model, multiple search regions defined by the missing transverse energy, the hadronic energy, the number of jets and b-quark jets, and the transverse momenta of the leptons in the events are considered. No excess above the standard model background expectation is observed and constraints are set on a number of models for new physics, as well as on the same-sign top-quark pair and quadruple-top-quark production cross sections. Information on event selection efficiencies is also provided, so that the results can be used to confront an even broader class of new physics models

Host-microbiome interactionsin human type 2 diabetes following prebiotic fibre (galactooligosaccharide) intake

Aberrant microbiota composition and function have been linked to several pathologies, including type 2 diabetes. In animal models, prebiotics induce favourable changes in the intestinal microbiota, intestinal permeability (IP) and endotoxaemia, which are linked to concurrent improvement in glucose tolerance. This is the first study to investigate the link between IP, glucose tolerance and intestinal bacteria in human type 2 diabetes. In all, twenty-nine men with well-controlled type 2 diabetes were randomised to a prebiotic (galacto-oligosaccharide mixture) or placebo (maltodextrin) supplement (5·5 g/d for 12 weeks). Intestinal microbial community structure, IP, endotoxaemia, inflammatory markers and glucose tolerance were assessed at baseline and post intervention. IP was estimated by the urinary recovery of oral 51Cr-EDTA and glucose tolerance by insulin-modified intravenous glucose tolerance test. Intestinal microbial community analysis was performed by high-throughput next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA amplicons and quantitative PCR. Prebiotic fibre supplementation had no significant effects on clinical outcomes or bacterial abundances compared with placebo; however, changes in the bacterial family Veillonellaceae correlated inversely with changes in glucose response and IL-6 levels (r −0·90, P=0·042 for both) following prebiotic intake. The absence of significant changes to the microbial community structure at a prebiotic dosage/length of supplementation shown to be effective in healthy individuals is an important finding. We propose that concurrent metformin treatment and the high heterogeneity of human type 2 diabetes may have played a significant role. The current study does not provide evidence for the role of prebiotics in the treatment of type 2 diabetes

Search for supersymmetry in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV in events with a single lepton, large jet multiplicity, and multiple b jets

Results are reported from a search for supersymmetry in pppp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, based on events with a single isolated lepton (electron or muon) and multiple jets, at least two of which are identified as b jets. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 19.3 fb 121recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2012. The search is motivated by supersymmetric models that involve strong-production processes and cascade decays of new particles. The resulting final states contain multiple jets as well as missing transverse momentum from weakly interacting particles. The event yields, observed across several kinematic regions, are consistent with the expectations from standard model processes. The results are interpreted in the context of simplified supersymmetric scenarios with pair production of gluinos, where each gluino decays to a top quark\u2013antiquark pair and the lightest neutralino. For the case of decays via virtual top squarks, gluinos with a mass smaller than 1.26 TeV are excluded for low neutralino masses