Effects of Country of Origin and Cognitive Development on Psychological Adjustment and Family Cohesion of Latino Youth Witnesses of Domestic Violence

Latino children living in the context of domestic violence (DV) often lack access to cultural-specific services. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among Latino children’s level of cognitive development (age), country of origin and psychological adjustment as well as styles of coping with domestic violence . Analysis of data collected from an interview conducted with Latino children at a local DV intervention program suggests that Latino children utilize a range of coping responses when confronted with violence in their homes. In a regression analysis using psychological adjustment as the dependent variable, developmental age was not related to adjustment in children. However, country of origin was a significant predictor of psychological adjustment. That is, immigrant children reported lower levels of psychological adjustment compared to children born in the U.S. This remained true while controlling for age, coping strategy, and family cohesion. The growing number of immigrant Latino children in the United States increases the need for culturally relevant research with racial and ethnic minority groups in regard to DV. These findings suggest immigrant Latino children have unique needs in the context of DV

Charged Lepton Flavor Physics and Extra Dimensions

We estimate the charged lepton electric dipole moments and the branching ratios of radiative lepton flavor violating decays in the framework of the two Higgs doublet model with the inclusion two extra dimensions. Here, we consider that the new Higgs doublet is accessible to one of the extra dimensions with a Gaussian profile and the fermions are accessible to the other extra dimension with uniform zero mode profile. We observe that the numerical values of the physical quantities studied enhance with the additional effects due to the extra dimensions and they are sensitive to the new Higgs localization.Comment: 23 pages, 13 page

Spin properties of dense near-surface ensembles of nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond

We present a study of the spin properties of dense layers of near-surface nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in diamond created by nitrogen ion implantation. The optically detected magnetic resonance contrast and linewidth, spin coherence time, and spin relaxation time, are measured as a function of implantation energy, dose, annealing temperature and surface treatment. To track the presence of damage and surface-related spin defects, we perform in situ electron spin resonance spectroscopy through both double electron-electron resonance and cross-relaxation spectroscopy on the NV centres. We find that, for the energy ($4-30$~keV) and dose ($5\times10^{11}-10^{13}$~ions/cm$^2$) ranges considered, the NV spin properties are mainly governed by the dose via residual implantation-induced paramagnetic defects, but that the resulting magnetic sensitivity is essentially independent of both dose and energy. We then show that the magnetic sensitivity is significantly improved by high-temperature annealing at $\geq1100^\circ$C. Moreover, the spin properties are not significantly affected by oxygen annealing, apart from the spin relaxation time, which is dramatically decreased. Finally, the average NV depth is determined by nuclear magnetic resonance measurements, giving $\approx10$-17~nm at 4-6 keV implantation energy. This study sheds light on the optimal conditions to create dense layers of near-surface NV centres for high-sensitivity sensing and imaging applications.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Early Evidence of Natal-Habitat Preference: Juvenile Loons Feed on Natal-Like Lakes After Fledging

Many species show natal habitat preference induction (NHPI), a behavior in which young adults select habitats similar to those in which they were raised. However, we know little about how NHPI develops in natural systems. Here, we tested for NHPI in juvenile common loons (Gavia immer) that foraged on lakes in the vicinity of their natal lake after fledging. Juveniles visited lakes similar in pH to their natal lakes, and this significant effect persisted after controlling for spatial autocorrelation. On the other hand, juveniles showed no preference for foraging lakes of similar size to their natal one. When lakes were assigned to discrete classes based on size, depth, visibility, and trophic complexity, both juveniles from large lakes and small lakes preferred to visit large, trophically diverse lakes, which contained abundant food. Our results contrast with earlier findings, which show strict preference for lakes similar in size to the natal lake among young adults seeking to settle on a breeding lake. We suggest that NHPI is relaxed for juveniles, presumably because they select lakes that optimize short‐term survival and growth. By characterizing NHPI during a poorly studied life stage, this study illustrates that NHPI can take different forms at different life stages

Induction of apoptosis in host cells: a survival mechanism for Leishmania parasites?

Leishmania parasites invade host macrophages, causing infections that are either limited to skin or spread to internal organs. In this study, 3 species causing cutaneous leishmaniasis, L. major, L. aethiopica and L. tropica, were tested for their ability to interfere with apoptosis in host macrophages in 2 different lines of human monocyte-derived macrophages (cell lines THP-1 and U937) and the results confirmed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). All 3 species induced early apoptosis 48 h after infection (expression of phosphatidyl serine on the outer membrane). There were significant increases in the percentage of apoptotic cells both for U937 and PBMC following infection with each of the 3 species. Early apoptotic events were confirmed by mitochondrial membrane permeabilization detection and caspase activation 48 and 72 h after infection. Moreover, the percentage of infected THP-1 and U937 macrophages increased significantly (up to 100%) following treatment with an apoptosis inducer. Since phosphatidyl serine externalization on apoptosing cells acts as a signal for engulfment by macrophages, induction of apoptosis in the parasitized cells could actively participate in spreading the infection. In summary, parasite-containing apoptotic bodies with intact membranes could be released and phagocytosed by uninfected macrophages

New Higgs Production Mechanism in Composite Higgs Models

Composite Higgs models are only now starting to be probed at the Large Hadron Collider by Higgs searches. We point out that new resonances, abundant in these models, can mediate new production mechanisms for the composite Higgs. The new channels involve the exchange of a massive color octet and single production of new fermion resonances with subsequent decays into the Higgs and a Standard Model quark. The sizable cross section and very distinctive kinematics allow for a very clean extraction of the signal over the background with high statistical significance. Heavy gluon masses up to 2.8 TeV can be probed with data collected during 2012 and up to 5 TeV after the energy upgrade to $\sqrt{s}=14$ TeV.Comment: 27 pages, 22 figures. V2: typos corrected, matches published versio

Theories for the Fermi Scale

I give a short review of our present understanding of new theories of the electroweak scale, with emphasis on recent progress. Plenary talk at the EPS 2007 Conference at Manchester.Comment: 14 pages, EPS 2007 Conferenc