TRANSCRIPTION OF THE MITOCHONDRIAL CITRATE CARRIER GENE: ROLE OF SREBP-1, UPREGULATION BY INSULIN AND DOWNREGULATION BY PUFA

In this study we investigated the transcriptional role of the sterol regulatory element (SRE) present in the promoter of the mitochon- drial citrate carrier (CIC). We show that wild-type (but not mutated) CIC SRE cloned in front of the luciferase promoter confers tran- scriptional activation of the gene reporter. We also demonstrate that insulin activates, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) inhibit, the gene reporter activity driven by the CIC promoter containing wild-type (but not mutated) SRE. Finally, both insulin treatment and overexpression of SRE binding protein (SREBP-1) increase the CIC transcript and protein levels, whereas PUFA have an opposite effect. These results show that SRE/SREBP-1 play a role in the transcriptional regulation of CIC by insulin and PUFA

Quantifying Forearm Muscle Activity during Wrist and Finger Movements by Means of Multi-Channel Electromyography.

The study of hand and finger movement is an important topic with applications in prosthetics, rehabilitation, and ergonomics. Surface electromyography (sEMG) is the gold standard for the analysis of muscle activation. Previous studies investigated the optimal electrode number and positioning on the forearm to obtain information representative of muscle activation and robust to movements. However, the sEMG spatial distribution on the forearm during hand and finger movements and its changes due to different hand positions has never been quantified. The aim of this work is to quantify 1) the spatial localization of surface EMG activity of distinct forearm muscles during dynamic free movements of wrist and single fingers and 2) the effect of hand position on sEMG activity distribution. The subjects performed cyclic dynamic tasks involving the wrist and the fingers. The wrist tasks and the hand opening/closing task were performed with the hand in prone and neutral positions. A sensorized glove was used for kinematics recording. sEMG signals were acquired from the forearm muscles using a grid of 112 electrodes integrated into a stretchable textile sleeve. The areas of sEMG activity have been identified by a segmentation technique after a data dimensionality reduction step based on Non Negative Matrix Factorization applied to the EMG envelopes. The results show that 1) it is possible to identify distinct areas of sEMG activity on the forearm for different fingers; 2) hand position influences sEMG activity level and spatial distribution. This work gives new quantitative information about sEMG activity distribution on the forearm in healthy subjects and provides a basis for future works on the identification of optimal electrode configuration for sEMG based control of prostheses, exoskeletons, or orthoses. An example of use of this information for the optimization of the detection system for the estimation of joint kinematics from sEMG is reported

Luminosity determination using Z boson production at the CMS experiment

Data Availability Statement - This manuscript has no associated data or the data will not be deposited. [Authors’ comment: Release and preser vation of data used by the CMS Collaboration as the basis for publi cations is guidedbytheCMSpolicyasstatedinhttps://cms-docdb.cern. ch/cgibin/PublicDocDB/RetrieveFile?docid=6032&filename=CMSD ataPolicyV1.2.pdf&version=2. CMS data preservation,re-use and open access policy.]The measurement of Z boson production is presented as a method to determine the integrated luminosity of CMS data sets. The analysis uses proton–proton collision data, recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in 2017 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV . Events with Z bosons decaying into a pair of muons are selected. The total number of Z bosons produced in a fiducial volume is determined, together with the identification efficiencies and correlations from the same data set, in small intervals of 20 pb-1 of integrated luminosity, thus facilitating the efficiency and rate measurement as a function of time and instantaneous luminosity. Using the ratio of the efficiency-corrected numbers of Z bosons, the precisely measured integrated luminosity of one data set is used to determine the luminosity of another. For the first time, a full quantitative uncertainty analysis of the use of Z bosons for the integrated luminosity measurement is performed. The uncertainty in the extrapolation between two data sets, recorded in 2017 at low and high instantaneous luminosity, is less than 0.5%. We show that the Z boson rate measurement constitutes a precise method, complementary to traditional methods, with the potential to improve the measurement of the integrated luminosity.SCOAP

Search for supersymmetry in final states with disappearing tracks in proton-proton collisions at s=13 TeV

A search is presented for charged, long-lived supersymmetric particles in final states with one or more disappearing tracks. The search is based on data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC between 2016 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of Formula Presented. The search is performed over final states characterized by varying numbers of jets, Formula Presented-tagged jets, electrons, and muons. The length of signal-candidate tracks in the plane perpendicular to the beam axis is used to characterize the lifetimes of wino- and Higgsino-like charginos produced in the context of the minimal supersymmetric standard model. The Formula Presented energy loss of signal-candidate tracks is used to increase the sensitivity to charginos with a large mass and thus a small Lorentz boost. The observed results are found to be statistically consistent with the background-only hypothesis. Limits on the pair-production cross section of gluinos and squarks are presented in the framework of simplified models of supersymmetric particle production and decay, and for electroweakino production based on models of wino and Higgsino dark matter. The limits presented are the most stringent to date for scenarios with light third-generation squarks and a wino- or Higgsino-like dark matter candidate capable of explaining the observed dark matter relic density

Muon identification using multivariate techniques in the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 13 TeV

The identification of prompt and isolated muons, as well as muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays, is an important task. We developed two multivariate techniques to provide highly efficient identification for muons with transverse momentum greater than 10 GeV. One provides a continuous variable as an alternative to a cut-based identification selection and offers a better discrimination power against misidentified muons. The other one selects prompt and isolated muons by using isolation requirements to reduce the contamination from nonprompt muons arising in heavy-flavour hadron decays. Both algorithms are developed using 59.7 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 13 TeV collected in 2018 with the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC

Search for new Higgs bosons via same-sign top quark pair production in association with a jet in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV

A search is presented for new Higgs bosons in proton-proton (pp) collision events in which a same-sign top quark pair is produced in association with a jet, via the pp→tH/A→ttc‾ and pp→tH/A→ttu‾ processes. Here, H and A represent the extra scalar and pseudoscalar boson, respectively, of the second Higgs doublet in the generalized two-Higgs-doublet model (g2HDM). The search is based on pp collision data collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. Final states with a same-sign lepton pair in association with jets and missing transverse momentum are considered. New Higgs bosons in the 200–1000 GeV mass range and new Yukawa couplings between 0.1 and 1.0 are targeted in the search, for scenarios in which either H or A appear alone, or in which they coexist and interfere. No significant excess above the standard model prediction is observed. Exclusion limits are derived in the context of the g2HDM

Search for ZZ and ZH production in the bb̅bb̅ final state using proton-proton collisions at √s = 13TeV

A preprint version of the article is available at arXiv - https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.20241A search for ZZ and ZH production in the bb̅bb̅ final state is presented, where H is the standard model (SM) Higgs boson. The search uses an event sample of proton-proton collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 133fb−1 collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The analysis introduces several novel techniques for deriving and validating a multi-dimensional background model based on control samples in data. A multiclass multivariate classifier customized for the bb̅bb̅ final state is developed to derive the background model and extract the signal. The data are found to be consistent, within uncertainties, with the SM predictions. The observed (expected) upper limits at 95% confidence level are found to be 3.8 (3.8) and 5.0 (2.9) times the SM prediction for the ZZ and ZH production cross sections, respectively.SCOAP

Search for flavor changing neutral current interactions of the top quark in final states with a photon and additional jets in proton-proton collisions at s=13 TeV

A search for the production of a top quark in association with a photon and additional jets via flavor changing neutral current interactions is presented. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data recorded by the CMS detector at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of Formula Presented. The search is performed by looking for processes where a single top quark is produced in association with a photon, or a pair of top quarks where one of the top quarks decays into a photon and an up or charm quark. Events with an electron or a muon, a photon, one or more jets, and missing transverse momentum are selected. Multivariate analysis techniques are used to discriminate signal and standard model background processes. No significant deviation is observed over the predicted background. Observed (expected) upper limits are set on the branching fractions of top quark decays: Formula Presented (Formula Presented) and Formula Presented (Formula Presented) at 95% confidence level, assuming a single nonzero coupling at a time. The obtained limit for Formula Presented is similar to the current best limit, while the limit for Formula Presented is significantly tighter than previous results

Combined searches for the production of supersymmetric top quark partners in proton–proton collisions at √s=13Te

A combination of searches for top squark pair production using proton–proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137fb$^{-1}$ collected by the CMS experiment, is presented. Signatures with at least 2 jets and large missing transverse momentum are categorized into events with 0, 1, or 2 leptons. New results for regions of parameter space where the kinematical properties of top squark pair production and top quark pair production are very similar are presented. Depending on the model, the combined result excludes a top squark mass up to 1325GeV for a massless neutralino, and a neutralino mass up to 700GeV for a top squark mass of 1150GeV. Top squarks with masses from 145 to 295GeV, for neutralino masses from 0 to 100GeV, with a mass difference between the top squark and the neutralino in a window of 30GeV around the mass of the top quark, are excluded for the first time with CMS data. The results of theses searches are also interpreted in an alternative signal model of dark matter production via a spin-0 mediator in association with a top quark pair. Upper limits are set on the cross section for mediator particle masses of up to 420GeV