Non-renormalizable Yukawa Interactions and Higgs Physics

We explore a scenario in the Standard Model in which dimension four Yukawa couplings are either forbidden by a symmetry, or happen to be very tiny, and the Yukawa interactions are dominated by effective dimension six interactions. In this case, the Higgs interactions to the fermions are enhanced in a large way, whereas its interaction with the gauge bosons remains the same as in the Standard Model. In hadron colliders, Higgs boson production via gluon gluon fusion increases by a factor of nine. Higgs decay widths to fermion anti-fermion pairs also increase by the same factor, whereas the decay widths to photon photon and gamma Z are reduced. Current Tevatron exclusion range for the Higgs mass increases to ~ 142-200 GeV in our scenario, and new physics must appear at a scale below a TeV.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Quark lepton unification in higher dimensions

The idea of unifying quarks and leptons in a gauge symmetry is very appealing. However, such an unification gives rise to leptoquark type gauge bosons for which current collider limits push their masses well beyond the TeV scale. We present a model in the framework of extra dimensions which breaks such quark-lepton unification symmetry via compactification at the TeV scale. These color triplet leptoquark gauge bosons, as well as the new quarks present in the model, can be produced at the LHC with distinctive final state signatures. These final state signals include high p_T multi-jets and multi-leptons with missing energy, monojets with missing energy, as well as the heavy charged particles passing through the detectors, which we also discuss briefly. The model also has a neutral Standard Model singlet heavy lepton which is stable, and can be a possible candidate for the dark matter.Comment: 28 pages, 5 eps figure

US Foreign Policy During the Nixon and Ford Administrations

Most studies of US involvement in Chile in the early 1970s center around the debate over the degree of responsibility of the Nixon Administration compared to internal pressures that instigated the 1973 military coup that ousted Salvador Allende. Rather than attempting to assess the degree of US responsibility for the coup, this thesis explores the motivations and contributing factors that first led to the decision to deepen US involvement in Chilean politics via the CIA in the lead up to the 1970 presidential election, to continue to work against the government of Salvador Allende after his election by the Chilean Congress in October 1970, and to support the government of Augusto Pinochet after the coup on September 11, 1973. I examined declassified US Government documents, Kissinger telecons , speeches, television interviews, memoirs and other primary sources as well as several types of secondary sources, using a variation of the theory-guided process tracing method to construct and interpret the narrative of events between 1970 and 1976. I conclude the study by reflecting on how best to evaluate US actions in Chile in the 1970s and speculating about the potential long tern consequences of the Nixon and Ford Administrations\u27 policy toward Chile

Quantification of apolipoprotein E receptors in human brain-derived cell lines by real-time polymerase chain reaction

Apolipoprotein (apo) E4 is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases, compared to wild-type apoE3. The mechanism(s) is unknown. One possibility, demonstrated in peripheral tissue cell lines, is that apoE stimulates nitric oxide synthase (NOS) via a receptor-dependent signalling pathway and that apoE4 generates inappropriate amounts of nitric oxide (NO) compared to apoE3. Prior to biochemical investigations, we have quantified the expression of several candidate receptor genes, including low-density lipoprotein-receptor (LDL-r) family members and scavenger receptor class B, types I and II (SR-BI/II), as well as the three NOS isoenzymes and protein kinase B (Akt), in 38 human cell lines, of which 12 derive from brain. Expression of apoE receptor 2 (apoER2), a known signalling receptor in brain, was readily detected in SH-SY-5Y and CCF-STTG1 cells, common models of neurons and astrocytes, respectively, and was highest in H4 neuroglioma, NT-2 precursor cells and IMR-32 neuroblastoma cells. Transcripts of the other lipoprotein receptors were widely, but variably, distributed across the different cell types. Of particular note was the predominant expression of SR-BII over SR-BI in many of the brain-derived cells. As the C-terminus of SR-BII, like apoER2, contains potential SH3 signalling motifs, we suggest that in brain SR-BII functions as a signal transducer receptor. (c) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Taran Wanderer: The Questing Spirit

In 1969 Lloyd Alexander received the Newberry Award for The High King, fifth and last in the series of children\u27s books he had undertaken concerning the land of Prydain and its final deliverance from evil magic. The Newberry Award brought to national and international claim an author whose work is of such quality, substance and character that it will remain firmly entrenched not only in the annals of children\u27s literature, but in the hearts and minds of its readers as well. It is unfortunate that with a very few exceptions, like Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Kenneth Graham’s Wind in the Willows, Children\u27s literature has escaped serious scholarly criticism. Because it must hold the child\u27s attention or be useless, its primary objective is to tell a good story in the most entertaining manner possible—an objective which often seems to be lacking in adult fiction, the series writer running from the word “entertainment” as if it carried some nameless disease with which he might become infected and considering the frivolous pastime of enjoying worthy only of the perpetrators of a class of pulp fiction deplorably lacking in literary merit or intellectual consequence. The children\u27s author cannot take the High Road of literary superiority and neglect the eternal human craving for amusement ; instead, he must try to straddle both paths and produce a work which is absorbing to read and yet contains the careful craftsmanship and zeal for grammatical construction necessary to parents and teachers. That a great number of children\u27s authors achieve this difficult position, some even managing to make the paths mingle until any obvious predilection from one or the other becomes invisible and the finished product exhibits a balance of form and a light which nominates it for the title “classic,” should be a spur to the more impressive writer of adult fiction, even as it is a complete justification for considering the children\u27s author worthy of serious criticism

CHARACTERISTICS AND RESIDENTIAL PATTERNS OF ENERGY-RELATED WORK FORCES IN THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS

The socioeconomic characteristics of construction and operating work forces at energy related facilities in the Northern Great Plains were analyzed. A primary interest was to explain differences in local hire rates and settlement patterns on the basis of characteristics of the project and site area. In general, it was found that local hire rates for operating workers can be expected to be substantially greater than for construction workers when differences in project and site characteristics are taken into account. Nonlocal construction workers were found to live in larger communities and to commute substantially greater distances to the project site than nonlocal operating workers.Labor and Human Capital,

SHOP2: An HTN Planning System

The SHOP2 planning system received one of the awards for distinguished performance in the 2002 International Planning Competition. This paper describes the features of SHOP2 which enabled it to excel in the competition, especially those aspects of SHOP2 that deal with temporal and metric planning domains

Promoting entomophagy as a response to food insecurity through the development of suitable food products

Utilisation of insects as food is a rapidly expanding global market due to insect’s viability as a sustainable and economical source of high-quality protein. While they are traditionally consumed in many countries, in the Western world it is still unclear how best to exploit this new resource, while conforming to speculative safety regulations. Although literature demonstrates the highly malleable and varied nature of insects as a food source, a powder, produced from crickets, is seen by many as a versatile and nutritious form in which insect-derived food may be accepted in Western culture. The primary aim of this study was to take four cricket species (Gryllus bimaculatus, Gryllodes sigillatus, Gryllus assimilis, Acheta domesticus) and Desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) from farm to the fork through exploring the impact of different methods of powder production on the nutritional value and safety of the powder before considering barriers to consumer acceptance and how products containing cricket powder may be produced that are acceptable to such consumers. Some differences were seen in nutritional composition between cricket species, and drying methods impacted on the fatty acid and protein composition. Drying methods also had some impact on the microbial content of the powders. However, in general, all insect species and methods of production yielded a potential food ingredient rich in high quality protein and a range of minerals which, when stored appropriately, represented a low biological risk to the consumer. Further analysis of commercial cricket powder demonstrated the presence of hard to remove pathogenic microorganisms (Bacillus cereus & Bacillus lichenformis), an insecticidal microorganism (Brevibacillus Laterosporus), that may pose an issue for insect farmers, and two organisms with limited previous study (Rummeliibacillus stabekisii & Lysinibacillus Pakistanesis). A survey on consumer perspectives demonstrated clear expectations for insect-based food, as well as biases towards what types of products may be suitable for the UK market and key areas that would be unacceptable to consumers at this stage. Combining all of the information gathered throughout the study, allowed for the development of an alkaline noodle product which provided insight into how the utilisation of insects in food development resulted in a decrease of product quality that could be overcome through adjustments to the formulation. Overall, this project demonstrates that products containing insects can be produced which are safe, and nutritious and potentially suitable for both the promotion of entomophagy in the Western world and combatting a key area of protein malnutrition in South-East Asia

Evolutionary Dynamics While Trapped in Resonance: A Keplerian Binary System Perturbed by Gravitational Radiation

The method of averaging is used to investigate the phenomenon of capture into resonance for a model that describes a Keplerian binary system influenced by radiation damping and external normally incident periodic gravitational radiation. The dynamical evolution of the binary orbit while trapped in resonance is elucidated using the second order partially averaged system. This method provides a theoretical framework that can be used to explain the main evolutionary dynamics of a physical system that has been trapped in resonance.Comment: REVTEX Style, Submitte