Ultra fast imaging NMR method for measuring fast transport processes in thin porous media

Measuring moisture distributions during fast transport processes in thin porous media is a challenging task. In this paper, Ultra Fast Imaging (UFI) NMR is proposed as a valuable measurement technique for investigating moisture uptake in porous media by achieving a temporal resolution of 10 ms and spatial resolution between 14.5 and 18 μm. This paper gives a detailed explanation about the methodology and the interpretation of the signal intensity. It is shown that there exist specific T 1- and T 2- relaxation time conditions for performing UFI experiments with signal-to-noise ratios that are sufficiently high. In most cases, a contrast agent is required to optimize these relaxation times and achieve the optimal measurement conditions. In the first part of this paper, both CuSO4 and Clariscan are discussed as possible contrast agents. Furthermore, it is shown that the signal intensity can be linked to the moisture content for water based liquids. The second part of this paper covers penetration experiments on porous PVDF membranes. These measurements show that the technique is able to measure moisture profiles during fast capillary penetration and allows to extract moisture front positions. Those front positions follow a linear time behavior in PVDF membranes. Lastly the NMR-measurements showed similar results when compared to scanning absorptometry (ASA). </p

Sheep and Goat BSE Propagate More Efficiently than Cattle BSE in Human PrP Transgenic Mice

A new variant of Creutzfeldt Jacob Disease (vCJD) was identified in humans and linked to the consumption of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)-infected meat products. Recycling of ruminant tissue in meat and bone meal (MBM) has been proposed as origin of the BSE epidemic. During this epidemic, sheep and goats have been exposed to BSE-contaminated MBM. It is well known that sheep can be experimentally infected with BSE and two field BSE-like cases have been reported in goats. In this work we evaluated the human susceptibility to small ruminants-passaged BSE prions by inoculating two different transgenic mouse lines expressing the methionine (Met) allele of human PrP at codon 129 (tg650 and tg340) with several sheep and goat BSE isolates and compared their transmission characteristics with those of cattle BSE. While the molecular and neuropathological transmission features were undistinguishable and similar to those obtained after transmission of vCJD in both transgenic mouse lines, sheep and goat BSE isolates showed higher transmission efficiency on serial passaging compared to cattle BSE. We found that this higher transmission efficiency was strongly influenced by the ovine PrP sequence, rather than by other host species-specific factors. Although extrapolation of results from prion transmission studies by using transgenic mice has to be done very carefully, especially when human susceptibility to prions is analyzed, our results clearly indicate that Met129 homozygous individuals might be susceptible to a sheep or goat BSE agent at a higher degree than to cattle BSE, and that these agents might transmit with molecular and neuropathological properties indistinguishable from those of vCJD. Our results suggest that the possibility of a small ruminant BSE prion as vCJD causal agent could not be ruled out, and that the risk for humans of a potential goat and/or sheep BSE agent should not be underestimated

A genome-wide association study of anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a complex and heritable eating disorder characterized by dangerously low body weight. Neither candidate gene studies nor an initial genome-wide association study (GWAS) have yielded significant and replicated results. We performed a GWAS in 2907 cases with AN from 14 countries (15 sites) and 14 860 ancestrally matched controls as part of the Genetic Consortium for AN (GCAN) and the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 3 (WTCCC3). Individual association analyses were conducted in each stratum and meta-analyzed across all 15 discovery data sets. Seventy-six (72 independent) single nucleotide polymorphisms were taken forward for in silico (two data sets) or de novo (13 data sets) replication genotyping in 2677 independent AN cases and 8629 European ancestry controls along with 458 AN cases and 421 controls from Japan. The final global meta-analysis across discovery and replication data sets comprised 5551 AN cases and 21 080 controls. AN subtype analyses (1606 AN restricting; 1445 AN binge-purge) were performed. No findings reached genome-wide significance. Two intronic variants were suggestively associated: rs9839776 (P=3.01 × 10(-7)) in SOX2OT and rs17030795 (P=5.84 × 10(-6)) in PPP3CA. Two additional signals were specific to Europeans: rs1523921 (P=5.76 × 10(-)(6)) between CUL3 and FAM124B and rs1886797 (P=8.05 × 10(-)(6)) near SPATA13. Comparing discovery with replication results, 76% of the effects were in the same direction, an observation highly unlikely to be due to chance (P=4 × 10(-6)), strongly suggesting that true findings exist but our sample, the largest yet reported, was underpowered for their detection. The accrual of large genotyped AN case-control samples should be an immediate priority for the field

Observation of Two Excited B-c(+) States and Measurement of the B-c(+) (2S) Mass in pp Collisions at root s=13 TeV

Signals consistent with the B-c(+)(2S) and B-c*(+)(2S) states are observed in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, in an event sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 143 fb(-1), collected by the CMS experiment during the 2015-2018 LHC running periods. These excited (b) over barc states are observed in the B-c(+)pi(+)pi(-) invariant mass spectrum, with the ground state B-c(+) reconstructed through its decay to J/psi pi(+). The two states are reconstructed as two well-resolved peaks, separated in mass by 29.1 +/- 1.5(stat) +/- 0.7(syst) MeV. The observation of two peaks, rather than one, is established with a significance exceeding five standard deviations. The mass of the B-c(+)(2S) meson is measured to be 6871.0 +/- 1.2(stat) +/- 0.8(syst) +/- 0.8(B-c(+)) MeV, where the last term corresponds to the uncertainty in the world-average B-c(+) mass.Peer reviewe

Studies of charm and beauty hadron long-range correlations in pp and pPb collisions at LHC energies

Measurements of the second Fourier harmonic coefficient (v(2)) of the azimuthal distributions of prompt and nonprompt D-0 mesons produced in pp and pPb collisions are presented. Nonprompt D-0 mesons come from beauty hadron decays. The data samples are collected by the CMS experiment at nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energies of 13 and 8.16 TeV, respectively. In high multiplicity pp collisions, v(2) signals for prompt charm hadrons are reported for the first time, and are found to be comparable to those for light-flavor hadron species over a transverse momentum (pT) range of 2-6 GeV. Compared at similar event multiplicities, the prompt D-0 meson v(2) values in pp and pPb collisions are similar in magnitude. The v(2) values for open beauty hadrons are extracted for the first time via nonprompt D-0 mesons in pPb collisions. For pT in the range of 2-5 GeV, the results suggest that v(2) for nonprompt D-0 mesons is smaller than that for prompt D-0 mesons. These new measurements indicate a positive charm hadron v(2) in pp collisions and suggest a mass dependence in v(2) between charm and beauty hadrons in the pPb system. These results provide insights into the origin of heavy-flavor quark collectivity in small systems. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Search for low-mass dilepton resonances in Higgs boson decays to four-lepton final states in proton–proton collisions at √s=13TeV

A search for low-mass dilepton resonances in Higgs boson decays is conducted in the four-lepton final state. The decay is assumed to proceed via a pair of beyond the standard model particles, or one such particle and a Z boson. The search uses proton–proton collision data collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb−1, at a center-of-mass energy √s = 13 TeV. No significant deviation from the standard model expectation is observed. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on model-independent Higgs boson decay branching fractions. Additionally, limits on dark photon and axion-like particle production, based on two specific models, are reported