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Treating symptoms and preventing exacerbations are key components of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) long-term management. Recently, a more tailored treatment approach has been proposed, in particular for two well-established clinical phenotypes, frequent exacerbators and chronic bronchitis-dominant COPD. ELOM-080 has demonstrated clinical efficacy in treating symptoms and preventing exacerbations in subjects with chronic bronchitis. However, little is known about the potential effects of ELOM-080 in COPD patients. To evaluate the effect on exacerbation, cough sputum, and general state of health of long-term treatment with ELOM-080 in COPD patients with an exacerbation history and chronic bronchitis. We performed a post-hoc analysis of a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled parallel-group clinical trial of a 6-month treatment with ELOM-080 (3×300 mg) in patients with chronic bronchitis and concomitant COPD. The primary outcome was the proportion of subjects with at least one exacerbation over the 6-month study period. Secondary outcomes included the total number of exacerbations (ie, cumulative occurrence of exacerbations during the study period) and the proportion of acute exacerbations necessitating an antibiotic treatment, monthly evaluations of sputum and cough symptoms, and the general state of health and a safety analysis. Of 260 randomized subjects, 64 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria for COPD (ELOM-080: 35, placebo: 29). Compared to placebo, ELOM-080 reduced the percentage of subjects with at least one exacerbation (29% versus 55%, =0.031) and a reduction in the overall occurrence of exacerbations (ELOM-080: 10, placebo: 21, =0.012) during the winter season. The percentage of asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients (sputum/expectoration and cough) was consistently higher in the ELOM-080 group compared to placebo, with statistical significant differences after 2 and 3 months of treatment (2 months: ELOM-080 25%, placebo 11%, <0.005; 3 months: ELOM-080 26%, placebo 14%, <0.05). Likewise the subjective rating of general health status was better in the ELOM-080 group with statistically significant superiority after 2 and 3 months of treatment (2-month treatment: =0.015; 3-month treatment: =0.024). Tolerability results were comparable between ELOM-080 and placebo. ELOM-080 is efficacious in patients with COPD and a chronic bronchitis phenotype. Prophylactic use reduces the rate of exacerbations and improves the key symptoms of sputum and cough with a favorable long-term tolerability profile.

Tinnitus is the perception of sound without an external auditive stimulus and can be a severe burden for affected patients. Medical guidelines recommend cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for tinnitus treatment, which effectively improves tinnitus-related distress and anxiety. This study investigates the outcome of a 9-month smartphone-based CBT for patients with tinnitus. The randomized controlled clinical trial in this study investigates the efficacy of a smartphone-based CBT for 187 patients with chronic tinnitus over a 9-month treatment period. In the initial 3 months, a waiting list design was applied, and in the subsequent study phase, the data of both treatment groups were collectively analyzed. The scores on the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ); 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9); 9-item Self-Efficacy, Optimism, Pessimism (SWOP-K9) questionnaire; and 20-item Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-20) were assessed as endpoints after 3 and 9 months of treatment. We observed a statistically significant reduction in the tinnitus burden in patients who received the smartphone-based CBT intervention. Although no changes were observed initially in the TQ sum scores in the waiting control group (baseline mean, 37.8, SD 4.7; 3 months mean 37.5, SD 4.8; analysis of covariance [ANCOVA] P=.52), the scores significantly decreased once the app-based CBT had commenced. Data pooled from both groups revealed significant reduction in the TQ sum score by 12.49 (SD 1.44) (ANCOVA, P<.001) and 18.48 (SD 1.85) (ANCOVA, P<.001) points after 3 and 9 months, respectively, which was also clinically important. The calculated Cohen d was 1.38. Similarly, the scores on PSQ-20 (-9.14 points; ANCOVA, P<.001), PHQ-9 (-2.47 points; ANCOVA, P<.001), and SWOP-K9 (0.17 points; ANCOVA, P<.001) were significantly improved at the end of the therapy, with corresponding intermediate effect sizes after 9 months. The data in our study provide evidence of statistically significant, clinically relevant, and continuous benefits of an app-based CBT intervention in patients with chronic tinnitus. Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien DRKS00022973; https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00022973.

A bstract This paper describes a measurement of the Z / γ * boson transverse momentum spectrum using ATLAS proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of s = 7 TeV at the LHC. The measurement is performed in the Z / γ * → e + e − and Z / γ * → μ + μ − channels, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb −1 . Normalized differential cross sections as a function of the Z / γ * boson transverse momentum are measured for transverse momenta up to 800 GeV. The measurement is performed inclusively for Z / γ * rapidities up to 2.4, as well as in three rapidity bins. The channel results are combined, compared to perturbative and resummed QCD calculations and used to constrain the parton shower parameters of Monte Carlo generators.

This paper presents the electron and photon energy calibration achieved with the ATLAS detector using about 25 fb - 1 of LHC proton–proton collision data taken at centre-of-mass energies of s = 7 and 8 TeV. The reconstruction of electron and photon energies is optimised using multivariate algorithms. The response of the calorimeter layers is equalised in data and simulation, and the longitudinal profile of the electromagnetic showers is exploited to estimate the passive material in front of the calorimeter and reoptimise the detector simulation. After all corrections, the Z resonance is used to set the absolute energy scale. For electrons from Z decays, the achieved calibration is typically accurate to 0.05 % in most of the detector acceptance, rising to 0.2 % in regions with large amounts of passive material. The remaining inaccuracy is less than 0.2–1 % for electrons with a transverse energy of 10 GeV, and is on average 0.3 % for photons. The detector resolution is determined with a relative inaccuracy of less than 10 % for electrons and photons up to 60 GeV transverse energy, rising to 40 % for transverse energies above 500 GeV.

A bstract A search for heavy Majorana neutrinos in events containing a pair of high- p T leptons of the same charge and high- p T jets is presented. The search uses 20.3 fb −1 of pp collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider with a centre-of-mass energy of s = 8 TeV. The data are found to be consistent with the background-only hypothesis based on the Standard Model expectation. In the context of a Type-I seesaw mechanism, limits are set on the production cross-section times branching ratio for production of heavy Majorana neutrinos in the mass range between 100 and 500 GeV. The limits are subsequently interpreted as limits on the mixing between the heavy Majorana neutrinos and the Standard Model neutrinos. In the context of a left-right symmetric model, limits on the production cross-section times branching ratio are set with respect to the masses of heavy Majorana neutrinos and heavy gauge bosons W R and Z ′.

The jet energy scale (JES) and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector using proton–proton collision data with a centre-of-mass energy of s = 7  TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb - 1 . Jets are reconstructed from energy deposits forming topological clusters of calorimeter cells using the anti- k t algorithm with distance parameters R = 0.4 or R = 0.6 , and are calibrated using MC simulations. A residual JES correction is applied to account for differences between data and MC simulations. This correction and its systematic uncertainty are estimated using a combination of in situ techniques exploiting the transverse momentum balance between a jet and a reference object such as a photon or a Z boson, for 20 ≤ p T jet < 1000 GeV and pseudorapidities | η | < 4.5 . The effect of multiple proton–proton interactions is corrected for, and an uncertainty is evaluated using in situ techniques. The smallest JES uncertainty of less than 1 % is found in the central calorimeter region ( | η | < 1.2 ) for jets with 55 ≤ p T jet < 500 GeV . For central jets at lower p T , the uncertainty is about 3 %. A consistent JES estimate is found using measurements of the calorimeter response of single hadrons in proton–proton collisions and test-beam data, which also provide the estimate for p T jet > 1  TeV. The calibration of forward jets is derived from dijet p T balance measurements. The resulting uncertainty reaches its largest value of 6 % for low- p T jets at | η | = 4.5 . Additional JES uncertainties due to specific event topologies, such as close-by jets or selections of event samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks or gluons, are also discussed. The magnitude of these uncertainties depends on the event sample used in a given physics analysis, but typically amounts to 0.5–3 %.

A bstract Charged-particle spectra obtained in Pb+Pb interactions at s N N = 2.76 TeV and pp interactions at s N N = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are presented, using data with integrated luminosities of 0.15 nb −1 and 4.2 pb −1 , respectively, in a wide transverse momentum (0 . 5 < p T < 150 GeV) and pseudorapidity (| η | < 2) range. For Pb+Pb collisions, the spectra are presented as a function of collision centrality, which is determined by the response of the forward calorimeters located on both sides of the interaction point. The nuclear modification factors R AA and R CP are presented in detail as a function of centrality, p T and η . They show a distinct p T -dependence with a pronounced minimum at about 7 GeV. Above 60 GeV, R AA is consistent with a plateau at a centrality-dependent value, within the uncertainties. The value is 0 . 55 ± 0 . 01(stat . ) ± 0 . 04(syst . ) in the most central collisions. The R AA distribution is consistent with flat | η | dependence over the whole transverse momentum range in all centrality classes.

A bstract A search for pair production of vector-like quarks, both up-type ( T ) and down-type ( B ), as well as for four-top-quark production, is presented. The search is based on pp collisions at s = 8 TeV recorded in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb −1 . Data are analysed in the lepton-plus-jets final state, characterised by an isolated electron or muon with high transverse momentum, large missing transverse momentum and multiple jets. Dedicated analyses are performed targeting three cases: a T quark with significant branching ratio to a W boson and a b -quark T T ¯ → Wb + X , and both a T quark and a B quark with significant branching ratio to a Higgs boson and a third-generation quark ( T T ¯ → H t + X and B B ¯ → H b + X respectively). No significant excess of events above the Standard Model expectation is observed, and 95% CL lower limits are derived on the masses of the vector-like T and B quarks under several branching ratio hypotheses assuming contributions from T → Wb , Zt , Ht and B → Wt , Zb , Hb decays. The 95% CL observed lower limits on the T quark mass range between 715 GeV and 950 GeV for all possible values of the branching ratios into the three decay modes, and are the most stringent constraints to date. Additionally, the most restrictive upper bounds on four-top-quark production are set in a number of new physics scenarios.

A bstract A search for squarks and gluinos in final states containing high- p T jets, missing transverse momentum and no electrons or muons is presented. The data were recorded in 2012 by the ATLAS experiment in s = 8 TeV proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, with a total integrated luminosity of 20 . 3 fb −1 . Results are interpreted in a variety of simplified and specific supersymmetry-breaking models assuming that R -parity is conserved and that the lightest neutralino is the lightest supersymmetric particle. An exclusion limit at the 95% confidence level on the mass of the gluino is set at 1330 GeV for a simplified model incorporating only a gluino and the lightest neutralino. For a simplified model involving the strong production of first- and second-generation squarks, squark masses below 850 GeV (440 GeV) are excluded for a massless lightest neutralino, assuming mass degenerate (single light-flavour) squarks. In mSUGRA/CMSSM models with tan β = 30, A 0 = −2 m 0 and μ > 0, squarks and gluinos of equal mass are excluded for masses below 1700 GeV. Additional limits are set for non-universal Higgs mass models with gaugino mediation and for simplified models involving the pair production of gluinos, each decaying to a top squark and a top quark, with the top squark decaying to a charm quark and a neutralino. These limits extend the region of supersymmetric parameter space excluded by previous searches with the ATLAS detector.

(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae and/or non-USASCII text omitted; see image) Abstract A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three leptons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 20.3 fb^sup -1^ of ... = 8 TeV proton-proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with the Standard Model expectations and limits are set in R-parity-conserving phenomenological Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Models and in simplified supersymmetric models, significantly extending previous results. For simplified supersymmetric models of direct chargino ... and next-to-lightest neutralino ... production with decays to lightest neutralino ... via either all three generations of sleptons, staus only, gauge bosons, or Higgs bosons, ... and ... masses are excluded up to 700 GeV, 380 GeV, 345 GeV, or 148 GeV respectively, for a massless ... [Figure not available: see fulltext.]