Associated production of a Z boson and a b-jet in ATLAS

The current uncertainty on the parametrization of the partonic content of the proton (PDF's) affects the potential for the discovery of new physics at LHC. The study of Z boson production in association with a b-jet can considerably reduce such uncertainty. In addition, this process represents a background both to the search for the Higgs boson and for SUSY particles. We present an update, based on the full simulation data sample produced for the Rome Physics Workshop, of a preliminary study in the case where the Z boson decays in mu+ mu-.Comment: 16 page

Forward Physics at the LHC (Elba 2010)

The papers review the main theoretical and experimental aspects of the Forward Physics at the Large Hadron Collider

Theoretical aspects of the H → WW → lνlν analysis at the LHC

Associated uncertainties on the Higgs boson production cross section and decays rates in twoW’s with dilepton final state and their effects on the discovery potential of the Higgs boson will be discussed

Removing krypton from xenon by cryogenic distillation to the ppq level

The XENON1T experiment aims for the direct detection of dark matter in a cryostat filled with 3.3 tons of liquid xenon. In order to achieve the desired sensitivity, the background induced by radioactive decays inside the detector has to be sufficiently low. One major contributor is the $\beta$-emitter $^{85}$Kr which is an intrinsic contamination of the xenon. For the XENON1T experiment a concentration of natural krypton in xenon $\rm{^{nat}}$Kr/Xe < 200 ppq (parts per quadrillion, 1 ppq = 10$^{-15}$ mol/mol) is required. In this work, the design of a novel cryogenic distillation column using the common McCabe-Thiele approach is described. The system demonstrated a krypton reduction factor of 6.4$\cdot$10$^5$ with thermodynamic stability at process speeds above 3 kg/h. The resulting concentration of $\rm{^{nat}}$Kr/Xe < 26 ppq is the lowest ever achieved, almost one order of magnitude below the requirements for XENON1T and even sufficient for future dark matter experiments using liquid xenon, such as XENONnT and DARWIN

Over the Line: Ethical Issues in the Media Coverage of the Bernie Fine Scandal

On Nov. 17, 2011, sports media conglomerate ESPN aired a story in which Bobby Davis and Mike Lang, stepbrothers and former ball boys for the Syracuse University men’s basketball program, accused Bernie Fine, then an assistant coach for the Syracuse men’s basketball team, of sexually abusing them as children. As the story developed, the reporting methods used by ESPN and The Post-Standard, the daily newspaper in Syracuse, were put into question. This report looks at what these news organizations did in their investigative reporting of the allegations against Fine and analyzes whether or not it was morally acceptable. To do this, the report considers the accepted ethics of journalism to use as a lens through which these events can be examined, as well as articles and interviews, including those about the investigation and those looking at the reporting that went behind it. It concludes that while both ESPN and The Post-Standard were correct in not publishing the allegations when they were first received in the early 2000s, these media outlets did not act as ethically as expected at various points throughout their investigations

Spatial organization of public services: models and applications

Location decisions are crucial in the spatial organization in both public and private sectors as they can have a long term impact on operational performances and on service levels. Social cost minimization, universality of services and equity, expressed in terms of users' accessibility, are the main objectives in public services contexts. Nevertheless, the enduring trend of public expenditures revision poses, also in the public sectors, the need to pursue objectives of economic efficiency. In the literature, two families of optimization problems are typically used to address these problems, namely Facility Location Problems (FLPs) and Districting Problems (DPs). The aim of this thesis is to show how FLPs and DPs can be used to underpin spatial organization processes of public services, providing analytical models able to assist the decision making. To this end, novel mathematical models are developed with application to the healthcare and postal service sectors. In particular, a hierarchical facility location model is formulated to reorganize an existing regional Blood Management System (BMS) while an integrated location-districting model is proposed for the organization of postal collection operations in urban areas. A constructive heuristic procedure is also devised to solve the latter problem. Extensive computational experiments are realized to validate the proposed models and to show their capability to provide insightful managerial implications. Finally, the thesis aims at filling another existing gap in the literature due to the absence of stochastic models for DPs. Hence, a two-stage stochastic program for districting is introduced and tested on real georgaphic data. Several extensions of the proposed modeling framework are also discussed

An Assessment of New Jersey Trout Production Systems : a Movement Towards Sustainability

New Jersey supports reproducing populations of three lotic salmonids. Only Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are native and until approximately 100 years ago, were found in abundance throughout the northern part of the state. Presently, native populations have been documented in 115 streams or stream sections and declines are thought to be in response to anthropogenically originated environmental stressors. To evaluate the deterioration extent and assess numbers of breeding non-native Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) and Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), comparisons are made between sets of historical (1968-1977) and modern (2001-2010) young-of-the-year presence/absence and abundance data and several geologic and land use/land cover characteristics hypothesized to influence species’ occurrence. The range of reproducing Brown Trout populations have expanded, while groups of Rainbow and Brook Trout, as well as the overall amount of non-trout water have all decreased slightly. Results show that land use and land cover catchment value thresholds exist at \u3c 12% agriculture, \u3c 22% barren and urban, \u3e 64% wetland and forest, and \u3c 4-6% impervious cover to allow for natural Brook Trout reproduction. Values for Brown Trout reproduction include \u3c 14% agriculture, \u3c 27% barren and urban, \u3e 58% wetland and forest, and \u3c 5-7% impervious cover. Additionally, a previously undocumented Brook Trout metapopulation has been discovered with abundance estimates suggesting that a flourishing, reproductive and viable population is being maintained. Also, observed movement between connected waters allows for gene flow and overall isolation may permit the existence of one of New Jersey’s remaining relict Brook Trout groups. Conservation of the once endemic native species has become a regional priority and a review of current lotic salmonid management strategies has identified some practices that may undermine protection efforts. Suggestions to reverse declines and bolster unique populations include: 1) establishing a ‘Wild Native’ angling regulation, 2) creating stricter land use directives to support more natural flows, 3) curtailing or cessation of domestic salmonid stocking at larger catchment levels, 4) developing hatchery operation expansion to include indigenous origin fish, 5) removal of non-native fish from favorable standing within the State’s Wildlife Action Plan, and 6) obtaining new or reallocating current funds to support more research