Properties of Heavy B Hadrons

We review recent measurements of heavy B hadron states including masses and lifetimes of the Bc meson as well as excited B states (B**, Bs**). We discuss properties of the Bs meson such as lifetime, lifetime difference delta_Gamma/Gamma and CP violation in Bs -> J/Psi Phi decays. We also summarize new measurements of the masses and lifetimes of bottom baryons including the Lambda_b baryon, the Sigma_b baryon states as well as the Xi_b and Omega_b baryons.Comment: Plenary talk at ICHEP08, Philadelphia, USA, July 2008. 15 pages with 10 figures and 1 table. Fixed typo

Going-Concern Opinions: Broadening the Expectations Gap

A rash of high-profile bankruptcies has led to a search for answers. Many hold auditors responsible for not detecting the potential for bankruptcy during the most recent audit. The Weiss Report, a study of several dozen bankrupt companies submitted to the U.S. Senate during its deliberations on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, found a broad and massive failure on the part of auditors to raise yellow flags that indicate potential bankruptcy. The authors examined Weiss\u27 methodology and found that, applied to a broader group of companies, Weiss\u27 criteria would have incorrectly predicted bankruptcy for nearly half of the non-bankrupt companies studied. This failure to accurately predict undermines the credibility of the subsequently enacted legislation

Innovation through Collaboration

Short Abstract: The educational paradigm of Innovation through Collaboration is the theory and practice of educating students from multiple disciplines in the launching of new innovations into the market. Full Abstract: The educational paradigm of Innovation through Collaboration is the theory and practice of educating students from multiple disciplines in the launching of new innovations into the market place. We will discuss the curricula, our industrial partnerships, and the scholarship used to educate students to identify, develop, and capitalize on high-potential business opportunities. These concepts will serve as the foundation to academically bond Bradley’s colleges, particularly business and engineering, to build programs that move innovation education along the spectrum of discovery to implementation, and to prepare students to become industry leaders

Hydraulic flow through a channel contraction: multiple steady states

We have investigated shallow water flows through a channel with a contraction by experimental and theoretical means. The horizontal channel consists of a sluice gate and an upstream channel of constant width $b_0$ ending in a linear contraction of minimum width $b_c$. Experimentally, we observe upstream steady and moving bores/shocks, and oblique waves in the contraction, as single and multiple steady states, as well as a steady reservoir with a complex hydraulic jump in the contraction occurring in a small section of the $b_c/b_0$ and Froude number parameter plane. One-dimensional hydraulic theory provides a comprehensive leading-order approximation, in which a turbulent frictional parametrization is used to achieve quantitative agreement. An analytical and numerical analysis is given for two-dimensional supercritical shallow water flows. It shows that the one-dimensional hydraulic analysis for inviscid flows away from hydraulic jumps holds surprisingly well, even though the two-dimensional oblique hydraulic jump patterns can show large variations across the contraction channel

Emergence and Adult Biology of \u3ci\u3eAgrilus Difficilis\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), a Pest of Honeylocust, \u3ci\u3eGleditsia Triacanthos\u3c/i\u3e

Emergence and adult biology of Agrilus difficilis were examined in relation to its host Gleditsia triacanthos. began as early as 5 June in 1982 and completed as late as 22 July in 1983. Females lived significantly longer, 48 days, than males, 29 days. Average fecundity was one egg per day during a 36-day oviposition period

Evaluation of a Method for Remote Detection of Fuel Relocation Outside the Original Core Volumes of Fukushima Reactor Units 1-3

This paper presents the results of a study to evaluate the feasibility of remotely detecting and quantifying fuel relocation from the core to the lower head, and to regions outside the reactor vessel primary containment of the Fukushima 1-3 reactors. The goals of this study were to determine measurement conditions and requirements, and to perform initial radiation transport sensitivity analyses for several potential measurement locations inside the reactor building. The radiation transport sensitivity analyses were performed based on reactor design information for boiling water reactors (BWRs) similar to the Fukushima reactors, ORIGEN2 analyses of 3-cycle BWR fuel inventories, and data on previously molten fuel characteristics from TMI- 2. A 100 kg mass of previously molten fuel material located on the lower head of the reactor vessel was chosen as a fuel interrogation sensitivity target. Two measurement locations were chosen for the transport analyses, one inside the drywell and one outside the concrete biological shield surrounding the drywell. Results of these initial radiation transport analyses indicate that the 100 kg of previously molten fuel material may be detectable at the measurement location inside the drywell, but that it is highly unlikely that any amount of fuel material inside the RPV will be detectable from a location outside the concrete biological shield surrounding the drywell. Three additional fuel relocation scenarios were also analyzed to assess detection sensitivity for varying amount of relocated material in the lower head of the reactor vessel, in the control rods perpendicular to the detector system, and on the lower head of the drywell. Results of these analyses along with an assessment of background radiation effects and a discussion of measurement issues, such as the detector/collimator design, are included in the paper

Accountants as Change Agents

The results of a field study of 48 manufacturing firms illustrates the change issues that accountants should consider when implementing changes within an organization. The primary purposes of the field study were to determine: 1. the product costing method being used for external reporting purposes, 2. the product costing method being used for internal financial reporting and budgeting, and 3. reasons for the methods used internally. The results indicate that most of the chief financial officers and controllers of the participating firms have not implemented the prescription that organizations should use variable costing for internal purposes. The accountants of those firms that were successful in implementing variable costing were able to do so because they recognized that successful change requires both human relations skills and technical expertise