Analysis of Microplastics in Food Samples

This chapter presents a compilation of the analytical techniques used to detect and analyze microplastics in food. A detailed description of microplastics found in different samples is provided as well as an estimate of the annual intake of these particles. A total of 22–37 milligrams of microplastics per year was found. The factors that can influence the presence of particles in food, especially table salt, are discussed, showing that a background presence of microplastics in the environment can explain a large amount of experimental data.Support for this work was provided by the CTQ2016-76608-R project from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (Spain) and by the University of Alicante under the project UAUSTI18-06

Search for contact interactions in dilepton events from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This Letter presents a search for contact interactions in the dielectron and dimuon channels using data from proton-proton collisions produced by the LHC at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. The data sample, collected in 2011, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.08 and 1.21 fb^-1 in the e+ e- and mu+ mu- channels, respectively. No significant deviations from the standard model are observed. Using a Bayesian approach with a prior flat in 1/Lambda^2, the following 95% CL lower limits are placed on the energy scale of llqq contact interactions: Lambda^- > 10.1 TeV (Lambda^+ > 9.4 TeV) in the electron channel and Lambda^- > 8.0 TeV (Lambda^+ > 7.0 TeV) in the muon channel for constructive (destructive) interference in the left-left isoscalar contact interaction model. Limits are also provided for a prior flat in 1/Lambda^4