Problems with Higgsplosion

A recent calculation of the multi-Higgs boson production in scalar theories with spontaneous symmetry breaking has demonstrated the fast growth of the cross section with the Higgs multiplicity at sufficiently large energies, called "Higgsplosion". It was argued that "Higgsplosion" solves the Higgs hierarchy and fine-tuning problems. In our paper we argue that: a) the formula for "Higgsplosion" has a limited applicability and inconsistent with unitarity of the Standard Model; b) that the contribution from "Higgsplosion" to the imaginary part of the Higgs boson propagator cannot be re-summed in order to furnish a solution of the Higgs hierarchy and fine-tuning problems

Spin coating on a non-axisymmetric curved substrate.

Spin coating is used to apply functional and protective coatings in the manufacturing of a wide range of electrical and optical components including solar panels, light-emitting diode (LED) displays, and microprocessors. Current spin coating techniques, however, are unable to reliably produce uniformcoatings on curved substrates, restricting these products to only flat geometries. This thesis aims to provide a step towards the development of a novel spin coating system for curved surfaces by developing and implementing a model for thin film flow over an arbitrary rotating curved substrate surface. We present a generalised model for the flow of a thin fluid film over a rotating curved substrate based on the lubrication approximation. In addition to surface tension and gravity, our model introduces the effects of centrifugal, Coriolis, and Euler forces due to substrate rotation, which have not been considered in existing literature for a general curved substrate. We have implemented the general lubrication model using COMSOL Multiphysics and MATLAB to simulate the flow of thin films on a range of substrate geometries and topologies in surface tension, gravity, centrifugal force-driven regimes. Under surface tension alone, we demonstrated that fluid accumulates at the points of highest mean curvature of the substrate surface. When including the effects of gravity and centrifugal force, we showed that increasing the angular velocity of the substrate causes the fluid to transition from pooling at the bottom to accumulating at the points furthest from the axis of rotation as the dominant driving force changes from gravity to centrifugal force. This produced a belt of fluid around the equator of axisymmetric spherical, spheroidal, and toroidal substrates, and two separate regions of peak film thickness at opposite points on a non-axisymmetric ellipsoidal substrate. We also considered the flow of a spin-coated film on a flat substrate from initial conditions representing axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric droplets. In the axisymmetric case, while the film remained symmetrical as it spread, at sufficiently high angular velocities the Coriolis force introduced an angular component to the flow, creating a spiralling volume flux not captured by previous simplified one-dimensional models. With a non-axisymmetric droplet, we showed that the growth or decay of perturbations to the initial condition depends on the angular velocity of the substrate. At low angular velocities, perturbations decayed to leave a film with a near-circular contact line. At high angular velocities, however, interaction between the Coriolis force and fingering instability caused perturbations to the initial condition to growinto fingers deflected against the direction of substrate rotation, producing a complex pattern at the contact line. Overall, the work presented in this thesis provides a foundation for the future study of thin film flows on rotating curved substrates. In particular, further work could include detailed parametric studies and stability analysis to better understand the effects of fluid properties, substrate kinematics, and substrate curvature on spin-coated films

Genomic selection and complex trait prediction using a fast EM algorithm applied to genome-wide markers

Background: The information provided by dense genome-wide markers using high throughput technology is of considerable potential in human disease studies and livestock breeding programs. Genome-wide association studies relate individual single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) from dense SNP panels to individual measurements of complex traits, with the underlying assumption being that any association is caused by linkage disequilibrium (LD) between SNP and quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting the trait. Often SNP are in genomic regions of no trait variation. Whole genome Bayesian models are an effective way of incorporating important prior information into modelling. However a full Bayesian analysis is often not feasible due to the amount of data and the computational time involved. Results: This article proposes an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm called emBayesB which allows only a proportion of SNP to be in LD with QTL and incorporates important prior information about the distribution of SNP effects. The posterior probability of being in LD with at least one QTL is calculated for each SNP along with estimates of the hyperparameters for the mixture prior. A simulated example of genomic selection from an international workshop is used to demonstrate the features of the EM algorithm. The accuracy of prediction is comparable to a full Bayesian analysis but the EM algorithm is considerably faster. The EM algorithm was accurate in locating QTL which explained more than 1% of the total genetic variation. A computational algorithm for very large SNP panels is described. Conclusions: emBayesB is a fast and accurate EM algorithm for implementing genomic selection and predicting complex traits by mapping QTL in genome-wide dense SNP marker data. Its accuracy is similar to Bayesian methods but it takes only a fraction of the time

The Treatment of Recurrent Abdominal Pain in Children: A Controlled Comparison of Cognitive-Behavioral Family Intervention and Standard Pediatric Care

This study describes the results of a controlled clinical trial involving 44 7- to 14-year-old children with recurrent abdominal pain who were randomly allocated to either cognitive-behavioral family intervention (CBFI) or standard pediatric care (SPC). Both treatment conditions resulted in significant improvements on measures of pain intensity and pain behavior. However, the children receiving CBFI had a higher rate of complete elimination of pain, lower levels of relapse at 6- and 12-month follow-up, and lower levels of interference with their activities as a result of pain and parents reported a higher level of satisfaction with the treatment than children receiving SPC. After controlling for pretreatment levels of pain, children's active self-coping and mothers' caregiving strategies were significant independent predictors of pain behavior at posttreatment

Sense about science - making sense of crime

Booklet 'Making Sense of Crime' published by registered charity 'Sense About Science'There’s always heated debate about crime in the media and a lot of political argument about how we should respond to it. But these arguments rarely provide insight into what actually causes crime, what lies behind trends over time and in different places, and how best to go about reducing it. Values inform how a society decides to deal with crime. We may decide that rehabilitation is a better principle than punishment, and this will influence how we decide what is most effective. However, we also expect these choices to be disciplined by sound evidence, because if crime policy ignores what works and what doesn’t, there are likely to be bad social consequences. And with over £10bn spent annually on tackling crime through the police, prisons, probation and courts, unless we look at evidence we can’t see how effective any of it is. Crime policy usually has twin aims – to prevent crime, and to seek justice by punishing those who commit offences. Research shows there’s only a loose link, if any, between the way offenders are punished and the number of offences committed. There is no reliable evidence for example, that capital punishment reduces serious crimes as its supporters claim. Yet politicians and commentators regularly claim that more punishments are a way to cut crime. Academic, government and community organisations have all said crime policies need to be based more on evidence, but much of the evidence available at the moment is poor or unclear. Debates about crime rarely reflect how strong the evidence behind opposing policies is, and even when politicians honestly believe they’re following the evidence, they tend to select evidence that supports their political views. This guide looks at some of the key things we do know and why it has been so difficult to make sense of crime policy. An important point throughout is that policymakers sometimes have to make decisions when things are not clear-cut. They have a better chance of making effective policies if they admit to this uncertainty – and conduct robust research to find out more. In the following pages we have shared insights from experts in violent crime, policing, crime science, psychology and the media’s influence on the crime debate. They don’t have all the answers, but we hope they leave you better-placed to hold policymakers and commentators to account and promote a more useful discussion about crime

Development and Testing of a Fan Monitoring System Using Induction Operated Current Switches

Emissions of gaseous compounds and particulate matter are the product of the pollutant concentrations and air exhausted from the fans of mechanically ventilated animal confinement buildings. Direct methods of monitoring exhaust fan operation (i.e., mercury tilt, limit or whisker, and vibration switches) have been reported to have limitations due to mechanical failure and/or the effect of the environment (dust, wind, moisture). Another method involves monitoring the control relay status at the fan system control box. A problem could occur at the fan but not in the signal at the control box, thereby giving a false operational signal. The objective of this project was to find a more reliable method of monitoring fan operation status. This paper describes the development, lab testing, and use of a fan monitoring system based on induction operated current switches (ICS). ICSs are unaffected by the environment and can provide direct measurement of real-time fan operational status by sensing AC current. A laboratory test of the ICS was performed to simulate a fan off/on duty cycle in a two-year emissions study; no ICS failure was recorded. The Southeastern Broiler Gaseous and Particulate Matter Emission study led by Iowa State University has been using 28 ICSs for over 190 days without a failure. At a unit cost as low as $19.50 this method offers a reliable, accurate, and economical way of measuring the real-time operational status of ventilation fans – a critical component of any air emissions monitoring in a mechanically ventilated confinement system

Children With Persistent Feeding Difficulties: An Observational Analysis of the Feeding Interactions of Problem and Non-Problem Eaters

This study examined the relationship between parent's feeding practices and the feeding behavior of toddlers and preschool-age children with (n = 19) or without (n = 26) persistent feeding difficulties. Specifically, patterns of parent-child interaction were assessed during standardized family mealtime observations in the clinic. Parents also kept observational records of their children's mealtime behavior at home and rated the degree of difficulty they experienced in feeding their child during each meal on a daily basis. Observational results showed that feeding-disordered children engaged in higher levels of disruptive mealtime behavior (food refusal, noncompliance, complaining, oppositional behavior, and playing with food) and lower levels of chewing during mealtime. There were several significant age effects, with younger children (under age 3) engaging in more vomiting and less aversive demanding and verbalizations. Parents of feeding-disordered children were more negative and coercive in their feeding practices and engaged in higher levels of aversive instruction giving, aversive prompting, and negative eating-related comments. There were several significant associations between coercive parental behaviors and children's food refusal and noncompliance in the sample as a whole. Measures of children's disruptiveness at mealtimes in the clinic were significantly correlated with measures of mealtime behavior in the home