Invasive lionfish in the Mediterranean: Low public awareness yet high stakeholder concerns

A lionfish invasion in the Western Atlantic has been one of the most ecologically harmful fish invasions to date. Experience there has shown that its management is most effective when the public and stakeholders are involved. The lionfish (Pterois miles) has recently invaded the Mediterranean, spreading at an alarming rate. To understand lionfish knowledge and perceptions, questionnaire surveys were conducted with a representative cross section of the adult general public (via telephone) and stakeholders (via organised meetings) in Cyprus. Results from 300 public surveys revealed limited awareness about the lionfish but strong support for its local management. Men and older respondents showed stronger support compared to women and younger respondents, respectively. Results from 108 stakeholder revealed high level of awareness and almost unanimous support for management measures. The majority had not experienced any effects from the recent lionfish invasion, but some reported negative impacts such as limited access to dive sites, ecosystem damage and fishing gear destruction. Few stakeholders perceived benefits of this invasive species, e.g. to dive tourism or as a food source. Almost all stakeholders expressed a willingness to get involved in lionfish management, but only around half would consider personal consumption, or sports incentives as good incentives for their participation. Encouragement from scientists through coordination , training and support was suggested as an essential part of effective management strategy. The results of this study can inform an efficient adaptive management process across the Mediterranean region and assist future engagement of citizen scientists in lionfish control and mitigation

Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny: Leadership in the time of COVID-19 with Niki Savva

What does it take to be a political leader? What’s the magic mix of talent and time? And do Australia’s treasurer and shadow treasurer have that mix? Joining Mark Kenny to talk about what it takes to do the top job are commentator Niki Savva and Marija Taflaga. After botching the bushfire response, many argue Prime Minister Scott Morrison has performed strongly in the pandemic. But while he’s riding high in the polls, showing flexibility in policy, and moving quickly to sure up a struggling economy, the real political test will come with the predicted deep and long recession to come. If he or opposition leader Anthony Albanese struggle, both government and opposition have potential leaders in waiting in Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers. But what does it take to lead? Do you need 20 years’ experience in politics? Or has the accelerated rate of change that has afflicted Australian politics over the last two decades changed the political paradigm? Joining Professor Mark Kenny to talk leadership, recession, and recovery are journalist and commentator Niki Savva and regular podleague Dr Marija Taflaga

Recent Advancements in the Atopic Dermatitis Mechanism

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a recurrent, chronic, inflammatory, itchy skin disorder that affects up to 20% of the pediatric population and 10% of the adult population worldwide. Onset typically occurs early in life, and although cardinal disease features are similar across all ages, different age groups and ethnicities present distinct clinical characteristics. The disease imposes a significant burden in all health-related quality of life domains, both in children and adults, and a substantial economic cost both at individual and national levels. The pathophysiology of AD includes a complex and multifaceted interplay between the impaired dysfunctional epidermal barrier, genetic predisposition, and environmental contributors, such as chemical and/or biological pollutants and allergens, in the context of dysregulated TH2 and TH17 skewed immune response. Regarding the genetic component, the loss of function mutations encoding structural proteins such as filaggrin, a fundamental epidermal protein, and the more recently identified variations in the epidermal differentiation complex are well-established determinants resulting in an impaired skin barrier in AD. More recently, epigenetic factors have facilitated AD development, including the dysbiotic skin microbiome and the effect of the external exposome, combined with dietary disorders. Notably, the interleukin (IL)-31 network, comprising several cell types, including macrophages, basophils, and the generated cytokines involved in the pathogenesis of itch in AD, has recently been explored. Unraveling the specific AD endotypes, highlighting the implicated molecular pathogenetic mechanisms of clinically relevant AD phenotypes, has emerged as a crucial step toward targeted therapies for personalized treatment in AD patients. This review aims to present state-of-the-art knowledge regarding the multifactorial and interactive pathophysiological mechanisms in AD

Search for long-lived heavy neutrinos in the decays of B mesons produced in proton-proton collisions at s\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

International audienceA search for long-lived heavy neutrinos (N) in the decays of \PB mesons produced in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV is presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 41.6 fb$^{-1}$ collected in 2018 by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC, using a dedicated data stream that enhances the number of recorded events containing B mesons. The search probes heavy neutrinos with masses in the range 1 $\lt$$m_\mathrm{N}$$\lt$ 3 GeV and decay lengths in the range 10$^{-2}$$\lt$$c\tau$$\lt$ 10$^{4}$ mm, where $\tau_\mathrm{N}$ is the N proper mean lifetime. Signal events are defined by the signature B $\to$$\ell_\mathrm{B}$NX; N $\to$$\ell^{\pm} \pi^{\mp}$, where the leptons $\ell_\mathrm{B}$ and $\ell$ can be either a muon or an electron, provided that at least one of them is a muon. The hadronic recoil system, X, is treated inclusively and is not reconstructed. No significant excess of events over the standard model background is observed in any of the $\ell^{\pm}\pi^{\mp}$ invariant mass distributions. Limits at 95% confidence level on the sum of the squares of the mixing amplitudes between heavy and light neutrinos, $\vert V_\mathrm{N}\vert^2$, and on $c\tau$ are obtained in different mixing scenarios for both Majorana and Dirac-like N particles. The most stringent upper limit $\vert V_\mathrm{N}\vert^2$ $\lt$ 2.0$\times$10$^{-5}$ is obtained at $m_\mathrm{N}$ = 1.95 GeV for the Majorana case where N mixes exclusively with muon neutrinos. The limits on $\vert V_\mathrm{N}\vert^2$ for masses 1 $\lt$ $m_\mathrm{N}$ $\lt$ 1.7 GeV are the most stringent from a collider experiment to date

Search for baryon number violation in top quark production and decay using proton-proton collisions at s\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

International audienceA search is presented for baryon number violating interactions in top quark production and decay. The analysis uses data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. Candidate events are selected by requiring two oppositely-charged leptons (electrons or muons) and exactly one jet identified as originating from a bottom quark. Multivariate discriminants are used to separate the signal from the background. No significant deviation from the standard model prediction is observed. Upper limits are placed on the strength of baryon number violating couplings. For the first time the production of single top quarks via baryon number violating interactions is studied. This allows the search to set the most stringent constraints to date on the branching fraction of the top quark decay to a lepton, an up-type quark (u or c), and a down-type quark (d, s, or b). The results improve the previous bounds by three to six orders of magnitude based on the fermion flavor combination of the baryon number violating interactions

Measurement of energy correlators inside jets and determination of the strong coupling αS(mZ)\alpha_\mathrm{S}(m_\mathrm{Z})

International audienceEnergy correlators that describe energy-weighted distances between two or three particles in a jet are measured using an event sample of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.3 fb$^{-1}$. The measured distributions reveal two key features of the strong interaction: confinement and asymptotic freedom. By comparing the ratio of the two measured distributions with theoretical calculations that resum collinear emissions at approximate next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy matched to a next-to-leading order calculation, the strong coupling is determined at the Z boson mass: $\alpha_\mathrm{S}(m_\mathrm{Z})$ = 0.1229$^{+0.0040}_{-0.0050}$, the most precise $\alpha_\mathrm{S}(m_\mathrm{Z})$ value obtained using jet substructure observables