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

Whisker Movements Reveal Spatial Attention: A Unified Computational Model of Active Sensing Control in the Rat

Spatial attention is most often investigated in the visual modality through measurement of eye movements, with primates, including humans, a widely-studied model. Its study in laboratory rodents, such as mice and rats, requires different techniques, owing to the lack of a visual fovea and the particular ethological relevance of orienting movements of the snout and the whiskers in these animals. In recent years, several reliable relationships have been observed between environmental and behavioural variables and movements of the whiskers, but the function of these responses, as well as how they integrate, remains unclear. Here, we propose a unifying abstract model of whisker movement control that has as its key variable the region of space that is the animal's current focus of attention, and demonstrate, using computer-simulated behavioral experiments, that the model is consistent with a broad range of experimental observations. A core hypothesis is that the rat explicitly decodes the location in space of whisker contacts and that this representation is used to regulate whisker drive signals. This proposition stands in contrast to earlier proposals that the modulation of whisker movement during exploration is mediated primarily by reflex loops. We go on to argue that the superior colliculus is a candidate neural substrate for the siting of a head-centred map guiding whisker movement, in analogy to current models of visual attention. The proposed model has the potential to offer a more complete understanding of whisker control as well as to highlight the potential of the rodent and its whiskers as a tool for the study of mammalian attention

Gender, school and academic year differences among Spanish university students at high-risk for developing an eating disorder: An epidemiologic study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to assess the magnitude of the university population at high-risk of developing an eating disorder and the prevalence of unhealthy eating attitudes and behaviours amongst groups at risk; gender, school or academic year differences were also explored.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study based on self-report was used to screen university students at high-risk for an eating disorder. The sample size was of 2551 university students enrolled in 13 schools between the ages of 18 and 26 years. The instruments included: a social-demographic questionnaire, the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI), the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), the Symptom Check List 90-R (SCL-90-R), and the Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). The sample design is a non-proportional stratified sample by academic year and school. The prevalence rate was estimated controlling academic year and school. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate adjusted associations between gender, school and academic year.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Female students presented unhealthy weight-control behaviours as dieting, laxatives use or self-induced vomiting to lose weight than males. A total of 6% of the females had a BMI of 17.5 or less or 2.5% had amenorrhea for 3 or more months. In contrast, a higher proportion of males (11.6%) reported binge eating behaviour. The prevalence rate of students at high-risk for an eating disorder was 14.9% (11.6–18) for males and 20.8% (18.7–22.8) for females, according to an overall cut-off point on the EDI questionnaire. Prevalence rates presented statistically significant differences by gender (p < 0.001) but not by school or academic year.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prevalence of eating disorder risk in university students is high and is associated with unhealthy weight-control practices, similar results have been found in previous studies using cut-off points in questionnaires. These results may be taken into account to encourage early detection and a greater awareness for seeking treatment in order to improve the diagnosis, among students on university campuses.</p

Molecular alterations as target for therapy in metastatic osteosarcoma: a review of literature

Treating metastatic osteosarcoma (OS) remains a challenge in oncology. Current treatment strategies target the primary tumour rather than metastases and have a limited efficacy in the treatment of metastatic disease. Metastatic cells have specific features that render them less sensitive to therapy and targeting these features might enhance the efficacy of current treatment. A detailed study of the biological characteristics and behaviour of metastatic OS cells may provide a rational basis for innovative treatment strategies. The aim of this review is to give an overview of the biological changes in metastatic OS cells and the preclinical and clinical efforts targeting the different steps in OS metastases and how these contribute to designing a metastasis directed treatment for OS

Exploration of Shared Genetic Architecture Between Subcortical Brain Volumes and Anorexia Nervosa

In MRI scans of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), reductions in brain volume are often apparent. However, it is unknown whether such brain abnormalities are influenced by genetic determinants that partially overlap with those underlying AN. Here, we used a battery of methods (LD score regression, genetic risk scores, sign test, SNP effect concordance analysis, and Mendelian randomization) to investigate the genetic covariation between subcortical brain volumes and risk for AN based on summary measures retrieved from genome-wide association studies of regional brain volumes (ENIGMA consortium, n = 13,170) and genetic risk for AN (PGC-ED consortium, n = 14,477). Genetic correlations ranged from − 0.10 to 0.23 (all p > 0.05). There were some signs of an inverse concordance between greater thalamus volume and risk for AN (permuted p = 0.009, 95% CI: [0.005, 0.017]). A genetic variant in the vicinity of ZW10, a gene involved in cell division, and neurotransmitter and immune system relevant genes, in particular DRD2, was significantly associated with AN only after conditioning on its association with caudate volume (pFDR = 0.025). Another genetic variant linked to LRRC4C, important in axonal and synaptic development, reached significance after conditioning on hippocampal volume (pFDR = 0.021). In this comprehensive set of analyses and based on the largest available sample sizes to date, there was weak evidence for associations between risk for AN and risk for abnormal subcortical brain volumes at a global level (that is, common variant genetic architecture), but suggestive evidence for effects of single genetic markers. Highly powered multimodal brain- and disorder-related genome-wide studies are needed to further dissect the shared genetic influences on brain structure and risk for AN

Observation of the diphoton decay of the Higgs boson and measurement of its properties

Peer reviewe

Precise determination of the mass of the Higgs boson and tests of compatibility of its couplings with the standard model predictions using proton collisions at 7 and 8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Search for Dark Matter and Supersymmetry with a Compressed Mass Spectrum in the Vector Boson Fusion Topology in Proton-Proton Collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Measurement of the Pseudorapidity and Centrality Dependence of the Transverse Energy Density in Pb-Pb Collisions at √sNN=2.76 TeV

The transverse energy (E-T) in Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy (root s(NN)) has been measured over a broad range of pseudorapidity (eta) and collision centrality by using the CMS detector at the LHC. The transverse energy density per unit pseudorapidity (dE(T)/d eta) increases faster with collision energy than the charged particle multiplicity. This implies that the mean energy per particle is increasing with collision energy. At all pseudorapidities, the transverse energy per participating nucleon increases with the centrality of the collision. The ratio of transverse energy per unit pseudorapidity in peripheral to central collisions varies significantly as the pseudorapidity increases from eta = 0 to vertical bar eta vertical bar = 5.0. For the 5% most central collisions, the energy density per unit volume is estimated to be about 14 GeV/fm(3) at a time of 1 fm/c after the collision. This is about 100 times larger than normal nuclear matter density and a factor of 2.6 times higher than the energy density reported at root s(NN) = 200 GeV at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

Measurement of the top-quark mass in tt¯ events with dilepton final states in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.-- Chatrchyan, S. et al.The top-quark mass is measured in proton-proton collisions at s√=7 TeV using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb−1 collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurement is performed in the dilepton decay channel tt¯→(ℓ+νℓb)(ℓ−ν¯¯ℓb¯), where ℓ=e,μ. Candidate top-quark decays are selected by requiring two leptons, at least two jets, and imbalance in transverse momentum. The mass is reconstructed with an analytical matrix weighting technique using distributions derived from simulated samples. Using a maximum-likelihood fit, the top-quark mass is determined to be 172.5±0.4 (stat.)±1.5 (syst.) GeV.Acknowledge support from BMWF and FWF (Austria); FNRS and FWO (Belgium); CNPq, CAPES, FAPERJ, and FAPESP (Brazil); MES (Bulgaria); CERN; CAS, MoST, and NSFC (China); COLCIENCIAS (Colombia); MSES (Croatia); RPF (Cyprus); MoER, SF0690030s09 and ERDF (Estonia); Academy of Finland, MEC, and HIP (Finland); CEA and CNRS/IN2P3 (France);BMBF, DFG, and HGF (Germany); GSRT (Greece); OTKA and NKTH (Hungary); DAE and DST (India); IPM (Iran); SFI (Ireland); INFN (Italy); NRF and WCU (Korea); LAS (Lithuania); CINVESTAV, CONACYT, SEP, and UASLP-FAI (Mexico); MSI (New Zealand); PAEC (Pakistan); MSHE and NSC (Poland); FCT (Portugal); JINR (Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan); MON, RosAtom, RAS and RFBR (Russia); MSTD (Serbia); SEIDI and CPAN (Spain); Swiss Funding Agencies (Switzerland); NSC (Taipei); ThEP, IPST and NECTEC (Thailand); TUBITAK and TAEK (Turkey); NASU (Ukraine); STFC (United Kingdom); DOE and NSF (USA). Individuals have received support from the Marie-Curie program and the European Research Council (European Union); the Leventis Foundation; the A. P. Sloan Foundation; the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; the Austrian Science Fund (FWF); the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office; the Fonds pour la Formation à la Recherche dans l’Industrie et dans l’Agriculture (FRIA-Belgium); the Agentschap voor Innovatie door Wetenschap en Technologie (IWTBelgium); the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS) of Czech Republic; the Council of Science and Industrial Research, India; the Compagnia di San Paolo (Torino); and the HOMING PLUS program of Foundation for Polish Science, cofinanced from European Union, Regional Development Fund.Peer Reviewe