XML-VM: An XML-Based Grid Computing Middleware

This paper describes a novel distributing computing middleware named XML-VM. Its architecture is inspired by the \u2018Grid Computing\u2019 paradigm. The proposed system improves many characteristics of previous Grid systems, in particular the description of the distributed computation, the distribution of the code and the execution times. XML is a markup language commonly used to interchange arbitrary data over the Internet. The idea behind this work is to use XML to describe algorithms; XML documents are distributed by means of XML-RPC, interpreted and executed using virtual machines. XML-VM is an assembly-like language, coded in XML. Parsing of XML-VM programs is performed with a fast SAX parser for JAVA. XML-VM interpreter is coded in JAVA. Several algorithms are written in XML-VM and executed in a distributed environment. Representative experimental results are reported

The Large Enriched Germanium Experiment for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay (LEGEND)

The observation of neutrinoless double-beta decay (0${\nu}{\beta}{\beta}$) would show that lepton number is violated, reveal that neutrinos are Majorana particles, and provide information on neutrino mass. A discovery-capable experiment covering the inverted ordering region, with effective Majorana neutrino masses of 15 - 50 meV, will require a tonne-scale experiment with excellent energy resolution and extremely low backgrounds, at the level of $\sim$0.1 count /(FWHM$\cdot$t$\cdot$yr) in the region of the signal. The current generation $^{76}$Ge experiments GERDA and the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR utilizing high purity Germanium detectors with an intrinsic energy resolution of 0.12%, have achieved the lowest backgrounds by over an order of magnitude in the 0${\nu}{\beta}{\beta}$ signal region of all 0${\nu}{\beta}{\beta}$ experiments. Building on this success, the LEGEND collaboration has been formed to pursue a tonne-scale $^{76}$Ge experiment. The collaboration aims to develop a phased 0${\nu}{\beta}{\beta}$ experimental program with discovery potential at a half-life approaching or at $10^{28}$ years, using existing resources as appropriate to expedite physics results.Comment: Proceedings of the MEDEX'17 meeting (Prague, May 29 - June 2, 2017

Development and validation of novel clinical endpoints in intermediate age-related macular degeneration in MACUSTAR

Background Currently, no validated clinical endpoints for treatment studies exist for intermediate age-related macular degeneration (iAMD). Objective The European MACUSTAR study aims to develop and clinically validate adequate clinical endpoints for future treatment studies in iAMD and to identify early determinants of disease progression to late stage AMD. Material and methods The MACUSTAR study protocol was developed by an international consortium of researchers from academia, the pharmaceutical industry and medical device companies. The MACUSTAR project is funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 (IMI2) of the European Union. Results The MACUSTAR study consists of a cross-sectional and a longitudinal investigation. A total of 750 subjects with early, intermediate and late AMD as well as control subjects with no signs of AMD will be included with a follow-up period of 3 years. Overall, 20 European study centers are involved. Conclusion The MACUSTAR project will generate large high-quality datasets, which will allow clinical validation of novel endpoints for future interventional trials in iAMD. The aim is that these endpoints will be accepted as suitable for medication approval studies by the regulatory authorities and that understanding of the disease process will be improved

B-flavor tagging at Belle II

We report on new flavor tagging algorithms developed to determine the quark-flavor content of bottom ( ) mesons at Belle II. The algorithms provide essential inputs for measurements of quark-flavor mixing and charge-parity violation. We validate and evaluate the performance of the algorithms using hadronic decays with flavor-specific final states reconstructed in a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 62.8 fb−1 , collected at the resonance with the Belle II detector at the SuperKEKB collider. We measure the total effective tagging efficiency to be εeff=(30.0±1.2(stat)±0.4(syst))% for a category-based algorithm and εeff=(28.8±1.2(stat)±0.4(syst))% for a deep-learning-based algorithm

Search for an invisible Z′Z^\prime in a final state with two muons and missing energy at Belle II

The $L_{\mu}-L_{\tau}$ extension of the standard model predicts the existence of a lepton-flavor-universality-violating $Z^{\prime}$ boson that couples only to the heavier lepton families. We search for such a $Z^\prime$ through its invisible decay in the process $e^+ e^- \to \mu^+ \mu^- Z^{\prime}$. We use a sample of electron-positron collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 10.58GeV collected by the Belle II experiment in 2019-2020, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 79.7fb$^{-1}$. We find no excess over the expected standard-model background. We set 90$\%$-confidence-level upper limits on the cross section for this process as well as on the coupling of the model, which ranges from $3 \times 10^{-3}$ at low $Z^{\prime}$ masses to 1 at $Z^{\prime}$ masses of 8$GeV/c^{2}$

Tests of light-lepton universality in angular asymmetries of B0→D∗−ℓνB^0 \to D^{*-} \ell \nu decays

We present the first comprehensive tests of light-lepton universality in the angular distributions of semileptonic \Bz-meson decays to charged spin-1 charmed mesons. We measure five angular-asymmetry observables as functions of the decay recoil that are sensitive to lepton-universality-violating contributions. We use events where one neutral \B is fully reconstructed in \PUpsilonFourS{} \to\B\overline{B} decays in data corresponding to \lumion integrated luminosity from electron-positron collisions collected with the \belletwo detector. We find no significant deviation from the standard model expectations

Measurement of the branching fraction and CP\it CP asymmetry of B0→π0π0B^{0} \rightarrow \pi^{0} \pi^{0} decays using 198×106198 \times 10^6 BB‾B\overline{B} pairs in Belle II data

We report measurements of the branching fraction and $\it CP$ asymmetry in $B^{0} \to \pi^{0} \pi^{0}$ decays reconstructed at Belle II in an electron-positron collision sample containing $198 \times 10^{6}$ $B\overline{B}$ pairs. We measure a branching fraction \mathcal{B}(\Bpipi) = (1.38 \pm 0.27 \pm 0.22) \times 10^{-6} and a $\it CP$ asymmetry \Acp(\Bpipi) = 0.14 \pm 0.46 \pm 0.07, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic

Search for a τ+τ−\tau^+\tau^- resonance in e+e−→μ+μ−τ+τ−e^{+}e^{-}\rightarrow \mu^{+}\mu^{-} \tau^+\tau^- events with the Belle II experiment

We report the first search for a non-standard-model resonance decaying into $\tau$ pairs in $e^{+}e^{-}\rightarrow \mu^{+}\mu^{-} \tau^+\tau^-$ events in the 3.6-10 GeV/$c^{2}$ mass range. We use a 62.8 fb$^{-1}$ sample of $e^+e^-$ collisions collected at a center-of-mass energy of 10.58 GeV by the Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB collider. The analysis probes three different models predicting a spin-1 particle coupling only to the heavier lepton families, a Higgs-like spin-0 particle that couples preferentially to charged leptons (leptophilic scalar), and an axion-like particle, respectively. We observe no evidence for a signal and set exclusion limits at 90% confidence level on the product of cross section and branching fraction into $\tau$ pairs, ranging from 0.7 fb to 24 fb, and on the couplings of these processes. We obtain world-leading constraints on the couplings for the leptophilic scalar model for masses above 6.5 GeV/$c^2$ and for the axion-like particle model over the entire mass range

Precise measurement of the Ds+D^+_s lifetime at Belle II

We measure the lifetime of the $D_s^+$ meson using a data sample of 207 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the Belle II experiment running at the SuperKEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider. The lifetime is determined by fitting the decay-time distribution of a sample of $116\times 10^3$ $D_s^+\rightarrow\phi\pi^+$ decays. Our result is \tau^{}_{D^+_s} = (498.7\pm 1.7\,^{+1.1}_{-0.8}) fs, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. This result is significantly more precise than previous measurements.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, to be submitted to Physical Review Letter

Measurement of the Λc+\Lambda_c^+ lifetime

An absolute measurement of the $\Lambda^{+}_c$ lifetime is reported using $\Lambda_c^+\rightarrow pK^-\pi^+$ decays in events reconstructed from data collected by the Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB asymmetric-energy electron-positron collider. The total integrated luminosity of the data sample, which was collected at center-of-mass energies at or near the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance, is 207.2~\mbox{fb}^{-1}. The result, $\tau(\Lambda^{+}_c) = 203.20 \pm 0.89 \,\mathrm{(stat)} \pm 0.77 \,\mathrm{(syst)}$ fs, is the most precise measurement to date and is consistent with previous determinations.Comment: Accepted for publication in PR