In-situ EPR Studies of Reaction Pathways in Titania Photocatalyst-Promoted Alkylation of Alkenes

Acknowledgments This work was supported by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Grant EP/I00372X/1. The EPR spectrometer was purchased under EPSRC Grant EP/F032560/1. We thank Andrew Mills for use of the spectroradiometric measurement system.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Maximally Natural Supersymmetry

We consider 4D weak scale theories arising from 5D supersymmetric (SUSY) theories with maximal Scherk-Schwarz breaking at a Kaluza-Klein (KK) scale of several TeV. Many of the problems of conventional SUSY are avoided. Apart from 3rd family sfermions the SUSY spectrum is heavy, with only ~50% tuning at a gluino mass of ~2TeV and a stop mass of ~650 GeV. A single Higgs doublet acquires a vacuum expectation value, so the physical Higgs is automatically Standard-Model-like. A new U(1)' interaction raises the Higgs mass to 126 GeV. For minimal tuning the associated Z', as well as the 3rd family sfermions, must be accessible to LHC13. A gravitational wave signal consistent with BICEP2 is possible if inflation occurs when the extra dimensions are small.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Natural Scherk-Schwarz Theories of the Weak Scale

Natural supersymmetric theories of the weak scale are under growing pressure given present LHC constraints, raising the question of whether untuned supersymmetric (SUSY) solutions to the hierarchy problem are possible. In this paper, we explore a class of 5-dimensional natural SUSY theories in which SUSY is broken by the Scherk-Schwarz mechanism. We pedagogically explain how Scherk-Schwarz elegantly solves the traditional problems of 4-dimensional SUSY theories (based on the MSSM and its many variants) that usually result in an unsettling level of fine-tuning. The minimal Scherk-Schwarz set up possesses novel phenomenology, which we briefly outline. We show that achieving the observed physical Higgs mass motivates extra structure that does not significantly affect the level of tuning (always better than $\sim 10\%$) and we explore three qualitatively different extensions: the addition of extra matter that couples to the Higgs, an extra $U(1)^\prime$ gauge group under which the Higgs is charged and an NMSSM-like solution to the Higgs mass problem.Comment: 36 pages + appendix, 12 figure

Auto-Concealment of Supersymmetry in Extra Dimensions

In supersymmetric (SUSY) theories with extra dimensions the visible energy in sparticle decays can be significantly reduced and its energy distribution broadened, thus significantly weakening the present collider limits on SUSY. The mechanism applies when the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) is a bulk state-- e.g. a bulk modulino, axino, or gravitino-- the size of the extra dimensions larger than ~$10^{-14}$ cm, and for a broad variety of visible sparticle spectra. In such cases the lightest ordinary supersymmetric particle (LOSP), necessarily a brane-localised state, decays to the Kaluza-Klein (KK) discretuum of the LSP. This dynamically realises the compression mechanism for hiding SUSY as decays into the more numerous heavier KK LSP states are favored. We find LHC limits on right-handed slepton LOSPs evaporate, while LHC limits on stop LOSPs weaken to ~350-410 GeV compared to ~700 GeV for a stop decaying to a massless LSP. Similarly, for the searches we consider, present limits on direct production of degenerate first and second generation squarks drop to ~450 GeV compared to ~800 GeV for a squark decaying to a massless LSP. Auto-concealment typically works for a fundamental gravitational scale of $M_*$~10-100 TeV, a scale sufficiently high that traditional searches for signatures of extra dimensions are mostly avoided. If superpartners are discovered, their prompt, displaced, or stopped decays can also provide new search opportunities for extra dimensions with the potential to reach $M_*$~$10^9$ GeV. This mechanism applies more generally than just SUSY theories, pertaining to any theory where there is a discrete quantum number shared by both brane and bulk sectors.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures. Minor changes to match published versio

Direct synthesis of methanol by partial oxidation of methane with oxygen over cobalt modified mesoporous H-ZSM-5 catalyst

This work was funded by International Collaboration Research Grant UI No.1832/H2.R12/HKP.05.00 Perjanjian/2014.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Impact of the annealing temperature on Pt/g-C3N4 structure, activity and selectivity between photodegradation and water splitting

Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank SABIC as well as EPSRC platform grant [EP/K015540/1] for financial support and the Royal Society of Chemistry for a Wolfson Merit Award. In order to protect intellectual property the data underpinning this publication are not made publicly available. All enquiries about the data should be addressed to [email protected] reviewedPostprin

Book Reviews

Review of the following books: Chez Nous: The St. John Valley by Guy F. Dubay; Stagecoach East: Stagecoach Days in the East from the Colonial Period to the Civil War by Oliver W. Holmes and Peter Rohrbach; Coastal New England by William F. Robinson

Power without representation? The House of Lords and social policy

In the past the House of Lords has generally, and arguably for good reasons, been ignored in discussions of the making and scrutiny of welfare. However, it has always played some role in this field, particularly in the scrutiny and passage of legislation, and since the removal of hereditary Peers in 1999, some writers have argued that the House has become more assertive. This article examines the attitudes of Peers, including a comparison with the views of Members of Parliament, and draws a number of conclusions about the role of the upper House in relation to social policy

Book Reviews

Reviews of the following books: Sanford and Springvale, Maine in the Days of Fred Philpot; Alfred Maine: The Shakes and the Village; Sanford and Springvale, Maine: A Backward Glance; A Cluster of Maine Villages: Sanford and Springvale, Acton, Shapleigh and Alfred; Village on the Mousam: Sanford and Springvale, Maine; by Harland H. Eastman. Ties of Common Blood: History of Maine\u27s Northeastern Boundary Dispute with Great Britain by Geraldine Tidd Scott

Reduced anterior cingulate grey matter volume in painful hand osteoarthritis

Objective Increasing evidence supports the role of central sensitisation in osteoarthritis (OA) pain. In this study, we used neuroimaging to compare pain-processing regions of the brain in participants with and without hand OA. We then assessed for volumetric changes in these brain regions following treatment with centrally acting analgesics. Methods Participants with hand OA (n = 28) underwent T1-weighted MRI of the brain before and after 12 weeks of treatment with pregabalin, duloxetine or placebo. Grey matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), insular cortex and thalamus was compared to non-OA control subjects (n = 11) using FreeSurfer regional volumetric analysis and voxel-based morphometry, and evaluated for differences pre- and post-treatment. Results Relative to non-OA controls, hand OA participants had areas of reduced grey matter volume in the ACC at baseline (p = 0.007). Regional volumetric differences in the ACC persisted after 13 weeks’ treatment with pregabalin or duloxetine (p = 0.004) with no significant differences between treatment cohorts, despite improvements in NRS pain scores for pregabalin (p = 0.005) and duloxetine (p = 0.050). The ACC grey matter changes persisted despite a significant improvement in pain in the pregabalin and duloxetine groups vs. placebo. No structural differences were observed in the insular cortex or thalamus at baseline or following treatment. Conclusion Our study found evidence of reduced ACC grey matter volume in participants with hand arthritis that persisted after treatment with centrally acting analgesics pregabalin and duloxetine, respectively. The sustained changes observed in the ACC in our study could reflect the relatively short duration of treatment, or that the differences observed are irreversible volume changes due to chronic pain that are established over time