Study of hadronic event-shape variables in multijet final states in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Peer reviewe

Constraints on parton distribution functions and extraction of the strong coupling constant from the inclusive jet cross section in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Peer reviewe

Histological Evaluation of Corneal Scar Formation in Pseudophakic Bullous Keratopathy

PURPOSE: To evaluate histological changes in the corneal stroma in pseudophakic bullous keratopathy. METHODS: Twenty-eight patients (28 eyes) with pseudophakic bullous keratopathy underwent therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty at Shandong Eye Institute between January 2006 and November 2011. The patients were divided into two groups according to the duration of bullous keratopathy (<1.0 year group or >1.0 year group), and three buttons from enucleated eyes with choroidal melanoma served as a control. In vivo confocal microscopy examination, hematoxylin-eosin, Masson's trichrome stain and Van Gieson staining were used for microscopic examination. The histological evaluation and scoring of the buttons for morphological changes, including the degree of stromal scars, neovascularization and inflammatory cells within the corneal buttons, were compared. To study the underlying mechanism, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and TGF-β immunohistochemistry were performed. RESULTS: Confocal microscopy examination and histological evaluation and scoring of the buttons showed that compared with the <1.0 year group, stromal scars, neovascularization and inflammatory cells were more severe in the >1.0 year group (P<0.05). There was an increase in CTGF- and TGF-β1-positive stromal cells in the >1.0 year group. CONCLUSIONS: During the progression of pseudophakic bullous keratopathy, stromal scars occurred more often in the patients that had a longer duration of disease. Cytokines such as CTGF and TGF-β1 may play a role in this pathological process and deserve further investigation

Predicting Eye Fixations on Complex Visual Stimuli Using Local Symmetry

Most bottom-up models that predict human eye fixations are based on contrast features. The saliency model of Itti, Koch and Niebur is an example of such contrast-saliency models. Although the model has been successfully compared to human eye fixations, we show that it lacks preciseness in the prediction of fixations on mirror-symmetrical forms. The contrast model gives high response at the borders, whereas human observers consistently look at the symmetrical center of these forms. We propose a saliency model that predicts eye fixations using local mirror symmetry. To test the model, we performed an eye-tracking experiment with participants viewing complex photographic images and compared the data with our symmetry model and the contrast model. The results show that our symmetry model predicts human eye fixations significantly better on a wide variety of images including many that are not selected for their symmetrical content. Moreover, our results show that especially early fixations are on highly symmetrical areas of the images. We conclude that symmetry is a strong predictor of human eye fixations and that it can be used as a predictor of the order of fixation

Study of Vector Boson Scattering and Search for New Physics in Events with Two Same-Sign Leptons and Two Jets

A study of vector boson scattering in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV is presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 19.4 fb(-1) collected with the CMS detector. Candidate events are selected with exactly two leptons of the same charge, two jets with large rapidity separation and high dijet mass, and moderate missing transverse energy. The signal region is expected to be dominated by electroweak same-sign W-boson pair production. The observation agrees with the standard model prediction. The observed significance is 2.0 standard deviations, where a significance of 3.1 standard deviations is expected based on the standard model. Cross section measurements for (WW +/-)-W-+/- and WZ processes in the fiducial region are reported. Bounds on the structure of quartic vector-boson interactions are given in the framework of dimension-eight effective field theory operators, as well as limits on the production of doubly charged Higgs bosons

Measurement of prompt J/ψ pair production in pp collisions at√s = 7 Tev

Abstract: Production of prompt J/ψ meson pairs in proton-proton collisions at (formula presented.) = 7 TeV is measured with the CMS experiment at the LHC in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 4.7 fb−1. The two J/ψ mesons are fully reconstructed via their decays into μ+μ− pairs. This observation provides for the first time access to the high-transverse-momentum region of J/ψ pair production where model predictions are not yet established. The total and differential cross sections are measured in a phase space defined by the individual J/ψ transverse momentum (pTJ/ψ) and rapidity (|yJ/ψ|): |yJ/ψ | 6.5 GeV/c; 1.2 4.5 GeV/c. The total cross section, assuming unpolarized prompt J/ψ pair production is 1.49 ± 0.07 (stat) ±0.13 (syst) nb. Different assumptions about the J/ψ polarization imply modifications to the cross section ranging from −31% to +27%

CXCR2 Inhibition Combined with Sorafenib Improved Antitumor and Antiangiogenic Response in Preclinical Models of Ovarian Cancer

The authors thank Drs. Kar-Ming Fung and Muralidharan Jayaraman, and Ms. Sheeja Aravindan for their help with the IHC experiments. The authors also thank the OUHSC Histology and Molecular Imaging Cores for their service and technical assistance.Antiangiogenic therapy is important for the treatment of gynecological cancer. However, the therapeutic benefit derived from these treatments is transient, predominantly due to the selective activation of compensatory proangiogenic pathways that lead to rapid development of resistance. We aimed to identify and target potential alternative signaling to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy, with a view toward developing a combination of antiangiogenic agents to provide extended therapeutic benefits. We developed a preclinical in vivo phenotypic resistance model of ovarian cancer resistant to antiangiogenic therapy. We measured dynamic changes in secreted chemokines and angiogenic signaling in tumors and plasma in response to anti-VEGF treatment, as tumors advanced from the initial responsive phase to progressive disease. In tumors that progressed following sorafenib treatment, gene and protein expression levels of proangiogenic CXC chemokines and their receptors were significantly elevated, compared with responsive tumors. The chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 8 (CXCL8), also known as interleukin-8 (IL-8) increase was time-dependent and coincided with the dynamics of tumor progression. We used SB225002, a pharmacological inhibitor of chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 2 (CXCR2), to disrupt the CXC chemokine-mediated functions of ovarian cancer cells in in vitro assays of cell growth inhibition, spheroid formation, and cell migration. The combination of CXCR2 inhibitor with sorafenib led to a synergistic inhibition of cell growth in vitro, and further stabilized tumor progression following sorafenib in vivo. Our results suggest that CXCR2-mediated chemokines may represent an important compensatory pathway that promotes resistance to antiangiogenic therapy in ovarian cancer. Thus, simultaneous blockage of this proangiogenic cytokine pathway using CXCR2 inhibitors and the VEGF receptor (VEGFR) pathway could improve the outcomes of antiangiogenic therapy.Yeshttp://www.plosone.org/static/editorial#pee