Evidence for the Decay Σ+→pμ+μ-

We report the first evidence for the decay Σ+→pμ+μ- from data taken by the HyperCP (E871) experiment at Fermilab. Based on three observed events, the branching ratio is B(Σ+→pμ+μ-)=[8.6-5.4+6.6(stat)±5.5(syst)]×10-8. The narrow range of dimuon masses may indicate that the decay proceeds via a neutral intermediate state, Σ+→pP0,P0→μ+μ- with a P0 mass of 214.3±0.5  MeV/c2 and branching ratio B(Σ+→pP0,P0→μ+μ-)=[3.1-1.9+2.4(stat)±1.5(syst)]×10-8

Improving organizational learning through leadership training

Purpose: Managers play a crucial role in providing opportunities to employees for learning. Although scholars have called for intervention research on the effects of leadership development on organizational learning, no such research is currently available. This paper evaluates whether training of managers at workplaces can improve organizational learning. Methodology: The training program consisted of theoretical and practical elements aimed to improve line managers’ transformational leadership behaviors and, in turn, improve organizational learning. The study used a pre- and post-intervention evaluation survey. Line managers’ and their subordinates' perceptions of organizational learning were measured with the Dimensions of Organizational Learning Questionnaire and with post-intervention single items on organizational learning. Findings: Comparisons between pre-and post-intervention assessments revealed that managers’ ratings of Continuous Learning and employees' ratings of Empowerment and Embedded Systems improved significantly as a result of the training. The leadership training intervention had positive effects on managers' perceptions of individual-level and on employees' perceptions of organizational-level aspects of organizational learning. Originality/value: The study provides empirical evidence that organizational learning can be improved through leadership training. Both line managers and their subordinates perceived that organizational learning had increased after the training intervention, albeit in different ways. Implications for developing leadership training programs and for evaluating these are discussed

But Is It Myopia? Risk Aversion and the Efficiency of Stock-Based Managerial Incentives

This paper points out that stock incentives do not lead to myopia unless they result in more emphasis on the short-term than would occur under an optimal contract. It shows that myopia findings relative to the standard used throughout the literature (first-best efficiency) are often reversed when evaluated relative to the relevant standard of optimal contracting. Results reported by the previous literature to be myopia often in fact have excessive emphasis on the long-term. The paper solves in closed-form for the region in parameter space which gives rise to these reversals and shows that it can be arbitrarily largehttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49369/5/2008Jan16JCarmel.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49369/1/Visiting-Carmel.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49369/4/Visiting-Carmel.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49369/7/1108_2008Jan16JCarmel.pd

ECCC TEST PROGRAMME AND DATA ASSESSMENT ON GTD111 CREEP RUPTURE, STRAIN AND DUCTILITY

GTD111, a creep resistant Ni-based superalloy developed by GE, is widely used in land-based gas turbine first stage blades. However, there is little published information on its creep properties and microstructure. The European Creep Collaborative Committee (ECCC) Working Group 3C consequently selected GTD111 as a model material for testing and complementary data assessment. The aim of this paper is to present the results from the ECCC test program and data assessment, and to compare equiaxed (EA) and directionally solidified (DS) material performance. Testing and metallographic laboratories from six European nations collaborated to produce strain monitored creep rupture data on four EA and DS materials out to beyond 10,000 hours within a wide range of temperatures, 850-950°C, and stresses, 293-99 MPa. Available (generally short term) results from other sources were also included in the compiled, small but viable, 51-test data set. Assessment was carried out by three different assessors using different tools and adopting different prediction models. Conventional ECCC post-assessment techniques and novel “back-fitting” methods were used to identify a preferred model. It was shown that assessing all the EA and DS data together can lead to non-conservative predictions for EA materials, but separating the two classes creates small data subsets which cannot be modelled effectively. As a pragmatic compromise, the DS data and those EA data which also showed good ductility were included in a final "ductile GTD111" assessment. The resulting creep rupture material models and rupture strength predictions are presented up to 3 times the longest test duration. It was then shown that the performance of lower ductility EA materials can also be predicted effectively with the "ductile" model by truncating the rupture time at the measured fracture strain. For this exercise, a creep strain model based on rupture and time to strain data was fitted. In parallel, microstructural examination was performed to characterize the damage modes involved in the low ductility failures. It was thereby shown that the creep rupture strength shortfall of an EA material compared to its DS equivalent is not a constant factor, but is primarily governed by the reduced creep ductility. Hence, the shortfall varies between different EA casts, and tends to become greater in the longer term.JRC.F.4-Innovative Technologies for Nuclear Reactor Safet

THE RESULTS OF PANCREATIC RESECTIONS AND LONG- TERM SURVIVAL FOR PANCREATIC DUCTAL ADENOCARCINOMA : A SINGLE-INSTITUTION EXPERIENCE

Objectives: Since the early 1990s, low long-term survival rates following pancreatic surgery for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma have challenged us to improve treatment. In this series, we aim to show improved survival from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma during the era of centralized pancreatic surgery. Methods: Analysis of all pancreatic resections performed at Helsinki University Hospital and survival of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients during 2000-2013 were included. Post-operative complications such as fistulas, reoperations, and mortality rates were recorded. Patient and tumor characteristics were compared with survival data. Results: Of the 853 patients undergoing pancreatic surgery, 581 (68%) were pancreaticoduodenectomies, 195 (21%) distal resections, 28 (3%) total pancreatectomies, and 49 (6%) other procedures. Mortality after pancreaticoduodenectomy was 2.1%. The clinically relevant B/C fistula rate was 7% after pancreaticoduodenectomy and 13% after distal resection, and the re-operation rate was 5%. The 5- and 10-year survival rates for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma were 22% and 14%; for T1-2, N0 and R0 tumors, the corresponding survival rates were 49% and 31%. Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 >75 kU/L, carcinoembryonic antigen >5 mu g/L, N1, lymph-node ratio >20%, R1, and lack of adjuvant therapy were independent risk factors for decreased survival. Conclusion: After centralization of pancreatic surgery in southern Finland, we have managed to enable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients to survive markedly longer than in the early 1990s. Based on a 1.7-million population in our clinic, mortality rates are equal to those of other high-volume centers and long-term survival rates for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma have now risen to some of the highest reported.Peer reviewe

Search for the Lepton-Number-Violating Decay Ξ−→pμ−μ−\Xi^- \to p \mu^- \mu^-

A sensitive search for the lepton-number-violating decay $\Xi^-\to p \mu^-\mu^-$ has been performed using a sample of $\sim10^9$ $\Xi^-$ hyperons produced in 800 GeV/$c$ $p$-Cu collisions. We obtain $\mathcal{B}(\Xi^-\to p \mu^-\mu^-)< 4.0\times 10^{-8}$ at 90% confidence, improving on the best previous limit by four orders of magnitude.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let