Multi-Boson Interactions at the LHC

This review covers results on the production of all possible electroweak boson pairs and 2-to-1 vector boson fusion at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in proton-proton collisions at a center of mass energy of 7 and 8 TeV. The data were taken between 2010 and 2012. Limits on anomalous triple gauge couplings (aTGCs) then follow. In addition, data on electroweak triple gauge boson production and 2-to-2 vector boson scattering yield limits on anomalous quartic gauge boson couplings (aQGCs). The LHC hosts two general purpose experiments, ATLAS and CMS, which have both reported limits on aTGCs and aQGCs which are herein summarized. The interpretation of these limits in terms of an effective field theory is reviewed, and recommendations are made for testing other types of new physics using multi-gauge boson production.Comment: 53 pages, 48 figures, 4 table

The bulk expansion of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A at 151 MHz

We present observations of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A made over 13 yr at 151 MHz with the Cambridge Low-Frequency Synthesis Telescope. These observations have been used to study the contraction of well-defined minima in the visibility (or u,v) plane, in order to determine the bulk expansion of the radio emission from Cas A. These observations show steady contraction of the first and second minima, corresponding to expansion time-scales of ∼ 400–500 yr. These time-scales are less than those inferred from the expansion of compact radio knots in Cas A, and imply, provided that shape changes are not significant, that the remnant is in the transition between free expansion and Sedov-Taylor phases

Developing Teacher Leaders in Math and Science: Content Coaches Mentoring Teacher Leaders

The AMSTI (Alabama Math Science Technology Initiative)-USA Fellows program, a collaboration between a university College of Education and Arts & Sciences, State Department of Education, and local school district, was created to develop Teacher Leaders in AMSTI Mathematics and Science. The specific focus of this research was to examine the mentoring provided to the Teacher Leaders Fellows, and to determine if the professional development provided to the teacher leaders helped them develop mentoring skills to mentor and coach the AMSTI teachers with whom they worked. At the completion of their Fellowship, these AMSTI-USA Fellows returned to become teacher leaders at their home schools, charged with mentoring and coaching teachers in the AMSTI curriculum. The objectives of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of: (1) mentoring the newly identified teacher leader Fellows into the role of teacher leader; and, (2) developing the mentoring and coaching skills in both the affective components and content aspects of the selected AMSTI Teacher Leader Fellows

Flash sintering of injection molded zirconia under AC electric field for enhancement of optical properties

Zirconia is a very versatile ceramic material used in many applications, from structural components to healthcare implantable parts. The majority of current flash research has been performed using uniaxial pressed samples. In our research, we looked to study a large-scale manufacturing technique to produce the samples to be sintered. Ceramic injection molding (CIM) is a known method to produce complex shaped parts with great precision and high density. The high binder content in CIM parts can cause difficulty during flash sintering, due to the high porosity left after debinding process. This can cause localization and flashover during the application of the electric field. Commercially injection molded partially stabilized zirconia (3YSZ) was chosen as it has important properties, such high fracture toughness, however, it is usually opaque due to inherent microstructure defects and grain size of the material. For many applications, zirconia, does not require a particular color or specific appearance, but in some cases for aesthetic uses, a transparent-like material is highly desirable. This paper will describe the results on flash sintering equipment design and field parameters used in order to optimize levels of translucency in zirconia disks, with high fracture toughness. The flash sintering process is shown to be repeatable, and is compared with conventionally sintered samples to assess the improvement on translucency and/or fracture toughness. It is then proposed that flash sintering is an enabling mechanism for the use of zirconia in a wider range of applications and markets, where aesthetics and toughness are required in parallel

Stabilizing All Geometric Moduli in Heterotic Calabi-Yau Vacua

We propose a scenario to stabilize all geometric moduli - that is, the complex structure, Kahler moduli and the dilaton - in smooth heterotic Calabi-Yau compactifications without Neveu-Schwarz three-form flux. This is accomplished using the gauge bundle required in any heterotic compactification, whose perturbative effects on the moduli are combined with non-perturbative corrections. We argue that, for appropriate gauge bundles, all complex structure and a large number of other moduli can be perturbatively stabilized - in the most restrictive case, leaving only one combination of Kahler moduli and the dilaton as a flat direction. At this stage, the remaining moduli space consists of Minkowski vacua. That is, the perturbative superpotential vanishes in the vacuum without the necessity to fine-tune flux. Finally, we incorporate non-perturbative effects such as gaugino condensation and/or instantons. These are strongly constrained by the anomalous U(1) symmetries which arise from the required bundle constructions. We present a specific example, with a consistent choice of non-perturbative effects, where all remaining flat directions are stabilized in an AdS vacuum.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figure

Developmental and Genetic Mechanisms of Ovariole Number Evolution in Drosophila

The goal of the "Quantitative Trait Gene" (QTG) program is to identify genes and mutations that underlie natural phenotypic variation. My goal with this work was to contribute an additional model to the program: ovariole number evolution in Drosophila. In this thesis I describe the progress I have made towards identifying a specific genetic change that contributed to the divergence of ovariole number between two Drosophila lineages. I identify specific developmental mechanisms relevant to establishing ovariole number in different Drosophila lineages by detailing ovarian cell-type specific specification, proliferation, and differentiation. I test specific candidates of genetic regulators of these developmental mechanisms with mutational analysis in D. melanogaster. I show that independent evolution of ovariole number has resulted from changes in distinct developmental mechanisms, each of which may have a different underlying genetic basis in Drosophila. I use the interspecies comparison of D. melanogaster versus D. sechellia to test for functional differences in insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IIS) signaling between the two species. I show that IIS activity levels and sensitivity have diverged between species, leading to both species-specific ovariole number and species-specific nutritional plasticity in ovariole number. Moreover, plastic range of ovariole number correlates with ecological niche, suggesting that the degree of nutritional plasticity may be an adaptive trait. My work and quantitative genetic analyses strongly support the hypothesis that evolution of the Drosophila insulin-like receptor (InR) gene, specifically, is at least partially responsible for the divergence in ovariole number and nutritional plasticity of ovariole number between D. melanogaster and D. sechellia. I detail ongoing experiments to test this hypothesis explicitly via cross-species transgenesis

Testbed diversity as a fundamental principle for effective ICS security research

The implementation of diversity in testbeds is essential to understanding and improving the security and resilience of Industrial Control Systems (ICS). Employing a wide spec- trum of equipment, diverse networks, and business processes, as deployed in real-life infrastructures, is particularly diffi- cult in experimental conditions. However, this level of di- versity is key from a security perspective, as attackers can exploit system particularities and process intricacies to their advantage. This paper presents an ICS testbed with specific focus on infrastructure diversity, and end-to-end business process replication. These qualities are illustrated through a case study mapping data flow/processing, user interactions, and two example attack scenarios

Obesity and its risk factors among African migrant adolescents : assessing the role of intergenerational acculturation gap, family functioning and parenting

African migrants constitute a fast-growing, culturally and linguistically diverse subpopulation in Australia. The 2006 census data suggest that there are more than 210,000 African migrants living in Australia, 24% of whom live in Victoria. In Victoria, African migrants are concentrated in the Greater Dandenong, Western Region, and Northern Region, and small numbers in regional areas such as Shepparton and Swan Hill. On arrival in Australia, they are at increased risk of obesity and chronic diseases and this risk has strong cultural roots, accentuated by poor health literacy and intergenerational discrepancies in acculturation between parents and children. However, there are other factors related to the family functioning and parenting styles that predispose African migrants to obesity and chronic diseases, but these factors are poorly documented. This pilot study sought to develop and trial a framework for engaging with African communities, and to document and describe elements of family functioning, parenting style, acculturation that predispose African young people to obesity

Settlement Service Literacy and the Relationship Between Service Utilisation and Wellbeing Among Newly Arrived Migrants: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review Protocol

Background: Settlement service literacy refers to the ability of migrants to access, understand and critically navigate settlement services. In Australia, increasing numbers of culturally and linguistically diverse migrants require settlement services to assist their transition. However, there are barriers to migrant’s ability to utilise settlement services which are related to their level of settlement service literacy. This review aims to shed light on how settlement service literacy influences new migrant’s utilisation of settlement services, and the consequences that it has for health, well-being and sense of belonging. Methods: The review will follow the guidelines laid out by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Literature searches will be undertaken in CINAHL, EMBASE, PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science, Sociological Abstracts, SocIndex, ProQuest Social Science Database, and Google Scholar. Grey literature and relevant government bodies, non-government organisations, service providers and research institutes will also be searched. Studies included will report primary data (qualitative and quantitative) on new migrant’s (under five years) ability to utilise settlement services in high income countries. Studies that meet the inclusion criteria will be imported to Covidence, two researchers will screen the studies in a two part process (title and introduction scan; and full text) for relevance. Data extracted will include general publication information (author, country, year, and publication), type of study, participants, type of settlement service, measured outcomes, and the study aims, methods and results. Finally, data will be synthesised using a narrative approach. Discussion: The review will provide insight into the relationship between settlement service literacy and service utilisation and wellbeing for new migrants. The review will also provide data to inform settlement service policy to better cater for the needs of migrants. Systematic review registration:This protocol has been submitted to international prospective register of systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PROSPERO) and is currently under review

Effects of Caffeine on Repeated Upper/Lower Body Wingates and Handgrip Performance

International Journal of Exercise Science 8(3): 243-255, 2015. Caffeine enhances aerobic performance, but research is equivocal regarding anaerobic performance. This study examined effects of caffeine (7 mg/kg) on anaerobic performance in anaerobically active males (n = 10). Participants completed counterbalanced, double blind caffeine (Caf) and placebo (Pl) trials including a) 6 x 15 s upper body Wingates (UWant), b) 6 x 15 s lower body Wingates (LWant) and c) 6 x15 s maximal effort static hand grip test (HG) with 3 min recovery between bouts, 30 min between exercises. Peak power (Ppeak), mean power (Pmean), and heart rate (HR) as well as perceptual measures included ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), muscle pain perception (MPP), and perceived recovery status (PRS) were recorded per bout. Session RPE (S-RPE) (15 min post) for each exercise mode and trial RPE (T-RPE) [10 min post relative to testing period for each treatment (Caf vs. Pl)]. A series of 2 (trial) x 6 (bout) ANOVA’s assessed differences and Tukey’s LSD post hoc test were used when necessary. Results showed increased performance (main effect) (UWant) for Ppeak (Caf: 6.72 + 1.2 W/kg vs. Pl: 6.41 + 1.0 W/kg); and Pmean (Caf: 5.39 + 0.8 W/kg vs. Pl: 5.18 + 0.8 W/kg); however no significant main effect for LWant or HG was observed. No significant differences were observed for perceptual measures. Caf improved anaerobic performance in repeated UWant (bouts 1-4) but not LWant or HG. Further studies are warranted to examine Caf ergogenic properties in repeated exercises dominated by anaerobic metabolic pathways given the equivocal results