506 research outputs found
Measuring EMF and Throughput Before and After 5G Service Activation in a Residential Area
The deployment of 5G networks is approaching a mature phase in many countries across the world. However, little efforts have been done so far to scientifically compare ElectroMagnetic Field (EMF) exposure and traffic levels before and after the activation of 5G service over the territory. The goal of this work is to provide a sound comparative assessment of exposure and traffic, by performing repeated measurements before and after 5G provisioning service. Our solution is based on an EMF meter and a spectrum analyzer that is remotely controlled by a measurement algorithm. In this way, we dissect the contribution of each pre-5G and 5G band radiating over the territory. In addition, we employ a traffic chain to precisely characterize the achieved throughput levels. Results, derived from a set of measurements performed on a commercial deployment, reveal that the provisioning of 5G service over mid-band frequencies has a limited impact on the exposure. In parallel, the measured traffic is more than doubled when 5G is activated over mid-bands, reaching levels above 200 [Mbps]. On the other hand, the provisioning of 5G over sub-GHz bands does not introduce a substantial increase in the traffic levels. Eventually, we demonstrate that EMF exposure is impacted by the raw-land reconfiguration to host the 5G panels, which introduces changes in the sight conditions and in the power received from the main lobes
Strong Double Higgs Production at the LHC
The hierarchy problem and the electroweak data, together, provide a plausible
motivation for considering a light Higgs emerging as a pseudo-Goldstone boson
from a strongly-coupled sector. In that scenario, the rates for Higgs
production and decay differ significantly from those in the Standard Model.
However, one genuine strong coupling signature is the growth with energy of the
scattering amplitudes among the Goldstone bosons, the longitudinally polarized
vector bosons as well as the Higgs boson itself. The rate for double Higgs
production in vector boson fusion is thus enhanced with respect to its
negligible rate in the SM. We study that reaction in pp collisions, where the
production of two Higgs bosons at high pT is associated with the emission of
two forward jets. We concentrate on the decay mode hh -> WW^(*)WW^(*) and study
the semi-leptonic decay chains of the W's with 2, 3 or 4 leptons in the final
states. While the 3 lepton final states are the most relevant and can lead to a
3 sigma signal significance with 300 fb^{-1} collected at a 14 TeV LHC, the two
same-sign lepton final states provide complementary information. We also
comment on the prospects for improving the detectability of double Higgs
production at the foreseen LHC energy and luminosity upgrades.Comment: 54 pages, 26 figures. v2: typos corrected, a few comments and one
table added. Version published in JHE
A meeting framework for inclusive and sustainable science
The ABCD conference format (All continents, Balanced gender, low Carbon transport, Diverse backgrounds) mixes live-streamed and pre-recorded talks with in-person ones to reflect a diverse range of viewpoints and reduce the environmental footprint of meetings while also lowering barriers to inclusiveness
Probing the charged Higgs boson at the LHC in the CP-violating type-II 2HDM
We present a phenomenological study of a CP-violating two-Higgs-doublet Model
with type-II Yukawa couplings at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In the light
of recent LHC data, we focus on the parameter space that survives the current
and past experimental constraints as well as theoretical bounds on the model.
Once the phenomenological scenario is set, we analyse the scope of the LHC in
exploring this model through the discovery of a charged Higgs boson produced in
association with a W boson, with the former decaying into the lightest neutral
Higgs and a second W state, altogether yielding a b\bar b W^+W^- signature, of
which we exploit the W^+W^- semileptonic decays.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figures; v2 updated treatment of LHC constraint
Probing top charged-Higgs production using top polarization at the Large Hadron Collider
We study single top production in association with a charged Higgs in the
type II two Higgs doublet model at the Large Hadron Collider. The polarization
of the top, reflected in the angular distributions of its decay products, can
be a sensitive probe of new physics in its production. We present theoretically
expected polarizations of the top for top charged-Higgs production, which is
significantly different from that in the closely related process of t-W
production in the Standard Model. We then show that an azimuthal symmetry,
constructed from the decay lepton angular distribution in the laboratory frame,
is a sensitive probe of top polarization and can be used to constrain
parameters involved in top charged-Higgs production.Comment: 22 pages, 18 Figures, Discussions about backgrounds and NLO
corrections added, figures modified, references added, Version published in
JHE
A SM-like Higgs near 125 GeV in low energy SUSY: a comparative study for MSSM and NMSSM
Motivated by the recent LHC hints of a Higgs boson around 125 GeV, we assume
a SM-like Higgs with the mass 123-127 GeV and study its implication in low
energy SUSY by comparing the MSSM and NMSSM. We consider various experimental
constraints at 2-sigma level (including the muon g-2 and the dark matter relic
density) and perform a comprehensive scan over the parameter space of each
model. Then in the parameter space which is allowed by current experimental
constraints and also predicts a SM-like Higgs in 123-127 GeV, we examine the
properties of the sensitive parameters (like the top squark mass and the
trilinear coupling A_t) and calculate the rates of the di-photon signal and the
VV^* (V=W,Z) signals at the LHC. Our typical findings are: (i) In the MSSM the
top squark and A_t must be large and thus incur some fine-tuning, which can be
much ameliorated in the NMSSM; (ii) In the MSSM a light stau is needed to
enhance the di-photon rate of the SM-like Higgs to exceed its SM prediction,
while in the NMSSM the di-photon rate can be readily enhanced in several ways;
(iii) In the MSSM the signal rates of pp -> h -> VV^* at the LHC are never
enhanced compared with their SM predictions, while in the NMSSM they may get
enhanced significantly; (iv) A large part of the parameter space so far
survived will be soon covered by the expected XENON100(2012) sensitivity
(especially for the NMSSM).Comment: Version in JHEP (refs added
Extracorporeal shock waves down-regulate the expression of interleukin-10 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in osteoarthritic chondrocytes
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of extra corporeal shock waves (ESW) therapy on the metabolism of healthy and osteoarthritic human chondrocytes, and particularly on the expression of IL-10, TNF-alpha and beta1 integrin.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Human adult articular cartilage was obtained from 9 patients (6 male and 3 females), with primary knee osteoarthritis (OA), undergoing total joint replacement and from 3 young healthy donors (HD) (2 males, 1 female) with joint traumatic fracture. After isolation, chondrocytes underwent ESW treatment (electromagnetic generator system, MINILITH SL1, STORZ MEDICAL) at different parameters of impulses, energy levels and energy flux density. After that, chondrocytes were cultured in 24-well plate in DMEM supplemented with 10% FCS for 48 hours and then beta<sub>1 </sub>integrin surface expression and intracellular IL-10 and TNF-alpha levels were evaluated by flow-cytometry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At baseline, osteoarthritic chondrocytes expressed significantly lower levels of beta1 integrin and higher levels and IL-10 and TNF-alpha levels. Following ESW application, while beta1 integrin expression remain unchanged, a significant decrease of IL-10 and TNF-alpha intracellular levels was observed both in osteoarthritic and healthy chondrocytes. IL-10 levels decreased at any impulses and energy levels, while a significant reduction of TNF-alpha was mainly found at middle energies.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study confirmed that osteoarthritic chondrocytes express low beta<sub>1 </sub>integrin and high TNF-alpha and IL-10 levels. Nonetheless, ESW treatment application down-regulate the intracellular levels of TNF-alpha and IL-10 by chondrocytes, suggesting that ESW might restore TNF-alpha and IL-10 production by osteoarthritic chondrocytes at normal levels. However, further in vivo and in vitro studies are necessary to establish if ESW can represent a viable option in the treatment of OA.</p
Is equal access to higher education in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa achievable by 2030?
Higher education is back in the spotlight, with post-2015 sustainable development goals emphasising equality of access. In this paper, we highlight the long distance still to travel to achieve the goal of equal access to higher education for all, with a focus on poorer countries which tend to have lower levels of enrolment in higher education. Analysing Demographic and Health Survey data from 35 low- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, we show wide wealth inequalities in particular, with few if any of the poorest gaining access to higher education in some countries. We further identify that wealth and gender inequalities interact and tend to be wider in countries where levels of higher education are higher. This implies that expansion in access to higher education may predominantly benefit the rich, unless measures are taken to tackle inequalities. We find that that the rates of increase necessary for the attainment of the equal access goal by 2030 are particularly high. They pose a particularly difficult challenge given the access inequalities present from primary and secondary education in a wide majority of countries in our analysis. We therefore suggest that any measures aimed at attaining the goal need to tackle inequalities in access within a system-wide approach, focusing on the level of education at which inequalities initially manifest, alongside higher education.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0039-
Z' signals in polarised top-antitop final states
We study the sensitivity of top-antitop samples produced at all energy stages
of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to the nature of an underlying Z' boson, in
presence of full tree level standard model (SM) background effects and relative
interferences. We concentrate on differential mass spectra as well as both
spatial and spin asymmetries thereby demonstrating that exploiting combinations
of these observables will enable one to distinguish between sequential Z's and
those pertaining to Left-Right symmetric models as well as E6 inspired ones,
assuming realistic final state reconstruction efficiencies and error estimates.Comment: 21 pages, 6 colour figures, 10 table
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