0000000000207848
AUTHOR
Patricia Fernandez
Top-quark mass measurements using jet rates at LHC
This work presents a new method to measure the top-quark mass in hadronic collisions[1]. The method uses the sensitivity of the tt̄ + 1-jet production on the top-quark mass. In detail we study the ℛ distribution defined as the tt̄ + 1-jet normalized cross section differential in the invariant mass of the total system and calculated at NLO accuracy. We prove that the ℛ distribution has a high sensitivity to the top-quark mass. Furthermore we investigate and quantify the impact of the dominant theoretical and experimental uncertainties. The results obtained show, that the method has the potential to be competitive in precision with established approaches and allows a complementary measurement…
Novel silver-based nanoclay as an antimicrobial in polylactic acid food packaging coatings.
This paper presents a comprehensive performance study of polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites, obtained by solvent casting, containing a novel silver-based antimicrobial layered silicate additive for use in active food packaging applications. The silver-based nanoclay showed strong antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative Salmonella spp. Despite the fact that no exfoliation of the silver-based nanoclay in PLA was observed, as suggested by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) experiments, the additive dispersed nicely throughout the PLA matrix to a nanoscale, yielding nanobiocomposites. The films were highly transparent with enhanced water barrier …
A new observable to measure the top-quark mass at hadron colliders
A new method to measure the top-quark mass in high energetic hadron collisions is presented. We use theoretical predictions calculated at next-to-leading order accuracy in quantum chromodynamics to study the ( normalized) differential distribution of the t (t) over bar + 1-jet cross section with respect to its invariant mass root s(t (t) over barj). The sensitivity of the method to the top-quark mass together with the impact of various theoretical and experimental uncertainties has been investigated and quantified. The new method allows for a complementary measurement of the top-quark mass parameter and has a high potential to become competitive in precision with respect to established appr…
Expression of heme oxygenase-1 and regulation by cytokines in human osteoarthritic chondrocytes
Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is implicated in the protection against tissue injury. We investigated the expression of this protein in cartilage sections and chondrocytes obtained from osteoarthritic patients. HO-1 was immunodetected in preparations from cartilage and also in chondrocytes cultured in the absence of stimulation. We found that HO-1 can be modulated by cytokines since the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-17 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) down-regulated this protein, whereas the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 exerted the opposite effect. Our results suggest a role for HO-1 as part of protective mechanisms against tissue injury in human cartilage.
Anti-inflammatory actions of the heme oxygenase-1 pathway.
Heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) is induced by oxidative or nitrosative stress, cytokines and other mediators produced during inflammatory processes, likely as part of a defence system in cells exposed to stress to provide a negative feedback for cell activation and the production of mediators, which could modulate the inflammatory response. HO-1 activity results in the inhibition of oxidative damage and apoptosis, with significant reductions in inflammatory events including edema, leukocyte adhesion and migration, and production of inflammatory cytokines. HO-1 is induced by nitric oxide (NO) in different biological systems and can control the increased production of this mediator observed in many i…
Top-quark mass measurements at LHC: a new approach
We present a new method to measure the top-quark mass in high energetic hadron collisions at the LHC. We study the mass dependence of the production of top-quark pairs in association with an additional jet. The cross section of tt+1Jet production is sensitive to the top-quark mass since gluon radiation depends on the top-quark mass through threshold and cone effects. In particular we study the normalised tt +1Jet cross section differential in the invariant mass of the final state jets. We have investigated the sensitivity of the method together with the impact of various theoretical and experimental uncertainties. We find that the method has the potential to be competitive with existing met…
Adenosine A2A receptors in diffuse dermal fibrosis: pathogenic role in human dermal fibroblasts and in a murine model of scleroderma.
Objective Adenosine regulates inflammation and tissue repair, and adenosine A2A receptors promote wound healing by stimulating collagen matrix production. We therefore examined whether adenosine A2A receptors contribute to the pathogenesis of dermal fibrosis. Methods Collagen production by primary human dermal fibroblasts was analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction, 14C-proline incorporation, and Sircol assay. Intracellular signaling for dermal collagen production was investigated using inhibitors of MEK-1 and by demonstration of ERK phosphorylation. In vivo effects were studied in a bleomycin-induced dermal fibrosis model using adenosine A2A receptor–deficient wild-type littermate …
A novel cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitor modulates catabolic and antiinflammatory mediators in osteoarthritis.
ITB (6-(p-bromophenyl)amino-7-(p-chlorophenyl)indazolo[2',3':1,5]-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]-1,3,5-benzotriazepine) is a novel inhibitor of cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) with antiinflammatory activity in animal models. In the present study, we investigated the effect of this compound on the production of catabolic or antiinflammatory mediators in osteoarthritis (OA) cartilage. In OA cartilage explants, ITB inhibited the production of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas nitrite was partially reduced. On the contrary, ITB increased the production of interleukin (IL)-10 and the expres…