Determining R-parity violating parameters from neutrino and LHC data

In supersymmetric models neutrino data can be explained by R-parity violating operators which violate lepton number by one unit. The so called bilinear model can account for the observed neutrino data and predicts at the same time several decay properties of the lightest supersymmetric particle. In this paper we discuss the expected precision to determine these parameters by combining neutrino and LHC data and discuss the most important observables. We show that one can expect a rather accurate determination of the underlying R-parity parameters assuming mSUGRA relations between the R-parity conserving ones and discuss briefly also the general MSSM as well as the expected accuracies in case of a prospective e+ e- linear collider. An important observation is that several parameters can only be determined up to relative signs or more generally relative phases.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figure

Cell death induced by the application of alternating magnetic fields to nanoparticle-loaded dendritic cells

In this work, the capability of primary, monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) to uptake iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) is assessed and a strategy to induce selective cell death in these MNP-loaded DCs using external alternating magnetic fields (AMFs) is reported. No significant decrease in the cell viability of MNP-loaded DCs, compared to the control samples, was observed after five days of culture. The amount of MNPs incorporated into the cytoplasm was measured by magnetometry, which confirmed that 1 to 5 pg of the particles were uploaded per cell. The intracellular distribution of these MNPs, assessed by transmission electron microscopy, was found to be primarily inside the endosomic structures. These cells were then subjected to an AMF for 30 min, and the viability of the blank DCs (i.e., without MNPs), which were used as control samples, remained essentially unaffected. However, a remarkable decrease of viability from approximately 90% to 2-5% of DCs previously loaded with MNPs was observed after the same 30 min exposure to an AMF. The same results were obtained using MNPs having either positive (NH2+) or negative (COOH-) surface functional groups. In spite of the massive cell death induced by application of AMF to MNP-loaded DCs, the amount of incorporated magnetic particles did not raise the temperature of the cell culture. Clear morphological changes at the cell structure after magnetic field application were observed using scanning electron microscopy. Therefore, local damage produced by the MNPs could be the main mechanism for the selective cell death of MNP-loaded DCs under an AMF. Based on the ability of these cells to evade the reticuloendothelial system, these complexes combined with an AMF should be considered as a potentially powerful tool for tumour therapy.Comment: In Press. 33 pages, 11 figure

Chromosomal Comparisons Among And Within Populations Of Simulium (chirostilbia) Pertinax (diptera, Simuliidae).

Chromosomal studies were carried on six larval populations of Simulium (Chirostilbia) pertinax from different locations in Brazil. Larvae were collected in the states of Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Polytene chromosome map comparisons within and among populations showed no differences in banding pattern, except for some limited polymorphism (secondary NOR and four band polymorphisms). There were no chromosomal variations associated with the resistance or susceptibility of the larvae to temephos. The chromosomal homosequentiality found among the six populations suggests that S. pertinax may be a monomorphic species.96365-

Influence of Photoperiod on Biomass Production and Removal of Nutrients from Tannery Effluents with Microalgae Consortium

Content: Wastewater from tanneries besides having toxic compounds also contain nutrients such as carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen, which facilitate the rapid multiplication of microalgae. Currently, many types of researches search microalgae capable of growing in industrial effluents, exploiting the advantages of removing the nutrients present in these waters and producing biomass with high value- added. The liquid effluents produced in tanneries for finished leather have essential nutrients for the growth of microalgae, but also some compounds that may restrict or hinder the growth of microalgae in this medium. Therefore, the present work has the objective to evaluate the growth of a microalgae consortium (collected in a wastewater treatment plant of a beamhouse tannery) for the removal of phosphorus and ammonia from wastewater streams of a tannery (processing wet-blue to finished leather) with different photoperiods. Microalgae consortium was cultivated at two different compositions of mixtures of raw wastewater (R) and wastewater after secondary biological treatment (B): 50% of R + 50% of B, (50R50B) and 75% of R + 25% of B, (75R25B), in photoperiod of 24 hours and 12 hours of light, temperature of 25 °C and constant aeration. The growth of microalgae in the effluent and the removal of phosphorus and ammonia were monitored throughout the cultivation. The microalgae consortium presented maximum biomass concentrations in the 75R25B effluent (1.40 g L-1) and phosphorus removal (97.64% for the 50R50B and 95.54% for the 75R25B) effluent and ammonia removal (100%) for both effluent with 24-hour photoperiod light. Take-Away: In this study, it was found that the microalgae consortium can survive in wastewater from tanneries (processing wet-blue to finished leather) and exhibit removals of phosphorus and ammonia from the medium. The 24-hour light photoperiod presented better microalgae growth and nutrient removal results

Maintenance policy under multiple unrevealed failures

The unrevealed failures of a system are detected only by inspection. In this work, an inspection policy along with a maintenance procedure for multiunit systems with dependent times to failure is presented. The existence of an optimum policy is also discussed

Multivoicedness as a tool for expanding school leaders’ understandings and practices for school-based professional development

This article presents findings from the implementation of a pilot study of a professional development model, Schools Inquiring and Learning with Peers (SILP) in Chile. SILP includes a network learning setting involving a cluster of three schools supported by university partners that conduct peer reviews and a school learning setting involving school teams in conversations to mobilise new leadership for learning practices. The notions of joint practice development and multivoicedness in professional conversations are the essence of these processes. Data produced through the review process, understood as voices, enabled participants to incorporate the perspectives, conceptual horizon, and intentions of administrators, students, and teachers who need to collaborate for teaching to produce learning. Across schools we observed common learning as well as important differences. These differences show that by taking an active role in making sense of their participation in a professional development programme, learners achieve outcomes that may be much more meaningful than what program designers prescribed. As facilitators we learned with participants about their specific contexts, expanding the affordances they and we envisioned for the use of new tools that became available through their participation in SILP

Anomalous Higgs Couplings

We review the effects of new effective interactions on the Higgs boson phenomenology. New physics in the electroweak bosonic sector is expected to induce additional interactions between the Higgs doublet field and the electroweak gauge bosons leading to anomalous Higgs couplings as well as to anomalous gauge-boson self-interactions. Using a linearly realized $SU(2)_L \times U(1)_Y$ invariant effective Lagrangian to describe the bosonic sector of the Standard Model, we review the effects of the new effective interactions on the Higgs boson production rates and decay modes. We summarize the results from searches for the new Higgs signatures induced by the anomalous interactions in order to constrain the scale of new physics in particular at CERN LEP and Fermilab Te vatron colliders.Comment: 35 pages, latex using epsfig.sty psfig.sty and axodraw.sty, 16 postscript figure

Effects of no tillage on the abundance and diversity of soil and olive tree canopy arthropods.

Soil tillage is a traditional practice in the olive groves of Trás-os-Montes region (Northeast of Portugal) where the soil is maintained without any vegetal cover. However, this agronomic practice may have dangerous environmental effects of several orders. In this way, with the present work we aimed to contribute for the knowledge about the effect of two soil management practices in the olive grove (traditional tillage in comparison to no tillage) on the arthropods abundance and diversity of the olive grove soil and the olive tree canopy with special reference to Formicidae family. The work was developed between April and October of 2004, in two continuous plots submitted to the following agronomical practices: one plot submitted to frequent tillage to control weeds, and the other plot was no tilled. Monthly, the soil fauna was evaluated by 30 pitfall traps and olive canopy fauna was monitored by the beating technique of 25 trees per plot. The recovered material was sorted and identified. The results showed the existence of a diverse and rich fauna associated to the soil of olive grove and olive tree canopy. The olive soil arthropods are constituted mainly by Formicidae and Collembola

Probing neutrino mass with multilepton production at the Tevatron in the simplest R-parity violation model

We analyze the production of multileptons in the simplest supergravity model with bilinear violation of R parity at the Fermilab Tevatron. Despite the small R-parity violating couplings needed to generate the neutrino masses indicated by current atmospheric neutrino data, the lightest supersymmetric particle is unstable and can decay inside the detector. This leads to a phenomenology quite distinct from that of the R-parity conserving scenario. We quantify by how much the supersymmetric multilepton signals differ from the R-parity conserving expectations, displaying our results in the $m_0 \otimes m_{1/2}$ plane. We show that the presence of bilinear R-parity violating interactions enhances the supersymmetric multilepton signals over most of the parameter space, specially at moderate and large $m_0$.Comment: 26 pages, 23 figures. Revised version with some results corrected and references added. Conclusions remain the sam