Are There Hints of Light Stops in Recent Higgs Search Results?

The recent discovery at the LHC by the CMS and ATLAS collaborations of the Higgs boson presents, at long last, direct probes of the mechanism for electroweak symmetry breaking. While it is clear from the observations that the new particle plays some role in this process, it is not yet apparent whether the couplings and widths of the observed particle match those predicted by the Standard Model. In this paper, we perform a global fit of the Higgs results from the LHC and Tevatron. While these results could be subject to as-yet-unknown systematics, we find that the data are significantly better fit by a Higgs with a suppressed width to gluon-gluon and an enhanced width to gamma gamma, relative to the predictions of the Standard Model. After considering a variety of new physics scenarios which could potenially modify these widths, we find that the most promising possibility is the addition of a new colored, charged particle, with a large coupling to the Higgs. Of particular interest is a light, and highly mixed, stop, which we show can provide the required alterations to the combination of gg and gamma gamma widths.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Clinical and brain imaging findings in a child with vitamin B12 deficiency

Vitamin B12 (Vit-B12) deficiency is a rare and treatable cause of failure to thrive and delayed development in infants who are exclusively breastfed. Apart from genetic causes, it can be related to a malabsorption syndrome or when the mother follows a strict vegetarian or vegan diet, causing a low hepatic storage of Vit-B12 in the infant at birth. As the neurological symptoms are nonspecific, a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam is usually performed to rule out primary causes of neurodevelopmental delay. Findings related to brain atrophy are usually observed. A favorable response is achieved with Vit-B12 therapy, and neurological symptoms dramatically improve within a few days after the treatment. We present the case of an infant with severe Vit-B12 deficiency, exclusively breastfed by his young vegan mother, and whose clinical symptoms together with MRI findings improved after treatment. Brain atrophy recovery after Vit-B12 therapy has been seldom documented

Transoral glossoepiglottopexy in the treatment of adult obstructive sleep apnoea: A surgical approach [Glossoepiglottoplastica con approccio trans-orale nel trattamento delle apnee ostruttive notturne nell\u2019adulto]

The treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is still a matter of debate; among the different therapeutic alternatives, both surgical and conservative, treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is considered the \u201cgold standard\u201d. The recent scientific literature reports that even if CPAP represents an effective solution for sleep apnoeas, 12% of patients do not benefit from its use. In most cases, primary collapse of the epiglottis is responsible for failure. We developed a surgical technique that provides a stable support to the epiglottis without influencing its function during swallowing while preserving laryngeal anatomy and physiology. The procedure we propose is based on that conceived by Monnier for children affected by laryngomalacia. We analysed a group of 20 patients who underwent glossoepiglottopexy between January 2015 and September 2016 and compared data (AHI, ODI, t90, ESS, EAT10, etc.) collected before and 6 months after surgery to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of our glossoepiglottopexy (GEP). The results allow us to consider GEP as a valid choice to treat adults who suffer from sleep apnoeas

Evaluation of demarcation line after epithelium-off iontophoresis corneal collagen cross-linking for progressive keratoconus

The aim of the study was to visualize and evaluate the characteristics and depth of the demarcation line with anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) after epithelium-off iontophoresis corneal collagen cross-linking (epi-off I-CXL). In this prospective, consecutive, single center study 18 eyes of 18 patients with keratoconus were involved. One month after epi-off I-CXL, all the patients underwent an AS-OCT scan to search for a demarcation line and its characteristics. The corneal stromal demarcation line was identified in all the eyes. Mean depth of the corneal stromal demarcation line was 261.8 ± 46.7 μm (range: 184 to 362 μm), at 56.7 ± 12% corneal depth. In conclusion, epi-off I-CXL determines a demarcation line that can be visualized with AS-OCT, which seems clearly distinguishable and similar to that created in standard CXL

Malignancy course of pituitary adenoma in MEN1 syndrome: Clinical-Neuroradiological signs

Pituitary carcinomas (PCa) are extremely rare, indistinguishable from pituitary adenomas on histopathological grounds and have a poor prognosis. Most PCa start as PRL or ACTH secreting tumors in males, with relapsing invasive behaviour, refractoriness to medical and radiotherapy and increasing hormonal levels. The presence of distant metastases is still required for the diagnosis of PCa. The association with genetic endocrine diseases must be taken into account, since it adds further risk of evolution towards malignancy. Intradural spinal metastases have also been reported, so a complete craniospinal MR evaluation is recommended, when clinically indicated. We report a case of PCa, associated with MEN1 syndrome, with evidence of meningeal spread to the tentorium cerebelli, clival dura and spinal drop metastases mimicking spinal nerves schwannomas

Surgical treatment of primary tracheal tumors in children and adolescents

Pediatric primary tracheal tumors (PTTs) are rare entities, with an estimated incidence of 0.2% among all neoplasms in children and adolescents. Benign lesions and malignancies are rather equally represented, with subglottic hemangioma, granular cell tumor, carcinoid tumor, and low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma being the most common histotypes. Guidelines on management and treatment of pediatric PTTs are not available, and only a few reviews, case reports, and single surgeon/institute experiences have been published. A literature search was carried out focusing on the surgical approaches utilized in the most recent publications to manage pediatric PTTs, thus including case reports, single institute experiences, and reviews on surgical techniques. Moreover, we divided the available intervention modalities based on an anatomical classification, distinguishing between laryngotracheal, cervical tracheal, lower tracheal, and carinal scenarios. Endoscopic treatment is still underused, even for benign lesions: this is mainly due to the difficulties that surgeons may experience during airway management, appropriate tumor visualization, and its safe removal with adequate prevention/management of intraoperative complications. Considering open surgery, simple tumorectomy via median thyrotomy is the treatment of choice whenever possible (mainly for benign tumors), whereas in case of wider excisions, laryngotracheal resection and reconstruction with cartilage graft, end-to-end anastomosis, or neo-carinal reconstruction represent the most widely used procedures. All these techniques are similar to what described in adults. Strict cooperation with an experienced team of pediatric anesthesiologists and intensivists is of paramount importance for the adequate management of PTTs in young children. We are far from establishing a common guideline for treatment of PTTs. Mini-invasive procedures should be encouraged and developed since the majority of pediatric histotypes are benign or low-grade cancers. Moreover, patients should be addressed to specialized pediatric centers in order to improve and refine the existing techniques, laying the groundwork for the proposal of new procedures.

Single Top Quark Production via FCNC Couplings at Hadron Colliders

We calculate single top-quark production at hadron colliders via the chromo-magnetic flavor-changing neutral current couplings $\bar tcg$ and $\bar tug$. We find that the strength for the anomalous $\bar tcg$ ($\bar tug$) coupling may be probed to $\kappa_c / \Lambda = 0.092 {TeV}^{-1}$ ($\kappa_u / \Lambda = 0.026 {TeV}^{-1}$) at the Tevatron with $2 {fb}^{-1}$ of data and $\kappa_c / \Lambda = 0.013 {TeV}^{-1}$ ($\kappa_u / \Lambda = 0.0061 {TeV}^{-1}$) at the LHC with $10 {fb}^{-1}$ of data. The two couplings may be distinguished by a comparision of the single top signal with the direct top and top decay signals for these couplings.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, 3 table

Radiation-induced sarcoma of the head and neck: A review of the literature

In the last decades, radiotherapy (RT) has become one of the cornerstones in the treatment of head and neck (HN) malignancies and has paralleled an increase in long-term patient survival. This lead to a concomitant increase in the incidence of radiation-induced sarcomas (RIS) of the irradiated field, with an annual rate up to 0.17%. The new techniques of irradiation do not seem to influence the risk of RIS of the HN (RISHN), which mainly develop within the middle-dose field. The median latency of RISHN after RT is 10-12 years and osteosarcoma is the most represented histotype, even though there is a high variability in time of occurrence and histological features observed. There is no clear evidence of predisposing factors for RISHN, and genetic findings so far have not revealed any common mutation. Early clinical diagnosis of RISHN is challenging, since it usually occurs within fibrotic and hardened tissues, while radiological findings are not pathognomonic and able to differentiate them from other neoplastic entities. Given the highly aggressive behavior of RISHN and its poor sensitivity to chemotherapy, radical surgery is the most important prognostic factor and the only curative option at present. Nevertheless, the anatomy of the HN district and the infiltrative nature of RIS do not always allow radical intervention. Therefore, a wise integration with systemic therapy and, when feasible, re-irradiation should be performed. Future findings in the genomic features of RISHN will be crucial to identify a possible sensitivity to specific drugs in order to optimize a multimodal treatment that will be ideally complementary to surgery and reirradiation