Use of coffee pulp as feed ingredient for tilapia culture

This research focused on the feasibility of using coffee pulp (CoP) in diets for tilapia ( Oreochromis aureus ). First, a literature survey analyzed the limitations of CoP as an animal foodstuff (several antinutritional factors: ANF's, and high fibre contents), different ways to upgrade the CoP nutritional value and the maximal inclusion level of CoP in diets for ruminants, monogastric animals and fish ( Chapter 1 ).Next, an inventory of agricultural activities in the country (Costa Rica) was realized for one production year (1993-94). The most important agricultural activities were identified and classified in two categories: crop and animal husbandry sectors. Residues (wastes and by-products) of both sectors were characterized by their seasonality, their amounts produced, methods of treating wastes, their use (if any) and their potential pollution risk. In addition, most relevant wastes were more precisely studied and, their chemical composition and the presence of potential ANF's indicated. The CoP was selected for further study because of its annual production and its potential pollution risk. Changes of the chemical composition of CoP during the harvesting season and using different drying methods were examined in more detail ( Chapter 2 ). Limitations to use CoP as a foodstuff for fish were studied and the possible causes of differences on growth responses to CoP diets found in tilapia reared either in extensive and intensive systems (pens in ponds and recirculation-aquaria system) are mentioned ( Chapter 3 ).As several ANF's were identified in CoP, the critical value of some of them was determined for Oreochromis aureus fingerlings. Based on the growth and feed efficiency (digestibility), the following dietary critical levels of fibre and tannins were determined: 4.4 g kg -1of tannins and 106.5 g kg -1of fibre. Dietary caffeine levels increasing from 2.4 to 4.6 g kg -1tended to reduce fish growth, feed intake and also nutrient digestibility of O. aureus ( Chapter 4 ).Chemical treatments have been applied to straws and coffee hulls with positive results. Uses of some of these treatments were tested in fresh CoP. The NaOH, the combined HCl-NaOH and NaOH-ensilage treatments were applied to CoP to reduce the content of caffeine, total phenols (polyphenols), tannins and cellulose. Biological treatments were also used to diminish ANF's in CoP but they also may increase CoP protein and fat contents. The ensilage of CoP with molasses was also tested at higher concentration (100 g kg -1) than normally done; however, it did not result in any additive effect. Microbial decomposition was done in a closed lab controlling parameters such as environmental moisture and temperature, photoperiod and temperature of CoP samples. Specific cellulolytic bacteria were used to degrade fibrous components and ANF's of CoP. The inoculation of CoP was done with a cocktail of five species of Bacillus for 28 days under aerobic conditions. The best result in relation with the upgrading of the nutritional quality of CoP was found with the bacterial treatment ( Chapter 5 ).Subsequently, CoP treated with Bacillusssp. was included in diets for tilapia. The final product was included at different concentrations (0, 60, 120, 180 and 240 g kg -1) in the fish diets and fed to O. aureus fingerlings for 4 weeks. At the end of the experimental period, the fish response was evaluated in terms of growth, feed intake, protein utilization and nutrient digestibility ( Chapter 6 ). Best results were found with diets containing 0 and 60 g kg -1CoP. Problems related to the upscaling of the bacterial treatment are mentioned and discussed.The overall results are integrated in one general discussion and several conclusions and recommendations are drawn to upgrade coffee residues for animal feeding purposes ( Chapter 7 ). The potential of using CoP in diets for tilapia cultured in extensive or semi-intensive systems is discussed. Technological and engineering aspects impaired the upscaling of the bacterial treatment for CoP and produced a final product with a lower quality than the one obtained at laboratory scale

Spin-orbit coupling and intrinsic spin mixing in quantum dots

Spin-orbit coupling effects are studied in quantum dots in InSb, a narrow-gap material. Competition between different Rashba and Dresselhaus terms is shown to produce wholesale changes in the spectrum. The large (and negative) $g$-factor and the Rashba field produce states where spin is no longer a good quantum number and intrinsic flips occur at moderate magnetic fields. For dots with two electrons, a singlet-triplet mixing occurs in the ground state, with observable signatures in intraband FIR absorption, and possible importance in quantum computation.Comment: REVTEX4 text with 3 figures (high resolution figs available by request). Submitted to PR

Genome-wide association and Mendelian randomisation analysis provide insights into the pathogenesis of heart failure

Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A small proportion of HF cases are attributable to monogenic cardiomyopathies and existing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have yielded only limited insights, leaving the observed heritability of HF largely unexplained. We report results from a GWAS meta-analysis of HF comprising 47,309 cases and 930,014 controls. Twelve independent variants at 11 genomic loci are associated with HF, all of which demonstrate one or more associations with coronary artery disease (CAD), atrial fibrillation, or reduced left ventricular function, suggesting shared genetic aetiology. Functional analysis of non-CAD-associated loci implicate genes involved in cardiac development (MYOZ1, SYNPO2L), protein homoeostasis (BAG3), and cellular senescence (CDKN1A). Mendelian randomisation analysis supports causal roles for several HF risk factors, and demonstrates CAD-independent effects for atrial fibrillation, body mass index, and hypertension. These findings extend our knowledge of the pathways underlying HF and may inform new therapeutic strategies

Search for boosted diphoton resonances in the 10 to 70 GeV mass range using 138 fb−1 of 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for diphoton resonances in the mass range between 10 and 70 GeV with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is presented. The analysis is based on pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1 at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded from 2015 to 2018. Previous searches for diphoton resonances at the LHC have explored masses down to 65 GeV, finding no evidence of new particles. This search exploits the particular kinematics of events with pairs of closely spaced photons reconstructed in the detector, allowing examination of invariant masses down to 10 GeV. The presented strategy covers a region previously unexplored at hadron colliders because of the experimental challenges of recording low-energy photons and estimating the backgrounds. No significant excess is observed and the reported limits provide the strongest bound on promptly decaying axion-like particles coupling to gluons and photons for masses between 10 and 70 GeV

Evidence for the charge asymmetry in pp → tt¯ production at s√ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Inclusive and differential measurements of the top–antitop (tt¯) charge asymmetry Att¯C and the leptonic asymmetry Aℓℓ¯C are presented in proton–proton collisions at s√ = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement uses the complete Run 2 dataset, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1, combines data in the single-lepton and dilepton channels, and employs reconstruction techniques adapted to both the resolved and boosted topologies. A Bayesian unfolding procedure is performed to correct for detector resolution and acceptance effects. The combined inclusive tt¯ charge asymmetry is measured to be Att¯C = 0.0068 ± 0.0015, which differs from zero by 4.7 standard deviations. Differential measurements are performed as a function of the invariant mass, transverse momentum and longitudinal boost of the tt¯ system. Both the inclusive and differential measurements are found to be compatible with the Standard Model predictions, at next-to-next-to-leading order in quantum chromodynamics perturbation theory with next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections. The measurements are interpreted in the framework of the Standard Model effective field theory, placing competitive bounds on several Wilson coefficients

Search for heavy resonances decaying into a Z or W boson and a Higgs boson in final states with leptons and b-jets in 139 fb−1 of pp collisions at s√ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This article presents a search for new resonances decaying into a Z or W boson and a 125 GeV Higgs boson h, and it targets the νν¯¯¯bb¯¯, ℓ+ℓ−bb¯¯, or ℓ±νbb¯¯ final states, where ℓ = e or μ, in proton-proton collisions at s√ = 13 TeV. The data used correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 collected by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the LHC at CERN. The search is conducted by examining the reconstructed invariant or transverse mass distributions of Zh or Wh candidates for evidence of a localised excess in the mass range from 220 GeV to 5 TeV. No significant excess is observed and 95% confidence-level upper limits between 1.3 pb and 0.3 fb are placed on the production cross section times branching fraction of neutral and charged spin-1 resonances and CP-odd scalar bosons. These limits are converted into constraints on the parameter space of the Heavy Vector Triplet model and the two-Higgs-doublet model

The ATLAS trigger system for LHC Run 3 and trigger performance in 2022

The ATLAS trigger system is a crucial component of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. It is responsible for selecting events in line with the ATLAS physics programme. This paper presents an overview of the changes to the trigger and data acquisition system during the second long shutdown of the LHC, and shows the performance of the trigger system and its components in the proton-proton collisions during the 2022 commissioning period as well as its expected performance in proton-proton and heavy-ion collisions for the remainder of the third LHC data-taking period (2022–2025)