Probing the top-quark width through ratios of resonance contributions of e+e−→W+W−bbˉe^+e^-\rightarrow W^+W^-b\bar{b}

We exploit offshell regions in the process $e^+e^-\rightarrow W^+W^-b\bar{b}$ to gain access to the top-quark width. Working at next-to-leading order in QCD we show that carefully selected ratios of offshell regions to onshell regions in the reconstructed top and antitop invariant mass spectra are, \emph{independently} of the coupling $g_{tbW}$, sensitive to the top-quark width. We explore this approach for different centre of mass energies and initial-state beam polarisations at $e^+e^-$ colliders and briefly comment on the applicability of this method for a measurement of the top-quark width at the LHC.Comment: 31 pages, 10 figures, 2 table

Confrontation as a Coping Strategy to Protect Women\u27s Mental and Physical Health

Women suffer harmful consequences for mental and physical health after being exposed to sexism. In this study, I explored confrontation as a coping mechanism to protect women’s mental and physical health following an experience of sexism. This study consisted of a mock job search review in which the participant was exposed to blatant sexism and was instructed to confront or ignore the sexism. The participants completed measures of perceived sexism, psychological wellbeing, mental health, and physical health following the committee meeting. I hypothesized that women who were instructed to confront would do so and those instructed to ignore would not. I also expected that women in the confrontation condition would report higher psychological wellbeing, better mental health, and better physical health than those in the ignore condition. I found the manipulation of confrontation was effective, though I suggest some improvements for future research. My findings also pointed to initial support of confrontation as a protective mechanism for women’s psychological wellbeing, mental health, and physical health after experiencing sexism

Towards precise predictions for Higgs-boson production in the MSSM

We study the production of scalar and pseudoscalar Higgs bosons via gluon fusion and bottom-quark annihilation in the MSSM. Relying on the NNLO-QCD calculation implemented in the public code SusHi, we provide precise predictions for the Higgs-production cross section in six benchmark scenarios compatible with the LHC searches. We also provide a detailed discussion of the sources of theoretical uncertainty in our calculation. We examine the dependence of the cross section on the renormalization and factorization scales, on the precise definition of the Higgs-bottom coupling and on the choice of PDFs, as well as the uncertainties associated to our incomplete knowledge of the SUSY contributions through NNLO. In particular, a potentially large uncertainty originates from uncomputed higher-order QCD corrections to the bottom-quark contributions to gluon fusion.Comment: 62 pages, 24 pdf figures; v2: minor clarifications, improved plot quality, matches published versio

Money-Back Guarantees in Individual Retirement Accounts: Still a Good Deal?

Capital market volatility spurs interest in protecting retirement accounts; one such approach is to require money-back guarantees. Using a lifecycle model where investors have access to stocks, bonds, and tax-qualified retirement accounts, we show that such guarantees alter participant consumption, saving, and investment behavior during times of high interest rates, but impacts are even larger in a low-return environment. We conclude that abandoning guarantees could enhance old-age consumption for over 80% of retirees, particularly lower earners, without harming pre-retirement consumption. Our results are of interest for default investment options in individual retirement accounts such as the Pan-European Personal Pension Products

Interferon-γ Stimulates Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1 Expression by Monocytes

Monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP-1) is a specific monocyte chemoattractant and activating factor produced by both immune cells (mononuclear phagocytes and lymphocytes) and non-immune cells (parenchymal and stromal cells). In order to define the conditions under which human monocytes express MCP-1, monocytes were exposed to IFN-γ, IL- lβ, TNF-α, IL-4 or PHA under serum free conditions. There was no significant MCP-1 production by monocytes following exposure to IL-lβ, TNF-α or IL-4. In contrast, stimulation with IFN-γ resulted in a dose dependent increase in MCP-1 protein and mRNA expression. Simultaneous stimulation with IFN-γ and IL-1β or TNF-α resulted in no further increase in MCP-1 production. It is concluded that IFN-γ, primarily a product of TH1 T lymphocytes, stimulates the expression of MCP-1 by monocytes

Vaccine-Induced Subcutaneous Granulomas in Goats Reflect Differences in Host–Mycobacterium Interactions between BCG- and Recombinant BCG-Derivative Vaccines

Tuberculous granulomas are highly dynamic structures reflecting the complex host–mycobacterium interactions. The objective of this study was to compare granuloma development at the site of vaccination with BCG and its recombinant derivatives in goats. To characterize the host response, epithelioid cells, multinucleated giant cells (MNGC), T cell subsets, B cells, plasma cells, dendritic cells and mycobacterial antigen were labelled by immunohistochemistry, and lipids and acid-fast bacteria (AFB) were labelled by specific staining. Granulomas with central caseous necrosis developed at the injection site of most goats though lesion size and extent of necrosis differed between vaccine strains. CD4(+) T and B cells were more scarce and CD8(+) cells were more numerous in granulomas induced by recombinant derivatives compared to their parental BCG strain. Further, the numbers of MNGCs and cells with lipid bodies were markedly lower in groups administered with recombinant BCG strains. Microscopic detection of AFB and mycobacterial antigen was rather frequent in the area of central necrosis, however, the isolation of bacteria in culture was rarely successful. In summary, BCG and its recombinant derivatives induced reproducibly subcutaneous caseous granulomas in goats that can be easily monitored and surgically removed for further studies. The granulomas reflected the genetic modifications of the recombinant BCG-derivatives and are therefore suitable models to compare reactions to different mycobacteria or TB vaccines

Physics at the e+ e- Linear Collider

A comprehensive review of physics at an e+e- Linear Collider in the energy range of sqrt{s}=92 GeV--3 TeV is presented in view of recent and expected LHC results, experiments from low energy as well as astroparticle physics.The report focuses in particular on Higgs boson, Top quark and electroweak precision physics, but also discusses several models of beyond the Standard Model physics such as Supersymmetry, little Higgs models and extra gauge bosons. The connection to cosmology has been analyzed as well.Comment: 179 pages, plots and references updated, version to be published at EPJ

Shifting Winds: Using Ancestry DNA to Explore Multiracial Individuals\u27 Patterns of Articulating Racial Identity

This study explored how genotype information affects identification narratives of multiracial individuals. Twenty-one multiracial individuals completed individual interviews before and after receiving a DNA analysis to clarify their genetically based racial ancestry. Based on results, this article proposes patterns of articulating racial identity by multiracial individuals. Four patterns extend evolving research in multiracial identification, namely (1) the individual articulates a monoracial identity; (2) the individual articulates one identity, but this can shift in response to various conditions; (3) the individual articulates an extraracial identity, opting out of traditional categories applied to race; and (4) the person distinguishes traditional categories of race from culture and owns the two identities in different ways. Implications of these findings are discussed. First, adding new ancestry DNA information further muddles the neat categories of race, consistent with the view of race as socially constructed. Second, results emphasize the fluidity of identification for multiracial individuals. Third, DNA information challenges the neat percentages people tend to associate with their backgrounds. Particularly for younger multiracial individuals, there was less of a sense that race was a real thing and more that culture played a big part in how they saw themselves