Constraints on models of the Higgs boson with exotic spin and parity using decays to bottom-antibottom quarks in the full CDF data set

A search for particles with the same mass and couplings as those of the standard model Higgs boson but different spin and parity quantum numbers is presented. We test two specific alternative Higgs boson hypotheses: a pseudoscalar Higgs boson with spin-parity JP=0- and a gravitonlike Higgs boson with JP=2+, assuming for both a mass of 125GeV/c2. We search for these exotic states produced in association with a vector boson and decaying into a bottom-antibottom quark pair. The vector boson is reconstructed through its decay into an electron or muon pair, or an electron or muon and a neutrino, or it is inferred from an imbalance in total transverse momentum. We use expected kinematic differences between events containing exotic Higgs bosons and those containing standard model Higgs bosons. The data were collected by the CDF experiment at the Tevatron proton-antiproton collider, operating at a center-of-mass energy of s=1.96TeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 9.45fb-1. We exclude deviations from the predictions of the standard model with a Higgs boson of mass 125GeV/c2 at the level of 5 standard deviations, assuming signal strengths for exotic boson production equal to the prediction for the standard model Higgs boson, and set upper limits of approximately 30% relative to the standard model rate on the possible rate of production of each exotic state

Effects of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery: an international prospective cohort study

We aimed to determine the impact of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery during the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We performed an international prospective cohort study including patients undergoing elective surgery in October 2020. Isolation was defined as the period before surgery during which patients did not leave their house or receive visitors from outside their household. The primary outcome was postoperative pulmonary complications, adjusted in multivariable models for measured confounders. Pre-defined sub-group analyses were performed for the primary outcome. A total of 96,454 patients from 114 countries were included and overall, 26,948 (27.9%) patients isolated before surgery. Postoperative pulmonary complications were recorded in 1947 (2.0%) patients of which 227 (11.7%) were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients who isolated pre-operatively were older, had more respiratory comorbidities and were more commonly from areas of high SARS-CoV-2 incidence and high-income countries. Although the overall rates of postoperative pulmonary complications were similar in those that isolated and those that did not (2.1% vs 2.0%, respectively), isolation was associated with higher rates of postoperative pulmonary complications after adjustment (adjusted OR 1.20, 95%CI 1.05-1.36, p = 0.005). Sensitivity analyses revealed no further differences when patients were categorised by: pre-operative testing; use of COVID-19-free pathways; or community SARS-CoV-2 prevalence. The rate of postoperative pulmonary complications increased with periods of isolation longer than 3 days, with an OR (95%CI) at 4-7 days or ≥ 8 days of 1.25 (1.04-1.48), p = 0.015 and 1.31 (1.11-1.55), p = 0.001, respectively. Isolation before elective surgery might be associated with a small but clinically important increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Longer periods of isolation showed no reduction in the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. These findings have significant implications for global provision of elective surgical care

First proton-proton collisions at the LHC as observed with the ALICE detector: measurement of the charged-particle pseudorapidity density at root s=900 GeV

On 23rd November 2009, during the early commissioning of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), two counter-rotating proton bunches were circulated for the first time concurrently in the machine, at the LHC injection energy of 450 GeV per beam. Although the proton intensity was very low, with only one pilot bunch per beam, and no systematic attempt was made to optimize the collision optics, all LHC experiments reported a number of collision candidates. In the ALICE experiment, the collision region was centred very well in both the longitudinal and transverse directions and 284 events were recorded in coincidence with the two passing proton bunches. The events were immediately reconstructed and analyzed both online and offline. We have used these events to measure the pseudorapidity density of charged primary particles in the central region. In the range vertical bar eta vertical bar S collider. They also illustrate the excellent functioning and rapid progress of the LHC accelerator, and of both the hardware and software of the ALICE experiment, in this early start-up phase

Multiplicity dependence of pion, kaon, proton and lambda production in p–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV

AbstractIn this Letter, comprehensive results on π±, K±, KS0, p(p¯) and Λ(Λ¯) production at mid-rapidity (0<yCMS<0.5) in p–Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV, measured by the ALICE detector at the LHC, are reported. The transverse momentum distributions exhibit a hardening as a function of event multiplicity, which is stronger for heavier particles. This behavior is similar to what has been observed in pp and Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC. The measured pT distributions are compared to d–Au, Au–Au and Pb–Pb results at lower energy and with predictions based on QCD-inspired and hydrodynamic models

Mortality after surgery in Europe: a 7 day cohort study

SummaryBackgroundClinical outcomes after major surgery are poorly described at the national level. Evidence of heterogeneity between hospitals and health-care systems suggests potential to improve care for patients but this potential remains unconfirmed. The European Surgical Outcomes Study was an international study designed to assess outcomes after non-cardiac surgery in Europe.MethodsWe did this 7 day cohort study between April 4 and April 11, 2011. We collected data describing consecutive patients aged 16 years and older undergoing inpatient non-cardiac surgery in 498 hospitals across 28 European nations. Patients were followed up for a maximum of 60 days. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcome measures were duration of hospital stay and admission to critical care. We used χ2 and Fisher's exact tests to compare categorical variables and the t test or the Mann-Whitney U test to compare continuous variables. Significance was set at p<0·05. We constructed multilevel logistic regression models to adjust for the differences in mortality rates between countries.FindingsWe included 46 539 patients, of whom 1855 (4%) died before hospital discharge. 3599 (8%) patients were admitted to critical care after surgery with a median length of stay of 1·2 days (IQR 0·9–3·6). 1358 (73%) patients who died were not admitted to critical care at any stage after surgery. Crude mortality rates varied widely between countries (from 1·2% [95% CI 0·0–3·0] for Iceland to 21·5% [16·9–26·2] for Latvia). After adjustment for confounding variables, important differences remained between countries when compared with the UK, the country with the largest dataset (OR range from 0·44 [95% CI 0·19–1·05; p=0·06] for Finland to 6·92 [2·37–20·27; p=0·0004] for Poland).InterpretationThe mortality rate for patients undergoing inpatient non-cardiac surgery was higher than anticipated. Variations in mortality between countries suggest the need for national and international strategies to improve care for this group of patients.FundingEuropean Society of Intensive Care Medicine, European Society of Anaesthesiology

Two-pion Bose–Einstein correlations in central Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

AbstractThe first measurement of two-pion Bose–Einstein correlations in central Pb–Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider is presented. We observe a growing trend with energy now not only for the longitudinal and the outward but also for the sideward pion source radius. The pion homogeneity volume and the decoupling time are significantly larger than those measured at RHIC

Anastomotic leak after manual circular stapled left-sided bowel surgery: analysis of technology-, disease-, and patient-related factors /

Anastomotic leak rates after colorectal surgery remain high. In most left-sided colon and rectal resection surgeries, a circular stapler is utilized to create the primary bowel anastomosis. However, it remains unclear whether a relationship between circular stapler technology and anastomotic leak in left-sided colorectal surgery exists

Heterozygous BTNL8 variants in individuals with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare condition following SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with intestinal manifestations. Genetic predisposition, including inborn errors of the OAS-RNAseL pathway, has been reported. We sequenced 154 MIS-C patients and utilized a novel statistical framework of gene burden analysis, “burdenMC,” which identified an enrichment for rare predicted-deleterious variants in BTNL8 (OR = 4.2, 95% CI: 3.5–5.3, P < 10−6). BTNL8 encodes an intestinal epithelial regulator of Vγ4+γδ T cells implicated in regulating gut homeostasis. Enrichment was exclusive to MIS-C, being absent in patients with COVID-19 or bacterial disease. Using an available functional test for BTNL8, rare variants from a larger cohort of MIS-C patients (n = 835) were tested which identified eight variants in 18 patients (2.2%) with impaired engagement of Vγ4+γδ T cells. Most of these variants were in the B30.2 domain of BTNL8 implicated in sensing epithelial cell status. These findings were associated with altered intestinal permeability, suggesting a possible link between disrupted gut homeostasis and MIS-C-associated enteropathy triggered by SARS-CoV-2

The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

Aim The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery. Methods This was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin. Results Overall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P &lt; 0.001). After adjustment, delay was not associated with a lower rate of complete resection (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.90-1.55, P = 0.224), which was consistent in elective patients only (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.69-1.27, P = 0.672). Longer delays were not associated with poorer outcomes. Conclusion One in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field