Signatures for Black Hole production from hadronic observables at the Large Hadron Collider

The concept of Large Extra Dimensions (LED) provides a way of solving the Hierarchy Problem which concerns the weakness of gravity compared with the strong and electro-weak forces. A consequence of LED is that miniature Black Holes (mini-BHs) may be produced at the Large Hadron Collider in p+p collisions. The present work uses the CHARYBDIS mini-BH generator code to simulate the hadronic signal which might be expected in a mid-rapidity particle tracking detector from the decay of these exotic objects if indeed they are produced. An estimate is also given for Pb+Pb collisions.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, ISHIP 2006 conference proceedin

Density Functional Theory screening of gas-treatment strategies for stabilization of high energy-density lithium metal anodes

To explore the potential of molecular gas treatment of freshly cut lithium foils in non-electrolyte based passivation of high energy-density Li anodes, density functional theory (DFT) has been used to study the decomposition of molecular gases on metallic lithium surfaces. By combining DFT geometry optimization and Molecular Dynamics, the effects of atmospheric (N2, O2, CO2) and hazardous (F2, SO2) gas decomposition on Li(bcc) (100), (110), and (111) surfaces on relative surface energies, work functions, and emerging electronic and elastic properties are investigated. The simulations suggest that exposure to different molecular gases can be used to induce and control reconstructions of the metal Li surface and substantial changes (up to over 1 eV) in the work function of the passivated system. Contrary to the other considered gases, which form metallic adlayers, SO2 treatment emerges as the most effective in creating an insulating passivation layer for dosages <= 1 mono-layer. The substantial Li->adsorbate charge transfer and adlayer relaxation produce marked elastic stiffening of the interface, with the smallest change shown by nitrogen-treated adlayers

Mini black holes at the LHC : discovery through di-jet suppression, mono-jet emission and a supersonic boom in the quark-gluon plasma in ALICE, ATLAS and CMS

We examine experimental signatures of TeV-mass black hole formation in heavy ion collisions at the LHC. We find that the black hole production results in a complete disappearance of all very high p_T (> 500 GeV) back-to-back correlated di-jets of total mass M > M_f ~ 1 TeV. We show that the subsequent Hawking-decay produces multiple hard mono-jets and discuss their detection. We study the possibility of cold black hole remnant (BHR) formation of mass ~ M_f and the experimental distinguishability of scenarios with BHRs and those with complete black hole decay. Finally we point out that a Heckler-Kapusta-Hawking plasma may form from the emitted mono-jets. In this context we present new simulation data of Mach shocks and of the evolution of initial conditions until the freeze-out

Using feature vectors to detect frog calls in wireless sensor networks

A method for detecting vocalization of giant barred frogs (Mixophyes iteratus) in noisy audio is proposed. Audio recordings from remote wireless sensor nodes were segmented into individual sounds and from each sound a small set of features was extracted. Feature vectors were compared to those of example calls using a Euclidean distance formula as a detection system. The system achieved a sensitivity of 0.85 with specificity of 0.92 when distinguishing M. iteratus calls from other species’ calls and sensitivity of 0.88 with specificity 0.82 against background noise

Concordance Among Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Measures Of Percent Body Fat In Athletic Young Adults

International Journal of Exercise Science 12(4): 324-331, 2019. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the agreement among three bioelectrical impedance analysis devices (BIA) in athletic young adults. Fifty-one participants (26 men and 25 women) were assessed for percent body fat (PBF) using an arm-to-arm bipolar single-frequency device (ABIA), a leg-to-leg single-frequency device (LBIA), and an octopolar multi-frequency BIA device (MFBIA). PBF was measured with the three devices in a randomized, counterbalanced order. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant (p \u3c 0.001) differences in PBF estimates among all devices (ABIA = 19.1 ± 7.2%, LBIA = 21.6 ±7.5%, and MFBIA = 22.9 ± 8.8%). Pearson’s Correlations revealed a strong relationship between ABIA and MFBIA in both men (r = 0.948) and women (r = 0.947) and a moderately-strong relationship between LBIA and MFBIA (r = 0.870 and 0.679, respectively). Lin’s concordance coefficient revealed moderately-strong concordance between ABIA and MFBIA in men (ρc= 0.800) and women (ρc= 0.681) and between LBIA and MFBIA (ρc = 0.846 and ρc= 0.651, respectively). These data indicate a strong agreement among all three devices, suggesting that any of them could be used to track changes in PBF over time. However, the significant differences in PBF values among devices imply that best practice for monitoring body composition should be to use one device consistently over time for a reliable assessment

Sudden Increases in Listeriosis Rates in England and Wales, 2001 and 2003

The monthly incidence of listeriosis infections in England and Wales had 2 sudden increases during April 2001 (41%) and March 2003 (48%). Although no causative association is demonstrated, these increases correspond to key dates relating to the onset and aftermath of the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak in the United Kingdom

Colonizing opportunistic pathogens (COPs): The beasts in all of us.

Colonizing opportunistic pathogens (COPs) are microbes that asymptomatically colonize the human body and, when the conditions are right, can cause infections. Their ability to persist indefinitely and to be transmitted without detection [1] gives COPs a unique epidemiology that warrants special consideration. There are examples of COPs among bacteria, fungi (e.g., Candida albicans [2]), protozoa (e.g., Blastocystis [3, 4]), and viruses (e.g., Rhinovirus [5]), but bacterial COPs are of particular relevance because of their major contribution to today’s antibiotic resistance crisis. The COPs include a long list of notorious bacteria that live double lives as passive stowaways and virulent foes. Some of the best-known COPs include Staphylococcus aureus, extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC), Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae (Table 1). Their capacity for benign coexistence with humans belies their alter egos that exact a heavy burden of human disease. For example, in the United States, ExPEC bloodstream infections kill as many as 40,000 people annually [6], but, ExPEC are also benign colonizers in the gastrointestinal tract [7]. Host factors, including age, sex, health status, anatomy, and behavior, all play profound roles in infection susceptibility and severity [8–10]. In particular, immunocompromised individuals are at excess risk for infections caused by diverse bacteria, including COPs [11, 12] and even commensals. Yet, health status is not the sole determinant of infection by COPs. For example, healthy women more frequently suffer from urinary tract infections than men because of anatomical differences, including shorter urethrae. Likewise, healthy children more commonly suffer from acute otitis media than adults due to their shorter, flatter eustachian tubes [13]

Evidence for a chemical enrichment coupling of globular clusters and field stars in the Fornax dSph

The globular cluster H4, located in the center of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy, is crucial for understanding the formation and chemical evolution of star clusters in low-mass galactic environments. H4 is peculiar because the cluster is significantly more metal-rich than the galaxy’s other clusters, is located near the galaxy center, and may also be the youngest cluster in the galaxy. In this study, we present detailed chemical abundances derived from high-resolution (R ~ 28 000) spectroscopy of an isolated H4 member star for comparison with a sample of 22 nearby Fornax field stars. We find the H4 member to be depleted in the alpha-elements Si, Ca, and Ti with [Si/Fe] = −0.35 ± 0.34, [Ca/Fe] = + 0.05 ± 0.08, and [Ti/Fe] = −0.27 ± 0.23, resulting in an average [α/Fe] = −0.19 ± 0.14. If this result is representative of the average cluster properties, H4 is the only known system with a low [α/Fe] ratio and a moderately low metallicity embedded in an intact birth environment. For the field stars we find a clear sequence, seen as an early depletion in [α/Fe] at low metallicities, in good agreement with previous measurements. H4 falls on top of the observed field star [α/Fe] sequence and clearly disagrees with the properties of Milky Way halo stars. We therefore conclude that within a galaxy, the chemical enrichment of globular clusters may be closely linked to the enrichment pattern of the field star population. The low [α/Fe] ratios of H4 and similar metallicity field stars in Fornax give evidence that slow chemical enrichment environments, such as dwarf galaxies, may be the original hosts of alpha-depleted clusters in the halos of the Milky Way and M31

Microstructural damage of the posterior corpus callosum contributes to the clinical severity of neglect

One theory to account for neglect symptoms in patients with right focal damage invokes a release of inhibition of the right parietal cortex over the left parieto-frontal circuits, by disconnection mechanism. This theory is supported by transcranial magnetic stimulation studies showing the existence of asymmetric inhibitory interactions between the left and right posterior parietal cortex, with a right hemispheric advantage. These inhibitory mechanisms are mediated by direct transcallosal projections located in the posterior portions of the corpus callosum. The current study, using diffusion imaging and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), aims at assessing, in a data-driven fashion, the contribution of structural disconnection between hemispheres in determining the presence and severity of neglect. Eleven patients with right acute stroke and 11 healthy matched controls underwent MRI at 3T, including diffusion imaging, and T1-weighted volumes. TBSS was modified to account for the presence of the lesion and used to assess the presence and extension of changes in diffusion indices of microscopic white matter integrity in the left hemisphere of patients compared to controls, and to investigate, by correlation analysis, whether this damage might account for the presence and severity of patients' neglect, as assessed by the Behavioural Inattention Test (BIT). None of the patients had any macroscopic abnormality in the left hemisphere; however, 3 cases were discarded due to image artefacts in the MRI data. Conversely, TBSS analysis revealed widespread changes in diffusion indices in most of their left hemisphere tracts, with a predominant involvement of the corpus callosum and its projections on the parietal white matter. A region of association between patients' scores at BIT and brain FA values was found in the posterior part of the corpus callosum. This study strongly supports the hypothesis of a major role of structural disconnection between the right and left parietal cortex in determining 'neglect'

Reply to comment on "Suburban watershed nitrogen retention: Estimating the effectiveness of stormwater management structures" by Koch et al. (Elem Sci Anth 3:000063, July 2015)

We reply to a comment on our recent structured expert judgment analysis of stormwater nitrogen retention in suburban watersheds. Low relief, permeable soils, a dynamic stream channel, and subsurface flows characterize many lowland Coastal Plain watersheds. These features result in unique catchment hydrology, limit the precision of streamflow measurements, and challenge the assumptions for calculating runoff from rainfall and catchment area. We reiterate that the paucity of high-resolution nitrogen loading data for Chesapeake Bay watersheds warrants greater investment in long-term empirical studies of suburban watershed nutrient budgets for this region