Showing papers by "University of Huddersfield published in 2012"

Evidence for an excess of B̄→D( *)τ -ν ̄τ decays

Abstract: Based on the full BaBar data sample, we report improved measurements of the ratios R(D(*)) = B(B -> D(*) Tau Nu)/B(B -> D(*) l Nu), where l is either e or mu. These ratios are sensitive to new physics contributions in the form of a charged Higgs boson. We measure R(D) = 0.440 +- 0.058 +- 0.042 and R(D*) = 0.332 +- 0.024 +- 0.018, which exceed the Standard Model expectations by 2.0 sigma and 2.7 sigma, respectively. Taken together, our results disagree with these expectations at the 3.4 sigma level. This excess cannot be explained by a charged Higgs boson in the type II two-Higgs-doublet model. We also report the observation of the decay B -> D Tau Nu, with a significance of 6.8 sigma.

Technological shifts in surface metrology

Abstract: This paper gives an overview of the progress which has been made in surface metrology over the past ten years. It updates the surface classification system, and discusses the practical and theoretical reasons for the technological shifts which have occurred. This includes the use of surfaces with predetermined features as an alternative to traditional machined surfaces, and the move from simple to freeform shapes. The paper discusses technological shifts in association, filtration, numeric parametric techniques, fractals associated with function and standardisation. Many examples are given in order to contextualise the significance of these technological changes. This paper should help to predict the direction of future developments in surface metrology, and therefore emphasise its importance in functional applications in advanced manufacture.

Aging in the United States

Abstract: As we have shown in the Introduction, ageing in the United States is not merely a reflection of the country’s high level of economic development, because longevity gains in some ethnic groups are offset by continued poverty in other sectors of the population, and high fertility levels among specific immigrant groups, such as Hispanics. Due to these and other changes working through US society, the country is actually predicted to fall down the international ageing table, from 23rd in 1975 to 50th by 2050, but nonetheless with 84 million people aged 65 years or more. Given that these 84 million live within the number one economy in the world (notwithstanding the rise of the Chinese and Indian economies) this means that many millions of people in the US are more likely to be able to access economic resources at a higher level than many of their counterparts in other parts of the globe. However, being part of the leading economy may also mean that their aspirations may also be unrealistically high, in that they may desire more second homes in sunny climes, more winter cruises, more expensive technological support systems, for instance, than may be feasible, whether in a strictly economic, social, political or environmental sense. In this chapter we explore a number of such issues, focusing on the many millions of US citizens who are growing old in such a wealthy society.

Patient and Public Involvement in the Coproduction of Knowledge Reflection on the Analysis of Qualitative Data in a Mental Health Study

Abstract: Patient and public involvement in health research is increasingly well established internationally, but the impacts of involvement on the research process are hard to evaluate. We describe a process of qualitative data analysis in a mental health research project with a high level of mental health service user and carer involvement, and reflect critically on how we produced our findings. Team members not from research backgrounds sometimes challenged academic conventions, leading to complex findings that would otherwise have been missing. An essential component of how we coproduced knowledge involved retaining methodological flexibility so that nonconventional research voices in the team could situate and critique what was conventionally known. Deliberate and transparent reflection on how "who we are" informed the knowledge we produced was integral to our inquiry. We conclude that reflecting on knowledge (co)production is a useful tool for evaluating the impact of patient and public involvement on health research.

Measurement of branching fractions and rate asymmetries in the rare decays B -> K((*))l(+)l(-)

Abstract: In a sample of 471×10^6 BB events collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II e^+e^- collider we study the rare decays B→K^(*)l^+l^-, where l^+l^- is either e^+e^- or μ^+μ^-. We report results on partial branching fractions and isospin asymmetries in seven bins of dilepton mass-squared. We further present CP and lepton-flavor asymmetries for dilepton masses below and above the J/ψ resonance. We find no evidence for CP or lepton-flavor violation. The partial branching fractions and isospin asymmetries are consistent with the Standard Model predictions and with results from other experiments.

An assessment of features related to phishing websites using an automated technique

Abstract: Corporations that offer online trading can achieve a competitive edge by serving worldwide clients. Nevertheless, online trading faces many obstacles such as the unsecured money orders. Phishing is considered a form of internet crime that is defined as the art of mimicking a website of an honest enterprise aiming to acquire confidential information such as usernames, passwords and social security number. There are some characteristics that distinguish phishing websites from legitimate ones such as long URL, IP address in URL, adding prefix and suffix to domain and request URL, etc. In this paper, we explore important features that are automatically extracted from websites using a new tool instead of relying on an experienced human in the extraction process and then judge on the features importance in deciding website legitimacy. Our research aims to develop a group of features that have been shown to be sound and effective in predicting phishing websites and to extract those features according to new scientific precise rules.

Mitochondrial DNA Signals of Late Glacial Recolonization of Europe from Near Eastern Refugia

Abstract: Human populations, along with those of many other species, are thought to have contracted into a number of refuge areas at the height of the last Ice Age. European populations are believed to be, to a large extent, the descendants of the inhabitants of these refugia, and some extant mtDNA lineages can be traced to refugia in Franco-Cantabria (haplogroups H1, H3, V, and U5b1), the Italian Peninsula (U5b3), and the East European Plain (U4 and U5a). Parts of the Near East, such as the Levant, were also continuously inhabited throughout the Last Glacial Maximum, but unlike western and eastern Europe, no archaeological or genetic evidence for Late Glacial expansions into Europe from the Near East has hitherto been discovered. Here we report, on the basis of an enlarged whole-genome mitochondrial database, that a substantial, perhaps predominant, signal from mitochondrial haplogroups J and T, previously thought to have spread primarily from the Near East into Europe with the Neolithic population, may in fact reflect dispersals during the Late Glacial period, ∼19–12 thousand years (ka) ago.

Mechanisms of catalytic ozonation on alumina and zeolites in water: Formation of hydroxyl radicals

Abstract: The mechanisms of catalytic ozonation of coumarin on ZSM-5 zeolites and γ-alumina in water have been studied. Coumarin is known to react with hydroxyl radicals to produce 7-hydroxycoumarin and is used to differentiate between radical and non-radical mechanisms. The effect of the radical scavenger (t-butanol) and phosphates has also been used to study the possible involvement of radicals and the role of surface hydroxyl groups of catalysts. Four ZSM-5 zeolites with varying silica to alumina ratios and with both hydrogen and sodium counter ions were used in the study (Z1000H:SiO2/Al2O3 = 1000, Z900Na:SiO2/Al2O3 = 900, Z25H:SiO2/Al2O3 = 25 and Z25Na:SiO2/Al2O3 = 25). The results show that both alumina and the zeolites catalyse the removal of coumarin from aqueous solution by ozonation, but that alumina is generally more active than zeolites and it catalyses a radical pathway involving hydroxyl radicals, showing its highest activity at pH close to the point of zero charge where surface hydroxyl groups are most susceptible to conversion of ozone to hydroxyl radicals. The zeolites operate through a simple adsorption process, leading to a direct reaction between adsorbed coumarin and adsorbed ozone. Activity depends to an extent on the silica to alumina ratio of the zeolite but is insensitive to the nature of the zeolite counter ion.

Observation of Time-Reversal Violation in the B-0 Meson System

Abstract: Although CP violation in the B meson system has been well established by the B factories, there has been no direct observation of time-reversal violation. The decays of entangled neutral B mesons into definite flavor states (B^0 or B^0), and J/ψK_L^0 or cc K_S^0 final states (referred to as B_+ or B_-), allow comparisons between the probabilities of four pairs of T-conjugated transitions, for example, B^0→B_- and B_-→B^0, as a function of the time difference between the two B decays. Using 468×10^6 BB pairs produced in Υ(4S) decays collected by the BABAR detector at SLAC, we measure T-violating parameters in the time evolution of neutral B mesons, yielding ΔS_T^+=-1.37±0.14(stat)±0.06(syst) and ΔS_T^-=1.17±0.18(stat)±0.11(syst). These nonzero results represent the first direct observation of T violation through the exchange of initial and final states in transitions that can only be connected by a T-symmetry transformation.

Enantiomeric Profiling of Chiral Drugs in Wastewater and Receiving Waters

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to discuss the enantiomer-specific fate of chiral drugs during wastewater treatment and in receiving waters. Several chiral drugs were studied: amphetamine-like drugs of abuse (amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA, MDA), ephedrines (ephedrine and pseudoephedrine), antidepressant venlafaxine, and beta-blocker atenolol. A monitoring program was undertaken in 7 WWTPs (utilizing mainly activated sludge and trickling filters technologies) and at 6 sampling points in receiving waters over the period of 9 months. The results revealed the enantiomer-specific fate of all studied drugs during both wastewater treatment and in the aqueous environment. The extent of stereoselectivity depended on several parameters including: type of chiral drug (high stereoselectivity was recorded for atenolol and MDMA), treatment technology used (activated sludge showed higher stereoselectivity than trickling filters), and season (higher stereoselectivity was observed in the aqueous environment over the spring/summer time).

The Arabian Cradle: Mitochondrial Relicts of the First Steps along the Southern Route out of Africa

Abstract: A major unanswered question regarding the dispersal of modern humans around the world concerns the geographical site of the first human steps outside of Africa. The “southern coastal route” model predicts that the early stages of the dispersal took place when people crossed the Red Sea to southern Arabia, but genetic evidence has hitherto been tenuous. We have addressed this question by analyzing the three minor west-Eurasian haplogroups, N1, N2, and X. These lineages branch directly from the first non-African founder node, the root of haplogroup N, and coalesce to the time of the first successful movement of modern humans out of Africa, ∼60 thousand years (ka) ago. We sequenced complete mtDNA genomes from 85 Southwest Asian samples carrying these haplogroups and compared them with a database of 300 European examples. The results show that these minor haplogroups have a relict distribution that suggests an ancient ancestry within the Arabian Peninsula, and they most likely spread from the Gulf Oasis region toward the Near East and Europe during the pluvial period 55–24 ka ago. This pattern suggests that Arabia was indeed the first staging post in the spread of modern humans around the world.

Proposal for an electron antineutrino disappearance search using high-rate Li8 production and decay

Abstract: This paper introduces an experimental probe of the sterile neutrino with a novel, high-intensity source of electron antineutrinos from the production and subsequent decay of $^{8}\mathrm{Li}$. When paired with an existing $\ensuremath{\sim}1$ kton scintillator-based detector, this $⟨{E}_{\ensuremath{ u}}⟩=6.4$ MeV source opens a wide range of possible searches for beyond standard model physics via studies of the inverse beta decay interaction ${\overline{\ensuremath{ u}}}_{e}+p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{e}^{+}+n$. In particular, the experimental design described here has unprecedented sensitivity to ${\overline{\ensuremath{ u}}}_{e}$ disappearance at $\ensuremath{\Delta}{m}^{2}\ensuremath{\sim}1\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{eV}}^{2}$ and features the ability to distinguish between the existence of zero, one, and two sterile neutrinos.

The impact of financial development on economic growth: Empirical analysis of emerging market countries

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical framework that integrates the endogenous growth and functions of financial markets and institutions theory in order to investigate how the financial market and the banking sector develop indicators that affect economic growth in these countries.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is an empirical analysis of the relationship between financial development and economic growth for 42 emerging markets, over 12 years, using endogenous growth model.Findings – First, the results suggest that stock market development has a significant effect on economic growth, and this effect remains strong even after the influence of banking sector and other control variables using a growth model. Second, the research findings largely support the view that there is a stable, long‐term equilibrium relationship between the evolution of the stock market and the evolution of the economy.Originality/value – The evidence supports the view that the relation between st...

Experimental investigation of material removal mechanism in single grit grinding

Abstract: This paper presents an important investigation of material removal behaviour during single grit grinding, which provides critical insight of grinding mechanics for improving grinding efficiency and quality. During the investigation, CBN grits were used to perform scratch tests on En24T steel. Piles up ratio, chip removal strength, effective grit engage radius are introduced to measure material removal performance. It has been discovered that grit cutting edge shape has significant influence on ploughing and cutting actions. By comparing scratch tests using grits with single edge or multiple edges, it has demonstrated that cutting is more efficient with single edge grit. More ploughing actions appear in multiple edges scratches. Furthermore, material removal mechanism along a single scratch is investigated and found that material removal is more prominent at the grit entrance side of the scratch compared to the grit exit side of the scratch. The research findings provide critical information for grinding optimization.

‘It should be the most natural thing in the world’: exploring first-time mothers' breastfeeding difficulties in the UK using audio-diaries and interviews

Abstract: Breastfeeding is a practice which is promoted and scrutinized in the UK and internationally. In this paper, we use interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore the experiences of eight British first-time mothers who struggled with breastfeeding in the early post-partum period. Participants kept audio-diary accounts of their infant feeding experiences across a 7-day period immediately following the birth of their infant and took part in related semi-structured interviews a few days after completion of the diary. The overarching theme identified was of a tension between the participants' lived, embodied experience of struggling to breastfeed and the cultural construction of breastfeeding as ‘natural’ and trouble-free. Participants reported particular difficulties interpreting the pain they experienced during feeds and their emerging maternal identities were threatened, often fluctuating considerably from feed to feed. We discuss some of the implications for breastfeeding promotion and argue for greater awareness and understanding of breastfeeding difficulties so that breastfeeding women are less likely to interpret these as a personal shortcoming in a manner which disempowers them. We also advocate the need to address proximal and distal influences around the breastfeeding dyad and, in particular, to consider the broader cultural context in the UK where breastfeeding is routinely promoted yet often constructed as a shameful act if performed in the public arena.

Fault diagnosis of rolling bearings using multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis and Mahalanobis distance criterion

Abstract: Vibrations of a defective rolling bearing often exhibit nonstationary and nonlinear characteristics which are submerged in strong noise and interference components. Thus, diagnostic feature extraction is always a challenge and has aroused wide concerns for a long time. In this paper, the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) is applied to uncover the multifractality buried in nonstationary time series for exploring rolling bearing fault data. Subsequently, a new approach for fault diagnosis is proposed based on MF-DFA and Mahalanobis distance criterion. The multifractality of bearing data is estimated with the generalized the Hurst exponent and the multifractal spectrum. Five characteristic parameters which are sensitive to changes of bearing fault conditions are extracted from the spectrum for diagnosis of fault sizes. For benchmarking this new method, the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method is also employed to analyze the same dataset. The results show that MF-DFA outperforms EMD in revealing the nature of rolling bearing fault data.

Calibration of the scales of areal surface topography-measuring instruments: part 1. Measurement noise and residual flatness

Abstract: In this paper, we present methods for determining the measurement noise and residual flatness of areal surface topography-measuring instruments. The methods are compliant with draft international specification standards on areal surface texture. We first introduce the international standards framework and then present current methods based on averaging and subtraction to isolate the measurement noise and residual flatness from the sample surface topography. These methods are relatively difficult to apply and time consuming in practice. An alternative method is presented based on thresholding and filtering techniques. This method is simple to apply in practice. Traceability and measurement uncertainty are discussed.

Branching fraction and form-factor shape measurements of exclusive charmless semileptonic B decays, and determination of |V_{ub}|

Abstract: We report the results of a study of the exclusive charmless semileptonic decays, B0→π-l+ν, B+→π0l+ν, B+→ωl+ν, B+→ηl+ν, and B+→η′l+ν (l=e or μ) undertaken with approximately 462×106 BB pairs collected at the Υ(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector. The analysis uses events in which the signal B decays are reconstructed with a loose neutrino reconstruction technique. We obtain partial branching fractions in several bins of q2, the square of the momentum transferred to the lepton-neutrino pair, for B0→π-l+ν, B+→π0l+ν, B+→ωl+ν, and B+→ηl+ν. From these distributions, we extract the form-factor shapes f+(q2) and the total branching fractions B(B0→π-l+ν)=(1.45±0.04stat±0.06syst)×10-4 (combined π- and π0 decay channels assuming isospin symmetry), B(B+→ωl+ν)=(1.19±0.16stat±0.09syst)×10-4 and B(B+→ηl+ν)=(0.38±0.05stat±0.05syst)×10-4. We also measure B(B+→η′l+ν)=(0.24±0.08stat±0.03syst)×10-4. We obtain values for the magnitude of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix element |Vub| by direct comparison with three different QCD calculations in restricted q2 ranges of B→πl+ν decays. From a simultaneous fit to the experimental data over the full q2 range and the FNAL/MILC lattice QCD predictions, we obtain |Vub|=(3.25±0.31)×10-3, where the error is the combined experimental and theoretical uncertainty.

Study of the reaction e+e−→J/ψπ+π− via initial-state radiation at BABAR

Abstract: We study the process e +e -→J/ψπ +π - with initial-state-radiation events produced at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy collider. The data were recorded with the BABAR detector at center-of-mass energies 10.58 and 10.54 GeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 454fb -1. We investigate the J/ψπ +π - mass distribution in the region from 3.5 to 5.5GeV/c2. Below 3.7GeV/c2 the ψ(2S) signal dominates, and above 4GeV/c2 there is a significant peak due to the Y(4260). A fit to the data in the range 3.74-5.50GeV/c2 yields a mass value 4245±5(stat)±4(syst)MeV/c2 and a width value 114-15+16(stat) ±7(syst)MeV for this state. We do not confirm the report from the Belle Collaboration of a broad structure at 4.01GeV/c2. In addition, we investigate the π +π - system which results from Y(4260) decay. © 2012 American Physical Society.

Evolutionary Genomics of Transposable Elements in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract: Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one of the premier model systems for studying the genomics and evolution of transposable elements. The availability of the S. cerevisiae genome led to unprecedented insights into its five known transposable element families (the LTR retrotransposons Ty1-Ty5) in the years shortly after its completion. However, subsequent advances in bioinformatics tools for analysing transposable elements and the recent availability of genome sequences for multiple strains and species of yeast motivates new investigations into Ty evolution in S. cerevisiae. Here we provide a comprehensive phylogenetic and population genetic analysis of all Ty families in S. cerevisiae based on a systematic re-annotation of Ty elements in the S288c reference genome. We show that previous annotation efforts have underestimated the total copy number of Ty elements for all known families. In addition, we identify a new family of Ty3-like elements related to the S. paradoxus Ty3p which is composed entirely of degenerate solo LTRs. Phylogenetic analyses of LTR sequences identified three families with short-branch, recently active clades nested among long branch, inactive insertions (Ty1, Ty3, Ty4), one family with essentially all recently active elements (Ty2) and two families with only inactive elements (Ty3p and Ty5). Population genomic data from 38 additional strains of S. cerevisiae show that the majority of Ty insertions in the S288c reference genome are fixed in the species, with insertions in active clades being predominantly polymorphic and insertions in inactive clades being predominantly fixed. Finally, we use comparative genomic data to provide evidence that the Ty2 and Ty3p families have arisen in the S. cerevisiae genome by horizontal transfer. Our results demonstrate that the genome of a single individual contains important information about the state of TE population dynamics within a species and suggest that horizontal transfer may play an important role in shaping the genomic diversity of transposable elements in unicellular eukaryotes.

Precision Measurement of the $B \to X_s \gamma$ Photon Energy Spectrum, Branching Fraction, and Direct CP Asymmetry $A_{CP}(B \to X_{s+d}\gamma)$

Abstract: The photon spectrum in the inclusive electromagnetic radiative decays of the B meson, B → X_sγ plus B → X_dγ, is studied using a data sample of (382.8±4.2)×10^6Υ(4S) → BB decays collected by the BABAR experiment at SLAC. The spectrum is used to extract the branching fraction B(B → X_sγ)=(3.21±0.33)×10^(-4) for E_γ > 1.8 GeV and the direct CP asymmetry A_(CP)(B → X_(s+d)γ)=0.057±0.063. The effects of detector resolution and Doppler smearing are unfolded to measure the photon energy spectrum in the B meson rest frame.

Nonunitary Triplet Pairing in the Centrosymmetric Superconductor LaNiGa2

Abstract: Muon spin rotation and relaxation experiments on the centrosymmetric intermetallic superconductor LaNiGa2 are reported. The appearance of spontaneous magnetic fields coincides with the onset of superconductivity, implying that the superconducting state breaks time reversal symmetry, similarly to noncentrosymmetric LaNiC2. Only four triplet states are compatible with this observation, all of which are nonunitary triplets. This suggests that LaNiGa2 is the centrosymmetric analogue of LaNiC2. We argue that these materials are representatives of a new family of paramagnetic nonunitary superconductors.

Study of CP violation in Dalitz-plot analyses of B0→K+K-KS0, B+→K+K-K+, and B+→KS0KS0K+

Abstract: We perform amplitude analyses of the decays B0→K +K -KS0, B +→K +K -K +, and B +→KS0KS0K +, and measure CP-violating parameters and partial branching fractions. The results are based on a data sample of approximately 470×106 BB decays, collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B factory at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. For B +→K +K -K +, we find a direct CP asymmetry in B +→(1020)K + of A CP=(12.8±4.4±1.3)%, which differs from zero by 2.8σ. For B0→K +K -KS0, we measure the CP-violating phase β eff((1020)KS0)=(21±6±2)°. For B +→KS0KS0K +, we measure an overall direct CP asymmetry of A CP=(4-5+4±2)%. We also perform an angular-moment analysis of the three channels and determine that the f X(1500) state can be described well by the sum of the resonances f 0(1500), f2′(1525), and f 0(1710). © 2012 American Physical Society.