New Structures in the J/ψJ/ψ Mass Spectrum in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

A search is reported for near-threshold structures in the J/ψJ/ψ invariant mass spectrum produced in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=13  TeV from data collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 135  fb^{-1}. Three structures are found, and a model with quantum interference among these structures provides a good description of the data. A new structure is observed with a local significance above 5 standard deviations at a mass of 6638_{-38}^{+43}(stat)_{-31}^{+16}(syst)  MeV.

The sperm ultrastructure of Spermophagus kuesteri Schilsky, 1905 (Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae) and considerations on the relationships of Cucujiformia superfamilies.

The sperm ultrastructure of the bean-weevil Spermophagus kuesteri (Bruchinae) was studied to verify the congruence of the new position of the subfamily within Chrysomelidae. The results indicated a positive answer to the question supporting a close relationship between Chrysomelidae and Curculionidae, a finding confirmed also by molecular data. Moreover, the sperm morphology of Divales cinctus, a member of Melyridae (Cleroidea) allowed to confirm the different sperm organization between members of this superfamily and Phytophaga (Chrysomeloidea + Curculionoidea).

Real-time monitoring of riboflavin concentration using different clinically available ophthalmic formulations for epi-off and epi-on corneal cross-linking.

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of theranostics to determine the riboflavin concentration in the cornea using clinically available ophthalmic formulations during epithelium-off (epi-off) and transepithelial (epi-on) corneal cross-linking procedures.

Methods: Thirty-two eye bank human donor corneas were equally randomized in eight groups; groups 1 to 3 and groups 4 to 8 underwent epi-off and epi-on delivery of riboflavin respectively. Riboflavin ophthalmic solutions were applied onto the cornea according to the manufacturers' instructions.

Picosecond quantum-classical dynamics reveals that the coexistence of light-induced microbial and animal chromophore rotary motion modulates the isomerization quantum yield of heliorhodopsin.

Rhodopsins are light-responsive proteins forming two vast and evolutionary distinct superfamilies whose functions are invariably triggered by the photoisomerization of a single retinal chromophore. In 2018 a third widespread superfamily of rhodopsins called heliorhodopsins was discovered using functional metagenomics. Heliorhodopsins, with their markedly different structural features with respect to the animal and microbial superfamilies, offer an opportunity to study how evolution has manipulated the chromophore photoisomerization to achieve adaptation.

Perturbation and resilience of the gut microbiome up to 3 months after β-lactams exposure in healthy volunteers suggest an important role of microbial β-lactamases.

Background: Antibiotics notoriously perturb the gut microbiota. We treated healthy volunteers either with cefotaxime or ceftriaxone for 3 days, and collected in each subject 12 faecal samples up to day 90. Using untargeted and targeted phenotypic and genotypic approaches, we studied the changes in the bacterial, phage and fungal components of the microbiota as well as the metabolome and the β-lactamase activity of the stools.

A Computational Perspective on the Reactivity of π-spacers in Self-Immolative Elimination Reactions.

The controlled release of chemicals, especially in drug delivery, is crucial, often employing "self-immolative" spacers to enhance reliability. These spacers separate the payload from the protecting group, ensuring a more controlled release. Over the years, design rules have been proposed to improve the elimination process's reaction rate by modifying spacers with electron-donating groups or reducing their aromaticity.

Search for Scalar Leptoquarks Produced via τ-Lepton-Quark Scattering in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

The first search for scalar leptoquarks produced in τ-lepton-quark collisions is presented. It is based on a set of proton-proton collision data recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138  fb^{-1}. The reconstructed final state consists of a jet, significant missing transverse momentum, and a τ lepton reconstructed through its hadronic or leptonic decays.

Sperm morphology of Tingidae Laporte, 1833 (Miroidea: Cimicomorpha).

Here, we describe for the first time the sperm morphology of Tingidae (Heteroptera). They are small insects presenting lacy patterns on their pronotum and hemielytra and are exclusively phytophagous, with many economically important species. We studied five species of the tribe Tingini (Tinginae): Teleonemia scrupulosa, Vatiga illudens, Gargaphia lunulata, Leptopharsa sp.

Formation of electron traps in semiconducting polymers via a slow triple-encounter between trap precursor particles.

Already in 2012, Blom et al. reported (Nature Materials 2012, , 882) in semiconducting polymers on a general electron-trap density of ≈3 × 10 cm, centered at an energy of ≈3.6 eV below vacuum.

Search for Inelastic Dark Matter in Events with Two Displaced Muons and Missing Transverse Momentum in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

A search for dark matter in events with a displaced nonresonant muon pair and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is performed using an integrated luminosity of 138  fb^{-1} of proton-proton (pp) collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV produced by the LHC in 2016-2018. No significant excess over the predicted backgrounds is observed.

3,3'-O-dimethylquercetin: A bi-functional vasodilator isolated from green propolis of the Caatinga Mimosa tenuiflora.

In the search for novel, bi-functional compounds acting as Ca1.2 channel blockers and K channel stimulators, which represent an effective therapy for hypertension, 3,3'-O-dimethylquercetin was isolated for the first time from Brazilian Caatinga green propolis. Its effects were investigated through electrophysiological, functional, and computational approaches.

Evidence for the Higgs Boson Decay to a Z Boson and a Photon at the LHC.

The first evidence for the Higgs boson decay to a Z boson and a photon is presented, with a statistical significance of 3.4 standard deviations. The result is derived from a combined analysis of the searches performed by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations with proton-proton collision datasets collected at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) from 2015 to 2018.

Luminosity determination using Z boson production at the CMS experiment.

The measurement of Z boson production is presented as a method to determine the integrated luminosity of CMS data sets. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data, recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in 2017 at a center-of-mass energy of 13. Events with Z bosons decaying into a pair of muons are selected.

Probing Small Bjorken-x Nuclear Gluonic Structure via Coherent J/ψ Photoproduction in Ultraperipheral Pb-Pb Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV.

Quasireal photons exchanged in relativistic heavy ion interactions are powerful probes of the gluonic structure of nuclei. The coherent J/ψ photoproduction cross section in ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions is measured as a function of photon-nucleus center-of-mass energies per nucleon (W_{γN}^{Pb}) over a wide range of 40 View Article and Find Full Text PDF

All-optical multilevel physical unclonable functions.

Disordered photonic structures are promising for the realization of physical unclonable functions-physical objects that can overcome the limitations of conventional digital security and can enable cryptographic protocols immune against attacks by future quantum computers. The physical configuration of traditional physical unclonable functions is either fixed or can only be permanently modified, allowing one token per device and limiting their practicality. Here we overcome this limitation by creating reconfigurable structures made by light-transformable polymers in which the physical structure of the unclonable function can be reconfigured reversibly.

A tri(ethylene glycol)-tethered Morita-Baylis-Hillman dimer in the formation of macrocyclic crown ether-paracyclophane hybrid structures.

A Morita-Baylis-Hillman acetate was dimerized by a click-chemistry Copper(i)-Catalysed Azide-Alkyne Cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction employing a tri(ethylene glycol) diazide derivative to obtain a dimeric MBHA derivative. The reaction of this dimeric MBHA derivative with -butylamine afforded a photoisomerizable macrocyclic crown ether-paracyclophane hybrid architecture that is potentially useful in a large variety of applications as well as those already well-known for crown ethers.

Electrophysiology, molecular modelling, and functional analysis of the effects of dietary quercetin and flavonoid analogues on K6.1 channels in rat stomach fundus smooth muscle.

Flavonoids, ubiquitously distributed in the plant world, are regularly ingested with diets rich in fruit, vegetables, wine, and tea. During digestion, they are partially absorbed in the stomach. The present work aimed to assess the in vitro effects of quercetin and ten structurally related flavonoids on the rat gastric fundus smooth muscle, focussing on ATP-dependent K (K6.

Comparative Study of Uracil Excited-State Photophysics in Water and Acetonitrile via RMS-CASPT2-Driven Quantum-Classical Trajectories.

We present a nonadiabatic molecular dynamics study of the ultrafast processes occurring in uracil upon UV light absorption, leading to electronic excitation and subsequent nonradiative decay. Previous studies have indicated that the mechanistic details of this process are drastically different depending on whether the process takes place in the gas phase, acetonitrile, or water. However, such results have been produced using quantum chemical methods that did not incorporate both static and dynamic electron correlation.

Assessment of the Electron Correlation Treatment on the Quantum-Classical Dynamics of Retinal Protonated Schiff Base Models: XMS-CASPT2, RMS-CASPT2, and REKS Methods.

We compare the performance of three different multiconfigurational wave function-based electronic structure methods and two implementations of the spin-restricted ensemble-referenced Kohn-Sham (REKS) method. The study is characterized by three features: (i) it uses a small set of quantum-classical trajectories rather than potential energy surface mapping, (ii) it focuses, exclusively, on the photoisomerization of retinal protonated Schiff base models, and (iii) it probes the effect of both methyl substitution and the increase in length of the conjugate π-system. For each tested method, the corresponding analytical gradients are used to drive the quantum-classical (Tully's FSSH method) trajectory propagation, including the recent multistate XMS-CASPT2 and RMS-CASPT2 gradients.

Measurement of the top quark mass using a profile likelihood approach with the lepton + jets final states in proton-proton collisions at .

The mass of the top quark is measured in 36.3 of LHC proton-proton collision data collected with the CMS detector at . The measurement uses a sample of top quark pair candidate events containing one isolated electron or muon and at least four jets in the final state.

Observation of τ Lepton Pair Production in Ultraperipheral Pb-Pb Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV.

We present an observation of photon-photon production of τ lepton pairs in ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions. The measurement is based on a data sample with an integrated luminosity of 404  μb^{-1} collected by the CMS experiment at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV.