Master of Science

thesisOxidant status may influence conception after in vitro fertilization, maternal health during pregnancy, and fetal outcomes including birthweight. However, few reports exist of oxidant status in women of childbearing potential. Oxidant status may be influenced by the intake of antioxidant vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. The purpose of this study was to examine the intake of antioxidant vitamins and minerals, measure biomarkers of oxidative stress, and evaluate the association between them. We conducted a cross-sectional study of dietary and supplement intake and measurements for biomarkers of oxidative status (malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), and 8- isoprostane) in women of childbearing potential. Intake was measured using a food frequency questionnaire and an overall index of dietary quality was generated (the Healthy Eating Index-2005). Additionally, a new, integrated index of oxidant stress from dietary variables, the diet oxy-score, was calculated with intake for specific antioxidant vitamins and minerals. The total oxidant status from the biomarkers was created by integrating the measured values of MDA, GSH, GSH/GSSG ratio, and 8-isoprostane into one index. Oxidative status measured with biomarkers was correlated in a biologically plausible direction with the dietary index of oxidative status, the Healthy Eating Index- 2005, zinc, manganese, vitamin E, !-carotene, iron, and selenium. The observed correlations suggest that appropriate diet and supplementary zinc, manganese, vitamin E, B carotene, iron, and selenium intake may be an effective strategy for augmenting oxidantstatus in women of childbearing potential

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements