5,297 research outputs found
The global electroweak fit at NNLO and prospects for the LHC and ILC
For a long time, global fits of the electroweak sector of the Standard Model
(SM) have been used to exploit measurements of electroweak precision
observables at lepton colliders (LEP, SLC), together with measurements at
hadron colliders (Tevatron, LHC), and accurate theoretical predictions at
multi-loop level, to constrain free parameters of the SM, such as the Higgs and
top masses. Today, all fundamental SM parameters entering these fits are
experimentally determined, including information on the Higgs couplings, and
the global fits are used as powerful tools to assess the validity of the theory
and to constrain scenarios for new physics. Future measurements at the Large
Hadron Collider (LHC) and the International Linear Collider (ILC) promise to
improve the experimental precision of key observables used in the fits. This
paper presents updated electroweak fit results using newest NNLO theoretical
predictions, and prospects for the LHC and ILC. The impact of experimental and
theoretical uncertainties is analysed in detail. We compare constraints from
the electroweak fit on the Higgs couplings with direct LHC measurements, and
examine present and future prospects of these constraints using a model with
modified couplings of the Higgs boson to fermions and bosons.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figure
Mapping Patent Classifications: Portfolio and Statistical Analysis, and the Comparison of Strengths and Weaknesses
The Cooperative Patent Classifications (CPC) jointly developed by the
European and US Patent Offices provide a new basis for mapping and portfolio
analysis. This update provides an occasion for rethinking the parameter
choices. The new maps are significantly different from previous ones, although
this may not always be obvious on visual inspection. Since these maps are
statistical constructs based on index terms, their quality--as different from
utility--can only be controlled discursively. We provide nested maps online and
a routine for portfolio overlays and further statistical analysis. We add a new
tool for "difference maps" which is illustrated by comparing the portfolios of
patents granted to Novartis and MSD in 2016.Comment: Scientometrics 112(3) (2017) 1573-1591;
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11192-017-2449-
Effects of COVID-19 Lockdown on Melanoma Diagnosis in Switzerland: Increased Tumor Thickness in Elderly Females and Shift towards Stage IV Melanoma during Lockdown.
At the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, Switzerland was among the countries with the highest number of SARS-CoV2-infections per capita in the world. Lockdowns had a remarkable impact on primary care access and resulted in postponed cancer screenings. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on the diagnosis of melanomas and stage of melanomas at diagnosis. In this retrospective, exploratory cohort study, 1240 patients with a new diagnosis of melanoma were analyzed at five tertiary care hospitals in German-speaking Switzerland over a period of two years and three months. We compared the pre-lockdown (01/FEB/19-15/MAR/20, n = 655) with the lockdown (16/MAR/20-22/JUN/20, n = 148) and post-lockdown period (23/JUN/20-30/APR/21, n = 437) by evaluating patients' demographics and prognostic features using Breslow thickness, ulceration, subtype, and stages. We observed a short-term, two-week rise in melanoma diagnoses after the major lift of social lockdown restrictions. The difference of mean Breslow thicknesses was significantly greater in older females during the lockdown compared to the pre-lockdown (1.9 ± 1.3 mm, p = 0.03) and post-lockdown period (1.9 ± 1.3 mm, p = 0.048). Thickness increase was driven by nodular melanomas (2.9 ± 1.3 mm, p = 0.0021; resp. 2.6 ± 1.3 mm, p = 0.008). A proportional rise of advanced melanomas was observed during lockdown (p = 0.047). The findings provide clinically relevant insights into lockdown-related gender- and age-dependent effects on melanoma diagnosis. Our data highlight a stable course in new melanomas with a lower-than-expected increase in the post-lockdown period. The lockdown period led to a greater thickness in elderly women driven by nodular melanomas and a proportional shift towards stage IV melanoma. We intend to raise awareness for individual cancer care in future pandemic management strategies
Drip and Mate Operations Acting in Test Tube Systems and Tissue-like P systems
The operations drip and mate considered in (mem)brane computing resemble the
operations cut and recombination well known from DNA computing. We here
consider sets of vesicles with multisets of objects on their outside membrane
interacting by drip and mate in two different setups: in test tube systems, the
vesicles may pass from one tube to another one provided they fulfill specific
constraints; in tissue-like P systems, the vesicles are immediately passed to
specified cells after having undergone a drip or mate operation. In both
variants, computational completeness can be obtained, yet with different
constraints for the drip and mate operations
Double-beta decay of Te to the first 0 excited state of Xe with CUORICINO
The CUORICINO experiment was an array of 62 TeO single-crystal
bolometers with a total Te mass of kg. The experiment finished
in 2008 after more than 3 years of active operating time. Searches for both
and double-beta decay to the first excited state in
Xe were performed by studying different coincidence scenarios. The
analysis was based on data representing a total exposure of
N(Te)t=y. No evidence for a signal was
found. The resulting lower limits on the half lives are y (90% C.L.), and
y (90%
C.L.).Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Physics at the e+ e- Linear Collider
A comprehensive review of physics at an e+e- Linear Collider in the energy
range of sqrt{s}=92 GeV--3 TeV is presented in view of recent and expected LHC
results, experiments from low energy as well as astroparticle physics.The
report focuses in particular on Higgs boson, Top quark and electroweak
precision physics, but also discusses several models of beyond the Standard
Model physics such as Supersymmetry, little Higgs models and extra gauge
bosons. The connection to cosmology has been analyzed as well.Comment: 179 pages, plots and references updated, version to be published at
EPJ
Active membranes:3D printing of elastic fibre patterns on pre-stretched textiles
There has been a steady growth, over several decades, in the deployment of fabrics in architectural applications; both in terms of quantity and variety of application. More recently 3D printing and additive manufacturing have added to the palette of technologies that designers in architecture and related disciplines can call upon. Here we report on research that brings those two technologies together - the development of active membrane elements and structures. We show how these active membranes have been achieved by laminating 3D printed elasto-plastic fibres onto pre-stretched textile membranes. We report on a set of experiments involving one-, two- and multi-directional geometric arrangements that take TPU 95 and Polypropylene filaments and apply them to lycra textile sheets, to form active composite panels. The process involves a parametrised design, actualized through a particular fabrication process. Our findings document the investigation into mapping between the initial two-dimensional geometries and their resulting three-dimensional doubly-curved forms, as well as accomplishments and products of the resulting, partly serendipitous, design process
Validation of techniques to mitigate copper surface contamination in CUORE
In this article we describe the background challenges for the CUORE
experiment posed by surface contamination of inert detector materials such as
copper, and present three techniques explored to mitigate these backgrounds.
Using data from a dedicated test apparatus constructed to validate and compare
these techniques we demonstrate that copper surface contamination levels better
than 10E-07 - 10E-08 Bq/cm2 are achieved for 238U and 232Th. If these levels
are reproduced in the final CUORE apparatus the projected 90% C.L. upper limit
on the number of background counts in the region of interest is 0.02-0.03
counts/keV/kg/y depending on the adopted mitigation technique.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 6 table
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