Measurement of the ATLAS di-muon trigger efficiency in proton-proton collisions at 7 TeV

At the LHC, muons are produced in many final states and used in a variety of analysis, such as Standard Model precision measurements and searches for new physics. The B-physics programme in ATLAS includes the measurement of CP violating effects in B meson decays, the search for rare b decay signatures, as well as the study of the production cross sections. The ATLAS detector can identify muons with high purity in a transverse momentum ($p_{T}$) range from a few GeV to several TeV. In order to achieve a high trigger efficiency for low $p_{T}$ di-muon events and at the same time keep an acceptable trigger rate, dedicated trigger algorithms have been designed and implemented in the trigger menu since the 2010 data taking period. There are two categories of B-physics triggers, one topological and one non-topological. Both of these have been studied and their performance assessed using collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV. The performance found with data has been verified with simulated events.Comment: This submission is part of the conference proceedings for PIC201

The survey of the Basilica di Collemaggio in L’Aquila with a system of terrestrial imaging and most proven techniques

The proposed job concerns the evaluation of a series of surveys carried out in the context of a campaign of studies begun in 2015 with the objective of comparing the accuracies obtainable with the systems of terrestrial imaging, compared to unmanned aerial vehicle imaging and laser scanner survey. In particular, the authors want to test the applicability of a system of imaging rover (IR), an innovative terrestrial imaging system, that consists of a multi-camera with integrated global positioning system (GPS)/global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver, that is very recently released technique, and only a few literature references exist on the specific subject. In detail, the IR consists of a total of 12 calibrated cameras – seven “panorama” and five downward-looking – providing complete site documentation that can potentially be used to make photogrammetric measurements. The data acquired in this experimentation were then elaborated with various software packages in order to obtain point clouds and a three-dimensional model in different cases, and a comparison of the various results obtained was carried out. Following, the case study of the Basilica di Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L’Aquila is reported; Collemaggio is an UNESCO world heritage site; it was damaged during the seismic event of 2009, and its restoration is still in progress

Activity of drugs against dormant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

AbstractObjective/backgroundHeterogeneous mixtures of cellular and caseous granulomas coexist in the lungs of tuberculosis (TB) patients, with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) existing from actively replicating (AR) to dormant, nonreplicating (NR) stages. Within cellular granulomas, the pH is estimated to be less than 6, whereas in the necrotic centres of hypoxic, cholesterol/triacylglycerol-rich, caseous granulomas, the pH varies between 7.2 and 7.4. To combat TB, we should kill both AR and NR stages of Mtb. Dormant Mtb remodels lipids of its cell wall, and so lipophilic drugs may be active against NR Mtb living in caseous, lipid-rich, granulomas. Lipophilicity is expressed as logP, that is, the logarithm of the partition coefficient (P) ratio Poctanol/Pwater. In this study, the activity of lipophilic drugs (logP>0) and hydrophilic drugs (logP⩽0) against AR and NR Mtb was measured in hypoxic conditions under acidic and slightly alkaline pHs.MethodsThe activity of drugs was determined against AR Mtb (5-day-old aerobic cells: A5) and NR Mtb (12- and 19-day-old hypoxic cells: H12 and H19) in a Wayne dormancy model of Mtb H37Rv at pH 5.8, to mimic the environment of cellular granulomas. Furthermore, AR and NR bacilli were grown for 40days in Wayne models at pH 6.6, 7.0, 7.4, and 7.6, to set up conditions mimicking the caseous granulomas (hypoxia+slightly alkaline pH), to measure drug activity against NR cells. Mtb viability was determined by colony-forming unit (CFU) counts.ResultsAt pH 5.8, lipophilic drugs (rifampin, rifapentine, bedaquiline, PA-824, clofazimine, nitazoxanide: logP⩾2.14) reduced CFU of all cells (H12, H19, and A5) by ⩾2log10. Among hydrophilic drugs (isoniazid, pyrazinamide, ethambutol, amikacin, moxifloxacin, metronidazole: logP⩽0.01), none reduced H12 and H19 CFUs by ⩾2log10, with the exception of metronidazole. When Mtb was grown at different pHs the following Mtb growth was noted: at pH 6.6, AR cells grew fluently while NR cells grew less, with a CFU increase up to Day 15, followed by a drop to Day 40. AR and NR Mtb grown at pH 7.0, 7.4, and 7.6 showed up to 1 log10 CFU lower than their growth at pH 6.6. The pHs of all AR cultures tended to reach pH 7.2–7.4 on Day 40. The pHs of all NR cultures remained stable at their initial values (6.6, 7.0, 7.4, and 7.6) up to Day 40. The activity of drugs against H12 and H19 cells was tested in hypoxic conditions at a slightly alkaline pH. Under these conditions, some lipophilic drugs were more active (>5 log CFU decrease after 21days of exposure) against H12 and H19 cells than clofazimine, nitazoxanide, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, amikacin (<1 log CFU decrease after 21days of exposure). Testing of other drugs is in progress.ConclusionLipophilic drugs were more active than hydrophilic agents against dormant Mtb in hypoxic conditions at pH 5.8. The Wayne model under slightly alkaline conditions was set up, and in hypoxic conditions at a slightly alkaline pH some lipophilic drugs were more active than other drugs against NR Mtb. Overall, these models can be useful for testing drug activity against dormant Mtb under conditions mimicking the environments of cellular and caseous granulomas

Measurement of the low mass Drell-Yan cross section in the di-muon channel in proton-proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector.

PhDThe low mass Drell-Yan di-muon process is investigated with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, in order to provide information that advances our knowledge of the Parton Density Functions in a region of phase space unaccessible at previous experiments. A cut-based selection of di-muon events is performed, using 2010 data with a centre of mass energy of the proton-proton collisions of 7TeV, and an integrated luminosity of 36 pb−1. The analysis probes the region of low muon transverse momentum (pT > 6GeV), and low di-muon mass region 12 < M < 66GeV. The main challenges of the analysis are the understanding of the muon isolation and the trigger efficiency. In order to reject the large QCD background the analysis relies on stringent isolation criteria. The efficiency of the chosen selection is presented in detail. The second main part of the analysis is the measurement of the trigger efficiency for low pT threshold muon triggers. This is an important aspect of the cross section measurement, since the pT spectrum of leptons from the low mass Drell-Yan process are soft and populate the trigger threshold region. In order to measure the differential cross section in mass d dM in the fiducial region of |η| 9GeV and pT,μ2 > 6GeV (asymmetric analysis) or pT,μ1 > 6GeV and pT,μ2 > 6GeV (symmetric analysis), a one dimensional bin-by-bin unfolding is adopted to account for detector reconstruction and resolution effects; all the associated uncertainties are also presented. The fiducial and extrapolated differential cross sections are measured at the Born level. Dressed level corrections are also given. The measured cross sections are shown to agree with theoretical predictions within the margin of error. A precision of 9.7% is achieved in the asymmetric analysis in the lowest invariant mass bin between 12 and 17GeV; the statistical and systematic uncertainties in the same bin are 4.2% and 8.7% respectively. In the remaining mass region the total uncertainty is smaller. The luminosity error during the 2010 data taking period is estimated to be 3.4%. In addition to the Drell-Yan cross section measurement, the thesis describes the study performed in order to extract the Lorentz angle value in the ATLAS Semiconductor Tracker. The Lorentz angle is computed through the study of the SCT cluster width from both cosmic and collision data and comparison with simulation is shown. The track selection on collision data is defined and the fitting range is optimised to give robust results. Throughout this thesis the convention c = 1 is adopted

Imaging rover technology: characteristics, possibilities and possible improvements

The terrestrial photogrammetric survey allows to acquire geometric characteristics of objects quickly and with handy and inexpensive hardware. Traditionally, these measurements require some hours of time between the choice of the acquisition points, the setting up of the camera, the survey of the topographic support network and subsequent processing of the acquired data. The upcoming of advanced algorithms such as "structure from motion" (SFM) [1] and the recent availability of optical cameras with increasing resolution combined with increasing resources of mass storage [1], make it possible to create dedicated hardware with potentials not possible with these technologies so far. Of particular interest in this field is the coming of so-called "imaging rovers", i.e. cameras that allow simultaneous acquisition of multiple images, covering a 360-degree panorama and in some cases, directly positioned thanks to GPS/GNSS differential receivers with centimeter accuracy. The recent availability of these innovative techniques requires careful verification to assess their capabilities, accuracy, precision and possible limitations. This work presents the first systematic verification of one of these latest generation devices in different conditions and for different applications. It has been verified that in many cases it is possible to obtain three-dimensional surveys quickly with information contents comparable to those of more expensive and less handy instruments such as terrestrial laser scanning. The development of these techniques could lead to operational simplifications and greater efficiency also in complementarity with the reliefs from UAVs that, as it's well known, show some limitations in the so-called urban canyons

Use of probiotics in medical devices applied to some common pathologies.

Probiotics, defined as “living microorganisms that, whether ingested in useful amount, may have beneficial effects on human body”, are widely used in various products for human use, such as dietary supplements, medical devices and pharmaceutical products. The European Directive on medical devices (MDs) (DDM 93/42), also includes those MDs containing live microorganisms, particularly probiotics, that may have various destinations of use, including that of assisting the therapy of several human pathologies. In this brief note we analyzed the use of probiotics in MDs and how probiotics administration could represent one of the new frontiers of scientific research on the prevention and treatment of various diseases. We’ll analyze the literature on probiotics based MDs, to review their major targets in the therapy of some of the most common human pathologies: bacterial vaginosis and vaginitis, atopic dermatitis, infant colic, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and pharyngotonsillitis

Activity of drugs against dormant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Objective/background: Heterogeneous mixtures of cellular and caseous granulomas coexist in the lungs of tuberculosis (TB) patients, with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) existing from actively replicating (AR) to dormant, nonreplicating (NR) stages. Within cellular granulomas, the pH is estimated to be less than 6, whereas in the necrotic centres of hypoxic, cholesterol/triacylglycerol-rich, caseous granulomas, the pH varies between 7.2 and 7.4. To combat TB, we should kill both AR and NR stages of Mtb. Dormant Mtb remodels lipids of its cell wall, and so lipophilic drugs may be active against NR Mtb living in caseous, lipid-rich, granulomas. Lipophilicity is expressed as logP, that is, the logarithm of the partition coefficient (P) ratio P octanol/P water. In this study, the activity of lipophilic drugs (logP>0) and hydrophilic drugs (logP ≤0) against AR and NR Mtb was measured in hypoxic conditions under acidic and slightly alkaline pHs. Methods: The activity of drugs was determined against AR Mtb (5-day-old aerobic cells: A5) and NR Mtb (12- and 19-day-old hypoxic cells: H12 and H19) in a Wayne dormancy model of Mtb H37Rv at pH 5.8, to mimic the environment of cellular granulomas. Furthermore, AR and NR bacilli were grown for 40 days in Wayne models at pH 6.6, 7.0, 7.4, and 7.6, to set up conditions mimicking the caseous granulomas (hypoxia+slightly alkaline pH), to measure drug activity against NR cells. Mtb viability was determined by colony-forming unit (CFU) counts. Results: At pH 5.8, lipophilic drugs (rifampin, rifapentine, bedaquiline, PA-824, clofazimine, nitazoxanide: logP ≥2.14) reduced CFU of all cells (H12, H19, and A5) by ≥2log10. Among hydrophilic drugs (isoniazid, pyrazinamide, ethambutol, amikacin, moxifloxacin, metronidazole: logP ≤0.01), none reduced H12 and H19 CFUs by ≥2log10, with the exception of metronidazole. When Mtb was grown at different pHs the following Mtb growth was noted: at pH 6.6, AR cells grew fluently while NR cells grew less, with a CFU increase up to Day 15, followed by a drop to Day 40. AR and NR Mtb grown at pH 7.0, 7.4, and 7.6 showed up to 1 log10 CFU lower than their growth at pH 6.6. The pHs of all AR cultures tended to reach pH 7.2–7.4 on Day 40. The pHs of all NR cultures remained stable at their initial values (6.6, 7.0, 7.4, and 7.6) up to Day 40. The activity of drugs against H12 and H19 cells was tested in hypoxic conditions at a slightly alkaline pH. Under these conditions, some lipophilic drugs were more active (>5 log CFU decrease after 21 days of exposure) against H12 and H19 cells than clofazimine, nitazoxanide, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, amikacin (<1 log CFU decrease after 21 days of exposure). Testing of other drugs is in progress. Conclusion: Lipophilic drugs were more active than hydrophilic agents against dormant Mtb in hypoxic conditions at pH 5.8. The Wayne model under slightly alkaline conditions was set up, and in hypoxic conditions at a slightly alkaline pH some lipophilic drugs were more active than other drugs against NR Mtb. Overall, these models can be useful for testing drug activity against dormant Mtb under conditions mimicking the environments of cellular and caseous granulomas

The M. tuberculosis Phosphate-Binding Lipoproteins PstS1 and PstS3 Induce Th1 and Th17 Responses That Are Not Associated with Protection against M. tuberculosis Infection

The M. tuberculosis phosphate-binding transporter lipoproteins PstS1 and PstS3 were good immunogens inducing CD8+ T-cell activation and both Th1 and Th17 immunity in mice. However, this antigen-specific immunity, even when amplified by administration of the protein with the adjuvant LTK63 or by the DNA priming/protein boosting regimen, was not able to contain M. tuberculosis replication in the lungs of infected mice. The lack of protection might be ascribed with the scarce/absent capacity of PstS1/PstS3 antigens to modulate the IFN-γ response elicited by M. tuberculosis infection during which, however, PstS1-specific IL-17 secreting cells were generated in both unvaccinated and BCG-vaccinated mice. In spite of a lack of protection by PstS1/PstS3 immunizations, our results do show that PstS1 is able to induce IL-17 response upon M. tuberculosis infection which is of interest in the study of anti-M. tuberculosis immunity and as potential immunomodulator in combined vaccines

RIAM – Multicentre, Interoperable, Clinical Registry of Acute Myocardial Infarction

Introduction: Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of death in the world. In Brazil, in 2013, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was the main cause of mortality due to heart disease. A better identification of the patients will serve as a tool to improve the treatment of this pathology. Objective: To expand the database of patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) of the Cardiology Institute (Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil). Methods and Results: The following steps were taken: (1) data elements standardisation in accordance with standard variables, including all applicable standardized data elements published by the American Heart Association / American College of Cardiology, and Brazilian national datasets standards; (2) Development of electronic case reports (CRF) using REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) and in accordance with the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) privacy rule ; And (3) expansion of registration to other referral centers. The participating institutions are distributed in the regions of Santa Maria, Passo Fundo, Caxias do Sul all of Rio Grande do Sul, as well as the regions of Santa Catarina and the Distrito Federal in Brasília. The data collected will be stored according to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Conclusion: The enhancement and expansion of the RIAM Registry to other referral centers is generating data directly into the REDCap CRF, is a tool with results the treatment of AMI in our environment, which contributes to clinical practice, health services management and policies