Slepton Non-Universality in the Flavor-Effective MSSM

Supersymmetric theories supplemented by an underlying flavor-symmetry $\mathcal{G}_f$ provide a rich playground for model building aimed at explaining the flavor structure of the Standard Model. In the case where supersymmetry breaking is mediated by gravity, the soft-breaking Lagrangian typically exhibits large tree-level flavor violating effects, even if it stems from an ultraviolet flavor-conserving origin. Building on previous work, we continue our phenomenological analysis of these models with a particular emphasis on leptonic flavor observables. We consider three representative models which aim to explain the flavor structure of the lepton sector, with symmetry groups $\mathcal{G}_f = \Delta(27)$, $A_4,$ and $S_3$.Comment: References added, minor typos corrected. 28 pages, 8 figure

The innovative behaviour of tourism firms

Tourism is a growing and an extremely competitive sector. To be competitive, tourism firms need do innovate, responding to the more and more demanding tourist. Nonetheless, research on this field is limited and insufficient. In Portugal, the tourism sector is a highly strategic sector for the Portuguese economy, but there is no evidence on how Portuguese tourism firms innovate. This paper presents a thesis proposal with the aim to provide empirical evidence of the innovative behaviour of Portuguese tourism firm. Trough a direct survey on all the Portuguese tourism firms we intent to investigate firms’ innovativeness and their determinants and then compare the results with data from Danish and Spanish tourism firms. The literature on innovation in services and in tourism, in particular Sunbdo et al. (2007) taxonomy of tourism firms, provides us a guide to our investigation. It is also our aim to contribute with additional findings on the process of innovation in the tourism industry.Innovation, Tourism Industries, Portugal

The role of visuo-spatial and verbal working memory in L2 Japanese reading proficiency

Verbal working memory is recognized as a strong predictor of L2 reading development in the area of learning new vocabulary, reading comprehension, and overall L2 proficiency in alphabetic languages such as English. However, few studies have addressed if the same is true in logographic languages such as Japanese. Previous literature has indicated that phonology plays a weaker role in reading Japanese than alphabetic languages and that visual information is often processed for semantic rather than phonetic information. Based on these findings, it was hypothesized that visuo-spatial working memory would display a stronger relationship with Japanese reading proficiency than verbal working memory. This study investigated the relationship between (a) visuo-spatial working memory and Japanese reading proficiency and (b) verbal working memory and Japanese reading proficiency. Thirty learners of Japanese as a foreign language had their visuo-spatial working memory assessed using a spatial span task and a dual 3-back task. Their verbal working memory was assessed using an automated reading span task. Participants also took a Japanese cloze test and proficiency self-rating questionnaire to indicate their reading proficiency. Correlations were not found between the visuo-spatial working memory tasks and the Japanese cloze test, but a weak correlation was found between the verbal working memory task and the Japanese cloze test. Since the reading assessment used in this study had questionable validity, the hypothesis and research questions for this study could not be fully addressed. Suggestions are made for refining assessment tools and using other techniques to help us better understand of the relationship between working memory measures and Japanese reading proficiency

Conspecific eggs and hatchlings in the diet of the insular lizard Podarcis hispanica atrata

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A case of melanism in a population of the insular lizard Podarcis hispanica atrata

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Interactions between lizards (Podarcis hispanica atrata) and scorpions (Buthus occitanus) in the Columbrets islands

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Jus naturae et gentium fondements romains du droit international (jus naturae et gentium the roman foundations of international law) Abstract: L'Antiquité romaine a connu alternativement des périodes d'influence du jus naturae et gentium et des périodes de politique de contrôle et de domination militaire. La période de forte domination politique et militaire, d’une durée de presque deux siècles, a été, génériquement, dénommée Pax Romana. De cette alternance, de cette tension dialectique, est née l’idée de l’articulation, sur la voie du droit positif (et non pas seulement naturel), d’un système complexe et novateur de normes juridiques « internationales » (avant la lettre). Pratiquement, le jus gentium trouve son origine à la fois dans le jus praetorium et dans l’importante jurisprudentia des jurisconsultes, pendant la fin de la Respublica Romana et tout au long de la plus grande partie du Principatum Romanum. On a cherché, toutefois, à séparer le jus civile (applicable exclusivement aux citoyens Romains) du jus gentium (comme ensemble de normes valables pour tous les peuples). Ce jus gentium se trouvera dans les fondements de la création du droit international tout au long du Moyen Âge. The Roman antiquity had known jus naturae and jus gentium periods but also politically control and military domination times. The most important strong politico-military domination that lasted almost two centuries has been generally named Pax Romana. This dialectic tension and alternance gave birth to the idea of creating (through the positive law and not necessarily natural) a complex and innovative system of « international » juridical rules. Practically, jus gentium has found its origins in jus praetorium and in legal counselors’ jurisprudence until the end of Republica Romana and during the bigger part of Principatum Romanum. It was an attempt to separate jus civile (exclusively applicable to Roman citizens) of jus gentium (as a normative system available to each person regardless the citizenship). We will see the jus gentium as the foundation of International Law creation during the Middle Age.

the reman, international law

Controlled flavor violation in the MSSM from a unified Δ(27)\Delta(27) flavor symmetry

We study the phenomenology of a unified supersymmetric theory with a flavor symmetry $\Delta(27)$. The model accommodates quark and lepton masses, mixing angles and CP phases. In this model, the Dirac and Majorana mass matrices have a unified texture zero structure in the $(1,1)$ entry that leads to the Gatto-Sartori-Tonin relation between the Cabibbo angle and ratios of the masses in the quark sectors, and to a natural departure from zero of the $\theta_{13}^\ell$ angle in the lepton sector. We derive the flavor structures of the trilinears and soft mass matrices, and show their general non-universality. This causes large flavor violating effects. As a consequence, the parameter space for this model is constrained, allowing it to be (dis)proven by flavor violation searches in the next decade. Although the results are model specific, we compare them to previous studies to show similar flavour effects (and associated constraints) are expected in general in supersymmetric flavor models, and may be used to distinguish them.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figure

Spitzer IRS Spectroscopy of the 10 Myr-old EF Cha Debris Disk: Evidence for Phyllosilicate-Rich Dust in the Terrestrial Zone

We describe Spitzer IRS spectroscopic observations of the 10 Myr-old star, EF Cha. Compositional modeling of the spectra from 5 {\mu}m to 35 {\mu}m confirms that it is surrounded by a luminous debris disk with LD/L\star ~ 10-3, containing dust with temperatures between 225 K and 430 K characteristic of the terrestrial zone. The EF Cha spectrum shows evidence for many solid-state features, unlike most cold, low-luminosity debris disks but like some other 10-20 Myr-old luminous, warm debris disks (e.g. HD 113766A). The EF Cha debris disk is unusually rich in a species or combination of species whose emissivities resemble that of finely powdered, laboratory-measured phyllosilicate species (talc, saponite, and smectite), which are likely produced by aqueous alteration of primordial anhydrous rocky materials. The dust and, by inference, the parent bodies of the debris also contain abundant amorphous silicates and metal sulfides, and possibly water ice. The dust's total olivine to pyroxene ratio of ~ 2 also provides evidence of aqueous alteration. The large mass volume of grains with sizes comparable to or below the radiation blow-out limit implies that planetesimals may be colliding at a rate high enough to yield the emitting dust but not so high as to devolatize the planetesimals via impact processing. Because phyllosilicates are produced by the interactions between anhydrous rock and warm, reactive water, EF Cha's disk is a likely signpost for water delivery to the terrestrial zone of a young planetary system.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

El paisaje de la casa Wolf de Mies van der Rohe: Modulaciones, traslaciones y espacios

The making the draw up of the Wolf house (1925-27) by Mies van der Rohe; today destructed and converted part of the site in public park, allow a reflection about the set the the house in the plot through espaces, runs and limits. Elements used by Mies in the settlement. This work by Mies anticipates the avant-garde work made years late. Schinkel´s loggia/belvedere concept undergoes many transformations by Mies before achieves its most condensed expression. The interwoven theme of court house versus belvedere begins in the Wolf house, using the tectonic brick work as medium to make landscape around the house