LHC Searches for Non-Chiral Weakly Charged Multiplets

Because the TeV-scale to be probed at the Large Hadron Collider should shed light on the naturalness, hierarchy, and dark matter problems, most searches to date have focused on new physics signatures motivated by possible solutions to these puzzles. In this paper, we consider some candidates for new states that although not well-motivated from this standpoint are obvious possibilities that current search strategies would miss. In particular we consider vector representations of fermions in multiplets of $SU(2)_L$ with a lightest neutral state. Standard search strategies would fail to find such particles because of the expected small one-loop-level splitting between charged and neutral states.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figure

Effect of treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus on pregnancy outcomes

Copyright © 2005 Massachusetts Medical Society.Background: We conducted a randomized clinical trial to determine whether treatment of women with gestational diabetes mellitus reduced the risk of perinatal complications. Methods: We randomly assigned women between 24 and 34 weeks’ gestation who had gestational diabetes to receive dietary advice, blood glucose monitoring, and insulin therapy as needed (the intervention group) or routine care. Primary outcomes included serious perinatal complications (defined as death, shoulder dystocia, bone fracture, and nerve palsy), admission to the neonatal nursery, jaundice requiring phototherapy, induction of labor, cesarean birth, and maternal anxiety, depression, and health status. Results: The rate of serious perinatal complications was significantly lower among the infants of the 490 women in the intervention group than among the infants of the 510 women in the routine-care group (1 percent vs. 4 percent; relative risk adjusted for maternal age, race or ethnic group, and parity, 0.33; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.14 to 0.75; P=0.01). However, more infants of women in the intervention group were admitted to the neonatal nursery (71 percent vs. 61 percent; adjusted relative risk, 1.13; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.03 to 1.23; P=0.01). Women in the intervention group had a higher rate of induction of labor than the women in the routine-care group (39 percent vs. 29 percent; adjusted relative risk, 1.36; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.15 to 1.62; P<0.001), although the rates of cesarean delivery were similar (31 percent and 32 percent, respectively; adjusted relative risk, 0.97; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.81 to 1.16; P=0.73). At three months post partum, data on the women’s mood and quality of life, available for 573 women, revealed lower rates of depression and higher scores, consistent with improved health status, in the intervention group. Conclusions: Treatment of gestational diabetes reduces serious perinatal morbidity and may also improve the woman’s health-related quality of life.Caroline A. Crowther, Janet E. Hiller, John R. Moss, Andrew J. McPhee, William S. Jeffries and Jeffrey S. Robinso

Local Ferromagnetism in Microporous Carbon with the Structural Regularity of Zeolite Y

Magnetization M(H,T) measurements have been performed on microporous carbon (MC) with a three-dimensional nano-array structure corresponding to that of a zeolite Y supercage. The obtained results unambiguously demonstrate the occurrence of high-temperature ferromagnetism in MC, probably originating from a topological disorder associated with curved graphene sheets. The results provide evidence that the ferromagnetic behavior of MC is governed by isolated clusters in a broad temperature range, and suggest the occurrence of percolative-type transition with the temperature lowering. A comparative analysis of the results obtained on MC and related materials is given.Comment: To be published in Physical Review B (2003

Analysis of genetic diversity of Hyptis pectinata (L.) Poit. plants using ISSR markers.

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No signs of inbreeding despite long-term isolation and habitat fragmentation in the critically endangered Montseny brook newt (Calotriton arnoldi)

Endemic species with restricted geographic ranges potentially suffer the highest risk of extinction. If these species are further fragmented into genetically isolated subpopulations, the risk of extinction is elevated. Habitat fragmentation is generally considered to have negative effects on species survival, despite some evidence for neutral or even positive effects. Typically, non-negative effects are ignored by conservation biology. The Montseny brook newt (Calotriton arnoldi) has one of the smallest distribution ranges of any European amphibian (8 km2) and is considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Here we apply molecular markers to analyze its population structure and find that habitat fragmentation owing to a natural barrier has resulted in strong genetic division of populations into two sectors, with no detectable migration between sites. Although effective population size estimates suggest low values for all populations, we found low levels of inbreeding and relatedness between individuals within populations. Moreover, C. arnoldi displays similar levels of genetic diversity to its sister species Calotriton asper, from which it separated around 1.5 million years ago and which has a much larger distribution range. Our extensive study shows that natural habitat fragmentation does not result in negative genetic effects, such as the loss of genetic diversity and inbreeding on an evolutionary timescale. We hypothesize that species in such conditions may evolve strategies (for example, special mating preferences) to mitigate the effects of small population sizes. However, it should be stressed that the influence of natural habitat fragmentation on an evolutionary timescale should not be conflated with anthropogenic habitat loss or degradation when considering conservation strategies

Modelo de precificação condicional com heteroscedasticidade: Avaliação de fundos brasileiros

Empirical studies have revealed that the conditional Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) has a higher explanatory power than its unconditional version, particularly for the model in state-space form where the beta is estimated using Kalman filter. Most empirical analyses are based on stock portfolios to explain financial anomalies, but only a few studies proposed improving investment fund performance. The main contribution of this study is the assessment of Brazilian investment funds through traditional measures estimated from the CAPM model in state-space form with heteroscedastic and homoscedastic errors com­pared to alternative models, such as the unconditional CAPM and a four-factor model. Using a sample of stock funds from May 2005–April 2015, the results indicate that the conditional CAPM model produces better results than the alternative models, providing better performance evaluation practices for funds in both stock-picking and market-timing ability.Los resultados empíricos en la literatura revelan que la versión condicional del CAPM, particularmente con respecto al modelo en forma de espacio de estado, en el cual se estima beta mediante el filtro de Kalman, posee mayor poder explicativo que su versión incondicional. La mayoría de los análisis empíri­cos se basan en carteras de valores para explicar anomalías financieras, pero pocos estudios proponen mejorar el rendimiento de los fondos de inversión. La principal contribución de este estudio a la lite­ratura es que lleva a cabo la evaluación de fondos de inversión a través de medidas condicionales generadas a partir del CAPM en forma espacio-estado con errores heteroscedásticos y homoscedásticos y que compara sus resultados con modelos alternativos, tales como CAPM incondicional, modelo de cuatro factores. Utilizando una muestra de fondos de acciones, los resultados indican que el modelo CAPM condicional produce mejores resultados que los modelos alternativos, proporcionando mejores prácticas de evaluación de desempeño en relación con las habilidades de stock-picking y market-timing.Os resultados empíricos na literatura demonstram que a versão condicional do Modelo de Precifica­ção de Ativos Financeiros (CAPM), particularmente no que se refere ao modelo na forma em espaço de estado, no qual o beta é estimado pelo filtro de Kalman, possui maior poder explicativo do que a sua versão incondicional. A maioria das análises empíricas na literatura baseia-se em portfólios de ações para explicar anomalias financeiras, porém poucos estudos propõem-se a melhorar a avaliação de desempenho de fundos de investimento. A principal contribuição deste artigo consiste em avaliar fundos de investimento brasileiros por meio de medidas tradicionais estimadas a partir do CAPM na forma em espaço de estado com erros heteroscedásticos e homoscedásticos e comparar seus resulta­dos com modelos alternativos, tais como o CAPM incondicional e o modelo de quatro fatores. Utilizando uma amostra de fundos de ações, os resultados indicam que o modelo CAPM condicional produz melhores resultados do que os modelos alternativos, proporcionando melhores práticas de avaliação de desempenho em relação às habilidades de stock-picking e market-timing

Mechanisms of Hsp90 regulation

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is a molecular chaperone that is involved in the activation of disparate client proteins. This implicates Hsp90 in diverse biological processes that require a variety of co-ordinated regulatory mechanisms to control its activity. Perhaps the most important regulator is heat shock factor 1 (HSF1), which is primarily responsible for upregulating Hsp90 by binding heat shock elements (HSEs) within Hsp90 promoters. HSF1 is itself subject to a variety of regulatory processes and can directly respond to stress. HSF1 also interacts with a variety of transcriptional factors that help integrate biological signals, which in turn regulate Hsp90 appropriately. Because of the diverse clientele of Hsp90 a whole variety of co-chaperones also regulate its activity and some are directly responsible for delivery of client protein. Consequently, co-chaperones themselves, like Hsp90, are also subject to regulatory mechanisms such as post translational modification. This review, looks at the many different levels by which Hsp90 activity is ultimately regulated

A pesquisa escolar nas aulas de ciências : conceitos, atitudes e procedimentos de professores participantes do Programa Observatório Nacional da Educação - CAPES

Este trabalho objetiva compreender a pesquisa escolar desenvolvida nas aulas de ciências com crianças entre 6 e 10 anos. Participaram sete docentes dos anos iniciais de duas escolas de ensino fundamental municipal, integrantes do Programa Observatório Nacional da Educação - CAPES. A abordagem metodológica foi norteada pela investigação-ação escolar, incluindo técnicas de Grupo focal, Planejamento cooperativo, observação nas escolas e Análise de Conteúdo. Compreende-se que as pesquisas desenvolvidas possuem como foco as temáticas ligadas ao cotidiano e a principal dificuldade é a cultura escolar de reprodução de modelos prontos. Os dados analisados apontam que, embora as intenções das docentes sejam condizentes com uma visão construtivista, na prática este fato não se concretiza, sendo os livros didáticos e entrevistas orais as principais fontes de informação

Distratores Monetários na Provinha Brasil de Matemática aplicada em Pelotas-RS

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar situações monetárias, presentes em avaliações de larga escala, que geram dificuldades em estudantes do Ciclo de Alfabetização. A questão de pesquisa que orientou o trabalho, e que respondemos ao final deste artigo é a seguinte: quais tipos de situações envolvendo grandezas monetárias apresentam, probabilisticamente, maior nível de distração do pensamento da criança? A coleta de dados foi realizada através da aplicação de questões selecionadas da Provinha Brasil de Matemática dos anos de 2015 e 2016, para 88 estudantes do ciclo de alfabetização do Ensino Fundamental da rede pública em uma escola da cidade de Pelotas-RS. Os resultados da pesquisa indicam que problemas da Provinha Brasil que envolvem relações aritméticas entre cédulas e moedas apresentam um grande número de distratores (alternativas incorretas, porém plausíveis), ao contrário dos problemas de identificação de cédulas e moedas, que praticamente não apresentam distratores