Two-Higgs-doublet model in light of the standard model H -> tau(+)tau(-) search at the LHC

We study the implications of the searches based on H -> tau(+)tau-by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations on the parameter space of the two-Higgs-doublet model (2HDM). In the 2HDM, the scalars can decay into a tau pair with a branching ratio larger than the SM one, leading to constraints on the 2HDM parameter space. We show that in model II, values of tan beta > 1.8 are definitively excluded if the pseudoscalar is in the mass range 110 GeV < m(A) < 145 GeV. We have also discussed the implications for the 2HDM of the recent dimuon search by the ATLAS collaboration for a CP-odd scalar in the mass range 4-12 GeV.

The use of non-standard CT conversion ramps for Monte Carlo verification of 6 MV prostate IMRT plans

Monte Carlo (MC) dose calculation algorithms have been widely used to verify the accuracy of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) dose distributions computed by conventional algorithms due to the ability to precisely account for the effects of tissue inhomogeneities and multileaf collimator characteristics. Both algorithms present, however, a particular difference in terms of dose calculation and report. Whereas dose from conventional methods is traditionally computed and reported as the water-equivalent dose (Dw), MC dose algorithms calculate and report dose to medium (Dm). In order to compare consistently both methods, the conversion of MC Dm into Dw is therefore necessary. This study aims to assess the effect of applying the conversion of MC-based Dm distributions to Dw for prostate IMRT plans generated for 6 MV photon beams. MC phantoms were created from the patient CT images using three different ramps to convert CT numbers into material and mass density: a conventional four material ramp (CTCREATE) and two simplified CT conversion ramps: (1) air and water with variable densities and (2) air and water with unit density. MC simulations were performed using the BEAMnrc code for the treatment head simulation and the DOSXYZnrc code for the patient dose calculation. The conversion of Dm to Dw by scaling with the stopping power ratios of water to medium was also performed in a post-MC calculation process. The comparison of MC dose distributions calculated in conventional and simplified (water with variable densities) phantoms showed that the effect of material composition on dose-volume histograms (DVH) was less than 1% for soft tissue and about 2.5% near and inside bone structures. The effect of material density on DVH was less than 1% for all tissues through the comparison of MC distributions performed in the two simplified phantoms considering water. Additionally, MC dose distributions were compared with the predictions from an Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS), which employed a pencil beam convolution (PBC) algorithm with Modified Batho Power Law heterogeneity correction. Eclipse PBC and MC calculations (conventional and simplified phantoms) agreed well (<1%) for soft tissues. For femoral heads, differences up to 3% were observed between the DVH for Eclipse PBC and MC calculated in conventional phantoms. The use of the CT conversion ramp of water with variable densities for MC simulations showed no dose discrepancies (0.5%) with the PBC algorithm. Moreover, converting Dm to Dw using mass stopping power ratios resulted in a significant shift (up to 6%) in the DVH for the femoral heads compared to the Eclipse PBC one. Our results show that, for prostate IMRT plans delivered with 6 MV photon beams, no conversion of MC dose from medium to water using stopping power ratio is needed. In contrast, MC dose calculations using water with variable density may be a simple way to solve the problem found using the dose conversion method based on the stopping power ratio.

Exposure to fungi in dockers

Several activities are ensured by dockers increase occupational exposure to several risk factors. being one of them the fungal burden from the load. In this study we aim at characterizing fungal contamination in one warehouse that storage sugar cane from a ship, and also in one crane cabinet that unload the same sugar cane from the ship. Air samples were collected from the warehouse and from inside the crane cabinet. An outdoor sample was also collected, from each sampling site, and regarding as reference. Sampling volume was selected depending in the contamination expected and the air samples were collect through an impaction method in a flow rate of 140 L/min onto malt extract agar (MEA) supplemented with chloramphenicol (0.05%), using the Millipore air Tester (Millipore). Surfaces samples from the warehouse were collected by swabbing the surfaces of the same indoor sites, using a 10 by 10cm square stencil according to the International Standard ISO 18593 (2004). The obtained swabs were then plated onto MEA. All the collected samples were incubated at 27ºC for 5 to 7 days. After laboratory processing and incubation of the collected samples, quantitative (colony-forming units - CFU/m3 and CFU/m2) and qualitative results were obtained with identification of the isolated fungal species. Aspergillus fumigatus present the highest fungal load and WHO guideline was overcome in both indoor sampling sites. The results obtained in this study highlight the need to know better the exposure burden from dockers, and specifically to fungi contamination.

High Performance Multi-Standard Architecture for DCT Computation in H.264/AVC High Profile and HEVC Codecs

A new high performance architecture for the computation of all the DCT operations adopted in the H.264/AVC and HEVC standards is proposed in this paper. Contrasting to other dedicated transform cores, the presented multi-standard transform architecture is supported on a completely configurable, scalable and unified structure, that is able to compute not only the forward and the inverse 8×8 and 4×4 integer DCTs and the 4×4 and 2×2 Hadamard transforms defined in the H.264/AVC standard, but also the 4×4, 8×8, 16×16 and 32×32 integer transforms adopted in HEVC. Experimental results obtained using a Xilinx Virtex-7 FPGA demonstrated the superior performance and hardware efficiency levels provided by the proposed structure, which outperforms its more prominent related designs by at least 1.8 times. When integrated in a multi-core embedded system, this architecture allows the computation, in real-time, of all the transforms mentioned above for resolutions as high as the 8k Ultra High Definition Television (UHDTV) (7680×4320 @ 30fps).

Correlation modeling for a distributed scalable video codec based on the HEVC standard

The growing heterogeneity of networks, devices and consumption conditions asks for flexible and adaptive video coding solutions. The compression power of the HEVC standard and the benefits of the distributed video coding paradigm allow designing novel scalable coding solutions with improved error robustness and low encoding complexity while still achieving competitive compression efficiency. In this context, this paper proposes a novel scalable video coding scheme using a HEVC Intra compliant base layer and a distributed coding approach in the enhancement layers (EL). This design inherits the HEVC compression efficiency while providing low encoding complexity at the enhancement layers. The temporal correlation is exploited at the decoder to create the EL side information (SI) residue, an estimation of the original residue. The EL encoder sends only the data that cannot be inferred at the decoder, thus exploiting the correlation between the original and SI residues; however, this correlation must be characterized with an accurate correlation model to obtain coding efficiency improvements. Therefore, this paper proposes a correlation modeling solution to be used at both encoder and decoder, without requiring a feedback channel. Experiments results confirm that the proposed scalable coding scheme has lower encoding complexity and provides BD-Rate savings up to 3.43% in comparison with the HEVC Intra scalable extension under development. © 2014 IEEE.

Two-loop stability of a complex singlet extended Standard Model

Motivated by the dark matter and the baryon asymmetry problems, we analyze a complex singlet extension of the Standard Model with a Z(2) symmetry (which provides a dark matter candidate). After a detailed two-loop calculation of the renormalization group equations for the new scalar sector, we study the radiative stability of the model up to a high energy scale (with the constraint that the 126 GeV Higgs boson found at the LHC is in the spectrum) and find it requires the existence of a new scalar state mixing with the Higgs with a mass larger than 140 GeV. This bound is not very sensitive to the cutoff scale as long as the latter is larger than 10(10) GeV. We then include all experimental and observational constraints/measurements from collider data, from dark matter direct detection experiments, and from the Planck satellite and in addition force stability at least up to the grand unified theory scale, to find that the lower bound is raised to about 170 GeV, while the dark matter particle must be heavier than about 50 GeV.