Tevatron Combination of Single-Top-Quark Cross Sections and Determination of the Magnitude of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa Matrix Element V_{tb}

Tevatron greatest hits

The Tevatron collider led the World energy frontier program in particle physics during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. During this exciting period the standard model of particle physics was in its final stages of development and the search for physics beyond the standard model became one of the main research topics. In this review article we summarize the design and performance of the Tevatron collider and its two detectors, CDF and D0, as well as their evolution. Highlights of the Tevatron scientific results are provided, including the discovery of the top quark and measurements of its properties, studies and discoveries of the particles containing heavy quarks, precision studies of the strong and electroweak forces, searches for beyond the standard model particles and interactions, as well as the hunt for the Higgs boson.

The Protective Effects of Pre- and Post-Administration of Micronized Palmitoylethanolamide Formulation on Postoperative Pain in Rats

Background: Postoperative pain (PO) is a common form of acute pain. Inadequate PO treatment is an important health problem, as it leads to worse outcomes, such as chronic post-surgical pain. Therefore, it is necessary to acquire new knowledge on PO mechanisms to develop therapeutic options with greater efficacy than those available today and to lower the risk of adverse effects. For this reason, we evaluated the ability of micronized palmitoylethanolamide (PEA-m) to resolve the pain and inflammatory processes activated after incision of the hind paw in an animal model of PO. Methods: The animals were subjected to surgical paw incision and randomized into different groups. PEA-m was administered orally at 10 mg/kg at different time points before or after incision. Results: Our research demonstrated that the pre- and post-treatment with PEA-m reduced the activation of mast cells at the incision site and the expression of its algogenic mediator nerve growth factor (NGF) in the lumbar spinal cord. Furthermore, again at the spinal level, it was able to decrease the activation of phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinases (p-ERK), ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). PEA-m also reduced the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) spinal pathway, showing a protective effect in a rat model of PO. Conclusion: The results obtained reinforce the idea that PEA-m may be a potential treatment for the control of pain and inflammatory processes associated with PO. In addition, pre- and post-treatment with PEA-m is more effective than treatment alone after the surgery and this limits the time of taking the compound and the abuse of analgesics.

Total and Differential Cross Sections for Higgs and Top-Quark Production

I present theoretical calculations for Higgs-boson and top-quark production, including high-order soft-gluon corrections. I discuss charged-Higgs production in association with a top quark or a W boson, as well as single-top and top-antitop production. Total cross sections as well as transverse-momentum and rapidity distributions of the top quark or the Higgs boson are presented for various LHC energies.

Single-top and top-antitop cross sections

I present high-order calculations, including soft-gluon corrections, for single-top and top-antitop production cross sections and differential distributions. For single-top production, results are presented for the three different channels in the Standard Model, for associated production with a charged Higgs, and for processes involving anomalous couplings. For top-antitop pair production, total cross sections and top-quark transverse-momentum and rapidity distributions are presented for various LHC energies.