Unleashing the full power of LHCb to probe stealth new physics.

In this paper, we describe the potential of the LHCb experiment to detect stealth physics. This refers to dynamics beyond the standard model that would elude searches that focus on energetic objects or precision measurements of known processes. Stealth signatures include long-lived particles and light resonances that are produced very rarely or together with overwhelming backgrounds. We will discuss why LHCb is equipped to discover this kind of physics at the Large Hadron Collider and provide examples of well-motivated theoretical models that can be probed with great detail at the experiment.

Monitoring discharge in a tidal river using water level observations: Application to the Saigon River, Vietnam.

The hydrological dynamics of the Saigon River is ruled by a complex combination of factors, which need to be disentangled to prevent and limit risks of flooding and salt intrusion. In particular, the Saigon water discharge is highly influenced by tidal cycles with a relatively low net discharge. This study proposes a low-cost technique to estimate river discharge at high frequency (every 10 min in this study). It is based on a stage-fall-discharge (SFD) rating curve adapted from the general Manning Strickler law, and calibrated thanks to two ADCP campaigns. Two pressure sensors were placed at different locations of the river in September 2016: one at the centre of Ho Chi Minh City and one in Phu Cuong, 40 km upstream approximately. The instantaneous water discharge data were used to evaluate the net residual discharge and to highlight seasonal and inter-annual trends. Both water level and water discharge show a seasonal behaviour. Rainfall, including during the Usagi typhoon that hit the megalopolis in November 2018, has no clear and direct impact on water level and water discharge due to the delta flat morphology and complex response between main channel and side channel network and ground water in this estuarine system under tidal influence. However, we found some evidences of interactions between precipitation, groundwater, the river network and possibly coastal waters. This paper can be seen as a proof of concept to (1) present a low-cost discharge method that can be applied to other tidal rivers, and (2) demonstrate how the high-frequency discharge data obtained with this method can be used to evaluate discharge dynamics in tidal river systems.

The neutral cysteine proteinase of Entamoeba histolytica degrades IgG and prevents its binding.

Patients infected with Entamoeba histolytica generate specific IgG that does not prevent invasive amebiasis or recurrent infection. Studies investigated whether the effectiveness of the human humoral response was limited by cleavage of IgG by the extracellular neutral cysteine proteinase of E. histolytica trophozoites, one of the first amebic products to interact directly with components of host defenses. Purified proteinase cleaved polyclonal human and monoclonal murine IgG in a dose-dependent manner. Peptide sequencing of the major cleavage fragment(s), which contained the protein A binding site, suggested that cleavage occurred near the hinge region. Intact trophozoites also cleave IgG in both growth media and serum-free media. Cleaved monoclonal antibody to a 29-kDa surface antigen of E. histolytica bound to trophozoites 83.5% +/- 6.7% less than did uncleaved antibody. These results suggest that cleavage of IgG by the extracellular cysteine proteinase may limit the effectiveness of the host humoral response.