Flavour physics as a window to new physics searches.

Flavour physics is one of the essential elements of the Standard Model (SM). Experimental studies of weak decays of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] mesons at [Formula: see text] factories have, together with the discovery of the Higgs boson at LHC, provided the final confirmation of the validity of the SM. The present generation of precision flavour physics experiments is looking for departures from the SM. We discuss studies of anomalies in [Formula: see text] hadron decays, and studies of rare decays, which are a very promising method for searching for new physics. This article is part of the theme issue 'The particle-gravity frontier'.

Resistance and Strength of Conductive PLA Processed by FDM Additive Manufacturing.

There is a large number of materials that can be used for FDM additive manufacturing technology. These materials have different strength properties, they are designed for different purposes. They can be highly strong or flexible, abrasion-resistant, or designed for example for environments with higher thermal loads. However recently new innovative and progressive materials have come to the practice, which include nano-composite particles, bringing new added value. One such material is the Conductive PLA material, which is capable of conducting electric current. The aim of this article is to present the material properties of this material. The article describes the design of the experiment, the process of measuring the resistance of samples printed by FDM device, measuring the maximum tensile strength of samples. The article includes a statistical evaluation of the measured data, with the determination of the significance of individual factors of the experiment as well as the evaluation of the overall result of the experiments.

Roadmap toward the 10 ps time-of-flight PET challenge.

Since the seventies, positron emission tomography (PET) has become an invaluable medical molecular imaging modality with an unprecedented sensitivity at the picomolar level, especially for cancer diagnosis and the monitoring of its response to therapy. More recently, its combination with x-ray computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) has added high precision anatomic information in fused PET/CT and PET/MR images, thus compensating for the modest intrinsic spatial resolution of PET. Nevertheless, a number of medical challenges call for further improvements in PET sensitivity. These concern in particular new treatment opportunities in the context personalized (also called precision) medicine, such as the need to dynamically track a small number of cells in cancer immunotherapy or stem cells for tissue repair procedures. A better signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the image would allow detecting smaller size tumours together with a better staging of the patients, thus increasing the chances of putting cancer in complete remission. Moreover, there is an increasing demand for reducing the radioactive doses injected to the patients without impairing image quality. There are three ways to improve PET scanner sensitivity: improving detector efficiency, increasing geometrical acceptance of the imaging device and pushing the timing performance of the detectors. Currently, some pre-localization of the electron-positron annihilation along a line-of-response (LOR) given by the detection of a pair of annihilation photons is provided by the detection of the time difference between the two photons, also known as the time-of-flight (TOF) difference of the photons, whose accuracy is given by the coincidence time resolution (CTR). A CTR of about 10 picoseconds FWHM will ultimately allow to obtain a direct 3D volume representation of the activity distribution of a positron emitting radiopharmaceutical, at the millimetre level, thus introducing a quantum leap in PET imaging and quantification and fostering more frequent use of 11C radiopharmaceuticals. The present roadmap article toward the advent of 10 ps TOF-PET addresses the status and current/future challenges along the development of TOF-PET with the objective to reach this mythic 10 ps frontier that will open the door to real-time volume imaging virtually without tomographic inversion. The medical impact and prospects to achieve this technological revolution from the detection and image reconstruction point-of-views, together with a few perspectives beyond the TOF-PET application are discussed.

Simulation study to improve the performance of a whole-body PbF2 Cherenkov TOF-PET scanner.

Using Cherenkov radiation in positron emission tomography (PET) has the potential to improve the time of flight (TOF) resolution and reduce the cost of detectors. In previous studies promising TOF results were achieved when lead fluoride (PbF2) crystals were used instead of a scintillator. In this work, a whole-body PbF2 Cherenkov TOF-PET scanner was simulated and optimized. Different configurations of the PbF2 crystals and their surface treatment were considered. Also evaluated was the influence of the crystal-photodetector coupling and of the detection efficiency of the photodetectors. Of special interest is a whole-body PbF2 Cherenkov TOF-PET scanner with a multi-layer detector, which improves the time resolution and reduces the parallax error, without compromising the detection efficiency. Images of a phantom were reconstructed for different configurations of the simulated whole-body PbF2 Cherenkov TOF-PET scanner and the quality of images was compared to that of a whole-body TOF-PET scanner with standard LSO scintillators. The TOF resolution of the whole-body PbF2 Cherenkov TOF-PET scanner with a multi-layer detector was 143 ps FWHM, out of which the fundamental limitation due to light production and transportation was only 22 ps FWHM.

Novel MLH1 and MSH2 germline mutations in the first HNPCC families identified in Slovakia.

Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is a dominantly-inherited cancer predisposition syndrome, in which the susceptibility to cancer of the colon, endometrium and ovary is linked to germline mutations in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes. We have recently initiated a cancer prevention program in suspected HNPCC families in the Slovak Republic. The first ten families fulfilling Amsterdam criteria or Bethesda guidelines were screened for germline mutations in MLH1 and MSH2, two MMR genes most frequently mutated in HNPCC families. Six mutations were identified, five of which have not been reported previously. Two of the three new mutations in MLH1 (c.380+2T>A; c.307-2A>C) were absent from 100 chromosomes of healthy controls and probably cause a splicing defect, while the third was a 1 bp deletion (c.1261delA). In the MSH2 gene, one new nonsense (c.1030C>T [p.Q344X]) and one missense (c.524T>C [p.L175P]) mutation were identified. This latter variant was not found in 104 alleles of healthy control individuals. Moreover, a previously-reported pathogenic mutation (c.677G>T [p.R226L]) was found in one kindred. The clinical data and the genotypic and phenotypic evaluation of the tumors indicate that all the new alterations are pathogenic HNPCC mutations.