Search for the Standard Model Higgs boson decaying into bb¯ produced in association with top quarks decaying hadronically in pp collisions at √s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for Higgs boson production in association with a pair of top quarks (tt¯ H) is performed, where the Higgs boson decays to bb¯, and both top quarks decay hadronically. The data used correspond to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1 of pp collisions at √s = 8 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The search selects events with at least six energetic jets and uses a boosted decision tree algorithm to discriminate between signal and Standard Model background. The dominant multijet background is estimated using a dedicated data-driven technique. For a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV, an upper limit of 6.4 (5.4) times the Standard Model cross section is observed (expected) at 95% confidence level. The best-fit value for the signal strength is μ = 1.6 ± 2.6 times the Standard Model expectation for mH = 125 GeV. Combining all tt¯ H searches carried out by ATLAS at √s = 8 and 7 TeV, an observed (expected) upper limit of 3.1 (1.4) times the Standard Model expectation is obtained at 95% confidence level, with a signal strength μ = 1.7 ± 0.8

Search for the Higgs boson produced in association with a W boson and decaying to four b-quarks via two spin-zero particles in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a dedicated search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson to a pair of new spin-zero particles, H → aa, where the particle a decays to b-quarks and has a mass in the range of 20–60 GeV. The search is performed in events where the Higgs boson is produced in association with a W boson, giving rise to a signature of a lepton (electron or muon), missing transverse momentum, and multiple jets from b-quark decays. The analysis is based on the full dataset of pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV recorded in 2015 by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb−1. No significant excess of events above the Standard Model prediction is observed, and a 95% confidence-level upper limit is derived for the product of the production cross section for pp → W H times the branching ratio for the decay H → aa → 4b. The upper limit ranges from 6.2 pb for an a-boson mass ma = 20 GeV to 1.5 pb for ma = 60 GeV

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities 1,2 . This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity 3�6 . Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55 of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017�and more than 80 in some low- and middle-income regions�was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing�and in some countries reversal�of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories. © 2019, The Author(s)

Water Fluxes In Maize, Millet And Soybean Plant-residue Mulches Used In Direct Seeding [dinâmica Da água Nas Palhadas De Milho, Milheto E Soja Utilizadas Em Plantio Direto]

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of crop residue mulches from maize, millet and soybean on water storage capacity, water evaporation, soil cover, solar radiation interception and surface water run-off as well as to incorporate these effects in a crop growth model. The mulch of millet and maize presented higher capacity for water storage than soybean mulch: 3.26, 3.24 and 2.62 g of water per gram of dry matter, respectively. Water losses from wet mulches were related to the potential evapotranspiration. The soil cover levels were similar among the three types of material. The three types of mulch intercepted similar quantities of photosynthetically active radiation and infrared radiation. The mulch of maize straw was slightly more efficient in intercepting radiation than that from millet or soybean. Mulching with millet residues was efficient in the control of surface water run-off: only 45.5 mm of water (out of 843.5 mm rainfall) was lost through runoff under the no-till system with millet as cover crop, whereas 222.5 mm of water was lost in the conventional system with tillage. Most of the relations derived in this work could be described by exponential models.415717724Arreola Tostado, J.M., (1996) Étude et Modélisation de l'Effet des Paillis Sur Le Bilan Hydrique: Le Cas de Semis Direct Sous Paillis Au Mexique, 82p. , Dissertation (Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies) - Université des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, MontpellierArreola Tostado, J.M., (2000) Représentation Spatialisée de l'Effet du Semis Direct Sur Paillis de Résidus Sur la Culture de Maïs Pluvial, Dans l'Etat de Jalisco, Mexique, 204p. , Thèse (Doctorat) - Université de Bourgogne, DijonDenardin, J.E., Kochhann, R.A., Requisitos para implantação e a manutenção do sistema plantio direto (1993) Plantio Direto No Brasil, pp. 19-27. , EMBRAPA. Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Trigo (Passo Fundo, RS). Passo Fundo: Aldeia NorteDerpsch, R., Agricultura sustentável (1977) O Meio Ambiente e O Plantio Direto, pp. 29-48. , SATURNINO, H.M.LANDERS, J.N. (Ed.). Brasília: Embrapa SPIDerpsch, R., Roth, C.H., Sidiras, N., Köpke, U., (1990) Controle Da Erosão No Paraná, Brasil: Sistemas de Cobertura Do SoloPlantio Direto e Preparo Conservacionista Do Solo, 268p. , Eschborn: GTZLondrina: IaparFindeling, A., Chanzy, A., De Louvigny, N., Modeling water and heat flows through a mulch allowing for radiative and long distance convective exchanges in the mulch (2003) Water Resources Research, 39, pp. 1-12Gilley, J.E., Finkner, S.C., Spomer, R.G., Mielke, L.N., Runoff and erosion as affected by corn residue. II. Rill and interrill components (1986) Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 29, pp. 161-164Idso, S., Reginato, R., Jackson, R., Kimball, B., Nakayama, F., The three stages of drying of field soil (1974) Soil Science Society of America Journal, 38, pp. 831-836Lal, R., Mulching effects on runoff, soil erosion and crop response on alfisols in western Nigeria (1998) Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 11, pp. 135-154Novak, M., Chen, W., Hares, M., Simulating the radiation distribution within a barley straw mulch (2000) Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 102, pp. 173-186Resck, D.V.S., Agricultural intensification systems and their impact on soil and water quality in the Cerrados of Brazil (1998) Soil Quality and Agricultural Sustainability, pp. 288-300. , LAL, R. (Ed.). Chelsea: Ann Arbor PressRitchie, J.T., Burnett, E., Dryland evaporative flux in a subhumid climate. II. Plante influences (1971) Agronomy Journal, 63, pp. 56-62Ruedell, J., A soja numa agricultura sustentável (1998) A Soja Em Rotação de Culturas No Plantio Direto, pp. 1-34. , SILVA, M.T.B. da (Ed.). Cruz Alta: FundacepFecotrigoSalton, J.C., Hernani, L.C., Fontes, C.Z., (1998) Sistema Plantio Direto: O Produtor Pergunta, a Embrapa Responde, 248p. , Brasília: Embrapa-SPIDourados: Embrapa-CPAO, (Coleção 500 perguntas 500 respostas)Saturnino, H.M., Evolução do plantio direto e as perspectivas nos cerrados (2001) Informe Agropecuário, 22, pp. 5-12Savabi, M., Stott, D., Plant residue impact on rainfall interception (1994) Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 37, pp. 1093-1098Scopel, E., (1994) Le Semis Direct Avec Paillis de Résidus Dans la Région de V. Carranza Au Mexique: Intérêt de Cette Technicque Pour Améliorer l'Alimentation Hidrique du Maïs Pluvial en Zones à Pluviométrie Irrèguliére, 334p. , Thése (Doctorat) - Institut Nacional Agronomique Paris Grignon, Pari

Controle da cochonilha (Orthezia praelonga Douglas, 1891) em laranjeira, com inseticidas granulados Chemical control of coccid (Orthezia praelonga Douglas, 1891) for orange-trees, with insecticide granulated

Com o objetivo de se avaliar a eficiência de inseticidas granulados no controle da Orthezia praelonga em laranjeiras, foram empregados o aldicarbe 15% e o imidaclopride 5%, aplicados ao solo. Os tratamentos foram seis, com quatro repetições: A) testemunha; B) aldicarbe, 100g/pl; C) aldicarbe, 65g/pl; D) imidaclopride, 100g/pl; E) aldicarbe, 130g/pl; F) imidaclopride, 75g/pl. Foram feitas seis avaliações: uma prévia e outras cinco após 07, 20, 34, 49 e 70 dias da aplicação. Os melhores tratamentos foram: aldicarbe 100g/pl e aldicarbe, 130g/pl, aos 49 e 70 dias, respectivamente.<br>The experiment was carried out on adult orange-trees in the county of Limeira, SP, Brazil. The objective was to evaluate the efficiency of insecticide granules with 15% aldicarb and 5% imidadoprid, applied to the soil, to control the citrus coccid Orthezia praelonga Douglas, 1891. Treatments were six: A) check; B) aldicarb, 100g/pl; C) aldicarb, 65g/pl; D) imidacloprid 100g/pl; E) aldicarb, 130g/pl; F) imidacloprid, 75g/pl of commercial insecticide granules. Six evaluations were made, one previous and other five 07, 20, 34, 49 and 70 days after application. The most efficient treatments were E and B at 49 and 70 days, respectively