Scrap Reduction at EFD

This project, sponsored by Electron Fusion Devices, seeks to provide the groundwork and recommendations for reducing costs resulted from wastes produced within the Injection Molding Department. Extensive background research on both Lean and Six Sigma ideals was first conducted. An analysis of their current scrap tracking tools and processes led to a focus on overall scrap reduction and made a pilot study necessary. We designed a new set of scrap tracking sheets and procedures for data collection and analysis, and recommended future steps for the company\u27s endeavor in reducing scraps

Intrauterine growth-restricted sheep fetuses exhibit smaller hindlimb muscle fibers and lower proportions of insulin-sensitive Type I fibers near term

Intrauterine growthrestricted sheep fetuses exhibit smaller hindlimb muscle fibers and lower proportions of insulin-sensitive Type I fibers near term. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 310: R1020–R1029, 2016. First published April 6, 2016; doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00528.2015.—Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) reduces muscle mass and insulin sensitivity in offspring. Insulin sensitivity varies among muscle fiber types, with Type I fibers being most sensitive. Differences in fibertype ratios are associated with insulin resistance in adults, and thus we hypothesized that near-term IUGR sheep fetuses exhibit reduced size and proportions of Type I fibers. Placental insufficiency-induced IUGR fetuses were 54% smaller (P \u3c 0.05) than controls and exhibited hypoxemia and hypoglycemia, which contributed to 6.9- fold greater (P \u3c 0.05) plasma norepinephrine and 53% lower (P \u3c 0.05) plasma insulin concentrations. IUGR semitendinosus muscles contained less (P \u3c 0.05) myosin heavy chain-I protein (MyHC-I) and proportionally fewer (P \u3c 0.05) Type I and Type I/IIa fibers than controls, but MyHC-II protein concentrations, Type II fibers, and Type IIx fibers were not different. IUGR biceps femoris muscles exhibited similar albeit less dramatic differences in fiber type proportions. Type I and IIa fibers are more responsive to adrenergic and insulin regulation than Type IIx and may be more profoundly impaired by the high catecholamines and low insulin in our IUGR fetuses, leading to their proportional reduction. In both muscles, fibers of each type were uniformly smaller (P \u3c 0.05) in IUGR fetuses than controls, which indicates that fiber hypertrophy is not dependent on type but rather on other factors such as myoblast differentiation or protein synthesis. Together, our findings show that IUGR fetal muscles develop smaller fibers and have proportionally fewer Type I fibers, which is indicative of developmental adaptations that may help explain the link between IUGR and adulthood insulin resistanc

Intrauterine growth-restricted sheep fetuses exhibit smaller hindlimb muscle fibers and lower proportions of insulin-sensitive Type I fibers near term

Intrauterine growthrestricted sheep fetuses exhibit smaller hindlimb muscle fibers and lower proportions of insulin-sensitive Type I fibers near term. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 310: R1020–R1029, 2016. First published April 6, 2016; doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00528.2015.—Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) reduces muscle mass and insulin sensitivity in offspring. Insulin sensitivity varies among muscle fiber types, with Type I fibers being most sensitive. Differences in fibertype ratios are associated with insulin resistance in adults, and thus we hypothesized that near-term IUGR sheep fetuses exhibit reduced size and proportions of Type I fibers. Placental insufficiency-induced IUGR fetuses were 54% smaller (P \u3c 0.05) than controls and exhibited hypoxemia and hypoglycemia, which contributed to 6.9- fold greater (P \u3c 0.05) plasma norepinephrine and 53% lower (P \u3c 0.05) plasma insulin concentrations. IUGR semitendinosus muscles contained less (P \u3c 0.05) myosin heavy chain-I protein (MyHC-I) and proportionally fewer (P \u3c 0.05) Type I and Type I/IIa fibers than controls, but MyHC-II protein concentrations, Type II fibers, and Type IIx fibers were not different. IUGR biceps femoris muscles exhibited similar albeit less dramatic differences in fiber type proportions. Type I and IIa fibers are more responsive to adrenergic and insulin regulation than Type IIx and may be more profoundly impaired by the high catecholamines and low insulin in our IUGR fetuses, leading to their proportional reduction. In both muscles, fibers of each type were uniformly smaller (P \u3c 0.05) in IUGR fetuses than controls, which indicates that fiber hypertrophy is not dependent on type but rather on other factors such as myoblast differentiation or protein synthesis. Together, our findings show that IUGR fetal muscles develop smaller fibers and have proportionally fewer Type I fibers, which is indicative of developmental adaptations that may help explain the link between IUGR and adulthood insulin resistanc

Observation of the suppressed Λb0→DpK- decay with D→K+π- and measurement of its CP asymmetry

International audienceA study of Λb0 baryon decays to the DpK- final state is presented based on a proton-proton collision data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9  fb-1 collected with the LHCb detector. Two Λb0 decays are considered, Λb0→DpK- with D→K-π+ and D→K+π-, where D represents a superposition of D0 and D¯0 states. The latter process is expected to be suppressed relative to the former, and is observed for the first time. The ratio of branching fractions of the two decays is measured, and the CP asymmetry of the suppressed mode, which is sensitive to the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa angle γ, is also reported

Angular analysis of the rare decay Bs0 {B}_s^0 → ϕμ+^{+}μ−^{−}

An angular analysis of the rare decay ${B}_s^0$→ ϕμ$^{+}$μ$^{−}$ is presented, using proton-proton collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.4 fb$^{−1}$. The observables describing the angular distributions of the decay ${B}_s^0$→ ϕμ$^{+}$μ$^{−}$ are determined in regions of q$^{2}$, the square of the dimuon invariant mass. The results are consistent with Standard Model predictions.[graphic not available: see fulltext

Simultaneous determination of CKM angle γ\gamma and charm mixing parameters

A combination of measurements sensitive to the CP violation angle γ of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa unitarity triangle and to the charm mixing parameters that describe oscillations between D$^{0}$ and $\overline{D} ^{0}$ mesons is performed. Results from the charm and beauty sectors, based on data collected with the LHCb detector at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, are combined for the first time. This method provides an improvement on the precision of the charm mixing parameter y by a factor of two with respect to the current world average. The charm mixing parameters are determined to be $x=\left({0.400}_{-0.053}^{+0.052}\right)\%$ and y = $\left({0.630}_{-0.030}^{+0.033}\right)\%$. The angle γ is found to be γ = $\left({65.4}_{-4.2}^{+3.8}\right){}^{\circ}$ and is the most precise determination from a single experiment.[graphic not available: see fulltext

Simultaneous determination of CKM angle γ\gamma and charm mixing parameters

International audienceA combination of measurements sensitive to the CP violation angle γ of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa unitarity triangle and to the charm mixing parameters that describe oscillations between D$^{0}$ and $\overline{D} ^{0}$ mesons is performed. Results from the charm and beauty sectors, based on data collected with the LHCb detector at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, are combined for the first time. This method provides an improvement on the precision of the charm mixing parameter y by a factor of two with respect to the current world average. The charm mixing parameters are determined to be $x=\left({0.400}_{-0.053}^{+0.052}\right)\%$ and y = $\left({0.630}_{-0.030}^{+0.033}\right)\%$. The angle γ is found to be γ = $\left({65.4}_{-4.2}^{+3.8}\right){}^{\circ}$ and is the most precise determination from a single experiment.[graphic not available: see fulltext

Observation of excited Ωc0\Omega_c^0 baryons in Ωb−→Ξc+K−π−\Omega_b^- \to \Xi_c^+ K^-\pi^-decays

The first observation of the $Ω_b^- → Ξ_c^+ K^- π^-$ decay is reported using p p collision data at center of mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV collected by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb$^{-1}$. Four excited $Ω_c^0$ baryons are observed in the $Ξ_c^+ K^-$ mass projection of the $Ω_b^-→ Ξ_c^+ K^- π^-$ decays with the significance of each exceeding five standard deviations. They coincide with the states previously observed in prompt pp and $e^+ e^-$ production. Relative production rates, masses, and natural widths of the states are measured, and a test of spin hypotheses is performed. Moreover, the branching ratio of $Ω_b^- → Ξ_c^+ K^- π^-$ is measured relative to the $Ω_b^- → Ω_c^0 π^-$ decay mode and a precise measurement of the $Ω_b^-$ mass of $6044.3±1.2±1.1_{-0.22}^{+0.19}$ MeV is obtained

Observation of a Λb0−Λ‾b0\Lambda_b^0-\overline{\Lambda}_b^0 production asymmetry in proton-proton collisions at s=7 and 8 TeV\sqrt{s} = 7 \textrm{ and } 8\,\textrm{TeV}

International audienceThis article presents differential measurements of the asymmetry between ${\varLambda}_b^0$ and ${\overline{\varLambda}}_b^0$ baryon production rates in proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 and 8 TeV collected with the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb$^{−1}$. The ${\varLambda}_b^0$ baryons are reconstructed through the inclusive semileptonic decay ${\varLambda}_b^0$ → ${\varLambda}_c^{+}$μ$^{−} \overline{\nu} _{μ}$X. The production asymmetry is measured both in intervals of rapidity in the range 2.15 < y < 4.10 and transverse momentum in 2 < p$_{T}$< 27 GeV/c. The results are found to be incompatible with symmetric production with a significance of 5.8 standard deviations for both $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 and 8 TeV data, assuming no CP violation in the decay. There is evidence for a trend as a function of rapidity with a significance of 4 standard deviations. Comparisons to predictions from hadronisation models in Pythia and heavy-quark recombination are provided. This result constitutes the first observation of a particle-antiparticle asymmetry in b-hadron production at LHC energies.[graphic not available: see fulltext

Branching Fraction Measurements of the Rare Bs0→ϕμ+μ−B^0_s\rightarrow\phi\mu^+\mu^- and Bs0→f2′(1525)μ+μ−B^0_s\rightarrow f_2^\prime(1525)\mu^+\mu^- Decays

The branching fraction of the rare $B^0_s\rightarrow\phi\mu^+\mu^-$ decay is measured using data collected by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 1, 2, and 6 fb$^{-1}$, respectively. The branching fraction is reported in intervals of q$^2$, the square of the dimuon invariant mass. In the q$^2$ region between 1.1 and 6.0 GeV$^2$/c$^4$, the measurement is found to lie 3.6 standard deviations below a standard model prediction based on a combination of light cone sum rule and lattice QCD calculations. In addition, the first observation of the rare $B^0_s\rightarrow f_2^\prime(1525)\mu^+\mu^-$ decay is reported with a statistical significance of 9 standard deviations and its branching fraction is determined