Calculation of radiation induced swelling of uranium mononitride using the digital computer program CYGRO 2

Fuel volume swelling and clad diametral creep strains were calculated for five fuel pins, clad with either T-111 (Ta-8W-2.4Hf) or PWC-11 (Nb-1Zr-0.1C). The fuel pins were irradiated to burnups between 2.7 and 4.6%. Clad temperatures were between 1750 and 2400 F (1228 and 1589 K). The maximum percentage difference between calculated and experimentally measured values of volumetric fuel swelling is 60%

Comparison of Models for Olfactometer Data

Olfactometer experiments are used to study the responses of arthropods to potential attractants, for purposes such as understanding natural defenses of plants against their herbivores. Such experiments typically lead to multivariate data consisting of small correlated counts, which are overdispersed relative to standard models. In this paper models that account for the overdispersion under different hypotheses on insect behavior are described and illustrated with an example, and a graphical approach to discriminating among them is briefly discussed. Supplementary files giving technical computations, data and code are available onlin

Would changing the selection process for GP trainees stem the workforce crisis? A cohort study using multiple-imputation and simulation

BACKGROUND: There is currently a shortage of qualified GPs in the UK and not all of the training posts available each year are filled. Changing the way in which GP trainees are selected could help increase the training post fill rate and the number of new entrants to the GP Register. The aim of this study was to model the impact of changing the selection process for GP training on the number of trainees obtaining GP Registration, either with or without extensions. METHOD: This was a cohort study using UK applications for GP training in 2011-14. Application data were linked using GMC numbers to training outcome data where available, and imputed using multiple imputation where missing. The number of trainees appointed and GP Registrations within three and five years' full-time-equivalent were estimated for four different selection processes. RESULTS: The cut scores used in the actual 2015 selection process makes it impossible to fill all training posts. Random selection is the worst option, but the difference between this and other processes modelled falls as more trainees are selected. There are large marginal effects on outcomes: those with the highest selection scores are more likely to obtain GP Registration than those with the lowest scores. CONCLUSIONS: Changing the selection process alone would have a small impact on the number of GP Registrations; reducing/removing cut scores would have a much larger impact. This would also increase the number of trainees requiring extensions and being released from training which would have adverse consequences for the profession

Spectroscopy and Strong Decays of Charmed Baryons

Spectroscopy and strong decays of the charmed baryons are reviewed. Possible spin-parity quantum numbers of several newly observed charmed baryon resonances are discussed. Strong decays of charmed baryons are analyzed in the framework of heavy hadron chiral perturbation theory in which heavy quark symmetry and chiral symmetry are synthesized.Comment: 7 pages, to be published in the proceedings of CHARM07, Ithaca, NY, August 2007, eConf C07080

Nominal and local stress quantities to design aluminium-to-steel thin welded joints against fatigue

Welding aluminium to steel to make mechanical joints is possible, but there is, to date, no accepted method for performing the fatigue assessment of such hybrid connections. In this context, the present investigation aims at checking the accuracy of nominal stresses, effective notch stresses, notch-stress intensity factors, and the Modified Wöhler Curve method (applied in conjunction with the Theory of Critical Distances) in estimating fatigue lifetime of butt, cruciform, lap and tee aluminium-to-steel thin welded joints. EWM coldArc® welding technology was used to manufacture the welded specimens that were used for this validation exercise. The samples being tested in the structural laboratory of the University of Sheffield, UK, were manufactured by using AA1050 aluminium and EN10130:1991 steel with main plates thicknesses of 1 mm or 2 mm. The results from this experimental/theoretical investigation demonstrate that all the design methodologies being investigated can be used to perform the fatigue assessment of aluminium-to-steel thin welded joints provided that suitable reference/calibration fatigue curves are used. In the present paper, some quantitative recommendations are given for use in situations of practical interest of the design techniques being considered

Jet substructure as a new Higgs search channel at the LHC

It is widely considered that, for Higgs boson searches at the Large Hadron Collider, WH and ZH production where the Higgs boson decays to b anti-b are poor search channels due to large backgrounds. We show that at high transverse momenta, employing state-of-the-art jet reconstruction and decomposition techniques, these processes can be recovered as promising search channels for the standard model Higgs boson around 120 GeV in mass.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Semi-parametric modelling of trend in extremes

Assessment of trend has been a topic of major interest in extreme value analysis in recent years. Much of the previous work has focused on using parametric techniques to model trend in extremes. The parametric approach, however, is often not flexible enough for exploratory modelling. In this paper, we discuss and illustrate a semi-parametric method which can be used as an exploratory tool to draw more information about the extremes and to model trend in extremes. Our approach is based on local likelihood fitting of generalized extreme value distribution and related models. It aims to capture the pattern of trend by fitting locally weighted polynomials to the model parameters. We illustrate the application of this methodology in a study investigating changes in extreme temperatures in central England. Bootstrap methods are used to provide a measure of the variability of the fitted quantities