Summary of the CMS Discovery Potential for the MSSM SUSY Higgses

This work summarises the present understanding of the expected MSSM SUSY Higgs reach for CMS. Many of the studies presented here result from detailed detector simulations incorporating final CMS detector design and response. With 30 fb-1 the h -> gamma,gamma and h -> bb channels allow to cover most of the MSSM parameter space. For the massive A,H,H+ MSSM Higgs states the channels A,H -> tau,tau and H+ -> tau,nu turn out to be the most profitable ones in terms of mass reach and parameter space coverage. Consequently CMS has made a big effort to trigger efficiently on taus. Provided neutralinos and sleptons are not too heavy, there is an interesting complementarity in the reaches for A,H -> tau,tau and A,H -> chi,chi.Comment: 19 pages, 27 figure

Next-to-leading order QCD corrections to W+W- production via vector-boson fusion

Vector-boson fusion processes constitute an important class of reactions at hadron colliders, both for signals and backgrounds of new physics in the electroweak interactions. We consider what is commonly referred to as W+W- production via vector-boson fusion (with subsequent leptonic decay of the Ws), or, more precisely, e+ nu_e mu- nubar_mu + 2 jets production in proton-proton scattering, with all resonant and non-resonant Feynman diagrams and spin correlations of the final-state leptons included, in the phase-space regions which are dominated by t-channel electroweak-boson exchange. We compute the next-to-leading order QCD corrections to this process, at order alpha^6 alpha_s. The QCD corrections are modest, changing total cross sections by less than 10%. Remaining scale uncertainties are below 2%. A fully-flexible next-to-leading order partonic Monte Carlo program allows to demonstrate these features for cross sections within typical vector-boson-fusion acceptance cuts. Modest corrections are also found for distributions.Comment: 29 pages, 14 figure

Dominant next-to-leading order QCD corrections to Higgs plus three jet production in vector-boson fusion

We present the calculation of the dominant next to leading order QCD corrections to Higgs boson production in association with three jets via vector boson fusion in the form of a NLO parton-level Monte Carlo program. QCD corrections to integrated cross sections are modest, while the shapes of some kinematical distributions change appreciably at NLO. Scale uncertainties are shown to be reduced at NLO for the total cross section and for distributions. We consider a central jet veto at the LHC and analyze the veto probability for typical vector boson fusion cuts. Scale uncertainties of the veto probability are sufficiently small at NLO for precise Higgs coupling measurements at the LHC.Comment: 40 pages, 17 figures, 2 tables, published versio

Brain imaging evidence of early involvement of subcortical regions in familial and sporadic Alzheimer's disease

Recent brain imaging studies have found changes in subcortical regions in presymptomatic autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease (ADAD). These regions are also affected in sporadic Alzheimer's disease (sAD), but whether such changes are seen in early-stage disease is still uncertain. In this review, we discuss imaging studies published in the past 12 years that have found evidence of subcortical involvement in early-stage ADAD and/or sAD. Several papers have reported amyloid deposition in the striatum of presymptomatic ADAD mutation carriers, prior to amyloid deposition elsewhere. Altered caudate volume has also been implicated in early-stage ADAD, but findings have been variable. Less is known about subcortical involvement in sAD: the thalamus and striatum have been found to be atrophied in symptomatic patients, but their involvement in the preclinical phase remains unclear, in part due to the difficulties of studying this stage in sporadic disease. Longitudinal imaging studies comparing ADAD mutation carriers with individuals at high-risk for sAD may be needed to elucidate the significance of subcortical involvement in different AD clinical stages

Tietoturvamenetelmät pilvipalveluissa

Tiivistelmä. Tämän kirjallisuuskatsauksen tarkoituksena on esittää käyttäjälle pilvipalvelutyypit, pilvipalvelutasot, pilvipalveluihin liittyviä käytäntöjä, pilvipalveluiden tietoturvavaatimukset, kolme eri hyökkäystekniikkaa ja ratkaisuja näihin hyökkäyksiin. Pilviteknologia itsessään ei ole mikään varsinaisen uusi käsite, mutta viimeisen viidentoista vuoden aikana niiden käyttö on yleistynyt huomattavasti. Pilvipalveluiden räjähdysmäinen suosion kasvu on pakottanut yritykset ajatelemaan IT-ratkaisujaan pilvipalvelut huomioon ottaen. Tutkielman toinen luku käytetään tutkimusmenetelmien esittelyyn, jonka jälkeen luvussa kolme käydään läpi pilvipalvelut yleisesti. Aluksi esittelen eri pilvipalvelutyypit, joita onkolmea erilaista, julkinen, yksityinen ja hybridipilvi. Pilvipalvelutyyppien esittämisen jälkeen kerron pilvipalveluiden kolmesta eri pääluokasta, jotka ovat ohjelmistotaso (Software as a Service, SaaS), ohjelmistoalustataso (Platform as a Servicce, PaaS) jainfrastruktuuritaso (Infrastructure as a Service, IaaS). Luvussa neljä esitellään pilvipalveluiden tietoturvavaatimukset sekä yleisimmät tietoturvaongelmat, joita ovat SOAP-viestit, faktoroidut käyttöjärjestelmät ja virtuaalikoneen introspektio. Tietoturvaongelmien jälkeen luvussa 5 esittelen pilvipalveluihin kohdistuvat yleisimmät hyökkäysmetodit joita ovat wrapping-hyökkäys, haittaohjelmainjektio ja tulvahyökkäys. Lisäksi lopussa esitellään näille kolmelle hyökkäystyypille joitakin mahdollisia ratkaisuja

Optical tweezers study of red blood cell aggregation and disaggregation in plasma and protein solutions

Kinetics of optical tweezers (OT)-induced spontaneous aggregation and disaggregation of red blood cells (RBCs) were studied at the level of cell doublets to assess RBC interaction mechanics. Measurements were performed under in vitro conditions in plasma and fibrinogen and fibrinogen + albumin solutions. The RBC spontaneous aggregation kinetics was found to exhibit different behavior depending on the cell environment. In contrast, the RBC disaggregation kinetics was similar in all solutions qualitatively and quantitatively, demonstrating a significant contribution of the studied proteins to the process. The impact of the study on assessing RBC interaction mechanics and the protein contribution to the reversible RBC aggregation process is discussed

The role of social networks in students’ learning experiences

The aim of this research is to investigate the role of social networks in computer science education. The Internet shows great potential for enhancing collaboration between people and the role of social software has become increasingly relevant in recent years. This research focuses on analyzing the role that social networks play in students’ learning experiences. The construction of students’ social networks, the evolution of these networks, and their effects on the students’ learning experience in a university environment are examined