Searches for very rare decays to purely leptonic final states at LHCb

We present a review of the searches for very rare decays to muonic final states performed at LHCb using 1.0 fb-1 of pp collisions at 7 TeV centre of mass energy. Flavour changing neutral current processes, such as B->mumu and B->mumumumu are highly suppressed in the Standard Model (SM). Such decays therefore allow contributions from new processes or new heavy particles to significantly modify the expected SM rates. Charged lepton flavour violating processes, such as the neutrino-less tau->mumumu decay, have vanishingly small decay rates in the SM, but can be significantly enhanced in extended models. We report the latest results on these channels from LHCb.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, ICHEP 2012: 36th International Conference on High Energy Physics, Melbourne, Australi

Effects of dialect and talker variability on lexical recognition memory

The current study investigated recognition memory for dialect variation in a recognition memory experiment with separate training and test phases. In the training phase, participants were asked to identify words spoken by three female talkers from the Midland dialect region and three female talkers from the Northern dialect region. In the test phase, participants listened to another set of words and were asked to indicate whether each word was from the training phase, “old,” or completely new, “new.” In this phase of the experiment, half of the words were “old,” having been previously introduced in the training phase, and half were “new,” not having been introduced in the training phase. Of the “old” words, one-third were repeated by the same talker, one-third were repeated by a different talker from the same dialect region, and one-third were repeated by a different talker from a different dialect region. Based on previous research, it was expected that, for each original dialect, participants would be the most accurate and quickest for the “old” words that were repeated by the same talker, the least accurate and slowest for the “old” words that were repeated by a different talker from a different dialect region, and somewhat in between for the “old” words repeated by a different talker from the same dialect region. The results of this study indicate that episodic memory traces of spoken words retain fine-grained surface details, as found in Goldinger (1996) and Palmeri et al. (1993), as responses to same-talker repetitions were generally more accurate and faster than responses to different-talker same-dialect and different-talker different-dialect repetitions. In addition, response time patterns suggest that both abstract lexical representations and episodic traces are stored in long-term memory and contribute to perception. Finally, the significant vowel interactions provide some evidence that dialect information is implicitly coded by the listener, though further studies are needed to better understand this result.This project was supported by the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Award from the Ohio State University for 2007-2008 and the Undergraduate Research Award in the Humanities from the Ohio State University for 2007.No embarg

The Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Fishery Conservation and Management Act: The Need for Balance

This article presents an analysis of those provisions of the MMPA which may impede the achievement of FCMA objectives. It is important that these possible conflicts be resolved because while the United States controls off the coast of Alaska what may be the world\u27s largest resources of fish, these same waters contain enormous numbers of marine mammals. These fishery resources, if managed rationally, can make a large contribution to the economy of the United States and to the protein needs of the world. A reasonable accommodation between the MMPA and the FCMA must be found in order to achieve that possibility

Non-native listeners' recognition of high-variability speech using PRESTO

BACKGROUND: Natural variability in speech is a significant challenge to robust successful spoken word recognition. In everyday listening environments, listeners must quickly adapt and adjust to multiple sources of variability in both the signal and listening environments. High-variability speech may be particularly difficult to understand for non-native listeners, who have less experience with the second language (L2) phonological system and less detailed knowledge of sociolinguistic variation of the L2. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of high-variability sentences on non-native speech recognition and to explore the underlying sources of individual differences in speech recognition abilities of non-native listeners. RESEARCH DESIGN: Participants completed two sentence recognition tasks involving high-variability and low-variability sentences. They also completed a battery of behavioral tasks and self-report questionnaires designed to assess their indexical processing skills, vocabulary knowledge, and several core neurocognitive abilities. STUDY SAMPLE: Native speakers of Mandarin (n = 25) living in the United States recruited from the Indiana University community participated in the current study. A native comparison group consisted of scores obtained from native speakers of English (n = 21) in the Indiana University community taken from an earlier study. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Speech recognition in high-variability listening conditions was assessed with a sentence recognition task using sentences from PRESTO (Perceptually Robust English Sentence Test Open-Set) mixed in 6-talker multitalker babble. Speech recognition in low-variability listening conditions was assessed using sentences from HINT (Hearing In Noise Test) mixed in 6-talker multitalker babble. Indexical processing skills were measured using a talker discrimination task, a gender discrimination task, and a forced-choice regional dialect categorization task. Vocabulary knowledge was assessed with the WordFam word familiarity test, and executive functioning was assessed with the BRIEF-A (Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version) self-report questionnaire. Scores from the non-native listeners on behavioral tasks and self-report questionnaires were compared with scores obtained from native listeners tested in a previous study and were examined for individual differences. RESULTS: Non-native keyword recognition scores were significantly lower on PRESTO sentences than on HINT sentences. Non-native listeners' keyword recognition scores were also lower than native listeners' scores on both sentence recognition tasks. Differences in performance on the sentence recognition tasks between non-native and native listeners were larger on PRESTO than on HINT, although group differences varied by signal-to-noise ratio. The non-native and native groups also differed in the ability to categorize talkers by region of origin and in vocabulary knowledge. Individual non-native word recognition accuracy on PRESTO sentences in multitalker babble at more favorable signal-to-noise ratios was found to be related to several BRIEF-A subscales and composite scores. However, non-native performance on PRESTO was not related to regional dialect categorization, talker and gender discrimination, or vocabulary knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: High-variability sentences in multitalker babble were particularly challenging for non-native listeners. Difficulty under high-variability testing conditions was related to lack of experience with the L2, especially L2 sociolinguistic information, compared with native listeners. Individual differences among the non-native listeners were related to weaknesses in core neurocognitive abilities affecting behavioral control in everyday life

The role of type 4 phosphodiesterases in generating microdomains of cAMP: Large scale stochastic simulations

Cyclic AMP (cAMP) and its main effector Protein Kinase A (PKA) are critical for several aspects of neuronal function including synaptic plasticity. Specificity of synaptic plasticity requires that cAMP activates PKA in a highly localized manner despite the speed with which cAMP diffuses. Two mechanisms have been proposed to produce localized elevations in cAMP, known as microdomains: impeded diffusion, and high phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity. This paper investigates the mechanism of localized cAMP signaling using a computational model of the biochemical network in the HEK293 cell, which is a subset of pathways involved in PKA-dependent synaptic plasticity. This biochemical network includes cAMP production, PKA activation, and cAMP degradation by PDE activity. The model is implemented in NeuroRD: novel, computationally efficient, stochastic reaction-diffusion software, and is constrained by intracellular cAMP dynamics that were determined experimentally by real-time imaging using an Epac-based FRET sensor (H30). The model reproduces the high concentration cAMP microdomain in the submembrane region, distinct from the lower concentration of cAMP in the cytosol. Simulations further demonstrate that generation of the cAMP microdomain requires a pool of PDE4D anchored in the cytosol and also requires PKA-mediated phosphorylation of PDE4D which increases its activity. The microdomain does not require impeded diffusion of cAMP, confirming that barriers are not required for microdomains. The simulations reported here further demonstrate the utility of the new stochastic reaction-diffusion algorithm for exploring signaling pathways in spatially complex structures such as neurons

Biomimicry in Solar Energy Applications

While solar power is one of the leading renewable energy sources today, current solar farms produce an amount of byproduct heat that is contributing to rising global temperatures and the deaths of many birds. Furthermore, solar panels that use water as a coolant through a sprinkler system use up a great amount of water that could be allocated somewhere else. Our project seeks to address both of these issues through a biomimetic design. Drawing inspiration from the ghost plant, our proposed solar panel cooling system is expected to reduce the amount of byproduct heat produced by panels, increase the overall efficiency of the panels, and reduce the amount of water used to achieve these goals

experimental analysis of tooth root strains in a sun gear of the final drive for an off highway axle

Abstract The force acting on gear teeth can be influenced by several factors such as profile modifications, stiffness variations during meshing, inversion of the sliding direction at the pitch line, tip-to-root interferences, gears and shaft deflections and bearings clearances. Moreover, in planetary gear sets the load can be shared unevenly among the planet gears due to manufacturing inaccuracies of the system. An accurate evaluation of the real load-time history experienced by the teeth is not straightforward and is affected by strong approximations even when advanced simulation software packages are used to create the theoretical model. Therefore, experimental analysis of the behavior of gears under in-service load still constitutes a major step in the development of new transmission systems. In this work, three strain gauges were applied at different positions along the tooth root width of the sun gear mounted in the final drive of an off-highway axle. Strain measurements where then performed during a bench test of the complete axle and the signal was acquired by means of a telemetry system. Finally, the acquired data were used to assess the accuracy of software calculations and to identify the causes of overloads

New architectural design of delivery room reduces morbidity in preterm neonates: a prospective cohort study

Background: A multidisciplinary committee composed of a panel of experts, including a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Institute of Architects, has suggested that the delivery room (DR) and the neonatal intensive care units (NICU) room should be directly interconnected. We aimed to investigate the impact of the architectural design of the DR and the NICU on neonatal outcome. Methods: Two cohorts of preterm neonates born at < 32weeks of gestational age, consecutively observed during 2years, were compared prospectively before (Cohort 1: "conventional DR") and after architectural renovation of the DR realized in accordance with specific standards (Cohort 2: "new concept of DR"). In Cohort 1, neonates were initially cared for a conventional resuscitation area, situated in the DR, and then transferred to the NICU, located on a separate floor of the same hospital. In Cohort 2 neonates were assisted at birth directly in the NICU room, which was directly connected to the DR via a pass-through door. The primary outcome of the study was morbidity, defined by the proportion of neonates with at least one complication of prematurity (i.e., late-onset sepsis, patent ductus arteriosus, intraventricular hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, retinopathy of prematurity and necrotizing enterocolitis). Secondary outcomes were mortality and duration of hospitalization. Statistical analysis was performed using standard methods by SPSS software. Results: We enrolled 106 neonates (56 in Cohort 1 and 50 in Cohort 2). The main clinical and demographic characteristics of the 2cohorts were similar. Moderate hypothermia (body temperature ≤ 35.9° C) was more frequent in Cohort 1 (57%) compared with Cohort 2 (24%, p = 0.001). Morbidity was increased in Cohort 1 (73%) compared with Cohort 2 (44%, p = 0.002). No statistically significant differences in mortality and median duration of hospitalization were observed between the 2 cohorts of the study. Conclusions: If realized according to the proposed architectural standards, renovation of DR and NICU may represent an opportunity to reduce morbidity in preterm neonates