Three-layer model with absorption for conservative estimation of the maximum acoustic transmission coefficient through the human skull for transcranial ultrasound stimulation.

Transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) has been shown to be a safe and effective technique for non-invasive superficial and deep brain stimulation. Safe and efficient translation to humans requires estimating the acoustic attenuation of the human skull. Nevertheless, there are no international guidelines for estimating the impact of the skull bone. A tissue independent, arbitrary derating was developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to take into account tissue absorption (0.3 dB/cm-MHz) for diagnostic ultrasound. However, for the case of transcranial ultrasound imaging, the FDA model does not take into account the insertion loss induced by the skull bone, nor the absorption by brain tissue. Therefore, the estimated absorption is overly conservative which could potentially limit TUS applications if the same guidelines were to be adopted. Here we propose a three-layer model including bone absorption to calculate the maximum pressure transmission through the human skull for frequencies ranging between 100 kHz and 1.5 MHz. The calculated pressure transmission decreases with the frequency and the thickness of the bone, with peaks for each thickness corresponding to a multiple of half the wavelength. The 95th percentile maximum transmission was calculated over the accessible surface of 20 human skulls for 12 typical diameters of the ultrasound beam on the skull surface, and varies between 40% and 78%. To facilitate the safe adjustment of the acoustic pressure for short ultrasound pulses, such as transcranial imaging or transcranial ultrasound stimulation, a table summarizes the maximum pressure transmission for each ultrasound beam diameter and each frequency

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Cyclic dinucleotides bind the C-linker of HCN4 to control channel cAMP responsiveness

cAMP mediates autonomic regulation of heart rate by means of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels, which underlie the pacemaker current If. cAMP binding to the C-terminal cyclic nucleotide binding domain enhances HCN open probability through a conformational change that reaches the pore via the C-linker. Using structural and functional analysis, we identified a binding pocket in the C-linker of HCN4. Cyclic dinucleotides, an emerging class of second messengers in mammals, bind the C-linker pocket (CLP) and antagonize cAMP regulation of the channel. Accordingly, cyclic dinucleotides prevent cAMP regulation of If in sinoatrial node myocytes, reducing heart rate by 30%. Occupancy of the CLP hence constitutes an efficient mechanism to hinder β-adrenergic stimulation on If. Our results highlight the regulative role of the C-linker and identify a potential drug target in HCN4. Furthermore, these data extend the signaling scope of cyclic dinucleotides in mammals beyond their first reported role in innate immune system

Vacuolar organization in the nodule parenchyma is important for the functioning of pea root nodules

Different models have been proposed to explain the operation of oxygen diffusion barrier in root nodules of leguminous plants. This barrier participates in protection of oxygen-sensitive nitrogenase, the key enzyme in nitrogen fixation, from inactivation. Details concerning structural and biochemical properties of the barrier are still lacking. Here, the properties of pea root nodule cortical cells were examined under normal conditions and after shoot removal. Microscopic observations, including neutral red staining and epifluorescence investigations, showed that the inner and outer nodule parenchyma cells exhibit different patterns of the central vacuole development. In opposition to the inner part, the outer parenchyma cells exhibited vacuolar shrinkage and formed cell wall infoldings. Shoot removal induced vacuolar shrinkage and formation of infoldings in the inner parenchyma and uninfected cells of the symbiotic tissue, as well. It is postulated that cells which possess shrinking vacuoles are sensitive to the external osmotic pressure. The cells can give an additional resistance to oxygen diffusion by release of water to the intercellular spaces

ISSN exercise & sport nutrition review: research & recommendations

Sports nutrition is a constantly evolving field with hundreds of research papers published annually. For this reason, keeping up to date with the literature is often difficult. This paper is a five year update of the sports nutrition review article published as the lead paper to launch the JISSN in 2004 and presents a well-referenced overview of the current state of the science related to how to optimize training and athletic performance through nutrition. More specifically, this paper provides an overview of: 1.) The definitional category of ergogenic aids and dietary supplements; 2.) How dietary supplements are legally regulated; 3.) How to evaluate the scientific merit of nutritional supplements; 4.) General nutritional strategies to optimize performance and enhance recovery; and, 5.) An overview of our current understanding of the ergogenic value of nutrition and dietary supplementation in regards to weight gain, weight loss, and performance enhancement. Our hope is that ISSN members and individuals interested in sports nutrition find this review useful in their daily practice and consultation with their clients

Measurement of the W±Z boson pair-production cross section in pp collisions at √s=13TeV with the ATLAS detector

published_or_final_versio

Search for High-Mass Resonances Decaying to τν in pp Collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

A search for high-mass resonances decaying to τν using proton-proton collisions at √s=13 TeV produced by the Large Hadron Collider is presented. Only τ-lepton decays with hadrons in the final state are considered. The data were recorded with the ATLAS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb−1. No statistically significant excess above the standard model expectation is observed; model-independent upper limits are set on the visible τν production cross section. Heavy W′ bosons with masses less than 3.7 TeV in the sequential standard model and masses less than 2.2–3.8 TeV depending on the coupling in the nonuniversal G(221) model are excluded at the 95% credibility level

Search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with tau leptons in √s=13 TeV collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with at least two hadronically decaying tau leptons is presented. The analysis uses a dataset of pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb−1, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 13TeV.Nosignificant deviation from the expected Standard Model background is observed. Limits are derived in scenarios of ˜χ+1 ˜χ−1 pair production and of ˜χ±1 ˜χ02 and ˜χ+1 ˜χ−1 production in simplified models where the neutralinos and charginos decay solely via intermediate left-handed staus and tau sneutrinos, and the mass of the ˜ τL state is set to be halfway between the masses of the ˜χ±1 and the ˜χ01. Chargino masses up to 630 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level in the scenario of direct production of ˜χ+1 ˜χ−1 for a massless ˜χ01. Common ˜χ±1 and ˜χ02 masses up to 760 GeV are excluded in the case of production of ˜χ±1 ˜χ02 and ˜χ+1 ˜χ−1 assuming a massless ˜χ01. Exclusion limits for additional benchmark scenarios with large and small mass-splitting between the ˜χ±1 and the ˜χ01 are also studied by varying the ˜ τL mass between the masses of the ˜χ±1 and the ˜χ01

Combined measurement of differential and total cross sections in the H → γγ and the H → ZZ* → 4ℓ decay channels at s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A combined measurement of differential and inclusive total cross sections of Higgs boson production is performed using 36.1 fb−1 of 13 TeV proton–proton collision data produced by the LHC and recorded by the ATLAS detector in 2015 and 2016. Cross sections are obtained from measured H→γγ and H→ZZ*(→4ℓ event yields, which are combined taking into account detector efficiencies, resolution, acceptances and branching fractions. The total Higgs boson production cross section is measured to be 57.0−5.9 +6.0 (stat.) −3.3 +4.0 (syst.) pb, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction. Differential cross-section measurements are presented for the Higgs boson transverse momentum distribution, Higgs boson rapidity, number of jets produced together with the Higgs boson, and the transverse momentum of the leading jet. The results from the two decay channels are found to be compatible, and their combination agrees with the Standard Model predictions