Recent QCD results from the Tevatron

Recent QCD related results from the CDF and the D0 experiments are presented based on proton anti-proton collision data at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV, taken in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. Measured observables include inclusive photon and diphoton production, vector boson plus jets production, event shape variables, and inclusive multijet production. The measurement results are compared to QCD theory calculations in different approximations. A determination of the strong coupling constant from jet data is presented.Comment: 12 pages with 14 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the "Ringberg Workshop: New Trends in HERA Physics 2011", Ringberg Castle, Germany, 25-28 September, 201

The effects of mandatory home quarantine on mental health in a community sample during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective Major public and scientific interest exists on, whether quarantine as a containment measure, could have adverse effects on individual's mental health. We investigated psychic well-being and distress, symptoms of depression and anxiety among individuals imposed to home quarantine. Methods By total population sampling in a Finnish suburban city, a total of 57 quarantined cases (participation rate 97%) were identified and followed up for two weeks until expiration of the quarantine. A randomized control group (n = 53) was formed of people seeking laboratory testing for suspected Sars-CoV-2 infection. Primary outcome was the psychic well-being and distress experienced during quarantine measured by the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation - Outcome Measure (CORE-OM). The cases were followed up by the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-10 (CORE-10), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and by the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS). Results The median CORE-OM score for the cases was 3.53 (95% CI: 2.23-4.66), and for the controls 3.24 (1.76-3.82), being mostly in the nonclinical to mild range. The difference between the groups was statistically nonsignificant (p = .19). Higher levels of psychic distress were explained by previous psychiatric disorders and living alone, but not having been quarantined. In comparison to controls, the quarantined participants experienced significantly, but slightly lower level of life functioning. At the follow-up, the quarantined participants rated further low on the CORE-10 (median 2.00; 95% CI: 1.00-3.00), the PHQ-9 (1.50; 0.00-3.00), and the OASIS (0.00; 0.00-0.00). Conclusions The distress associated with short-term home quarantine may not be to the degree of a mental disorder.Peer reviewe

Top quark spin correlations at the Tevatron and the LHC

Spin correlations of top quarks produced in hadron collisions have not been observed experimentally with large significance. In this Letter, we propose a new variable that may enable demonstration of the existence of spin correlations with 3-4 sigma significance using just a few hundred dilepton events both at the Tevatron and the LHC. Such number of dilepton events has been observed at the Tevatron. At the LHC, it will become available once integrated luminosity of a few hundred inverse picobarns is collected.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; reference adde

Exome sequencing reveals candidate mutations implicated in sinonasal carcinoma and malignant transformation of sinonasal inverted papilloma

We explored somatic mutations in dysplastic sinonasal inverted papilloma (SNIP), SNIP with concomitant sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma (SNSCC), and SNSCC without preceding SNIP. Ten SNIP and SNSCC samples were analyzed with exome sequencing and tested for human papillomavirus. The identified mutations were compared to the most frequently mutated genes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in the COSMIC database. Exome sequencing data were also analyzed for mutations not previously linked to SNSCC. Seven of the most commonly mutated genes in HNSCC and SNSCC in COSMIC harbored mutations in our data. In addition, we identified mutations in 23 genes that are likely to contribute to SNIP and SNSCC oncogenesis.Peer reviewe

Sinonasal inverted papilloma - malignant transformation and non-sinonasal malignancies

Objectives To assess malignant transformation rate, non-sinonasal malignancies, and factors contributing to recurrence in patients treated for sinonasal inverted papilloma (SNIP). Study Design Retrospective study. Methods We retrospectively reviewed medical records of all patients treated for SNIP (n = 296) between the years 1984-2014 at Helsinki University Hospital. Data from the Finnish Cancer Registry confirmed the number of those patients with sinonasal and non-sinonasal malignancies. Results Only 2 of 296 (0.7%) patients primarily diagnosed with benign SNIP developed sinonasal cancer in a mean follow-up of 5.8 years. The most common non-sinonasal cancer sites were similar to those reported for the whole Finnish population. None of the patients presented with an HPV-associated non-sinonasal malignancy. The recurrence rate among patients who underwent attachment-oriented surgery was significantly lower compared to those operated on with other approaches (40.2% vs. 56.6%, p = 0.006). Dysplasia in SNIP was associated with a higher recurrence rate (p < 0.001). Conclusions Malignant transformation of SNIP was rare. Patients with SNIP were not prone to HPV-associated non-sinonasal malignancies. Endoscopic resection and attachment-oriented surgery have become predominant approaches in the treatment of SNIP; meanwhile, the total number of SNIP recurrences has decreased. Level of Evidence 3 Laryngoscope, 2022Peer reviewe

NLO QCD corrections to top quark pair production in association with one hard jet at hadron colliders

We compute the QCD corrections to the production of a top quark pair in association with one hard jet at the Tevatron and the LHC, using the method of generalized D-dimensional unitarity. Top quark decays are included at leading order in perturbative QCD. We present kinematic distributions of top quark decay products in lepton plus jets and dilepton final states at the Tevatron and the LHC, using realistic selection cuts. We confirm a strong reduction of the top quark forward-backward asymmetry for the process ttbar+jet at the Tevatron at next-to-leading order, first observed by Dittmaier, Uwer and Weinzierl. We argue that there is a natural way to understand this reduction and that it does not imply a breakdown of the perturbative expansion for the asymmetry.Comment: 29 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables, references updated, Tevatron plots correcte

aColor: Mechatronics, Machine Learning, and Communications in an Unmanned Surface Vehicle

The aim of this work is to offer an overview of the research questions, solutions, and challenges faced by the project aColor ("Autonomous and Collaborative Offshore Robotics"). This initiative incorporates three different research areas, namely, mechatronics, machine learning, and communications. It is implemented in an autonomous offshore multicomponent robotic system having an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) as its main subsystem. Our results across the three areas of work are systematically outlined in this paper by demonstrating the advantages and capabilities of the proposed system for different Guidance, Navigation, and Control missions, as well as for the high-speed and long-range bidirectional connectivity purposes across all autonomous subsystems. Challenges for the future are also identified by this study, thus offering an outline for the next steps of the aColor project.Comment: Paper was originally submitted to and presented in the 8th Transport Research Arena TRA 2020, April 27-30, 2020, Helsinki, Finlan

Role of needle surface waxes in dynamic exchange of mono- and sesquiterpenes

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) produced by plants have a major role in atmospheric chemistry. The different physicochemical properties of BVOCs affect their transport within and out of the plant as well as their reactions along the way. Some of these compounds may accumulate in or on the waxy surface layer of conifer needles and participate in chemical reactions on or near the foliage surface. The aim of this work was to determine whether terpenes, a key category of BVOCs produced by trees, can be found on the epicuticles of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and, if so, how they compare with the terpenes found in shoot emissions of the same tree. We measured shoot-level emissions of pine seedlings at a remote outdoor location in central Finland and subsequently analysed the needle surface waxes for the same compounds. Both emissions and wax extracts were clearly dominated by monoterpenes, but the proportion of sesquiterpenes was higher in the wax extracts. There were also differences in the terpene spectra of the emissions and the wax extracts. The results, therefore, support the existence of BVOC associated to the epicuticular waxes. We briefly discuss the different pathways for terpenes to reach the needle surfaces and the implications for air chemistry.Peer reviewe

34. Rakennuttajakoulutuksen tutkielmat

Julkaisu koostuu kolmestatoista 34. rakennuttajakoulutuksen tutkielmasta: (1) Markus Aaltonen: Suunnitelmien yhteensovittaminen tietomallia hyödyntävässä rakennushankkeessa (2) Tapani Heiskanen: Turvallisuuskoordinaattorin tehtävät (3) Tero Kanervo: Suunnittelun ohjaus allianssiurakassa (4) Seppo Lappalainen: Turvallisuuskoordinaattorin tehtävät - Rakennuttajakonsultti turvallisuuskoordinaattorina (5) Jyrki Latvala: Tietomallinnuksen hyödyntäminen työmaatoiminnassa (6) Juha Lehtonen: Arkkitehtitoimiston rakennuttamispalvelu - Palvelun kehittäminen erilliseksi liiketoiminnaksi (7) Reijo Markkanen: Rakennuttajan sivu-urakoiden alistamismenettelyn mahdollisuuksia ja kehitysehdotuksia rakennusprojektin hallinnassa (8) Janne Pietarinen: Laadunvarmistusmittaukset tietomallipohjaisessa väylärakentamisessa (9) Petri Pirttilahti: Turvallisuuskoordinaattorin työturvallisuustehtävät ja -vastuut (10) Anni Rouvinen: Asiakaslähtöinen hankekehitys ja suunnittelu (11) Pekka Saarnio: Rakennuttajan määrälaskenta: Vaatimukset LVIA -töiden määrälaskenta-asiakirjoille (12) Pekka Salla: Rakennuttajan kustannusarvioiden laadinta (13) Satu Salonsaari: Turvallisuuskoordinaattorin tehtävät kohteessa Fazer Suklaa O

Flavor Physics in an SO(10) Grand Unified Model

In supersymmetric grand-unified models, the lepton mixing matrix can possibly affect flavor-changing transitions in the quark sector. We present a detailed analysis of a model proposed by Chang, Masiero and Murayama, in which the near-maximal atmospheric neutrino mixing angle governs large new b -> s transitions. Relating the supersymmetric low-energy parameters to seven new parameters of this SO(10) GUT model, we perform a correlated study of several flavor-changing neutral current (FCNC) processes. We find the current bound on B(tau -> mu gamma) more constraining than B(B -> X_s gamma). The LEP limit on the lightest Higgs boson mass implies an important lower bound on tan beta, which in turn limits the size of the new FCNC transitions. Remarkably, the combined analysis does not rule out large effects in B_s-B_s-bar mixing and we can easily accomodate the large CP phase in the B_s-B_s-bar system which has recently been inferred from a global analysis of CDF and DO data. The model predicts a particle spectrum which is different from the popular Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (CMSSM). B(tau -> mu gamma) enforces heavy masses, typically above 1 TeV, for the sfermions of the degenerate first two generations. However, the ratio of the third-generation and first-generation sfermion masses is smaller than in the CMSSM and a (dominantly right-handed) stop with mass below 500 GeV is possible.Comment: 44 pages, 5 figures. Footnote and references added, minor changes, Fig. 2 corrected; journal versio