Enterovirus 71 (EV71) (genus Enterovirus, family Picornaviridae), a common cause of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), may also cause severe neurological diseases, such as encephalitis and poliomyelitis-like paralysis. To examine the genetic diversity and rate of evolution of EV71, we have determined and analyzed complete VP1 sequences (891 nucleotides) for 113 EV71 strains isolated in the United States and five other countries from 1970 to 1998. Nucleotide sequence comparisons demonstrated three distinct EV71 genotypes, designated A, B, and C. The genetic variation within genotypes (12% or fewer nucleotide differences) was less than the variation between genotypes (16.5 to 19.7%). Strains of all three genotypes were at least 94% identical to one another in deduced amino acid sequence. The EV71 prototype strain, BrCr-CA-70, isolated in California in 1970, is the sole member of genotype A. Strains isolated in the United States and Australia during the period from 1972 to 1988, a 1994 Colombian isolate, and isolates from a large HFMD outbreak in Malaysia in 1997 are all members of genotype B. Although strains of genotype B continue to circulate in other parts of the world, none have been isolated in the United States since 1988. Genotype C contains strains isolated in 1985 or later in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the Republic of China. The annual rate of evolution within both the B and C genotypes was estimated to be approximately 1.35 x 10(-2) substitutions per nucleotide and is similar to the rate observed for poliovirus. The results indicate that EV71 is a genetically diverse, rapidly evolving virus. Its worldwide circulation and potential to cause severe disease underscore the need for additional surveillance and improved methods to identify EV71 in human disease.
From April through June 1997, 29 previously healthy children aged <6 years (median, 1.5 years) in Sarawak, Malaysia, died of rapidly progressive cardiorespiratory failure during an outbreak of hand, foot, and mouth disease caused primarily by enterovirus 71 (EV71). The case children were hospitalized after a short illness (median duration, 2 days) that usually included fever (in 100% of case children), oral ulcers (66%), and extremity rashes (62%). The illness rapidly progressed to include seizures (28%), flaccid limb weakness (17%), or cardiopulmonary symptoms (of 24 children, 17 had chest radiographs showing pulmonary edema, and 24 had echocardiograms showing left ventricular dysfunction), resulting in cardiopulmonary arrest soon after hospitalization (median time, 9 h). Cardiac tissue from 10 patients showed normal myocardium, but central nervous system tissue from 5 patients showed inflammatory changes. Brain-stem specimens from 2 patients were available, and both specimens showed extensive neuronal degeneration, inflammation, and necrosis, suggesting that a central nervous system infection was responsible for the disease, with the cardiopulmonary dysfunction being neurogenic in origin. EV71 and possibly an adenovirus, other enteroviruses, or unknown cofactors are likely responsible for this rapidly fatal disease.
Results are presented of a search for a "natural" supersymmetry scenario with gauge mediated symmetry breaking. It is assumed that only the supersymmetric partners of the top quark (the top squark) and the Higgs boson (Higgsino) are accessible. Events are examined in which there are two photons forming a Higgs boson candidate, and at least two b-quark jets. In 19.7 fb-1 of proton-proton collision data at s=8 TeV, recorded in the CMS experiment, no evidence of a signal is found and lower limits at the 95% confidence level are set, excluding the top squark mass below 360 to 410 GeV, depending on the Higgsino mass.
Measurements are reported of the WZ and ZZ production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text][Formula: see text] in final states where one Z boson decays to b-tagged jets. The other gauge boson, either W or Z, is detected through its leptonic decay (either [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], or [Formula: see text]). The results are based on data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 18.9 fb[Formula: see text] collected with the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measured cross sections, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], are consistent with next-to-leading order quantum chromodynamics calculations.
The normalised differential top quark-antiquark production cross section is measured as a function of the jet multiplicity in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7[Formula: see text] at the LHC with the CMS detector. The measurement is performed in both the dilepton and lepton+jets decay channels using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0[Formula: see text]. Using a procedure to associate jets to decay products of the top quarks, the differential cross section of the [Formula: see text] production is determined as a function of the additional jet multiplicity in the lepton+jets channel. Furthermore, the fraction of events with no additional jets is measured in the dilepton channel, as a function of the threshold on the jet transverse momentum. The measurements are compared with predictions from perturbative quantum chromodynamics and no significant deviations are observed.
A measurement of the cross section for the production of top quark-antiquark pairs ([Formula: see text]) in association with a vector boson V (W or Z) in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text][Formula: see text] is presented. The results are based on a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 fb[Formula: see text] recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC. The measurement is performed in three leptonic (e and [Formula: see text]) channels: a same-sign dilepton analysis targeting [Formula: see text] events, and trilepton and four-lepton analyses designed for [Formula: see text] events. In the same-sign dilepton channel, the [Formula: see text] cross section is measured as [Formula: see text], corresponding to a significance of 1.6 standard deviations over the background-only hypothesis. Combining the trilepton and four-lepton channels, a direct measurement of the [Formula: see text] cross section, [Formula: see text], is obtained with a significance of 3.1 standard deviations. The measured cross sections are compatible with standard model predictions within their experimental uncertainties. The inclusive [Formula: see text] process is observed with a significance of 3.7 standard deviations from the combination of all three leptonic channels.
Searches for the direct electroweak production of supersymmetric charginos, neutralinos, and sleptons in a variety of signatures with leptons and [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and Higgs bosons are presented. Results are based on a sample of proton-proton collision data collected at center-of-mass energy [Formula: see text] with the CMS detector in 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 [Formula: see text]. The observed event rates are in agreement with expectations from the standard model. These results probe charginos and neutralinos with masses up to 720 [Formula: see text], and sleptons up to 260 [Formula: see text], depending on the model details.
A measurement of differential cross sections for the production of a pair of isolated photons in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text] is presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0[Formula: see text] collected with the CMS detector. A data-driven isolation template method is used to extract the prompt diphoton yield. The measured cross section for two isolated photons, with transverse energy above 40 and 25[Formula: see text] respectively, in the pseudorapidity range [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and with an angular separation [Formula: see text], is [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]. Differential cross sections are measured as a function of the diphoton invariant mass, the diphoton transverse momentum, the azimuthal angle difference between the two photons, and the cosine of the polar angle in the Collins-Soper reference frame of the diphoton system. The results are compared to theoretical predictions at leading, next-to-leading, and next-to-next-to-leading order in quantum chromodynamics.
Despite the urgent need for sustained development of novel antibacterial compounds to combat the drastic rise in antibiotic resistant and emerging bacterial infections, only a few clinically relevant antibacterial drugs have been recently developed. One of the bottlenecks impeding the development of novel antibacterial compounds is the identification of new enzymatic targets. The nutritionally essential amino acid anabolic pathways, for example lysine biosynthesis, provide an opportunity to explore the development of antibacterial compounds, since human genomes do not possess the genes necessary to synthesize these amino acids de novo. The diaminopimelate (DAP)/lysine (lys) anabolic pathways are attractive targets for antibacterial development since the penultimate lys precursor meso-DAP (m-DAP) is a cross-linking amino acid in the peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall of most Gram-negative bacteria and lys plays a similar role in the PG of most Gram-positive bacteria, in addition to its role as one of the 20 proteogenic amino acids. The L,L-diaminopimelate aminotransferase (DapL) pathway was recently identified as a novel variant of the DAP/lys anabolic pathways. The DapL pathway has been identified in the pathogenic bacteria belonging to the genus; Chlamydia, Leptospira, and Treponema. The dapL gene has been identified in the genomes of 381 or approximately 13% of the 2771 bacteria that have been sequenced, annotated and reposited in the NCBI database, as of May 23, 2014. The narrow distribution of the DapL pathway in the bacterial domain provides an opportunity for the development and or discovery of narrow spectrum antibacterial compounds.
Shrub willow, Salix spp. and hybrids, is an important bioenergy crop. Here we report the whole-genome sequences and annotation of 13 endophytic bacteria from stem tissues of Salix purpurea grown in nature and from commercial cultivars and Salix viminalis × Salix miyabeana grown in bioenergy fields in Geneva, New York.
Here we report the whole-genome sequences of three endophytic bacteria, Enterobacter sp. strain DC1, Enterobacter sp. strain DC3, and Enterobacter sp. strain DC4, from root tubers of the yellow yam plant, Dioscorea cayenensis. Preliminary analyses suggest that the genomes of the three bacteria contain genes involved in acetoin and indole-3-acetic acid metabolism.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify cultural-level variables that may influence the extent to which adolescents from different cultural groups are dissatisfied with their bodies.
DESIGN: A sample of 1730 male and 2000 female adolescents from Australia, Fiji, Malaysia, Tonga, Tongans in New Zealand, China, Chile, and Greece completed measures of body satisfaction, and the sociocultural influences on body image and body change questionnaire, and self-reported height and weight. Country gross domestic product and national obesity were recorded using global databases.
RESULTS: Prevalence of obesity/overweight and cultural endorsement of appearance standards explained variance in individual-level body dissatisfaction (BD) scores, even after controlling for the influence of individual differences in body mass index and internalization of appearance standards.
CONCLUSIONS: Cultural-level variables may account for the development of adolescent BD.
KEYWORDS: GDP; adolescents; body dissatisfaction; culture; sociocultural influences
A search for invisible decays of Higgs bosons is performed using the vector boson fusion and associated ZH production modes. In the ZH mode, the Z boson is required to decay to a pair of charged leptons or a [Formula: see text] quark pair. The searches use the 8 [Formula: see text] pp collision dataset collected by the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to 19.7 [Formula: see text]. Certain channels include data from 7 [Formula: see text] collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 [Formula: see text]. The searches are sensitive to non-standard-model invisible decays of the recently observed Higgs boson, as well as additional Higgs bosons with similar production modes and large invisible branching fractions. In all channels, the observed data are consistent with the expected standard model backgrounds. Limits are set on the production cross section times invisible branching fraction, as a function of the Higgs boson mass, for the vector boson fusion and ZH production modes. By combining all channels, and assuming standard model Higgs boson cross sections and acceptances, the observed (expected) upper limit on the invisible branching fraction at [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] is found to be 0.58 (0.44) at 95 % confidence level. We interpret this limit in terms of a Higgs-portal model of dark matter interactions.
Observation of the diphoton decay mode of the recently discovered Higgs boson and measurement of some of its properties are reported. The analysis uses the entire dataset collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions during the 2011 and 2012 LHC running periods. The data samples correspond to integrated luminosities of 5.1[Formula: see text]at [Formula: see text] and 19.7[Formula: see text]at 8[Formula: see text] . A clear signal is observed in the diphoton channel at a mass close to 125[Formula: see text] with a local significance of [Formula: see text], where a significance of [Formula: see text] is expected for the standard model Higgs boson. The mass is measured to be [Formula: see text] , and the best-fit signal strength relative to the standard model prediction is [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]. Additional measurements include the signal strength modifiers associated with different production mechanisms, and hypothesis tests between spin-0 and spin-2 models.
A search for heavy, right-handed neutrinos, [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]), and right-handed [Formula: see text] bosons, which arise in the left-right symmetric extensions of the standard model, has been performed by the CMS experiment. The search was based on a sample of two lepton plus two jet events collected in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8[Formula: see text] corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 [Formula: see text]. For models with strict left-right symmetry, and assuming only one [Formula: see text] flavor contributes significantly to the [Formula: see text] decay width, the region in the two-dimensional [Formula: see text] mass plane excluded at a 95 % confidence level extends to approximately [Formula: see text] and covers a large range of neutrino masses below the [Formula: see text] boson mass, depending on the value of [Formula: see text]. This search significantly extends the [Formula: see text] exclusion region beyond previous results.
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 W(±)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.
The purely electroweak (EW) cross section for the production of two jets in association with a Z boson, in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text], is measured using data recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7[Formula: see text]. The electroweak cross section for the [Formula: see text] final state (with [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text] and j representing the quarks produced in the hard interaction) in the kinematic region defined by [Formula: see text][Formula: see text], [Formula: see text][Formula: see text], transverse momentum [Formula: see text][Formula: see text], and pseudorapidity [Formula: see text], is found to be [Formula: see text], in agreement with the standard model prediction. The associated jet activity of the selected events is studied, in particular in a signal-enriched region of phase space, and the measurements are found to be in agreement with QCD predictions.
A search for new long-lived particles decaying to leptons is presented using proton-proton collisions produced by the LHC at √[s]=8 TeV. Data used for the analysis were collected by the CMS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1). Events are selected with an electron and muon with opposite charges that both have transverse impact parameter values between 0.02 and 2 cm. The search has been designed to be sensitive to a wide range of models with nonprompt e-μ final states. Limits are set on the "displaced supersymmetry" model, with pair production of top squarks decaying into an e-μ final state via R-parity-violating interactions. The results are the most restrictive to date on this model, with the most stringent limit being obtained for a top squark lifetime corresponding to cτ=2 cm, excluding masses below 790 GeV at 95% confidence level.
Results are presented from a search for new decaying massive particles whose presence is inferred from an imbalance in transverse momentum and which are produced in association with a single top quark that decays into a bottom quark and two light quarks. The measurement is performed using 19.7 fb^{-1} of data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. No deviations from the standard model predictions are observed and lower limits are set on the masses of new invisible bosons. In particular, scalar and vector particles, with masses below 330 and 650 GeV, respectively, are excluded at 95% confidence level, thereby substantially extending a previous limit published by the CDF Collaboration.
Measurements of the differential and double-differential Drell-Yan cross sections in the dielectron and dimuon channels are presented. They are based on proton-proton collision data at [Formula: see text] recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7[Formula: see text]. The measured inclusive cross section in the [Formula: see text] peak region (60-120[Formula: see text]), obtained from the combination of the dielectron and dimuon channels, is [Formula: see text], where the statistical uncertainty is negligible. The differential cross section [Formula: see text] in the dilepton mass range 15-2000[Formula: see text] is measured and corrected to the full phase space. The double-differential cross section [Formula: see text] is also measured over the mass range 20 to 1500[Formula: see text] and absolute dilepton rapidity from 0 to 2.4. In addition, the ratios of the normalized differential cross sections measured at [Formula: see text] and 8[Formula: see text] are presented. These measurements are compared to the predictions of perturbative QCD at next-to-leading and next-to-next-to-leading (NNLO) orders using various sets of parton distribution functions (PDFs). The results agree with the NNLO theoretical predictions computed with fewz 3.1 using the CT10 NNLO and NNPDF2.1 NNLO PDFs. The measured double-differential cross section and ratio of normalized differential cross sections are sufficiently precise to constrain the proton PDFs.