To what extent acute exposure to volcanic gases affects cells of the respiratory epithelium, peripheral oxygen saturation and lung funcion?

Dissertação de Mestrado, Ciências Biomédicas, 31 de julho de 2018, Universidade dos Açores.O vulcão das Furnas encontra-se localizado na parte oriental da ilha de São Miguel (Açores, Portugal), onde a actividade vulcânica é marcada por várias manifestações hidrotermais que emitem continuamente gases vulcânicos que são inalados pela população residente (exposição crónica) ou visitantes dessa freguesia (exposição aguda). Tendo em conta a atmosfera característica das Furnas e a falta de estudos sobre os efeitos causados pelos gases vulcânicos ao nível celular e os efeitos da exposição aguda aos gases vulcânicos, este estudo foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de responder a três questões: (1ª) Qual a constituição química do condensado dos gases vulcânicos das Furnas? (2ª) Quais são os efeitos resultantes da interação entre o condensado de gases vulcânicos e as células do epitélio respiratório (cells of the respiratory epithelium, abrev. CORE)? (3ª) Quais são os efeitos decorrentes de uma exposição aguda a gases vulcânicos em um grupo de voluntários, em relação à frequência cardíaca e pressão arterial, saturação periférica de oxigênio e parâmetros da função pulmonar? Os resultados mostram que o condensado das fumarolas das Furnas é maioritariamente constituído por Ca, Na, Si e K. Quanto à exposição do CORE ao condensado de fumarola, os resultados são inconclusivos. Parece que, com o aumento do tempo de exposição, as células tendem a ter mais anomalias (isto é, danos no ADN, alterações morfológicas das células), bem como mais dificuldade em proliferar e em crescer. Estes efeitos podem ter sido causados por uma exposição consecutiva a ambos os condensados, mas também podem ter sido causados pelo decorrer do tempo em si, uma vez que o passar do tempo, as células tendem a acumular erros e a perder a sua capacidade proliferativa e viabilidade inicial por elas próprias. Os resultados da oximetria, espirometria, pressão arterial e frequência cardíaca obtidos da exposição aguda de um grupo de voluntários às fumarolas mostraram que apenas a frequência cardíaca foi afetada significativamente. A diminuição do valor da frequência cardíaca desde a pré-exposição até a pós-exposição indica que a exposição à fumarola e à natureza circundante teve um efeito calmo e relaxante nos voluntários. Tanto quanto foi possível determinar, esta é a primeira vez que tal estudo foi realizado.ABSTRACT: Furnas volcano is located in the eastern part of the island of São Miguel (Azores, Portugal), where volcanic activity is marked by several hydrothermal manifestations that continuously emit volcanic gases that are inhaled by the resident population (chronic exposure) or visitors to that village (acute exposure). Taking into account the characteristic atmosphere of Furnas and the lack of studies on the effects caused by volcanic gases at the cellular level and the effects from acute exposure to volcanic gases, this study was developed with the aim to answer three questions: (1st) What is the chemical constitution of Furnas volcanic gases condensate? (2nd) What are the effects resulting from the interaction between volcanic gases condensate and cells of the respiratory epithelium (abbr. CORE)? (3rd) What are the effects resulting from an acute exposure to volcanic gases on a group of volunteers, regarding heart rate and blood pressure, peripheral oxygen saturation and lung function parameters? The results shows that the chemical constitution of Furnas fumarole condensate is mainly Ca, Na, Si and K. Regarding the exposure of CORE to the fumarole condensate the results are inconclusive. It appears that, with increasing time of exposure, cells tended to have more anomalies (i.e. DNA damage, cell morphological changes), as well as more difficulty to proliferate and to growth. These effects could have been caused by a consecutive exposure to both condensates, but it could also be caused by time itself, since with time cells tend to accumulate errors and lost their initial proliferative capacity and viability by themselves. The oximetry, spirometry, blood pressure and heart rate measurement results obtained from the acute exposure of a group of volunteers to the fumaroles showed that only the heart rate was significantly affected. The decrease in the heart rate value from the pre-exposure to the post-exposure indicates that the exposure to the fumarole, and the surrounding nature, had a calm and relaxing effect on the volunteers. As far as it was possible to determine, this is the first time that such a study was carried out

Novel Zinc-Related Differentially Methylated Regions in Leukocytes of Women With and Without Obesity

INTRODUCTION: Nutriepigenetic markers are predictive responses associated with changes in “surrounding” environmental conditions of humans, which may influence metabolic diseases. Although rich in calories, Western diets could be linked with the deficiency of micronutrients, resulting in the downstream of epigenetic and metabolic effects and consequently in obesity. Zinc (Zn) is an essential nutrient associated with distinct biological roles in human health. Despite the importance of Zn in metabolic processes, little is known about the relationship between Zn and epigenetic. Thus, the present study aimed to identify the epigenetic variables associated with Zn daily ingestion (ZnDI) and serum Zinc (ZnS) levels in women with and without obesity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a case-control, non-randomized, single-center study conducted with 21 women allocated into two groups: control group (CG), composed of 11 women without obesity, and study group (SG), composed of 10 women with obesity. Anthropometric measurements, ZnDI, and ZnS levels were evaluated. Also, leukocyte DNA was extracted for DNA methylation analysis using 450 k Illumina BeadChips. The epigenetic clock was calculated by Horvath method. The chip analysis methylation pipeline (ChAMP) package selected the differentially methylated regions (DMRs). RESULTS: The SG had lower ZnS levels than the CG. Moreover, in SG, the ZnS levels were negatively associated with the epigenetic age acceleration. The DMR analysis revealed 37 DMRs associated with ZnDI and ZnS levels. The DMR of PM20D1 gene was commonly associated with ZnDI and ZnS levels and was hypomethylated in the SG. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide new information on Zn's modulation of DNA methylation patterns and bring new perspectives for understanding the nutriepigenetic mechanisms in obesity

Measurement of χ c1 and χ c2 production with s√ = 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

The prompt and non-prompt production cross-sections for the χ c1 and χ c2 charmonium states are measured in pp collisions at s√ = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using 4.5 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. The χ c states are reconstructed through the radiative decay χ c → J/ψγ (with J/ψ → μ + μ −) where photons are reconstructed from γ → e + e − conversions. The production rate of the χ c2 state relative to the χ c1 state is measured for prompt and non-prompt χ c as a function of J/ψ transverse momentum. The prompt χ c cross-sections are combined with existing measurements of prompt J/ψ production to derive the fraction of prompt J/ψ produced in feed-down from χ c decays. The fractions of χ c1 and χ c2 produced in b-hadron decays are also measured

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections for Higgs boson production in the diphoton decay channel at s√=8 TeV with ATLAS

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections are presented for Higgs boson production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=8 TeV. The analysis is performed in the H → γγ decay channel using 20.3 fb−1 of data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The signal is extracted using a fit to the diphoton invariant mass spectrum assuming that the width of the resonance is much smaller than the experimental resolution. The signal yields are corrected for the effects of detector inefficiency and resolution. The pp → H → γγ fiducial cross section is measured to be 43.2 ±9.4(stat.) − 2.9 + 3.2 (syst.) ±1.2(lumi)fb for a Higgs boson of mass 125.4GeV decaying to two isolated photons that have transverse momentum greater than 35% and 25% of the diphoton invariant mass and each with absolute pseudorapidity less than 2.37. Four additional fiducial cross sections and two cross-section limits are presented in phase space regions that test the theoretical modelling of different Higgs boson production mechanisms, or are sensitive to physics beyond the Standard Model. Differential cross sections are also presented, as a function of variables related to the diphoton kinematics and the jet activity produced in the Higgs boson events. The observed spectra are statistically limited but broadly in line with the theoretical expectations

Search for squarks and gluinos in events with isolated leptons, jets and missing transverse momentum at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing at least one isolated lepton (electron or muon), jets and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. The search is based on proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy s√=8 TeV collected in 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20 fb−1. No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed. Limits are set on supersymmetric particle masses for various supersymmetric models. Depending on the model, the search excludes gluino masses up to 1.32 TeV and squark masses up to 840 GeV. Limits are also set on the parameters of a minimal universal extra dimension model, excluding a compactification radius of 1/R c = 950 GeV for a cut-off scale times radius (ΛR c) of approximately 30

Measurement of the production of a W boson in association with a charm quark in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The production of a W boson in association with a single charm quark is studied using 4.6 fb−1 of pp collision data at s√ = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. In events in which a W boson decays to an electron or muon, the charm quark is tagged either by its semileptonic decay to a muon or by the presence of a charmed meson. The integrated and differential cross sections as a function of the pseudorapidity of the lepton from the W-boson decay are measured. Results are compared to the predictions of next-to-leading-order QCD calculations obtained from various parton distribution function parameterisations. The ratio of the strange-to-down sea-quark distributions is determined to be 0.96+0.26−0.30 at Q 2 = 1.9 GeV2, which supports the hypothesis of an SU(3)-symmetric composition of the light-quark sea. Additionally, the cross-section ratio σ(W + +c¯¯)/σ(W − + c) is compared to the predictions obtained using parton distribution function parameterisations with different assumptions about the s−s¯¯¯ quark asymmetry

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

Evidence for the Higgs-boson Yukawa coupling to tau leptons with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for H → τ τ decays are presented, based on the full set of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during 2011 and 2012. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of 4.5 fb−1 and 20.3 fb−1 at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √s = 8 TeV respectively. All combinations of leptonic (τ → `νν¯ with ` = e, µ) and hadronic (τ → hadrons ν) tau decays are considered. An excess of events over the expected background from other Standard Model processes is found with an observed (expected) significance of 4.5 (3.4) standard deviations. This excess provides evidence for the direct coupling of the recently discovered Higgs boson to fermions. The measured signal strength, normalised to the Standard Model expectation, of µ = 1.43 +0.43 −0.37 is consistent with the predicted Yukawa coupling strength in the Standard Model

Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to all-hadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV;{\rm Te}{\rm V}$and correspond to an integrated luminosity of$4.6\;{\rm f}{{{\rm b}}^{-1}}$. The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-of-mass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum${{p}_{{\rm T}}}\gt 320\;{\rm Ge}{\rm V}$and pseudorapidity$|\eta |\lt 1.9$, is measured to be${{\sigma }_{W+Z}}=8.5\pm 1.7$ pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques