We present the first version of a new tool to scan the parameter space of generic scalar potentials,
ScannerS
(Coimbra et al.,
ScannerS
project.,
2013
). The main goal of
ScannerS
is to help ...distinguish between different patterns of symmetry breaking for each scalar potential. In this work we use it to investigate the possibility of excluding regions of the phase diagram of several versions of a complex singlet extension of the Standard Model, with future LHC results. We find that if another scalar is found, one can exclude a phase with a dark matter candidate in definite regions of the parameter space, while predicting whether a third scalar to be found must be lighter or heavier. The first version of the code is publicly available and contains various generic core routines for tree level vacuum stability analysis, as well as implementations of collider bounds, dark matter constraints, electroweak precision constraints and tree level unitarity.
ScannerS: parameter scans in extended scalar sectors Mühlleitner, Margarete; Sampaio, Marco O. P.; Santos, Rui ...
European physical journal. C, Particles and fields,
03/2022, Letnik:
82, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
We present the public code ScannerS–2 that performs parameter scans and checks parameter points in theories beyond the Standard Model (BSM) with extended scalar sectors. ScannerS incorporates ...theoretical and experimental constraints from many different sources in order to judge whether a parameter point is allowed or excluded at approximately
95
%
CL
. The BSM models implemented in ScannerS include many popular BSM models such as singlet extensions, different versions of the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model, or the different phases of the Next-to Two-Higgs-Doublet Model. The ScannerS framework allows straightforward extensions by additional constraints and BSM models.
Water and sanitation regulation in Brazil shall be addressed as part of a major problem that involves institutional disputes and legal uncertainty. The paper investigates the hypothesis that the ...complex institutional framework plays a central role in explaining country's poor performance in the sector. Methodology is mainly qualitative, presenting an analysis that shows how political, institutional and legal hurdles play a major role in explaining the government's inability to secure a financially self-sustainable structure to the sector. The paper suggests that empowering the National Water Agency to issue general guidelines may help reducing transaction costs and fostering sector's development.
•Being a three-level federative country leads to legal uncertainty in water tariffs' regulation.•There has been legal disputes between municipalities and states about sanitation regulation.•Institutional, economic and legal constraints play a major role in setting sanitation tariffs.•Judicial precedents play a key role in designing sanitation tariffs.
A
bstract
Beyond the Standard Model (SM) extensions usually include extended Higgs sectors. Models with singlet or doublet fields are the simplest ones that are compatible with the
ρ
parameter ...constraint. The discovery of new non-SM Higgs bosons and the identification of the underlying model requires dedicated Higgs properties analyses. In this paper, we compare several Higgs sectors featuring 3 CP-even neutral Higgs bosons that are also motivated by their simplicity and their ability to solve some of the flaws of the SM. They are: the SM extended by a complex singlet field (CxSM), the singlet extension of the 2-Higgs-Doublet Model (N2HDM), and the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric SM extension (NMSSM). In addition, we analyse the CP-violating 2-Higgs-Doublet Model (C2HDM), which provides 3 neutral Higgs bosons with a pseudoscalar admixture. This allows us to compare the effects of singlet and pseudoscalar admixtures. Through dedicated scans of the allowed parameter space of the models, we analyse the phenomenologically viable scenarios from the view point of the SM-like Higgs boson and of the signal rates of the non-SM-like Higgs bosons to be found. In particular, we analyse the effect of singlet/pseudoscalar admixture, and the potential to differentiate these models in the near future. This is supported by a study of couplings sums of the Higgs bosons to massive gauge bosons and to fermions, where we identify features that allow us to distinguish the models, in particular when only part of the Higgs spectrum is discovered. Our results can be taken as guidelines for future LHC data analyses, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments, to identify specific benchmark points aimed at revealing the underlying model.
Since 1961 the Antarctic Treaty has been acknowledged internationally as the legitimate forum through which decision-making for the region takes place. Membership growth and the establishment of new ...conventions are strong indicators of how this international regime has overcome challenges to its functioning, while preserving peace maintenance, scientific cooperation and environmental protection as the main pillars of Antarctic governance. For this special volume of Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Science, this work provides an overview of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings' operation, highlighting how they established specific diplomatic practices: the progressive introduction of issues, the avoidance of contentious issues, and "watered-down", ambiguous text, all of which have enabled parties to circumvent conflict and reach consensual agreement. Based on analysis of the Antarctic Treaty Database, this work shows the main practices developed through the Antarctic Treaty and concludes that the adaptability of Treaty Parties to manage challenges over the last 60 years will unquestionably continue to underpin the regime.
To evaluate the pharmacological activity of insulin-loaded alginate/chitosan nanoparticles following oral dosage in diabetic rats.
Nanoparticles were prepared by ionotropic pre-gelation of an ...alginate core followed by chitosan polyelectrolyte complexation. In vivo activity was evaluated by measuring the decrease in blood glucose concentrations in streptozotocin induced, diabetic rats after oral administration and flourescein (FITC)-labelled insulin tracked by confocal microscopy.
Nanoparticles were negatively charged and had a mean size of 750 nm, suitable for uptake within the gastrointestinal tract due to their nanosize range and mucoadhesive properties. The insulin association efficiency was over 70% and insulin was released in a pH-dependent manner under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Orally delivered nanoparticles lowered basal serum glucose levels by more than 40% with 50 and 100 IU/kg doses sustaining hypoglycemia for over 18 h. Pharmacological availability was 6.8 and 3.4% for the 50 and 100 IU/kg doses respectively, a significant increase over 1.6%, determined for oral insulin alone in solution and over other related studies at the same dose levels. Confocal microscopic examinations of FITC-labelled insulin nanoparticles showed clear adhesion to rat intestinal epithelium, and internalization of insulin within the intestinal mucosa.
The results indicate that the encapsulation of insulin into mucoadhesive nanoparticles was a key factor in the improvement of its oral absorption and oral bioactivity.
Tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a death ligand cytokine known for its cytotoxic activity against malignantly transformed cells. TRAIL induces cell death through ...binding to death receptors DR4 and DR5. The inhibitory decoy receptors (DcR1 and DcR2) co-expressed with death receptor 4 (DR4)/DR5 on the same cell can block the transmission of the apoptotic signal. Here, we show that DcRs also regulate TRAIL sensitivity at a supracellular level and thus represent a mechanism by which the microenvironment can diminish tumour TRAIL sensitivity. Mathematical modelling and layered or spheroid stroma-extracellular matrix-tumour cultures were used to model the tumour microenvironment. By engineering TRAIL to escape binding by DcRs, we found that DcRs do not only act in a cell-autonomous or cis-regulatory manner, but also exert trans-cellular regulation originating from stromal cells and affect tumour cells, highlighting the potent inhibitory effect of DcRs in the tumour tissue and the necessity of selective targeting of the two death-inducing TRAIL receptors to maximise efficacy.
The brewing industry is experiencing a period of change and experimentation largely driven by customer demand for product diversity. This has coincided with a greater appreciation of the role of ...yeast in determining the character of beer and the widespread availability of powerful tools for yeast research. Genome analysis in particular has helped clarify the processes leading to domestication of brewing yeast and has identified domestication signatures that may be exploited for further yeast development. The functional properties of non-conventional yeast (both Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces) are being assessed with a view to creating beers with new flavours as well as producing flavoursome non-alcoholic beers. The discovery of the psychrotolerant S. eubayanus has stimulated research on de novo S. cerevisiae × S. eubayanus hybrids for low-temperature lager brewing and has led to renewed interest in the functional importance of hybrid organisms and the mechanisms that determine hybrid genome function and stability. The greater diversity of yeast that can be applied in brewing, along with an improved understanding of yeasts' evolutionary history and biology, is expected to have a significant and direct impact on the brewing industry, with potential for improved brewing efficiency, product diversity and, above all, customer satisfaction.
The class Tremellomycete (Agaricomycotina) encompasses more than 380 fungi. Although there are a few edible Tremella spp., the only species with current biotechnological use is the ...astaxanthin-producing yeast Phaffia rhodozyma (Cystofilobasidiales). Besides astaxanthin, a carotenoid pigment with potent antioxidant activity and great value for aquaculture and pharmaceutical industries, P. rhodozyma possesses multiple exceptional traits of fundamental and applied interest. The aim of this study was to obtain, and analyze two new genome sequences of representative strains from the northern (CBS 7918
, the type strain) and southern hemispheres (CRUB 1149) and compre them to a previously published genome sequence (strain CBS 6938). Photoprotection and antioxidant related genes, as well as genes involved in sexual reproduction were analyzed.
Both genomes had ca. 19 Mb and 6000 protein coding genes, similar to CBS 6938. Compared to other fungal genomes P. rhodozyma strains and other Cystofilobasidiales have the highest number of intron-containing genes and highest number of introns per gene. The Patagonian strain showed 4.4 % of nucleotide sequence divergence compared to the European strains which differed from each other by only 0.073 %. All known genes related to the synthesis of astaxanthin were annotated. A hitherto unknown gene cluster potentially responsible for photoprotection (mycosporines) was found in the newly sequenced P. rhodozyma strains but was absent in the non-mycosporinogenic strain CBS 6938. A broad battery of enzymes that act as scavengers of free radical oxygen species were detected, including catalases and superoxide dismutases (SODs). Additionally, genes involved in sexual reproduction were found and annotated.
A draft genome sequence of the type strain of P. rhodozyma is now available, and comparison with that of the Patagonian population suggests the latter deserves to be assigned to a distinct variety. An unexpected genetic trait regarding high occurrence of introns in P. rhodozyma and other Cystofilobasidiales was revealed. New genomic insights into fungal homothallism were also provided. The genetic basis of several additional photoprotective and antioxidant strategies were described, indicating that P. rhodozyma is one of the fungi most well-equipped to cope with environmental oxidative stress, a factor that has probably contributed to shaping its genome.
ABSTRACT
In recent years, ‘multi-omic’ sciences have affected all aspects of fundamental and applied biological research. Yeast taxonomists, though somewhat timidly, have begun to incorporate ...complete genomic sequences into the description of novel taxa, taking advantage of these powerful data to calculate more reliable genetic distances, construct more robust phylogenies, correlate genotype with phenotype and even reveal cryptic sexual behaviors. However, the use of genomic data in formal yeast species descriptions is far from widespread. The present review examines published examples of genome-based species descriptions of yeasts, highlights relevant bioinformatic approaches, provides recommendations for new users and discusses some of the challenges facing the genome-based systematics of yeasts.
The cases in which genome data has accompanied the description of asomycetous and basidiomycetous yeasts are revised including the different methods and approaches used.
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