Twenty heads are better than one : communities of children as virtual experts

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (p. 141-144).Michele Joelle Pezet Evard.Ph.D

High Risk of Anal and Rectal Cancer in Patients With Anal and/or Perianal Crohn’s Disease

International audienceBackground & AimsLittle is known about the magnitude of the risk of anal and rectal cancer in patients with anal and/or perineal Crohn’s disease. We aimed to assess the risk of anal and rectal cancer in patients with Crohn’s perianal disease followed up in the Cancers Et Surrisque Associé aux Maladies Inflammatoires Intestinales En France (CESAME) cohort.MethodsWe collected data from 19,486 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) enrolled in the observational CESAME study in France, from May 2004 through June 2005; 14.9% of participants had past or current anal and/or perianal Crohn’s disease. Subjects were followed up for a median time of 35 months (interquartile range, 29–40 mo). To identify risk factors for anal cancer in the total CESAME population, we performed a case-control study in which participants were matched for age and sex.ResultsAmong the total IBD population, 8 patients developed anal cancer and 14 patients developed rectal cancer. In the subgroup of 2911 patients with past or current anal and/or perianal Crohn’s lesions at cohort entry, 2 developed anal squamous-cell carcinoma, 3 developed perianal fistula–related adenocarcinoma, and 6 developed rectal cancer. The corresponding incidence rates were 0.26 per 1000 patient-years for anal squamous-cell carcinoma, 0.38 per 1000 patient-years for perianal fistula–related adenocarcinoma, and 0.77 per 1000 patient-years for rectal cancer. Among the 16,575 patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease without anal or perianal lesions, the incidence rate of anal cancer was 0.08 per 1000 patient-years and of rectal cancer was 0.21 per 1000 patient-years. Among factors tested by univariate conditional regression (IBD subtype, disease duration, exposure to immune-suppressive therapy, presence of past or current anal and/or perianal lesions), the presence of past or current anal and/or perianal lesions at cohort entry was the only factor significantly associated with development of anal cancer (odds ratio, 11.2; 95% CI, 1.18-551.51; P = .03).ConclusionsIn an analysis of data from the CESAME cohort in France, patients with anal and/or perianal Crohn’s disease have a high risk of anal cancer, including perianal fistula–related cancer, and a high risk of rectal cancer

Search for dark matter produced in association with a pair of bottom quarks in proton-proton collisions at s= \sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

A search for dark matter (DM) particles produced in association with bottom quarks is presented. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=$ 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. The search is performed in the final state with large missing transverse momentum and a pair of jets originating from bottom quarks. No significant excess of data is observed with respect to the standard model expectation. Results are interpreted in the context of a type-II two-Higgs-doublet model with an additional light pseudoscalar (2HDM+a). An upper limit is set on the mass of the lighter pseudoscalar, excluding masses up to 260 GeV at 95% confidence level. This is the first search at the LHC to probe DM produced in association with two nonresonant bottom quarks in the 2HDM+a model. Sensitivity to the parameter space with the ratio of the vacuum expectation values of the two Higgs doublets, $\tan\beta$, greater than 15 is achieved, capitalizing on the enhancement of couplings between pseudoscalars and bottom quarks with high $\tan\beta$.A search for dark matter (DM) particles produced in association with bottom quarks is presented. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. The search is performed in the final state with large missing transverse momentum and a pair of jets originating from bottom quarks. No significant excess of data is observed with respect to the standard model expectation. Results are interpreted in the context of a type-II two-Higgs-doublet model with an additional light pseudoscalar (2HDM+a). An upper limit is set on the mass of the lighter pseudoscalar, excluding masses up to 260 GeV at 95% confidence level. This is the first search at the LHC to probe DM produced in association with two nonresonant bottom quarks in the 2HDM+a model. Sensitivity to the parameter space with the ratio of the vacuum expectation values of the two Higgs doublets, $\tan\beta$, greater than 15 is achieved, capitalizing on the enhancement of couplings between pseudoscalars and bottom quarks with high $\tan\beta$

Search for heavy neutral leptons in final states with electrons, muons, and hadronically decaying tau leptons in proton-proton collisions at s\sqrt{s} =13 TeV

International audienceA search for heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) of Majorana or Dirac type using proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ =13 TeV is presented. The data were collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. Events with three charged leptons (electrons, muons, and hadronically decaying tau leptons) are selected, corresponding to HNL production in association with a charged lepton and decay of the HNL to two charged leptons and a standard model (SM) neutrino. The search is performed for HNL masses between 10 GeV and 1.5 TeV. No evidence for an HNL signal is observed in data. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are found for the squared coupling strength of the HNL to SM neutrinos, considering exclusive coupling of the HNL to a single SM neutrino generation, for both Majorana and Dirac HNLs. The limits exceed previously achieved experimental constraints for a wide range of HNL masses, and the limits on tau neutrino coupling scenarios with HNL masses above the W boson mass are presented for the first time

Search for flavor-changing neutral current interactions of the top quark mediated by a Higgs boson in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV

A search for flavor-changing neutral current interactions of the top quark (t) and the Higgs boson (H) is presented. The search is based on proton-proton collision data collected in 2016-2018 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC, and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. Events containing a pair of leptons with the same-sign electric charge and at least one jet are considered. The results are used to constrain the branching fraction ($\mathcal{B}$) of the top quark decaying to a Higgs boson and an up (u) or charm (c) quark. No significant excess above the estimated background was found. The observed (expected) upper limits at 95% confidence level are found to be 0.072% (0.059%) for $\mathcal{B}$(t $\to$ Hu) and 0.043% (0.062%) for $\mathcal{B}$(t $\to$ Hc). These results are combined with two other searches performed by the CMS Collaboration for flavor-changing neutral current interactions of top quarks and Higgs bosons in final states with a pair of photons or of bottom quarks. The resulting observed (expected) upper limits at 95% confidence level are 0.019% (0.027%) for $\mathcal{B}$(t $\to$ Hu) and 0.037% (0.035%) for $\mathcal{B}$(t $\to$ Hc). These results constitute the most stringent limits on these branching fractions to date

Search for soft unclustered energy patterns in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV

International audienceThe first search for soft unclustered energy patterns (SUEPs) is performed using an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV collected in 2016-2018 by the CMS detector at the LHC. Such SUEPs are predicted by Hidden Valley models with a new, confining force with a large 't Hooft coupling. In events with boosted topologies, selected by high-threshold hadronic triggers, the multiplicity and sphericity of clustered tracks are used to reject the background from standard model quantum chromodynamics. With no observed excess of events over the standard model expectation, limits are set on the cross section for production via gluon fusion of a scalar mediator with SUEP-like decays