The TOTEM experiment at the LHC has performed the first measurement at
s
=
13
TeV
of the
ρ
parameter, the real to imaginary ratio of the nuclear elastic scattering amplitude at
t
=
0
, obtaining the ...following results:
ρ
=
0.09
±
0.01
and
ρ
=
0.10
±
0.01
, depending on different physics assumptions and mathematical modelling. The unprecedented precision of the
ρ
measurement, combined with the TOTEM total cross-section measurements in an energy range larger than
10
TeV
(from 2.76 to
13
TeV
), has implied the exclusion of all the models classified and published by COMPETE. The
ρ
results obtained by TOTEM are compatible with the predictions, from other theoretical models both in the Regge-like framework and in the QCD framework, of a crossing-odd colourless 3-gluon compound state exchange in the
t
-channel of the proton–proton elastic scattering. On the contrary, if shown that the crossing-odd 3-gluon compound state
t
-channel exchange is not of importance for the description of elastic scattering, the
ρ
value determined by TOTEM would represent a first evidence of a slowing down of the total cross-section growth at higher energies. The very low-|
t
| reach allowed also to determine the absolute normalisation using the Coulomb amplitude for the first time at the LHC and obtain a new total proton–proton cross-section measurement
σ
tot
=
(
110.3
±
3.5
)
mb
, completely independent from the previous TOTEM determination. Combining the two TOTEM results yields
σ
tot
=
(
110.5
±
2.4
)
mb
.
Motivated by a previous study indicating that polymorphism at an indel, Ind2, within the Brassica nigra COL1 gene is significantly associated with flowering time, we searched for evidence of ...selection in a sample of 41 complete sequences of B. nigra COL1. The within-gene population recombination rate is moderate, and all neutrality tests used in the present study failed to detect departure from the standard neutral model or evidence of selection. The haplotype structure of the 5'-half of the gene is primarily associated with the demographic history of the species and more specifically with the split between European and Ethiopian populations, whereas the structure of the 3'-half reflects the polymorphism at Ind2. This could be the result of selection or a combination of recombination and migration during the history of the sample of sequences. Without additional information on polymorphism in flanking areas, these two alternatives are difficult to tell apart. If selection acted on the gene, we suggest that if the indel itself is not the target of selection, among the polymorphic sites cosegregating with the polymorphism at Ind2, replacement polymorphisms around sites 890 and 1260 are the most likely quantitative trait nucleotides within the gene.
Summary
objective Previous studies have shown possible neuroendocrine effects of GH. In the present study we investigated the incidence of mental disorders and the prevalence of mental distress and ...cognitive dysfunction in hypopituitary women with untreated GH deficiency compared to population‐based controls.
design and patients Thirty‐three hypopituitary women with a median age of 64 years (range 39–77 years) were investigated cross‐sectionally, without any change in hormone substitutions. Twenty‐nine of the patients had been operated for a pituitary tumour, 25 had received radiotherapy and 15 had visual dysfunction. The patients were with a very high probability GH deficient, as 29 had subnormal IGF‐I levels and the other four were GH deficient as assessed by an insulin tolerance test. The patients were compared with 33 controls matched for sex, age, smoking habits, educational level and residence.
measurements The incidence of mental disorders was calculated from the date of diagnosed hypopituitarism to the time of the present investigation. Mental well‐being was assessed by three self‐rating questionnaires: the Symptom Checklist‐90 (SCL‐90), the Interview Schedule for Social Interaction (ISSI) and the social network concept. The subjects were examined with neuropsychological tests of vocabulary (SRB:1 vocabulary test), perceptual speed (WAIS‐R Digit Symbol), spatial ability (WAIS‐R Block Design), verbal memory (Cronholm–Molander verbal memory test), spatial learning (Austin Maze Test) and reaction time (APT Two‐way Reaction Time and APT Inhibition).
results The hypopituitary women had a higher incidence of mental disorders than the controls; Incidence Rate Ratio 4·5 (95% CI 1·0–21). The Global Severity Index, i.e. the average score of all 90 questions of the SCL‐90, was higher in patients (P = 0·001), and the patients had significantly more symptoms of somatization, anxiety, depression, obsession–compulsion, hostility–irritability, phobic and psychotic symptoms (all P ≤ 0·04). Moreover, 14 patients compared to four controls were classified as possible cases of mental distress according to the SCL‐90 (P = 0·006). The patients experienced lower availability of both social attachment (P = 0·02) and integration (P = 0·001), but there were no group differences in the adequacy of these dimensions or in emotional support. The patients had lower scores in four of seven neuropsychological tests (all P ≤ 0·04).
conclusions The hypopituitary women had a higher incidence of mental disorders, more symptoms of mental distress and increased prevalence of cognitive dysfunction. The impaired results in the patients could possibly be explained by several factors, such as transfrontal surgery, radiotherapy, visual dysfunction and unphysiological hormone substitution. Moreover, it is probable that GH deficiency contributed, but placebo‐controlled double‐blind studies are warranted to investigate whether the psychological dysfunction is reversible on GH substitution.
The TOTEM collaboration has measured the elastic proton-proton differential cross section
d
σ
/
d
t
at
s
=
13
TeV LHC energy using dedicated
β
∗
=
90
m beam optics. The Roman Pot detectors were ...inserted to 10
σ
distance from the LHC beam, which allowed the measurement of the range 0.04 GeV
2
; 4 GeV
2
in four-momentum transfer squared |
t
|. The efficient data acquisition allowed to collect about 10
9
elastic events to precisely measure the differential cross-section including the diffractive minimum (dip), the subsequent maximum (bump) and the large-|
t
| tail. The average nuclear slope has been found to be
B
=
(
20.40
±
0
.
002
stat
±
0
.
01
syst
)
GeV
-
2
in the |
t
|-range 0.04–0.2 GeV
2
. The dip position is
|
t
dip
|
=
(
0.47
±
0
.
004
stat
±
0
.
01
syst
)
GeV
2
. The differential cross section ratio at the bump vs. at the dip
R
=
1.77
±
0
.
01
stat
has been measured with high precision. The series of TOTEM elastic pp measurements show that the dip is a permanent feature of the pp differential cross-section at the TeV scale.
The authors measured 24-h fluid-turnover (FTO) rate during 6 d of preseason training in U.S. college football players. Players, training (T, n = 9, full gear and contact drills) and reference (R, n = ...4, conditioning without gear or contact), ingested a deuterium oxide (D2O) dose and provided urine samples every 24 h for analysis of D2O. During one ~2.3-h practice (wet-bulb globe temperature 24.6 °C), body-mass change, urine production, and voluntary fluid intake were measured to calculate gross sweat loss (GSL). Average FTO was 10.3 ± 2.2 L/d for T and 7.0 ± 1.0 L/d for R. GSL was 3.4 ± 1.5 L for T and 1.7 ± 1.3 for R (P > 0.05). By Day 6, body mass decreased significantly in T (-2.4 ± 1.3 kg, P < 0.05) but not in R (0.38 ± 0.95 kg). With preseason training under moderate environmental stress, football players had high FTO and sweat rates, which might have contributed to a loss of body mass during preseason football training.
The TOTEM experiment at the CERN LHC has measured elastic proton–proton scattering at the centre-of-mass energy
s
=
8
TeV and four-momentum transfers squared, |
t
|, from
6
×
10
-
4
to 0.2 GeV
2
. ...Near the lower end of the
t
-interval the differential cross-section is sensitive to the interference between the hadronic and the electromagnetic scattering amplitudes. This article presents the elastic cross-section measurement and the constraints it imposes on the functional forms of the modulus and phase of the hadronic elastic amplitude. The data exclude the traditional Simplified West and Yennie interference formula that requires a constant phase and a purely exponential modulus of the hadronic amplitude. For parametrisations of the hadronic modulus with second- or third-order polynomials in the exponent, the data are compatible with hadronic phase functions giving either central or peripheral behaviour in the impact parameter picture of elastic scattering. In both cases, the
ρ
-parameter is found to be
0.12
±
0.03
. The results for the total hadronic cross-section are
σ
tot
=
(
102.9
±
2.3
)
mb and
(
103.0
±
2.3
)
mb for central and peripheral phase formulations, respectively. Both are consistent with previous TOTEM measurements.
Stress management was studied in male patients with solvent-induced chronic toxic encephalopathy (TE) of types 2A (TE 2A, n = 31) and 2B (TE 2B, n = 26). The patients were compared with a healthy ...reference group (n = 57). Self-reported symptoms (90-item Symptoms Checklist SCL-90), sense of coherence, coping strategies, and level of mastery were measured. As expected, both TE groups reported highly deviating symptoms on most SCL-90 scales. The TE 2B patients, who had objectified cognitive dysfunction, reported more use of passive, less situationally adequate coping strategies; a weaker sense of coherence; and a lower degree of mastery. In contrast, the TE 2A cases showed only minor deviations from the reference group in these respects. The results suggest that having a strong sense of coherence, a sense of mastery, and flexible resources for stress management could be dependent on intact brain functions.
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