Testing new-physics models with global comparisons to collider measurements: the Contur toolkit

Measurements at particle collider experiments, even if primarily aimed at understanding Standard Model processes, can have a high degree of model independence, and implicitly contain information about potential contributions from physics beyond the Standard Model. The Contur package allows users to benefit from the hundreds of measurements preserved in the Rivet library to test new models against the bank of LHC measurements to date. This method has proven to be very effective in several recent publications from the Contur team, but ultimately, for this approach to be successful, the authors believe that the Contur tool needs to be accessible to the wider high energy physics community. As such, this manual accompanies the first user-facing version: Contur v2. It describes the design choices that have been made, as well as detailing pitfalls and common issues to avoid. The authors hope that with the help of this documentation, external groups will be able to run their own Contur studies, for example when proposing a new model, or pitching a new search

Cloning and characterization of a trypsin-encoding cDNA of the human body louse Pediculus humanus

Abstract From a cDNA library of the whole insect, a trypsin gene of Pediculus humanus has been cloned and sequenced. The 908 bp clone has an open reading frame of 759 bp, which encodes a pre-proenzyme with 253 amino acid residues. A sixteen-residue N-terminal signal peptide is followed by a twelve-residue activation peptide with putative cleavage sites at Gly16 and Tyr28. The deduced amino acid sequence has several features typical of trypsin proteases and an overall identity of 35 -43% with the trypsins of several haematophagous Diptera. The 1.0 kb genomic trypsin gene contains three introns of 102, 79 and 80 nucleotides following the codons for Gly16, Gln74 and Ala155, respectively. Only a single gene seems to be present. In Northern blot analysis, unfed first instar larvae have an identical or slightly lower level of trypsin mRNA than fed adult lice, and in adults 2-24 h after the bloodmeal this gene shows a constitutive expression. After in vitro transcription and translation, the activation peptide is cleaved by chymotrypsin, a so far unreported phenomenon in trypsin activation

Influence of the incremental step size in work rate on exercise response and gas exchange in patients with pulmonary hypertension

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) has become increasingly important as a routine procedure in daily clinical work. So far, it is generally accepted that an individualized exercise protocol with exercise duration of 6 to 12 minutes is preferable to assess maximal exercise performance. The aim of this study was to compare an individualized NYHA adapted exercise protocol with a fixed standard protocol in patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-two patients (17 female, 5 male; mean age 49 ± 14 yrs) underwent symptom limited CPET on a bicycle. On two consecutive days each subject performed a stepwise CPET according to a modified Jones protocol (16 Watt per minute stages) as well as an individualized NYHA adapted protocol with 5 or 10 Watt/min stages in a randomized order. Oxygen uptake at peak exercise (peakVO₂) and anaerobic threshold (VO₂AT), maximal ventilation (VE), breathing reserve (VE/MVV), ventilatory efficiency (VE vs. VCO₂slope), exercise time, maximal power and work rate were assessed and compared between both protocols.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Comparing both, adapted NYHA protocol and standardized Jones protocol, we found significant differences in maximal power (56.7 ± 19 W vs. 74 ± 18 W; p < 0.001) and exercise time (332 ± 107 sec. vs. 248 ± 72 sec.; p < 0.001). In contrast, no significant differences were obvious comparing both protocols concerning work rate, VE, VE/MVV, peakVO₂, VO₂AT and VE vs. VCO₂slope.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Variations of incremental step size during CPET significantly affect exercise time and maximal power, whereas relevant parameters for clinical judgement and prognosis such as oxygen uptake, ventilation and ventilatory efficiency remain unchanged. These findings have practical implications for the exercise evaluation of patients with pulmonary hypertension. To reach maximal results for ventilation, oxygen uptake and gas exchange an individualization of incremental step size appears not to be mandatory.</p

Control of daughter centriole formation by the pericentriolar material

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2008. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Nature Publishing Group for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Nature Cell Biology 10 (2008): 322-328, doi:10.1038/ncb1694.Controlling the number of its centrioles is vital for the cell as supernumerary centrioles result in multipolar mitosis and genomic instability. Normally, just one daughter centriole forms on each mature (mother) centriole; however, a mother centriole can produce multiple daughters within a single cell cycle. The mechanisms that prevent centriole ‘overduplication’ are poorly understood. Here we use laser microsurgery to test the hypothesis that attachment of the daughter centriole to the wall of the mother inhibits formation of additional daughters. We show that physical removal of the daughter induces reduplication of the mother in Sarrested cells. Under conditions when multiple daughters simultaneously form on a single mother, all of these daughters must be removed to induce reduplication. Intriguingly, the number of daughter centrioles that form during reduplication does not always match the number of ablated daughter centrioles. We also find that exaggeration of the pericentriolar material (PCM) via overexpression of the PCM protein pericentrin in S-arrested CHO cells induces formation of numerous daughter centrioles. We propose that that the size of the PCM cloud associated with the mother centriole restricts the number of daughters that can form simultaneously.This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (GM GM59363) and the Human Frontiers Science Program (RGP0064). Construction of our laser microsurgery workstation was supported in part by a fellowship from Nikon/Marine Biological Laboratory (A.K.)

Static and Dynamic Lung Volumes in Swimmers and Their Ventilatory Response to Maximal Exercise

Purpose While the static and dynamic lung volumes of active swimmers is often greater than the predicted volume of similarly active non-swimmers, little is known if their ventilatory response to exercise is also different. Methods Three groups of anthropometrically matched male adults were recruited, daily active swimmers (n = 15), daily active in fields sport (Rugby and Football) (n = 15), and recreationally active (n = 15). Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), and maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) was measured before and after exercise to volitional exhaustion. Results Swimmers had significantly larger FVC (6.2 ± 0.6 l, 109 ± 9% pred) than the other groups (5.6 ± 0.5 l, 106 ± 13% pred, 5.5 ± 0.8, 99% pred, the sportsmen and recreational groups, respectively). FEV1 and MVV were not different. While at peak exercise, all groups reached their ventilatory reserve (around 20%), the swimmers had a greater minute ventilation rate than the recreational group (146 ± 19 vs 120 ± 87 l/min), delivering this volume by breathing deeper and slower. Conclusions The swimmers utilised their larger static volumes (FVC) differently during exercise by meeting their ventilation volume through long and deep breaths

Search for resonant WZ production in the fully leptonic final state in proton–proton collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for a WZ resonance, in the fully leptonic final state (electrons or muons), is performed using 139&nbsp;fb - 1 of data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 13&nbsp;TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The results are interpreted in terms of a singly charged Higgs boson of the Georgi–Machacek model, produced by WZ fusion, and of a Heavy Vector Triplet, with the resonance produced by WZ fusion or the Drell–Yan process. No significant excess over the Standard Model prediction is observed and limits are set on the production cross-section times branching ratio as a function of the resonance mass for these processes

Measurement of exclusive pion pair production in proton–proton collisions at √s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The exclusive production of pion pairs in the process pp→ ppπ+π- has been measured at s=7TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, using 80μb-1 of low-luminosity data. The pion pairs were detected in the ATLAS central detector while outgoing protons were measured in the forward ATLAS ALFA detector system. This represents the first use of proton tagging to measure an exclusive hadronic final state at the LHC. A cross-section measurement is performed in two kinematic regions defined by the proton momenta, the pion rapidities and transverse momenta, and the pion–pion invariant mass. Cross-section values of 4.8±1.0(stat)-0.2+0.3(syst)μb and 9±6(stat)-2+2(syst)μb are obtained in the two regions; they are compared with theoretical models and provide a demonstration of the feasibility of measurements of this type

A detailed map of Higgs boson interactions by the ATLAS experiment ten years after the discovery

The standard model of particle physics1–4 describes the known fundamental particles and forces that make up our Universe, with the exception of gravity. One of the central features of the standard model is a field that permeates all of space and interacts with fundamental particles5–9. The quantum excitation of this field, known as the Higgs field, manifests itself as the Higgs boson, the only fundamental particle with no spin. In 2012, a particle with properties consistent with the Higgs boson of the standard model was observed by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN10,11. Since then, more than 30 times as many Higgs bosons have been recorded by the ATLAS experiment, enabling much more precise measurements and new tests of the theory. Here, on the basis of this larger dataset, we combine an unprecedented number of production and decay processes of the Higgs boson to scrutinize its interactions with elementary particles. Interactions with gluons, photons, and W and Z bosons—the carriers of the strong, electromagnetic and weak forces—are studied in detail. Interactions with three third-generation matter particles (bottom (b) and top (t) quarks, and tau leptons (τ)) are well measured and indications of interactions with a second-generation particle (muons, μ) are emerging. These tests reveal that the Higgs boson discovered ten years ago is remarkably consistent with the predictions of the theory and provide stringent constraints on many models of new phenomena beyond the standard model