Prospects For Detecting Dark Matter With Neutrino Telescopes In Light Of Recent Results From Direct Detection Experiments

Direct detection dark matter experiments, lead by the CDMS collaboration, have placed increasingly stronger constraints on the cross sections for elastic scattering of WIMPs on nucleons. These results impact the prospects for the indirect detection of dark matter using neutrino telescopes. With this in mind, we revisit the prospects for detecting neutrinos produced by the annihilation of WIMPs in the Sun. We find that the latest bounds do not seriously limit the models most accessible to next generation kilometer-scale neutrino telescopes such as IceCube. This is largely due to the fact that models with significant spin-dependent couplings to protons are the least constrained and, at the same time, the most promising because of the efficient capture of WIMPs in the Sun. We identify models where dark matter particles are beyond the reach of any planned direct detection experiments while within reach of neutrino telescopes. In summary, we find that, even when contemplating recent direct detection results, neutrino telescopes still have the opportunity to play an important as well as complementary role in the search for particle dark matter.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

Are There Hints of Light Stops in Recent Higgs Search Results?

The recent discovery at the LHC by the CMS and ATLAS collaborations of the Higgs boson presents, at long last, direct probes of the mechanism for electroweak symmetry breaking. While it is clear from the observations that the new particle plays some role in this process, it is not yet apparent whether the couplings and widths of the observed particle match those predicted by the Standard Model. In this paper, we perform a global fit of the Higgs results from the LHC and Tevatron. While these results could be subject to as-yet-unknown systematics, we find that the data are significantly better fit by a Higgs with a suppressed width to gluon-gluon and an enhanced width to gamma gamma, relative to the predictions of the Standard Model. After considering a variety of new physics scenarios which could potenially modify these widths, we find that the most promising possibility is the addition of a new colored, charged particle, with a large coupling to the Higgs. Of particular interest is a light, and highly mixed, stop, which we show can provide the required alterations to the combination of gg and gamma gamma widths.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Feeding interventions for growth and development in infants with cleft lip, cleft palate or cleft lip and palate.

BACKGROUND: Cleft lip and cleft palate are common birth defects, affecting about one baby of every 700 born. Feeding these babies is an immediate concern and there is evidence of delay in growth of children with a cleft as compared to those without clefting. In an effort to combat reduced weight for height, a variety of advice and devices are recommended to aid feeding of babies with clefts. OBJECTIVES: This review aims to assess the effects of these feeding interventions in babies with cleft lip and/or palate on growth, development and parental satisfaction. SEARCH STRATEGY: The following electronic databases were searched: the Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register (to 27 October 2010), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2010, Issue 4), MEDLINE via OVID (1950 to 27 October 2010), EMBASE via OVID (1980 to 27 October 2010), PsycINFO via OVID (1950 to 27 October 2010) and CINAHL via EBSCO (1980 to 27 October 2010). Attempts were made to identify both unpublished and ongoing studies. There was no restriction with regard to language of publication. SELECTION CRITERIA: Studies were included if they were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of feeding interventions for babies born with cleft lip, cleft palate or cleft lip and palate up to the age of 6 months (from term). DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Studies were assessed for relevance independently and in duplicate. All studies meeting the inclusion criteria were data extracted and assessed for validity independently by each member of the review team. Authors were contacted for clarification or missing information whenever possible. MAIN RESULTS: Five RCTs with a total of 292 babies, were included in the review. Comparisons made within the RCTs were squeezable versus rigid feeding bottles (two studies), breastfeeding versus spoon-feeding (one study) and maxillary plate versus no plate (two studies). No statistically significant differences were shown for any of the primary outcomes when comparing bottle types, although squeezable bottles were less likely to require modification. No difference was shown for infants fitted with a maxillary plate compared to no plate. However, there was some evidence of an effect on weight at 6 weeks post-surgery in favour of breastfeeding when compared to spoon-feeding (mean difference 0.47; 95% confidence interval 0.20 to 0.74). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Squeezable bottles appear easier to use than rigid feeding bottles for babies born with clefts of the lip and/or palate, however, there is no evidence of a difference in growth outcomes between the bottle types. There is weak evidence that breastfeeding is better than spoon-feeding following surgery for cleft. There was no evidence to suggest that maxillary plates assist growth in babies with clefts of the palate. No evidence was found to assess the use of any types of maternal advice and/or support for these babies

Synthesis and characterisation of novel ferrocenyl thienyl and thiazolyl systems

Ferrocenyl derivatives are currently under investigation by our group and several series containing both amidothienyl and amidothiazolyl systems have been synthesised and characterised. The incorporation of thienyl/thiazolyl groups into a ferrocenyl- or ferrocenylphenyl system greatly enhances the number of potential donor atoms for coordination with metal fragments e.g. PtII, PdII with a view to platinum anti-cancer studies and/or interaction with guest molecules through suitable hydrogen bonding interactions. In nature, thiazole has been found to be vital in certain natural products: examples include the antibiotic bacitracin and the siderophore yersiniabactin. In therapeutic studies the antitumour compound epothilone A and myxothiazole (inhibitor) have been extensively studied

Methyl 2-(4-ferrocenylbenzamido)thiophene-3-carboxylate and ethyl 2-(4-ferrocenylbenzamido)-1,3-thiazole-4-acetate, a unique ferrocen

The conformations and hydrogen bonding in the thiophene and thiazole title compounds, [Fe(C₅H₅)(C₂₀H₁₄NO₃S)], (I), and [Fe(C₅H₅)(C₁₉H₁₇N₂O₃S)], (II), are discussed. The sequence (C₅H₄)-(C₆H₄)-(CONH)-(C₄H₂S)-(CO₂Me) of rings and moieties in (I) is close to being planar; all consecutive interplanar angles are less than 10°. An intramolecular N-H...O=Cester hydrogen bond [graph set S(6), N...O = 2.768 (2) Å and N-H...O = 134 (2)°] effects the molecular planarity, and aggregation occurs via hydrogen-bonded chains formed from intermolecular Car-H...O=Cester/amide interactions along [010], with C...O distances ranging from 3.401 (3) to 3.577 (2) Å. The thiazole system in (II) crystallizes with two molecules in the asymmetric unit; these differ in the conformation along their long molecular axes; for example, the interplanar angle between the phenylene (C₆H₄) and thiazole (C₃NS) rings is 8.1 (2)° in one molecule and 27.66 (14)° in the other. Intermolecular N-H...O=Cester hydrogen bonds [N...O = 2.972 (4) and 2.971 (3) Å], each augmented by a Cphenylene-H...O=Cester interaction [3.184 (5) and 3.395 (4) Å], form motifs with graph set R¹₂(7) and generate chains along [100]. The amide C=O groups do not participate in hydrogen bonding. Compound (II) is the first reported ferrocenyl-containing thiazole structure

Incorporating Digital Badges and Ontology into Project-Based Learning

The rapid development of technology makes learning goals much more complex, diverse, and keeping changing. In reality, each product of design must be 'ultimately particular', which complicates the holistic learning objectives of a technology training class in the school setting, and, in turn, it runs the risk of becoming disconnected in the minds of learners and teachers. In order to address this issue, a solution named DBOPBL (Digital Badges, Ontology & Project Based Learning) is put forward in this paper.published_or_final_versio

δ13C and δ15N in the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys kempii after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

The Deepwater Horizon explosion in April 2010 and subsequent oil spill released 3.19 × 106 barrels (5.07 × 108 l) of MC252 crude oil into important foraging areas of the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys kempii (Lk) in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM). We measured δ13C and δ15N in scute biopsy samples from 33 Lk nesting in Texas during the period 2010 to 2012. Of these, 27 were equipped with satellite transmitters and were tracked to traditional foraging areas in the northern GoM after the spill. Differences in δ13C between the oldest and newest scute layers from 2010 nesters were not significant, but δ13C in the newest layers from 2011 and 2012 nesters was significantly lower compared to 2010. δ15N differences were not statis- tically significant. Collectively, the stable isotope and tracking data indicate that the lower δ13C values reflect the incorporation of oil rather than changes in diet or foraging area. Discriminant analysis indicated that 51.5% of the turtles sampled had isotope signatures indicating oil exposure. Growth of the Lk population slowed in the years following the spill. The involvement of oil exposure in recent population trends is unknown, but long-term effects may not be evident for many years. Our results indicate that C isotope signatures in scutes may be useful biomarkers of sea turtle exposure to oil

Implications of CoGeNT and DAMA for Light WIMP Dark Matter

In this paper, we study the recent excess of low energy events observed by the CoGeNT collaboration, and discuss the possibility that these events originate from the elastic scattering of a light (m_DM ~ 5-10 GeV) dark matter particle. We find that such a dark matter candidate may also be capable of generating the annual modulation reported by DAMA, as well as the small excess recently reported by CDMS, without conflicting with the null results from other experiments, such as XENON10. A dark matter interpretation of the CoGeNT and DAMA observations favors a region of parameter space that is especially attractive within the context of Asymmetric Dark Matter models. In such models, the cosmological dark matter density arises from the baryon asymmetry of the universe, naturally leading to the expectation that m_DM ~ 1-10 GeV. We also discuss neutralino dark matter from extended supersymmetric frameworks, such as the NMSSM. Lastly, we explore the implications of such a dark matter candidate for indirect searches, and find that the prospects for detecting the neutrino and gamma ray annihilation products of such a particle to be very encouraging.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures. v2: references added, fig 4 and surrounding discussion modified

Some Physical Properties of Aqueous Salt Solutions

The refractive indices of solutions of the alkali halides and nitrates were determined at 25 ° and from these the specific refractivities of both the solution and solute were calculated by means of the Lorenz-Lorentz formula. From density data the partial molal volumes were also calculated. The dielectric constants of the solutions were calculated by means of the Huckel relation involving the refractive index and were found to decrease with increase in concentration, the values for all salts approaching the same small value at saturation. The activities were calculated according to the equation given by Huckel for concentrated solutions of strong electrolytes and were found to agree qualitatively with experimental values