Heavy quark asymmetries with DELPHI

The measurements of the forward-backward asymmetry in Z -> c cbar and Z -> b bbar decays are among the most precise determinations of sin^2(theta)_W. In this paper the results obtained by the DELPHI experiment at LEP with three different analyses are reviewed together with the impact of the combined LEP result on the global Electroweak fit.Comment: 7 pages, RevTeX, fonts changed in 2 eps file

Prenatal Environmental Stressors and DNA Methylation Levels in Placenta and Peripheral Tissues of Mothers and Neonates Evaluated by Applying Artificial Neural Networks

Exposure to environmental stressors during pregnancy plays an important role in influencing subsequent susceptibility to certain chronic diseases through the modulation of epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation. Our aim was to explore the connections between environmental exposures during gestation with DNA methylation of placental cells, maternal and neonatal buccal cells by applying artificial neural networks (ANNs). A total of 28 mother-infant pairs were enrolled. Data on gestational exposure to adverse environmental factors and on mother health status were collected through the administration of a questionnaire. DNA methylation analyses at both gene-specific and global level were analyzed in placentas, maternal and neonatal buccal cells. In the placenta, the concentrations of various metals and dioxins were also analyzed. Analysis of ANNs revealed that suboptimal birth weight is associated with placental H19 methylation, maternal stress during pregnancy with methylation levels of NR3C1 and BDNF in placentas and mother's buccal DNA, respectively, and exposure to air pollutants with maternal MGMT methylation. Associations were also observed between placental concentrations of lead, chromium, cadmium and mercury with methylation levels of OXTR in placentas, HSD11B2 in maternal buccal cells and placentas, MECP2 in neonatal buccal cells, and MTHFR in maternal buccal cells. Furthermore, dioxin concentrations were associated with placental RELN, neonatal HSD11B2 and maternal H19 gene methylation levels. Current results suggest that exposure of pregnant women to environmental stressors during pregnancy could induce aberrant methylation levels in genes linked to several pathways important for embryogenesis in both the placenta, potentially affecting foetal development, and in the peripheral tissues of mothers and infants, potentially providing peripheral biomarkers of environmental exposure

Current Knowledge on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) from Animal Biology to Humans, from Pregnancy to Adulthood: Highlights from a National Italian Meeting

Wildlife has often presented and suggested the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Animal studies have given us an important opportunity to understand the mechanisms of action of many chemicals on the endocrine system and on neurodevelopment and behaviour, and to evaluate the effects of doses, time and duration of exposure. Although results are sometimes conflicting because of confounding factors, epidemiological studies in humans suggest effects of EDCs on prenatal growth, thyroid function, glucose metabolism and obesity, puberty, fertility, and on carcinogenesis mainly through epigenetic mechanisms. This manuscript reviews the reports of a multidisciplinary national meeting on this topic

Search for heavy neutral lepton production in K+ decays

A search for heavy neutral lepton production in K + decays using a data sample collected with a minimum bias trigger by the NA62 experiment at CERN in 2015 is reported. Upper limits at the 10−7 to 10−6 level are established on the elements of the extended neutrino mixing matrix |Ue4| 2 and |Uμ4| 2 for heavy neutral lepton mass in the ranges 170–448 MeV/c2 and 250–373 MeV/c2, respectively. This improves on the previous limits from HNL production searches over the whole mass range considered for |Ue4|2 and above 300 MeV/c2 for |Uμ4|2

Tracker Operation and Performance at the Magnet Test and Cosmic Challenge

During summer 2006 a fraction of the CMS silicon strip tracker was operated in a comprehensive slice test called the Magnet Test and Cosmic Challenge (MTCC). At the MTCC, cosmic rays detected in the muon chambers were used to trigger the readout of all CMS sub-detectors in the general data acquisition system and in the presence of the 4 T magnetic field produced by the CMS superconducting solenoid. This document describes the operation of the Tracker hardware and software prior, during and after data taking. The performance of the detector as resulting from the MTCC data analysis is also presented