Search for jet extinction in the inclusive jet-pT spectrum from proton-proton collisions at s=8 TeV

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published articles title, journal citation, and DOI.The first search at the LHC for the extinction of QCD jet production is presented, using data collected with the CMS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10.7  fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The extinction model studied in this analysis is motivated by the search for signatures of strong gravity at the TeV scale (terascale gravity) and assumes the existence of string couplings in the strong-coupling limit. In this limit, the string model predicts the suppression of all high-transverse-momentum standard model processes, including jet production, beyond a certain energy scale. To test this prediction, the measured transverse-momentum spectrum is compared to the theoretical prediction of the standard model. No significant deficit of events is found at high transverse momentum. A 95% confidence level lower limit of 3.3 TeV is set on the extinction mass scale

Searches for electroweak neutralino and chargino production in channels with Higgs, Z, and W bosons in pp collisions at 8 TeV

Searches for supersymmetry (SUSY) are presented based on the electroweak pair production of neutralinos and charginos, leading to decay channels with Higgs, Z, and W bosons and undetected lightest SUSY particles (LSPs). The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of about 19.5 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV collected in 2012 with the CMS detector at the LHC. The main emphasis is neutralino pair production in which each neutralino decays either to a Higgs boson (h) and an LSP or to a Z boson and an LSP, leading to hh, hZ, and ZZ states with missing transverse energy (E-T(miss)). A second aspect is chargino-neutralino pair production, leading to hW states with E-T(miss). The decays of a Higgs boson to a bottom-quark pair, to a photon pair, and to final states with leptons are considered in conjunction with hadronic and leptonic decay modes of the Z and W bosons. No evidence is found for supersymmetric particles, and 95% confidence level upper limits are evaluated for the respective pair production cross sections and for neutralino and chargino mass values

The UN convention on climate change and the pertinent Brazilian legislation with emphasis on the environmental legislation in the State of Amazonas

This work has analyzed the performance of Brazil in relation to the fulfillment of the obligations defined by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Article 4.1), from the point of view of the International Law, Internal Positive Law and especially the rules of Environmental Law. It compared the national legislation with the norms originated from the Convention and the activities implemented by the national organisms, including policies and environmental programs, trying to identify the convergent and conflicting points in order to indicate what has to be done, and to allow, where necessary, norms to accomplish the objective planned. This work aimed to show the Amazonas State commitments in relation to the Convention, and to offer suggestions to the administration of public policies directed to the fulfillment of aims determined by the Convention and undertaken by Brazil.Este trabalho analisou o desempenho do Brasil no cumprimento das obrigações definidas pela Convenção Quadro das Nações Unidas sobre Mudança do Clima (Art. 4.1), do ponto de vista do Direito Internacional e do Direito Positivo Interno, especialmente as normas de Direito Ambiental. Comparou-se a legislação nacional com as normas oriundas da Convenção e as atividades implementadas pelos organismos nacionais, incluindo políticas e programas ambientais, procurando identificar pontos de convergência e de conflito para indicar o que precisa ser feito e permitir, onde necessário, a adaptação das normas internas à consecução dos objetivos traçados. Pretendeu-se demonstrar como se dá a participação do Amazonas nos compromissos para com as mudanças climáticas e, de acordo com os resultados alcançados, oferecer sugestões à gestão de políticas públicas voltadas para o cumprimento das metas traçadas pela Convenção e assumidas pelo Brasil

Characterization, agricultural potential, and perspectives for the management of light soils in Brazil

Os solos leves ocupam cerca de 8% do território brasileiro e são epecialmente expressivos na nova e na última fronteira agrícola do país: a região de Matopiba, nos estados do Maranhão, do Tocantins, do Piauí e da Bahia, onde representam 20% da área. Esses solos enquadram-se nas classes texturais areia e areia franca ou francoarenosa, até a profundidade de 0,75 m ou mais, e são representados principalmente pelos Neossolos Quartzarênicos e, em parte, por Latossolos e Argissolos. O entendimento do funcionamento desses solos depende do estabelecimento de critérios distintivos sobre: dinâmica da matéria orgânica; teor e mineralogia da fração argila; teores de areia grossa e de areia total, em relação aos de areia fina; diâmetro médio da fração areia; e capacidade de retenção de água. Esses critérios podem contribuir para o zoneamento e para o manejo conservacionista e da fertilidade dos solos leves, bem como para estimação de seu potencial agrícola. Sistemas integrados de produção, como os de integração lavoura-pecuária e lavoura-pecuária-floresta, além do plantio direto com rotação de culturas, dos plantios florestais mistos com espécies leguminosas, e do uso de adubos verdes e cultivos de cobertura, são relevantes para o manejo adequado desses solos. O objetivo deste artigo de revisão foi caracterizar os solos leves e apontar os principais desafios em relação a seu potencial agrícola, a seu manejo e conservação e sua fertilidade, frente à expansão e à consolidação da nova fronteira agrícola.Light soils occupy 8% of the Brazilian territory and are especially expressive in the new and last agricultural frontier in Brazil: the Matopiba region – in the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia –, where they represent 20% of the area. These soils fit into the textural classes of sand, loamy sand, and sandy loam, down to 0.75-m soil depth or deeper, and they are mainly represented by Entisols (Quartzipsamments), and partly by Oxisols and Ultisols. The understanding of soil functioning depends on the establishment of distinguishing criteria for: organic matter dynamics; content and mineralogy of the clay fraction; coarse sand and total sand contents, in relation to those of fine sand; mean diameter of the sand fraction; and water retention capacity. These criteria can contribute for the zoning and for the conservationist and fertility management of light soils, as well as for the estimation of their agricultural potential. Integrated production systems, such as, crop-livestock and crop-livestock-forestry integration, besides no-tillage with crop rotation, mixed forestry planting with legumes, and the use of green manure and cover crops, are relevant for the proper management of these soils. The objective of this review was to characterize light soils and to highlight the main challenges regarding their agricultural potential and their conservation and fertility managements, in face of the expansion and consolidation of the new Brazilian agricultural frontier