Secluded Dark Matter Coupled to a Hidden CFT

Models of secluded dark matter offer a variant on the standard WIMP picture and can modify our expectations for hidden sector phenomenology and detection. In this work we extend a minimal model of secluded dark matter, comprised of a U(1)'-charged dark matter candidate, to include a confining hidden-sector CFT. This provides a technically natural explanation for the hierarchically small mediator-scale, with hidden-sector confinement generating m_{gamma'}>0. Furthermore, the thermal history of the universe can differ markedly from the WIMP picture due to (i) new annihilation channels, (ii) a (potentially) large number of hidden-sector degrees of freedom, and (iii) a hidden-sector phase transition at temperatures T << M_{dm} after freeze out. The mediator allows both the dark matter and the Standard Model to communicate with the CFT, thus modifying the low-energy phenomenology and cosmic-ray signals from the secluded sector.Comment: ~50p, 8 figs; v2 JHEP versio

A Daily Diary Approach to the Examination of Chronic Stress, Daily Hassles and Safety Perceptions in Hospital Nursing

Purpose: Stress is a significant concern for individuals and organisations. Few studies have explored stress, burnout and patient safety in hospital nursing on a daily basis at the individual level. This study aimed to examine the effects of chronic stress and daily hassles on safety perceptions, the effect of chronic stress on daily hassles experienced and chronic stress as a potential moderator. Method: Utilising a daily diary design, 83 UK hospital nurses completed three end-of-shift diaries, yielding 324 person days. Hassles, safety perceptions and workplace cognitive failure were measured daily, and a baseline questionnaire included a measure of chronic stress. Hierarchical multivariate linear modelling was used to analyse the data. Results: Higher chronic stress was associated with more daily hassles, poorer perceptions of safety and being less able to practise safely, but not more workplace cognitive failure. Reporting more daily hassles was associated with poorer perceptions of safety, being less able to practise safely and more workplace cognitive failure. Chronic stress did not moderate daily associations. The hassles reported illustrate the wide-ranging hassles nurses experienced. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate, in addition to chronic stress, the importance of daily hassles for nurses’ perceptions of safety and the hassles experienced by hospital nurses on a daily basis. Nurses perceive chronic stress and daily hassles to contribute to their perceptions of safety. Measuring the number of daily hassles experienced could proactively highlight when patient safety threats may arise, and as a result, interventions could usefully focus on the management of daily hassles

The effect of applied stress on <c>-component dislocation loops in Zr-based alloys

International audienceTMS 2015 Annual Meeting and ExhibitionMaterials and Fuels for the Current and Advanced Nuclear Reactors IVThe effect of applied stress on -component dislocation loops in Zr-based alloysN. Gharbi1 and R.M. Hengstler-Eger2, X. Feaugas3, D. Gilbon4, P.B. Hoffmann2, M.A. Kirk5, J.P. Mardon6, F. Onimus1 1CEA, DEN, Section for Applied Metallurgy Research, 91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette, Cedex, France2AREVA GmbH, Paul-Gossen-Str. 100, 91052 Erlangen, Germany3LaSIE, UMR CNRS 7356, Universite de La Rochelle, 17042 La Rochelle Cedex 01, France4CEA, DEN, Nuclear Materials Department, 91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette, Cedex, France5Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL60439, USA6AREVA NP, 10 rue Juliette Recamier, 69456 Lyon Cedex 06, FranceAbstractIrradiation-induced PWR fuel assembly deformation at high burn-ups is correlated with the appearance of specific irradiation defects -component dislocation loops. Industrial feedback suggests that a coupling between axial creep and stress-free growth could exist. Therefore, the effect of an external stress on -loop microstructure was studied through two complementary experiments on recrystallized Zircaloy-4 and M5 samples. Firstly, bending experiments were conducted under Zr irradiation beyond the c-loop incubation dose and thorough TEM analyses were performed after irradiation on many grains.Secondly, in-situ tensile tests were carried out under Kr irradiation to higher dose in a Transmission Electron Microscope allowing the observation of c-loop growth under stress in few grains. TEM observations showed that the applied stress has a minor effect on c-loop incubation dose. Moreover, their linear density decreases when a tensile stress is applied parallel to the c-axis. This effect was observed with different magnitudes, depending on experimental conditions

Homology Of A Candidate Spermatogenic Gene From The Mouse Y-chromosome To The Ubiquitin-activating Enzyme-e1

THE Sxr (sex-reversed) region, a fragment of the Y chromosome short arm, can cause chromosomally female XXSxr or XSxrO mice to develop as sterile males 1-3. The original Sxr region, termed Sxr(a), encodes: Tdy, the primary sex-determining gene; Hya, the controlling or structural locus for the minor transplantation antigen H-Y (ref. 4); gene(s) controlling the expression of the serologically detected male antigen (SDMA) 5; Spy, a gene(s) required for the survival and proliferation of A spermatogonia during spermatogenesis 6,7; Zfy-1/Zfy-2, zinc-finger-containing genes of unknown function 8; and Sry, which is probably identical to Tdy (ref. 9). A deletion variant 10 of Sxr(a), termed Sxr(b), which lacks Hya, SDMA expression, Spy and some Zfy-2 sequences, makes positional cloning of these genes possible. We report here the isolation of a new testis-specific gene, Sby, mapping to the DNA deleted from the Sxr(b) region (the DELTA-Sxr(b) interval). Sby has extensive homology to the X-linked human ubiquitin-activating enzyme E1 (ref. 11). The critical role of this enzyme in nuclear DNA replication 12 together with the testis-specific expression of Sby suggests Sby as a candidate for the spermatogenic gene Spy.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62846/1/354483a0.pd