Maximum Phonation Time and s/z Ratio in a Large Child Cohort

Aim. The purpose of this study was to provide normal values for maximum phonation time (MPT) and the s/z ratio by examining 1660 children aged 4-12 years and without vocal signs or symptoms.Methods. The technique was based on the sustained emission of the /a/ vowel and fricatives /s/ and /z/.Results. The average of the MPT in children of the different age groups was as follows: 6.09 seconds for the age group 4-6 years (males, 5.97; female, 6.21 seconds), 7.94 seconds for the age group 7-9 years (males, 8.07; females, 7.79 seconds), and 8.98 for the age group 10-12 years (males, 9.05; females, 8.92 seconds). The overall average for males was 7.78 and females 7.64 seconds. The s/z ratio was near 1.0 in most children but above 1.2 in 133 children and below 0.8 in 133 children.Conclusion. These values of MPT and s/z ratio can be used as normative in further pediatric studies.

Nutritional assessment of hospitalized HIV-infected patients by the phase angle z-score measurement

Background: This study analyzed the phase-angle (PA) values of hospitalized HVI-infected patients by comparing them with those reported for a healthy population and investigated their relation with nutritional parameters.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study including 101 hospitalized patients diagnosed with HIV infection and evaluated by bioimpedance, anthropometry and biochemical tests. The phase angle values, weight loss percentage (%WL), body mass index (BMI), arm muscle circumference (AMC), tricipital skinfold (TSF), body fat percentage (%BF) and albumin were considered. In order to compare with values for the healthy population, the PA z-score of the patients under study was calculated. Spearman's correlation and the multiple linear regression model were used to identify nutritional parameters associated with the PA z-score.Results: The patients showed a mean PA z-score of -2.6 +/- 1.5, and only 6.6% of them with a positive value. The PA z-score values correlated with %WL (r = -0.51; p < 0.0001), albumin (r = 0.49; p < 0.0001), BMI (r = 0.58; p < 0.0001), AMC (r = 0.41; p < 0.0001), TSF (r = 0.47; p < 0.001) and %BF (r = 0.48, p < 0.0001). In multiple analysis %WL (p = 0.008), albumin (p = 0.01), AMC (p < 0.0001) and %BF (p = 0.0003) remained associated with the score.Conclusions: Low PA z-score values were observed, suggesting a worse clinical prognosis for the patients. The inclusion of the PA z-score as a nutritional indicator during care provision to HIV-infected patients is recommended. (Nutr Hosp. 2012;27:771-774) DOI:10.3305/nh.2012.27.3.5684

CYCLIC CODES THROUGH B[X], B[X; 1/kp Z(0)] and B[X; 1/p(k) Z(0)]: A COMPARISON

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Constructions of codes through the semigroup ring B[X; 1/2(2)Z(0)] and encoding

For any finite commutative ring B with an identity there is a strict inclusion B[X; Z(0)] subset of B[X; Z(0)] subset of B[X; 1/2(2)Z(0)] of commutative semigroup rings. This work is a continuation of Shah et al. (2011) [8], in which we extend the study of Andrade and Palazzo (2005) [7] for cyclic codes through the semigroup ring B[X; 1/2; Z(0)] In this study we developed a construction technique of cyclic codes through a semigroup ring B[X; 1/2(2)Z(0)] instead of a polynomial ring. However in the second phase we independently considered BCH, alternant, Goppa, Srivastava codes through a semigroup ring B[X; 1/2(2)Z(0)]. Hence we improved several results of Shah et al. (2011) [8] and Andrade and Palazzo (2005) [7] in a broader sense. Published by Elsevier Ltd

Anomalous quartic gauge boson couplings at hadron colliders

We analyze the potential of the Fermilab Tevatron and CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to study anomalous quartic vector-boson interactions gamma gamma ZZ and gammaW(+)W(-). Working in the framework of SU(2)(L) circle times U(1)(Y) chiral Lagrangians, we study the production of photon pairs accompanied by l(+) l(-), l(+/-) v, and jet pairs to impose bounds on these new couplings, taking into account the unitarity constraints. We compare our findings with the indirect limits coming from precision electroweak measurements as well as with presently available direct searches at CERN LEPII. We show that the Tevatron run II can provide limits on these quartic limits which are of the same order of magnitude as the existing bounds from LEPII searches. LHC will be able to tighten considerably the direct constraints on these possible new interactions, leading to more stringent limits than the presently available indirect ones.

Standard model: An introduction

We present a primer on the Standard Model of the electroweak interaction. Emphasis is given to the historical aspects of the theory's formulation. The radiative corrections to the Standard Model are presented and its predictions for the electroweak parameters are compared with the precise experimental data obtained at the Z pole. Finally, we make some remarks on the perspectives for the discovery of the Higgs boson, the most important challenge of the Standard Model.

Mean-field description of a dynamical collapse of a fermionic condensate in a trapped boson-fermion mixture

We suggest a time-dependent dynamical mean-field-hydrodynamic model for the collapse of a trapped boson-fermion condensate and perform numerical simulation based on it to understand some aspects of the experiment by Modugno et al. [Science 297, 2240 (2002)] on the collapse of the fermionic condensate in the K-40-Rb-87 mixture. We show that the mean-field model explains the formation of a stationary boson-fermion condensate at zero temperature with relative sizes compatible with experiment. This model is also found to yield a faithful representation of the collapse dynamics in qualitative agreement with experiment. In particular we consider the collapse of the fermionic condensate associated with (a) an increase of the number of bosonic atoms as in the experiment and (b) an increase of the attractive boson-fermion interaction using a Feshbach resonance. Suggestion for experiments of fermionic collapse using a Feshbach resonance is made.

Strength of the trilinear Higgs boson coupling in technicolor models

We discuss the strength of the trilinear Higgs boson coupling in technicolor (or composite) models in a model independent way. The coupling is determined as a function of a very general ansatz for the technicolor self-energy, and turns out to be equal or smaller than the one of the Standard Model Higgs boson depending on the dynamics of the theory. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Naturally light invisible axion and local Z(13)circle times Z(3) symmetries

We show that by imposing local Z(13)circle timesZ(3) symmetries in an SU(2)circle timesU(1) electroweak model we can implement an invisible axion in such a way that (i) the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is an automatic symmetry of the classical Lagrangian, and (ii) the axion is protected from semiclassical gravitational effects. In order to be able to implement such a large discrete symmetry, and at the same time allow a general mixing in each charge sector, we introduce right-handed neutrinos and enlarge the scalar sector of the model. The domain wall problem is briefly considered.

Boson-boson effective nonrelativistic potential for higher-derivative electromagnetic theories in D dimensions

The problem of computing the effective nonrelativistic potential U-D for the interaction of charged-scalar bosons, within the context of D-dimensional electromagnetism with a cutoff, is reduced to quadratures. It is shown that U-3 cannot bind a pair of identical charged-scalar bosons; nevertheless, numerical calculations indicate that boson-boson bound states do exist in the framework of three-dimensional higher-derivative electromagnetism augmented by a topological Chern-Simons term.

Four-boson scale near a Feshbach resonance

We show that an independent four-body momentum scale mu((4)) drives the tetramer binding energy for fixed trimer energy (or three-body scale mu((3))) and large scattering length (a). The three- and four-body forces from the one-channel reduction of the atomic interaction near a Feshbach resonance disentangle mu((4)) and mu((3)). The four-body independent scale is also manifested through a family of Tjon lines, with slope given by mu((4))/mu((3)) for a(-1) = 0. There is the possibility of a new renormalization group limit cycle due to the new scale.

SU(5)circle times Z(13) grand unification model

We propose an SU(5) grand unified model with an invisible axion and the unification of the three coupling constants which is in agreement with the values, at M(Z), of alpha, alpha(s), and sin(2)theta(W). A discrete, anomalous, Z(13) symmetry implies that the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is an automatic symmetry of the classical Lagrangian protecting, at the same time, the invisible axion against possible semiclassical gravity effects. Although the unification scale is of the order of the Peccei-Quinn scale the proton is stabilized by the fact that in this model the standard model fields form the SU(5) multiplets completed by new exotic fields and, also, because it is protected by the Z(13) symmetry.

Observing an invisible Higgs boson

Given its weak coupling to bottom quarks and tau leptons, the Higgs boson may predominantly decay into invisible particles like gravitinos, neutralinos, or gravitons. We consider the manifestation of such an invisibly decaying Higgs boson in weak boson fusion at the CERN LHC. Distinctive kinematic distributions of the two quark jets of the signal as compared to Zjj and Wjj backgrounds allow to restrict the Higgs branching ratio to 'invisible' final states to some 13% with 10 fb(-1) of data, provided events with two energetic forward jets of high dijet invariant mass and with substantial missing transverse momentum can be triggered efficiently. It is also possible to discover these particles with masses up to 480 GeV in weak boson fusion, at the 5 sigma level, provided their invisible branching ratio is close to 100%. (C) 2000 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Measurement of the WW production cross section in p(p)over-bar collisions at root(s)over-bar=1.96 TeV

We present a measurement of the W boson pair-production cross section in p(p) over bar collisions at a center-of-mass energy of root s=1.96 TeV. The data, collected with the Run II D0 detector at Fermilab, correspond to an integrated luminosity of 224-252 pb(-1) depending on the final state (ee, e mu, or mu mu). We observe 25 candidates with a background expectation of 8.1 +/- 0.6(stat)+/- 0.6(syst)+/- 0.5(lum) events. The probability for an upward fluctuation of the background to produce the observed signal is 2.3x10(-7), equivalent to 5.2 standard deviations. The measurement yields a cross section of 13.8(-3.8)(+4.3)(stat)(-0.9)(+1.2)(syst)+/- 0.9(lum) pb, in agreement with predictions from the standard model.

Fermionic bright soliton in a boson-fermion mixture

We use a time-dependent dynamical mean-field-hydrodynamic model to study the formation of fermionic bright solitons in a trapped degenerate Fermi gas mixed with a Bose-Einstein condensate in a quasi-one-dimensional cigar-shaped geometry. Due to a strong Pauli-blocking repulsion among spin-polarized fermions at short distances there cannot be bright fermionic solitons in the case of repulsive boson-fermion interactions. However, we demonstrate that stable bright fermionic solitons can be formed for a sufficiently attractive boson-fermion interaction in a boson-fermion mixture. We also consider the formation of fermionic solitons in the presence of a periodic axial optical-lattice potential. These solitons can be formed and studied in the laboratory with present technology.