B-Tagging at LHC: Expected Performance and its Calibration in Data

The ability to identify jets containing b-hadrons is important for the high-pT physics program of a general-purpose experiment at the LHC such as ATLAS. This is in particular useful to select very pure top samples, to search and/or study Standard Model or supersymmetric Higgs bosons which couple preferably to heavy objects or are produced in association with heavy quarks. After a review of the algorithms used to identify b-jets, their anticipated performance is discussed as well as the impact of various critical ingredients such as the residual misalignments in the tracker. The prospects to measure the b-tagging performance in the first few hundreds pb-1 of data with di-jet events and ttbar events are then also discussed

A simple framework for investigating the properties of policy games

The paper extensively studies the static model of non-cooperative linear quadratic games in which a set of agents chooses their instruments strategically to minimize their linear quadratic criterion. We first derive the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a Nash equilibrium as well as for multiple equilibria to arise. Furthermore, we study the general condition for policy neutrality and Pareto efficiency of the equilibrium by introducing a new concept of decisiveness.Conflict of interest, Nash equilibrium existence, multiplicity, policy invariance, controllability, Pareto efficiency

Design and Synthesis of Methyltransferase Inhibitors to Treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common opportunistic pathogen that is responsible for nearly 10% of hospital-acquired infections. P. aeruginosa infections have become increasingly difficult to treat due to rising antibiotic resistance; thus, novel methods of treatment must be developed to combat infection. P. aeruginosa releases pyochelin to acquire nutrients and disrupt host biological processes. Pyochelin-deficient strains of P. aeruginosa demonstrated significantly lower growth ability and virulence. Because of pyochelin’s role in virulence and the unique proteins involved in secretion, the pyochelin biosynthetic pathway is an effective drug target for P. aeruginosa treatment. Before pyochelin is released, the precursor molecule is methylated by the PchF methyltransferase. We synthesized a PchF inhibitor which is expected to block methyltransferase activity, preventing pyochelin release. This inhibitor would effectively treat infections of P. aeruginosa and other iron-chelating bacteria, leading to new pharmaceuticals that can treat bacterial infection without the concern of antibiotic resistance.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2023/1072/thumbnail.jp

Improving body composition in broiler chicks through the early life diet

The poultry industry relies heavily on the efficient growth performance of broilers to provide quality breast meat at a low cost to meet consumer demand. However, high efficiency of broilers is also related to the occurrence and severity of skeletal muscle abnormalities like wooden breast. This study investigated the efficacy of incorporating long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), into the diets of hens and their offspring on altering the causative features of wooden breast. Early exposure to these fatty acids in broilers has shown to reduce adiposity, and may address excess adipogenesis seen in wooden breast. Physical characteristics of weight gain and relative breast weight were measured to confirm that fish oil did not compromise growth. Histological analysis of the breast showed that the perinatal fish oil diet promoted growth of larger muscle fibers and the maternal fish oil programmed reduced adipocyte size. Gene expression analysis results proposed the mechanisms that prompted differences in muscle fiber size area between diets namely, the increase in early myogenic marker expression, PAX7 and MYOD1. The increased expression of FABP4 seen in the perinatal fish oil diet groups may be attributed to a relatively new understanding of its function in muscle, and potentially an increase in fatty acid oxidation. Altering the hypertrophic growth rate of high efficiency broilers may assist in preventing growth that exceeds nutrient and oxygen provision seen in wooden breast. Primary satellite cells were collected from a subset of chicks that only differed by the maternal fish or soybean oil diets. Satellite cells isolated from the maternal fish oil group accumulated significantly less triglyceride versus maternal soybean oil. Decreasing elevated adipogenesis seen in the development of wooden breast may help to lessen the severity of the myopathy. In conclusion, future research is needed to identify the long term impacts fish oil supplementation can have on muscle development and adiposity in broilers at market age