Lessons of 10 years experience on CCHF in Iran

International audienceCrimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is a viral zoonotic disease with high mortality rate in humans caused by CCHF virus (CCHFV) belonging to the genus Nairovirus, family Bunyaviridae, and congaing a three segment single-stranded RNA genome. The CCHFV is transmitted to humans by bite of infected ticks, by direct contact with blood or tissues of infected livestock and nosocomially. After Chaharmahal-va-Bakhtiari outbreak in 1999 whose serum samples was sent to South Africa for diagnosis, Arboviruses and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers Laboratory (As National Reference Lab) was established in 2000 to precise and on time laboratory diagnosis of CCHF in the country. The Lab along with CDC of Iran (national health regulator) and Veterinary organization (control program of tick populations and livestock monitoring) are members of National Expert Committee on Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (NECVHFs) for surveillance and control of CCHF in Ir

The connexin 43 regulator rotigaptide reduces cytokine-induced cell death in human islets

Background: Intercellular communication mediated by cationic fluxes through the Connexin family of gap junctions regulates glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and beta cell defense against inflammatory stress. Rotigaptide (RG, ZP123) is a peptide analog that increases intercellular conductance in cardiac muscle cells by the prevention of dephosphorylation and thereby uncoupling of Connexin-43 (Cx43), possibly via action on unidentified protein phosphatases. For this reason, it is being studied in human arrhythmias. It is unknown if RG protects islet cell function and viability against inflammatory or metabolic stress, a question of considerable translational interest for the treatment of diabetes. Methods: Apoptosis was measured in human islets shown to express Cx43, treated with RG or the control peptide ZP119 and exposed to glucolipotoxicity or IL-1β + IFNɣ. INS-1 cells shown to lack Cx43 were used to examine if RG protected human islet cells via Cx43 coupling. To study the mechanisms of action of Cx43-independent effects of RG, NO, IkBα degradation, mitochondrial activity, ROS, and insulin mRNA levels were determined. Results: RG reduced cytokine-induced apoptosis ~40% in human islets. In Cx43-deficient INS-1 cells, this protective effect was markedly blunted as expected, but unexpectedly, RG still modestly reduced apoptosis, and improved mitochondrial function, insulin-2 gene levels, and accumulated insulin release. RG reduced NO production in Cx43-deficient INS-1 cells associated with reduced iNOS expression, suggesting that RG blunts cytokine-induced NF-κB signaling in insulin-producing cells in a Cx43-independent manner. Conclusion: RG reduces cytokine-induced cell death in human islets. The protective action in Cx43-deficient INS-1 cells suggests a novel inhibitory mechanism of action of RG on NF-κB signaling

Search for dark matter produced in association with a single top quark or a top quark pair in proton-proton collisions at s=13 TeV

A search has been performed for heavy resonances decaying to ZZ or ZW in 2l2q final states, with two charged leptons (l = e, mu) produced by the decay of a Z boson, and two quarks produced by the decay of a W or Z boson. The analysis is sensitive to resonances with masses in the range from 400 to 4500 GeV. Two categories are defined based on the merged or resolved reconstruction of the hadronically decaying vector boson, optimized for high- and low-mass resonances, respectively. The search is based on data collected during 2016 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton-proton collisions with a center-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). No excess is observed in the data above the standard model background expectation. Upper limits on the production cross section of heavy, narrow spin-1 and spin-2 resonances are derived as a function of the resonance mass, and exclusion limits on the production of W' bosons and bulk graviton particles are calculated in the framework of the heavy vector triplet model and warped extra dimensions, respectively.A search has been performed for heavy resonances decaying to ZZ or ZW in 2l2q final states, with two charged leptons (l = e, mu) produced by the decay of a Z boson, and two quarks produced by the decay of a W or Z boson. The analysis is sensitive to resonances with masses in the range from 400 to 4500 GeV. Two categories are defined based on the merged or resolved reconstruction of the hadronically decaying vector boson, optimized for high- and low-mass resonances, respectively. The search is based on data collected during 2016 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton-proton collisions with a center-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). No excess is observed in the data above the standard model background expectation. Upper limits on the production cross section of heavy, narrow spin-1 and spin-2 resonances are derived as a function of the resonance mass, and exclusion limits on the production of W' bosons and bulk graviton particles are calculated in the framework of the heavy vector triplet model and warped extra dimensions, respectively.A search for dark matter produced in association with top quarks in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is presented. The data set used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1) recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC. Whereas previous searches for neutral scalar or pseudoscalar mediators considered dark matter production in association with a top quark pair only, this analysis also includes production modes with a single top quark. The results are derived from the combination of multiple selection categories that are defined to target either the single top quark or the top quark pair signature. No significant deviations with respect to the standard model predictions are observed. The results are interpreted in the context of a simplified model in which a scalar or pseudoscalar mediator particle couples to a top quark and subsequently decays into dark matter particles. Scalar and pseudoscalar mediator particles with masses below 290 and 300 GeV, respectively, are excluded at 95% confidence level, assuming a dark matter particle mass of 1 GeV and mediator couplings to fermions and dark matter particles equal to unity.Peer reviewe

Search for the pair production of light top squarks in the e(+/-)mu(-/+) final state in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search for the production of a pair of top squarks at the LHC is presented. This search targets a region of parameter space where the kinematics of top squark pair production and top quark pair production are very similar, because of the mass difference between the top squark and the neutralino being close to the top quark mass. The search is performed with 35.9 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV, collected by the CMS detector in 2016, using events containing one electron-muon pair with opposite charge. The search is based on a precise estimate of the top quark pair background, and the use of the M-T2 variable, which combines the transverse mass of each lepton and the missing transverse momentum. No excess of events is found over the standard model predictions. Exclusion limits are placed at 95% confidence level on the production of top squarks up to masses of 208 GeV for models with a mass difference between the top squark and the lightest neutralino close to that of the top quark.Peer reviewe

Search for Higgs boson pair production in the gamma gamma b(b)over-bar final state in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for the production of a pair of Higgs bosons, where one decays into two photons and the other one into a bottom quark-antiquark pair. The analysis is performed using proton-proton collision data at root s = 13 TeV recorded in 2016 by the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1) . The results are in agreement with standard model (SM) predictions. In a search for resonant production, upper limits are set on the cross section for new spin-0 or spin-2 particles. For the SM-like nonresonant production hypothesis, the data exclude a product of cross section and branching fraction larger than 2.0 fb at 95% confidence level (CL), corresponding to about 24 times the SM prediction. Values of the effective Higgs boson self-coupling K X are constrained to be within the range -11 < K-lambda < 17 at 95% CL, assuming all other Higgs boson couplings are at their SM value. The constraints on K-lambda, are the most restrictive to date. (C) 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Search for an exotic decay of the Higgs boson to a pair of light pseudoscalars in the final state with two bquarks and two tau leptons in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV The CMS Collaboration

A search for an exotic decay of the Higgs boson to a pair of light pseudoscalar bosons is performed for the first time in the final state with two b quarks and two tau leptons. The search is motivated in the context of models of physics beyond the standard model (SM), such as two Higgs doublet models extended with a complex scalar singlet (2HDM + S), which include the next-to-minimal supersymmetric SM (NMSSM). The results are based on a data set of proton-proton collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), accumulated by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Masses of the pseudoscalar boson between 15 and 60 GeVare probed, and no excess of events above the SM expectation is observed. Upper limits between 3 and 12% are set on the branching fraction B(h -> aa -> 2 tau 2b) assuming the SM production of the Higgs boson. Upper limits are also set on the branching fraction of the Higgs boson to two light pseudoscalar bosons in different 2HDM + S scenarios. Assuming the SM production cross section for the Higgs boson, the upper limit on this quantity is as low as 20% for a mass of the pseudoscalar of 40 GeV in the NMSSM. (C) 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Search for the X(5568) State Decaying into B-s(0)pi(+/-) in Proton-Proton Collisions at root s=8 TeV

A search for resonancelike structures in the B-s(0)pi(+/-) invariant mass spectrum is performed using proton-proton collision data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at root s = 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1). The B-s(0) mesons are reconstructed in the decay chain B-s(0) -> J/Psi phi, with J/Psi -> mu(+) mu(-) and phi -> K+K-. The B-s(0)pi(+/-) invariant mass distribution shows no statistically significant peaks for different selection requirements on the reconstructed B-s(0) and pi(+/-) candidates. Upper limits are set on the relative production rates of the X(5568) and B-s(0) states times the branching fraction of the decay X(5568)(+/-) -> B-s(0)pi(+/-). In addition, upper limits are obtained as a function of the mass and the natural width of possible exotic states decaying into B-s(0)pi(+/-).Peer reviewe

Measurement of inclusive very forward jet cross sections in proton-lead collisions at \sqrt{sNN} = 5:02 TeV

Measurements of differential cross sections for inclusive very forward jet production in proton-lead collisions as a function of jet energy are presented. The data were collected with the CMS experiment at the LHC in the laboratory pseudorapidity range −6.6 < η < −5.2. Asymmetric beam energies of 4 TeV for protons and 1.58 TeV per nucleon for Pb nuclei were used, corresponding to a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of \sqrt{sNN} = 5:02 TeV. Collisions with either the proton (p+Pb) or the ion (Pb+p) traveling towards the negative η hemisphere are studied. The jet cross sections are unfolded to stable-particle level cross sections with p_{T} ≳ 3 GeV, and compared to predictions from various Monte Carlo event generators. In addition, the cross section ratio of p+Pb and Pb+p data is presented. The results are discussed in terms of the saturation of gluon densities at low fractional parton momenta. None of the models under consideration describes all the data over the full jet-energy range and for all beam configurations. Discrepancies between the differential cross sections in data and model predictions of more than two orders of magnitude are observed

Evidence for Top Quark Production in Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions

Peer reviewe