Isolated photons in perturbative QCD

I present a definition of the cross section for the production of an isolated photon plus $n$ jets which only depends upon direct photon production, and it is independent of the parton-to-photon fragmentation contribution. This prescription, based on a modified cone approach which implements the isolation condition in a smooth way, treats in the same way quarks and gluons and can be directly applied to experimental data in hadron-hadron, photon-hadron and \epem collisions. The case of several, isolated photons in the final state can also be dealt with in the very same way.Comment: 10 pages Late

Convergence Rates for Newton’s Method at Singular Points

If Newton’s method is employed to find a root of a map from a Banach space into itself and the derivative is singular at that root, the convergence of the Newton iterates to the root is linear rather than quadratic. In this paper we give a detailed analysis of the linear convergence rates for several types of singular problems. For some of these problems we describe modifications of Newton’s method which will restore quadratic convergence

A comparison of course-related stressors in undergraduate problem-based learning (PBL) versus non-PBL medical programmes

Background: Medical students report high levels of stress related to their medical training as well as to other personal and financial factors. The aim of this study is to investigate whether there are differences in course-related stressors reported by medical students on undergraduate problem-based learning (PBL) and non-PBL programmes in the UK. Method: A cross-sectional study of second-year medical students in two UK medical schools (one PBL and one non-PBL programme) was conducted. A 16-question self-report questionnaire, derived from the Perceived Medical Student Stress Scale and the Higher Education Stress Inventory, was used to measure course-related stressors. Following univariate analysis of each stressor between groups, multivariate logistic regression was used to determine which stressors were the best predictors of each course type, while controlling for socio-demographic differences between the groups. Results: A total of 280 students responded. Compared to the non-PBL students (N = 197), the PBL students (N = 83) were significantly more likely to agree that: they did not know what the faculty expected of them (Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.38, p = 0.03); there were too many small group sessions facilitated only by students resulting in an unclear curriculum (OR = 0.04, p < 0.0001); and that there was a lack of opportunity to explore academic subjects of interest (OR = 0.40, p = 0.02). They were significantly more likely to disagree that: there was a lack of encouragement from teachers (OR = 3.11, p = 0.02); and that the medical course fostered a sense of anonymity and feelings of isolation amongst students (OR = 3.42, p = 0.008). Conclusion: There are significant differences in the perceived course-related stressors affecting medical students on PBL and non-PBL programmes. Course designers and student support services should therefore tailor their work to minimise, or help students cope with, the specific stressors on each course type to ensure optimum learning and wellbeing among our future doctors

Analysis of the Helicobacter mustelae surface ring (hsr) Locus : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Biological Sciences at Massey University

Analysis of the Factors Influencing New Zealand's Trade with China- 1954 to 1984" In 2004 China became New Zealand's fourth largest trading partner taking approximately 5% of New Zealand's exports and 8% of New Zealand's imports. This study analyses the economic and political background to the rise of China as a pivotal trading partner for New Zealand. The nature and pattern of New Zealand-China trade between 1954 and 1984 is examined with emphasis is given to factors that have assisted or hindered bi-lateral trade. Political factors are identified as the paramount influence on trade development and lead to the demarcation of three distinct periods of trading activity. Market forces, trade barriers, and transport issues are the other factors found to have influenced the pattern of trade between New Zealand and China over the subject period

"Cultural additivity" and how the values and norms of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism co-exist, interact, and influence Vietnamese society: A Bayesian analysis of long-standing folktales, using R and Stan

Every year, the Vietnamese people reportedly burned about 50,000 tons of joss papers, which took the form of not only bank notes, but iPhones, cars, clothes, even housekeepers, in hope of pleasing the dead. The practice was mistakenly attributed to traditional Buddhist teachings but originated in fact from China, which most Vietnamese were not aware of. In other aspects of life, there were many similar examples of Vietnamese so ready and comfortable with adding new norms, values, and beliefs, even contradictory ones, to their culture. This phenomenon, dubbed "cultural additivity", prompted us to study the co-existence, interaction, and influences among core values and norms of the Three Teachings--Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism--as shown through Vietnamese folktales. By applying Bayesian logistic regression, we evaluated the possibility of whether the key message of a story was dominated by a religion (dependent variables), as affected by the appearance of values and anti-values pertaining to the Three Teachings in the story (independent variables).Comment: 8 figures, 35 page

Isolation and characterization of strong gene regulatory sequences from apple, Malus x domestica

For the strong expression of genes in plant tissue, the availability of specific gene regulatory sequences is desired. We cloned promoter and terminator sequences of an apple (Malus x domestica) ribulose biphosphate carboxylase small subunit gene (MdRbcS), which is known for its high expression and used gus reporter gene expression to test the regulatory activity of the isolated promoter and terminator sequences in transgenic tobacco. The MdRbcS promoter itself seemed to be less strong than the CaMV35S promoter when both used in combination with the nos terminator. However, the combination of the promoter and terminator of MdRbcS was able to drive gus to similar expression levels as the reference construct with CaMV35S promoter and nos terminator. This observation indicates the importance of the terminator sequence for gene expression. It is concluded that the combination of the MdRbcS promoter and terminator is a suitable regulatory sequence set for the expression of transgenes to a high level in plants and for intragenesis in apple specificall