NLO Higgs boson production plus one and two jets using the POWHEG BOX, MadGraph4 and MCFM

We present a next-to-leading order calculation of Higgs boson production plus one and two jets via gluon fusion interfaced to shower Monte Carlo programs, implemented according to the POWHEG method. For this implementation we have used a new interface of the POWHEG BOX with MadGraph4, that generates the codes for generic Born and real processes automatically. The virtual corrections have been taken from the MCFM code. We carry out a simple phenomenological study of our generators, comparing them among each other and with fixed next-to-leading order results.Comment: 27 pages, 21 figure

Recent Advances in Graph Partitioning

We survey recent trends in practical algorithms for balanced graph partitioning together with applications and future research directions

Assortative Mating between European Corn Borer Pheromone Races: Beyond Assortative Meeting

BACKGROUND: Sex pheromone communication systems may be a major force driving moth speciation by causing behavioral reproductive isolation via assortative meeting of conspecific individuals. The 'E' and 'Z' pheromone races of the European corn borer (ECB) are a textbook example in this respect. 'Z' females produce and 'Z' males preferentially respond to a 'Z' pheromone blend, while the 'E' race communicates via an 'E' blend. Both races do not freely hybridize in nature and their populations are genetically differentiated. A straightforward explanation would be that their reproductive isolation is a mere consequence of "assortative meeting" resulting from their different pheromones specifically attracting males towards same-race females at long range. However, previous laboratory experiments and those performed here show that even when moths are paired in a small box - i.e., when the meeting between sexual partners is forced - inter-race couples still have a lower mating success than intra-race ones. Hence, either the difference in attractivity of E vs. Z pheromones for males of either race still holds at short distance or the reproductive isolation between E and Z moths may not only be favoured by assortative meeting, but must also result from an additional mechanism ensuring significant assortative mating at close range. Here, we test whether this close-range mechanism is linked to the E/Z female sex pheromone communication system. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using crosses and backcrosses of E and Z strains, we found no difference in mating success between full-sisters emitting different sex pheromones. Conversely, the mating success of females with identical pheromone types but different coefficients of relatedness to the two parental strains was significantly different, and was higher when their genetic background was closer to that of their male partner's pheromone race. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that the close-range mechanism ensuring assortative mating between the E and Z ECB pheromone races is unrelated to the difference in female sex pheromone. Although the nature of this mechanism remains elusive, our results show that it is expressed in females, acts at close range, segregates independently of the autosome carrying Pher and of both sex chromosomes, and is widely distributed since it occurs both in France and in the US

Exposure to Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs during Pregnancy and the Risk of Selected Birth Defects: A Prospective Cohort Study

Contains fulltext : 97906.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Since use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) during pregnancy is common, small increases in the risk of birth defects may have significant implications for public health. Results of human studies on the teratogenic risks of NSAIDs are inconsistent. Therefore, we evaluated the risk of selected birth defects after prenatal exposure to prescribed and over-the-counter NSAIDs. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We used data on 69,929 women enrolled in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study between 1999 and 2006. Data on NSAID exposure were available from a self-administered questionnaire completed around gestational week 17. Information on pregnancy outcome was obtained from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. Only birth defects suspected to be associated with NSAID exposure based upon proposed teratogenic mechanisms and previous studies were included in the multivariable logistic regression analyses. A total of 3,023 women used NSAIDs in gestational weeks 0-12 and 64,074 women did not report NSAID use in early pregnancy. No associations were observed between overall exposure to NSAIDs during pregnancy and the selected birth defects separately or as a group (adjusted odds ratio 0.7, 95% confidence interval 0.4-1.1). Associations between maternal use of specific types of NSAIDs and the selected birth defects were not found either, although an increased risk was seen for septal defects and exposure to multiple NSAIDs based on small numbers (2 exposed cases; crude odds ratio 3.9, 95% confidence interval 0.9-15.7). CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to NSAIDs during the first 12 weeks of gestation does not seem to be associated with an increased risk of the selected birth defects. However, due to the small numbers of NSAID-exposed infants for the individual birth defect categories, increases in the risks of specific birth defects could not be excluded

Sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) degradation by nitrate-reducing bacteria

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00253-017-8212-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.The surfactant sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) is widely used in the composition of detergents and frequently ends up in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). While aerobic SLES degradation is well studied, little is known about the fate of this compound in anoxic environments, such as denitrification tanks of WWTPs, nor about the bacteria involved in the anoxic biodegradation. Here, we used SLES as sole carbon and energy source, at concentrations ranging from 50 to 1000 mg L1, to enrich and isolate nitrate-reducing bacteria from activated sludge of a WWTP with the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (A2/O) concept. In the 50 mg L1 enrichment, Comamonas (50%), Pseudomonas (24%), and Alicycliphilus (12%) were present at higher relative abundance, while Pseudomonas (53%) became dominant in the 1000 mg L1 enrichment. Aeromonas hydrophila strain S7, Pseudomonas stutzeri strain S8, and Pseudomonas nitroreducens strain S11 were isolated from the enriched cultures. Under denitrifying conditions, strains S8 and S11 degraded 500 mg L1 SLES in less than 1 day, while strain S7 required more than 6 days. Strains S8 and S11 also showed a remarkable resistance to SLES, being able to grow and reduce nitrate with SLES concentrations up to 40 g L1. Strain S11 turned out to be the best anoxic SLES degrader, degrading up to 41% of 500 mg L1. The comparison between SLES anoxic and oxic degradation by strain S11 revealed differences in SLES cleavage, degradation, and sulfate accumulation; both ester and ether cleavage were probably employed in SLES anoxic degradation by strain S11.This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (contract project CTQ2007-64324 and 447 CONSOLIDER-CSD 2007-00055). The Regional Government of Castilla y Leon (Ref. GR76) is also gratefully acknowledged. MRD is supported by the WIMEK graduate school (project BAdaptive capacity and functionality of multi-trophic aquatic ecosystems^). AJMS is supported by the Gravitation grant (project 024.002.002) of the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Netherlands Science Foundation (NWO). AJMS and AJC are supported by an European ResearchCouncil (ERC) Grant (Project 323009).Thisstudywassupported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. This study was alsosupportedbythePortugueseFoundationforScienceandTechnology (FCT) under the scope of the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462). Joana Alves from University of Minho (Portugal) is acknowledged for support with the molecular techniques.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio