Serotonergic chemosensory neurons modify the <i>C. elegans</i> immune response by regulating G-protein signaling in epithelial cells

The nervous and immune systems influence each other, allowing animals to rapidly protect themselves from changes in their internal and external environment. However, the complex nature of these systems in mammals makes it difficult to determine how neuronal signaling influences the immune response. Here we show that serotonin, synthesized in Caenorhabditis elegans chemosensory neurons, modulates the immune response. Serotonin released from these cells acts, directly or indirectly, to regulate G-protein signaling in epithelial cells. Signaling in these cells is required for the immune response to infection by the natural pathogen Microbacterium nematophilum. Here we show that serotonin signaling suppresses the innate immune response and limits the rate of pathogen clearance. We show that C. elegans uses classical neurotransmitters to alter the immune response. Serotonin released from sensory neurons may function to modify the immune system in response to changes in the animal's external environment such as the availability, or quality, of food

Muon reconstruction and identification efficiency in ATLAS using the full Run 2 pp collision data set at \sqrt{s}=13 TeV

This article documents the muon reconstruction and identification efficiency obtained by the ATLAS experiment for 139 \hbox {fb}^{-1} of pp collision data at \sqrt{s}=13 TeV collected between 2015 and 2018 during Run 2 of the LHC. The increased instantaneous luminosity delivered by the LHC over this period required a reoptimisation of the criteria for the identification of prompt muons. Improved and newly developed algorithms were deployed to preserve high muon identification efficiency with a low misidentification rate and good momentum resolution. The availability of large samples of Z\rightarrow \mu \mu and J/\psi \rightarrow \mu \mu decays, and the minimisation of systematic uncertainties, allows the efficiencies of criteria for muon identification, primary vertex association, and isolation to be measured with an accuracy at the per-mille level in the bulk of the phase space, and up to the percent level in complex kinematic configurations. Excellent performance is achieved over a range of transverse momenta from 3 GeV to several hundred GeV, and across the full muon detector acceptance of |\eta |<2.7

Measurements of Higgs bosons decaying to bottom quarks from vector boson fusion production with the ATLAS experiment at √=13TeV

The paper presents a measurement of the Standard Model Higgs Boson decaying to b-quark pairs in the vector boson fusion (VBF) production mode. A sample corresponding to 126 fb−1 of s√=13TeV proton–proton collision data, collected with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, is analyzed utilizing an adversarial neural network for event classification. The signal strength, defined as the ratio of the measured signal yield to that predicted by the Standard Model for VBF Higgs production, is measured to be 0.95+0.38−0.36 , corresponding to an observed (expected) significance of 2.6 (2.8) standard deviations from the background only hypothesis. The results are additionally combined with an analysis of Higgs bosons decaying to b-quarks, produced via VBF in association with a photon

The ATLAS inner detector trigger performance in pp collisions at 13 TeV during LHC Run 2

The design and performance of the inner detector trigger for the high level trigger of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider during the 2016-2018 data taking period is discussed. In 2016, 2017, and 2018 the ATLAS detector recorded 35.6 fb(-1), 46.9 fb(-1), and 60.6 fb(-1) respectively of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13TeV. In order to deal with the very high interaction multiplicities per bunch crossing expected with the 13TeV collisions the inner detector trigger was redesigned during the long shutdown of the Large Hadron Collider from 2013 until 2015. An overview of these developments is provided and the performance of the tracking in the trigger for the muon, electron, tau and b-jet signatures is discussed. The high performance of the inner detector trigger with these extreme interaction multiplicities demonstrates how the inner detector tracking continues to lie at the heart of the trigger performance and is essential in enabling the ATLAS physics programme

Observation of electroweak production of two jets in association with an isolated photon and missing transverse momentum, and search for a Higgs boson decaying into invisible particles at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents the measurement of the electroweak production of two jets in association with a $Z\gamma$ pair with the $Z$ boson decaying into two neutrinos. It also presents the search for invisible or partially invisible decays of a Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV produced through vector-boson fusion with a photon in the final state. These results use data from LHC proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. The event signature, shared by all benchmark processes considered for measurements and searches, is characterized by a significant amount of unbalanced transverse momentum and a photon in the final state, in addition to a pair of forward jets. For electroweak production of $Z\gamma$ in association with two jets, the background-only hypothesis is rejected with an observed (expected) significance of 5.2 (5.1) standard deviations. The measured fiducial cross-section for this process is 1.31$\pm$0.29 fb. Observed (expected) upper limit of 0.37 (0.34) at 95% confidence level is set on the branching ratio of a 125 GeV Higgs boson to invisible particles, assuming the Standard Model production cross-section. The signature is also interpreted in the context of decays of a Higgs boson to a photon and a dark photon. An observed (expected) 95% CL upper limit on the branching ratio for this decay is set at 0.018 (0.017), assuming the 125 GeV Standard Model Higgs boson production cross-section

The dynamics of expanding mangroves in New Zealand

In contrast to the global trend of mangrove decline, New Zealand mangroves are rapidly expanding, facilitated by elevated sediment inputs in coastal waters as a consequence of large-scale land use changes following European settlement. New Zealand mangroves are at the southern limit of the global mangrove extent, which limits the tree height of Avicennia marina var. australasica, the only mangrove species present. Mangroves in New Zealand thrive in the sheltered environments of infilling drowned river valleys with abundant supply of fine terrigenous sediments, showing various stages of mangrove succession and expansion dynamics. Bio-physical interactions and carbon dynamics in these expanding temperate mangrove systems show similarities to, but also differ from those in tropical mangrove forests, for instance due to the limited height and complexity of the mangrove communities. Likewise, ecosystem services provided by New Zealand mangroves deviate from those offered by tropical mangroves. In particular, the association of mangrove expansion with the accumulation of (the increased supply of) fine sediments and the consequent change of estuarine ecosystems, has provoked a negative perception of mangrove expansion and subsequently led to mangrove clearance. Over recent decades, a body of knowledge has been developed regarding the planning and decision making relating to mangrove removal, yet there are still effects that are unknown, for example with respect to the post-clearance recovery of the original sandflat ecosystems. In this chapter we discuss the dynamics of New Zealand’s expanding mangroves from a range of viewpoints, with the aim of elucidating the possible contributions of expanding mangroves to coastal ecosystem services, now and in the future. This chapter also reviews current policies and practice regarding mangrove removal in New Zealand and addresses the (un)known effects of mangrove clearance. These combined insights may contribute to the development of integrated coastal management strategies that recognise the full potential of expanding mangrove ecosystems

Independent Correlates of Reported Gambling Problems Amongst Indigenous Australians

Aboriginal populations, Public health policy, Gambling,