Tumor-Suppressive miR-192-5p Has Prognostic Value in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by fast tumor progression and diagnosis at advanced, inoperable stages. Previous studies could demonstrate an involvement of miR-192-5p in epigenetic regulation of visceral carcinomas. Due to contradictory results, however, the clinical utility of miR-192-5p in PDAC has yet to be determined. MiR-192-5p expression was analyzed by RT-qRT-PCR in human PDAC and benign tissue (n = 78), blood serum (n = 81) and serum exosomes (n = 74), as well as in PDAC cell lines (n = 5), chemoresistant cell clones (n = 2), and pancreatic duct cell line H6c7. Analysis of EMT-associated (epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition) proteins was performed by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. MiR-192-5p was deregulated in PDAC as compared to healthy controls (HCs), with downregulation in macrodissected tissue (p < 0.001) and upregulation in blood serum of PDAC UICC (Union for International Cancer Control) stage IV (p = 0.016) and serum exosomes of PDAC UICC stages II to IV (p < 0.001). MiR-192-5p expression in tumor tissue was significantly lower as compared to corresponding peritumoral tissue (PDAC UICC stage II: p < 0.001; PDAC UICC stage III: p = 0.024), while EMT markers ZEB1 and ZEB2 were more frequently expressed in tumor tissue as compared to peritumoral tissue, HCs, and chronic pancreatitis. Tissue-derived (AUC of 0.86; p < 0.0001) and exosomal (AUC of 0.83; p = 0.0004) miR-192-5p could differentiate between PDAC and HCs with good accuracy. Furthermore, high expression of miR-192-5p in PDAC tissue of curatively resected PDAC patients correlated with prolonged overall and recurrence-free survival in multivariate analysis. In vitro, miR-192-5p was downregulated in gemcitabine-resistant cell clones of AsPC-1 (p = 0.029). Transient transfection of MIA PaCa-2 cells with miR-192-5p mimic resulted in downregulation of ZEB2. MiR-192-5p seems to possess a tumor-suppressive role and high potential as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in PDAC

Search for narrow resonances in the <math display="inline"><mi>b</mi></math>-tagged dijet mass spectrum in proton-proton collisions at <math display="inline"><msqrt><mi>s</mi></msqrt><mo>=</mo><mn>13</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>TeV</mi></math>

International audienceA search is performed for narrow resonances decaying to final states of two jets, with at least one jet originating from a b quark, in proton-proton collisions at s=13  TeV. The data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138  fb-1 collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. Jets originating from energetic b hadrons are identified through a b-tagging algorithm that utilizes a deep neural network or the presence of a muon inside a jet. The invariant mass spectrum of jet pairs is well described by a smooth parametrization and no evidence for the production of new particles is observed. Upper limits on the production cross section are set for excited b quarks and other resonances decaying to dijet final states containing b quarks. These limits exclude at 95% confidence level models of Z′ bosons with masses from 1.8 TeV to 2.4 TeV and of excited b quarks with masses from 1.8 TeV to 4.0 TeV. This is the most stringent exclusion of excited b quarks to date

Inclusive nonresonant multilepton probes of new phenomena at s\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

An inclusive search for nonresonant signatures of beyond the standard model (SM) phenomena in events with three or more charged leptons, including hadronically decaying $\tau$ leptons, is presented. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016-2018. Events are categorized based on the lepton and b-tagged jet multiplicities and various kinematic variables. Three scenarios of physics beyond the SM are probed, and signal-specific boosted decision trees are used for enhancing sensitivity. No significant deviations from the background expectations are observed. Lower limits are set at 95% confidence level on the mass of type-III seesaw heavy fermions in the range 845-1065 GeV for various decay branching fraction combinations to SM leptons. Doublet and singlet vector-like $\tau$ lepton extensions of the SM are excluded for masses below 1045 GeV and in the mass range 125-150 GeV, respectively. Scalar leptoquarks decaying exclusively to a top quark and a lepton are excluded below 1.12-1.42 TeV, depending on the lepton flavor. For the type-III seesaw as well as the vector-like doublet model, these constraints are the most stringent to date. For the vector-like singlet model, these are the first constraints from the LHC experiments. Detailed results are also presented to facilitate alternative theoretical interpretations

Review of searches for vector-like quarks, vector-like leptons, and heavy neutral leptons in proton-proton collisions at s\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV at the CMS experiment

International audienceThe LHC has provided an unprecedented amount of proton-proton collision data, bringing forth exciting opportunities to address fundamental open questions in particle physics. These questions can potentially be answered by performing searches for very rare processes predicted by models that attempt to extend the standard model of particle physics. The data collected by the CMS experiment in 2015-2018 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV help to test the standard model at the highest precision ever and potentially discover new physics. An interesting opportunity is presented by the possibility of new fermions with masses ranging from the MeV to the TeV scale. Such new particles appear in many possible extensions of the standard model and are well motivated theoretically. They may explain the appearance of three generations of leptons and quarks, the mass hierarchy across the generations, and the nonzero neutrino masses. In this report, the status of searches targeting vector-like quarks, vector-like leptons, and heavy neutral leptons at the CMS experiment is discussed. A complete overview of final states is provided together with their complementarity and partial combination. The discovery potential for several of these searches at the High-Luminosity LHC is also discussed

Measurement of inclusive and differential cross sections of single top quark production in association with a W boson in proton-proton collisions at s\sqrt{s} = 13.6 TeV

International audienceThe first measurement of the inclusive and normalised differential cross sections of single top quark production in association with a W boson in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13.6 TeV is presented. The data were recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2022, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 34.7 fb$^{-1}$. The analysed events contain one muon and one electron in the final state. For the inclusive measurement, multivariate discriminants exploiting the kinematic properties of the events are used to separate the signal from the dominant top quark-antiquark production background. A cross section of 82.3 $\pm$ 2.1 (stat) ${}^{+9.9}_{-9.7}$ (syst) $\pm$ 3.3 (lumi) pb is obtained, consistent with the predictions of the standard model. A fiducial region is defined according to the detector acceptance to perform the differential measurements. The resulting differential distributions are unfolded to particle level and show good agreement with the predictions at next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics

Search for long-lived heavy neutral leptons with lepton flavour conserving or violating decays to a jet and a charged lepton

International audienceA search for long-lived heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) is presented, which considers the hadronic final state and coupling scenarios involving all three lepton generations in the 2-20 GeV HNL mass range for the first time. Events comprising two leptons (electrons or muons) and jets are analyzed in a data sample of proton-proton collisions, recorded with the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. A novel jet tagger, based on a deep neural network, has been developed to identify jets from an HNL decay using various features of the jet and its constituent particles. The network output can be used as a powerful discriminating tool to probe a broad range of HNL lifetimes and masses. Contributions from background processes are determined from data. No excess of events in data over the expected background is observed. Upper limits on the HNL production cross section are derived as functions of the HNL mass and the three coupling strengths $V_{\ell\mathrm{N}}$ to each lepton generation $\ell$ and presented as exclusion limits in the coupling-mass plane, as lower limits on the HNL lifetime, and on the HNL mass. In this search, the most stringent limit on the coupling strength is obtained for pure muon coupling scenarios; values of $\lvert V_{\mu\mathrm{N}}\rvert^{2}\gt$ 5 (4)$\times$10$^{-7}$ are excluded for Dirac (Majorana) HNLs with a mass of 10 GeV at a confidence level of 95% that correspond to proper decay lengths of 17 (10) mm

Search for baryon number violation in top quark production and decay using proton-proton collisions at s= \sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

A search is presented for baryon number violating interactions in top quark production and decay. The analysis uses data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. Candidate events are selected by requiring two oppositely-charged leptons (electrons or muons) and exactly one jet identified as originating from a bottom quark. Multivariate discriminants are used to separate the signal from the background. No significant deviation from the standard model prediction is observed. Upper limits are placed on the strength of baryon number violating couplings. For the first time the production of single top quarks via baryon number violating interactions is studied. This allows the search to set the most stringent constraints to date on the branching fraction of the top quark decay to a lepton, an up-type quark (u or c), and a down-type quark (d, s, or b). The results improve the previous bounds by three to six orders of magnitude based on the fermion flavor combination of the baryon number violating interactions.A search is presented for baryon number violating interactions in top quark production and decay. The analysis uses data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. Candidate events are selected by requiring two oppositely-charged leptons (electrons or muons) and exactly one jet identified as originating from a bottom quark. Multivariate discriminants are used to separate the signal from the background. No significant deviation from the standard model prediction is observed. Upper limits are placed on the strength of baryon number violating couplings. For the first time the production of single top quarks via baryon number violating interactions is studied. This allows the search to set the most stringent constraints to date on the branching fraction of the top quark decay to a lepton, an up-type quark (u or c), and a down-type quark (d, s, or b). The results improve the previous bounds by three to six orders of magnitude based on the fermion flavor combination of the baryon number violating interactions

Measurement of energy correlators inside jets and determination of the strong coupling αS(mZ) \alpha_\mathrm{S} (m_\mathrm{Z})

Energy correlators that describe energy-weighted distances between two or three particles in a jet are measured using an event sample of $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.3 fb$^{-1}$. The measured distributions reveal two key features of the strong interaction: confinement and asymptotic freedom. By comparing the ratio of the two measured distributions with theoretical calculations that resum collinear emissions at approximate next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy matched to a next-to-leading order calculation, the strong coupling is determined at the Z boson mass: $\alpha_\mathrm{S} (m_\mathrm{Z}) =$ 0.1229 $^{+0.0040}_{-0.0050}$, the most precise $\alpha_\mathrm{S} (m_\mathrm{Z})$ value obtained using jet substructure observables.Energy correlators that describe energy-weighted distances between two or three particles in a jet are measured using an event sample of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.3 fb$^{-1}$. The measured distributions reveal two key features of the strong interaction: confinement and asymptotic freedom. By comparing the ratio of the two measured distributions with theoretical calculations that resum collinear emissions at approximate next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy matched to a next-to-leading order calculation, the strong coupling is determined at the Z boson mass: $\alpha_\mathrm{S}(m_\mathrm{Z})$ = 0.1229$^{+0.0040}_{-0.0050}$, the most precise $\alpha_\mathrm{S}(m_\mathrm{Z})$ value obtained using jet substructure observables

Measurement of inclusive and differential cross sections for W+^{+}W−^{-} production in proton-proton collisions at s= \sqrt{s} = 13.6 TeV

Measurements at $\sqrt{s}=$ 13.6 TeV of the opposite-sign W boson pair production cross section in proton-proton collisions are presented. The data used in this study were collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC in 2022, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 34.8 fb$^{-1}$. Events are selected by requiring one electron and one muon of opposite charge. A maximum likelihood fit is performed on signal- and background-enriched data categories defined by the flavour and charge of the leptons, the number of jets, and number of jets originating from b quarks. An inclusive W$^{+}$W$^{-}$ production cross section of 125.7 $\pm$ 5.6 pb is measured, in agreement with standard model predictions. Cross sections are also reported in a fiducial region close to that of the detector acceptance, both inclusively and differentially, as a function of the jet multiplicity in the event. For first time in proton-proton collisions, WW events with at least two reconstructed jets are studied and compared with recent theoretical predictions.Measurements at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13.6 TeV of the opposite-sign W boson pair production cross section in proton-proton collisions are presented. The data used in this study were collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC in 2022, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 34.8 fb$^{-1}$. Events are selected by requiring one electron and one muon of opposite charge. A maximum likelihood fit is performed on signal- and background-enriched data categories defined by the flavour and charge of the leptons, the number of jets, and number of jets originating from b quarks. An inclusive W$^+$W$^-$ production cross section of 125.7 $\pm$ 5.6 pb is measured, in agreement with standard model predictions. Cross sections are also reported in a fiducial region close to that of the detector acceptance, both inclusively and differentially, as a function of the jet multiplicity in the event. For first time in proton-proton collisions, WW events with at least two reconstructed jets are studied and compared with recent theoretical predictions