Sally Amir - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Sally Amir

A search for tt resonances in lepton+jets events with highly boosted top quarks collected in pp c... more A search for tt resonances in lepton+jets events with highly boosted top quarks collected in pp collisions at √ s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

√ s = 7 TeV using final states with an electron or a muon and a hadronically decaying τ lepton

This Letter presents the results of a direct search with the ATLAS detector at the LHC for a Stan... more This Letter presents the results of a direct search with the ATLAS detector at the LHC for a Standard Model Higgs boson of mass 110 ≤ m H ≤ 130 GeV produced in association with a W or Z boson and decaying to bb. Three decay channels are considered: ZH → ℓ + ℓ − bb, W H → ℓνbb and ZH → ννbb, where ℓ corresponds to an electron or a muon. No evidence for Higgs boson production is observed in a dataset of 7 TeV pp collisions corresponding to 4.7 fb −1 of integrated luminosity collected by ATLAS in 2011. Exclusion limits on Higgs boson production, at the 95% confidence level, of 2.5 to 5.5 times the Standard Model cross section are obtained in the mass range 110-130 GeV. The expected exclusion limits range between 2.5 and 4.9 for the same mass interval.

Cognition, 2006

There is a change in false belief task performance across the 3-5 year age range, as confirmed in... more There is a change in false belief task performance across the 3-5 year age range, as confirmed in a recent meta-analysis . Meta-analysis of theory mind development: The truth about false-belief. Child Development, 72,. This meta-analysis identified several performance factors influencing success, including manipulations that highlight the salience of the initial belief content (such as asking where Sally will look first for the marble). However, because a proportion of variance in performance remained unexplained even when identified performance factors were controlled for, the authors concluded from the standpoint of a 'theory-theory' account that children's improvement is the result of conceptual change. Further, the meta-analysis showed that manipulations such as 'look first' improve performance only in children who are in the older part of the 3-5 year range, and thus plausibly operating with a 'transitional' theory of mind-just on the point of realizing conceptual change. Here, we present three studies systematically investigating the 'look first' manipulation which showed that: (i) the advantage for the look first question can be demonstrated in children across different cultures, (ii) look first has an effect that is additive to the improvement with age; there is no interaction such that older children gain more benefit from younger children, (iii) performance in younger children can be, but is not Cognition 100 (2006) 343-368 www.elsevier.com/locate/COGNIT 0022-2860/$ -see front matter q (T.P. German), m.siegal@sheffield.ac.uk (M. Siegal).

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 2001

This study evaluated whether a diminished perception of control over environmental and interocept... more This study evaluated whether a diminished perception of control over environmental and interoceptive events differentially predicted interpretive biases for threat for ambiguous scenarios. The sample had 95 participants without a history of psychopathology. Results indicated that the internal dimension of the Anxiety Control Questionnaire (ACQ; R. M. Rapee, M. G. Craske, T. A. Brown, & D. H. Barlow, 1996) was predictive of interpretive biases for internal scenarios above and beyond demographic variables, subclinical panic attack history, and state anxiety; the external control subscale of the ACQ also was predictive of internal rank-ordered responses. The ACQ external dimension was predictive of interpretive responses for external scenarios beyond the effects accounted for by the other predictor variables, including perceived control for internal events. These findings provide initial correlational evidence consistent with cognitive–behavioral accounts of panic disorder that posit a perceived lack of control over aversive events may exacerbate an interpretive bias for threat.

American Journal of Medical Genetics, 2002

Cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) deficiency, the most common form of homocystinuria, is an autosoma... more Cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) deficiency, the most common form of homocystinuria, is an autosomal recessive inborn error of homocysteine metabolism. Treatment of B6-nonresponsive patients centers on lowering homocysteine and its disulfide derivatives (tHcy) by adherence to a methionine-restricted diet. However, lifelong dietary control is difficult. Betaine supplementation is used extensively in CBS-deficient patients to lower plasma tHcy. With betaine therapy, methionine levels increase over baseline, but usually remain below 1,500 μmol/L, and these levels have not been associated with adverse affects. We report a child with B6-nonresponsive CBS deficiency and dietary noncompliance whose methionine levels reached 3,000 μmol/L on betaine, and who subsequently developed massive cerebral edema without evidence of thrombosis. We investigated the etiology by determining methionine and betaine metabolites in our patient, and several possible mechanisms for her unusual response to betaine are discussed. We conclude that the cerebral edema was most likely precipitated by the betaine therapy, although the exact mechanism is uncertain. This case cautions physicians to monitor methionine levels in CBS-deficient patients on betaine and to consider betaine as an adjunct, not an alternative, to dietary control. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Cowʼs Milk Protein–induced Eosinophilic Esophagitis in a Child With Gluten-sensitive Enteropathy

Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 2007

This paper is dedicated to the memory of our ATLAS colleagues who did not live to see the full im... more This paper is dedicated to the memory of our ATLAS colleagues who did not live to see the full impact and significance of their contributions to the experiment.

Physics Letters B, 2012

A search for diphoton events with large missing transverse momentum has been performed using prot... more A search for diphoton events with large missing transverse momentum has been performed using proton-proton collision data at √ s = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 fb −1 . No excess of events was observed above the Standard Model prediction and model-dependent 95 % confidence level exclusion limits are set. In the context of a generalised model of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking with a bino-like lightest neutralino of mass above 50 GeV, gluinos (squarks) below 1.07 TeV (0.87 TeV) are excluded, while a breaking scale Λ below 196 TeV is excluded for a minimal model of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking. For a specific model with one universal extra dimension, compactification scales 1/R < 1.40 TeV are excluded. These limits provide the most stringent tests of these models to date.

Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 2010

We examined how individuals may change their voices when speaking to attractive versus unattracti... more We examined how individuals may change their voices when speaking to attractive versus unattractive individuals, and if it were possible for others to perceive these vocal changes. In addition, we examined if any concurrent physiological effects occurred when speaking with individuals who varied in physical attractiveness. We found that both sexes used a lower-pitched voice and showed a higher level of physiological arousal when speaking to the more attractive, opposite-sex target. Furthermore, independent raters evaluated the voice samples directed toward the attractive target (versus the unattractive target) as sounding more pleasant when the two voice samples from the same person presented had a reasonably perceptually noticeable difference in pitch. These findings may have implications for the role voice plays in mate selection and attraction.

Vocabulary notebooks are frequently advocated as a way for students to take control of their voca... more Vocabulary notebooks are frequently advocated as a way for students to take control of their vocabulary learning , with the added benefit of improvements in vocabulary learning . The study described in this article attempts to lend empirical support to these claims, by investigating the effect of vocabulary notebooks on EFL students' vocabulary acquisition. Students in three lower intermediate EFL classes participated in the study. A vocabulary notebook program was implemented in one class over a 4-week period, with the remaining two classes acting as control groups, following the same curriculum with the same materials but without keeping vocabulary notebooks. Receptive and controlled productive vocabulary tests revealed significantly greater learning of the target words in the treatment group. In addition, students in the treatment group demonstrated a greater tendency to use the target words in free writing compositions. However, a positive impact on learner autonomy -as has been reported in previous studies ) -was not observed. These findings lead the authors to conclude that vocabulary notebooks can be an effective learning tool in EFL classrooms, but positive impacts on learner autonomy may not be seen in the absence of appropriate motivation for language learning.

A search for tt resonances in lepton+jets events with highly boosted top quarks collected in pp c... more A search for tt resonances in lepton+jets events with highly boosted top quarks collected in pp collisions at √ s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

√ s = 7 TeV using final states with an electron or a muon and a hadronically decaying τ lepton

This Letter presents the results of a direct search with the ATLAS detector at the LHC for a Stan... more This Letter presents the results of a direct search with the ATLAS detector at the LHC for a Standard Model Higgs boson of mass 110 ≤ m H ≤ 130 GeV produced in association with a W or Z boson and decaying to bb. Three decay channels are considered: ZH → ℓ + ℓ − bb, W H → ℓνbb and ZH → ννbb, where ℓ corresponds to an electron or a muon. No evidence for Higgs boson production is observed in a dataset of 7 TeV pp collisions corresponding to 4.7 fb −1 of integrated luminosity collected by ATLAS in 2011. Exclusion limits on Higgs boson production, at the 95% confidence level, of 2.5 to 5.5 times the Standard Model cross section are obtained in the mass range 110-130 GeV. The expected exclusion limits range between 2.5 and 4.9 for the same mass interval.

Cognition, 2006

There is a change in false belief task performance across the 3-5 year age range, as confirmed in... more There is a change in false belief task performance across the 3-5 year age range, as confirmed in a recent meta-analysis . Meta-analysis of theory mind development: The truth about false-belief. Child Development, 72,. This meta-analysis identified several performance factors influencing success, including manipulations that highlight the salience of the initial belief content (such as asking where Sally will look first for the marble). However, because a proportion of variance in performance remained unexplained even when identified performance factors were controlled for, the authors concluded from the standpoint of a 'theory-theory' account that children's improvement is the result of conceptual change. Further, the meta-analysis showed that manipulations such as 'look first' improve performance only in children who are in the older part of the 3-5 year range, and thus plausibly operating with a 'transitional' theory of mind-just on the point of realizing conceptual change. Here, we present three studies systematically investigating the 'look first' manipulation which showed that: (i) the advantage for the look first question can be demonstrated in children across different cultures, (ii) look first has an effect that is additive to the improvement with age; there is no interaction such that older children gain more benefit from younger children, (iii) performance in younger children can be, but is not Cognition 100 (2006) 343-368 www.elsevier.com/locate/COGNIT 0022-2860/$ -see front matter q (T.P. German), m.siegal@sheffield.ac.uk (M. Siegal).

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 2001

This study evaluated whether a diminished perception of control over environmental and interocept... more This study evaluated whether a diminished perception of control over environmental and interoceptive events differentially predicted interpretive biases for threat for ambiguous scenarios. The sample had 95 participants without a history of psychopathology. Results indicated that the internal dimension of the Anxiety Control Questionnaire (ACQ; R. M. Rapee, M. G. Craske, T. A. Brown, & D. H. Barlow, 1996) was predictive of interpretive biases for internal scenarios above and beyond demographic variables, subclinical panic attack history, and state anxiety; the external control subscale of the ACQ also was predictive of internal rank-ordered responses. The ACQ external dimension was predictive of interpretive responses for external scenarios beyond the effects accounted for by the other predictor variables, including perceived control for internal events. These findings provide initial correlational evidence consistent with cognitive–behavioral accounts of panic disorder that posit a perceived lack of control over aversive events may exacerbate an interpretive bias for threat.

American Journal of Medical Genetics, 2002

Cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) deficiency, the most common form of homocystinuria, is an autosoma... more Cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) deficiency, the most common form of homocystinuria, is an autosomal recessive inborn error of homocysteine metabolism. Treatment of B6-nonresponsive patients centers on lowering homocysteine and its disulfide derivatives (tHcy) by adherence to a methionine-restricted diet. However, lifelong dietary control is difficult. Betaine supplementation is used extensively in CBS-deficient patients to lower plasma tHcy. With betaine therapy, methionine levels increase over baseline, but usually remain below 1,500 μmol/L, and these levels have not been associated with adverse affects. We report a child with B6-nonresponsive CBS deficiency and dietary noncompliance whose methionine levels reached 3,000 μmol/L on betaine, and who subsequently developed massive cerebral edema without evidence of thrombosis. We investigated the etiology by determining methionine and betaine metabolites in our patient, and several possible mechanisms for her unusual response to betaine are discussed. We conclude that the cerebral edema was most likely precipitated by the betaine therapy, although the exact mechanism is uncertain. This case cautions physicians to monitor methionine levels in CBS-deficient patients on betaine and to consider betaine as an adjunct, not an alternative, to dietary control. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Cowʼs Milk Protein–induced Eosinophilic Esophagitis in a Child With Gluten-sensitive Enteropathy

Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 2007

This paper is dedicated to the memory of our ATLAS colleagues who did not live to see the full im... more This paper is dedicated to the memory of our ATLAS colleagues who did not live to see the full impact and significance of their contributions to the experiment.

Physics Letters B, 2012

A search for diphoton events with large missing transverse momentum has been performed using prot... more A search for diphoton events with large missing transverse momentum has been performed using proton-proton collision data at √ s = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 fb −1 . No excess of events was observed above the Standard Model prediction and model-dependent 95 % confidence level exclusion limits are set. In the context of a generalised model of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking with a bino-like lightest neutralino of mass above 50 GeV, gluinos (squarks) below 1.07 TeV (0.87 TeV) are excluded, while a breaking scale Λ below 196 TeV is excluded for a minimal model of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking. For a specific model with one universal extra dimension, compactification scales 1/R < 1.40 TeV are excluded. These limits provide the most stringent tests of these models to date.

Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 2010

We examined how individuals may change their voices when speaking to attractive versus unattracti... more We examined how individuals may change their voices when speaking to attractive versus unattractive individuals, and if it were possible for others to perceive these vocal changes. In addition, we examined if any concurrent physiological effects occurred when speaking with individuals who varied in physical attractiveness. We found that both sexes used a lower-pitched voice and showed a higher level of physiological arousal when speaking to the more attractive, opposite-sex target. Furthermore, independent raters evaluated the voice samples directed toward the attractive target (versus the unattractive target) as sounding more pleasant when the two voice samples from the same person presented had a reasonably perceptually noticeable difference in pitch. These findings may have implications for the role voice plays in mate selection and attraction.

Vocabulary notebooks are frequently advocated as a way for students to take control of their voca... more Vocabulary notebooks are frequently advocated as a way for students to take control of their vocabulary learning , with the added benefit of improvements in vocabulary learning . The study described in this article attempts to lend empirical support to these claims, by investigating the effect of vocabulary notebooks on EFL students' vocabulary acquisition. Students in three lower intermediate EFL classes participated in the study. A vocabulary notebook program was implemented in one class over a 4-week period, with the remaining two classes acting as control groups, following the same curriculum with the same materials but without keeping vocabulary notebooks. Receptive and controlled productive vocabulary tests revealed significantly greater learning of the target words in the treatment group. In addition, students in the treatment group demonstrated a greater tendency to use the target words in free writing compositions. However, a positive impact on learner autonomy -as has been reported in previous studies ) -was not observed. These findings lead the authors to conclude that vocabulary notebooks can be an effective learning tool in EFL classrooms, but positive impacts on learner autonomy may not be seen in the absence of appropriate motivation for language learning.