The X(3872) at the Tevatron

I report results on the X(3872) from the Tevatron. Mass and other properties have been studied, with a focus on new results on the dipion mass spectrum in X -> J/PsiPi^+Pi^- decays. Dipions favor interpreting the decay as J/PsiRho, implying even C-parity for the X. Modeling uncertainties do not allow distinguishing between S- and P-wave decays of the J/PsiRho mode. Effects of Rho-Omega interference in X decay are also introduced.Comment: Contribution to PANIC05, Santa Fe, 24-28 October 2005 (4 pages, 6 plots

Fiscal space for health expenditure in Mozambique: blocking effectiveness of international funds through budget support

Mexico AIDS Conference 200

Origin of layer dependence in band structures of two-dimensional materials

We study the origin of layer dependence in band structures of two-dimensional materials. We find that the layer dependence, at the density functional theory (DFT) level, is a result of quantum confinement and the non-linearity of the exchange-correlation functional. We use this to develop an efficient scheme for performing DFT and GW calculations of multilayer systems. We show that the DFT and quasiparticle band structures of a multilayer system can be derived from a single calculation on a monolayer of the material. We test this scheme on multilayers of MoS$_2$, graphene and phosphorene. This new scheme yields results in excellent agreement with the standard methods at a fraction of the computation cost. This helps overcome the challenge of performing fully converged GW calculations on multilayers of 2D materials, particularly in the case of transition metal dichalcogenides which involve very stringent convergence parameters

Substrate screening effects on the quasiparticle band gap and defect charge transition levels in MoS2_2

Monolayer MoS$_2$ has emerged as an interesting material for nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices. The effect of substrate screening and defects on the electronic structure of MoS$_2$ are important considerations in the design of such devices. Here, we present ab initio density functional theory (DFT) and GW calculations to study the effect of substrate screening on the quasiparticle band gap and defect charge transition levels (CTLs) in monolayer MoS$_2$. We find a giant renormalization to the free-standing quasiparticle band gap by 350 meV and 530 meV in the presence of graphene and graphite as substrates, respectively. Our results are corroborated by recent experimental measurements on these systems using scanning tunneling spectroscopy and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy. Sulfur vacancies are the most abundant native defects found in MoS$_2$. We study the CTLs of these vacancies in MoS$_2$ using the DFT+GW formalism. We find (+1/0) and (0/-1) CTLs appear in the pristine band gap of MoS$_2$. Substrate screening results in renormalization of the (0/-1) level, with respect to the valence band maximum (VBM), by the same amount as the gap. This results in the pinning of the (0/-1) level about $\sim$500 meV below the conduction band minimum for the free-standing case as well as in the presence of substrates. The (+1/0) level, on the other hand, lies less than 100 meV above the VBM for all the cases

Energy-aware dynamic pricing model for cloud environments

Energy consumption is a critical operational cost for Cloud providers. However, as commercial providers typically use fixed pricing schemes that are oblivious about the energy costs of running virtual machines, clients are not charged according to their actual energy impact. Some works have proposed energy-aware cost models that are able to capture each client’s real energy usage. However, those models cannot be naturally used for pricing Cloud services, as the energy cost is calculated after the termination of the service, and it depends on decisions taken by the provider, such as the actual placement of the client’s virtual machines. For those reasons, a client cannot estimate in advance how much it will pay. This paper presents a pricing model for virtualized Cloud providers that dynamically derives the energy costs per allocation unit and per work unit for each time period. They account for the energy costs of the provider’s static and dynamic energy consumption by sharing out them according to the virtual resource allocation and the real resource usage of running virtual machines for the corresponding time period. Newly arrived clients during that period can use these costs as a baseline to calculate their expenses in advance as a function of the number of requested allocation and work units. Our results show that providers can get comparable revenue to traditional pricing schemes, while offering to the clients more proportional prices than fixed-price models.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Visokotemperaturno procesiranje in reciklaža avtomobilskih katalizatorjev

This paper presents the results from an experimental study of the thermal method applied for obtaining platinum-group metals (PGMs) by melting used autocatalysts in an 80 kVA plasma reactor, using suitable fluxes and a reducing agent. As the collector of noble metals, grey cast iron was used during the melting. The melt products were the alloy, inert vitrified slag, syngas and fly ash. In the alloy, when melting the catalyser based on cordierite. there was 99.27 % PGMs and 99.00 % in the case of Cr/Ni-strip catalysts. The loss of PGMs in the slag during the melting of cordierite catalysts was 0.34 % and for Cr/Ni catalysts, it was 0.26 %. A chemical analysis of the ash confirmed that in addition to the mechanically removed CaO, SiO2, MgO, Al2O3, it also contained condensed vapours of Fe+PGMs. During the melting of the cordierite catalyst, the ash contained 0.40 % of the refined metals, while 0.74 % was the figure for the Cr/Ni-strip catalyst. The synthesis gas from the process had a very low heating value (0.16 MJ m(-3) or 0.24 MJ m(-3)).V tem članku avtorji predstavljajo rezultate eksperimentalnih raziskav termičnega postopka pridobivanja kovin platinske skupine (PGM, angl.: Platinum Group Metals) s taljenjem izrabljenih avtomobilskih katalizatorjev v 80 kVA plazemskem reaktorju z uporabo primernih talil in redukcijskega sredstva. Kot zbiralnik plemenitih kovin je bila med taljenjem uporabljena siva litina. Produkti taljenja so zlitina, inertna steklasta žlindra, sintezni plin in pepel. V zlitini je bilo pri taljenju katalizatorja na osnovi kordierita koncentriranih 99,27 % PGM, pri katalizatorjih s Cr/Ni trakom pa 99,00%. Pri taljenju kordieritnih katalizatorjev se je v žlindri izgubilo 0,34 % PGM, pri Cr/Ni katalizatorjih pa 0,26 %. Kemijska analiza pepela je potrdila, da poleg mehansko pridobljenih oksidov CaO, SiO2, MgO, Al2O3, le-ta vsebuje tudi kondenzirane pare Fe in PGM. V pepelu se je pri taljenju katalizatorja na osnovi kordierita nahajalo 0,40 % plemenitih kovin, pri katalizatorju s Cr/Ni trakom pa 0,74 %. Sintezni plin iz procesa taljenja je imel zelo nizko kurilno (kalorično) vrednost (0,16 MJ m–3 oz. 0,24 MJ m–3).Web of Science52334033

New electric utility management and control systems : proceedings of conference, held in Boxborough, Massachusetts, May 30-June 1, 1979

"This work was supported by the Center for Energy Policy Research and the Electric Power Systems Engineering Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Opazovanje in simulacija nestabilnih pogojev med kontinuirnim litjem

Continuous casting comprises thermal, mechanical and chemical processes running in a complex system that contains a number of elements, such as a solidifying steel strand, a mould with an oscillation mechanism, a withdrawal mechanism, a water cooling sub-system with nozzles, several control sub-systems, etc. An external observer might see the process as robust and stable, but in reality there are fluctuations in the internal thermal and mechanical quantities, reflected in the structure and quality of the product. The research on unsteady behaviour of the quantities such as a solidifying strand temperature field, solid shell thickness and metallurgical length was conducted using an industrial diagnostic system DGS complemented with special measurement equipment and a thermal numerical model. Selected results of the monitoring and simulation of the non-standard process states are shown and analysed in the paper. Methods for determining the boundary conditions for the numerical model are also presented. The effect of the Leidenfrost phenomenon on the heat-transfer coefficient during water cooling by nozzles is also discussed. Since the determination of precise and immediate boundary conditions has technical limits, the model provides only smoothed values in time and space. As knowledge of the instantaneous state of the fluctuating process is a prerequisite for achieving quality and defect-free production, it is appropriate to complement the thermal numerical model by on-line monitoring of the machine's internal state. The results of the simulations are closely linked to the real process data.Kontinuirno litje obsega termične, mehanske in kemične procese, ki tečejo v kompleksnem sistemu, ki vsebuje vrsto elementov, kot so: strjujoča se jeklena žila (gredica), kokila z oscilacijskim mehanizmom, izvlečni mehanizem, vodno hlajenje s podsistemom hladilnih šob, več kontrolnih podsistemov itd. Zunanji opazovalec lahko vidi proces kot robusten in stabilen, toda v resnici imamo vrsto fluktuacij (nihanj) internih termičnih in mehanskih veličin in kakovosti produkta (nastajajoče konti lite gredice). Raziskave (časovno) nestabilnega obnašanja veličin, kot so: temperaturno polje strjujoče se konti gredice, debelina trdne skorje in metalurška dolžina, so avtorji prispevka izvajali z industrijskim diagnostičnim sistemom (DGS), dopolnjenim s specialno merilno opremo in termičnim numeričnim modelom. V članku avtorji predstavljajo izbrane rezultate analiz, opazovanja in simulacije nestandardni procesnih stanj. Prav tako predstavljajo metode določevanja robnih pogojev za numerični model. Diskusija obsega tudi t.i. Leidenfrostov fenomen in njegov vpliv na koeficient prenosa toplote med vodnim hlajenjem s šobami. Za natančno določitev vsakokratnih robnih pogojev obstajajo tehnične omejitve. Zato so v postavljenem modelu uporabljene le zglajene vrednosti v realnem času in prostoru. Poznavanje trenutnega stanja ves čas spreminjajočega stanja, je predpogoj za doseganje kvalitetne proizvodnje brez napak. Zato je primerno uporabljati termični numerični model s tekočim (on-line) oz. neposrednim spremljanjem internega stanja na konti livni napravi. Predstavljeni rezultati so tesno povezani z realnimi procesnimi podatki.Web of Science52211711

Pirometalurška obdelava katalizatorja z vsebnostjo srebra

The following article describes the thermal process for the recovery of used silver from Ag catalysts using an 80-kVA plasma reactor, along with an appropriate flux and reducing agent. An Ag catalyst was melted in three separate experiments with different weights. The overall recovery of silver from the melted Ag catalysts was high (93.8-96.4) %. The byproducts of the melting of the Ag catalysts were the inert vitrified slag, synthesis gas and fly ash. The chemical analysis of fly ash confirmed that, in addition to mechanically stripped oxides that were present in the batch (CaO, SiO2, MgO, and Al2O3), fly ash also contained a high amount of condensed silver. Indeed, silver evaporated at a high temperature during the melting process. The silver condensed in fly ash was at a level of 37.08-48.37 % of the total weight of fly ash. Therefore, fly ash had to be recycled. The synthesis gas from the process had a relatively low heating value (0.6335 MJ m(-3)).Članek opisuje termični način pridobivanja srebra iz rabljenih Ag katalizatorjev v 80 kVA plazemskem reaktorju v prisotnosti ustreznih talil in redukcijskega sredstva. Ag katalizator se je talil v treh poskusih z različno maso. Skupi iznos srebra pri procesu taljenja Ag katalizatorjev je bil visok (od 93,8 % do 96,4 %). Pri taljenju katalizatorja je nastajala inertna vitrificirana žlindra, sintezni plin in ostale ubežne emisije. Kemična analiza ubežnih emisij je potrdila, da so poleg mehansko odtrganih oksidov iz vhodnega materiala (CaO, SiO2, MgO, Al2O3) vsebovale tudi višjo vsebnost kondenziranega srebra. Srebro je v procesu taljenja izparelo pri visoki temperaturi. V ubežnih emisijah kondenzirano srebro je bilo na nivoju od 37,08 % do 48,37 %. Ubežne emisije je bilo treba zato reciklirati. S procesom pridobljeni sintezni plin je bil razmeroma nizke kalorične vrednosti (0.6335 MJ m–3).Web of Science52213813

Scandal, motherhood and Mina in 1960s Italy

Celebrity scandals are a useful tool to reveal the pervasiveness of expected ways of behaving within a particular culture or society. Italy of the early 1960s was particularly marked by these kinds of scandals, including that of singer Mina's pregnancy by Corrado Pani in 1963. This article takes this scandal as a case study to explore how star image in this period in Italy was influenced by the established ideologies that governed social convention, morality, and traditional gender roles. It examines in detail the ways in which the popular press reported on this scandal, using the reports that covered the announcement of the pregnancy and then the birth to cast light on the extent to which the mainstream social values and ideas regarding the status quo and expected ways of behaving for women in Italy during the early 1960s were destabilised and/or reasserted through the star persona of Mina