The supersymmetric configurations of N=2, d=4 supergravity coupled to vector supermultiplets

We classify all the supersymmetric configurations of ungauged N=2,d=4 supergravity coupled to n vector multiplets and determine under which conditions they are also classical solutions of the equations of motion. The supersymmetric configurations fall into two classes, depending on the timelike or null nature of the Killing vector constructed from Killing spinor bilinears. The timelike class configurations are essentially the ones found by Behrndt, Luest and Sabra, which exhaust this class and are the ones that include supersymmetric black holes. The null class configurations include pp-waves and cosmic strings.Comment: 44 pages, some references adde

Broad diversity of fungi in Hospital Water

Introduction. Some studies have reported the occurrence of microorganisms isolated from water. Considering these microorganisms, fungi are known to occur ubiquitously in the environment, including water, and some are pathogenic and may cause health problems, especially in immunocompromised individuals. The aim of this study was to identify fungi in hospital water samples and to correlate their presence with the concentration of free residual chlorine. Methods. Water samples (100 mL) were collected from taps (n = 74) and water purifiers (n = 14) in different locations in a university hospital. Samples were filtered through a nitrocellulose membrane and placed on Sabouraud dextrose agar and incubated for 24 hours at 30°C. Fungi were identified according to established methods based on macroscopic and microscopic characteristics (filamentous) and physiological tests (yeasts). Free chlorine residual content was measured at the time of sample collection. Results. Seventy species of fungi were identified in the water samples and about 56% of the water samples contained culturable fungi. Cladosporium oxysporum, Penicillium spinulosum, and Aspergillus fumigatus were the most common filamentous fungi. Aureobasidium pullulans and Candida parapsilosis were the most common yeasts. Chemical analyses revealed that free residual chlorine was present in 81.8% of the samples within recommended concentrations. Among samples from water purifiers, 92.9% showed low levels of free residual chlorine (<0.2 mg/L). There was no significant association between chlorine concentrations (either within or outside the recommended range) and the presence of filamentous fungi and yeasts. Conclusions. This study showed that hospital water can be a reservoir for fungi, some of which are potentially harmful to immunocompromised patients. Free residual chlorine was ineffective in some samples.publishersversionpublishe

"I am your mother and your father!": In vitro derived gametes and the ethics of solo reproduction

In this paper, we will discuss the prospect of human reproduction achieved with gametes originating from only one person. According to statements by a minority of scientists working on the generation of gametes in vitro, it may become possible to create eggs from men’s non-reproductive cells and sperm from women’s. This would enable, at least in principle, the creation of an embryo from cells obtained from only one individual: ‘solo reproduction’. We will consider what might motivate people to reproduce in this way, and the implications that solo reproduction might have for ethics and policy. We suggest that such an innovation is unlikely to revolutionise reproduction and parenting. Indeed, in some respects it is less revolutionary than in vitro fertilisation as a whole. Furthermore, we show that solo reproduction with in vitro created gametes is not necessarily any more ethically problematic than gamete donation—and probably less so. Where appropriate, we draw parallels with the debate surrounding reproductive cloning. We note that solo reproduction may serve to perpetuate reductive geneticised accounts of reproduction, and that this may indeed be ethically questionable. However, in this it is not unique among other technologies of assisted reproduction, many of which focus on genetic transmission. It is for this reason that a ban on solo reproduction might be inconsistent with continuing to permit other kinds of reproduction that also bear the potential to strengthen attachment to a geneticised account of reproduction. Our claim is that there are at least as good reasons to pursue research towards enabling solo reproduction, and eventually to introduce solo reproduction as an option for fertility treatment, as there are to do so for other infertility related purposes

Formulação de uma estratégia de produção em uma fábrica de sorvetes com enfoque em análise de desempenho

O seguinte artigo aborda a aplicação dos conceitos de estratégia de produção em uma organização, bem como sua interface com a gestão de processos. Estratégia de Produção é uma forma de definir diretrizes de acordo com os objetivos de desempenho. E a Gestão de Processos mostra-se como uma ferramenta para mapear e facilitar a visualização de aspectos ligados a critérios competitivos empresariais. Este artigo objetiva mostrar de que forma a matriz importância-desempenho direciona a estratégia de produção de uma organização. A empresa em estudo possui problemas relacionados à atividade ambulante e à entrega de sorvetes em seus pontos de venda; e, com base nessas duas carências, foi desenvolvido um estudo de caso e análises qualitativas, a partir de visitas à empresa, pesquisas bibliográficas e tratamentos estatísticos - este último foi pautado na análise de importância e desempenho dos critérios competitivos organizacionais selecionados a partir de um planejamento estratégico. Dessa forma, obteve-se uma estratégia de produção voltada para os aspectos críticos relacionados aos problemas da empresa, permitindo à mesma, o aumento das vendas ambulantes e a diferenciação dos nichos de mercado do setor de sorvetes. Assim, a estratégia elaborada aumentou a adaptabilidade da organização frente ao mercado, orientando-a a seus clientes

Opposite-side flavour tagging of B mesons at the LHCb experiment

The calibration and performance of the oppositeside flavour tagging algorithms used for the measurements of time-dependent asymmetries at the LHCb experiment are described. The algorithms have been developed using simulated events and optimized and calibrated with B + →J/ψK +, B0 →J/ψK ∗0 and B0 →D ∗− μ + νμ decay modes with 0.37 fb−1 of data collected in pp collisions at √ s = 7 TeV during the 2011 physics run. The oppositeside tagging power is determined in the B + → J/ψK + channel to be (2.10 ± 0.08 ± 0.24) %, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic

Measurement of the Bs0→J/ψKS0B_s^0\to J/\psi K_S^0 branching fraction

The $B_s^0\to J/\psi K_S^0$ branching fraction is measured in a data sample corresponding to 0.41$fb^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity collected with the LHCb detector at the LHC. This channel is sensitive to the penguin contributions affecting the sin2$\beta$ measurement from $B^0\to J/\psi K_S^0$ The time-integrated branching fraction is measured to be $BF(B_s^0\to J/\psi K_S^0)=(1.83\pm0.28)\times10^{-5}$. This is the most precise measurement to date