Vacuum stability with spontaneous violation of lepton number

The vacuum of the Standard Model is known to be unstable for the measured values of the top and Higgs masses. Here we show how vacuum stability can be achieved naturally if lepton number is violated spontaneously at the TeV scale. More precise Higgs measurements in the next LHC run should provide a crucial test of our symmetry breaking scenario. In addition, these schemes typically lead to enhanced rates for processes involving lepton flavour violation .Comment: 9 pages, 4+2 figures; some references added, some textual modifications: 2 figures added, appendices added. Results unchanged. Matches published versio

Flavour-symmetric type-II Dirac neutrino seesaw mechanism

We propose a Standard Model extension with underlying A4 flavour symmetry where small Dirac neutrino masses arise from a Type-II seesaw mechanism. The model predicts the "golden" flavour-dependent bottom-tau mass relation, requires an inverted neutrino mass ordering and non-maximal atmospheric mixing angle. Using the latest neutrino oscillation global fit we derive restrictions on the oscillation parameters, such as a correlation between Dirac CP phase and the lightest neutrino mass.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

A sparse coding approach to inverse problems with application to microwave tomography imaging

Inverse imaging problems that are ill-posed can be encountered across multiple domains of science and technology, ranging from medical diagnosis to astronomical studies. To reconstruct images from incomplete and distorted data, it is necessary to create algorithms that can take into account both, the physical mechanisms responsible for generating these measurements and the intrinsic characteristics of the images being analyzed. In this work, the sparse representation of images is reviewed, which is a realistic, compact and effective generative model for natural images inspired by the visual system of mammals. It enables us to address ill-posed linear inverse problems by training the model on a vast collection of images. Moreover, we extend the application of sparse coding to solve the non-linear and ill-posed problem in microwave tomography imaging, which could lead to a significant improvement of the state-of-the-arts algorithms.Comment: submitted to RevMexAA (conference series

Design of an RSFQ Control Circuit to Observe MQC on an rf-SQUID

We believe that the best chance to observe macroscopic quantum coherence (MQC) in a rf-SQUID qubit is to use on-chip RSFQ digital circuits for preparing, evolving and reading out the qubit's quantum state. This approach allows experiments to be conducted on a very short time scale (sub-nanosecond) without the use of large bandwidth control lines that would couple environmental degrees of freedom to the qubit thus contributing to its decoherence. In this paper we present our design of a RSFQ digital control circuit for demonstrating MQC in a rf-SQUID. We assess some of the key practical issues in the circuit design including the achievement of the necessary flux bias stability. We present an "active" isolation structure to be used to increase coherence times. The structure decouples the SQUID from external degrees of freedom, and then couples it to the output measurement circuitry when required, all under the active control of RSFQ circuits. Research supported in part by ARO grant # DAAG55-98-1-0367.Comment: 4 pages. More information and publications at http://www.ece.rochester.edu:8080/users/sde/research/publications/index.htm

Retinal Vessel Segmentation Using the 2-D Morlet Wavelet and Supervised Classification

We present a method for automated segmentation of the vasculature in retinal images. The method produces segmentations by classifying each image pixel as vessel or non-vessel, based on the pixel's feature vector. Feature vectors are composed of the pixel's intensity and continuous two-dimensional Morlet wavelet transform responses taken at multiple scales. The Morlet wavelet is capable of tuning to specific frequencies, thus allowing noise filtering and vessel enhancement in a single step. We use a Bayesian classifier with class-conditional probability density functions (likelihoods) described as Gaussian mixtures, yielding a fast classification, while being able to model complex decision surfaces and compare its performance with the linear minimum squared error classifier. The probability distributions are estimated based on a training set of labeled pixels obtained from manual segmentations. The method's performance is evaluated on publicly available DRIVE and STARE databases of manually labeled non-mydriatic images. On the DRIVE database, it achieves an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.9598, being slightly superior than that presented by the method of Staal et al.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures and 1 table. Accepted for publication in IEEE Trans Med Imag; added copyright notic

Addendum For The Paper "two New Species Of Emersonella (hymenoptera: Eulophidae: Entedoninae) From The Brazilian Atlantic Forest"

The purpose of this short communication is to provide information on the depository for the primary types of the new species described by ALVARENGA et al. (2015) and thus validate the names suggested therein. The depository for the primary types of the new species Emersonella appendigaster Alvarenga, Costa & Hansson, 2015 and Emersonella frieirocostai Alvarenga, Costa & Hansson, 2015 is the Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil (MZSP).32653853

Efeitos do melhoramento da caatinga sobre os balanços protéico e energético na dieta de ovinos.

O trabalho foi conduzido na Embrapa Caprinos, em Sobral, Ceará, objetivando de determinar os efeitos de níveis crescentes de melhoramento da caatinga sobre a variação sazonal na qualidade da dieta e no balanço nutricional de matrizes ovinas adultas, em diferentes estados fisiológicos. A vegetação nativa foi submetida a quatro níveis de manipulação: a) Caatinga raleada; b) Caatinga raleada adubada com 100 kg/ ha de P2 O5; c) Caatinga raleada e enriquecida com capim-gramão (Cynodon dactylon, cv. Callie); d) Caatinga raleada, adubada e enriquecida com capim-gramão. Amostras de extrusa foram coletadas a cada 14 dias e submetidas a análises em laboratório. O valor nutritivo das dietas demonstraram uma tendência de incremento à medida em que os níveis de melhoramento da caatinga eram intensificados. Os níveis de proteína bruta (PB) e digestibilidade da matéria orgânica (DMO) foram profundamente afetados pelas variações climáticas, independentemente dos níveis de melhoramento da vegetação. Quanto ao balanço nutricional, constatou-se que os déficits de energia foram mais freqüentes e mais acentuados do que os de proteína, em todos os níveis de melhoramento da caatinga, principalmente, durante os períodos de gestação e aleitamento das ovelhas. Os resultados indicam que o acompanhamento do status nutricional, ao longo do ano, podem proporcionar a implantação de programas de suplementação alimentar em bases ecológicas e economicamente sustentáveis. Effects of caatinga improvement on protein and energy balances of sheep diet. Abstract - This study was conducted at Embrapa Caprinos, in Sobral, Ceará, Brazil, with the main objective of determining the effects of increasing levels of Caatinga improvement on seasonal variations in diet quality and nutritional balances of mature sheep under different physiological conditions. Native vegetation was subjected to four levels of manipulation: a) Thinned Caatinga; b) Thinned Caatinga fertilized with 100 kg/ha of P2O5; c) Thinned Caatinga enriched (seeded) with Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon, cv. Callie); Thinned Caatinga, fertilized and enriched. Diet samples were collected at fourteen days intervals and submitted to lab analysis. The nutritive value of diets tended to increase along with Caatinga improvement levels. However, crude protein (CP) and organic matter digestibility (OMD) levels were affected by climatic variations, Caatinga improvement level. As to nutritional balance, it was shown that deficiencies in energy were more frequent and more accentuated than those of protein at all levels of Caatinga improvement, and principally during periods of gestation and nursing. The results indicate that the monitoring of nutritional status, along the course of the year, may provide insight into implanting ecologically and economically sustainable supplemental fedding programs