The importance of diffusing capacity as a complementary study to plethysmography in smokers

Rev Port Pneumol. 2007 Nov-Dec;13(6):763-74. [The importance of diffusing capacity as a complementary study to plethysmography in smokers] [Article in Portuguese] Paes Cardoso A, Reis Ferreira JM, Moreira da Silva A. Human Physiology, Porto University, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar, Santo António Hospital. Abstract This study comprised 194 male and female heavy smokers or ex-smokers (>or= 1 pack-year) aged between 20 and 82, whose symptoms varied. Cases were only selected from patients with normal whole-body plethysmography. Subjects with any significant pathology and occupational risk factors were excluded from the study. Varying degrees of symptoms were found and a range of results from normal plethysmography examination, with abnormal levels of alveolar-capillary transfer, determined by the single-breath method to analyse CO (TLCO and TLCO-VA) coefficients. Using the chi-square test for statistical analysis of the sample revealed a significant variation in sensitivity between both parameters (p=0.0001). Possible limitations of using the single-breath method, of were reduced in this study (ventilatory restriction with Vital Capacity <1.5 litres) by the routine plethysmography results seen. Likewise, the presence of alterations in ventilatory distribution was, in principle, minimised by the absence of TLCsb/TLCplet values below 0.85% CONCLUSIONS: Normal plethysmography results in heavy or ex-smokers are not enough to confirm normal respiratory function, as a large percentage of cases present abnormalities in the alveolar-capillary transfer factor for CO. Alveolar limitation was considered not only anatomically, but also from a functional perspective. PMID: 18183328 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

Geoenvironmental Study of Gold Mining Tailings in a Circular Economy Context – Santa Barbara, Minas Gerais, Brazil

We characterized the tailings from the Santa Barbara tailings dam, which is located in Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, to: (i) identify its chemical, mineralogical, and metallurgical properties, and (ii) perform an environmental evaluation of the water at the surface of the tailings facility. The potential recovery of elements such as Sb, As, and Au was also considered for potential tailings reuse. The water was alkaline, with maximum pH values of ≈ 10, and contained potentially toxic elements, such as Sb (up to 0.500 mg/L), As (up to 0.080 mg/L), and Cu (up to 20 mg/L). Gold enrichment areas were found in the tailings dam, with concentrations up to 0.5 g/t. Alignment exists among tailings management, demand for critical raw materials, and increased interest in the processing of low-grade ores and mining waste, which is important in the context of the circular economy. They suggest that valorisation of tailings, although challenging, can be achieved by economic recovery of the more valuable metals

Model-independent search for CP violation in D0→K−K+π−π+ and D0→π−π+π+π− decays

A search for CP violation in the phase-space structures of D0 and View the MathML source decays to the final states K−K+π−π+ and π−π+π+π− is presented. The search is carried out with a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 collected in 2011 by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. For the K−K+π−π+ final state, the four-body phase space is divided into 32 bins, each bin with approximately 1800 decays. The p-value under the hypothesis of no CP violation is 9.1%, and in no bin is a CP asymmetry greater than 6.5% observed. The phase space of the π−π+π+π− final state is partitioned into 128 bins, each bin with approximately 2500 decays. The p-value under the hypothesis of no CP violation is 41%, and in no bin is a CP asymmetry greater than 5.5% observed. All results are consistent with the hypothesis of no CP violation at the current sensitivity

Search for the lepton-flavor-violating decays Bs0→e±μ∓ and B0→e±μ∓

A search for the lepton-flavor-violating decays Bs0→e±μ∓ and B0→e±μ∓ is performed with a data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0  fb-1 of pp collisions at √s=7  TeV, collected by the LHCb experiment. The observed number of Bs0→e±μ∓ and B0→e±μ∓ candidates is consistent with background expectations. Upper limits on the branching fractions of both decays are determined to be B(Bs0→e±μ∓)101  TeV/c2 and MLQ(B0→e±μ∓)>126  TeV/c2 at 95% C.L., and are a factor of 2 higher than the previous bounds

Absolute luminosity measurements with the LHCb detector at the LHC

Absolute luminosity measurements are of general interest for colliding-beam experiments at storage rings. These measurements are necessary to determine the absolute cross-sections of reaction processes and are valuable to quantify the performance of the accelerator. Using data taken in 2010, LHCb has applied two methods to determine the absolute scale of its luminosity measurements for proton-proton collisions at the LHC with a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. In addition to the classic "van der Meer scan" method a novel technique has been developed which makes use of direct imaging of the individual beams using beam-gas and beam-beam interactions. This beam imaging method is made possible by the high resolution of the LHCb vertex detector and the close proximity of the detector to the beams, and allows beam parameters such as positions, angles and widths to be determined. The results of the two methods have comparable precision and are in good agreement. Combining the two methods, an overall precision of 3.5% in the absolute luminosity determination is reached. The techniques used to transport the absolute luminosity calibration to the full 2010 data-taking period are presented.Comment: 48 pages, 19 figures. Results unchanged, improved clarity of Table 6, 9 and 10 and corresponding explanation in the tex

Measurement of the ratio of branching fractions BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma)/BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) and the direct CP asymmetry in B0 -> K*0 gamma

The ratio of branching fractions of the radiative B decays B0 -> K*0 gamma and Bs0 phi gamma has been measured using an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb-1 of pp collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The value obtained is BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma)/BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) = 1.23 +/- 0.06(stat.) +/- 0.04(syst.) +/- 0.10(fs/fd), where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is the experimental systematic uncertainty and the third is associated with the ratio of fragmentation fractions fs/fd. Using the world average value for BR(B0 -> K*0 gamma), the branching fraction BR(Bs0 -> phi gamma) is measured to be (3.5 +/- 0.4) x 10^{-5}. The direct CP asymmetry in B0 -> K*0 gamma decays has also been measured with the same data and found to be A(CP)(B0 -> K*0 gamma) = (0.8 +/- 1.7(stat.) +/- 0.9(syst.))%. Both measurements are the most precise to date and are in agreement with the previous experimental results and theoretical expectations.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figues, 4 table