The LHCb experiment is dedicated to precision measurements of CP violation and rare decays of B hadrons at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN (Geneva). The initial configuration and expected performance of the detector and associated systems, as established by test beam measurements and simulation studies, is described.

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global public health challenge on the same scale as tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria. The International Coalition to Eliminate HBV (ICE-HBV) is a coalition of experts dedicated to accelerating the discovery of a cure for chronic hepatitis B. Following extensive consultation with more than 50 scientists from across the globe, as well as key stakeholders including people affected by HBV, we have identified gaps in our current knowledge and new strategies and tools that are required to achieve HBV cure. We believe that research must focus on the discovery of interventional strategies that will permanently reduce the number of productively infected cells or permanently silence the covalently closed circular DNA in those cells, and that will stimulate HBV-specific host immune responses which mimic spontaneous resolution of HBV infection. There is also a pressing need for the establishment of repositories of standardised HBV reagents and protocols that can be accessed by all HBV researchers throughout the world. The HBV cure research agenda outlined in this position paper will contribute markedly to the goal of eliminating HBV infection worldwide.

The ATLAS IBL CollaborationDuring the shutdown of the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2013-2014, an additional pixel layer was installed between the existing Pixel detector of the ATLAS experiment and a new, smaller radius beam pipe. The motivation for this new pixel layer, the Insertable B-Layer (IBL), was to maintain or improve the robustness and performance of the ATLAS tracking system, given the higher instantaneous and integrated luminosities realised following the shutdown. Because of the extreme radiation and collision rate environment, several new radiation-tolerant sensor and electronic technologies were utilised for this layer. This paper reports on the IBL construction and integration prior to its operation in the ATLAS detector.The ATLAS [1] general purpose detector is used for the study of proton-proton (pp) and heavy-ion collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) [2]. It successfully collected data at pp collision energies of 7 and 8 TeV in the period of 2010-2012, known as Run 1. Following an LHC shutdown in 2013-2014 (LS1), it has collected data since 2015 at a pp collision energy of 13 TeV (the so-called Run 2).The ATLAS inner tracking detector (ID) [1, 3] provides charged particle tracking with high efficiency in the pseudorapidity 1 range of |η| < 2.5. With increasing radial distance from the interaction region, it consists of silicon pixel and micro-strip detectors, followed by a transition radiation tracker (TRT) detector, all surrounded by a superconducting solenoid providing a 2 T magnetic field.The original ATLAS pixel detector [4,5], referred to in this paper as the Pixel detector, was the innermost part of the ID during Run 1. It consists of three barrel layers (named the B-Layer, Layer 1 and Layer 2 with increasing radius) and three disks on each side of the interaction region, to guarantee at least three space points over the full tracking |η| range. It was designed to operate for the Phase-I period of the LHC, that is with a peak luminosity of 1 × 10 34 cm −2 s −1 and an integrated luminosity of approximately 340 fb −1 corresponding to a TID of up to 50 MRad 2 and a fluence of up to 1 × 10 15 n eq /cm 2 NIEL. However, for luminosities exceeding 2 × 10 34 cm −2 s −1 , which are now expected during the Phase-I operation, the read-out efficiency of the Pixel layers will deteriorate. This paper describes the construction and surface integration of an additional pixel layer, the Insertable B-Layer (IBL) [6], installed during the LS1 shutdown between the B-Layer and a new smaller radius beam pipe. The main motivations of the IBL were to maintain the full ID tracking performance and robustness during Phase-I operation, despite read-out bandwidth limitations of the Pixel layers (in particular the B-Layer) at the expected Phase-I peak luminosity, and accumulated radiation damage to the silicon sensors and front-end electronics. The IBL is designed to operate until the end of Phase-I, when a full tracker upgrade is planned [7] for high luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) operation from approximately ...

A mutant rat strain is described with autosomal recessive conjugated hyperbilirubinemia. Transport of conjugated bilirubin and tetrabromosulfophthalein from liver to bile is severely impaired whereas uptake of organic anions from plasma to liver is normal. During the first 10 days of life, serum bilirubin levels are 147 +/- 11 mumoles per liter with 68.7% diconjugates and 27.9% monoconjugates. In adult rats, serum bilirubin is 33 +/- 8 mumoles per liter with 81.8% diconjugates and 12.1% monoconjugates vs. 0.3 +/- 0.1 mumole per liter unconjugated bilirubin in normal adult rats. Bile acid metabolism is only mildly affected. In young rats, serum bile acid levels are normal. In adult rats, bile acid levels are elevated to 49 +/- 11 mumoles per liter vs. 10 +/- 6 mumoles per liter in normal rats. The bile flow in mutant rats is reduced to about 50%. This might be caused by a reduction of the bile acid-independent bile fraction. Liver marker enzyme activities in mutant rat serum are normal. Liver morphology is also normal. Total urinary coproporphyrin excretion is not elevated but urinary coproporphyrin isomer I excretion is increased, a pattern like that in Dubin-Johnson syndrome in humans. However, unlike Dubin-Johnson syndrome, the mutant rats do not have the characteristic black hepatic pigment. These rats provide a unique model to study mechanisms of bile formation and cholestasis.

HBV RNA is present in virions in plasma specimens from patients with CHB. HBV RNA levels vary significantly from those of established viral markers during antiviral treatment, which highlights its potential as an independent marker in the evaluation of patients with CHB.

region at a hadron collider. This document discusses the implications of these first measurements on classes of extensions to the Standard Model, bearing in mind the interplay with the results of searches for on-shell production of new particles at ATLAS and CMS. The physics potential of an upgrade to the LHCb detector, which would allow an order of magnitude more data to be collected, is emphasised.

With combination therapy of PEG-IFN and adefovir for 48 weeks, a high rate of HBsAg loss was observed in both HBeAg-positive (11%) and HBeAg-negative (17%) patients 2 years after treatment ended. In HBeAg-negative patients, a low baseline HBsAg level was a strong predictor for HBsAg loss.

• Both ultrasound-based transient elastography and magnetic resonance elastography can assess hepatic fibrosis. • Both have comparable accuracy for detecting liver fibrosis in viral hepatitis. • The individual techniques reliably detect or exclude significant liver fibrosis in 66 %. • A conditional strategy for inconclusive findings increases the number of correct diagnoses.