Measurement of the top quark mass and pp̅ →tt̅ cross section in the all-hadronic mode with the CDF II detector

We present a measurement of the top quark mass and of the top-antitop pair production cross section using p-pbar data collected with the CDFII detector at the Tevatron Collider at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.9 fb-1. We select events with six or more jets satisfying a number of kinematical requirements imposed by means of a neural network algorithm. At least one of these jets must originate from a b quark, as identified by the reconstruction of a secondary vertex inside the jet. The mass measurement is based on a likelihood fit incorporating reconstructed mass distributions representative of signal and background, where the absolute jet energy scale (JES) is measured simultaneously with the top quark mass. The measurement yields a value of 174.8 +- 2.4(stat+JES) ^{+1.2}_{-1.0}(syst) GeV/c^2, where the uncertainty from the absolute jet energy scale is evaluated together with the statistical uncertainty. The procedure measures also the amount of signal from which we derive a cross section, sigma_{ttbar} = 7.2 +- 0.5(stat) +- 1.0 (syst) +- 0.4 (lum) pb, for the measured values of top quark mass and JES.

Search for the associated production of the standard-model Higgs boson in the all-hadronic channel

"We report on a search for the standard-model Higgs boson in pp collisions at s=1.96 TeV using an integrated luminosity of 2.0 fb(-1). We look for production of the Higgs boson decaying to a pair of bottom quarks in association with a vector boson V (W or Z) decaying to quarks, resulting in a four-jet final state. Two of the jets are required to have secondary vertices consistent with B-hadron decays. We set the first 95% confidence level upper limit on the VH production cross section with V(-> qq/qq('))H(-> bb) decay for Higgs boson masses of 100-150 GeV/c(2) using data from run II at the Fermilab Tevatron. For m(H)=120 GeV/c(2), we exclude cross sections larger than 38 times the standard-model prediction."

A split cassette attachment for recording all the reflections on the upper level Weissenberg photographs either as elongated or as contracted spots

A split-cassette arrangement has been incorporated in the Weissenberg camera for recording all reflections on the upper level photographs either as elongated or as contracted spots. This arrangement employs two semicylindrical cassettes which are separated by a horizontal plane. These half-cassettes are translated in opposite directions. A suitable split-cassette attachment has been constructed for the Unicam Weissenberg goniometer S-35 The subject of 'displaced-film' Weissenberg photograph is also discussed.

Design of rectangular reinforced concrete slabs supported on all the sides with a short discontinuous edge

Bending moment coefficients for the design of rectangular reinforced concrete panels supported on four sides with a short discontinuous edge are derived using the strip theory. The moment fields resulting from the use of proposed coefficients are examined in terms of the moment volume for possible savings in reinforcement and compared with other codified procedures. The strip coefficients averaged over the corresponding sides of the panel, besides resulting in considerable savings in reinforcement, are found to be identical with the coefficients predicted by simple yield line theory using an orthotropic layout of reinforcement.

Top quark mass measurement in the tt̅ all hadronic channel using a matrix element technique in pp̅ collisions at √s=1.96 TeV

We present a measurement of the top quark mass in the all-hadronic channel (\tt $\to$ \bb$q_{1}\bar{q_{2}}q_{3}\bar{q_{4}}$) using 943 pb$^{-1}$ of \ppbar collisions at $\sqrt {s} = 1.96$ TeV collected at the CDF II detector at Fermilab (CDF). We apply the standard model production and decay matrix-element (ME) to $\ttbar$ candidate events. We calculate per-event probability densities according to the ME calculation and construct template models of signal and background. The scale of the jet energy is calibrated using additional templates formed with the invariant mass of pairs of jets. These templates form an overall likelihood function that depends on the top quark mass and on the jet energy scale (JES). We estimate both by maximizing this function. Given 72 observed events, we measure a top quark mass of 171.1 $\pm$ 3.7 (stat.+JES) $\pm$ 2.1 (syst.) GeV/$c^{2}$. The combined uncertainty on the top quark mass is 4.3 GeV/$c^{2}$.

An inexpensive all glass sealed stirrer

An inexpensive all glass sealed stirrer may be constructed using a surgical syringe of about 10-ml capacity.

The Contested Terrain of Globalization: Review and Conceptual Clarifications for Management Studies

The concept of globalization has become a shorthand for making sense of contemporary society. It reflects large-scale economic and social change, which affects people differently and evokes different viewpoints. Globalization is thus a highly contested concept and phenomenon. Contradictory and competing views, in turn, seem to be based on different interpretations of the present dominant forms of globalization, and of the material, economic, social and cultural conditions that these forms produce and give rise to. We view globalization not only as a significant set of economic, financial, social, political and cultural forces but as a powerful and contested discursive space. In this article, we present an overview of recent literature to introduce different thematic perspectives on globalization, to specify different ideological and discursive bases to approach globalization, and to place multinational corporations (MNC:s) within this context. Our account is not exhaustive, rather, it is intended as a basis for further discussion on the nature and role of multinational corporations in complex ”global” society

Structural stability of slender aerospace vehicles: Part I Mathematical modeling

A detailed mechanics based model is developed to analyze the problem of structural instability in slender aerospace vehicles. Coupling among the rigid-body modes, the longitudinal vibrational modes and the transverse vibrational modes due to asymmetric lifting-body cross-section are considered. The model also incorporates the effects of aerodynamic pressure and the propulsive thrust of the vehicle. The model is one-dimensional, and it can be employed to idealized slender vehicles with complex shapes. Condition under which a flexible body with internal stress waves behaves like a perfect rigid body is derived. Two methods are developed for finite element discretization of the system: (1) A time-frequency Fourier spectral finite element method and (2) h-p finite element method. Numerical results using the above methods are presented in Part II of this paper. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Robust fixed order lateral H-2 controller for micro air vehicle

This paper presents a robust fixed order H-2 controller design using Strengthened discrete optimal projection equations, which approximate the first order necessary optimality condition. The novelty of this work is the application of the robust H-2 controller to a micro aerial vehicle named Sarika2 developed in house. The controller is designed in discrete domain for the lateral dynamics of Sarika2 in the presence of low frequency atmospheric turbulence (gust) and high frequency sensor noise. The design specification includes simultaneous stabilization, disturbance rejection and noise attenuation over the entire flight envelope of the vehicle. The resulting controller performance is comprehensively analyzed by means of simulation.

Multi power port converter for hybrid electric vehicles using multi phase bidirectional fly-back topology

For hybrid electric vehicles the batteries and the drive dc-link may be at different voltages. The batteries are at low voltage to obtain higher volumetric efficiencies and the dc-link is at higher voltage to have higher efficiency on the motor side. Therefore a power interface between the batteries and the drive's dc-link is essential. This power interface should handle power flow from battery to motor, motor to battery, external genset to battery and grid to battery. This paper proposes a multi power port topology which is capable of handling multiple power sources and still maintains simplicity and features like obtaining any gain, wide load variations, lower output current ripple and capability of parallel battery energy due to the modular structure. The development and testing of a bi-directional fly-back DC-DC converter for hybrid electric vehicle is described in this paper. Simple hysteresis voltage control is used for DC link voltage regulation. The experimental results are presented to show the working of the proposed converter.

Faster Algorithms for All-pairs Approximate Shortest Paths in Undirected Graphs

Let G - (V, E) be a weighted undirected graph having nonnegative edge weights. An estimate (delta) over cap (u, v) of the actual distance d( u, v) between u, v is an element of V is said to be of stretch t if and only if delta(u, v) <= (delta) over cap (u, v) <= t . delta(u, v). Computing all-pairs small stretch distances efficiently ( both in terms of time and space) is a well-studied problem in graph algorithms. We present a simple, novel, and generic scheme for all-pairs approximate shortest paths. Using this scheme and some new ideas and tools, we design faster algorithms for all-pairs t-stretch distances for a whole range of stretch t, and we also answer an open question posed by Thorup and Zwick in their seminal paper [J. ACM, 52 (2005), pp. 1-24].

ILS glideslope evaluation for imperfect terrain

Instrument landing systems (ILS) are normally designed assuming the site around them to be flat. Uneven terrain results in undulations in the glidescope. In recent years, models have been evolved for predicting such aberrations as a simpler alternative to experimental methods. Such modeling normally assumes the ground to be fully conducting. A method is presented for considering imperfect terrain conductivity within the framework of the uniform theory of diffraction (UTD). A single impedance wedge formulation is developed to a form that resembles the standard form of UTD, with only one extra term in the diffraction coefficient. This extends the applicability of the standard UTD formulation and software packages to the case of the imperfectly conducting terrain. The method has been applied to a real airport site in India and improved agreement with measured glidescope parameters is demonstrated

The superfluid as a source of all interactions

The superfluid state of fermion-antifermion fields developed in our previous papers is generalized to include higher orbital and spin states. In addition to single-particle excitations, the system is capable of having real and virtual bound or quasibound composite excitations which are akin to bosons of spinJ P equal to0 �, 1�, 2+, etc. These pseudoscalar, vector, and tensor bosons can be massive or massless and provide the vehicles for strong, electromagnetic, weak, and gravitational interactions. The concept that the basic (unmanifest) fermion-antifermion interaction can lead to a multiplicity of manifest interactions seems to provide a basis for a unified field theory.