Electroweak corrections to monojet production at the Tevatron and the LHC

Single-jet production with missing transverse momentum is one of the most promising discovery channels for new physics at the LHC. In the Standard Model, Z + jet production with a Z-boson decay into neutrinos leads to this monojet signature. To improve the corresponding Standard Model predictions, we present the calculation of the full next-to-leading-order (NLO) electroweak corrections and a recalculation of the NLO QCD corrections to monojet production at the Tevatron and the LHC. We discuss the phenomenological impact on the total cross sections as well as on relevant differential distributions.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, 6 tables. Sections 2 and 3 shortened, comments on experimental uncertainties added, some references added; version to appear in EPJC. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1103.091

Electroweak precision for W+jet production

In this talk we discuss the next-to-leading-order electroweak (EW) corrections to W-boson + jet hadroproduction [1] and compare the full result to a simple approximation assuming factorization of EW and QCD corrections for the charged-current Drell-Yan process. The W-boson resonance is treated consistently using the complex-mass scheme, and all off-shell effects are taken into account. The corresponding next-to-leading-order QCD corrections have also been recalculated. All the results are implemented in a flexible Monte Carlo code. Selected numerical results for this Standard Model benchmark process are presented for the LHC. The comparison of our result to an approximation based on the EW corrections to W-boson production without additional jets is a step towards a better understanding of the interplay between QCD and EW effects for W-boson production in general.Comment: 6+1 pages, contribution to the proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on Radiative Corrections (RADCOR 2009), October 25-30 2009, Ascona, Switzerlan

Electroweak corrections to dilepton + jet production at hadron colliders

The first calculation of the next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections to Z-boson + jet hadroproduction including leptonic Z-boson decays is presented, i.e. to the production of a charged lepton--anti-lepton final state in association with one hard jet at the LHC and the Tevatron. The Z-boson resonance is treated consistently using the complex-mass scheme, and all off-shell effects as well as the contributions of the intermediate photon are taken into account. The corresponding next-to-leading-order QCD corrections have also been recalculated. The full calculation is implemented in a flexible Monte Carlo code. Numerical results for cross sections and distributions of this Standard Model benchmark process are presented for the Tevatron and the LHC.Comment: 32 pages, 13 figures. v2, further phenomenological results included, version published in JHE

Electroweak corrections to W + jet hadroproduction including leptonic W-boson decays

We present the first calculation of the next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections to W-boson + jet hadroproduction including leptonic W-boson decays. The W-boson resonance is treated consistently using the complex-mass scheme, and all off-shell effects are taken into account. The corresponding next-to-leading-order QCD corrections have also been recalculated. All the results are implemented in a flexible Monte Carlo code. Numerical results for cross sections and distributions of this Standard Model benchmark process are presented for the Tevatron and the LHC.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures, a few comments added, version published in JHE

A Comprehensive Review of the Pharmacodynamics, Pharmacokinetics, and Clinical Effects of the Neutral Endopeptidase Inhibitor Racecadotril

Racecadotril, via its active metabolite thiorphan, is an inhibitor of the enzyme neutral endopeptidase (NEP, EC 3.4.24.11), thereby increasing exposure to NEP substrates including enkephalins and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP). Upon oral administration racecadotril is rapidly and effectively converted into the active metabolite thiorphan, which does not cross the blood–brain-barrier. Racecadotril has mainly been tested in animal models and patients of three therapeutic areas. As an analgesic the effects of racecadotril across animal models were inconsistent. In cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension or congestive heart failure results from animal studies were promising, probably related to increased exposure to ANP, but clinical results have not shown substantial therapeutic benefit over existing treatment options in cardiovascular disease. In contrast, racecadotril was consistently effective in animal models and patients with various forms of acute diarrhea by inhibiting pathologic (but not basal) secretion from the gut without changing gastro-intestinal transit time or motility. This included studies in both adults and children. In direct comparative studies with loperamide in adults and children, racecadotril was at least as effective but exhibited fewer adverse events in most studies, particularly less rebound constipation. Several guidelines recommend the use of racecadotril as addition to oral rehydration treatment in children with acute diarrhea

Pathophysiological Factors in the Relationship between Chronological Age and Calculated Lung Age as Detected in a Screening Setting in Community-Dwelling Subjects

Aim: To explore the relationship between pathophysiological factors and premature lung ageing in a cohort of community-dwelling subjects in a health-screening setting. Methods: 16,107 pharmacy customers in Germany (5954 males, 10153 females; mean age 59.7 years)) participated in a lung function screening project by providing demographic data including smoking status and known airway conditions and performing spirometry with a Vitalograph, a spirometry screening device. Lung age was calculated from the spirometric findings, and the difference between chronological age and calculated lung age was analyzed in its relationship to the demographic data in general linear models. Results: In the overall cohort, calculated lung age exceeded chronological age by 10.0 years. Based on the subset of non-smokers not reporting any airway conditions, Vitalograph data in this setting may underestimate FEV1 to some degree but this apparently had little impact on the detection of association of lung age with pathophysiological factors or the corresponding effect sizes. The most important factors associated with greater lung age based on strength of association were presence of dyspnea, being a smoker and reporting a history of COPD or asthma. Corresponding effect sizes for the difference between age and lung age were 6.5, 5.7, 13.9 and 8.3 years over the chronological age. Discussion and Conclusions: These data confirm the usefulness of screening devices of lung function testing for epidemiological but potentially also for pharmaco-epidemiological studies

Back To The Roots: Tree-Based Algorithms for Weakly Supervised Anomaly Detection

Weakly supervised methods have emerged as a powerful tool for model-agnostic anomaly detection at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). While these methods have shown remarkable performance on specific signatures such as di-jet resonances, their application in a more model-agnostic manner requires dealing with a larger number of potentially noisy input features. In this paper, we show that using boosted decision trees as classifiers in weakly supervised anomaly detection gives superior performance compared to deep neural networks. Boosted decision trees are well known for their effectiveness in tabular data analysis. Our results show that they not only offer significantly faster training and evaluation times, but they are also robust to a large number of noisy input features. By using advanced gradient boosted decision trees in combination with ensembling techniques and an extended set of features, we significantly improve the performance of weakly supervised methods for anomaly detection at the LHC. This advance is a crucial step towards a more model-agnostic search for new physics.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure

Contra-thermodynamic E → Z isomerization of cinnamamides via selective energy transfer catalysis

A bio-inspired, photocatalytic E → Z isomerization of cinnamides is reported using inexpensive (−)-riboflavin (vitamin B2) under irradiation at λ = 402 nm. This operationally simple transformation is compatible with a range of amide derivatives including –NR2, –NHSO2R and N(Boc)2 (up to 99:1 Z:E). Selective energy transfer from the excited state photocatalyst to the starting E-isomer ensures that directionality is achieved: The analogous process with the Z-isomer is inefficient due to developing allylic strain causing chromophore deconjugation. This is supported by X-ray analysis and Stern-Volmer photo-quenching studies. Preliminary validation of the method in manipulating the conformation of a simple model Leu-enkephalin penta-peptide is disclosed via the incorporation of a cinnamamide-based amino acid