Combined measurements of Higgs boson couplings in proton- proton collisions at v s=13TeV

Combined measurements of the production and decay rates of the Higgs boson, as well as its couplings to vector bosons and fermions, are presented. The analysis uses the LHC proton-proton collision data set recorded with the CMS detector in 2016 at fb-1. The combination is based on analyses targeting the five main Higgs boson production mechanisms (gluon fusion, vector boson fusion, and associated production with a W or Z boson, or a top quark-antiquark pair) and the following decay modes: H, ZZ, WW, , bb, and . Searches for invisible Higgs boson decays are also considered. The best-fit ratio of the signal yield to the standard model expectation is measured to be =1.17 +/- 0.10, assuming a Higgs boson mass of 125.09. Additional results are given for various assumptions on the scaling behavior of the production and decay modes, including generic parametrizations based on ratios of cross sections and branching fractions or couplings. The results are compatible with the standard model predictions in all parametrizations considered. In addition, constraints are placed on various two Higgs doublet models.Peer reviewe

Search for jet extinction in the inclusive jet-pT spectrum from proton-proton collisions at s=8 TeV

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published articles title, journal citation, and DOI.The first search at the LHC for the extinction of QCD jet production is presented, using data collected with the CMS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10.7  fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The extinction model studied in this analysis is motivated by the search for signatures of strong gravity at the TeV scale (terascale gravity) and assumes the existence of string couplings in the strong-coupling limit. In this limit, the string model predicts the suppression of all high-transverse-momentum standard model processes, including jet production, beyond a certain energy scale. To test this prediction, the measured transverse-momentum spectrum is compared to the theoretical prediction of the standard model. No significant deficit of events is found at high transverse momentum. A 95% confidence level lower limit of 3.3 TeV is set on the extinction mass scale

Differential host utilisation by different life history stages of the fish ectoparasite Argulus foliaceus (Crustacea: Branchiura)

Contains fulltext : 72168.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Searches for electroweak neutralino and chargino production in channels with Higgs, Z, and W bosons in pp collisions at 8 TeV

Searches for supersymmetry (SUSY) are presented based on the electroweak pair production of neutralinos and charginos, leading to decay channels with Higgs, Z, and W bosons and undetected lightest SUSY particles (LSPs). The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of about 19.5 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV collected in 2012 with the CMS detector at the LHC. The main emphasis is neutralino pair production in which each neutralino decays either to a Higgs boson (h) and an LSP or to a Z boson and an LSP, leading to hh, hZ, and ZZ states with missing transverse energy (E-T(miss)). A second aspect is chargino-neutralino pair production, leading to hW states with E-T(miss). The decays of a Higgs boson to a bottom-quark pair, to a photon pair, and to final states with leptons are considered in conjunction with hadronic and leptonic decay modes of the Z and W bosons. No evidence is found for supersymmetric particles, and 95% confidence level upper limits are evaluated for the respective pair production cross sections and for neutralino and chargino mass values

A revised (PTVA) model for assessing the vulnerability of buildings to tsunami damage

The Papathoma Tsunami Vulnerability Assessment (PTVA) Model (Papathoma, 2003) was developed in the absence of robust, well-constructed and validated building fragility models for assessing the vulnerability of buildings to tsunami. It has proven to be a useful tool for providing assessments of building vulnerability. We present an enhanced version (PTVA-3) of the model that takes account of new understanding of the factors that influence building vulnerability and significantly, introduce the use of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for weighting the various attributes in order to limit concerns about subjective ranking of attributes in the original model. We successfully test PTVA- 3 using building data from Maroubra, Sydney, Australia

Alternative splicing and nonsense-mediated decay in the F5 gene

Introduction: The nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a quality-control mechanism that selectively detects and degrades mRNA species carrying premature termination codons (PTCs) resulting from nonsense mutations, out-of-frame alternative splicing (AS), or transcription errors. Coagulation factor V (FV) is encoded by a 72-kb gene (F5) composed of 25 exons, whose pattern of splicing was here analyzed in detail for the first time. Methods: A 5097-bp F5 region was PCR amplified and inserted into the pTARGET vector, and transiently transfected in HeLa cells. Total RNA was isolated and RT-PCR amplified. NMD was studied by real-time RT-PCR on RNA extracted from HepG2 cells treated with three known inhibitors of NMD. Long-range PCR was used to further analyze F5 splicing pattern. Results: Mutational screening of F5 in a FV-deficient patient identified the splicing mutation IVS8+6T>C. To demonstrate its pathogenic role, transfections of F5 minigene constructs (either wild type or mutant) were carried out. RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that IVS8+6T>C causes the skipping of exon 8 (D8). Interestingly, D8 was detected also in the wild-type. Subsequent RT-PCR experiments (performed on RNA from human liver and HepG2 cells) demonstrated that the exon-8 skipping takes place constitutively. Since D8 F5 mRNA bears a PTC, we investigated whether this transcript is subjected to NMD degradation. The obtained results confirmed the involvement of NMD in the degradation of F5 PTC+ mRNAs. On the basis of the identification of a physiologic AS, F5 splicing pattern was further analyzed, leading to the identification of 2 additional splicing variants, resulting from the skipping of exons 3 and 22+23. Conclusions: In conclusion we present the identification of the first AS in F5. Since it has been proposed that the coupling of AS and NMD could be a way to regulate gene expression, we suggest that this mechanism could act also on the F5 gene

The future of religious education in Europe

This E-book is the result of a workshop on “The future of religious education in Europe”, hosted by the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute in Florence on 28 October 2014.This small volume covers the entire conceptual range of approaches to religious education in public schools. The papers gathered in this publication cover the conceptual debate on the subject, ranging from a confessional approach to a sociological approach with an inclusive model as the middle-position. The different models diverge on how they define, in the context of public schooling for children aged 6 to 14 years, what religious education is aimed at: is that what should be conveyed knowledge about religion or instead religious knowledge? Should pupils become cognitively equipped to recognize and discuss religious diversity, or should they first become literate in one, presumably “their own” religious tradition?-- I Kristina Stoeckl – Knowledge about religion and religious knowledge in secular societies: introductory remarks to The future of religious education in Europe -- II Robert Jackson – Inclusive Study of Religions and other Worldviews in Publicly-funded Schools in Democratic Societies -- III Valeria Fabretti – Rethinking Religious Education sociologically: A contribution to the European debate and comparison -- IV Joachim Willems – Religious Education and the Student’s Fundamental Right to Freedom of Religion – Some Lessons and Questions from Germany -- V Matthias Scharer, Innsbruck – “Learning Religion” in the Presence of the Other: Provocation and Gift in Public Educatio