Precision measurements of W detected at CMS

Particle Physics is a well-established field using its settled methods of data analysis and interpretation, along with techniques of detector calibration. At the dawn of the era of the Higgs boson discovery, with no clear sign of new Physics manifesting at the energy range covered by the Large Hadron Collider, the quest for significant deviations of the measured parameters of the Standard Model from their prediction is a mandatory plan. Produced copiously in the CMS and ATLAS experiments, the $W$ bosons provide a unique opportunity to set stringent limits to the Standard Model. The aim of the work described in this thesis has been to present a paradigm shift, introducing a change in the traditional conception of the $W$ precision measurements. A totally new method has been devised to obtain a precise assessment of the $W$ rapidity, transverse momentum and polarisation exploiting uniquely and exclusively the correlation between the transverse momentum and the pseudorapidity of muons emitted in $W$ semileptonic decays. This result gives the opportunity to perform a measurement of the $W$ mass, the holy grail of the precision measurements at the electroweak scale, without making any assumption on the $W$ production encoded in simulations. This thesis contains a set of innovative measurements of $W$ unpolarised cross section and angular coefficients and an assessment of the final uncertainty on the $W$ mass using data collected by the CMS experiment in 2016. The dominant experimental systematic in the measurement of the $W$ mass is the knowledge of the muon momentum scale, of which a high precision calibration is presented in this thesis. Finally, an entire chapter of this thesis is devoted to the description of the implementation of the innovative computing tools that have been devised in order to cope with the unprecedented complexity of the analysis under study

About the rapidity and helicity distributions of the W bosons produced at LHC

$W$ bosons are produced at LHC from a forward-backward symmetric initial state. Their decay to a charged lepton and a neutrino has a strong spin analysing power. The combination of these effects results in characteristic distributions of the pseudorapidity of the leptons decaying from $W^+$ and $W^-$ of different helicity. This observation may open the possibility to measure precisely the $W^+$ and $W^-$ rapidity distributions for the two transverse polarisation states of $W$ bosons produced at small transverse momentum.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Use of multivariate discriminant methodologies in the analysis of phenotypic and genomic data of cattle

The present thesis is organized in 4 main chapters. The Chapter 1 is the general introduction and it regards the use of the multivariate statistical techniques in animal science, with a particular emphasis on the discriminant analysis. In Chapter 2, a new statistical method called Discriminant Association Method (DAM) was proposed. The DAM approach, developed by using multivariate statistical techniques, overcomes most of problems that affect the single SNP regression technique used in the ordinary GWAS. In Chapter 3, a new index to evaluate feed efficiency was defined: the residual concentrate intake (RCI). RCI identifies efficient and inefficient bovines in converting the concentrate. RCI can be quite simply evaluated and, in consequence, it could be easily included in genomic breeding programs. In the present research, the DAM method was applied to develop a GWAS for selecting markers associated to RCI. The research reported in Chapter 4 was aimed to develop an algorithm able to early identify highly persistent lactations. Four different models were fitted to individual lactations by using the first 90, 120 and 150 days in milking. Two multivariate statistical techniques were exploited: the canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) and the discriminant analysis (DA). The proposed algorithm combines the talent of curve models in depict features of the lactation and the ability of multivariate statistical techniques in distinguishing differences between groups

Optimization of extraction of drugs containing polyphenols using an innovative technique

The role of polyphenols in human health nowadays is well established and these natural products, found in many plant species, are the active ingredients of drugs, food supplements and cosmetics. Extraction procedure is pivotal to obtain high quality herbal products but paradoxically this factor is often underrated and obsolete techniques are used. In this work we compared the classic and most used method of maceration and an innovative and standardized technique of extraction, Estrattore Naviglio((R)), processing ten common medicinal plants containing polyphenols and for each analysing specific biological markers such as flavonoids, anthocyanosides and caffeic derivatives in addition to total polyphenols content. Estrattore Naviglio((R)) guaranteed a significant improvement of the chemical quality of extracts combining effectiveness with rapidity and reproducibility. In this work we further investigated the optimization of drug extractions by replicating operations varying parameters setting on Estrattore Naviglio((R)) instrument

Comparison of commercial and in-house Real-time PCR assays for quantification of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA in plasma

BACKGROUND: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA load monitoring is known to be useful for the diagnosis and monitoring of EBV-associated diseases. The aim of this study is to compare the performance of two real-time PCR assays for EBV DNA: a commercial kit as the Q-EBV Real-Time System (Q-EBV PCR, Amplimedical, Turin, Italy) and an in-house assay (EBV RQ-PCR). RESULTS: The range of linearity and the degree of precision of the two assays were similar. The clinical sensitivity of Q-EBV PCR was higher for reference samples containing less than 1,000 EBV DNA copies/ml. The absolute quantitative results of the two methods were statistically correlated (R(2 )= 0.7789; p < 0.0001), with the systematic overestimation by EBV RQ-PCR possibly linked to different amplification efficiency in calibration standards. CONCLUSION: Both the commercial and the in-house assay may be appropriate for clinical use, but common standards are advisable for comparable absolute values, as these would improve the clinical utility of EBV DNA load measurement

Impact of the PDFs on the Z and W lineshapes at LHC

The parton distribution functions (PDFs) of the proton play a role in determining the lineshape of $Z$ and $W$ bosons produced at the LHC. In particular, the mode of the gauge boson virtuality is shifted with respect to the pole due to the dependence of the partonic luminosity on the boson virtuality. The knowledge of this shift contributes to the systematic uncertainty for a direct measurement of the boson mass. A detailed study of the shift and of its systematic uncertainty due to the limited knowledge of the PDFs is obtained using a tree-level model of $Z$ and $W$ boson production in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV. A Monte Carlo simulation is further used to validate the tree-level model and study the dependence of the shift on the transverse momentum of the gauge bosons. The tree-level calculation is found to provide a good description of the shift. The systematic uncertainty on the lineshape due to the PDFs is estimated to be below one MeV in the phase-space relevant for a future high-precision mass measurement of the gauge boson masses at the LHC

Anti-neuroinflammatory effects of conjugated linoleic acid isomers, c9,t11 and t10,c12, on activated BV-2 microglial cells

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers exhibit anti-inflammatory properties within the central nervous system (CNS). This study investigated the effects of CLA isomers c9,t11 and t10,c12 on fatty acid (FA) and N-acylethanolamine (NAE) profiles and their association with pro-inflammatory molecule expression in BV-2 microglia cell line, the CNS's resident immune cells responsible for maintaining neuronal activity and immune homeostasis. BV-2 cells were treated with 25 μM of c9,t11-CLA, t10,c12-CLA, or oleic acid (OA) for 24 h, followed by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. After treatment, the cell's FA and NAE profiles and pro-inflammatory molecule expression were analyzed. Our results demonstrated that CLA isomers mitigate LPS-induced morphological changes in BV-2 cells and reduce gene expression and protein levels of inflammatory markers. This effect was linked to an upregulation of acyl-CoA oxidase 1, a key enzyme in the anti-inflammatory peroxisomal beta-oxidation pathway that efficiently metabolizes CLA isomers. Notably, t10,c12-CLA significantly suppressed stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1, impacting monounsaturated fatty acid synthesis. The NAEs profile was remarkably altered by CLA isomers, with a significant release of the anti-neuroinflammatory mediator docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-derived N-acylethanolamine (DHAEA). In conclusion, our findings suggest that the anti-neuroinflammatory effects of CLA isomers are due to their unique influences on FA metabolism and the modulation of bioactive FA-derived NAEs, highlighting a potential strategy for nutritional intervention in conditions characterized by neuroinflammation

Conjugated Linoleic Acid and Brain Metabolism: A Possible Anti-Neuroinflammatory Role Mediated by PPARα Activation

Fatty acids play a crucial role in the brain as specific receptor ligands and as precursors of bioactive metabolites. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a group of positional and geometric isomers of linoleic acid (LA, 18:2 n-6) present in meat and dairy products of ruminants and synthesized endogenously in non-ruminants and humans, has been shown to possess different nutritional properties associated with health benefits. Its ability to bind to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) α, a nuclear receptor key regulator of fatty acid metabolism and inflammatory responses, partly mediates these beneficial effects. CLA is incorporated and metabolized into brain tissue where induces the biosynthesis of endogenous PPAR α ligands palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and oleoylethanolamide (OEA), likely through a positive feedback mechanism where PPAR α activation sustains its own cellular effects through ligand biosynthesis. In addition to PPAR α, PEA and OEA may as well bind to other receptors such as TRPV1, further extending CLA own anti-neuroinflammatory actions. Future studies are needed to investigate whether dietary CLA may exert antiinflammatory activity, particularly in the setting of neurodegenerative diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders with a neuroinflammatory basis