Search for the Rare Decay KL --> pi0 ee

The KTeV/E799 experiment at Fermilab has searched for the rare kaon decay KL--> pi0ee. This mode is expected to have a significant CP violating component. The measurement of its branching ratio could support the Standard Model or could indicate the existence of new physics. This letter reports new results from the 1999-2000 data set. One event is observed with an expected background at 0.99 +/- 0.35 events. We set a limit on the branching ratio of 3.5 x 10^(-10) at the 90% confidence level. Combining the results with the dataset taken in 1997 yields the final KTeV result: BR(KL --> pi0 ee) < 2.8 x 10^(-10) at 90% CL.Comment: 4 pages, three figure

Measurements Of The Decay Kl → E+e-μ+μ-

Several 132 KL → e+e- μ+ μ- events were observed from the 1997 and 1999 runs of the KTeV experiments, with an estimated background of 0.8 events. In the first measurement of the parameter α using this decay mode, it was found that α=-1.59±0.37. No evidence was found for CP-violating contributions to the KLγ*γ* interaction.9014141801/1141801/5Wolfenstein, L., (1983) Phys. Rev. Lett., 51, p. 1945Belanger, G., Geng, C.Q., (1991) Phys. Rev. D, 43, p. 140Buras, A.J., Fleischer, R., (1998) Advanced Ser. Direct. High Energy Phys., 15, p. 65Uy, Z.E.S., (1991) Phys. Rev. D, 43, p. 802D'Ambrosio, G., Isidori, G., Portolès, J., (1998) Phys. Lett. B, 423, p. 385Alavi-Harati, A., (2001) Phys. Rev. Lett., 87, p. 71801. , KTeV CollaborationAlavi-Harati, A., (2001) Phys. Rev. Lett., 86, p. 5425. , KTeV CollaborationUy, Z.E.S., (2002) Eur. Phys. J. C, 23, p. 113Alavi-Harati, A., (2001) Phys. Rev. Lett., 87, p. 111802. , KTeV CollaborationHamm, J.C., (2002), Ph.D. thesis, The University of Arizona(Fermilab Report No. fERMILAB-THESIS-2002-09)Alavi-Harati, A., (1999) Phys. Rev. Lett., 83, p. 922. , KTeV CollaborationAlavi-Harati, A., (2000) Phys. Rev. D, 61, p. 072006. , KTeV CollaborationBrown, C., (1996) Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A, 369, p. 248Quinn, G.B., (2000), Ph.D. thesis, The University of ChicagoBarker, A.R., Huang, H., Toale, P.A., Engle, J., hep-ph/0210174Bergström, L., Massó, E., Singer, P., (1983) Phys. Lett., 131 B, p. 229Fanti, V., (1999) Phys. Lett. B, 458, p. 553. , NA48 Collaboratio

Comprehensive analysis of epigenetic clocks reveals associations between disproportionate biological ageing and hippocampal volume

The concept of age acceleration, the difference between biological age and chronological age, is of growing interest, particularly with respect to age-related disorders, such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Whilst studies have reported associations with AD risk and related phenotypes, there remains a lack of consensus on these associations. Here we aimed to comprehensively investigate the relationship between five recognised measures of age acceleration, based on DNA methylation patterns (DNAm age), and cross-sectional and longitudinal cognition and AD-related neuroimaging phenotypes (volumetric MRI and Amyloid-β PET) in the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) and the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Significant associations were observed between age acceleration using the Hannum epigenetic clock and cross-sectional hippocampal volume in AIBL and replicated in ADNI. In AIBL, several other findings were observed cross-sectionally, including a significant association between hippocampal volume and the Hannum and Phenoage epigenetic clocks. Further, significant associations were also observed between hippocampal volume and the Zhang and Phenoage epigenetic clocks within Amyloid-β positive individuals. However, these were not validated within the ADNI cohort. No associations between age acceleration and other Alzheimer’s disease-related phenotypes, including measures of cognition or brain Amyloid-β burden, were observed, and there was no association with longitudinal change in any phenotype. This study presents a link between age acceleration, as determined using DNA methylation, and hippocampal volume that was statistically significant across two highly characterised cohorts. The results presented in this study contribute to a growing literature that supports the role of epigenetic modifications in ageing and AD-related phenotypes

Measurements of differential production cross sections for a Z boson in association with jets in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Uncovering the heterogeneity and temporal complexity of neurodegenerative diseases with Subtype and Stage Inference

The heterogeneity of neurodegenerative diseases is a key confound to disease understanding and treatment development, as study cohorts typically include multiple phenotypes on distinct disease trajectories. Here we introduce a machine-learning technique\u2014Subtype and Stage Inference (SuStaIn)\u2014able to uncover data-driven disease phenotypes with distinct temporal progression patterns, from widely available cross-sectional patient studies. Results from imaging studies in two neurodegenerative diseases reveal subgroups and their distinct trajectories of regional neurodegeneration. In genetic frontotemporal dementia, SuStaIn identifies genotypes from imaging alone, validating its ability to identify subtypes; further the technique reveals within-genotype heterogeneity. In Alzheimer\u2019s disease, SuStaIn uncovers three subtypes, uniquely characterising their temporal complexity. SuStaIn provides fine-grained patient stratification, which substantially enhances the ability to predict conversion between diagnostic categories over standard models that ignore subtype (p = 7.18 7 10 124 ) or temporal stage (p = 3.96 7 10 125 ). SuStaIn offers new promise for enabling disease subtype discovery and precision medicine

Associations of autozygosity with a broad range of human phenotypes

In many species, the offspring of related parents suffer reduced reproductive success, a phenomenon known as inbreeding depression. In humans, the importance of this effect has remained unclear, partly because reproduction between close relatives is both rare and frequently associated with confounding social factors. Here, using genomic inbreeding coefficients (FROH) for >1.4 million individuals, we show that FROH is significantly associated (p < 0.0005) with apparently deleterious changes in 32 out of 100 traits analysed. These changes are associated with runs of homozygosity (ROH), but not with common variant homozygosity, suggesting that genetic variants associated with inbreeding depression are predominantly rare. The effect on fertility is striking: FROH equivalent to the offspring of first cousins is associated with a 55% decrease [95% CI 44–66%] in the odds of having children. Finally, the effects of FROH are confirmed within full-sibling pairs, where the variation in FROH is independent of all environmental confounding

Anticorpos neutralizantes contra os vírus da cinomose e da parainfluenza em cães de canis dos municípios de Novo Hamburgo e Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil Neutralizing antibodies to distemper and parainfluenza viruses in dogs in shelter kennels in the municipalities of Novo Hamburgo and Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

No presente estudo, foi realizada uma pesquisa em busca de anticorpos neutralizantes contra os vírus da cinomose (CDV) e da parainfluenza (CPIV) caninos em amostras de soro de 173 cães recolhidos a canis municipais em Novo Hamburgo (n=82) e Porto Alegre (n=91), RS. A pesquisa de anticorpos neutralizantes foi realizada pela técnica de soroneutralização frente a duas amostras vacinais de CDV (Rockborn e Snyder Hill) e frente a uma amostra de CPIV (V660). Em relação ao CDV, 95,9% das amostras de soros foram negativas para anticorpos neutralizantes contra a amostra Snyder Hill e 90,7% soronegativas para a amostra Rockborn. Entre os soropositivos (n=20; 11,6%), somente três deles apresentaram anticorpos neutralizantes frente às duas amostras de CDV testadas, indicando pouca reatividade cruzada entre as mesmas. Quanto ao CPIV, a prevalência de anticorpos neutralizantes encontrada frente à amostra V660 foi de 51,4%. Esses achados indicam que a maioria dos cães examinados não teve contato prévio com o CDV, seja por infecção natural ou por imunização prévia. O CPIV, porém, parece estar amplamente difundido na população canina examinada, provavelmente por exposição natural ao vírus.<br>In this report a serological survey was carried out in search for antibodies to canine distemper virus (CDV) and canine parainfluenza virus (CPIV) in 173 sera from dogs withdraw in kennels of the municipalities of Novo Hamburgo (n=82) and Porto Alegre (n=91), RS, Brazil. Neutralizing antibodies were evaluated against two CDV strains used for vaccine production (Rockborn and Snyder Hill) as well as one strain of CPIV (V660). Search for anti-CDV neutralizing antibodies revealed that 95.9% of sera were negative for antibodies to CDV Snyder Hill and 90.7% were negative for antibodies to CDV Rockborn. Among the positive sera (n=20; 11.6 %) only three of those had neutralizing antibodies to both CDV strains, indicating a low degree of cross reactivity between those. As regards CPIV, neutralizing antibodies to V660 were detected in 51.4% of sera. These findings suggest that the majority of the dogs from the populations examined in the present study had not previous contact with CDV, either by natural infection or by previous immunization. CPIV, on its turn, seem to be widespread within these populations, most likely by natural exposure to the virus