LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

The Legislative Update is compiled and written annually by the Journal of Dispute Resolution’s Associate Members under the direction of the Associate Editor in Chief. It is designed to provide readers with a listing of pertinent legislation affecting the field of alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) and a more detailed look at certain bills because of their importance or novelty within the field

Inclusive b-hadron production cross section with muons in pp collisions at s√=7TeV

A measurement of the b-hadron production cross section in proton-proton collisions at s√=7TeVs=7TeV is presented. The dataset, corresponding to 85 nb−1, was recorded with the CMS experiment at the LHC using a low-threshold single-muon trigger. Events are selected by the presence of a muon with transverse momentum pμT>6GeVpTμ>6GeV with respect to the beam direction and pseudorapidity |η μ | < 2.1. The transverse momentum of the muon with respect to the closest jet discriminates events containing b hadrons from background. The inclusive b-hadron production cross section is presented as a function of muon transverse momentum and pseudorapidity. The measured total cross section in the kinematic acceptance is σ(pp → b + X → μ + X′) = 1.32 ± 0.01(stat) ± 0.30(syst) ± 0.15(lumi)μb

Activity-dependent silencing reveals functionally distinct itch-generating sensory neurons

The peripheral terminals of primary sensory neurons detect histamine and non-histamine itch-provoking ligands through molecularly distinct transduction mechanisms. It remains unclear, however, whether these distinct pruritogens activate the same or different afferent fibers. We utilized a strategy of reversibly silencing specific subsets of murine pruritogen-sensitive sensory axons by targeted delivery of a charged sodium-channel blocker and found that functional blockade of histamine itch did not affect the itch evoked by chloroquine or SLIGRL-NH2, and vice versa. Notably, blocking itch-generating fibers did not reduce pain-associated behavior. However, silencing TRPV1+ or TRPA1+ neurons allowed AITC or capsaicin respectively to evoke itch, implying that certain peripheral afferents may normally indirectly inhibit algogens from eliciting itch. These findings support the presence of functionally distinct sets of itch-generating neurons and suggest that targeted silencing of activated sensory fibers may represent a clinically useful anti-pruritic therapeutic approach for histaminergic and non-histaminergic pruritus

Observation of long-range, near-side angular correlations in proton-proton collisions at the LHC

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FJHEP09%282010%29091.Results on two-particle angular correlations for charged particles emitted in proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 0.9, 2.36, and 7 TeV are presented, using data collected with the CMS detector over a broad range of pseudorapidity (η) and azimuthal angle (ϕ). Short-range correlations in Δη, which are studied in minimum bias events, are characterized using a simple “independent cluster” parametrization in order to quantify their strength (cluster size) and their extent in η (cluster decay width). Long-range azimuthal correlations are studied differentially as a function of charged particle multiplicity and particle transverse momentum using a 980 nb(−1) data set at 7 TeV. In high multiplicity events, a pronounced structure emerges in the two-dimensional correlation function for particle pairs with intermediate p T of 1–3 GeV/c, 2.0 < |Δη| < 4.8 and Δϕ ≈ 0. This is the first observation of such a long-range, near-side feature in two-particle correlation functions in pp or pp-bar collisions

Transverse-momentum and pseudorapidity distributions of charged hadrons in pp collisions at s√=0.9 and 2.36 TeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FJHEP02%282010%29041.Measurements of inclusive charged-hadron transverse-momentum and pseudorapidity distributions are presented for proton-proton collisions at s√=0.9 and 2.36 TeV. The data were collected with the CMS detector during the LHC commissioning in December 2009. For non-single-diffractive interactions, the average charged-hadron transverse momentum is measured to be 0.46 ± 0.01 (stat.) ± 0.01 (syst.) GeV/c at 0.9 TeV and 0.50 ± 0.01 (stat.) ± 0.01 (syst.) GeV/c at 2.36 TeV, for pseudorapidities between --2.4 and +2.4. At these energies, the measured pseudorapidity densities in the central region, dN (ch)/dη|(|η|)<0.5, are 3:48 ± 0:02 (stat.) ± 0.13 (syst.) and 4:47 ± 0:04 (stat.) ± 0.16 (syst.), respectively. The results at 0.9 TeV are in agreement with previous measurements and confirm the expectation of near equal hadron production in p-bar p and pp collisions. The results at 2.36 TeV represent the highest-energy measurements at a particle collider to date

Search for Dijet Resonances in 7 TeV pp Collisions at CMS

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.211801.A search for narrow resonances in the dijet mass spectrum is performed using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.9  pb(−1) collected by the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Upper limits at the 95% confidence level are presented on the product of the resonance cross section, branching fraction into dijets, and acceptance, separately for decays into quark-quark, quark-gluon, or gluon-gluon pairs. The data exclude new particles predicted in the following models at the 95% confidence level: string resonances, with mass less than 2.50 TeV, excited quarks, with mass less than 1.58 TeV, and axigluons, colorons, and E6 diquarks, in specific mass intervals. This extends previously published limits on these models

Search for supersymmetry in final states with a single lepton, b-quark jets, and missing transverse energy in proton-proton collisions at s√=7 TeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.87.052006.A search motivated by supersymmetric models with light top squarks is presented using proton-proton collision data recorded with the CMS detector at a center-of-mass energy of s√=7  TeV during 2011, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.98  fb(−1). The analysis is based on final states with a single lepton, b-quark jets, and missing transverse energy. Standard model yields are predicted from data using two different approaches. The observed event numbers are found to be compatible with these predictions. Results are interpreted in the context of the constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model and of a simplified model with four top quarks in the final state

Search for heavy quarks decaying into a top quark and a W or Z boson using lepton + jets events in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FJHEP01%282013%29154.Results are presented from a search for the pair-production of heavy quarks, QQ-bar , that decay exclusively into a top quark and a W or Z boson. The search is performed using a sample of proton-proton collisions at s√=7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb(−1), collected by the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment. The signal region is defined using a sample of events containing one electron or muon, missing transverse momentum, and at least four jets with large transverse momenta, where one jet is likely to originate from the decay of a bottom quark. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model expectations. Assuming a strong pair-production mechanism, quark masses below 675 (625) GeV decaying into tW (tZ) are excluded at the 95 % confidence level

Inclusive Search for Supersymmetry Using Razor Variables in pp Collisions at s√=7 TeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.081802.An inclusive search is presented for new heavy particle pairs produced in s√=7  TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHC using 4.7±0.1  fb(−1) of integrated luminosity. The selected events are analyzed in the 2D razor space of MR, an event-by-event indicator of the heavy particle mass scale, and R, a dimensionless variable related to the missing transverse energy. The third-generation sector is probed using the event heavy-flavor content. The search is sensitive to generic supersymmetry models with minimal assumptions about the superpartner decay chains. No excess is observed in the number of events beyond that predicted by the standard model. Exclusion limits are derived in the CMSSM framework as well as for simplified models. Within the CMSSM parameter space considered, gluino masses up to 800 GeV and squark masses up to 1.35 TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level depending on the model parameters. The direct production of pairs of top or bottom squarks is excluded for masses as high as 400 GeV