A search for highly electrically charged objects (HECOs) and magnetic monopoles is presented using 2.2
fb
-
1
of
p
-
p
collision data taken at a centre of mass energy (E
CM
) of 8 TeV by the MoEDAL ...detector during LHC’s Run-1. The data were collected using MoEDAL’s prototype Nuclear Track Detectord array and the Trapping Detector array. The results are interpreted in terms of Drell–Yan pair production of stable HECO and monopole pairs with three spin hypotheses (0, 1/2 and 1). The search provides constraints on the direct production of magnetic monopoles carrying one to four Dirac magnetic charges and with mass limits ranging from 590 GeV/c
2
to 1 TeV/c
2
. Additionally, mass limits are placed on HECOs with charge in the range 10
e
to 180
e
, where
e
is the charge of an electron, for masses between 30 GeV/c
2
and 1 TeV/c
2
.
Abstract
Time-dependent energy spectra of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) carry crucial information regarding their origin and propagation throughout the interstellar environment. When observed at the ...Earth, after traversing the interplanetary medium, such spectra are heavily affected by the solar wind and the embedded solar magnetic field permeating the inner sectors of the heliosphere. The activity of the Sun changes significantly over an 11 yr solar cycle—and so does the effect on cosmic particles; this translates into a phenomenon called solar modulation. Moreover, GCR spectra during different epochs of solar activity provide invaluable information for a complete understanding of the plethora of mechanisms taking place in various layers of the Sun’s atmosphere and how they evolve over time. The High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD-01) has been continuously collecting data since 2018 August, during the quiet phase between solar cycles 24 and 25; the activity of the Sun is slowly but steadily rising and is expected to peak around 2025/2026. In this paper, we present the first spectra for ∼50–250 MeV galactic protons measured by the HEPD-01 instrument—placed on board the CSES-01 satellite—from 2018 August to 2022 March over a one-Carrington-rotation time basis. Such data are compared to the ones from other spaceborne experiments, present (e.g., EPHIN, Parker Solar Probe) and past (PAMELA), and to a state-of-the-art three-dimensional model describing the GCRs propagation through the heliosphere.
Numerous studies have reported beneficial effects of antioxidant drugs on semen quality, but there is no well-defined therapeutical protocol in male infertility. This study aimed to test the effects ...of vitamin E and selenium supplementation on lipid peroxidation and on sperm parameters. The study included 54 voluntary and infertile men who produced semen samples for spermiogram and for spectrophotometric measurement of a lipid peroxidatio n marker, the malondialdehyde (MDA), and produced blood samples for high-perf ormance liquid chromatography assessment of serum vitamin E level. The trial was randomized and open. Twenty-eight men were supplemented daily by vitamin E (400 mg) and selenium (225 µg), during 3 months. The remaining 26 patients received vitamin B (4,5 g day) for the same duration. Only 20 patients achieved their treatment and returned for control analysis. MDA concentrations in sperm were much less than in seminal plasma and motility and viability were inversely correlated with semen MDA levels. In contrast to vitamin B supplementation, vitamin E and selenium supplementation produced a significant decrease in MDA concentrations and an improvement of sperm motility. The results confirm the protective and beneficial effects of vitamin E and selenium on semen quality and advocate their use in male infertility treatment.
With or without anemia, iron deficiency, is a common disorder among athletes and it can decrease both physical and mental performances. Actually, no previous study has investigated the effects of ...weightlifting training on iron status responses. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of four weeks of intensive training on plasma iron status of elite weightlifters. Sixteen participants (a group of eight men and a group of eight women) from the elite Tunisian team took part in the present study. Blood levels of some hematological, iron, anemia and inflammation parameters were assessed before (pre) and after four weeks (Post) of intensive training during a precompetitive phase. For both groups, ferritin concentrations and plasma Creatine kinase activity increased significantly at post-compared to pre-training (P<0.05). Plasma Creatine kinase activity displayed a significant increase after training (P<0.01) for both men and women lifters. However, transferrin levels decreased for both gender at post-compared to pre-training (P<0.05). For C-reactive protein levels and plasma iron concentrations, no-significant pre- to post-training changes have been reported. The hemoglobin concentration was lower in the women group than the men group only before training (P<0.05). Red blood cells, hematocrit and mean corpuscular volume decreased and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration increased significantly from pre- to post-training only in men (P<0.05). For women, only red blood cells and hematocrit increased from pre- to post-training (P<0.05). In conclusion, the present study showed changes in the majority of iron status balance parameters, which seems to be close to the lowest reference limit, with a considerable depletion of iron stores and low serum ferritin concentrations especially in woman weightlifters.
Avec ou sans anémie, la carence en fer est un trouble fréquent chez les athlètes et peut diminuer les performances physiques et mentales. Actuellement, aucune étude n’a examiné les effets de l’entraînement en haltérophilie sur le statut en fer. Ainsi, l’objectif de la présente étude était d’examiner les effets de quatre semaines d’entraînement intense sur le statut en fer chez des haltérophiles élites. Seize participants (un groupe de huit hommes et un groupe de huit femmes) de l’équipe nationale tunisienne d’haltérophilie ont participé à cette étude. Les taux sanguins de marqueurs biochimiques et hématologiques du statut en fer, d’anémie et d’inflammation ont été évalués avant et après 4 semaines d’entraînement intense lors de la phase précompétitive. Pour les deux groupes, la concentration de ferritine et l’activité plasmatique de la créatine kinase ont augmenté significativement après en comparaison avec avant le programme d’entraînement (p<0,05). Cependant, les taux de transferrine ont diminué pour les deux groupes après en comparaison avec avant le programme d’entraînement (p<0,05). Les résultats n’ont révélé aucun changement significatif de la protéine C-réactive et de la concentration plasmatique en fer entre les deux périodes de mesures chez les deux groupes. La concentration en hémoglobine était plus faible chez les femmes que chez les hommes seulement avant l’entraînement (p<0,05). Les globules rouges, l’hématocrite et le volume corpusculaire ont diminué et la concentration corpusculaire en hémoglobine a augmenté significativement seulement chez les hommes entre avant et après l’entraînement (p<0,05). Pour les femmes, seulement les globules rouges et l’hématocrite ont augmenté significativement entre avant et après l’entraînement (p<0,05). En conclusion, la présente étude a montré des changements pour la majorité des paramètres du statut en fer qui semble être proche de la limite inférieure des valeurs de références, avec un épuisement considérable des réserves en fer et de faibles concentrations en ferritine en particulier chez les femmes.
Valproic acid (VPA) is a widely prescribed broad-spectrum antiepileptic drug. However, the use of VPA is complicated in clinical practice by its remarkably wide variability of pharmacokinetics. The ...objective of this study was to investigate the effects of demographic factors and associated therapies on steady-state plasma VPA concentrations in patients with epilepsy.
This retrospective cohort study was carried out using the routine therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) database. Stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to compare serum VPA levels in 78 epilepsy patients treated with VPA in association with at least one other drug that could have interacted with CYP2C9, CYP2C19 or UGT enzymes.
The frequency of subtherapeutic serum VPA levels was significantly increased with younger age (P<0.02), the number of co-medications (P<0.007) and use of enzyme-inducing co-medications (P<0.02). No significant correlations between VPA dose and trough plasma concentrations were found, as the latter did not increase in proportion to the dose.
Routine monitoring of VPA serum levels would be extremely useful in epilepsy patients in the pediatric age group and in those who require associated enzyme-inducing medications.
We report the case of a 52-year-old man with type 2 diabetes, who developed severe mucosal erosions of the tongue, glans penis and perianal area, induced by glimepiride. A tissue biopsy was performed ...and revealed the characteristics of lichen planus (LP). The improvement of the patient's condition after withdrawal of glimepiride added to recurrence of the lesions when medication was reintroduced confirmed that the second generation anti-diabetic was the causative agent. To the best of our knowledge, this has not been reported previously.
We update our previous search for trapped magnetic monopoles in LHC Run 2 using nearly six times more integrated luminosity and including additional models for the interpretation of the data. The ...MoEDAL forward trapping detector, comprising 222 kg of aluminium samples, was exposed to 2.11 fb−1 of 13 TeV proton–proton collisions near the LHCb interaction point and analysed by searching for induced persistent currents after passage through a superconducting magnetometer. Magnetic charges equal to the Dirac charge or above are excluded in all samples. The results are interpreted in Drell–Yan production models for monopoles with spins 0, 1/2 and 1: in addition to standard point-like couplings, we also consider couplings with momentum-dependent form factors. The search provides the best current laboratory constraints for monopoles with magnetic charges ranging from two to five times the Dirac charge.
We investigated the efficacy of Pistacia lentiscus fruit oil (PLFO) for protecting human skin from damage due to oxidative stress. PLFO contains natural antioxidants including polyphenols, sterols ...and tocopherols. We compared the antioxidant potential of PLFO with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). Explants of healthy adult human skin were grown in culture with either PLFO or EVOO before adding hydrogen peroxide (H
2
O
2
). We also used cultured skin explants to investigate the effects of PLFO on lipid oxidation and depletion of endogenous antioxidant defense enzymes including glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) one day after 2 h exposure to H
2
O
2
. We found that PLFO scavenged radicals and protected skin against oxidative injury. PLFO exhibited greater antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity than EVOO. Skin explants treated with PLFO inhibited H
2
O
2
induced MDA formation by inhibition of lipid oxidation. In addition, the oil inhibited H
2
O
2
induced depletion of antioxidant defense enzymes including GPx, SOD and CAT. We found that treatment with PLFO repaired skin damage owing to its antioxidant properties.
The SLIM experiment was a large array of nuclear track detectors located at the Chacaltaya high altitude Laboratory (5230 m a.s.l.). The detector was in particular sensitive to intermediate mass ...magnetic monopoles, with masses 10
5
GeV <M
M
< 10
12
GeV. From the analysis of the full detector exposed for more than 4 years a flux upper limit of 1.3×10
-15
cm
-2
s
-1
sr
-1
for downgoing fast intermediate mass monopoles was established at the 90% C.L.
The NESSiE Collaboration has been setup to undertake a conclusive experiment to clarify the
muon-neutrino disappearance
measurements at short baselines in order to put severe constraints to models ...with more than the three-standard neutrinos. To this aim the current FNAL-Booster neutrino beam for a Short-Baseline experiment was carefully evaluated by considering the use of magnetic spectrometers at two sites, near and far ones. The detector locations were studied, together with the achievable performances of two OPERA-like spectrometers. The study was constrained by the availability of existing hardware and a time-schedule compatible with the undergoing project of multi-site Liquid–Argon detectors at FNAL. The settled physics case and the kind of proposed experiment on the Booster neutrino beam would definitively clarify the existing tension between the
ν
μ
disappearance and the
ν
e
appearance/disappearance at the eV mass scale. In the context of neutrino oscillations the measurement of
ν
μ
disappearance is a robust and fast approach to either reject or discover new neutrino states at the eV mass scale. We discuss an experimental program able to extend by more than one order of magnitude (for neutrino disappearance) and by almost one order of magnitude (for antineutrino disappearance) the present range of sensitivity for the mixing angle between standard and sterile neutrinos. These extensions are larger than those achieved in any other proposal presented so far.
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