QuEChERS-based analytical methods developed for LC-MS/MS multiresidue determination of pesticides in representative crop fatty matrices: Olives and sunflower seeds

Oilseed crops are greatly extended all over the world. Their high fat content can interfere during pesticide multiresidue analysis through liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). This work aimed at overcoming this issue by developing and validating two QuEChERS-based methods for LC-MS/MS determination of 42 pesticides in two fatty food matrices: olives and sunflower seeds. Optimization of the extraction method was achieved following a 26-2 fractional factorial design in a highly cost-effective way. Validation of the multi-residue methods demonstrated improved limits of detection, below the established maximum residue levels (MRLs) for almost all compounds, good precision, and trueness, in compliance with SANTE guidelines. Application of these methods to the analysis of real samples from the Iberian Peninsula showed the presence of some pesticides of relevant environmental concern, including four compounds contained in the Pesticide Action Network International list of highly hazardous pesticides, found at levels between 0.03 ng/g and 104 ng/g

Fast analysis of relevant contaminants mixture in commercial shellfish

One of the major challenges currently faced is to develop systematic ways of addressing chemical mixtures in environmental assessment. With this purpose, a simple, rapid, and sensitive method for the detection and quantification of a mixture of relevant contaminants in molluscs has been developed. The method is based on QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) and Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). It includes a mixture of 23 compounds formed by pesticides, endocrine disruptors and pharmaceuticals (metolachlor, simazine, desethylatrazine, atrazine, thiabendazole, diazinon, malathion, bentazone, MCPA, propanil, acetamiprid, imidacloprid, caffeine, bisphenol A, triclosan, triclocarban, methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, 1H-benzotriazole, sulfamethoxazole, venlafaxine and carbamazepine). The method was developed and validated in 4 different types of shellfish of high commercial interest such as mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis), oyster (Crassostrea gigas), cockle (Cerastoderma edule) and razor shell (Solen marginatus). The mean percentage of recoveries obtained for all the compounds in each mollusc type (intra-specie) ranged from 96% to 107% showing the good performance of the method developed. The relative standard deviation was under 10% for the intra-day and 17% inter-day analyses. Method detection limits and method quantification limits were below 10 ng/g dry weight for all the species and compounds targeted. Finally, the method was applied to aquaculture samples, oysters and cockles, from Ebro Delta (Spain), after some episodes of mortality occurred in 2017. A high level of bisphenol A was detected in C. edule which may explain the mortality suffered by this organism. C. gigas presented low levels of metolachlor, bentazone, acetamiprid, and methylparaben.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Occurrence and risk assessment of pesticides in a Mediterranean Basin with strong agricultural pressure (Guadiana Basin: Southern of Portugal)

The study aimed to assess the occurrence and the environmental risk of a group of 51 selected pesticides in the Guadiana Basin (a biodiversity hotspot, in the Mediterranean). The most abundant pesticides were bentazone and 2,4-D, while terbuthylazine together with terbutryn constituted the most ubiquitous pesticides. Eighteen out of the 38 pesticides detected are no longer approved in Europe, and 5 of them are included in the list of priority substances. The risk assessment showed that azinphos ethyl, diflufenican, irganol, imidacloprid, and oxadiazon occurred occasionally, but always in concentrations above their respective ecotoxicological threshold value. Contrary, bentazone, terbuthylazine, and terbutryn presented a high risk in most of the sampled locations and periods. The site-specific risk assessment showed a spatial and temporal pattern, with a higher risk occurring mainly in intermittent streams, in the drought period. The presence of pesticides banned from the EU market since 2009 showed the importance of improving the monitoring process, to identify the main sources of pollution and the fate of these emerging compounds. The results showed the need of implementing actions to improve the sustainable use of pesticides in agricultural areas,workingwith farmers and management entities to reduce the contamination of aquatic ecosystems. Transboundarywater governance is also required to solve potential transboundary contamination problems

Synapsin II Is Involved in the Molecular Pathway of Lithium Treatment in Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a debilitating psychiatric condition with a prevalence of 1–2% in the general population that is characterized by severe episodic shifts in mood ranging from depressive to manic episodes. One of the most common treatments is lithium (Li), with successful response in 30–60% of patients. Synapsin II (SYN2) is a neuronal phosphoprotein that we have previously identified as a possible candidate gene for the etiology of BD and/or response to Li treatment in a genome-wide linkage study focusing on BD patients characterized for excellent response to Li prophylaxis. In the present study we investigated the role of this gene in BD, particularly as it pertains to Li treatment. We investigated the effect of lithium treatment on the expression of SYN2 in lymphoblastoid cell lines from patients characterized as excellent Li-responders, non-responders, as well as non-psychiatric controls. Finally, we sought to determine if Li has a cell-type-specific effect on gene expression in neuronal-derived cell lines. In both in vitro models, we found SYN2 to be modulated by the presence of Li. By focusing on Li-responsive BD we have identified a potential mechanism for Li response in some patients

Measurement of the Z/gamma* + b-jet cross section in pp collisions at 7 TeV

The production of b jets in association with a Z/gamma* boson is studied using proton-proton collisions delivered by the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and recorded by the CMS detector. The inclusive cross section for Z/gamma* + b-jet production is measured in a sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.2 inverse femtobarns. The Z/gamma* + b-jet cross section with Z/gamma* to ll (where ll = ee or mu mu) for events with the invariant mass 60 < M(ll) < 120 GeV, at least one b jet at the hadron level with pT > 25 GeV and abs(eta) < 2.1, and a separation between the leptons and the jets of Delta R > 0.5 is found to be 5.84 +/- 0.08 (stat.) +/- 0.72 (syst.) +(0.25)/-(0.55) (theory) pb. The kinematic properties of the events are also studied and found to be in agreement with the predictions made by the MadGraph event generator with the parton shower and the hadronisation performed by PYTHIA.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of High Energy Physic

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles at high transverse momenta in PbPb collisions at sqrt(s[NN]) = 2.76 TeV

The azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles in PbPb collisions at nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 2.76 TeV is measured with the CMS detector at the LHC over an extended transverse momentum (pt) range up to approximately 60 GeV. The data cover both the low-pt region associated with hydrodynamic flow phenomena and the high-pt region where the anisotropies may reflect the path-length dependence of parton energy loss in the created medium. The anisotropy parameter (v2) of the particles is extracted by correlating charged tracks with respect to the event-plane reconstructed by using the energy deposited in forward-angle calorimeters. For the six bins of collision centrality studied, spanning the range of 0-60% most-central events, the observed v2 values are found to first increase with pt, reaching a maximum around pt = 3 GeV, and then to gradually decrease to almost zero, with the decline persisting up to at least pt = 40 GeV over the full centrality range measured.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Compressed representation of a partially defined integer function over multiple arguments

In OLAP (OnLine Analitical Processing) data are analysed in an n-dimensional cube. The cube may be represented as a partially defined function over n arguments. Considering that often the function is not defined everywhere, we ask: is there a known way of representing the function or the points in which it is defined, in a more compact manner than the trivial one

Search for new physics with same-sign isolated dilepton events with jets and missing transverse energy

A search for new physics is performed in events with two same-sign isolated leptons, hadronic jets, and missing transverse energy in the final state. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.98 inverse femtobarns produced in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. This constitutes a factor of 140 increase in integrated luminosity over previously published results. The observed yields agree with the standard model predictions and thus no evidence for new physics is found. The observations are used to set upper limits on possible new physics contributions and to constrain supersymmetric models. To facilitate the interpretation of the data in a broader range of new physics scenarios, information on the event selection, detector response, and efficiencies is provided.Comment: Published in Physical Review Letter

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO