Neurotrophic keratitis in a patient with disseminated lymphangiomatosis.

INTRODUCTION: Neurotrophic keratitis, a degenerative corneal disease caused by trigeminal nerve impairment, has many etiologies and remains very difficult to treat. METHODS: Case report of a 23-year-old male with a right corneal ulcer that failed to improve despite broad-spectrum antimicrobials. RESULTS: Prior diagnosis of disseminated lymphangiomatosis with a lesion in the right petrous apex effacing Meckel's (trigeminal) cave in conjunction with a history of nonhealing corneal abrasions suggested a neurotrophic etiology. Drawstring temporary tarsorrhaphy, in addition to antibiotics and autologous serum, lead to successful clearing of the infection and resolution of the corneal ulcer. Visual acuity improved from light perception (LP) at the peak of infection to 20/40 six weeks after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, we report the first case of neurotrophic keratitis in a patient with disseminated lymphangiomatosis that caused a mass effect in Meckel's (trigeminal) cave leading to compression of the trigeminal nerve. The antibiotic-resistant corneal ulcer was successfully treated with drawstring tarsorrhaphy, confirming the utility of this therapeutic measure in treating neurotrophic keratitis

Measurement of the B0s→μ+μ− Branching Fraction and Effective Lifetime and Search for B0→μ+μ− Decays

See paper for full list of authors - All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2017-001.html - Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett.International audienceA search for the rare decays B0s→μ+μ− and B0→μ+μ− is performed at the LHCb experiment using data collected in pp collisions corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb−1. An excess of B0s→μ+μ− decays is observed with a significance of 7.8 standard deviations, representing the first observation of this decay in a single experiment. The branching fraction is measured to be B(B0s→μ+μ−)=(3.0±0.6+0.3−0.2)×10−9, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The first measurement of the B0s→μ+μ− effective lifetime, τ(B0s→μ+μ−)=2.04±0.44±0.05 ps, is reported. No significant excess of B0→μ+μ− decays is found and a 95 % confidence level upper limit, B(B0→μ+μ−)<3.4×10−10, is determined. All results are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations

High Definition Fiber Tractography of a Giant Macroadenoma (.pdf)

High-definition fiber tracking (HDFT) is a novel method of neuroimaging post-processing that allows precise delineation of white matter fibers in the anterior and posterior visual pathway. This technique contributes to pre-operative planning for resection of large sellar lesions

A new locus for dominant drusen and macular degeneration maps to chromosome 6q14

PURPOSE:To report the localization of a gene causing drusen and macular degeneration in a previously undescribed North American family. METHODS:Genetic mapping studies were performed using linkage analysis in a single family with drusen and atrophic macular degeneration. RESULTS:The clinical manifestations in this family ranged from fine macular drusen in asymptomatic middle-aged individuals to atrophic macular lesions in two children and two elderly patients. We mapped the gene to chromosome 6q14 between markers D6S2258 and D6S1644. CONCLUSIONS:In a family with autosomal dominant drusen and atrophic macular degeneration, the gene maps to a 3.2-cM region on chromosome 6q14. This locus appears to be distinct from, but adjacent to, the loci for cone-rod dystrophy 7 (CORD7) and North Carolina macular dystrophy (MCDR1). Future identification of the gene responsible for the disease in this family will provide a better understanding of macular degeneration

Expression of Interest for a Phase-II LHCb Upgrade: Opportunities in flavour physics, and beyond, in the HL-LHC era

https://cds.cern.ch/record/224431

Expression of Interest for a Phase-II LHCb Upgrade: Opportunities in flavour physics, and beyond, in the HL-LHC era

A Phase-II Upgrade is proposed for the LHCb experiment in order to take full advantage of the flavour-physics opportunities at the HL-LHC, and other topics that can be studied with a forward spectrometer. This Upgrade, which will be installed in Long Shutdown 4 of the LHC (2030), will build on the strengths of the current experiment and the Phase-I Upgrade, but will consist of re-designed sub-systems that can operate at a luminosity of 2×1034cm−2s−1, ten times that of the Phase-I Upgrade detector. New and improved detector components will increase the intrinsic performance of the experiment in certain key areas. In particular the installation of a tungsten sampling electromagnetic calorimeter will widen LHCb's capabilities for decays involving π0 and η mesons, electrons, and photons from loop-level penguin processes. The physics motivation is presented, and the prospects for operating the LHCb Interaction Point at high luminosity are assessed. The challenges for the detector are described and possible solutions are discussed. Finally, the key R\&amp;D areas are summarised, together with a set of initial modifications suitable for implementation during Long Shutdown 3 (2024--2026)