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The LHCb experiment is dedicated to making precision measurements involving beauty and charm hadrons at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The LHCb RICH detectors provide charged particle identification required to distinguish final states in many decays important to the LHCb physics programme. Time alignment of the RICH photon detectors is necessary in order to ensure a high photon collection efficiency. Using both a pulsed laser and proton-proton collision data the photon detectors are aligned to within 1 ns. The LHCb detector is uniquely positioned to measure production cross-sections at energies and rapidities inaccessible to other experiments. With 1.81 nb−1 of proton-proton collisions collected by the LHCb experiment in 2010 at center-of-mass energy √s = 7 TeV the production crosssection of D±s and D± mesons decaying to the φ{K+K−}π ± final state have been determined in bins of transverse momentum and rapidity. These measurements use a data-driven recursive optimisation technique to improve signal significance. The cross-section ratio is measured to be σ(D± ) σ(D± s ) = 2.32±0.27(stat)±0.26(syst), consistent with the ratio of charm-quark hadronisation fractions to D± and D±s mesons. Time-dependent interference between mixing of B0s -B0s mesons and decay to the final state J/ψφ gives rise to a CP violating phase φs. This phase is constrained to be small within the Standard Model, a significant deviation from which would be a signal of new physics. φs has been measured with 0.37 fb−1 of protonproton collision data recorded during 2011 by the LHCb experiment. Isolation of the signal distribution is achieved using the S-plot technique, and the analysis accounts for inclusive B0s →J/ψK+K− s-wave contributions. The measured value of φs = 0.16±0.18(stat)±0.06(syst) rad is the most precise measurement to date, and is consistent with Standard Model predictions.

CP violation is an important condition to explain the preponderance of baryons in our universe, yet the available CP violation in the Standard Model (SM) via the so-called Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa mechanism seems to not provide enough CP violation. Thus searching for new sources of CP violation is one of the central tasks of modern physics. In this thesis, we focus on a new possible source of CP violation which generates triple-product correlations in momenta which can appear in neutron and nuclear radiative β decay. We show that at low energies such a CP violating correlation may arise from the exotic coupling of nucleon, photon and neutrino that was proposed by Harvey, Hill, and Hill (HHH). One specialty of such an exotic HHH coupling is that it does not generate the well-known CP-violating terms such as ``D-term'', ``R-term'', and neutron electric dipole moment, in which particle's spins play critical role. We show that such a new HHH-induced CP violating effect is proportional to the imaginary part of c5gv, where gv is the vector coupling constant in neutron and nuclear β decay, and c5 is the phenomenological coupling constant that appears in chiral perturbation theory at O(M-2) with M referring to the nucleon or nuclear mass. We consider a possible non-Abelian hidden sector model, which is beyond the SM and may yield a nontrivial Im(c5). The available bounds on both Im(c5) and Im(gv) are considered, and a better limit on Im(c5) can come from a direct measurement in radiative beta decay. We calculate the competitive effect that arises from the general parameterization of the weak interaction that was proposed by Lee and Yang in 1956. We also show that in the proposed measurements, the CP-violating effect can be mimicked by the SM via final-state interactions (FSI). For a better determination of the bound of Im(c5), we consider the FSI-induced mimicking effect in full detail in O(α) as well as in leading recoil order. To face ongoing precision measurements of neutron radiative β decay of up to 1% relative error, we sharpen our calculations of the CP conserving pieces of neutron radiative β decay by considering the largest contributions in O(α2): the final-state Coulomb corrections as well as the contributions from two-photon radiation.

In this thesis, using a general model independent form of the effective Hamiltonian, the CP-violating asymmetries in the b -&gt / d l l transition, when one of the leptons is polarized, is investigated. The sensitivity of the CP-violating asymmetries on the new Wilson coefficients are analyzed. Next, in the frame work of the same formalism, the polarized lepton pair forward&amp / #8211 / backward asymmetries in B-&gt / K l l decay are studied. We present the general expression for the nine double&amp / #8211 / polarization forward&amp / #8211 / backward asymmetries. It is obtained that, the zero point position of the forward&amp / #8211 / backward asymmetries of the doubly&amp / #8211 / polarized lepton pair does not depend on long distance effects but depends on short distance dynamics. Furthermore, it is shown that the zero position of AFB is very sensitive to the sign of the new Wilson coefficients. When sign of the Wilson coefficients is positive (negative) the zero position of the forward&amp / #8211 / backward asymmetries shifts to the left(right) compared to the SM. Moreover, the dependencies of the nine double&amp / #8211 / polarization forward&amp / #8211 / backward asymmetries on new Wilson coefficients, and the correlation of the averaged nine double&amp / #8211 / polarization forward&amp / #8211 / backward asymmetries with branching ratio, have been studied. It is observed that, the study of the nine double&amp / #8211 / polarization forward&amp / #8211 / backward asymmetries can serve as a good test in establishing new physics beyond the Standard Model. Finally, we observed that there are exist such regions of new Wilson coefficients for which the nine double&amp / #8211 / polarization forward&amp / #8211 / backward asymmetries considerably depart from the SM result, while the branching ratio coincides with that of the SM prediction. In other words, new physics effects can be established by analyzing polarized forwardbackward asymmetry in this region of the new Wilson coefficients.

Intestinally derived chylomicron remnants (CM-r) may contribute to atherogenic dyslipidemia during the Metabolic Syndrome (Mets). However, the combined effects of ezetimibe (EZ) and simvastatin (SV) on post-prandial (PP) dyslipidemia during MetS remains unclear, nor is it known whether the combination has a synergistic anti-atherogenic effect on CM-r arterial retention. The first objective was to delineate the effects of EZ+SV therapy on intestinal cholesterol flux and CM PP metabolism in the JCR:LA-cp rat, a model of MetS. The second objective was to quantify the impact of EZ+SV therapy on arterial retention of CM-r and subsequent myocardial lesion development in the JCR:LA-cp rat. EZ+SV therapy decreased net intestinal cholesterol absorption in MetS rats. Furthermore, EZ+SV therapy reduced arterial retention of CM-r and frequency of myocardial lesions in MetS rats. In conclusion, EZ+SV therapy reduces arterial retention of CM-r and myocardial lesion development possibly through its beneficial effects on cholesterol transport and PP-metabolism. / Nutrition and Metabolism

Trans-11 vaccenic acid (VA) is the predominant trans fatty acid in dairy fat and is the major precursor to endogenous synthesis of cis9,trans11-conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in humans and animals. Epidemiological studies have shown the positive association between trans fat intake and incidence of coronary heart disease. Nevertheless, CLA, categorized as a group of trans fatty acids, has been shown to possess anti-carcinogenic, hypolipidemic and anti-diabetic benefits in several animal models as well as certain human populations, possibly via activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) related metabolic pathways. The subsequent effort in enriching CLA in dairy products (e.g. butter) has led to a concomitant increase in VA, whose bioactivity and health implications were not fully appreciated. Interestingly, VA is the major natural trans fat found in the diet. Therefore, the objectives of this thesis were to assess the effect of dietary supplementation of synthetic VA on lipid metabolism especially during conditions of dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome, and to delineate the intestinal and hepatic metabolic pathways potentially modulated by VA. The JCR:LA-cp rat model, when homozygous for the cp trait (cp/cp), develop leptin receptor deficiency which leads to symptoms of metabolic syndrome and pre-diabetes including obesity, insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, hypertriglyceridemia and exacerbated production of hepatic very low-density lipoproteins and intestinal chylomicrons (CM). Gas chromatography analysis on nascent lymph shows that VA was effectively absorbed into the intestine. In addition, VA from natural source (i.e. beef fat) showed higher intestinal bioavailability compared to synthetic VA. Dietary supplementation of 1.0% (w/w) synthetic VA to JCR:LA-cp rats (but not lean healthy controls) demonstrated a profound reduction in plasma triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, non-esterified fatty acid and haptoglobin concentrations (51%, p<0.001; 40%, p<0.001; 50%, p<0.05; 20%, p<0.05 and 50%, p<0.001; respectively), as well as improvement in hepatic steatosis and postprandial lipaemia. Gastric infusion of VA also resulted in an acute reduction in CM secretion in response to a fat load (p<0.05). We also found that the overall hypolipidemic benefits of VA might be partially contributed by suppression of hepatic de novo lipogenesis, activation of PPAR- activity as well as up-regulation of PPAR- and PPAR- expression in the intestine. In conclusion, VA as a natural trans fat, possesses beneficial properties in a rat model of dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome, suggesting potential for the prevention of cardiovascular disease risk. / Nutrition and Metabolism

The prospects of studying multi-strange and charmed antihyperon-hyperon physics and CP violation in hyperon decays in the upcoming PANDA experiment at FAIR, Germany, have been studied in this thesis. The angular dependence on polarisation parameters in the decay of the spin 3/2 Omega hyperon was calculated using the density matrix formalism. Expressions for the angular distributions in the Ω -&gt; ΛK and the subsequent Λ -&gt; pπ decays were derived. Simulations were performed for the pbar p -&gt; Ξ+ Ξ-, pbar p -&gt; Ω+Ω- and pbar p -&gt; Λc-Λc+ reactions. Special attention was given to the reconstruction of spin variables. It is shown that PANDA will register tens of events per second for the pbar p -&gt; Ξ+Ξ- reaction. This should be compared to the previously existing data of a handfull of events. For the other two reactions the event rates will be lower, but still reasonably high. This will be the first measurements of these reactions. It is shown that spin variables can be reconstructed in all three reactions for all production angles of the hyperons. Simulations concerning the possibility to measure CP violation parameters in hyperon decays were also made for the reactions pbar p- &gt; Λbar Λ and pbar p -&gt; Ξ+Ξ-. It was found that false signals from detector asymmetries disappears if no particle identification criterium is used and the analysis is restricted to events were the hyperon decays occur close to the beam axis. The effect of the magnetic field in the PANDA detector on the measurement of hyperon spin variables was investigated for the case of pbar p -&gt; Λbar Λ. The effect was observed to be small for polarisation and negligible for spin correlations.

Master of Engineering (Research) / Educational standards are having a significant impact on e-Learning. They allow for better exchange of information among different organizations and institutions. They simplify reusing and repurposing learning materials. They give teachers the possibility of personalizing them according to the student’s background and learning speed. Thanks to these standards, off-the-shelf content can be adapted to a particular student cohort’s context and learning needs. The same course content can be presented in different languages. Overall, all the parties involved in the learning-teaching process (students, teachers and institutions) can benefit from these standards and so online education can be improved. To materialize the benefits of standards, learning resources should be structured according to these standards. Unfortunately, there is the problem that a large number of existing e-Learning materials lack the intrinsic logical structure required, and further, when they have the structure, they are not encoded as required. These problems make it virtually impossible to share these materials. This thesis addresses the following research question: How to make the best use of existing open learning resources available on the Internet by taking advantage of educational standards and specifications and thus improving content reusability?In order to answer this question, I combine different technologies, techniques and standards that make the sharing of publicly available learning resources possible in innovative ways. I developed and implemented a three-stage tool to tackle the above problem. By applying information extraction techniques and open e-Learning standards to legacy learning resources the tool has proven to improve content reusability. In so doing, it contributes to the understanding of how these technologies can be used in real scenarios and shows how online education can benefit from them. In particular, three main components were created which enable the conversion process from unstructured educational content into a standard compliant form in a systematic and automatic way. An increasing number of repositories with educational resources are available, including Wikiversity and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology OpenCourseware. Wikivesity is an open repository containing over 6,000 learning resources in several disciplines and for all age groups [1]. I used the OpenCourseWare repository to evaluate the effectiveness of my software components and ideas. The results show that it is possible to create standard compliant learning objects from the publicly available web pages, improving their searchability, interoperability and reusability.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 118-122).