Single Z Production at the Tevatron

The production of single $Z$ bosons has been studied at Fermilab's Tevatron by the CDF and D0 collaborations. Measurements include the weak mixing angle, vector and axial-vector couplings between $Z$ bosons and light quarks, and angular coefficients in electronic decays which are sensitive to the spin of the gluon. The collaborations have looked for and indication of new physics above the mass scale that can be directly produced at the Tevatron by studying the interference between $Z$ and photon propagators. All measurements are consistent with Standard Model expectations.Comment: XLVIIth Rencontres de Moriond Electroweak conference paper; 5 pages, 5 figure

Comment

With the proper role of judging so unsettled, it is hardly surprising that Americans also do not agree on what training, experience or temperament will produce the best judge

Potential for Chemical Repellents Against the Mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae to Prevent Infestation of Country Hams

Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Shrank), commonly known as the ham mite, is a cosmopolitan pest found of various stored food commodities, including aged hams and cheeses (Amoah et al. 2017; Campbell et al. 2017). Recent research suggested methods to deter T. putrescentiae from infestation of country hams using different types of food-safe chemicals (Abbar et al. 2016). In this experiment, four chemicals were tested to ascertain their effectiveness in deterring T. putrescentiae from ham infestation. Repellency tests used a piece of ham and a group of mites placed on opposite sides of a Petri dish with a black construction paper floor. A test barrier of a test compound or solvent control was deposited on a white filter paper strip bisecting the dish at its center. The chemicals Nootkatone, Propylene Glycol, Glycerol and a fatty acid blend called “C8910” prevented more mites from contacting the ham compared to strips with solvent. These results suggest the potential for using one or more of these food-safe compounds to prevent ham mites form infesting hams in aging rooms

Preferences of the Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium castaneum, for Nutritionally Different Dog Foods

Triboliumcastaneum, known as the red flour beetle (RFB)is a common pest of stored grain and milled grain products.Thisresearch studied how RFBs orient to and lay eggs in their standard flour diet and in two kinds of dog food.We tested whether RFBs have a preference toward two different dog foods, one with low protein, the “Light” food, and the other with high protein, the “Dark” food. We predicted the beetles would prefer the Light kibble with the lower protein.When given the choice between the two foods, 60% of beetlespreferredthe Light product, which had only 20% of the protein as the dark food, which was chosen by 40% of beetles. When the beetles were given the choice between either Light or Dark kibble, vs. their regular flour-based lab diet, flour was the preferred food. However, the two-choice test showed a higher proportion of beetles were in the Light compared to Dark food. These results are important because they will help the pet food industry further understand what the RFBs prefer, and thus help us take appropriate measures to prevent infestation

Preferences of Indian Meal Moth Larvae for Different Dog Foods

Indian meal moths (IMM), Plodiainterpuntella, are persistent pests to our foods (Fasulo et al.1998; Plunkett’s Pest Control 2018). When IMMs infest a a food product the resulting value loss is the result of contamination by larvae that leave droppings and silken webs in grain and grain products (Jacob and Calvin 2001). The IMM is an important pest of high-value dog foods and the grain components of these food may influence their infestation. Experiments were conducted with eggs of the IMM to determine if moth larvae would choose and infest the grain-based dog food in comparison to dog foods with a higher meat content. IMM laboratory rearing diet was included for comparison. No-choice and choice tests confirmed the IMM diet to be the most preferred and best for larval development. Forced infestation of 50 IMM eggs on the four different dog foods found difference among them. In two-choice test that require newly hatched larvae to walk to and infest either lab diet or a dog food, the highest proportion of larvae selecting any of the dog foods was on product C, which was a medium quality, grain-free food. These results suggest that IMM infestations in warehouses or consumer’s homes could be prevalent on some dog foods more than others

Oviposition and Larval Development of the Indian Meal Moth, Plodia interpunctella, on Different Breakfast Cereals

Plodiainterpunctella, the Indian meal moth (IMM), is a common pest of grain products. Adult IMMs lay eggs on a food source and once hatched, the larvae consume the product while leaving behind large amounts of frass and silk [1, 2]. The purpose of this experiment was to identify which kind of grain products are at the highest risk of P. interpunctellainfestation by using the lab-rearing diet as a comparison to two different breakfast cereals of the same brand: a frosted cereal and a regular non-frosted cereal. Two-choice tests determined if moths prefer to lay eggs on and which of the choices would b for the larva to develop. At the end of the experiment, it was observed that adult P. interpunctella preferred to lay their eggs on the frosted cereal diet. The frosted cereal diet also proved to be the better of the two for larval survival and growth. This research suggests that frosted cereals may be preferred by this pest, and that such products need special protection during storage

Efficacy of Different Pet Treat Formulations to Prevent Infestation by the Mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae

The pet food industry is a major part of the high-value processed food market in the USA and worldwide. Pest control associated with pet foods is an important activity. The mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae is a prolific cosmopolitan species that can infests high-value pet treats undetected until the infestations increase to very large numbers. Propylene glycol is a food-safe additive used to prevent mite infestations (Zhang et al., 2018; Abbar et al. 2015). Unfortunately, propylene glycol in certain foods can harm pets, and many companies are changing formulations. Here we conducted forced infestation of mites on three experimental pet treats and compared these to the current product that contains propylene glycol for susceptibility to mite infestation. We confirmed that the current product with propylene glycol did not support any mite population growth after a forced infestation with 20 mites. Two of the test formulations showed promise in preventing mite infestation, but one formulation was clearly susceptible to mites

The Traveling Salesman Problem in the Natural Environment

Is it possible for humans to navigate in the natural environment wherein the path taken between various destinations is 'optimal' in some way? In the domain of optimization this challenge is traditionally framed as the "Traveling Salesman Problem" (TSP). What strategies and ecological considerations are plausible for human navigation? When given a two-dimensional map-like presentation of the destinations, participants solve this optimization exceptionally well (only 2-3% longer than optimum)^1, 2^. In the following experiments we investigate the effect of effort and its environmental affordance on navigation decisions when humans solve the TSP in the natural environment. Fifteen locations were marked on two outdoor landscapes with flat and varied terrains respectively. Performance in the flat-field condition was excellent (∼6% error) and was worse but still quite good in the variable-terrain condition (∼20% error), suggesting participants do not globally pre-plan routes but rather develop them on the fly. We suggest that perceived effort guides participant solutions due to the dynamic constraints of effortful locomotion and obstacle avoidance