EVALUATION OF THE NATURAL REGENERATION IN A RESTORATION PLANTING AREA AND IN A REFERENCE RIPARIAN FOREST

\uc1reas ribeirinhas s\ue3o foco recorrente de restaura\ue7\ue3o ecol\uf3gica, devido a sua import\ue2ncia para a manuten\ue7\ue3o de servi\ue7os ecossist\ueamicos. Entretanto, poucos estudos t\ueam de fato avaliado o sucesso de interven\ue7\uf5es ativas em restaurar fun\ue7\uf5es ou processos ecossist\ueamicos. A regenera\ue7\ue3o natural \ue9 um processo sucessional, cuja avalia\ue7\ue3o pode indicar o estado e o potencial de resili\ueancia do ecossistema em \ue1reas sob restaura\ue7\ue3o. O presente estudo comparou padr\uf5es de regenera\ue7\ue3o natural de uma \ue1rea de restaura\ue7\ue3o ecol\uf3gica (com plantio de mudas nativas h\ue1 10 anos) com a mata ciliar de refer\ueancia, em Cachoeirinha, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Para tanto, foi realizado o levantamento das esp\ue9cies arb\uf3reas e arbustivas presentes no estrato superior (DAP 65 5 cm) e inferior (altura > 30 cm e DAP < 5 cm), em 40 parcelas de 100 m\ub2 cada, considerando o plantio (restaura\ue7\ue3o) e a mata ciliar remanescente (refer\ueancia). Cada estrato e tratamento (refer\ueancia vs. restaura\ue7\ue3o) foi avaliado quanto aos descritores fitossociol\uf3gicos, padr\uf5es de estrutura e composi\ue7\ue3o, riqueza e similaridade entre as comunidades. Os resultados demonstraram que a \ue1rea de restaura\ue7\ue3o apresenta composi\ue7\ue3o de esp\ue9cies e estrutura diferenciada com rela\ue7\ue3o \ue0 refer\ueancia, especialmente para o estrato superior. No estrato inferior (regenera\ue7\ue3o natural), o n\ufamero de indiv\uedduos, a altura m\ue9dia e a riqueza de esp\ue9cies j\ue1 n\ue3o diferiram da refer\ueancia. A composi\ue7\ue3o de esp\ue9cies em regenera\ue7\ue3o ainda foi distinta, por\ue9m, esta foi mais similar entre si do que as demais compara\ue7\uf5es entre estratos, indicando que esp\ue9cies n\ue3o plantadas foram capazes de se estabelecer nas \ue1reas de restaura\ue7\ue3o.Riparian areas are a recurrent focus of ecological restoration due to their importance for the maintenance of ecosystem services. However, few studies have evaluated the success of active interventions in restoring ecosystem functions and processes. The natural regeneration is a successional process and its evaluation might reveal the state and the potential of the ecosystem resilience in forest areas undergoing restoration. The present study aimed to compare natural regeneration of a riparian area that is undergoing restoration (planting of native trees, 10 years ago) with a reference forest area, in Cachoeirinha, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. We conducted a survey of trees and shrubs in the upper stratum (DBH 65 5 cm) and the lower stratum (> 30 cm in height and DBH > 5 cm) in a total of 40 plots (100 m2 each), within the planting (restoration) and the remnant forest (reference). For each stratum and treatment (reference vs. restoration) we analyzed phytosociological parameters, patterns of structure and composition, and similarity among plots. The results showed significant differences in relation to structure and species composition, especially for the upper stratum. For the lower stratum (natural regeneration), abundance, height, and species richness were similar between the restoration and the reference areas. Species composition in regeneration remained distinct. However, its similarity value was higher than any other comparison among strata, indicating that species that were not planted were able to establish in the planted areas

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Search for flavor-changing neutral current interactions of the top quark and the Higgs boson decaying to a bottom quark-antiquark pair at √ s = 13 TeV

A preprint version of the article is available at arXiv (https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.09734).Copyright © CERN, for the benefit of the CMS Collaboration. A search for flavor-changing neutral current interactions of the top quark (t) and the Higgs boson (H) is presented. The search is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb−1 recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at s√ = 13 TeV. Events containing exactly one lepton (muon or electron) and at least three jets, among which at least two are identified as originating from the hadronization of a bottom quark, are analyzed. A set of deep neural networks is used for kinematic event reconstruction, while boosted decision trees distinguish the signal from the background events. No significant excess over the background predictions is observed, and upper limits on the signal production cross sections are extracted. These limits are interpreted in terms of top quark decay branching fractions (B) to the Higgs boson and an up (u) or a charm quark (c). Assuming one nonvanishing extra coupling at a time, the observed (expected) upper limits at 95% confidence level are B(t → Hu) < 0.079 (0.11)% and B(t → Hc) < 0.094 (0.086)%.SCOAP3

Measurement of prompt D-0 and D-0 meson azimuthal anisotropy and search for strong electric fields in PbPb collisions at root S-NN=5.02 TeV

SCOAP

Search for long-lived particles decaying to leptons with large impact parameter in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search for new long-lived particles decaying to leptons using proton–proton collision data produced by the CERN LHC at s√=13TeV is presented. Events are selected with two leptons (an electron and a muon, two electrons, or two muons) that both have transverse impact parameter values between 0.01 and 10cm and are not required to form a common vertex. Data used for the analysis were collected with the CMS detector in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 118 (113)fb−1 in the ee channel (eμ and μμ channels). The search is designed to be sensitive to a wide range of models with displaced eμ, ee, and μμ final states. The results constrain several well-motivated models involving new long-lived particles that decay to displaced leptons. For some areas of the available phase space, these are the most stringent constraints to date

Study of quark and gluon jet substructure in Z plus jet and dijet events from pp collisions

Measurements of jet substructure describing the composition of quark- and gluon-initiated jets are presented. Proton-proton (pp) collision data at √ s = 13 TeV collected with the CMS detector are used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1 . Generalized angularities are measured that characterize the jet substructure and distinguish quark- and gluon-initiated jets. These observables are sensitive to the distributions of transverse momenta and angular distances within a jet. The analysis is performed using a data sample of dijet events enriched in gluon-initiated jets, and, for the first time, a Z+jet event sample enriched in quark-initiated jets. The observables are measured in bins of jet transverse momentum, and as a function of the jet radius parameter. Each measurement is repeated applying a “soft drop” grooming procedure that removes soft and large angle radiation from the jet. Using these measurements, the ability of various models to describe jet substructure is assessed, showing a clear need for improvements in Monte Carlo generators

Search for a right-handed W boson and a heavy neutrino in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for a right-handed W boson (WR) and a heavy neutrino (N), in a final state consisting of two same-flavor leptons (ee or μμ) and two quarks. The search is performed with the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC using a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. The search covers two regions of phase space, one where the decay products of the heavy neutrino are merged into a single large-area jet, and one where the decay products are well separated. The expected signal is characterized by an excess in the invariant mass distribution of the final-state objects. No significant excess over the standard model background expectations is observed. The observations are interpreted as upper limits on the product of WR production cross sections and branching fractions assuming that couplings are identical to those of the standard model W boson. For N masses mN equal to half the WR mass mWR (mN = 0.2 TeV), mWR is excluded at 95% confidence level up to 4.7 (4.8) and 5.0 (5.4) TeV for the electron and muon channels, respectively. This analysis provides the most stringent limits on the WR mass to date