Publications by authors named "Mead J"

Article Synopsis
  • * The study introduces enhanced modeling techniques for neutrino flux and detector response, and it distinguishes between starting (inside) and throughgoing (outside) neutrino interaction events to improve energy resolution.
  • * The findings indicate a best-fit point for the 3+1 model with sin²(2θ_{24})=0.16 and Δm_{41}²=3.5 eV², supporting previous studies while showing consistency with no evidence of sterile neutrinos, as reflected
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  • The study investigates the role of BAG3 genetic variants in heritable dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), focusing on how these variants contribute to the variability in disease expression and severity.
  • Conducted at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the research included a large cohort of patients, using whole-exome sequencing linked to electronic health records to analyze associations between BAG3 variants and clinical traits.
  • Results indicated that the common C151R BAG3 variant is linked to a lower risk of DCM but an increased risk of HCM, with carriers showing better long-term health outcomes compared to noncarriers.
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There is a paucity of information on the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of autistic children with high support needs. This study aims to address this gap by profiling a cohort of 915 children enrolled in full-time early intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Australia between 2012 and 2024. Intake questionnaires assessed the sociodemographic characteristics of families entering the service.

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Purpose: The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate perceptions of people who stutter and beliefs about the causes and cures of stuttering within the Hispanic/Latino community.

Methods: Respondents who were 18 or older and of Hispanic/Latino origin were invited to respond to a 24-question online survey. Questions involved exploring familiarity with and beliefs regarding etiologies, treatment approaches, treatment providers, stereotypes, and perceptions of people who stutter.

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The frictional behavior of one-dimensional (1D) materials, including nanotubes, nanowires, and nanofibers, significantly influences the efficient fabrication, functionality, and reliability of innovative devices integrating 1D components. Such devices comprise piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators, biosensing and implantable devices, along with biomimetic adhesives based on 1D arrays. This review compiles and critically assesses recent experimental techniques for exploring the frictional behavior of 1D materials.

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  • Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) and X-linked protoporphyria (XLP) are rare conditions causing severe skin reactions to sunlight, and afamelanotide is the only approved treatment that enhances light tolerance and quality of life (QoL).
  • A study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital evaluated 29 adults who received afamelanotide, showing that patients experienced significant increases in time before phototoxic symptoms appeared after sunlight exposure, indicating improved light tolerance.
  • Despite these benefits in light tolerance and QoL, the treatment did not result in improvements in laboratory markers of protoporphyria or liver function.
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  • Researchers have identified calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 (CDPK1) in the protozoan responsible for cryptosporidiosis as a promising target for new therapies.
  • A specific compound, a pyridopyrimidinone, was found to effectively inhibit CdPK1 and prevent the growth of various strains of the parasite in host cells.
  • Although the compound showed low systemic exposure after oral dosing, it achieved high concentrations in the gastrointestinal tract and demonstrated some effectiveness in animal models of the disease.
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Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have been produced by low-dose (1-20 kGy) gamma irradiation of silver nitrate in the presence of graphene-based material (graphene oxide or electrochemically exfoliated graphene). The large surface area of those graphene-based materials combined with the presence of oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface provided successful nucleation and growth of Ag nanoparticles, which resulted in a uniformly covered graphene surface. The obtained Ag nanoparticles were spherical with a predominant size distribution of 10-50 nm for graphene oxide and 10-100 nm for electrochemically exfoliated graphene.

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This work investigated material extrusion additive manufacturing (MatEx AM) of specialized fluoroelastomer (FKM) compounds for applications in rubber seals and gaskets. The influence of a commercially available perfluoropolyether (PFPE) plasticizer on the printability of a control FKM rubber compound was studied using a custom-designed ram material extruder, Additive Ram Material Extruder (ARME), for printing fully compounded thermoset elastomers. The plasticizer's effectiveness was assessed based on its ability to address challenges such as high compound viscosity and post-print shrinkage, as well as its impact on interlayer adhesion.

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In this work, an additive manufacturing process for extruding fully compounded thermosetting elastomers based on fluorine-containing polymer compositions is reported. Additive manufacturing printers are designed with a dry ice container to precool filaments made from curable fluoroelastomer (FKM) and perfluoroelastomer (FFKM) compounds. A support tube guides the stiffened filament towards the printer nozzle.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study presents a measurement of astrophysical tau neutrinos using 9.7 years of data from the IceCube observatory, identifying seven candidate events with energies between 20 TeV and 1 PeV.
  • - Convolutional neural networks were used to analyze simulated event images, helping to estimate the parent tau neutrino energy to be around 200 TeV while facing a background of about 0.5 events primarily from non-tau astrophysical neutrinos.
  • - The results confirmed the presence of astrophysical tau neutrinos at a 5σ significance level, aligning with existing IceCube measurements and theoretical predictions regarding neutrino flux and oscillations.
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In this study, particle loading, polyfluorinated alkyl silanes (PFAS or FAS) content, superhydrophobicity, and crack formation for nanocomposite coatings created by the spray coating process were investigated. The formulations comprised hydrophobic silica, epoxy resin, and fluorine-free or FAS constituents. The effect of FAS content and FAS-free compositions on the silica and epoxy coatings' chemistry, topography, and wetting properties was also studied.

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The SAM1 and SAM2 genes encode for S-Adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) synthetase enzymes, with AdoMet serving as the main cellular methyl donor. We have previously shown that independent deletion of these genes alters chromosome stability and AdoMet concentrations in opposite ways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To characterize other changes occurring in these mutants, we grew wildtype, sam1Δ/sam1Δ, and sam2Δ/sam2Δ strains in 15 different Phenotypic Microarray plates with different components and measured growth variations.

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An amplitude analysis of B^{0}→J/ψϕK_{S}^{0} decays is performed using proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9  fb^{-1}, collected with the LHCb detector at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV. Evidence with a significance of 4.0 standard deviations of a structure in the J/ψK_{S}^{0} system, named T_{ψs1}^{θ}(4000)^{0}, is seen, with its mass and width measured to be 3991_{-10}^{+12} _{-17}^{+9}  MeV/c^{2} and 105_{-25}^{+29} _{-23}^{+17}  MeV, respectively, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic.

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The ratios of branching fractions R(D^{*})≡B(B[over ¯]→D^{*}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ})/B(B[over ¯]→D^{*}μ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{μ}) and R(D^{0})≡B(B^{-}→D^{0}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ})/B(B^{-}→D^{0}μ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{μ}) are measured, assuming isospin symmetry, using a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to 3.0  fb^{-1} of integrated luminosity recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012. The tau lepton is identified in the decay mode τ^{-}→μ^{-}ν_{τ}ν[over ¯]_{μ}.

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Article Synopsis
  • The LHCb experiment measures prompt D^{0} meson production in proton-lead collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8.16 TeV, focusing on both forward and backward rapidity regions.
  • Results reveal significant suppression of D^{0} meson production in the forward rapidity region compared to proton-proton collisions, offering valuable insights into nuclear parton distribution models.
  • In the backward rapidity region, a noteworthy suppression is also observed, particularly in high transverse momentum ranges, challenging existing parton distribution function predictions in a nuclear context.
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The time-integrated CP asymmetry in the Cabibbo-suppressed decay D^{0}→K^{-}K^{+} is measured using proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.7  fb^{-1} collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the LHCb detector. The D^{0} mesons are required to originate from promptly produced D^{*+}→D^{0}π^{+} decays, and the charge of the companion pion is used to determine the flavor of the charm meson at production.

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Searches for the rare hadronic decays B^{0}→pp[over ¯]pp[over ¯] and B_{s}^{0}→pp[over ¯]pp[over ¯] are performed using proton-proton collision data recorded by the LHCb experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9  fb^{-1}. Significances of 9.3σ and 4.

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An amplitude analysis of the B^{+}→D_{s}^{+}D_{s}^{-}K^{+} decay is carried out to study for the first time its intermediate resonant contributions, using proton-proton collision data collected with the LHCb detector at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV. A near-threshold peaking structure, referred to as X(3960), is observed in the D_{s}^{+}D_{s}^{-} invariant-mass spectrum with significance greater than 12 standard deviations. The mass, width, and the quantum numbers of the structure are measured to be 3956±5±10  MeV, 43±13±8  MeV, and J^{PC}=0^{++}, respectively, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic.

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Article Synopsis
  • The LHCb experiment measured the production rates of B_{s}^{0} and B^{0} mesons in proton-proton collisions at a high energy of 13 TeV, focusing on events with different levels of particle density.
  • They observed a significant 3.4σ increase in the ratio of B_{s}^{0} to B^{0} mesons at low transverse momenta (below 6 GeV/c) as the number of charged particles in the event increased, but no significant change at higher momenta.
  • The findings suggest that the hadronic medium's density influences B meson production, which aligns with the idea that quark coalescence might be a key process in creating particles during
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A search for the very rare D^{0}→μ^{+}μ^{-} decay is performed using data collected by the LHCb experiment in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=7, 8, and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9  fb^{-1}. The search is optimized for D^{0} mesons from D^{*+}→D^{0}π^{+} decays but is also sensitive to D^{0} mesons from other sources. No evidence for an excess of events over the expected background is observed.

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The nuclear modification factor of neutral pions is measured in proton-lead collisions collected at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon of 8.16 TeV with the LHCb detector. The π^{0} production cross section is measured differentially in transverse momentum (p_{T}) for 1.

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A combined amplitude analysis is performed for the decays B^{0}→D[over ¯]^{0}D_{s}^{+}π^{-} and B^{+}→D^{-}D_{s}^{+}π^{+}, which are related by isospin symmetry. The analysis is based on data collected by the LHCb detector in proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV. The full data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 9  fb^{-1}.

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An amplitude analysis of B^{-}→J/ψΛp[over ¯] decays is performed using 4400 signal candidates selected on a data sample of pp collisions recorded at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV with the LHCb detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9  fb^{-1}. A narrow resonance in the J/ψΛ system, consistent with a pentaquark candidate with strangeness, is observed with high significance. The mass and the width of this new state are measured to be 4338.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the genetic differences in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) among Black, Hispanic, and White patients, noting that Black patients face higher familial risk and worse health outcomes compared to White patients, despite most existing genetic data coming from the latter group.
  • - Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study involving over 1,000 patients across various US heart failure centers, focusing on genetic variants in 36 DCM-related genes, classified based on their significance and clinical impact.
  • - Findings revealed that Black patients displayed a lower percentage of clinically actionable genetic variants compared to White patients (8.2% vs 25.5%), particularly in the TTN gene, highlighting potential disparities in genetic influences on DCM severity among different ances
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