Electroweak measurements from WW, ZZ and photon final states

We present the most recent precision electroweak measurements of single $W$ and $Z$ boson cross section and properties from the LHC and Tevatron colliders, analyzing data collected by ATLAS, CDF, CMS, D0, and LHCb detectors. The results include the measurement of the single $W$ and $Z$ boson cross section at LHC, the differential cross section measurements, the measurement of $W$ boson mass, the measurement of $W$ and $Z$ charge asymmetry. These measurements provide precision tests on the electroweak theory, high order predictions and the information can be used to constraint parton distribution functions.Comment: 14 pages, 16 figures, PIC201

Nanomechanics of muscovite subjected to nanoindentation and the pertinent indentation size effect

Two groups of nanoindentation experiments, including repeated loading tests and monotonic loading tests, were performed on muscovite with a sharp indenter tip and loading direction normal to the basal plane. By varying the maximum load in the first group of repeated experiments, influences of the load level can be examined on the modes of nanoscale deformation and the resulting estimation of hardness and elastic modulus. The incipient kink band concept was employed to interpret the observed dispersed loading-unloading hysteresis loops by considering formation and annihilation of IKBs. Furthermore, the material’s contact stiffness behavior was characterized by comparing the normalized unloading section of the loading-unloading loops of each test. Then a group of strain rate controlled monotonic loading tests was conducted for further comparison and evaluation of strain hardening effects of muscovite introduced by previously cyclic loading process. The second objective of these experiments was to discuss the indentation size effect, which usually occurred in micro scale indentation tests, and propose a proper model that can simulate the occurrence of pop-ins as well as its degrees

Size Kinetics and Mechanics of Clay-biopolymer Flocs

The suspended cohesive sediments, mostly clay minerals with negative surface charges, usually interact through an array of intermolecular/surface forces (e.g., Coulomb force, van der Waals attractions, and hydrogen bonding) with waterborne organic matter (e.g., exopolymers) and dissolved salts, resulting in fractal, tenuous, and hybrid organic-inorganic flocs or “marine snow”. A pilot and systematic laboratory and theoretical work have been conducted towards a synthetic nanoscale understanding of the flocculation kinetics and mechanics of the clay-exopolymer micro-sized flocs. This systematic study has achieved two impressive objectives: (1) the effect of exopolymer polarity and concentration on the particle size kinetics of clay-exopolymer mixtures has been investigated, based on extensive flocculation experiments involving four clay minerals (i.e., kaolinite, illite, Na-montmorillonite, and Ca-montmorillonite), three exopolymers (i.e., xanthan, guar, chitosan), six exopolymer to clay weight ratios (i.e., 0, 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 wt.%), and three hydrodynamic conditions (i.e., laminar, transitional, and turbulent flows); (2) the floc mechanical properties affected by salinity and exopolymers have also been investigated by means of extensive floc nanocompression testing involving the four aforementioned clay minerals, four neutral exopolymer (guar) to clay weight ratios (i.e., 0, 2, 10, and 20 wt.%), and four salinities (i.e., 0, 2, 10, and 30 PSU). Results from flocculation experiments indicate that both the pure clay and clay-exopolymer mixture suspensions possess discrete particle groups consisting of primary particles, flocculi, microflocs, and macroflocs that exhibit subordinate unimodal lognormal distributions. There exists a critical exopolymer to clay ratio that can lead to a maximal or minimal fraction of microflocs or macroflocs. Meanwhile, the highly scattered floc mechanical properties led to the theoretical finding that both floc’s elasticity and yield shear strength satisfy Weibull’s Law. These findings are of great importance to geotechnical engineering

The Clinical Utility of Zinc Transporter 8 Autoantibody Measurement in Diabetes

Maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is caused by single gene mutations that are of autosomal dominant inheritance. Mutations are highly penetrant, and patients often develop a phenotype similar to type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Glucokinase, Hepatic nuclear factor 1a and 4a mutations consists of 80% of MODY cases. Approximately 1% of patients with diabetes have MODY, and it is often misdiagnosed. Diagnosis is important as patients with MODY often have a good prognosis and glycaemic control if they are treated appropriately. The aim of this thesis was to explore the use of islet autoantibodies, in particular a new autoantibody against Zinc Transporter 8, as biomarkers to identify MODY. A literature review of MODY and its important subtypes are discussed. It highlights the major mutation that cause MODY and the management of patients with MODY is also explored. Islet autoantibodies will also be reviewed in the same chapter, with a discussion on established autoantibodies and ZnT8 autoantibodies in relation to type 1 diabetes. Chapter 1 aims to investigate whether ZnT8 autoantibodies are similar to established autoantibodies against GAD and IA-2 as a biomarker in differentiating T1D patients from MODY patients. The prevalence of ZnT8 autoantibodies in MODY patients and the effect of disease duration on antibody prevalence and discriminative power would also be investigated. In Chapter 2, a study was performed to investigate whether islet autoantibodies are useful in the MODY referral setting in ruling out patients for genetic testing. This is a way to rationalise genetic testing at the Exeter molecular genetics referral service. Additionally, other biomarkers will also be investigated, namely C-peptide levels and Type 1 Diabetes Genetic Risk score. Results from the study will have implications to how MODY is diagnosed at the referral service. A discussion of the findings of each chapter, implications and plans for future research will be explored in chapter 3