M. Nguyen

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mutations may diminish vaccine-induced protective immune responses, particularly as antibody titers wane over time. Here, we assess the effect of SARS-CoV-2 variants B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.429 (Epsilon), B.1.526 (Iota), and B.1.617.2 (Delta) on binding, neutralizing, and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)–competing antibodies elicited by the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine mRNA-1273 over 7 months. Cross-reactive neutralizing responses were rare after a single dose. At the peak of response to the second vaccine dose, all individuals had responses to all variants. Binding and functional antibodies against variants persisted in most subjects, albeit at low levels, for 6 months after the primary series of the mRNA-1273 vaccine. Across all assays, B.1.351 had the lowest antibody recognition. These data complement ongoing studies to inform the potential need for additional boost vaccinations.

This report reviews the study of open heavy-flavour and quarkonium production in high-energy hadronic collisions, as tools to investigate fundamental aspects of Quantum Chromodynamics, from the proton and nucleus structure at high energy to deconfinement and the properties of the Quark-Gluon Plasma. Emphasis is given to the lessons learnt from LHC Run 1 results, which are reviewed in a global picture with the results from SPS and RHIC at lower energies, as well as to the questions to be addressed in the future. The report covers heavy flavour and quarkonium production in proton-proton, proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions. This includes discussion of the effects of hot and cold strongly interacting matter, quarkonium photo-production in nucleus-nucleus collisions and perspectives on the study of heavy flavour and quarkonium with upgrades of existing experiments and new experiments. The report results from the activity of the SaporeGravis network of the I3 Hadron Physics programme of the European Union 7th Framework Programme.

This Rapid Communication describes the measurement of elliptic flow for charged particles in Au+Au collisions at √sNN=200 GeV using the PHOBOS detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The measured azimuthal anisotropy is presented over a wide range of pseudorapidity for three broad collision centrality classes for the first time at this energy. Two distinct methods of extracting the flow signal were used to reduce systematic uncertainties. The elliptic flow falls sharply with increasing |η| at 200 GeV for all the centralities studied, as observed for minimum-bias collisions at √sNN=130 GeV.Received 12 July 2004DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.72.051901©2005 American Physical Society

Open and hidden heavy-flavor physics in high-energy nuclear collisions are entering a new and exciting stage towards reaching a clearer understanding of the new experimental results with the possibility to link them directly to the advancement in lattice Quantum Chromo-Dynamics (QCD). Recent results from experiments and theoretical developments regarding open and hidden heavy-flavor dynamics have been debated at the Lorentz Workshop Tomography of the Quark-Gluon Plasma with Heavy Quarks, which was held in October 2016 in Leiden, The Netherlands. In this contribution, we summarize identified common understandings and developed strategies for the upcoming five years, which aim at achieving a profound knowledge of the dynamical properties of the quark-gluon plasma.

Abstract Studies of fully-reconstructed jets in heavy-ion collisions aim at extracting thermodynamical and transport properties of hot and dense QCD matter. Recently, a plethora of new jet substructure observables have been theoretically and experimentally developed that provide novel precise insights on the modifications of the parton radiation pattern induced by a QCD medium. This report, summarizing the main lines of discussion at the 5th Heavy Ion Jet Workshop and CERN TH institute ‘Novel tools and observables for jet physics in heavy-ion collisions’ in 2017, presents a first attempt at outlining a strategy for isolating and identifying the relevant physical processes that are responsible for the observed medium-induced jet modifications. These studies combine theory insights, based on the Lund parton splitting map, with sophisticated jet reconstruction techniques, including grooming and background subtraction algorithms.

Mục tiêu: Xác định các typ mô bệnh học của UTKNT theo phân loại của WHO - 2017 và đối chiếu với một số đặc điểm lâm sàng, X-quang. Đối tượng và phương pháp: nghiên cứu mô tả cắt ngang, chọn mẫu có chủ đích. Kết quả: Trong UTKNT phổi thì UTBMTBN chiếm tỷ lệ cao nhất 84%, sau đó đến UTBMTBLTKNT chiếm 14% và ít gặp UTKNT G1 và UTKNT G2.Không gặp UTKNT G3 và typ hỗn hợp. Trong đó nhóm tuổi hay gặp UTKNT G1 và G2 là dưới 40 tuổi, UTBMTBN thường gặp trên 60 tuổi (chiếm 56%). UTBMTBN triệu chứng hay gặp nhất là đau ngực (chiếm 80,9%), tiếp theo đến ho (chiếm 65,5%), ít gặp nhất là ho ra máu (7,1%).Còn UTBMTBLTKNT hầu hết là gặp triệu chứng ho (85,7%). UTBMTBN và UTBMTBLTKNT hay gặp ở thùy trên phổi phải với tỷ lệ lần lượt là 31% và 35,7%. Kích thước khối u trong UTBMTBN và UTBMTBKTKNT thường trên 3cm (chiếm 66,7%) trong khi UTKNT G1 kích thước dưới 3cm. Kết luận: Hầu hết UTKNT của phổi là u thần kinh nội tiết kém biệt hóa (98%) và thường gặp nhất là UTBMTBN (84%), hiếm gặp UTKNT G1 và UTKNT G2. Không gặp UTKNT G3 và typ hỗn hợp. Trong các typ của UTKNT phổi thì UTKNT G1 và G2 hay gặp ở người trẻ tuổi <40 tuổi. UTBMTBN gặp nhiều ở BN trên 60 tuổi (chiếm 56%). Không có sự khác biệt về lâm sàng và Xquang giữa UTBMTBN và UTBMTBLTKNT.

Đặt vấn đề: Kết quả của nhiều nghiên cứu trên thế giới cho thấy đa số sinh viên Điều dưỡng đều gặp khó khăn về tâm lý trong hoạt động học tập. Các vấn đề khó khăn này ảnh hưởng tích cực và tiêu cực đến hoạt động học tập của sinh viên. Mục tiêu nghiên cứu: Khảo sát các vấn đề khó khăn tâm lý trong học tập ở sinh viên điều dưỡng trường Đại học Y Dược Cần Thơ năm 2023 và các yếu tố liên quan. Đối tượng và phương pháp nghiên cứu: Nghiên cứu cắt ngang mô tả có phân tích trên 149 sinh viên ngành điều dưỡng năm 2, 3, 4 của Trường Đại học Y Dược Cần Thơ năm 2023 đã tham gia thực hành lâm sàng tại bệnh viện. Các vấn đề khó khăn về tâm lý trong học tập được đánh giá bằng thang đo Perceived Stress Scale PSS của Sheu và cộng sự (1997). Kết quả: 69,8% sinh viên Điều dưỡng có khó khăn tâm lý trong học tập ở mức độ trung bình với điểm trung bình là 1,89±0,54. Giới tính có liên quan đến điểm trung bình các vấn đề khó khăn về tâm lí trong học tập (t=-2,424, p= 0,041). Kết luận: Đa số sinh viên Điều dưỡng có khó khăn tâm lý trong học tập. Nhà trường cần tiếp tục chú ý tăng cường các hoạt động tư vấn tâm lý cho sinh viên.

Quantum scattering in the presence of a potential valley followed by a barrier is examined for a Morse potential, for which exact analytical solutions are known. For our application the sign of the potential is reversed, and the wave function is required to vanish at the origin. This condition requires a special combination of hypergeometric functions, and can lead to resonances for incident energies below the top of the barrier. Numerical values for the analytical phase shifts are presented in and outside the resonant regions, and the corresponding properties of the scattering S matrix are examined in the complex momentum plane. The validity of the Breit–Wigner approximation to the resonant part of the phase shifts is tested, and a new method for finding the location of narrow resonances is described. The time decay of a resonant wave packet slowly leaking out of the valley region (on a time scale proportional to the inverse of the width of the resonance) is compared with theoretical predictions, and complete agreement is not found.

A measurement of the Higgs boson Yukawa coupling to the top quark is presented using proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb$^{-1}$, recorded with the CMS detector. The coupling strength with respect to the standard model value, $Y_\mathrm{t}$, is determined from kinematic distributions in $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ final states containing ee, $μμ$, or e$μ$ pairs. Variations of the Yukawa coupling strength lead to modified distributions for $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ production. In particular, the distributions of the mass of the $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ system and the rapidity difference of the top quark and antiquark are sensitive to the value of $Y_\mathrm{t}$. The measurement yields a best fit value of $Y_\mathrm{t} =$ 1.16 $^{+0.24}_{-0.35}$, bounding $Y_\mathrm{t}$ $\lt$ 1.54 at a 95% confidence level.

Using a very simple trial function with only one variational parameter, the effects of parabolic confining potentials and magnetic fields on the binding energy of hydrogen impurities in quantum dots are investigated in detail. For a comparison, the perturbation calculations are also performed in the limit cases of weak and strong confinements. The obtained results are suggested to be used for shallow donor impurities in GaAs-type quantums dots.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with increased risk being associated with unresolved or chronic inflammation. Agricultural and livestock workers endure significant exposure to agricultural dusts on a routine basis; however, the chronic inflammatory and carcinogenic effects of these dust exposure is unclear. We have developed a chronic dust exposure model of lung carcinogenesis in which mice were intranasally challenged three times a week for 24 weeks, using an aqueous dust extract (HDE) made from dust collected in swine confinement facilities. We also treated mice with the omega-3-fatty acid lipid mediator, aspirin-triggered resolvin D1 (AT-RvD1) to provide a novel therapeutic strategy for mitigating the inflammatory and carcinogenic effects of HDE. Exposure to HDE resulted in significant immune cell influx into the lungs, enhanced lung tumorigenesis, severe tissue pathogenesis, and a pro-inflammatory and carcinogenic gene signature, relative to saline-exposed mice. AT-RvD1 treatment mitigated the dust-induced inflammatory response but did not protect against HDE + NNK-enhanced tumorigenesis. Our data suggest that chronic HDE exposure induces a significant inflammatory and pro-carcinogenic response, whereas treatment with AT-RvD1 dampens the inflammatory responses, providing a strong argument for the therapeutic use of AT-RvD1 to mitigate chronic inflammation.

A new, portable, phased array of microphones is built at NASA Ames Research Center specifically for the harsh environment encountered in launch pads of rocket vehicles. It uses 70 piezoresistive, dynamic pressure sensors, optimally distributed on a 10.5ft diameter open frame dome structure. The open frame is light yet robust to sustain the high wind load of typical seaside launch pads, and the blast and acoustic loads from the launch. A 200-ft long cable bundle carries the microphone signals to a weather-protected cabinet containing the data systems, and allows for the placement of the array on tall structures. The array is equipped with an infra-red camera and a visible wavelength camera for imaging the launch pad. The beamformed noise maps will be superimposed on the video footages collected by the cameras for correct identification of the noise sources. The array is tested with very loud speaker sources to determine the beamforming ability using different schemes, such as the conventional beamforming, orthogonal-functional beamforming, and spectral element methods. A comparative study was conducted to determine the minimum attainable spatial resolution. Data from a validation test in an outdoor setup, where the array was placed on a Telehandler forklift at several different heights and distances from either a single or a pair of speakers, is presented in this paper. The final goal is to use the array during NASA’s Artemis-II launch to determine the distribution of noise sources on the Mobile Launcher at Kennedy Space Center.

A system test of various components of the Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC (STAR) detector, operating in concert, has recently come on-line. Communication between a major sub-detector, a sector of the time projection chamber (TPC), and the trigger, data acquisition and slow controls systems has been established, enabling data from cosmic ray muons to be collected. First results from an analysis of the TPC data are presented. These include measurements of system noise, electronic parameters such as amplifier gains and pedestal values, and tracking resolution for cosmic ray muons and laser induced ionization tracks. A discussion on the experience gained in integrating the different components for the system test is also given.

In the particle-flow approach information from all available sub-detector systems is combined to reconstruct all stable particles. The global event reconstruction has been shown to improve, in particular, the resolution of jet energy and missing transverse energy in pp collisions compared to purely calorimetric measurements. This improvement is achieved primarily by combining the precise momentum determination of charged hadrons in the silicon tracker with the associated energy depositions in the calorimeters. By resolving individual particles inside jets, particle flow reduces the sensitivity of the jet energy scale to the jet fragmentation pattern, which is known to be one of the largest sources of systematic uncertainty in jet reconstruction. Particle flow reconstruction is thus potentially well-suited for the study of potential modifications to jet fragmentation in heavy-ion collisions. The particle flow algorithm has been adapted to the heavy-ion environment. The performance of jet reconstruction from particle flow objects in PbPb collisions using the anti-kT jet reconstruction algorithm is presented.

The STAR experiment is one of the two large detectors currently being built at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, U.S.A. The major issue of STAR's DAQ is the large amount of data that has to be processed as fast as possible. The required data rate is of the order of 90 Gbits/s which has to be processed and scaled down to about 15 MBytes/s and stored to tape or other permanent archiving media. To be able to do so the STAR DAQ uses a custom built ASIC which preprocesses the raw data for later use by a software Level 3 trigger. The Level 3 trigger selects events to be archived depending on physics criteria based upon the particle track information extracted during Level 3 processing. The design presented is a massively parallel multiprocessor system which consists of front end microprocessors hierarchically organized within a VME crate system. Each VME crate contains 6 custom made Receiver Boards with 3 Intel I960HD processors per board for a total of 18 processors per crate. The STAR's TPC detector uses 24 such crates and the SVT detector will use 4 crates for a total of 504 microprocessors.

Direct photons are a powerful probe to study the property of quark–gluon plasma (QGP) in high energy heavy-ion collisions. In non-central collisions, the anisotropy of the collision region produces the different pressure gradients and particle density that results in different anisotropy of particle emission, depending on the production processes of photons. Therefore, an azimuthal anisotropy parameter v2 is a powerful tool to explore the source of direct photons. We report on the latest direct photon analysis of the nuclear modification factor in and 62.4 GeV Au + Au collisions, and v2 at high pT in 200 GeV Au + Au collisions at RHIC-PHENIX (Run4). We also present the analysis status, using a larger statistics and better reaction plane information from a new detector available from RHIC Run7 data. (Less)

The flavor dependence of jet quenching is a powerful handle to discriminate between models of parton energy loss in heavy-ion collisions. We demonstrate the capacity of CMS to identify jets initiated by bottom quarks using displaced vertices reconstructed in the silicon tracking system. The b-jet to inclusive jet ratio is measured in PbPb collisions and compared to pp collisions and simulations at the same center-of-mass energy.

Data Set 1, Fasta file containing genetic sequences used for analysis throughout our project. Coding sequences were obtained through BLAST searches on Ensembl, and alignment of sequences was performed using AliView. Included are 8 sequences comprised of four TNFRSF4 genes from domestic cat, lion, leopard, and canadian lynx, as well as the human TNFRSF4 and domestic cat, lion, and leopard TNFRSF18 genes as outgroups. The resulting Fasta file was used for multiple modes of analyis for our project.

Data Set 2, pdb file of Felis catus CD134 receptor. This file was obtained through AlphaFold, and was later used in Chimera for structural analysis of Felis catus' CD134 versus the CD134 receptor of lions, leopard, and lynx.

Well scheduling in oil and gas production in a virtual enterprise is a distributed and online scheduling problem. For such a scheduling problem, planned schedules are subject to unexpected disruptions or under- or over- estimated completion times. To reduce the impact of these uncertain events, schedule revision is necessary to keep the current schedule feasible and optimal in productivity. However, even though frequent schedule revisions may maximize the number of well tasks, it can also increase machine setup and transportation costs. This indicates the necessity of designing a systematic strategy for determining when to carry out schedule revisions. There is no trivial solution to this problem. In this research, we propose an approach to rescheduling interval determination through using a reinforcement learning - multiarmed bandit model. A set of experiments is conducted in a multiagent simulation environment. The results of the experiment demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in detecting optimal rescheduling intervals.

A search for long-lived particles (LLPs) produced in association with a Z boson is presented. The study is performed using data from proton-proton collisions with a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the CMS experiment during 2016-2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 117 fb$^{-1}$. The LLPs are assumed to decay to a pair of standard model quarks that are identified as displaced jets within the CMS tracker system. Triggers and selections based on Z boson decays to electron or muon pairs improve the sensitivity to light LLPs (down to 15 GeV). This search provides sensitivity to beyond the standard model scenarios which predict LLPs produced in association with a Z boson. In particular, the results are interpreted in the context of exotic decays of the Higgs boson to a pair of scalar LLPs (H $\to$ SS). The Higgs boson decay branching fraction is constrained to values less than 6% for proper decay lengths of 10-100 mm and for LLP masses between 40 and 55 GeV. In the case of low-mass ($\approx$15 GeV) scalar particles that subsequently decay to a pair of b quarks, the search is sensitive to branching fractions $\mathcal{B}$(H $\to$ SS) $\lt$ 20% for proper decay lengths of 10-50 mm. The use of associated production with a Z boson increases the sensitivity to low-mass LLPs of this analysis with respect to gluon fusion searches. In the case of 15 GeV scalar LLPs, the improvement corresponds to a factor of 2 at a proper decay length of 30 mm.

A measurement of inclusive four-jet production in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13\TeV is presented. The transverse momenta of jets within $\lvert\eta\rvert \lt$ 4.7 reach down to 35, 30, 25, and 20 GeV for the first-, second-, third-, and fourth-leading jet, respectively. Differential cross sections are measured as functions of the jet transverse momentum, jet pseudorapidity, and several other observables that describe the angular correlations between the jets. The measured distributions show sensitivity to different aspects of the underlying event, parton shower, and matrix element calculations. In particular, the interplay between angular correlations caused by parton shower and double-parton scattering contributions is shown to be important. The double-parton scattering contribution is extracted by means of a template fit to the data, using distributions for single-parton scattering obtained from Monte Carlo event generators and a double-parton scattering distribution constructed from inclusive single-jet events in data. The effective double-parton scattering cross section is calculated and discussed in view of previous measurements and of its dependence on the models used to describe the single-parton scattering background.

These proceedings review recent experimental results on jets and charged hadrons in heavy-ion collisions from RHIC and the LHC.

Jet fragmentation in p+p and Au+Au collisions is studied via back-to-back correlations of direct photons and charged hadrons. The direct photon correlations are obtained by statical subtraction of the background from decay photons. Results on the nuclear modification to the associated charged hadron yields are reviewed. Further studies of jet fragmentation in p+p using isolated direct photons are also presented. A kT -smeared LO pQCD calculation is used to interpret the data. The sensitivity of the data to the underlying fragmentation function is tested and the results are found to be compatible with expectations of a sample dominated by quark jet fragmentation.

We review recent results relating to beauty production in heavy-ion collisions, in both the closed and open heavy flavor sectors, from the CMS experiment at the LHC.The sequential suppression of the ϒ states in PbPb collisions is thought to be evidence of the dissociation of quarkonia bound states in deconfined matter.Data from pPb collisions demonstrate that while cold nuclear effects appear to be subdominant in minimum bias collisions, there exists a non-trivial dependence on collision multiplicity that remains to be understood.The suppression of high p T particles in heavy-ion collisions, relative to the expectation from pp collisions, is typically interpreted in terms of energy loss of hard scattered parton in the dense nuclear medium.The flavor dependence of the energy loss may be accessed via measurements of b hadrons and b-tagged jets.Measurement of B mesons, via non-prompt J/ψ, at relatively low p T indicate a smaller suppression factor than D meson or inclusive charged hadrons.Data on b jets at larger values of p T show no significant difference between the suppression factors of b jets and inclusive jets.In both cases a number of other potential effects need to be precisely understood before the flavor dependence of parton energy loss can be understood in detail.

With the link between fossil fuel use and climate change now almost universally accepted, tackling greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) has become a subject of great social urgency and technological challenge. A variety of models exist, or are under development, for analyzing the role of more sustainable systems, such as renewable energy technologies, in mitigating climate change. However, the direct cost of these technologies is generally higher than that of fossil fuel systems. Methods are needed to more fully account for external factors, societal impacts, and social values associated with fossil fuels versus sustainable energy systems. This paper presents a conceptual model targeted at informing energy policy in order to bring about improvements to inform the management of energy resources so that they can be optimized for climate change. This would then yield a set of governance actions. The model builds on Linstone’s multiple perspectives: technical, organizational, and personal, by attempting to forecast technology development along these perspectives. Thus, factors enabling faster and better adoption by consumers, and faster and more efficient development by organizations are evaluated by taking the potential technological improvements into account.

The inelastic hadronic cross section in proton-lead collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.02 TeV is measured with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 12.6 +/- 0.4 inverse nanobarns, has been collected with an unbiased trigger for inclusive particle production. The cross section is obtained from the measured number of proton-lead collisions with hadronic activity produced in the pseudorapidity ranges 3<abs(eta)<5 and/or -5<abs(eta)<-3, corrected for photon-induced contributions, experimental acceptance, and other instrumental effects. The inelastic cross section is measured to be sigma[inel,pPb]=2061 +/- 3 (stat) +/- 34 (syst) +/- 72 (lum) mb. Various Monte Carlo generators, commonly used in heavy ion and cosmic ray physics, are found to reproduce the data within uncertainties. The value of sigma[inel,pPb] is compatible with that expected from the proton-proton cross section at 5.02 TeV scaled up within a simple Glauber approach to account for multiple scatterings in the lead nucleus, indicating that further net nuclear corrections are small.

Jets are an important tool to probe the hot, dense medium produced in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. At the collision energies available at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), there is copious production of hard processes, such that high p_T jets may be differentiated from the heavy-ion underlying event. The multipurpose Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector is well designed to measure hard scattering processes with its high quality calorimeters and high precision silicon tracker. Jet quenching has been studied in CMS in PbPb collisions at sqrt(s_NN)= 2.76 TeV. As a function of centrality, dijet events with a high p_T leading jet were found to have an increasing momentum imbalance that was significantly larger than predicted by simulations. The angular distribution of jet fragmentation products has been explored by associating charged tracks with the jets measured in the calorimeters. By projecting the momenta of charged tracks onto the leading jet axis it is shown that the apparent momentum imbalance of the leading dijet pair can be recovered if low p_T tracks are considered. A large fraction of the balancing momentum carried by these soft particles is radiated at large angle relative to the jets.

Charge-dependent anisotropy Fourier coefficients ($v_n$) of particle azimuthal distributions are measured in pPb and PbPb collisions at $ \sqrt{\smash[b]{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}}} = $ 5.02 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The normalized difference in the second-order anisotropy coefficients ($v_2$) between positively and negatively charged particles is found to depend linearly on the observed event charge asymmetry with comparable slopes for both pPb and PbPb collisions over a wide range of charged particle multiplicity. In PbPb, the third-order anisotropy coefficient, $v_3$, shows a similar linear dependence with the same slope as seen for $v_2$. The observed similarities between the $v_2$ slopes for pPb and PbPb, as well as the similar slopes for $v_2$ and $v_3$ in PbPb, are compatible with expectations based on local charge conservation in the decay of clusters or resonances, and constitute a challenge to the hypothesis that the observed charge asymmetry dependence of $v_2$ in heavy ion collisions arises from a chiral magnetic wave.

on behalf of the LHC and RHIC collaborationsMeasurements of jets and particle correlations in nucleus-nucleus collisions are intended to probe QCD interactions in the high temperature phase, where matter is understood to behave as a quarkgluon plasma.Two probes are reviewed: jets which are used to study the energy loss of hardscattered partons in this medium and particle correlations which are used to understand collective effects of the bulk matter.Whereas collisions of lighter systems, namely proton-ion and protonproton, initially served primarily as control experiments, certain (but not all) effects first observed in nucleus-nucleus collisions have proven to be pervasive in these systems.Comparative measurements in these three systems have broadened our understanding of many-body QCD phenomena, and raised new questions.This talk reviewed these recent developments.

One of the most active areas of investigation in relativistic heavy-ion collisions is the study of the jet quenching phenomenon whereby hard partons lose their energy as they traverse the hot, dense matter created in such collisions. Strong parton energy loss has been observed in central nucleus-nucleus collisions as evidenced by the a large suppression of the yield of high pT hadrons as compared to the expected yield based on measurements in p+p collisions. Moreover, measurements of back-to-back correlations of charged hadrons suggest that jet shapes are strongly modified modified by the medium. The quantitative interpretation of single and di-hadron measurements is, however, complicated by the fact that the initial parton energy is unknown. A more informative measurement would be one in which the initial parton energy is known, allowing the determination of the fragmentation function, which may be effectively modified from its vacuum form by the presence of the medium. Two measurements in which the initial parton energy may be estimated are discussed in these proceedings: jet reconstruction and two- particle correlations using direct photons. Jet reconstruction in nuclear collisions is challenging due to the large background of soft particles, fluctuations of which give rise to fake jets. Direct photons can be used to estimate the initial parton energy of the recoil jet without recourse to jet reconstruction algorithms. However, such studies suffer from a smaller rate and the direct photon signal must be disentangled from a large background of decay photons. We present jet reconstruction results which use an algorithm suitable for a high multiplicity environment. We also present results of two-particle correlations using direct photons. These results are discussed in the context of medium modification to the fragmentation function.

One of the most active areas of investigation in relativistic heavy-ion collisions is the study of the jet quenching phenomenon whereby hard partons lose their energy as they traverse the hot, dense matter created in such collisions. Strong parton energy loss has been observed in central nucleus-nucleus collisions as evidenced by the a large suppression of the yield of high pT hadrons as compared to the expected yield based on measurements in p+p collisions. Moreover, measurements of back-to-back correlations of charged hadrons suggest that jet shapes are strongly modified modified by the medium. The quantitative interpretation of single and di-hadron measurements is, however, complicated by the fact that the initial parton energy is unknown. A more informative measurement would be one in which the initial parton energy is known, allowing the determination of the fragmentation function, which may be effectively modified from its vacuum form by the presence of the medium. Two measurements in which the initial parton energy may be estimated are discussed in these proceedings: jet reconstruction and two- particle correlations using direct photons. Jet reconstruction in nuclear collisions is challenging due to the large background of soft particles, fluctuations of which give rise to fake jets. Direct photons can be used to estimate the initial parton energy of the recoil jet without recourse to jet reconstruction algorithms. However, such studies suffer from a smaller rate and the direct photon signal must be disentangled from a large background of decay photons. We present jet reconstruction results which use an algorithm suitable for a high multiplicity environment. We also present results of two-particle correlations using direct photons. These results are discussed in the context of medium modification to the fragmentation function.

One of the most active areas of investigation in relativistic heavy-ion collisions is the study of the jet quenching phenomenon whereby hard partons lose their energy as they traverse the hot, dense matter created in such collisions. Strong parton energy loss has been observed in central nucleus-nucleus collisions as evidenced by the a large suppression of the yield of high pT hadrons as compared to the expected yield based on measurements in p+p collisions. Moreover, measurements of back-to-back correlations of charged hadrons suggest that jet shapes are strongly modified modified by the medium. The quantitative interpretation of single and di-hadron measurements is, however, complicated by the fact that the initial parton energy is unknown. A more informative measurement would be one in which the initial parton energy is known, allowing the determination of the fragmentation function, which may be effectively modified from its vacuum form by the presence of the medium. Two measurements in which the initial parton energy may be estimated are discussed in these proceedings: jet reconstruction and two- particle correlations using direct photons. Jet reconstruction in nuclear collisions is challenging due to the large background of soft particles, fluctuations of which give rise to fake jets. Direct photons can be used to estimate the initial parton energy of the recoil jet without recourse to jet reconstruction algorithms. However, such studies suffer from a smaller rate and the direct photon signal must be disentangled from a large background of decay photons. We present jet reconstruction results which use an algorithm suitable for a high multiplicity environment. We also present results of two-particle correlations using direct photons. These results are discussed in the context of medium modification to the fragmentation function.

Measurement of the in-medium energy loss of fast partons is one of the most active topics in heavy-ion physics. Such studies provide an opportunity to gain insight into the fundamental behavior of QCD processes by studying them away from vacuum conditions. A promising channel for relating theoretical models to data are two particle correlations using direct photon triggers. Recent results on this observeable using the PHENIX detector are presented.

Combinatorial auctions, in which trucking companies bid on contracts for bundles of lanes, rather than single ones, hold significant promise for adding efficiencies to contracts for freight transportation services. However, the problems faced by bidders (trucking companies) and auctioneers (large shippers) in order to effectively bid and select contract winners are very computationally complex – preventing widespread adoption of such auctions to date. In this research the authors provide heuristics for solving combinatorial auctions for freight procurement and demonstrate that complicated side constraints (favoring incumbents, creating backup assignments, and minimizing the number of winning carriers) can be considered – benefiting both shippers and carriers. The authors do this in a setting where carriers can bid on as many lanes or packages as they wish and in which shippers explicitly consider carrier capacities when assigning contracts. Empirical analysis shows that othe authors heuristics, based on the LP rounding technique developed by Shmoys and Tardos for the generalized assignment problem have very good performance.

Measurement of the in-medium energy loss of fast partons is one of the most active topics in heavy-ion physics. Such studies provide an opportunity to gain insight into the fundamental behavior of QCD processes by studying them away from vacuum conditions. A promising channel for relating theoretical models to data are two particle correlations using direct photon triggers. Recent results on this observeable using the PHENIX detector are presented.

Jet tomography, the study of differential energy loss of hard scattered partons to infer the density profile of the medium, is greatly improved by precise knowledge of the initial energy of the hard probe. As photons are not strongly interacting, the momentum of the recoil jet from a direct photon trigger is balanced, to a good approximation, by the momentum of the photon. The energy loss of the away-side jet may be viewed as an effective modification of the fragmentation function. Direct photon-hadron correlations in A+A collisions should be sensitive to modified jet fragmentation as well as to medium response effects. Complementary measurements from p+p collisions are necessary to benchmark jet fragmentation expectations at \sqrt{s_NN} = 200 GeV as well as to constrain perturbative calculations in the γ+jet channel. Here we present new results from p+p and Au+Au collisions which use a statistical method to subtract the background from decay photons.

The yield of charged hadrons at intermediate p T (2-5 GeV/c) on the away-side of a high p T hadron trigger is known to be suppressed in central relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The mechanism by which the jet opposite the trigger has its redistributed is not yet fully understood. Although rarer than dijets, direct photon-jet pairs may provide additional constraints on parton energy loss models. The benefits of direct photon triggers are two-fold. In contrast to dijet systems where the jet energy is known only after full jet reconstruction, the direct photon carries approximately the full energy of the jet. Also, the trigger photons do not suffer from the same geometrical bias that causes high p T hadrons from jets to be produced predominately near the surface of the collision region. This poster discusses the method by which the direct photon correlation signal can be separated from the decay photon correlation signal. We present the results of two particle correlation studies of charged hadrons associated with high p T photon triggers in p − p collisions. The results are compared to data from Au−Au collisions and expectations from the PYTHIA event generator.

These proceedings cover two lectures on heavy-ion physics given at the 2018 edition of the Asia-Europe-Pacific School of High-Energy Physics. After a brief introduction of basic concepts that are relevant for heavy-ion collisions, I discuss several interesting phenomena that have been observed, and mention currently still open questions.

The strong Coulomb field created in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions is expected to produce a rapidity-dependent difference ($\Delta v_2$) in the second Fourier coefficient of the azimuthal distribution (elliptic flow, $v_2$) between $\mathrm{D}^0$ ($\mathrm{\bar{u}c}$) and $\overline{\mathrm{D}}^0$ ($\mathrm{u\bar{c}}$) mesons. Motivated by the search for evidence of this field, the CMS detector at the LHC is used to perform the first measurement of $\Delta v_2$. The rapidity-averaged value is found to be $\langle\Delta v_2 \rangle =$ 0.001 $\pm$ 0.001 (stat) $\pm$ 0.003 (syst) in PbPb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} =$ 5.02 TeV. In addition, the influence of the collision geometry is explored by measuring the $\mathrm{D}^0$ and $\overline{\mathrm{D}}^0$ mesons $v_2$ and triangular flow coefficient ($v_3$) as functions of rapidity, transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$), and event centrality (a measure of the overlap of the two Pb nuclei). A clear centrality dependence of prompt $\mathrm{D}^0$ meson $v_2$ values is observed, while the $v_3$ is largely independent of centrality. These trends are consistent with expectations of flow driven by the initial-state geometry.

High performance concrete (HPC) has been used widely for many applications such as high-rise building, highway bridges, tunnels, ect. Although up to the present time there are many recommendations and guidelines issued from research institution on the method how to achieve HPC mix proportion, around the world engineers often spent a lot of time to do preliminary experimental tests in order to select the optimal mix especially when dealing with tailored-made HPC. This paper presents an innovative visual interactive analysis method (VIAM) with the application of parameter space investigation, which helps engineer efficiently in automation and process control of proportioning HPC mix. Component content of tailored-made HPC is considered as a solution of a mathematical model with six objective functions controlling by ten constraints and seven parameters. Indeed, VIAM has played an important role in successfully determining 18 Pareto optimal solutions of this complex model for three particular scenarios set by engineers.

Fair-trade in coffee production offers an opportunity to improve farmers' position in the market. The research has used a multinomial logit model with the MLE method to analysis the factors affecting the awareness probability about the fair-trade model of the coffee farmers Data were collected by directly interviewing 220 farmers in Xuan TruongCommune, Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province where the fair-trade model has been applied to coffee production at the Cau Dat coffee cooperatives.The results showed that the awareness probability of farmers about the fair-trade coffee model was 21,68% while there was only 0.12% of famers knowing this but not clear.In addition, factors affecting the awareness probability in the fair-trade coffee model are educational level, experience, communication, understanding of fair-trade, and coffee cultivation; of which communication and understanding of fair-trade positively influencing the farmers' awareness.

This is the v0.104 release of the Feel++ documentation associated to the v0.104 of Feel++ use antora as documentation framework reorganized completely the documentation into several components: user manual, developer manual, mathematics of feel++, toolbox manual, toolbox example and benchmarks guide, contribution guide

A measurement of the top quark mass is performed using a data sample enriched with single top quark events produced in the $t$ channel. The study is based on proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$, recorded at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016.Candidate events are selected by requiring an isolated high-momentum lepton (muon or electron) and exactly two jets, of which one is identified as originating from a bottom quark. Multivariate discriminants are designed to separate the signal from the background. Optimized thresholds are placed on the discriminant outputs to obtain an event sample with high signal purity. The top quark mass is found to be 172.13$^{+0.76}_{-0.77}$ GeV, where the uncertainty includes both the statistical and systematic components, reaching sub-GeV precision for the first time in this event topology. The masses of the top quark and antiquark are also determined separately using the lepton charge in the final state, from which the mass ratio and difference are determined to be 0.9952$^{+0.0079}_{-0.0104}$ and 0.83$^{+1.79}_{-1.35}$ GeV, respectively. The results are consistent with $CPT$ invariance.

The associated production of a W and a Z boson is studied in final states with multiple leptons produced in proton-proton (pp) collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV using 137 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. A measurement of the total inclusive production cross section yields $\sigma_{\text{tot}}$(pp $\to$ WZ) = 50.6 $\pm$ 0.8 (stat) $\pm$ 1.5 (syst) $\pm$ 1.1 (lum) $\pm$ 0.5 (thy) pb. Measurements of the fiducial and differential cross sections for several key observables are also performed in all the final-state lepton flavour and charge compositions with a total of three charged leptons, which can be electrons or muons. All results are compared with theoretical predictions computed up to next-to-next-to-leading order in quantum chromodynamics plus next-to-leading order in electroweak theory and for various sets of parton distribution functions. The results include direct measurements of the charge asymmetry and the W and Z vector boson polarization. The first observation of longitudinally polarized W bosons in WZ production is reported. Anomalous gauge couplings are searched for, leading to new constraints on beyond-the-standard-model contributions to the WZ triple gauge coupling.

The CMS experiment at the LHC has measured the differential cross sections of Z bosons decaying to pairs of leptons, as functions of transverse momentum and rapidity, in lead-lead collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV. The measured Z boson elliptic azimuthal anisotropy coefficient is compatible with zero, showing that Z bosons do not experience significant final-state interactions in the medium produced in the collision. Yields of Z bosons are compared to Glauber model predictions and are found to deviate from these expectations in peripheral collisions, indicating the presence of initial collision geometry and centrality selection effects. The precision of the measurement allows, for the first time, for a data-driven determination of the nucleon-nucleon integrated luminosity as a function of lead-lead centrality, thereby eliminating the need for its estimation based on a Glauber model.

A system test of various components of the Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC (STAR) detector, operating in concert, has recently come on-line. Communication between a major sub-detector, a sector of the Time Projection Chamber (TPC), and the trigger, data acquisition and slow controls systems has been established, enabling data from cosmic ray muons to be collected. First results from an analysis of the TPC data are presented. These include measurements of system noise, electronic parameters such as amplifies gains and pedestal values, and tracking resolution for cosmic ray muons and laser induced ionization tracks. A discussion on the experience gained in integrating the different components for the system test is also given.