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Zooplankton displays different inducible defenses against invertebrate and vertebrate predators. The response pattern to gape‐limited invertebrate predators involves increased somatic growth and offspring body size but delayed maturity and reduced offspring numbers. In contrast to this general pattern, the freshwater model organism Daphnia magna has been reported to exhibit a different response when encountering the gape‐limited tadpole shrimp Triops cancriformis. Under laboratory conditions, D. magna showed increased somatic growth, earlier maturation, and an increase in both offspring number and size. We propose here that the discrepancy between the previously observed and the theory‐based response patterns against invertebrate predators is due to differences in food availability in the applied laboratory settings and assessed whether the defensive response of D. magna against T. cancriformis is modulated differently by food quantity and quality. We found a strong impact of food quantity and quality on the defense response of D. magna to T. cancriformis kairomones. The prey seem to be able to overcome trade‐offs between morphological defense traits and reproductive traits, but distinctly between high food quantity and high food quality. Thereby, reproductive traits were preferred over morphological defenses. Furthermore, the removal of particles from the T. cancriformis‐conditioned water caused a defense pattern in D. magna that was consistent with the general response pattern known from other invertebrate predators, thus explaining the described discrepancy to previous studies with T. cancriformis. Our study highlights the importance of assessing food‐related effects on predator–prey interactions to understand trophic relationships and food web processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Without doubt, the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) is one of the major projects in particle physics at the high energy frontier in the upcoming decades. Planned to come into operation mid-2027 it will substantially increase the amount of proton-proton collisions at 14 TeV delivered to the LHC experiments with a planned integrated luminosity of 3000 fb - 1 for both ATLAS and CMS experiments, 50 fb - 1 for LHCb, and 5 fb - 1 for ALICE. The delivery of Pb–Pb and p–Pb collisions with integrated luminosities of 13 nb - 1 and 50 nb - 1 is foreseen, yielding an increase by a factor of up to twenty compared to the currently available data of Run-1 and Run-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sublethal doses of pesticides affect individual honeybees, but colony-level effects are less well understood and it is unclear how the two levels integrate. We studied the effect of the neonicotinoid pesticide clothianidin at field realistic concentrations on small colonies. We found that exposure to clothianidin affected worker jelly production of individual workers and created a strong dose-dependent increase in mortality of individual larvae, but strikingly the population size of capped brood remained stable. Thus, hives exhibited short-term resilience. Using a demographic matrix model, we found that the basis of resilience in dosed colonies was a substantive increase in brood initiation rate to compensate for increased brood mortality. However, computer simulation of full size colonies revealed that the increase in brood initiation led to severe reductions in colony reproduction (swarming) and long-term survival. This experiment reveals social regulatory mechanisms on colony-level that enable honeybees to partly compensate for effects on individual level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the potential impact on the electroweak (EW) fits due to the tensions between the current determinations of the hadronic vacuum polarisation (HVP) contributions to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon ( a μ ), based on either phenomenological dispersion integrals using measured hadronic spectra or on Lattice QCD calculations. The impact of the current tension between the experimental measurement of a μ and the total theoretical prediction based on the phenomenological calculations of the HVP is also studied. The correlations between the uncertainties of the theoretical predictions of a μ and of the running of α QED are taken into account in the studies. We conclude that the impact on the EW fit can be large in improbable scenarios involving global shifts of the full HVP contribution, while it is much smaller if the shift is restricted to a lower mass range and/or if the shift in α QED is obtained from that in a μ through appropriate use of the correlations. Indeed, the latter scenarios only imply at most a 2.6/16 increase in the χ 2 / n.d.f. of the EW fits and relatively small changes for the resulting fit parameter values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Standard Model violates parity, but only by mechanisms which are invisible to Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments (on account of the lack of initial state polarisation or spin-sensitivity in the detectors). Nonetheless, new physical processes could potentially violate parity in ways which are detectable by those same experiments. If those sources of new physics occur only at LHC energies, they are untested by direct searches. We probe the feasibility of such measurements using approximately 0.2 fb−1 of data which was recorded in 2012 by the CMS collaboration and made public within the CMS Open Data initiative. In particular, we test an inclusive three-jet event selection which is primarily sensitive to non-standard parity violating effects in quark-gluon interactions. Within our measurements, no significant deviation from the Standard Model is seen and no obvious experimental limitations have been found. We discuss other ways that searches for non-standard parity violation could be performed, noting that these would be sensitive to very different sorts of models to those which our method would constrain. We hope that our initial studies provide a valuable starting point for rigorous future analyses using the full LHC datasets at 13 TeV with a careful and less conservative estimate of experimental uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The global fit of the Standard Model predictions to electroweak precision data, which has been routinely performed in the past decades by several groups, led to the prediction of the top quark and the Higgs boson masses before their respective discoveries. With the measurement of the Higgs boson mass at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in 2012 by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations, the last free parameter of the Standard Model of particle physics has been fixed, and the global electroweak fit can be used to test the full internal consistency of the electroweak sector of the Standard Model and constrain models beyond. In this article, we review the current state-of-the-art theoretical calculations, as well as the precision measurements performed at the LHC, and interpret them within the context of the global electroweak fit. Special focus is drawn in the impact of the Higgs boson mass on the fit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strong-coupling constant is determined from the low-momentum region of the transverse-momentum distribution of Z bosons produced through the Drell–Yan process, using predictions at third order in perturbative QCD. The analysis employs a measurement performed in proton-antiproton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s = 1.96 TeV with the CDF experiment. The determined value of the strong coupling at the reference scale corresponding to the Z-boson mass is α S (m Z) = 0. 1191 - 0.0016 + 0.0013 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illegal drugs exacerbate global social challenges such as substance addiction, mental health issues and violent crime. Police and customs officials often rely on specially-trained sniffer dogs, which act as sensitive biological detectors to find concealed illegal drugs. However, the dog “alert” is no longer sufficient evidence to allow a search without a warrant or additional probable cause because cannabis has been legalized in two US states and is decriminalized in many others. Retraining dogs to recognize a narrower spectrum of drugs is difficult and training new dogs is time consuming, yet there are no analytical devices with the portability and sensitivity necessary to detect substance-specific chemical signatures. This means there is currently no substitute for sniffer dogs. Here we describe an insect screening procedure showing that the western honeybee (Apis mellifera) can sense volatiles associated with pure samples of heroin and cocaine. We developed a portable electroantennographic device for the on-site measurement of volatile perception by these insects, and found a positive correlation between honeybee antennal responses and the concentration of specific drugs in test samples. Furthermore, we tested the ability of honeybees to learn the scent of heroin and trained them to show a reliable behavioral response in the presence of a highly-diluted scent of pure heroin. Trained honeybees could therefore be used to complement or replace the role of sniffer dogs as part of an automated drug detection system. Insects are highly sensitive to volatile compounds and provide an untapped resource for the development of biosensors. Automated conditioning as presented in this study could be developed as a platform for the practical detection of illicit drugs using insect-based sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass spectrometry imaging provides for non-targeted, label-free chemical imaging. In this study, atmospheric pressure high-resolution scanning microprobe matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (AP-SMALDI MSI) was used for the first time to describe the chemical distribution of the defensive compounds pederin, pseudopederin, and pederon in tissue sections (16 μm thick) of the rove beetle Paederus riparius. The whole-insect tissue section was scanned with a 20-μm step size. Mass resolution of the orbital trapping mass spectrometer was set to 100,000 at m/ z 200. Additionally, organ-specific compounds were identified for brain, nerve cord, eggs, gut, ovaries, and malpighian tubules. To confirm the distribution of the specific compounds, individual organs from the insect were dissected, and MSI experiments were performed on the dissected organs. Three ganglia of the nerve cord, with a dimension of 250-500 μm, were measured with 10-μm spatial resolution. High-quality m/ z images, based on high spatial resolution and high mass accuracy were generated. These features helped to assign mass spectral peaks with high confidence. Mass accuracy of the imaging experiments was <3 ppm root mean square error, and mapping of different compound classes from a single experiment was possible. This approach improved the understanding of the biochemistry of P. riparius. Concentration differences and distributions of pederin and its analogues could be visualized in the whole-insect section. Without any labeling, we assigned key lipids for specific organs to describe their location in the body and to identify morphological structures with a specificity higher than with staining or immunohistology methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is the most common autoimmune disease in humans frequently leading to hypothyroidism. HT is characterized by a cellular immune response with lymphatic infiltration of the thyroid gland by T and B cells, as well as by a humoral immune response leading to specific antibody production. The synchronous appearance of HT and papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) indicates an immunological link between the two entities. Three different pathomechanisms may be postulated, including preexisting autoimmunity leading to malignancy due to inflammation, immunity towards preexisiting tumor cells leading to specific autoimmunity, and immune tolerance leading to malignancy despite (auto)immunity. In this article we review data describing these potential mechanisms that might lead to the synchronous appearance of HT and PTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review summarizes results on the production cross-section measurements of electroweak boson pairs (WW, WZ, ZZ, Wγ and Zγ) at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of . The two general-purpose detectors at the LHC, ATLAS and CMS recorded an integrated luminosity of ≈5 -1 in 2011, which offered the possibility to study the properties of diboson production to high precision. These measurements test predictions of the Standard Model (SM) in a new energy regime and are crucial for the understanding and the measurement of the SM Higgs boson and other new particles. In this review, special emphasis is drawn on the combination of results from both experiments and a common interpretation with respect to state-of-the-art SM predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review summarises the main results on the production of single vector bosons in the Standard Model, both inclusively and in association with light- and heavy-flavour jets, at the Large Hadron Collider in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $$7\,{\mathrm {\ TeV}}$$ . The general purpose detectors at this collider, ATLAS and CMS, each recorded an integrated luminosity of $${\approx } 40\,\mathrm{pb^{-1}}$$ and $$5\,\mathrm{fb^{-1}}$$ in the years 2010 and 2011, respectively. The corresponding data offer the unique possibility to precisely study the properties of the production of heavy vector bosons in a new energy regime. The accurate understanding of the Standard Model is not only crucial for searches of unknown particles and phenomena but also to test predictions of perturbative Quantum-Chromodynamics calculations and for precision measurements of observables in the electroweak sector. Results from a variety of measurements in which single $$W$$ or $$Z$$ bosons are identified are reviewed. Special emphasis in this review is given to interpretations of the experimental results in the context of state-of-the-art predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Different benzoquinones were found in defensive secretions of three earwig species. [•] The composition of the defensive secretions was species- and partially sex-specific. [•] All secretions displayed antibacterial and antifungal activity. [•] The secretion of Forficula auricularia displayed also nematicidal activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mating disruption is a sustainable method for the control of insect pests, involving the release of synthetic sex pheromones that disrupt the olfactory localization of females by males. However, the development and refinement of this strategy is hampered because current instruments lack the sensitivity to detect volatile organic chemicals in the field, and portable electroantennograms produce non-comparable relative units and distorted results in the presence of plant volatiles. To address the demand for more sensitive instruments that are suitable for the rapid in situ detection of airborne pheromones, we have developed a portable, automated needle trap device connected to a gas chromatograph, mass spectrometer, and electroantennographic detector (NTD-GC-MS/EAD) suitable for field applications. We tested the instrument by measuring the concentration of the sex pheromone ( E,Z)-7,9-dodecadienyl acetate, which is used to disrupt the mating of the European grapevine moth Lobesia botrana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Our data confirm that the instrument generates highly reproducible results and is highly sensitive, with a detection threshold of 3 ng/m ( E,Z)-7,9-dodecadienyl acetate in outside air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pheromones and other semiochemicals play an important role in the natural world by influencing the behavior of plants, mammals, and insects. In the latter case, species-dependent pheromone communication has numerous applications, including the detection, trapping, monitoring and guiding of insects, as well as pest management in agriculture. On-site sensors are desirable when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are used as semiochemicals. Insects have evolved highly selective sensors for such compounds, so biosensors comprising complete insects, isolated organs or individual proteins can be highly effective. However, isolated insect organs have a limited lifetime as biosensor, so biomimetic approaches are needed for prolonged monitoring, novel applications, or measurements in challenging environments. We discuss the development of on-site biosensors and biomimetic approaches for airborne-pheromone sensing, together with biomimetic VOC sensor systems. Furthermore, the infochemical effect describing the anthropogenic contamination of the ecosystem through semiochemicals, will be considered in the context of novel on-site pheromone sensing-systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this investigation we combined enrichment with different analysis techniques for in situ sensing of the pheromone main component of the European Grapevine Moth ( Lobesia botrana). The electroantennographic detection (EAD) offers the lowest in situ detection limit, but has a limited lifetime of only few hours. Based on the enrichment it is possible to pre-concentrate the natural pheromone level up to a threshold for biomimetic analytic systems. By metal-oxide semiconductor gas sensors in a 'selective odorant measurement of a multi-sensor array' (SOMMSA) setup it is possible to achieve a system with a suitable lifetime for monitoring applications. Due to the sequential desorption from the enrichment material with increasing temperature steps it is possible to eliminate interfering gas components and therefore increase the selectivity of the complete system and to achieve a tool for monitoring applications, e.g. in a vineyard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thyroid hormones are sometimes used for purposes for which they are not approved. Reasons for off-label use can be overweight, prevailing depressive mood, or various somatic symptoms. Information about the intake of thyroid hormones in order to lose weight can be easily obtained from inappropriate/nonmedical websites. The objective of this case report is to describe the first case of a lethal abuse of liothyronine. The case was a 29-year-old male (BMI 32) without relevant illnesses. An autopsy was performed and followed by histological, toxicological, and clinical chemistry examinations. The autopsy revealed no relevant pathology. Histology showed multiple areas of focal cell necrosis in the myocardium and signs of acute heart failure including severe edema of the lungs; the follicles of the thyroid gland were markedly plump. Postmortem laboratory results indicated lethal liothyronine intoxication. Despite prevailing opinion, uncontrolled intake of liothyronine can cause lethal thyroid storm in a euthyroid patient without manifested cardiac illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Most recently, a new rapid and fully automated electrochemiluminescence immunoassay for the determination of TSH receptor autoantibodies (TRAb) based on the ability of TRAb to inhibit the binding of a human thyroid-stimulating monoclonal antibody (M22) has been established. Objective To evaluate this assay system in clinical routine based on an international multicentre trial and to compare the results with other established TRAb assays. Patients and measurements Totally 508 Graves’ disease (GD), 142 autoimmune thyroiditis, 107 subacute thyroiditis, 109 nonautoimmune nodular goitre, 23 thyroid cancer patients and 446 normal controls were retrospectively evaluated. Results ROC plot analysis revealed an area under curve of 0·99 (95% CI: 0·99–1·0) indicating a high assay sensitivity and specificity. The highest sensitivity (99%) and specificity (99%) was seen at a cut-off level of 1·75 IU/l. Here, the calculated positive predictive value was 95%, whereas the negative predictive value was 100%. Applying the ROC plot-derived cut-off of 1·75 IU/l we found a sensitivity for TRAb positivity within the group of newly diagnosed GD patients of 97% which is in accordance to the sum of different nonautomated porcine TSH receptor-based assays with a sensitivity of 94% indicating an excellent analytical performance of the new assay format. Detailed comparison of the automated and the sum of manual assays revealed a near identical specificity. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that this new assay system has a high sensitivity for detecting GD and specificity for discriminating from other thyroid diseases. This assay may represent the future technology for rapid fully automated TRAb detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background High calcitonin (CT) serum levels suggest metastatic spread in medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) after thyroidectomy. In limited disease stages, however, morphological investigations including ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 18F-FDG positron emission tomography ([18F]FDG-PET) may often fail to identify exact tumour sites. Objective The aim of the present study was to establish an improved strategy to identify small cervical tumours by combining pentagastrin stimulation with bilateral cervical intravenous CT sampling followed by high-resolution ultrasound. Design and patients Six MTC patients were examined, of whom five patients already had bilateral neck dissection. Five patients had sporadic MTC, and one patient suffered from MEN2a. Results Retrospective analysis of all patients revealed a highly sensitive positive correlation between an early calcitonin peak (20–40 s after pentagastrin injection) and site of cervical tumour affection. Postinterventional ultrasound examination of the affected regions of the neck revealed suspicious presence; in some cases small lymph nodes of less than 1 cm in size were then surgically excised. On histology, small tumours could be identified in four patients. Postsurgical examination revealed a clear decline of basal serum calcitonin levels in four patients (between −41% and −100%). In two patients CT normalized to baseline levels (< 10 pg/ml) and in another two patients CT rendered to near normal (14 and 17 pg/ml). Conclusion Pentagastrin stimulation-based intravenous catheter sampling may be beneficial in the diagnostic work-up of MTC after thyroidectomy. Our data show that an early calcitonin peak (20–40 s after administration of pentagastrin) helps to identify tumour-affected regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the Z boson at the ATLAS experiment provides several interesting aspects. The measurements of cross-section and transverse momentum spectrum (pt) of the Z boson at ATLAS provide additional tests of the standard model and may be sensitive to exotic physics processes. Z boson production is also a common background process for many other physics analysis and must be understood very well. The achievable precision of the cross-section σ(pp → Z/γ → μ+μ-) with first data of LHC at the ATLAS detector are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lichtwellen wechselwirken nicht miteinander, sondern durchdringen sich gegenseitig, ohne sich zu beeinflussen. Dieses Superpositionsprinzip ist der Grund, weshalb wir überhaupt Lichtwellen von entfernten Orten mit unserem Auge wahrnehmen können, ohne dass diese von Lichtwellen aus anderen Richtungen verändert werden. Die Quantenelektrodynamik sagt jedoch vorher, dass in ganz seltenen Fällen auch Photonen an Photonen streuen können. Dieser Effekt wurde kürzlich bei sehr hohen Energien am Large Hadron Collider (LHC) des CERN nachgewiesen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decrease in connexin (Cx) expression and loss of gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) have been associated with aberrant cell growth and enhanced neoplastic phenotype. We studied the expression of Cx26, Cx32, Cx43, and Cx50 in chromaffin cells of 10 normal human adrenal glands, 10 benign, and 13 malignant pheochromocytomas. Immunohistochemistry showed that Cx50 expression seemed to be the predominant form of Cx expressed in human chromaffin cells, whereas Cx43 immunoreactivity was the most prominent form found in the adrenal cortex. However, Western blotting revealed that nonphosphorylated and singly and doubly phosphorylated forms of Cx43 were present within the malignant adrenomedullary cells at the same time. Cx26 and Cx32 were distributed inhomogeneously with no emphasis of expression in the types of tissues studied. Cx50 expression was diminished in malignant pheochromocytomas. We conclude that there is a differential expression of Cx in human adrenals. Immunohistological testing for Cx expression does not however allow differentiation of benign from malignant pheochromocytomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical thyrotoxicosis in Graves'' disease patients is caused by thyrotropin receptor (TSHR)-stimulating autoantibodies. The molecular mechanisms of TSHR post-translational modification, TSHR signaling and TSHR–autoantibody interaction are still debatable, and the precise interaction of stimulating and blocking autoantibodies with TSHR is unclear. Recent TSHR epitope studies indicate that binding sites for stimulating and blocking autoantibodies are close together, not on distinct or distant parts of the molecule. Furthermore, new methods to detect TSHR autoantibodies and their clinical use are addressed. Highly sensitive TSHR autoantibody assays are widely available and cost efficient, and their routine clinical use might help in the differential diagnosis of hyperthyroidism and disease outcome prediction in patients with high levels of TSHR autoantibodies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, optimization of the loaded quality factor QL for reflection-type heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) oscillators is investigated. The main result is an optimum relation between the S-parameter phases at the three transistor ports. A new design strategy for this type of oscillator is proposed. The analysis is verified by comparing several Ka-band monolithic-microwave integrated-circuit oscillators in GaAs HBT technology with different resonators. The measured loaded QL values correspond to the measured phase noise of the circuits. At an oscillation frequency of 33 GHz, an excellent phase noise of -87 dBc/Hz at 100-kHz offset frequency is achieved over the whole tuning range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dendritic cells (DCs) are antigen-presenting cells that are involved in the induction of primary immune responses. The unique ability of DCs to activate naive and memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells suggests that they could be used for the induction of a specific antitumour immunity. In the past few years, several in vitro and in vivo studies in rodents and humans have demonstrated that immunizations with DCs pulsed with tumour antigens result in protective immunity and rejection of established tumours in various malignancies. Here, we focus on recent results of how DCs regulate immune responses that are important for generating antitumour cytotoxic T cells, and summarize clinical vaccination trials for the treatment of endocrine and nonendocrine carcinomas. Preliminary results suggest that DC vaccines might be novel tools for antitumour immunotherapies to treat chemotherapy-resistant and radioresistant endocrine cancers, such as metastasized medullary thyroid carcinomas and other neuroendocrine carcinomas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

OBJECTIVE Metastatic neuroendocrine carcinomas of the pancreas frequently fail to respond to conventional therapies, including radiation and chemotherapy. We therefore tested a dendritic cell-based immunotherapy in an attempt to eradicate residual tumour masses in a patient suffering from a metastatic insulin-producing pancreatic carcinoma. DESIGN Autologous dendritic cells (DCs) were generated from peripheral blood monocytes in the presence of granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interleukin-4 and tumour necrosis factor α. DCs were loaded with tumour-derived lysate (TL), and were delivered by subcutaneous injections in 4-week intervals. RESULTS Three weeks after first treatment, the patient developed a strong delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin reaction with an erythema and induration after the challenge with TL-pulsed DCs, which indicates the efficient generation of antigen-specific memory T-cells. Immunohistochemical analysis of skin biopsy demonstrated a strong perivascular and epidermal infiltration by T-helper (CD4 positive) and cytotoxic T cells (CD8 positive). Stimulation with TL revealed a dose-dependent T-cell proliferation with a stimulation index of 1·1–5·7 compared to 1·1–1·4 before vaccination (P < 0·01). Most strikingly, DC-based vaccination was accompanied by a steady decrease of the tumour marker chromogranin A from 2.93 umol/l initially to below the detection limit of 0.15 umol/l within 9 months of therapy. The ultrasound examination revealed a tumour regression of the metastasis in the right lobe of the liver. CONCLUSIONS Our data indicate that vaccination with tumour lysate-pulsed DCs induced a significant antitumour immune response in a neuroendocrine carcinoma of the pancreas. This approach represents an alternative strategy for the treatment of advanced neuroendocrine carcinomas that are resistant to conventional therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The future Large Hadron electron Collider (LHeC) would allow collisions of an intense electron beam with protons or heavy ions at the High Luminosity-Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). Owing to a center of mass energy greater than a TeV and very high luminosity (∼ 1 a b - 1 ), the LHeC would not only be a new generation collider for deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) but also an important facility for precision Higgs physics, complementary to pp and e + e - colliders. Previously, it has been found that uncertainties of 0.8 % and 7.4 % can be achieved on the Higgs boson coupling strength to b- and c-quarks respectively. These results were obtained in the fast simulation frameworks for the LHeC detector. Focusing on the dominant Higgs boson decay channel, H → b b , the present work aims to give a comparison of these results with a fully simulated detector. We present our results in this study using the publicly available ATLAS software infrastructure. Based on state-of-the art reconstruction algorithms, a novel analysis of the bb decay could be performed leading to an independent verification of the existing results to an exceptionally high precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several experiments have been proposed in the recent years to study the nature of tau neutrinos, in particular aiming for a first observation of tau anti-neutrinos as well as new constrains on the strange-quark content of the nucleon. We propose a new low-cost neutrino experiment at the CERN North area, named NaNu (North Area NeUtrino), compatible with the realization of the future SHADOWS and HIKE experiments at the same experimental area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is characterized by T cell infiltration and frequently by the presence of anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAbs). The role of cellular immunity and of TbAbs in this context is a matter of debate. The aim of our study was to correlate the presence of TgAbs, tumor epitope-specific T cells and the clinical outcome of PTC patients. We studied n=183 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of PTC which were treated with total thyroidectomy plus131 I ablation. During a follow-up of in mean 97 months, most of the PTC patients had no signs of tumor relapse (n=157 patients). In contrast, one patient had serum Tg levels above the detection limit and<1 ng/ml, two patients Tg serum levels≥1 ng/ml and<2 ng/ml and n=23 patients had Tg serum levels≥2 ng/ml. Morphological signs of tumor recurrence were seen in 14 patients; all of these patients had serum Tg levels≥2 ng/ml. Importantly, with the exception of one patient, all TgAb positive PTC patients (n=27) had no signs of tumor recurrence as the serum Tg levels were below the assays functional sensitivities. Tetramer analyses revealed a higher number of tumor epitope-specific CD8+T cells in TgAb positive patients compared to TgAb negative PTC patients. In summary, we show that the occurrence of TgAbs may have an impact on the clinical outcome in PTC patients. This might be due to a tumor epitope-specific cellular immunity in PTC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Standard Model of particle physics predicts the existence of quantum tunnelling processes across topological inequivalent vacua, commonly known as Instantons. In Quantum Chromodynamics, these Instantons play a fundamental role in explaining much of the theory long-distance behaviour. However, they have not yet been observed experimentally. Their direct observation would mark a breakthrough in modern particle physics, shedding light on our fundamental understanding of the non perturbative dynamics in the Standard Model. Recently, new calculations for QCD Instanton processes in proton–proton collisions became public, suggesting sizeable cross sections as well as possible experimental signatures at the LHC. In this work, we explore possible analysis strategies for the LHC experiments to discover small-size QCD Instanton induced processes. Moreover, we derive a first limit on the Instanton production cross section using published data of Minimum Bias processes at s = 13 TeV at the LHC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Axions and axion‐like particles are hypothetical particles predicted in extensions of the standard model and are promising cold dark matter candidates. The Any Light Particle Search (ALPS II) experiment is a light‐shining‐through‐the‐wall experiment that aims to produce these particles from a strong light source and magnetic field and subsequently detect them through a reconversion into photons. With an expected rate ≈1 photon per day, a sensitive detection scheme needs to be employed and characterized. One foreseen detector is based on a transition edge sensor (TES). Here, the machine and deep learning algorithms for the rejection of background events recorded with the TES are investigated. A first application of convolutional neural networks to classify time series data measured with the TES is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a common belief that the last missing piece of the Standard Model of particles physics was found with the discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider. However, there remains a major prediction of quantum tunnelling processes mediated by instanton solutions in the Yang-Mills theory, that is still untested in the Standard Model. The direct experimental observation of instanton-induced processes, which are a consequence of the non-trivial vacuum structure of the Standard Model and of quantum tunnelling in QFT, would be a major breakthrough in modern particle physics. In this paper, we present for the first time a full calculation of QCD instanton-induced processes in proton-proton collisions accounting for quantum corrections due to both initial and final state gluon interactions, a first implementation in an MC event generator as well as a basic strategy how to observe these effects experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fiducial production cross-section measurements of Standard Model processes, in principle, provide constraints on new physics scenarios via a comparison of the predicted Standard Model cross-section and the observed cross-section. This approach received significant attention in recent years, both from direct constraints on specific models and the interpretation of measurements in the view of effective field theories. A generic problem in the reinterpretation of Standard Model measurements is the corrections application of to data to account for detector effects. These corrections inherently assume the Standard Model to be valid, thus implying a model bias of the final result. In this work, we study the size of this bias by studying several new physics models and fiducial phase–space regions. The studies are based on fast detector simulations of a generic multi-purpose detector at the Large Hadron Collider. We conclude that the model bias in the associated reinterpretations is negligible only in specific cases, however, typically on the same level as systematic uncertainties of the available measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic foot ulcers are a severe complication in patients with diabetes mellitus. Vitamin D is associated with impaired β-cell function and insulin resistance, and is necessary for wound healing and bone metabolism. We measured the serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in 104 patients (63 inpatients, 41 outpatients) with diabetic foot ulcers and compared them to 99 healthy humans (control) and 103 patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 without diabetic foot ulcers. Calcium, creatinine, and parathyroid hormone were measured in patients with diabetic foot ulcers. The data were analysed together with glycosylated hemoglobin A1c and the severity of diabetic foot lesions according to the Armstrong classification. Levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 were lower (11.8 ± 11.3 ng/ml, p < 0.001) in patients with diabetic foot ulcers (mean age 70 ± 12 years) than in the control group (27.2 ± 12.2 ng/ml). No difference was found between in- and outpatients. Fifty-eight (55.8%) of patients with diabetic foot ulcers had a severe 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 deficiency with levels below 10 ng/ml. Only 12% of the patients had 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels above 20 ng/ml. Secondary hyperparathyroidism was found in 27.9% of patients and 11.5% of the patients were hypocalcemic. There was a negative correlation (r = -0.241) (p < 00.1) between Armstrong classification and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 status. In conclusion, patients with diabetic foot syndrome are at high risk of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 deficiency. Thus, any patient with diabetic foot syndrome should undergo 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 measurement and supplementation, if values are found to be decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyze contrast free adrenal vein sampling (AVS) for differentiating unilateral from bilateral disease in patients diagnosed with hypertension due to primary aldosteronism (PA). Consecutive patients with PA and subsequent contrast medium free AVS between April 2015 and March 2020 were retrospectively included. Cross-sectional imaging (CSI), AVS and clinical data were analyzed regarding diagnostic performance. In addition, patients with lateralisation receiving adrenalectomy were compared to a control group treated with mineralocorticoid antagonists. In total 186 patients with AVS were included. The success rate for bilateral catheterization was 88% (median effective dose 2.8 mSv). CSI had an accuracy of 60% (CI: 0.52–0.67) in the detection of lateralization compared to AVS. Patients with bilateral adrenal hyperplasia and those with aldosterone-producing adenoma did not differ in systolic blood pressure (sBP) (p = 0.63) or number of antihypertensive drugs (NAD) (p = 0.11). After adrenalectomy, 28 patients were cured (51%; sBP ≤130 mmHg, NAD = 0), 18 were improved (33%; decrease of sBP ≥20 mmHg and NAD), and 8 were unchanged (15%). Serum renin increased significantly after treatment (p < 0.01). Contrast medium free AVS is a reliable procedure in the diagnostic management of patients with PA with high technical success rate. The accordance between CSI and results from AVS was only moderate indicating the central role of AVS in the diagnostic work-up of patients with PA. Patients with predominant disease diagnosed with AVS had a high cure rate and/or significant improvement after adrenalectomy. • Adrenal vein sampling without contrast medium is a safe and reliable procedure in the diagnostic pathway of primary aldosteronism. • Patients with aldosterone producing adenomas diagnosed by adrenal vein sampling had excellent clinical outcome after surgery. • The concordance between cross-sectional imaging and results from venous cannulation was only moderate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the design and the performance of a prototype detector based on MicroMegas technology with two detection planes in a common gas volume is discussed. The detector is suited for the forward region of LHC detectors, addressing the high-rate environment and limited available space. Each detection plane has an active area of 9 × 9 cm 2 with a two-dimensional strip readout and is separated by a common gas region with a height of 14 mm . A micro-mesh, working as a cathode, is placed in the middle of the common gas volume separating it into two individual cells. This setup allows for an angle reconstruction of incoming particles with a precision of ∼ 2 mrad. Since this design reduces the impact of multiple scattering effects by the reduced material budget, possible applications for low energy beam experiments can be envisioned. The performance of the prototype detector has been tested with a 4 . 4 GeV electron beam, provided by the test beam facility at DESY. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prognostic stratification of the current AJCC/UICC TNM classification for adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) has been validated in only a few studies. In this study, it was hypothesized that redefining the T category cut-off would result in a significant improvement in estimated stage-related survival. In 935 patients with ACC from the SEER database, optimal cut-off values based on tumor size were first determined to redefine T1 and T2 categories. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) were then used to determine the prognostic value of the revised version. A new cut-off value of 9.5 cm tumor size was established to differentiate between T1 and T2 tumors, leading to a revised TNM classification. As a result, a more homogeneous distribution of patients with ACC across all stages was observed. Notably, the predictive value of the newly proposed TNM classification in the ROC analysis exceeded that of the 7th and 8th editions of the AJCC/UICC classification system. Finally, the prognostic superiority of the revised TNM classification was confirmed in a multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that updating the current staging system with revised T1 and T2 categories significantly improves the prediction of cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with ACC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The search for weakly interacting, light particles that couple to photons received significant attention in recent years. When those particles are produced at high energies, they may decay in two collinear photons that can be detected by an electromagnetic calorimeter system. The typical dominant background in searches for those high energetic weakly interacting particles are single, high energetic photons, which leave similar signatures in a standard calorimeter system. One promising approach to separate signal from background events is to employ a dedicated pre-shower detector in front of the calorimeter that can distinguish one- and two-photon signatures. In this work we present a conceptual design of such detector which is able to separate one from two collinear photon signatures. For energies above 300 GeV, it allows for efficiencies between 20 % to 80 % for two photons separated by 100 µm to 2000 µm, respectively, and a background rejection of more than 90 %. Our pre-shower detector design has an active surface area of 10 × 10 cm2, a depth of 230 mm and is based on Micromegas detectors operated with Ar:CO 2 (93 % : 7 %), thus offering a cost effective solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One feature of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the frequently present somatic BRAFV600E mutation. PTCs are also characterized by a lymphocytic infiltration, which may correlate with an improved clinical outcome. The objective of the study was the characterization of BRAFV600E specific anti-immunity in PTC patients and correlation analyses with the clinical outcome. Fourteen HLA A2 positive PTC patients were included into the study of whom tumor tissue samples were also available. Of those, 8 PTC patients revealed a somatic BRAFV600E mutation. All PTC patients were also MHC class II typed. Tetramer analyses for detection of MHC class I and MHC class II-restricted, BRAFV600E epitope-specific T cells using unstimulated and peptide-stimulated T cells were performed; correlation analyses between MHC phenotypes, T cell immunity, and the clinical course were performed. In regard to unstimulated T cells, a significantly higher amount of BRAFV600E epitope specific T cells was detected compared to a control tetramer. Importantly, after overnight peptide stimulation a significantly higher number of BRAFV600E positive and BRAF WT epitope-specific T cells could be seen. In regard to the clinical course, however, no significant differences were seen, neither in the context of the initial tumor size, nor in the context of lymph node metastases or peripheral metastastic spread. In conclusion, we clearly demonstrated a BRAF-specific tumor immunity in PTC-patients which is, however, independent of a BRAFV600E status of the PTC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition Edge Sensors (TESs) have found widespread application in fundamental studies due to their low background rate, high efficiency, and excellent energy resolution. This makes them suitable candidates for ALPS II, which investigates the existence of new particles (axions and axion-like-particles) which couple very weakly to photons. ALPS II anticipates an extremely low signal rate < 10 - 5 cps (amounting to ∼ 1–2 photons a day). The detection of these low energy (∼ 1 eV, 1064 nm) photons with a high energy resolution is necessary for ALPS II. We show that with our TES setup, we can analyze the TES pulses with different methods such as pulse fitting and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). These achieve (using the standard deviation) an energy resolution ( Δ E / E ) down to ∼ 8 % . The pulse analysis, with a chosen fitting approach, assists also in achieving a very low dark count rate O 10 - 6 cps for 1064 nm photon signal searches in the TES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Hypoparathyroidism and Autoimmune Polyendocrine Syndromes," by Eisenbarth and Gottlieb in the May 13, 2004 issue.

Presents a letter to the editor in response to the article "Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, IGF binding protein-3, and cancer risk: systematic review and meta regression analysis," by Andrew Rehehan and colleagues in the April 24, 2004 issue.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Acquired and inherited lipodystrophies," from the March 18, 2004 issue.

The measurement of the transverse momentum of W bosons in hadron collisions provides not only an important test of quantum chromodynamic (QCD) calculations, but also is a crucial input for the precision measurement of the W boson mass. While the measurement of the Z boson transverse momentum is experimentally well under control, the available unfolding techniques for the W boson final states lead generically to relatively large uncertainties. In this paper, we present a new methodology to estimate the W boson transverse momentum spectrum, significantly improving the systematic uncertainties of current approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the design and the performance of two prototype detectors based on Micromegas technology with a pad readout geometry are discussed. In addition, two alternative implementations of a spark-resistant protection layer on top of the readout pads have been tested to optimize the charge-up behavior of the detector under high rates. The readout structure of the prototype detectors consists of 500 pads with a size of 5×4 mm 2 , individually connected to one independent readout channel, and covers an active area of 10 × 10 cm 2 . The design of these prototypes and its associated readout infrastructure was developed in such a way that it can be easily adapted for large-scale detector concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Lately, a more personalized approach in the management of advanced thyroid cancer patients has improved the outcomes, and several novel molecularly guided therapies, including selective RET inhibitors (sRETis), have demonstrated promising efficacy in clinical trials. RET (rearranged during transfection) variants are the most prevalent oncogenic event in medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). We here found RET oncogene variants in 44/48 prospectively collected MTC tumor samples from patients treated with more unselective kinase inhibitors vandetanib and/or cabozantinib. Our study shows that RET variants were highly prevalent in patients with advanced MTC, and the treatment results in RET-positive cases were similar to those reported in unselected cohorts. Background: RET (rearranged during transfection) variants are the most prevalent oncogenic events in medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). In advanced disease, multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (MKIs) cabozantinib and vandetanib are the approved standard treatment irrespective of RET status. The actual outcome of patients with RET-positive MTC treated with MKIs is ill described. Methods: We here retrospectively determined the RET oncogene variant status with a targeted DNA Custom Panel in a prospectively collected cohort of 48 patients with advanced MTC treated with vandetanib and/or cabozantinib at four German referral centers. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) probabilities were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: In total, 44/48 (92%) patients had germline or somatic RET variants. The M918T variant was found in 29/44 (66%) cases. In total, 2/32 (6%) patients with a somatic RET variant had further somatic variants, while in 1/32 (3%) patient with a germline RET variant, additional variants were found. Only 1/48 (2%) patient had a pathogenic HRAS variant, and no variants were found in 3 cases. In first-line treatment, the median OS was 53 (95% CI (95% confidence interval), 32–NR (not reached); n = 36), and the median PFS was 21 months (12–39; n = 33) in RET-positive MTC patients. In second-line treatment, the median OS was 18 (13–79; n = 22), and the median PFS was 3.5 months (2–14; n = 22) in RET-positive cases. Conclusions: RET variants were highly prevalent in patients with advanced MTC. The treatment results in RET-positive cases were similar to those reported in unselected cohorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]