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Cochliopodium is a lens-shaped genus of Amoebozoa characterized by a flexi- ble layer of microscopic dorsal scales. Recent taxonomic and molecular studies reported cryptic diversity in this group and suggested that the often-used scale morphology is not a reliable character for species delineation in the genus. Here, we described three freshwater Cochliopodium spp. from the southeast- ern United States based on morphological, immunocytochemistry (ICC), and molecular data. A maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis and pairwise com- parison of COI sequences of Cochliopodium species showed that each of these monoclonal cultures were genetically distinct from each other and any described species with molecular data. Two of the new isolates, “crystal UK- YT2” (Cochliopodium crystalli n. sp.) and “crystal-like UK-YT3” (C. jaguari n. sp.), formed a clade with C. larifeili, which all share a prominent microtubule organizing center (MTOC) and have cubical-shaped crystals. The “Marrs Spring UK-YT4” isolate, C. marrii n. sp., was 100% identical to “Cochliopodium sp. SG-2014 KJ569724.” These sequences formed a clade with C. actinophorum and C. arabianum. While the new isolates can be separated morphologically, most of the taxonomic features used in the group show plasticity; therefore, Cochliopodium species can only be reliably identified with the help of molecu- lar data. 

A search for hidden-charm pentaquark states decaying to a range of${\mathrm{\Sigma }}_c\overline{D}$and${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}\overline{D}$final states, as well as doubly charmed pentaquark states to${\mathrm{\Sigma }}_{c}D$and${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}D$, is made using samples of proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of$5.7{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$recorded by the LHCb detector at$\sqrt{s}=13\mathrm{TeV}$. Since no significant signals are found, upper limits are set on the pentaquark yields relative to that of the${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}$baryon in the${\mathrm{\Lambda }}_c^{+}\to p{K}^{-}{\pi }^{+}$decay mode. The known pentaquark states are also investigated, and their signal yields are found to be consistent with zero in all cases.

© 2024 CERN, for the LHCb Collaboration2024CERN 

The LHCb upgrade represents a major change of the experiment. The detectors have been almost completely renewed to allow running at an instantaneous luminosity five times larger than that of the previous running periods. Readout of all detectors into an all-software trigger is central to the new design, facilitating the reconstruction of events at the maximum LHC interaction rate, and their selection in real time. The experiment's tracking system has been completely upgraded with a new pixel vertex detector, a silicon tracker upstream of the dipole magnet and three scintillating fibre tracking stations downstream of the magnet. The whole photon detection system of the RICH detectors has been renewed and the readout electronics of the calorimeter and muon systems have been fully overhauled. The first stage of the all-software trigger is implemented on a GPU farm. The output of the trigger provides a combination of totally reconstructed physics objects, such as tracks and vertices, ready for final analysis, and of entire events which need further offline reprocessing. This scheme required a complete revision of the computing model and rewriting of the experiment's software. 

The ratios of branching fractions R(D*)= B(B0 --> D*+tau- nu(bar))/ B(B0--> D*+mu- nu(bar)) and R(D)= B(B0 --> D0tau- nu(bar))/ B(B0 --> D0mu- nu(bar)) are measured, assuming isospin symmetry, using a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to 3.0 fb−1 of integrated luminosity recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012. The tau lepton is identified in the decay mode τ− → μ−ντν¯μ. The measured values are R*D*)= 0.281+/- 0.018+/- 0.024 and R(D0)=0.441+/- 0.060+/- 0.066, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The correlation between these measurements is ρ= −0.43. The results are consistent with the current average of these quantities and are at a combined 1.9 standard deviations from the predictions based on lepton flavor universality in the standard model