Weighing wimps with kinks at colliders: invisible particle mass measurements from endpoints

We consider the application of endpoint techniques to the problem of mass determination for new particles produced at a hadron collider, where these particles decay to an invisible particle of unknown mass and one or more visible particles of known mass. We also consider decays of these types for pair-produced particles and in each case consider situations both with and without initial state radiation. We prove that, in most (but not all) cases, the endpoint of an appropriate transverse mass observable, considered as a function of the unknown mass of the invisible particle, has a kink at the true value of the invisible particle mass. The co-ordinates of the kink yield the masses of the decaying particle and the invisible particle. We discuss the prospects for implementing this method at the LHC

Concentrator cell methodology in the regeneration and recycle of chromium etching solutions using membrane technology

The regeneration of chromium (VI) and the recovery of etched copper from chromium etching solutions by electrodialysis is improved by the addition of a concentrator cell, using ion exchange resins or activated carbon cloth as concentrator media, in the catholyte chamber. The maximum percentages for the regeneration of chromium and recovery of copper in these systems is however less than 80 and 90% respectively because of the competition between the processes of oxidation of Cr(III) and electrodeposition of copper. A novel combination of electrolysis with electrodialysis and concentrator cell technology is developed that achieves 92.1% chromium regeneration and 90.4% copper recovery.EPSRC/DTI through the Link WMR03 programme and to Fluid Dynamics International Ltd. for financial support

Transverse masses and kinematic constraints: from the boundary to the crease

We re-examine the kinematic variable m_T2 and its relatives in the light of recent work by Cheng and Han. Their proof that m_T2 admits an equivalent, but implicit, definition as the `boundary of the region of parent and daughter masses that is kinematically consistent with the event hypothesis' is far-reaching in its consequences. We generalize their result both to simpler cases (m_T, the transverse mass) and to more complex cases (m_TGen). We further note that it is possible to re-cast many existing and unpleasant proofs (e.g. those relating to the existence or properties of "kink" and "crease" structures in m_T2) into almost trivial forms by using the alternative definition. Not only does this allow us to gain better understanding of those existing results, but it also allows us to write down new (and more or less explicit) definitions of (a) the variable that naturally generalizes m_T2 to the case in which the parent or daughter particles are not identical, and (b) the inverses of m_T and m_T2 -- which may be useful if daughter masses are known and bounds on parent masses are required. We note the implications that these results may have for future matrix-element likelihood techniques

Burglary project

This report outlines the process and findings from an innovative project for students. This work was part of the curriculum and involved students working with West Yorkshire Police as part of the safer Leeds project in designing and making a film for students n crime prevention and personal safety in Leed

Impact of use of optical surface imaging on initial patient setup for stereotactic body radiotherapy treatments

Purpose To evaluate the effectiveness of surface image guidance (SG) for pre‐imaging setup of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) patients, and to investigate the impact of SG reference surface selection on this process. Methods and materials 284 SBRT fractions (SG‐SBRT = 113, non‐SG‐SBRT = 171) were retrospectively evaluated. Differences between initial (pre‐imaging) and treatment couch positions were extracted from the record‐and‐verify system and compared for the two groups. Rotational setup discrepancies were also computed. The utility of orthogonal kVs in reducing CBCT shifts in the SG‐SBRT/non‐SG‐SBRT groups was also calculated. Additionally, the number of CBCTs acquired for setup was recorded and the average for each cohort was compared. These data served to evaluate the effectiveness of surface imaging in pre‐imaging patient positioning and its potential impact on the necessity of including orthogonal kVs for setup. Since reference surface selection can affect SG setup, daily surface reproducibility was estimated by comparing camera‐acquired surface references (VRT surface) at each fraction to the external surface of the planning CT (DICOM surface) and to the VRT surface from the previous fraction. Results The reduction in all initial‐to‐treatment translation/rotation differences when using SG‐SBRT was statistically significant (Rank‐Sum test, α = 0.05). Orthogonal kV imaging kept CBCT shifts below reimaging thresholds in 19%/51% of fractions for SG‐SBRT/non‐SG‐SBRT cohorts. Differences in average number of CBCTs acquired were not statistically significant. The reference surface study found no statistically significant differences between the use of DICOM or VRT surfaces. Conclusions SG‐SBRT improved pre‐imaging treatment setup compared to in‐room laser localization alone. It decreased the necessity of orthogonal kV imaging prior to CBCT but did not affect the average number of CBCTs acquired for setup. The selection of reference surface did not have a significant impact on initial patient positioning

Room reflections and constancy in speech-like sounds: within-band effects

The experiment asks whether constancy in hearing precedes or follows grouping. Listeners heard speech-like sounds comprising 8 auditory-filter shaped noise-bands that had temporal envelopes corresponding to those arising in these filters when a speech message is played. The „context‟ words in the message were “next you‟ll get _to click on”, into which a “sir” or “stir” test word was inserted. These test words were from an 11-step continuum that was formed by amplitude modulation. Listeners identified the test words appropriately and quite consistently, even though they had the „robotic‟ quality typical of this type of 8-band speech. The speech-like effects of these sounds appears to be a consequence of auditory grouping. Constancy was assessed by comparing the influence of room reflections on the test word across conditions where the context had either the same level of reflections, or where it had a much lower level. Constancy effects were obtained with these 8-band sounds, but only in „matched‟ conditions, where the room reflections were in the same bands in both the context and the test word. This was not the case in a comparison „mismatched‟ condition, and here, no constancy effects were found. It would appear that this type of constancy in hearing precedes the across-channel grouping whose effects are so apparent in these sounds. This result is discussed in terms of the ubiquity of grouping across different levels of representation

Professional judgement and decision-making in social work

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Journal of Social Work Practice on 3/04/2018, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/02650533.2018.1462780 Editorial for a special issue on Professional Judgement and Decision Making in Social Wor