Constraints on Finite Soft Supersymmetry-Breaking Terms

Requiring the soft supersymmetry-breaking (SSB) parameters in finite gauge-Yukawa unified models to be finite up to and including two-loop order, we derive a two-loop sum rule for the soft scalar-masses. It is shown that this sum rule coincides with that of a certain class of string models in which the massive string states are organized into N=4 supermultiplets. We investigate the SSB sector of two finite SU(5) models. Using the sum rule which allows the non-universality of the SSB terms and requiring that the lightest superparticle particleis neutral, we constrain the parameter space of the SSB sector in each model.Comment: 34 page

A case of concomitant pulmonary tuberculosis and mucormycosis in an insulin-dependent diabetic patient

Conditions, where the patient's immune system is compromised are the main risk factor for mucormycosis. Approximately 23% of the world's population is estimated to have a latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and more than 10 million new cases were estimated in 2017. Pulmonary mucormycosis and tuberculosis co-infections are very rare. We present the case of a 56-year-old insulin-dependent diabetic patient with a pulmonary mucormycosis and tuberculosis co-infection. While the patient did not suffer from ketoacidosis, she had poor glycemic control. A chest X-ray and a computed tomography showed nodular and cavitary lesions in both lungs. The patient was diagnosed through a biopsy of the bronchial mucosa and an RT-PCR for M. tuberculosis from bronchoalveolar lavage. The patient was treated with the recommended 4-drug regimen for TB (i.e. isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol); concurrently, amphotericin B deoxycholate was administered to treat the mucormycosis infection. Thirty days after initial hospital admission the patient underwent a lobectomy on the right lung. The case described here is only the sixth case reported in the literature of concomitant pulmonary tuberculosis and mucormycosis and the third case associated with a TB and mucormycosis co-infection involving an uncontrolled DM patient to survive

Finite Grand Unified Theories and the Quark Mixing Matrix

In N = 1 super Yang-Mills theories, under certain conditions satisfied by the spectrum and the Yukawa couplings, the beta functions will vanish to all orders in perturbation theory. We address the generation of realistic quark mixing angles and masses in such finite Grand Unified Theories. Working in the context of finite SUSY SU(5), we present several examples with realistic quark mixing matrices. Non-Abelian discrete symmetries are found to be important in satisfying the conditions for finiteness. Our realistic examples are based on permutation symmetries and the tetrahedral symmetry $A_4$. These examples enable us to address questions such as the decay rate of the proton in finite GUTs.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, typos correcte

Reduction of Couplings and Finiteness in Realistic Supersymmetric GUTs

Reduction of couplings in supersymmetric GUTs is achieved by searching for renormalization group invariant (RGI) relations among couplings which hold beyond the unification scale. Finiteness is due to the fact that there exist RGI relations among couplings that guarantee the vanishing of the beta-functions of a N=1 supersymmetric GUT even to all orders in perturbation theory. Of particular interest are the relations among gauge and Yukawa couplings which lead to very interesting predictions of the top quark massComment: 25 pages, 1 figure. To appear in the proceedings of the Buckow Symposium 199

Proceedings of the 2nd Workshop on Flavor Symmetries and Consequences in Accelerators and Cosmology (FLASY12)

These are the proceedings of the 2nd Workshop on Flavor Symmetries and Consequences in Accelerators and Cosmology, held 30 June 2012 - 4 July 2012, Dortmund, Germany.Comment: Order 400 pages, several figures including the group picture v2: corrected author list and contributio

Effect of the incorporation of surfactants on the physical properties of corn starch films

[EN] The effect of surfactant addition on structural, mechanical, optical and barrier properties of corn starch-glycerol based films was studied. Sorbitan monopalmitate, monostearate or monooleate were incorporated into starch-glycerol (1:0.25) at a surfactant:starch ratio of 0.15:1. The film forming dispersions (FFD) were characterized as to rheology, ζ-potential, particle size distribution and contact angle. Film characterization was carried out at 1 and 5 storage weeks (at 25ºC and 53 % relative humidity). Surfactants led to different particle size distribution, zeta potential and viscosity in FFD, and film extensibility, depending on their hydrophobicity and melting properties. Their incorporation to the corn starch-glycerol films produced a coarser film microstructure due to the appearance of free surfactant aggregates or V-amylose inclusion complexes which produce discontinuities in the amorphous continuous matrix. The size of these crystalline complexes was smaller for the surfactant with the lowest hydrophobicity with saturated fatty acid (span 40). This contributed to decrease the WVP values with respect to surfactant-free film. Films containing surfactants were less hard, resistant and extensible, and more permeable to oxygen, than surfactant-free films, but they did not notably affect the film gloss and transparency. Saturated fatty acid compounds with higher melting temperature are recommended to ensure a finer microstructure in the final film which favours water barrier efficiency.The authors acknowledge the financial support from Spanish Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia throughout the project AGL2010-20694. Rodrigo Ortega-Toro thanks Conselleria de Educacio de la Comunitat Valenciana for the Santiago Grisolia grant.Ortega Toro, R.; Jiménez Marco, A.; Talens Oliag, P.; Chiralt, A. (2014). Effect of the incorporation of surfactants on the physical properties of corn starch films. Food Hydrocolloids. 38:66-75. doi:10.1016/j.foodhyd.2013.11.011S66753

Mass and Flavor Mixing Schemes of Quarks and Leptons

We give an overview of recent progress in the study of fermion mass and flavor mixing phenomena. The hints exhibited by the quark and lepton mass spectra towards possible underlying flavor symmetries, from which realistic models of mass generation could be built, are emphasized. A variety of schemes of quark mass matrices at low and superhigh energy scales are described, and their consequences on flavor mixing and CP violation are discussed. Instructive patterns of lepton mass matrices, which can naturally lead to large flavor mixing angles, are explored to interpret current data on atmospheric and solar neutrino oscillations. We expect that B-meson factories and long-baseline neutrino experiments will soon shed more light on the dynamics of fermion masses, flavor mixing and CP violation.Comment: LaTex 81 pages. Minor changes made, typing errors corrected, and references added. Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. (in printing

Finite Theories and the SUSY Flavor Problem

We study a finite SU(5) grand unified model based on the non-Abelian discrete symmetry A_4. This model leads to the democratic structure of the mass matrices for the quarks and leptons. In the soft supersymmetry breaking sector, the scalar trilinear couplings are aligned and the soft scalar masses are degenerate, thus solving the SUSY flavor problem.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX, 1 figur