The BSCS and Educational Computing in the Sciences

This is the publisher's version, also found at http://www.jstor.org/stable/444823

A Rationale for Using Computers in Science Education

This is the publisher's version, also found at http://www.jstor.org/stable/444781

Survey of vector-like fermion extensions of the Standard Model and their phenomenological implications

With the renewed interest in vector-like fermion extensions of the Standard Model, we present here a study of multiple vector-like theories and their phenomenological implications. Our focus is mostly on minimal flavor conserving theories that couple the vector-like fermions to the SM gauge fields and mix only weakly with SM fermions so as to avoid flavor problems. We present calculations for precision electroweak and vector-like state decays, which are needed to investigate compatibility with currently known data. We investigate the impact of vector-like fermions on Higgs boson production and decay, including loop contributions, in a wide variety of vector-like extensions and their parameter spaces.Comment: 43 pages, 17 figures; v2: text modified to improve readability, references added, journal versio

If at First You Don\u27t Succeed : Blacksheer, Menefee & Stein, A Second Appraisal

Processing large collections can present a challenge to archivists. When a large collection consists of case files from a law firm, issues can arise that few archivists have experience in managing. Despite the special concerns that must be addressed in managing a large collection of legal records, archivists have a strong interest in these collections because of the historical relevance of cases the firms handle or particular clients the firms represent

QCD corrections to stoponium production at hadron colliders

If the lighter top squark has no kinematically allowed two-body decays that conserve flavor, then it will live long enough to form hadronic bound states. The observation of the diphoton decays of stoponium could then provide a uniquely precise measurement of the top squark mass. In this paper, we calculate the cross section for the production of stoponium in a hadron collider at next-to-leading order (NLO) in QCD. We present numerical results for the cross section for production of stoponium at the LHC and study the dependence on beam energy, stoponium mass, and the renormalization and factorization scale. The cross-section is substantially increased by the NLO corrections, counteracting a corresponding decrease found earlier in the NLO diphoton branching ratio.Comment: 24 page

A honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony’s brood survival rate predicts its in vitro-reared brood survival rate

International audienceAbstractRearing honey bee, Apis mellifera L., larvae in vitro is a popular risk assessment tool because many uncontrollable factors (e.g., weather conditions, food availability) that bias field studies can be eliminated in the laboratory. However, modern in vitro rearing techniques suffer variable survival rates and OECD guidelines specify a minimum of 70% survival to adult emergence in the untreated negative controls for the test to be considered valid. We hypothesized that the colony from which larvae are sourced for in vitro-rearing risk assessments may affect the survival percentage of those larvae in vitro. To test this hypothesis, we compared the survival rates of brood reared in vitro to that of brood reared by their parental colony to determine if source colony affects brood survival in vitro. Colony-reared and in vitro-reared brood survival percentages were calculated for each of the 14 colonies. There was not a statistically detectable difference in the survival percentage to adult emergence of colony-reared and in vitro-reared bees. Furthermore, the colony-reared brood survival percentage at day 11 (prepupal stage) was predictive of the survival percentage to adult emergence of in vitro-reared bees. We suggest that the 11-day brood survival percentage should be used when selecting suitable colonies for use as source colonies for in vitro-rearing risk assessments. Based on our results, colonies with brood survival percentages of ≥ 80% are suitable colonies from which to source larvae for in vitro-rearing risk assessments

Wafer-Level Parylene Packaging With Integrated RF Electronics for Wireless Retinal Prostheses

This paper presents an embedded chip integration technology that incorporates silicon housings and flexible Parylene-based microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices. Accelerated-lifetime soak testing is performed in saline at elevated temperatures to study the packaging performance of Parylene C thin films. Experimental results show that the silicon chip under test is well protected by Parylene, and the lifetime of Parylenecoated metal at body temperature (37°C) is more than 60 years, indicating that Parylene C is an excellent structural and packaging material for biomedical applications. To demonstrate the proposed packaging technology, a flexible MEMS radio-frequency (RF) coil has been integrated with an RF identification (RFID) circuit die. The coil has an inductance of 16 μH with two layers of metal completely encapsulated in Parylene C, which is microfabricated using a Parylene–metal–Parylene thin-film technology. The chip is a commercially available read-only RFID chip with a typical operating frequency of 125 kHz. The functionality of the embedded chip has been tested using an RFID reader module in both air and saline, demonstrating successful power and data transmission through the MEMS coil

Toward understanding ambulatory activity decline in Parkinson disease

BACKGROUND: Declining ambulatory activity represents an important facet of disablement in Parkinson disease (PD). OBJECTIVE: The primary study aim was to compare the 2-year trajectory of ambulatory activity decline with concurrently evolving facets of disability in a small cohort of people with PD. The secondary aim was to identify baseline variables associated with ambulatory activity at 1- and 2-year follow-up assessments. DESIGN: This was a prospective, longitudinal cohort study. METHODS: Seventeen people with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1-3) were recruited from 2 outpatient settings. Ambulatory activity data were collected at baseline and at 1- and 2-year annual assessments. Motor, mood, balance, gait, upper extremity function, quality of life, self-efficacy, and levodopa equivalent daily dose data and data on activities of daily living also were collected. RESULTS: Participants displayed significant 1- and 2-year declines in the amount and intensity of ambulatory activity concurrently with increasing levodopa equivalent daily dose. Worsening motor symptoms and slowing of gait were apparent only after 2 years. Concurrent changes in the remaining clinical variables were not observed. Baseline ambulatory activity and physical performance variables had the strongest relationships with 1- and 2-year mean daily steps. LIMITATIONS: The sample was small and homogeneous. CONCLUSIONS: Future research that combines ambulatory activity monitoring with a broader and more balanced array of measures would further illuminate the dynamic interactions among evolving facets of disablement and help determine the extent to which sustained patterns of recommended daily physical activity might slow the rate of disablement in PD.This study was funded primarily by the Davis Phinney Foundation and the Parkinson Disease Foundation. Additional funding was provided by Boston University Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (K12 HD043444), the National Institutes of Health (R01NS077959), the Utah Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA), the Greater St Louis Chapter of the APDA, and the APDA Center for Advanced PD Research at Washington University. (Davis Phinney Foundation; Parkinson Disease Foundation; K12 HD043444 - Boston University Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health; R01NS077959 - National Institutes of Health; Utah Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA); Greater St Louis Chapter of the APDA; APDA Center for Advanced PD Research at Washington University

A survey of common rabbit handling methods and reasons for their use

Rabbits are both popular pets commonly seen within veterinary practices, and frequently used in laboratories in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. However, to date there is minimal research that has investigated why and how people handle rabbits and why they choose to use such methods. In addition, few studies have considered the sources individuals use to learn about rabbit handling and their reasons to not use specific handling methods