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  1. Guidelines identifying best practices for harvesting tissues that lead to optimal DNA preservation are few but are important curatorial concerns for genetic resource collections. We conducted a temporal study to establish rate of DNA degradation of tissue samples extracted from field-caught museum specimens. Five individuals of Sigmodon hispidus were collected and their liver and muscle tissues were harvested. Each tissue type was sectioned into 15 subsamples, and each was preserved in liquid nitrogen at different time intervals (2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 minutes; 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 hours; and 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 days) following death. DNA was extracted using an automated robotic instrument and molecular mass profiles were determined fluorometrically. Post-mortem DNA degradation was continuous and dependent on time, but also was significantly affected by differences among individual cotton rats. DNA fragments of ≥10,000 base pair in length were present in muscle samples across all time intervals, whereas DNA fragments of this size in liver samples were no longer present after 8 to 16 hours post-mortem. DNA molecular mass profiles showed that muscle samples retained 80% of their longest fragments (≥10,000 bp) until 1 day post-mortem, whereas liver samples retained the same percentage only until 8 minutes after death. Although rates of decay were measured from samples in a laboratory (not field) setting, rates of decay presented here can guide field and museum workers in best practices. Results suggest that opportunistic samples, such as those from roadkill specimens, are more likely to be of use for a variety of molecular methods when muscle is preserved. Considerations of differences in rates of degradation may also guide selection of tissue types housed in genetic resource collections, especially under space-limited circumstances. 
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  2. A<sc>bstract</sc> An angular analysis ofB0→ K*0e+edecays is presented using proton-proton collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb−1. The analysis is performed in the region of the dilepton invariant mass squared of 1.1–6.0 GeV2/c4. In addition, a test of lepton flavour universality is performed by comparing the obtained angular observables with those measured inB0→ K*0μ+μdecays. In general, the angular observables are found to be consistent with the Standard Model expectations as well as with global analyses of otherb → sℓ+processes, whereℓis either a muon or an electron. No sign of lepton-flavour-violating effects is observed. 
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  3. A<sc>bstract</sc> A search for the decay$$ {B}_c^{+} $$ B c + → χc1(3872)π+is reported using proton-proton collision data collected with the LHCb detector between 2011 and 2018 at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb−1. No significant signal is observed. Using the decay$$ {B}_c^{+} $$ B c + →ψ(2S)π+as a normalisation channel, an upper limit for the ratio of branching fractions$$ {\mathcal{R}}_{\psi (2S)}^{\chi_{c1}(3872)}=\frac{{\mathcal{B}}_{B_c^{+}\to {\chi}_{c1}(3872){\pi}^{+}}}{{\mathcal{B}}_{B_c^{+}\to \psi (2S){\pi}^{+}}}\times \frac{{\mathcal{B}}_{\chi_{c1}(3872)\to J/\psi {\pi}^{+}{\pi}^{-}}}{{\mathcal{B}}_{\psi (2S)\to J/\psi {\pi}^{+}{\pi}^{-}}}<0.05(0.06), $$ R ψ 2 S χ c 1 3872 = B B c + χ c 1 3872 π + B B c + ψ 2 S π + × B χ c 1 3872 J / ψ π + π B ψ 2 S J / ψ π + π < 0.05 0.06 , is set at the 90 (95)% confidence level. 
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  4. The branching fraction of the decay B + ψ ( 2 S ) ϕ ( 1020 ) K + , relative to the topologically similar decay B + J / ψ ϕ ( 1020 ) K + , is measured using proton-proton collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb 1 . The ratio is found to be 0.061 ± 0.004 ± 0.009 , where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. Using the world-average branching fraction for B + J / ψ ϕ ( 1020 ) K + , the branching fraction for the decay B + ψ ( 2 S ) ϕ ( 1020 ) K + is found to be ( 3.0 ± 0.2 ± 0.5 ± 0.2 ) × 10 6 , where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic, and the third is due to the branching fraction of the normalization channel. © 2025 CERN, for the LHCb Collaboration2025CERN 
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  5. The first measurement of the C P asymmetry of the decay rate ( A C P ) and the C P average ( Σ A FB ) and C P asymmetry ( Δ A FB ) of the forward-backward asymmetry in the muon system of Λ c + p μ + μ decays is reported. The measurement is performed using a data sample of proton-proton collisions, recorded by the LHCb experiment from 2016 to 2018 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb 1 . The asymmetries are measured in two regions of dimuon mass near the  ϕ -meson mass peak. The dimuon-mass integrated results are A C P = ( 1.1 ± 4.0 ± 0.5 ) % , Σ A FB = ( 3.9 ± 4.0 ± 0.6 ) % , Δ A FB = ( 3.1 ± 4.0 ± 0.4 ) % , where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The results are consistent with the conservation of C P symmetry and the Standard Model expectations. © 2025 CERN, for the LHCb Collaboration2025CERN 
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  6. A search for C P violation in Λ b 0 p K and Λ b 0 p π decays is presented using the full Run 1 and Run 2 data samples of p p collisions collected with the LHCb detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb 1 at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV. For the Run 2 data sample, the C P -violating asymmetries are measured to be A C P p K = ( 1.4 ± 0.7 ± 0.4 ) % and A C P p π = ( 0.4 ± 0.9 ± 0.4 ) % , where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. Following significant improvements in the evaluation of systematic uncertainties compared to the previous LHCb measurement, the Run 1 dataset is reanalyzed to update the corresponding results. When combining the Run 2 and updated Run 1 measurements, the final results are found to be A C P p K = ( 1.1 ± 0.7 ± 0.4 ) % and A C P p π = ( 0.2 ± 0.8 ± 0.4 ) % , constituting the most precise measurements of these asymmetries to date. © 2025 CERN, for the LHCb Collaboration2025CERN 
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  7. A<sc>bstract</sc> TheΥ(2S) andΥ(3S) production cross-sections are measured relative to that of theΥ(1S) meson, as a function of charged-particle multiplicity in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The measurement uses data collected by the LHCb experiment in 2018 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2 fb−1. Both theΥ(2S)-to-Υ(1S) andΥ(3S)-to-Υ(1S) cross-section ratios are found to decrease significantly as a function of event multiplicity, with theΥ(3S)-to-Υ(1S) ratio showing a steeper decline towards high multiplicity. This hierarchy is qualitatively consistent with the comover model predictions, indicating that final-state interactions play an important role in bottomonia production in high-multiplicity events. 
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  8. The first test of lepton flavor universality between muons and electrons using B + K + π + π + ( = e , μ ) decays is presented. The measurement is performed with data from proton-proton collisions collected by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb 1 . The ratio of branching fractions between B + K + π + π e + e and B + K + π + π μ + μ decays is measured in the dilepton invariant-mass-squared range 1.1 < q 2 < 7.0 GeV 2 / c 4 and is found to be R K π π 1 = 1.3 1 0.17 + 0.18 ( stat ) 0.09 + 0.12 ( syst ) , in agreement with the standard model prediction. The first observation of the B + K + π + π e + e decay is also reported. © 2025 CERN, for the LHCb Collaboration2025CERN 
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