The Modified Weighted Slab Technique: Models and Results

In an attempt to understand the source and propagation of galactic cosmic rays we have employed the Modified Weighted Slab technique along with recent values of the relevant cross sections to compute primary to secondary ratios including B/C and Sub-Fe/Fe for different galactic propagation models. The models that we have considered are the disk-halo diffusion model, the dynamical halo wind model, the turbulent diffusion model and a model with minimal reacceleration. The modified weighted slab technique will be briefly discussed and a more detailed description of the models will be given. We will also discuss the impact that the various models have on the problem of anisotropy at high energy and discuss what properties of a particular model bear on this issue.Comment: LaTeX - AASTEX format, Submitted to ApJ, 8 figures, 20 page

Reconstructing particle masses from pairs of decay chains

A method is proposed for determining the masses of the new particles N,X,Y,Z in collider events containing a pair of effectively identical decay chains Z to Y+jet, Y to X+l_1, X to N+l_2, where l_1, l_2 are opposite-sign same-flavour charged leptons and N is invisible. By first determining the upper edge of the dilepton invariant mass spectrum, we reduce the problem to a curve for each event in the 3-dimensional space of mass-squared differences. The region through which most curves pass then determines the unknown masses. A statistical approach is applied to take account of mismeasurement of jet and missing momenta. The method is easily visualized and rather robust against combinatorial ambiguities and finite detector resolution. It can be successful even for small event samples, since it makes full use of the kinematical information from every event.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Examining the Personal and Institutional Determinants of Research Productivity in Hospitality and Tourism Management

The transition toward a post-capitalist knowledge-oriented economy has resulted in an increasingly competitive academic environment, where the success of faculty is dependent on their research productivity. This study examines the personal and institutional determinants of the quantity and quality of the research productivity of hospitality and tourism management faculty in US institutions. A survey of 98 faculty found that a different set of determinants impact the quantity and quality aspects of research productivity. Also, institutional determinants were found to play a larger role, indicating the need for administrators to strive for a culture that is supportive of and an infrastructure that is conducive to their faculty’s research success. The authors use the field of hospitality and tourism management as a case study to develop a holistic and cohesive framework for knowledge worker productivity that can guide the evaluation, hiring, and development of researchers

Herwig++ 2.0 Release Note

A new release of the Monte Carlo program Herwig++ (version 2.0) is now available. This is the first version of the program which can be used for hadron-hadron physics and includes the full simulation of both initial- and final-state QCD radiation.Comment: Source code and additional information available at http://hepforge.cedar.ac.uk/herwig

The Origin of Galactic Cosmic Rays

Motivated by recent measurements of the major components of the cosmic radiation around 10 TeV/nucleon and above, we discuss the phenomenology of a model in which there are two distinct kinds of cosmic ray accelerators in the galaxy. Comparison of the spectra of hydrogen and helium up to 100 TeV per nucleon suggests that these two elements do not have the same spectrum of magnetic rigidity over this entire region and that these two dominant elements therefore receive contributions from different sources.Comment: To be published in Physical Review D, 13 pages, with 3 figures, uuencode

Space, Time and Color in Hadron Production Via e+e- -> Z0 and e+e- -> W+W-

The time-evolution of jets in hadronic e+e- events at LEP is investigated in both position- and momentum-space, with emphasis on effects due to color flow and particle correlations. We address dynamical aspects of the four simultanously-evolving, cross-talking parton cascades that appear in the reaction e+e- -> gamma/Z0 -> W+W- -> q1 q~2 q3 q~4, and compare with the familiar two-parton cascades in e+e- -> Z0 -> q1 q~2. We use a QCD statistical transport approach, in which the multiparticle final state is treated as an evolving mixture of partons and hadrons, whose proportions are controlled by their local space-time geography via standard perturbative QCD parton shower evolution and a phenomenological model for non-perturbative parton-cluster formation followed by cluster decays into hadrons. Our numerical simulations exhibit a characteristic `inside-outside' evolution simultanously in position and momentum space. We compare three different model treatments of color flow, and find large effects due to cluster formation by the combination of partons from different W parents. In particular, we find in our preferred model a shift of several hundred MeV in the apparent mass of the W, which is considerably larger than in previous model calculations. This suggests that the determination of the W mass at LEP2 may turn out to be a sensitive probe of spatial correlations and hadronization dynamics.Comment: 52 pages, latex, 18 figures as uu-encoded postscript fil

Printing in a Pandemic: 3D printing solutions for healthcare during COVID-19. A Protocol for a PRISMA systematic review

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented global socioeconomic impact. Responses to pandemics include strategies to accumulate vast stockpiles of vital medical equipment. In such times of desperation, 3D-printing could be a life-saving alternative. / Methods: We undertook a PRISMA systematic review of 3D printing solutions in response to COVID-19 utilising the PICO methodology. The objectives were to identify the uses of 3D printing during the COVID-19 pandemic, determine the extent of preclinical testing, comparison to commercial alternatives, presence of regulatory approvals and replicability regarding the description of the printing parameters and the availability of the print file. / Results: Literature searches of MEDLINE (OVID interface)/ PubMed identified 601 studies. Of these, 10 studies fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Reported uses of 3D printing included personal protective equipment (PPE), nasopharyngeal swabs and adjunctive anaesthetic equipment. Few studies undertook formal safety and efficacy testing before clinical use with only one study comparing to the commercial equivalent. Six articles made their model print files available for wider use. / Conclusion: We describe a protocol for a systematic review of 3D-printed healthcare solutions in response to COVID-19. This remains a viable method of producing vital healthcare equipment when supply chains are exhausted. We hope that this will serve as a summary of innovative 3D-printed solutions during the peak of the pandemic and also highlight concerns and omissions regarding safety and efficacy testing that should be addressed urgently in preparation for a subsequent resurgences and future pandemics