785 research outputs found

    Eco-friendly synthesis of silver nanoparticles from peel and juice C. limon and their antiviral efficacy against HSV-1 and SARS-CoV-2

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    The growing threat of viral infections requires innovative therapeutic approaches to safeguard human health. Nanomaterials emerge as a promising solution to overcome the limitations associated with conventional therapies. The eco-friendly synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) currently represents a method that guarantees antimicrobial efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness. This study explores the use of AgNPs derived from the peel (Lp-AgNPs) and juice (Lj-AgNPs) Citrus limon “Ovale di Sorrento”, cultivars of the Campania region. The antiviral potential was tested against viruses belonging to the Coronaviridae and Herpesviridae. AgNPs were synthesized by reduction method using silver nitrate solution mixed with aqueous extract of C. limon peel and juice. The formation of Lp-AgNPs and Lj-AgNPs was assessed using a UV–Vis spectrophotometer. The size, ζ-potential, concentration, and morphology of AgNPs were evaluated by dynamic light scattering (DLS), nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), and field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Cytotoxicity was evaluated in a concentration range between 500 and 7.8 μg/mL on VERO-76 and HaCaT cells, with the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium test bromide (MTT). Antiviral activity consisted of virus pre-treatment, co-treatment, cellular pre-treatment, and post-infection tests versus HSV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 at a multiplicity of infections (MOI) of 0.01. Plaque reduction assays and real-time PCR provided data on the antiviral potential of tested compounds. Lp-AgNPs and Lj-AgNPs exhibited spherical morphology with respective diameters of 60 and 92 nm with concentrations of 4.22 and 4.84 × 1010 particles/mL, respectively. The MTT data demonstrated minimal cytotoxicity, with 50 % cytotoxic concentrations (CC50) of Lp-AgNPs and Lj-AgNPs against VERO cells of 754.6 and 486.7 μg/mL. Similarly, CC50 values against HaCaT were 457.3 μg/mL for Lp-AgNPs and 339.6 μg/mL for Lj-AgNPs, respectively. In the virus pre-treatment assay, 90 % inhibitory concentrations of HSV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 were 8.54–135.04 μg/mL for Lp-AgNPs and 6.13–186.77 μg/mL for Lj-AgNPs, respectively. The molecular investigation confirmed the antiviral data, recording a reduction in the UL54 and UL27 genes for HSV-1 and in the Spike (S) gene for SARS-CoV-2, following AgNP exposure. The results of this study suggest that Lp-AgNPs and Lj-AgNPs derived from C. Limon could offer a valid ecological, natural, local and safe strategy against viral infections

    Search for excited electrons and muons in √s=8 TeV proton–proton collisions with the ATLAS detector

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    The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used to search for excited electrons and excited muons in the channel pp → ℓℓ* → ℓℓγ, assuming that excited leptons are produced via contact interactions. The analysis is based on 13 fb[superscript −1] of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. No evidence for excited leptons is found, and a limit is set at the 95% credibility level on the cross section times branching ratio as a function of the excited-lepton mass m[subscript ℓ*]. For m[subscript ℓ*] ≥ 0.8 TeV, the respective upper limits on σB(ℓ* → ℓγ) are 0.75 and 0.90 fb for the e* and μ* searches. Limits on σB are converted into lower bounds on the compositeness scale Λ. In the special case where Λ = m[subscript ℓ*], excited-electron and excited-muon masses below 2.2 TeV are excluded.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Brookhaven National Laborator

    Measurement of the inelastic proton–proton cross-section at √s=7 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

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    A first measurement of the inelastic cross-section is presented for proton-proton collisions at a center of mass energy √ =7 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. In a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20 µb<sup>-1</sup>, events are selected by requiring hits on scintillation counters mounted in the forward region of the detector. An inelastic cross-section of 60.3 ± 2.1 mb is measured for ξ>5x10<sup>-6</sup>, where ξ=M<sup>2</sup><sub>X</sub>/s is calculated from the invariant mass, M<sub>X</sub>, of hadrons selected using the largest rapidity gap in the event. For diffractive events this corresponds to requiring at least one of the dissociation masses to be larger than 15.7 GeV

    Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at &#8730;<span style="text-decoration:overline">s</span>=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

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    The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of &#8730;s=7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb−1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20&#60;p T&#60;400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y|&#60;2.1. The bb− -dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110&#60;m jj&#60;760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable χ in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bb− -dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta

    Measurements of top quark pair relative differential cross-sections with ATLAS in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV

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    ATLAS Collaboration Contributor: Paul Douglas Jackson of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford CA, United States of AmericaMeasurements are presented of differential cross-sections for top quark pair production in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV relative to the total inclusive top quark pair production cross-section. A data sample of 2.05 fb⁻¹ recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used. Relative differential cross-sections are derived as a function of the invariant mass, the transverse momentum and the rapidity of the top quark pair system. Events are selected in the lepton (electron or muon) + jets channel. The background-subtracted differential distributions are corrected for detector effects, normalized to the total inclusive top quark pair production cross-section and compared to theoretical predictions. The measurement uncertainties range typically between 10 % and 20 % and are generally dominated by systematic effects. No significant deviations from the Standard Model expectations are observed.The ATLAS Collaboratio

    Measurement of hard double-parton interactions in W(→ℓν) + 2-jet events at &#8730;<span style="text-decoration:overline">s</span>=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

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    The production of W bosons in association with two jets in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of &#8730;&lt;span style="text-decoration:overline"&gt;s&lt;/span&gt;=7 TeV has been analysed for the presence of double-parton interactions using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 pb−1, collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The fraction of events arising from double-parton interactions, f(D)DP, has been measured through the pT balance between the two jets and amounts to f(D)DP = 0.08 ± 0.01 (stat.) ± 0.02 (sys.) for jets with transverse momentum pT &#62; 20 GeV and rapidity |y| &#60; 2.8. This corresponds to a measurement of the effective area parameter for hard double-parton interactions of σeff = 15 ± 3 (stat.) +5−3 (sys.) mb

    Search for a fermiophobic Higgs boson in the diphoton decay channel with the ATLAS detector

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    A search for a fermiophobic Higgs boson using diphoton events produced in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s=7 TeV is performed using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb−1 collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. A specific benchmark model is considered where all the fermion couplings to the Higgs boson are set to zero and the bosonic couplings are kept at the Standard Model values (fermiophobic Higgs model). The largest excess with respect to the background-only hypothesis is found at 125.5 GeV, with a local significance of 2.9 standard deviations, which reduces to 1.6 standard deviations when taking into account the look-elsewhere effect. The data exclude the fermiophobic Higgs model in the ranges 110.0–118.0 GeV and 119.5–121.0 GeV at 95 % confidence level
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