Search for Standard Model Higgs boson in the two-photon final state in ATLAS

We report on the search for the Standard Model Higgs boson decaying into two photons based on proton-proton collision data with a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The dataset has an integrated luminosity of about 1.08 fb-1. The expected cross section exclusion at 95% confidence level varies between 2.0 and 5.8 times the Standard Model cross section over the diphoton mass range 110 - 150 GeV. The maximum deviations from the background-only expectation are consistent with statistical fluctuations.Comment: Presented at the 2011 Hadron Collider Physics symposium (HCP-2011), Paris, France, November 14-18 2011, 3 pages, 4 figure

A limnological assessment of Russell Pond, Woodstock, New Hampshire

A limnological survey was conducted during 17-18 September, 1998 to characterize the trophic state of Russell Pond, a 15.8 Ha natural Lake located in Woodstock, Grafton County, New Hampshire. Physical, biological and chemical parameters were measured to assess the health of the lake and changes from previous studies. Russell Pond is oligotrophic with high Secchi disk depths (13.8 m), low phosphorus levels (3.8 µg L1) and low Chlorophyll a concentration (0.5 µg L-1). Peridinium (Dinophyceae) dominated (64%) the net phytoplankton. Calanoid copepods (Diaptomidae) constituted 87.5% of the crustacean zooplankton. The lake is at risk for acidification because of low acid neutralizing capacity (1.2 mg CaCO3 L-1) and low pH (5.6) in the deep water. Russell Pond has exceptionally high water clarity due to the low phytoplankton density and low water color (6.9 CPU). Water quality of the lake has been stable over the past few years. Compared to data from four other New Hampshire lakes, Russell Pond is the most oligotrophic of the lakes, followed by Pleasant Lake and Stonehouse Pond. Great Pond and Townhouse Pond were the most mesotrophic of the lakes

Simultaneous expression of CD4 and CD8 antigens by a substantial proportion of resting porcine T lymphocytes

The existence of four subpopulations in resting porcine T lymphocytes is documented. In addition to the two known subpopulations which are typified by a mutually exclusive expression of either the CD8 or the CD4 differentiation antigen, CD4-CD8+ and CD4+CD8- T lymphocytes, respectively, two unusual subpopulations were prominent not only in peripheral blood, but also in lymphoid tissues: CD4-CD8- T lymphocytes expressing neither of these antigens and CD4+CD8+ T lymphocytes coexpressing both antigens. While CD4+CD8+ lymphoblasts have been found also in other species, resting T lymphocytes with that phenotype are without precedent among all species analyzed to date. This unique composition of the porcine T lymphocyte population has to be taken into consideration when the swine is used as a large animal model in experimental medicine

Study of the microstructure resulting from brazed aluminium materials used in heat exchangers

Re-solidification of AA4343 cladding after brazing as well as the related precipitation in the modified AA3003 core material have been investigated. Analysis of the re-solidified material showed that partial dissolution of the core alloy occurs in both the brazing joints and away of them. Far from the brazing joints, the dissolution is, however, limited and diffusion of silicon from the liquid into the core material leads to solid-state precipitation in the so-called “band of dense precipitates” (BDP). On the contrary, the dissolution is enhanced in the brazing joint to such an extent that no BDP could be observed. The intermetallic phases present in the resolidified areas as well as in the core material have been analyzed and found to be mainly cubic alpha-Al(Mn,Fe)Si. These results were then compared to predictions made with available phase diagram information

Multiperiodicity in the large-amplitude rapidly-rotating β\beta Ceph ei star HD 203664

We perform a seismic study of the young massive $\beta$Cephei star HD 203664 with the goal to constrain its interior structure. Our study is based on a time series of 328 new Geneva 7-colour photometric data of the star spread over 496.8 days. The data confirm the frequency of the dominant mode of the star which we refine to $f_1=6.02885$c d$^{-1}$. The mode has a large amplitude of 37 mmag in V and is unambiguously identified as a dipole mode ($\ell=2$) from its amplitude ratios and non-adiabatic computations. Besides $f_1$, we discover two additional new frequencies in the star with amplitudes above $4\sigma$: $f_2=6.82902$c d$^{-1}$ and $f_3=4.81543$c d$^{-1}$ or one of their daily aliases. The amplitudes of these two modes are only between 3 and 4 mmag which explains why they were not detected before. Their amplitude ratios are too uncertain for mode identification. We show that the observed oscillation spectrum of HD 203664 is compatible with standard stellar models but that we have insufficient information for asteroseismic inferences. Among the large-amplitude $\beta$Cephei stars, HD 203664 stands out as the only one rotating at a significant fraction of its critical rotation velocity ($\sim 40$).Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&A (Astronomy & Astrophysics

Development of a high strength Al-Mg2Si-Mg-Zn based alloy for high pressure die casting

A high strength Al-Mg2Si-Mg-Zn based alloy has been developed for the application in high pressure die casting to provide improved mechanical properties. The effect of various alloying elements on the microstructure and mechanical properties including yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the alloy was investigated under the as-cast and heat-treated conditions. The typical composition of the high strength alloy has been optimised to be Al-8.0wt%Mg2Si-6.0wt%Mg-3.5wt%Zn-0.6wt%Mn (Al-11.0wt%Mg-2.9wt%Si-3.5wt%Zn-0.6wt%Mn) with unavoidable trace impurities. The mechanical properties of the alloy were enhanced by a quick solution treatment followed by ageing treatment. The improved tensile properties were at a level of yield strength over 300MPa, the ultimate tensile strength over 420MPa and the elongation over 3% assessed using international standard tensile samples made by high pressure die casting. The microstructure of the die-cast alloy consisted of the primary α-Al phase, Al-Mg2Si eutectics, AlMgZn intermetallics and α-AlFeMnSi intermetallics under the as-cast condition. The AlMgZn intermetallic compound was dissolved into the Al-matrix during solution treatment and subsequently precipitated during ageing treatment for providing the effective improvement of the mechanical properties.The financial support is gratefully acknowledged for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (Project number: EP/I038616/1), Technology Strategy Board (TSB) (Project number: 101172) and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), United Kingdom