Scalar diquark in top-antitop production and constraints on Yukawa sector of grand unified theories

International audienceA colored weak singlet scalar state with hypercharge 4/3 is one of the possible candidates for the explanation of the unexpectedly large forward-backward asymmetry in tt production as measured by the CDF and D0 experiments. We investigate the role of this state in a plethora of flavor chang- ing neutral current processes and precision observables of down-quarks and charged leptons. Our analysis includes tree- and loop-level mediated observables in the K and B systems, the charged lepton sector, as well as the Z → b ¯b width. We perform a fit of the relevant scalar couplings. This approach can explain the (g − 2)µ anomaly while tensions among the CP violating observables in the quark sector, most notably the nonstandard CP phase (and width difference) in the Bs system cannot be fully relaxed. The results are interpreted in a class of GUT models which allow for a light colored scalar with a mass below 1 TeV

Fandom, food, and folksonomies: The methodological realities of studying fun life-contexts

As Library and Information Science research has evolved, new domains of interest have shaped the field, and with them comes a need to question the appropriateness of applying traditional methodologies to these new domains. This panel focuses on the methodological realities of studying fun life-contexts and will address how researching a new domain comes with challenges and opportunities. The group of scholars on this panel all share an appreciation for identifying and exploring the unique information experiences within fun life-contexts, and engage with a variety of subfields, including information behavior, information organization, embodied information, and fan communities. This interactive panel will consist of five short presentations from each of the panelists and a moderated Q&A led by moderator, Jenna Hartel. The panelists each share some examples of their recent work studying fun life-contexts, reflect on their experience researching in a new domain, and develop themes and questions that should be addressed in future work

Impact of Technetium-99m Sestamibi Imaging on the Emergency Department Management and Costs in the Evaluation of Low-risk Chest Pain

Objectives: To assess the impact of rest sestamibi scanning on emergency physicians' (EPs') diagnostic certainty and decision making (as assessed by the hypothetical disposition of patients) for 69 consenting stable patients with suspected acute cardiac ischemia and nondiagnostic electrocardiograms. The resultant impact on costs was examined as a secondary outcome. Methods: Patients with suspected acute cardiac ischemia were injected with 25 mCi of sestamibi within two hours of active pain in one of three emergency department study sites. The probability of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and unstable angina (UA), and hypothetical disposition decisions were recorded immediately before and after physicians were notified of scan results. Changes in disposition were classified as optimal or suboptimal. For the cost determinations, a cost-based decision support program was used. Results: For the subgroup found to be free of acute cardiac events (ACEs) ( n = 62), the EPs' post-sestamibi scan probabilities for AMI decreased by 11% and UA by 18% (p < 0.001 for both conditions). In seven patients with ACEs, the post-scan probabilities of AMI and UA increased, but neither was statistically significant. Scan results led to hypothetical disposition changes in 29 patients (42%), of which 27 (93%) were optimal (nine patients were reassigned to a lower level of care, two to a higher level, and 16 additional patients to “discharge-home” status). The strategy of scanning all patients who were low to moderate risk for acute cardiac ischemia would result in an increase of direct costs of care of $222 per patient evaluated, due to added cost of sestamibi scanning. Conclusions: Sestamibi scanning results appropriately affected the EPs' estimates of the probability of AMI and UA and improved disposition decisions. Scanning all low-risk patients would likely be associated with increased costs at this medical center.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73784/1/j.1553-2712.2001.tb02108.x.pd

Implications from clean observables for the binned analysis of B -> K*ll at large recoil

We perform a frequentist analysis of q^2-dependent B-> K*(->Kpi)ll angular observables at large recoil, aiming at bridging the gap between current theoretical analyses and the actual experimental measurements. We focus on the most appropriate set of observables to measure and on the role of the q^2-binning. We highlight the importance of the observables P_i exhibiting a limited sensitivity to soft form factors for the search for New Physics contributions. We compute predictions for these binned observables in the Standard Model, and we compare them with their experimental determination extracted from recent LHCb data. Analyzing b->s and b->sll transitions within four different New Physics scenarios, we identify several New Physics benchmark points which can be discriminated through the measurement of P_i observables with a fine q^2-binning. We emphasise the importance (and risks) of using observables with (un)suppressed dependence on soft form factors for the search of New Physics, which we illustrate by the different size of hadronic uncertainties attached to two related observables (P_1 and S_3). We illustrate how the q^2-dependent angular observables measured in several bins can help to unravel New Physics contributions to B-> K*(->Kpi)ll, and show the extraordinary constraining power that the clean observables will have in the near future. We provide semi-numerical expressions for these observables as functions of the relevant Wilson coefficients at the low scale.Comment: 50 pages, 21 figures. Improved form factor analysis, conclusions unchanged. Plots with full resolution. Version published in JHE

Ictal Cortical Blindness with Permanent Visual Loss

Cortical blindness is rarely an ictal manifestation. We report the case of a man who developed transient cortical blindness followed by permanent visual deficits during repeated partial seizures. Intermittent visual impairment began at age 14 years. After he had the first generalized seizure at age 28 years, neurologic, ophthalmologic, angiographic, and brain computed tomographic (CT) examinations were normal. Several EEGs showed almost continuous biposterior spike-waves. Over the next several years, frequent partial seizures were associated with transient visual loss and left body twitching or paresthesias. When he was 32, transient blindness occurred during several days of repeated occipital seizures. Permanent left homonymous hemianopia, right homonymous central scotoma, dyschromatopsia, and altered stereopsis followed these seizures. Brain CT demonstrated a new right occipital lesion. Partial seizures arising posteriorly may cause transient cortical blindness and result in permanent visual deficits.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65600/1/j.1528-1157.1989.tb05292.x.pd

Sustainable Publishing for Digital Scholarship in the Humanities

This is a link to a webinar recording of a Charleston Conference webinar titled Sustainable Publishing for Digital Scholarship in the Humanities, sponsored by University of Michigan Press and hosted by the Charleston Conference. It was originally broadcast on the internet on October 2, 2019. ==== From the Charleston Conference website: Session Description: Scholarly authors are increasingly using digital tools. They want to produce enhanced ebooks and interactive scholarly works, but these tend not to fit into existing publisher and librarian workflows. Fulcrum is a platform developed at the University of Michigan which supports authors who want to push the boundaries of the book. The University of Michigan Press Ebook Collection (UMP EBC) includes an increasing number of enhanced titles and takes full advantage of the rich features on the Fulcrum platform. Thanks to the support of purchasing libraries, UMP EBC is able to sustain the publication of new forms of scholarship, including open access titles, and sustain the open source, community-based scholarly infrastructure. In this webinar attendees will learn about this new form of scholarship, including how it is being sustained by the community via UMP EBC and Fulcrum, and walk away inspired to sustain this burgeoning community. Presenters: Lanell White, Director of Sales, Marketing, and Outreach (Michigan Publishing) Sara Cohen, Editor for American Studies, University of Michigan Press Andrée J. Rathemacher, Head, Acquisitions, University of Rhode Island (Librarian) Professor Anne Ruggles Gere, editor of Developing Writers in Higher Education: A Longitudinal Study Professors Abigail De Kosnik and Keith P. Feldman, Editors, #identity: Hashtagging Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Nation Doctoral Candidate and Rackham Public Engagement Fellow, Matthew Naglak, Researcher, A Mid-Republican House From Gabii ==== Included as supplemental files are: PDF printout of Charleston Conference website page advertising the webinar PDF printout of a 9/26/2019 email to the Charleston Library Conference mailing list advertising the webinar PDF printout of a 9/26/2019 email to the LYROFFERS mailing list advertising the webinar Andrée Rathemacher\u27s webinar speaking notes in PDF format Included as supplemental files (suppressed from public view) are: Webinar video recording in MP4 format Webinar video recording in WMV format Slides for webinar presentation in PDF format Slides with notes for webinar presentation in PDF format Results of attendee polls taken during webinar in PDF format Andrée Rathemacher\u27s webinar planning notes in PDF format Approximately 75 people attended the webinar; approximately 150 registered and received a link to the recording

The backer-developer connection : exploring crowdfunding’s influence on video game production

As video game development studios increasingly turn to digital crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter for financing, this article explores the ways in which these processes shape production. It examines in particular the interactions that typically occur between studios and players as part of crowdfunded development, analysing the ways in which these activities inform aspects of video game design. By charting the implications of this burgeoning economic model, the article contributes to scholarship concerning video game production, and intervenes within more specific discussions concerning the role of the player within development. The article’s case study, which draws from evidence of production concerning multiple Kickstarter projects, is organised into two sections. The first ascertains the degrees to which Kickstarter users can influence the details of a proposed project during a crowdfunding campaign; the second looks at how developers involve crowdfunding communities within production once funding is secured

Changes in shell durability of common marine taxa through the Phanerozoic: evidence for biological rather than taphonomic drivers.

Abstract.-Phanerozoic trends in shell and life habit traits linked to postmortem durability were evaluated for the most common fossil brachiopod, gastropod, and bivalve genera in order to test for changes in taphonomic bias. Using the Paleobiology Database, we tabulated occurrence frequencies of genera for 48 intervals of ,11 Myr duration. The most frequently occurring genera, cumulatively representing 40% of occurrences in each time bin, were scored for intrinsic durability on the basis of shell size, reinforcement (ribs, folds, and spines), life habit, and mineralogy. Shell durability is positively correlated with the number of genera in a time bin, but durability traits exhibit different temporal patterns across higher taxa, with notable offsets in the timing of changes in these traits. We find no evidence for temporal decreases in durability that would indicate taphonomic bias at the Phanerozoic scale among commonly occurring genera. Also, all three groups show a remarkable stability in mean shell size through the Phanerozoic, an unlikely pattern if strong sizefiltering taphonomic megabiases were affecting the fossil record of shelly faunas. Moreover, small shell sizes are attained in the early Paleozoic in brachiopods and in the latest Paleozoic in gastropods but are steady in bivalves; unreinforced shells are common to all groups across the entire Phanerozoic; organophosphatic and aragonitic shells dominate only the oldest and youngest time bins; and microstructures having high organic content are most common in the oldest time bins. In most cases, the timing of changes in durability-related traits is inconsistent with a late Mesozoic Marine Revolution. The post-Paleozoic increase in mean gastropod reinforcement occurs in the early Triassic, suggesting either an earlier appearance and expansion of durophagous predators or other drivers. Increases in shell durability hypothesized to be the result of increased predation in the late Mesozoic are not evident in the common genera examined here. Infaunal life habit does increase in the late Mesozoic, but it does not become more common than levels already attained during the Paleozoic, and only among bivalves does the elevated late Mesozoic level persist through the Holocene. These temporal patterns suggest control on the occurrence of durability-related traits by individual evolutionary histories rather than taphonomic megabiases. Our findings do not mean taphonomic biases are absent from the fossil record, but rather that their effects apparently have had little net effect on the relative occurrence of shell traits generally thought to confer higher preservation potential over long time scales