Analysis of Tapial structures for modern use and conservation

Tapial is an ancient form of rammed earth wall construction found in many parts of the world. In medieval Spain, Tapial was used in the construction of some large and complex structures, some many-storied. That these buildings remain standing (many remaining in use) is an indication of the durability of this form of construction, and is perhaps related to the climatic conditions found in central Spain. This paper describes an engineering study into an important structure in the Aragon region, significant parts of which are constructed in medieval Tapial, as well as other forms of construction. The aim of the study is both to improve understanding of the nature of this structure and to provide guidance on methods of preservation and new construction

Muscle Hemangiomatosis presenting as a severe feature in a patient with the pten mutation: Expanding the phenotype of vascular malformations in bannayan-riley-ruvalcaba syndrome

Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome (BRRS) is a rare autosomal, dominantly-inherited, hamartoma syndrome with distinct phenotypic features. Mutations in the PTEN gene have been identified in PTEN hamartoma tumor syndromes. Our aim was to determine the correlation of phenotype-genotype relationships in a BRRS case. We have evaluated a PTEN mutation in a patient with vascular anomalies and the phenotypic findings of BRRS. We described an 8-year-old girl with the clinical features of BRRS, specifically with vascular anomalies. The mutation in the PTEN gene was identified by DNA sequencing. In our patient, we defined a de novo nonsense R335X (c.1003 C>T) mutation in exon 8, which results in a premature termination codon. Due to vascular anomalies and hemangioma, the patient's left leg was amputated 1 year after the hemangioma diagnosis. Bannayan - Riley - Ruvalcaba syndrome patients with macrocephaly and vascular anomalies should be considered for PTEN mutation analysis and special medical care

How gamma-rays and electron-beam irradiation would affect the antimicrobial activity of differently processed wild mushroom extracts?

Aims: The effects of irradiation (gamma-rays and electron-beams), up to 10 kGy, in the antimicrobial activity of mushroom species (Boletus edulis, Hydnum repandum, Macrolepiota procera and Russula delica) differently processed (fresh, dried, freeze) were evaluated. Methods and Results: Clinical isolates with different resistance profiles from hospitalized patients in Local Health Unit of Mirandela, Northeast of Portugal, were used as target micro-organisms. The mushrooms antimicrobial activity did not suffer significant changes that might compromise applying irradiation as a possible mushroom conservation technology. Conclusions: Two kGy dose (independently of using gamma-rays or electron-beams) seemed to be the most suitable choice to irradiate mushrooms. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study provides important results in antimicrobial activity of extracts prepared from irradiated mushroom species.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and COMPETE/QREN/EU for financial support to CIMO (PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2011), Â. Fernandes (SFRH/BD/76019/2011) and J.C.M. Barreira (SFRH/BPD/72802/2010). They also thank to the Local Health Unit of Mirandela, Northeast of Portugal, for all the support and to INCT - Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, in Warsaw, Poland for electron-beam irradiation

Enrelvamento da vinha: dois casos de estudo – Monção e Alenquer

Estudos conducentes à avaliação das possibilidades de enrelvamento em vinhas estão a decorrer na Região dos Vinhos Verdes (sub-região de Monção) e na Estremadura (Alenquer). No ensaio de Monção, com a casta ‘Alvarinho’ e no ensaio em Alenquer, com a casta ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’, comparam-se 4 sistemas de gestão do solo. Em qualquer dos ensaios a densidade e a biomassa total da flora foi influenciada significativamente pelas técnicas de gestão do solo tendo-se também verificado uma selecção de espécies por modalidade, com incremento de gramíneas e leguminosas no enrelvamento. No ensaio de Monção, em três anos consecutivos, e comparativamente às modalidades herbicida foliar a toda a área e mobilização do solo, o enrelvamento a toda a área por espécies residentes induziu uma redução significativa da produção e vigor da videira em resultado de um menor peso unitário do cacho e do sarmento, sem afectar a qualidade do mosto à vindima. Nos dois primeiros anos do ensaio de Alenquer (2002-03) os 4 sistemas de gestão do solo - mobilização da entrelinha, cobertura orgânica morta (casca de pinheiro) alternada com enrelvamento natural permanente, enrelvamento natural permanente e enrelvamento semeado permanente - não influenciaram de forma significativa quer a produção quer o vigor das videiras. Quanto à qualidade das uvas, apenas em 2003 se registaram diferenças significativas na acidez total, tendo-se obtido valores inferiores nas modalidades com enrelvamento. Em 2002, devida à elevada precipitação ocorrida no final da maturação, na modalidade mobilizada verificou-se uma maior dificuldade de circulação da máquina de vindimar comparativamente às modalidades com cobertura do solo. Os resultados evidenciam a possibilidade de utilização dos relvados como técnicas passíveis de manipulação do vigor da videira e de melhoria da circulação das máquinasinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Search for new physics in events with opposite-sign leptons, jets, and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model (BSM) in final states with a pair of opposite-sign isolated leptons accompanied by jets and missing transverse energy. The search uses LHC data recorded at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 5 inverse femtobarns. Two complementary search strategies are employed. The first probes models with a specific dilepton production mechanism that leads to a characteristic kinematic edge in the dilepton mass distribution. The second strategy probes models of dilepton production with heavy, colored objects that decay to final states including invisible particles, leading to very large hadronic activity and missing transverse energy. No evidence for an event yield in excess of the standard model expectations is found. Upper limits on the BSM contributions to the signal regions are deduced from the results, which are used to exclude a region of the parameter space of the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Additional information related to detector efficiencies and response is provided to allow testing specific models of BSM physics not considered in this paper.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of isolated photon production in pp and PbPb collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 2.76 TeV

Isolated photon production is measured in proton-proton and lead-lead collisions at nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energies of 2.76 TeV in the pseudorapidity range |eta|<1.44 and transverse energies ET between 20 and 80 GeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The measured ET spectra are found to be in good agreement with next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD predictions. The ratio of PbPb to pp isolated photon ET-differential yields, scaled by the number of incoherent nucleon-nucleon collisions, is consistent with unity for all PbPb reaction centralities.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters