Lack of Association of a Functional Polymorphism in the Interleukin 8 Gene with Susceptibility to Periodontitis

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Research of new mixed-chelate copper complexes with quinoxaline N 1,N 4,-dioxide derivatives and alanine as ligands, potential antimycobacterial agents

Three new mixed-chelate copper complexes with 3-aminoquinoxaline-2-carbonitrile N 1,N 4-dioxide derivatives and alanine as ligands were synthesized in solid state. The spectroscopic characterization (FTIR, EPR, UV-Vis) showed that copper coordinated through the amine and the N-oxide groups of the quinoxaline derivatives and the amine and carboxylate moieties from alanine forming a dimeric species. The tree complexes showed in vitro activity against M. tuberculosis H 37Rv (ATCC 27294) similar to that of ethambutol while they are inactive against E. coli and S. aureus.

Combined measurement of the Higgs Boson Mass in pp collisions at root s=7 and 8 TeV with the ATLAS and CMS experiments

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Measurement of the $B^0$ - $\bar{B}^0$ and $B^0_s$ - $\bar{B}^0_s$ production asymmetries in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV and $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV with the LHCb experiment

The production rate of $b$ and $\bar{b}$ hadrons in $pp$ collisions are not expected to be strictly identical, due to imbalance between quarks and anti-quarks in the initial state. This phenomenon can be naively related to the fact that the $\bar{b}$ quark produced in the hard scattering might combine with a $u$ or $d$ valence quark from the colliding protons, whereas the same cannot happen for a $b$ quark. This thesis presents the analysis performed to determine the production asymmetries of $B^0$ and $B^0_s$. The analysis relies on data samples collected by the LHCb detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) during the 2011 and 2012 data takings at two different values of the centre of mass energy $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV and at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV, corresponding respectively to an integrated luminosity of 1 fb$^{-1}$ and of 2 fb$^{-1}$. The production asymmetry is one of the key ingredients to perform measurements of $CP$ violation in b-hadron decays at the LHC, since $CP$ asymmetries must be disentangled from other sources. The measurements of the production asymmetries are performed in bins of $p_\mathrm{T}$ and $\eta$ of the $B$-meson. The values of the production asymmetries, integrated in the ranges $4 < p_\mathrm{T} < 30$ GeV/c and $2.5<\eta<4.5$, are determined to be: \begin{equation} A_\mathrm{P}(\B^0)= (-1.00\pm0.48\pm0.29)\%,\nonumber \end{equation} \begin{equation} A_\mathrm{P}(\B^0_s)= (\phantom{-}1.09\pm2.61\pm0.61)\%,\nonumber \end{equation} where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The measurement of $A_\mathrm{P}(B^0)$ is performed using the full statistics collected by LHCb so far, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb$^{-1}$, while the measurement of $A_\mathrm{P}(B^0_s)$ is realized with the first 1 fb$^{-1}$, leaving room for improvement. No clear evidence of dependences on the values of $p_\mathrm{T}$ and $\eta$ is observed. The results presented in this thesis are the most precise measurements available up to date.

Search for Dark Matter in events with a highly energetic jet and missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root out s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at the European Centre for Particle Physics, CERN, rely on efficient and reliable trigger systems for singling out interesting events. This thesis documents two online timing monitoring tools for the central trigger of the ATLAS experiment as well as the adaption of the central trigger simulation as part of the upgrade for the second LHC run. Moreover, a search for candidates for so-called Dark Matter, for which there is ample cosmological evidence, is presented. This search for generic weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) is based on the roughly 20/fb of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass-energy of sqrt{s}=8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector in 2012. The considered signature are events with a highly energetic jet and large missing transverse energy. No significant deviation from the theory prediction is observed. Exclusion limits are derived on parameters of different signal models and compared to the results of other experiments. Finally, the results of a simulation study on the potential of the analysis at sqrt{s}=14 TeV are presented.

Good efficacy of drug-eluting balloons in a mixed population of patients with coronary artery disease

Drug-coated balloons (DCB) are being increasingly used in interventional cardiology and are established for the treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR). It is unclear how effective they are in patients with de novo lesions.

Continuum of depressive and manic mixed states in patients with bipolar disorder: quantitative measurement and clinical features.

Bipolar mixed states combine depressive and manic features, presenting diagnostic and treatment challenges and reflecting a severe form of the illness. DSM-IV criteria for a mixed state require combined depressive and manic syndromes, but a range of mixed states has been described clinically. A unified definition of mixed states would be valuable in understanding their diagnosis, mechanism and treatment implications. We investigated the manner in which depressive and manic features combine to produce a continuum of mixed states. In 88 subjects with bipolar disorder (DSM-IV), we evaluated symptoms and clinical characteristics, and compared depression-based, mania-based, and other published definitions of mixed states. We developed an index of the extent to which symptoms were mixed (Mixed State Index, MSI) and characterized its relationship to clinical state. Predominately manic and depressive mixed states using criteria from recent literature, as well as Kraepelinian mixed states, had similar symptoms and MSI scores. Anxiety correlated significantly with depression scores in manic subjects and with mania scores in depressed subjects. Discriminant function analysis associated mixed states with symptoms of hyperactivity and negative cognitions, but not subjective depressive or elevated mood. High MSI scores were associated with severe course of illness. For depressive or manic episodes, characteristics of mixed states emerged with two symptoms of the opposite polarity. This was a cross-sectional study. Mixed states appear to be a continuum. An index of the degree to which depressive and manic symptoms combine appears useful in identifying and characterizing mixed states. We propose a depressive or manic episode with three or more symptoms of the opposite polarity as a parsimonious definition of a mixed state.

Search for new phenomena in photon+jet events collected in proton–proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This Letter describes a model-independent search for the production of new resonances in photon + jet events using 20 inverse fb of proton--proton LHC data recorded with the ATLAS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of s√ = 8 TeV. The photon + jet mass distribution is compared to a background model fit from data; no significant deviation from the background-only hypothesis is found. Limits are set at 95% credibility level on generic Gaussian-shaped signals and two benchmark phenomena beyond the Standard Model: non-thermal quantum black holes and excited quarks. Non-thermal quantum black holes are excluded below masses of 4.6 TeV and excited quarks are excluded below masses of 3.5 TeV.

Search for charginos nearly mass-degenerate with the lightest neutralino based on a disappearing-track signature in pp collisions at sqrts = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search is presented for direct chargino production based on a disappearing-track signature using 20.3  fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at s√=8  TeV collected with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. In anomaly-mediated supersymmetry breaking (AMSB) models, the lightest chargino is nearly mass degenerate with the lightest neutralino and its lifetime is long enough to be detected in the tracking detectors by identifying decays that result in tracks with no associated hits in the outer region of the tracking system. Some models with supersymmetry also predict charginos with a significant lifetime. This analysis attains sensitivity for charginos with a lifetime between 0.1 and 10 ns, and significantly surpasses the reach of the LEP experiments. No significant excess above the background expectation is observed for candidate tracks with large transverse momentum, and constraints on chargino properties are obtained. In the AMSB scenarios, a chargino mass below 270 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level.

Search for Dark Matter in Events with a Hadronically Decaying W or Z Boson and Missing Transverse Momentum in pp Collisions at root s=8 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

A search is presented for dark matter pair production in association with a W or Z boson in pp collisions representing 20.3 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity at root s = 8 TeV using data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with a hadronic jet with the jet mass consistent with a W or Z boson, and with large missing transverse momentum are analyzed. The data are consistent with the standard model expectations. Limits are set on the mass scale in effective field theories that describe the interaction of dark matter and standard model particles, and on the cross section of Higgs production and decay to invisible particles. In addition, cross section limits on the anomalous production of W or Z bosons with large missing transverse momentum are set in two fiducial regions.

Search for neutral Higgs bosons of the minimal supersymmetric standard model in pp collisions at sqrts = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for the neutral Higgs bosons predicted by the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) is reported. The analysis is performed on data from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The samples used for this search were collected in 2012 and correspond to integrated luminosities in the range 19.5-20.3 fb−1. The MSSM Higgs bosons are searched for in the τ τ final state. No significant excess over the expected background is observed, and exclusion limits are derived for the production cross section times branching fraction of a scalar particle as a function of its mass. The results are also interpreted in the MSSM parameter space for various benchmark scenarios.

Search for pair and single production of new heavy quarks that decay to a ℤ boson and a third-generation quark in pp collisions at √ s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search is presented for the production of new heavy quarks that decay to a Z boson and a third-generation Standard Model quark. In the case of a new charge +2/3 quark (T), the decay targeted is T → Zt, while the decay targeted for a new charge −1/3 quark (B) is B → Zb. The search is performed with a dataset corresponding to 20.3 fb−1 of pp collisions at √ s = 8TeV recorded in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Selected events contain a high transverse momentum Z boson candidate reconstructed from a pair of oppositely charged same-flavor leptons (electrons or muons), and are analyzed in two channels defined by the absence or presence of a third lepton. Hadronic jets, in particular those with properties consistent with the decay of a b-hadron, are also required to be present in selected events. Different requirements are made on the jet activity in the event in order to enhance the sensitivity to either heavy quark pair production mediated by the strong interaction, or single production mediated by the electroweak interaction. No significant excess of events above the Standard Model expectation is observed, and lower limits are derived on the mass of vector-like T and B quarks under various branching ratio hypotheses, as well as upper limits on the agnitude of electroweak coupling parameters.

Search for long-lived neutral particles decaying into lepton jets in proton-proton collisions at √s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Several models of physics beyond the Standard Model predict neutral particles that decay into final states consisting of collimated jets of light leptons and hadrons (socalled “lepton jets”). These particles can also be long-lived with decay length comparable to, or even larger than, the LHC detectors’ linear dimensions. This paper presents the results of a search for lepton jets in proton-proton collisions at the centre-of-mass energy of √s = 8TeV in a sample of 20.3 fb−1 collected during 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Limits on models predicting Higgs boson decays to neutral long-lived lepton jets are derived as a function of the particle’s proper decay length.