The CMS Phase I Pixel Upgrade and Search for ttbar Resonances in Boosted Semileptonic Final States

The pixel detector is an integral part of the CMS silicon tracker, designed to measure the position and momentum of charged particles produced in high-energy collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The phase I upgrade of the CMS forward pixel detector has replaced the previous forward pixel detector in early 2017. In this thesis, I will discuss the testing and qualification procedures for the modules and half cylinders of the CMS Phase I FPIX detector. This thesis also presents a model-independent search for the production of heavy resonances decaying into top-antitop quark pairs using data recorded by the CMS detector in 2018 (integrated luminosity of 58.8 /fb). The analysis focuses on the semi-leptonic decaying channel of the top-antitop quark pair. I focus on events that contain one muon, large missing transverse momentum and at least two high transverse momentum jets, and use special event reconstruction techniques that are optimized for top quarks with high Lorentz boosts

One-Step Synthesis of Amine-Functionalized Hollow Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles as Efficient Antibacterial and Anticancer Materials

In this study, amine-functionalized hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles with an average diameter of ∼100 nm and shell thickness of ∼20 nm were prepared by an one-step process. This new nanoparticulate system exhibited excellent killing efficiency against mycobacterial (<i>M. smegmatis</i> strain mc² 651) and cancer cells (A549)

Enhancing Lead Passivation in Contaminated Soil: Impacts of the Chemical Modification of Oxygen-Containing Groups (OCGs) on the Surface of Hydrochar

In this study, we selected walnut shell-derived pristine HC (pHC) and two modified derivatives obtained by oxidative and alkali treatments (designated mHC-O and mHC-A, respectively) to investigate the passivation performance of Pb(II) in contaminated soil. The yields of mHC-A and mHC-O were 70.58% and 95.38%, respectively, after posttreatment. According to the XPS, FTIR, and acidity titration results, the amounts of the three major OCGs (i.e. C−O, C=O, and O−C=O) all increased after H2O2 oxidation. Moreover, chemical modification fundamentally changed the structural characteristics of pHC. DTPA extraction tests indicated that the extractable Pb content after 30 days of incubation decreased by 13.60%, 19.32% and 14.53% at 7% (w/w) doses of HC, mHC-O and mHC-A, respectively, compared to that of the control. Furthermore, mHC-O was superior to pHC and mHC-A in terms of Pb passivation efficiency, which was consistent with the results of BCR sequential extraction and leaching tests using three root exudates. For mHC-O at the 7% dose, the contents of bioavailable Pb in the contaminated soil were 19.85 and 8.83 mg/kg based on DTPA leaching and BCR analysis, respectively, while they were 0.616, 0.564 and 0.07 mg/kg in the root exudate leaching tests of Ophiopogon japonicus, radish and spinach, respectively, indicating that the root exudate leaching method lowered the bioavailable Pb content compared to the DTPA and BCR methods. Overall, Oxidation posttreatment with HC could improve the passivation of Pb in contaminated soils.</p

Data_Sheet_1_Peptidomics approaches to the discovery and ACE inhibitory effect of casein peptides derived from fermented bovine milk by kefir grains.docx

IntroductionKefir grains with efficient proteolytic system is an excellent starter culture for the production of bioactive peptides and milk products. This study explores the casein peptides derived from fermented bovine milk by kefir grains using the peptidomics approaches. The angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity of these peptides were also investigated.MethodsAfter fermentation, peptidomics based on the LC-MS/MS was used to investigate the dynamic profile and the structure specificity of generated peptides. The ACE inhibitory activity of peptides was determined by measuring the amount of hippuric acid (HA) by a spectrophotometer at 228 nm.ResultsThe results indicated that the cell envelope proteinases (CEPs) were the PI-/PIII-type. A total of 122 peptides were identified. The β-casein was preferentially hydrolyzed by kefir grains, and the main hydrolysis regions were f57-93, f132-160 and f192-209. The αs1-, and κ-casein were also hydrolyzed by a weaker degree. In the process of fermentation, the accumulated peptides increased with the fermentation time. The fermentation products exhibited ACE inhibitory activity, and this bioactivity remained 63% after simulated gastrointestinal (GI) digestion in vitro. Additionally, 14 Pro-containing peptides with ACE inhibitory activity were also identified.ConclusionThese results provide new insights and evidence to investigate the bioactive milk peptides generated by kefir grains fermentation, as well as a reference for the development of functional foods.</p

Km and Vmax values for CYP3A4 and CYP2B6 enzymes with different mutants of POR were determined by their specific substrates testosterone and bupropion.

<p>The ratio of Vmax to Km was used as an index of catalytic efficiency; the activity of each POR mutant co-expressed with CYPs was calculated and expressed as a percentage of the activity of wild-type POR, arbitrarily set at 100%.</p><p>The data were represented as mean ± S.D. of three independent experiments.</p><p>CL<i>int = V</i>max/<i>K</i>m.</p>*<p>: <i>p</i><0.01 in comparison with the cells expressing wild-type (WT) POR.</p>#<p>: <i>p</i><0.05 in comparison with the cells expressing wild-type (WT) POR.</p><p>Dash (–) indicates not detectable.</p

Determination of enzymatic activities of CYP3A4-PORs.

<p>Kinetics for the formation of hydroxytestosterone was determined by incubation of testosterone with CYP3A4–PORs, as described in method. Data are depicted as mean±S.D. (n = 3). The insert graphs show the Lineweaver–Burk plot of the data.</p

The content of CYP3A4 and CYP2B6 co-expressed with wild-type or six POR mutants in sf9 microsomal fractions were determined on the basis of reduced CO-difference spectrum.

<p>The content of CYP3A4 and CYP2B6 co-expressed with wild-type or six POR mutants in sf9 microsomal fractions were determined on the basis of reduced CO-difference spectrum.</p

Map length, map density, and segregation distortion among the 24 linkage groups in the F₁ population of <i>Zoysia japonica.</i>

<p>Map length, map density, and segregation distortion among the 24 linkage groups in the F₁ population of <i>Zoysia japonica.</i></p

RAPD primer sequences used for polymorphism analysis in the F1 population of <i>Zoysia japonica.</i>

<p>RAPD; random amplified polymorphic DNA.</p><p>RAPD primer sequences used for polymorphism analysis in the F1 population of <i>Zoysia japonica.</i></p

Polymorphisms and segregation of the markers in the F₁ population using JoinMap.

a<p>The numbers indicate the number of sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers and the numbers in parentheses indicate the number of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers.</p><p>Polymorphisms and segregation of the markers in the F₁ population using JoinMap.</p