Fiscal Policy

.Training, Modules, Research Programme, Economic Policies, MDGs, Poverty

Phenomenology of on-shell Higgs production in the MSSM with complex parameters

A computation of inclusive cross sections for neutral Higgs boson production through gluon fusion and bottom-quark annihilation is presented in the MSSM with complex parameters. The predictions for the gluon-fusion process are based on an explicit calculation of the leading-order cross section for arbitrary complex parameters which is supplemented by higher-order corrections: massive top- and bottom-quark contributions at NLO QCD, in the heavy top-quark effective theory the top-quark contribution up to N$^3$LO QCD including a soft expansion for the $\mathcal{CP}$-even component of the light Higgs boson. For its $\mathcal{CP}$-odd component and the heavy Higgs bosons the contributions are incorporated up to NNLO QCD. Two-loop electroweak effects are also incorporated, and SUSY QCD corrections at NLO are interpolated from the MSSM with real parameters. Finite wave function normalisation factors ensuring correct on-shell properties of the external Higgs bosons are incorporated from the code $\texttt{FeynHiggs}$. For the typical case of a strong admixture of the two heavy Higgs bosons it is demonstrated that squark effects are strongly dependent on the phases of the complex parameters. The remaining theoretical uncertainties for cross sections are discussed. The results have been implemented into an extension of the numerical code $\texttt{SusHi}$ called $\texttt{SusHiMi}$.Comment: 37 pages, 12 figures, minor clarifications, updated references, matches published versio

ProAm Sports

ProAm Sports takes fitness one step further by designing a tournament-based program, where members can sign up to participate in matches as individuals or teams in various sports and win actual cash prizes accumulated from a portion of their membership fees. Our project required implementing a database which stores information on players, teams, and games as well as a website that offers the ability for players to sign up, view information on events, pay for membership, and communicate with other players. There are three levels of paid membership, where each offers different benefits including discounts on event registration. After registering for an event, players can see their registration history and see which other members are registered for the same event. Members are able to interact with other players, compete with other teams, test their skills, and possibly win cash prizes. We implemented the website using Joomla and Community Builder so that the backend is menu-based instead of code-based in order to prove convenient for our sponsor. Extra functionality in the backend includes categorizing events by sport and tournament, making events repeat, and adding special discounts based on registration date. Community Builder also allows all members/players to create connections with each other and leave notes on each other’s profiles. Players are also given the capability of recording their achievements on their respective profiles for other players to view and take into consideration when recruiting for teammates.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/capstone/1164/thumbnail.jp

Book review: Good economics for hard times: better answers to our biggest problems by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo

In Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems, Nobel-Prize winning economists Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo carefully lay out evidence to provide a grounded approach to tackling today’s most pressing global problems. With a focus on alleviating inequality and poverty, Banerjee and Duflo’s book clears a path for more interdisciplinary work centred on improving citizens’ wellbeing and protecting human dignity, writes Shruti Patel

CP\mathcal{CP}-violating effects on MSSM Higgs searches

We study the effects of $\mathcal{CP}$-violating phases on the phenomenology of the Higgs sector of the MSSM. Complex parameters in the MSSM lead to $\mathcal{CP}$-violating mixing between the tree-level $\mathcal{CP}$-even and $\mathcal{CP}$-odd neutral Higgs states, leading to three new loop-corrected mass eigenstates $h_a$, $a \in \lbrace 1,2,3\rbrace$. For scenarios where a light Higgs boson at about 125 GeV can be identified with the observed signal and where the other Higgs states are significantly heavier, a large admixture of the heavy neutral Higgs bosons occurs as a generic feature if $\mathcal{CP}$-violating effects are taken into account. Including interference contributions in the predictions for cross sections times branching ratios of the Higgs bosons is essential in this case. As a first step, we present the gluon-fusion and bottom-quark annihilation cross sections for $h_a$ for the general case of arbitrary complex parameters, and we demonstrate that squark effects strongly depend on the phases of the complex parameters. We then study the effects of interference between $h_2$ and $h_3$ for the example of the process $b\bar{b} \to \tau^+\tau^-$. We show that large destructive interference effects modify LHC exclusion bounds such that parts of the parameter space that would be excluded by MSSM Higgs searches under the assumption of $\mathcal{CP}$-conservation open up when the possibility of $\mathcal{CP}$-violation in the Higgs sector is accounted for.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, contribution to the HiggsTools Final Meeting, Durha

AN ANALYSIS OF BANNED FIXED-DOSE COMBINATIONS IN INDIA

Objective: The objective of the study was to analyze the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and respiratory fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) recently banned in India. Methods: This observational study was conducted at the Department of Pharmacology, B. J. Medical College, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The data were collected from the report on the banned FDCs submitted by the drug technical advisory board subcommittee. Total 195 FDCs belonging to NSAIDs (33) and respiratory group (162) were assessed for class, number of active pharmacological ingredients, formulations, indications, and reasons for banning. Results: The mean number of drugs in FDCs of NSAIDs was 2.6, while in respiratory FDCs, it was 3.6. The most common NSAID formulation was uncoated tablet (15, 30%) while it was syrup in respiratory (49, 30%). The most common reasons for banning these FDCs were safety concerns (153, 78.4%), followed by mismatched pharmacodynamics in respiratory FDCs and mismatched pharmacokinetics in NSAIDs FDCs. The NSAIDs FDCs were marketed for pain (70%) while respiratory FDCs were marketed for cough and cold (62%). Most common NSAIDs FDCs contained NSAID with NSAID (18%), while in respiratory FDCs combinations of a cough suppressant, expectorant, and soothing agents (10%) were present. Conclusion: Evaluation of FDCs is essential to prevent the marketing of irrational FDCs

Development of an in Vitro Assay to Assess Gap Junction Activity in Cumulus-Oocyte Complexes (COC) in the Rat

The capacity of an oocyte to mature during ovarian follicular development is a key process in reproductive biology. Bidirectional communication between mammalian oocytes and their associated follicular somatic cells (cumulus-cells) is essential for oocyte maturation. Historically, studies examining the control of ovarian follicular development focused mainly on the endocrine (external) signalling but recently intraovarian (paracrine) regulation has also been shown to be important. In addition, signalling via gap junctions between follicular cells had also been crucial for oocyte maturation and follicular development. In antral follicles, gap junction activity between the oocyte and adjacent cumulus cells first increase during follicular growth and shortly before ovulation they decrease as the oocyte resumes meiosis once more before ovulation. The range of factors that modulate gap junction activity of oocyte-cumulus cell complexes (COC) is largely unknown. The aims of these studies were to develop an assay to assess the rate of transfer of low molecular weight materials from cumulus cells to the oocyte via gap junctions. The first objective was to validate a bioassay by which to test the effects of hormones, second messengers, and growth factors on gap junction activity in rat cumulus-oocyte complexes. In this study, COCs were collected from antral follicles of untreated post-pubertal Sprague Dawley rats. Gap junction activity was measured in the presence or absence of different treatments using the fluorescence dye, Calcein-AM and in the presence of a phosphodiesterase type 3 inhibitor (PDE3) milrinone. Transfer of the calcein dye from cumulus cells into the oocyte was measured at various times using CRAIC fluorescence system. The results showed that removal of the COCs from their follicular environments disrupted the gap junction activity which recovered over time in culture media. COC were sensitive to changes in pH concentration and gap junction activity could be blocked with 8 ocatnol-1 but not carbenoxolone. Treating rat COCs with dibutyryl cAMP or agents that maintained or increased intracellular cAMP levels like milrinone or forskolin were unable to modulate gap junction activity. Further, the combined effect of the oocyte-derived growth factors: growth differentiating factor 9 (GDF9) with bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) was also unable to modulate the rate of calcein dye transfer from cumulus cells to the oocyte. Ovarian steroids such as oestradiol and testosterone by themselves were unable to modulate the gap junction activity of rat COC but the combined treatment of testosterone plus forskolin or testosterone plus forskolin plus insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) increased the rate of dye transfer from cumulus cells to the oocyte. In conclusion, a fluorescence dye transfer assay was developed to measure the effects of different treatments on gap junction activity in rat COC. Under in vitro conditions, it was established that the combination of steroid and cAMP stimulators or a steroid, cAMP stimulator with IGF1 but not these reagents individually could enhance the recovery of gap junction function in rat COC. The outcomes of these experiments may help to provide new insights into developing suitable in vitro conditions, for the in vitro maturation of mammalian oocytes. Also, the newly developed assay may serve as a useful in vitro model to evaluate the effects of hormones, nutritional supplements and other factors on COC functions