2,750 research outputs found
Risk, precaution and science: towards a more constructive policy debate. Talking point on the precautionary principle
Few issues in contemporary risk policy are as momentous or contentious as the precautionary principle. Since it first emerged in German environmental policy, it has been championed by environmentalists and consumer protection groups, and resisted by the industries they oppose (Raffensperger & Tickner, 1999). Various versions of the principle now proliferate across different national and international jurisdictions and policy areas (Fisher, 2002). From a guiding theme in European Commission (EC) environmental policy, it has become a general principle of EC law (CEC, 2000; Vos & Wendler, 2006). Its influence has extended from the regulation of environmental, technological and health risks to the wider governance of science, innovation and trade (O'Riordan & Cameron, 1994)
The point of maximum curvature as a marker for physiological time series
We present a geometric analysis of the model of Stirling. In particular we analyze the curvature of a heart rate time series in response to a step like increment in the exercise intensity. We present solutions for the point of maximum curvature which can be used as a marker of physiological interest. This marker defines the point after which the heart rate no longer continues to rapidly rise and instead follows either a steady state or slow rise. These methods are then applied to find analytic solutions for a mono exponential model which is commonly used in the literature to model the response to a moderate exercise intensity. Numerical solutions are then found for the full model and parameter values presented in Stirling
Proof Systems for Retracts in Simply Typed Lambda Calculus
Abstract. This paper concerns retracts in simply typed lambda calculus assuming βη-equality. We provide a simple tableau proof system which characterises when a type is a retract of another type and which leads to an exponential decision procedure.
Opening Up the Politics of Knowledge and Power in Bioscience
Public engagement is not in tension with science, but actually a way to be more rigorous - as well as more democratic - about social choice of biotechnology
The inner radio jet region and the complex environment of SS433
We present multi-frequency VLBA+VLA observations of SS433 at 1.6, 5 and 15
GHz. These observations provide the highest angular resolution radio spectral
index maps ever made for this object. Motion of the components of SS433 during
the observation is detected. In addition to the usual VLBI jet structure, we
detect two radio components in the system at an anomalous position angle. These
newly discovered radio emitting regions might be related to a wind-like
equatorial outflow or to an extension of the accretion disk. We show that the
radio core component is bifurcated with a clear gap between the eastern and
western wings of emission. Modelfitting of the precessing jets and the moving
knots of SS433 shows that the kinematic centre -- i.e. the binary -- is in the
gap between the western and eastern radio core components. Spectral properties
and observed core position shifts suggest that we see a combined effect of
synchrotron self-absorption and external free-free absorption in the innermost
AU-scale region of the source. The spatial distribution of the ionized matter
is probably not spherically symmetric around the binary, but could be
disk-like.Comment: Accepted for publication by Astronomy and Astrophysic
Prospects for observation of double parton scattering with four-muon final states at LHCb
We study the prospects for observing double parton scattering through
four-muon final states, forming two opposite-sign muon pairs, in the LHCb
experiment in pp collisions at 14 TeV centre of mass energy. We consider two
special cases, namely double Drell-Yan and J/psi-pair production. The kinematic
properties and prospects for observing these processes are discussed. We find
that the production rate depends strongly on the origin of the four muons,
while many kinematic properties can be used to help identify the presence of
double parton scattering events.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figure
Ground State Degeneracy in the Levin-Wen Model for Topological Phases
We study properties of topological phases by calculating the ground state
degeneracy (GSD) of the 2d Levin-Wen (LW) model. Here it is explicitly shown
that the GSD depends only on the spatial topology of the system. Then we show
that the ground state on a sphere is always non-degenerate. Moreover, we study
an example associated with a quantum group, and show that the GSD on a torus
agrees with that of the doubled Chern-Simons theory, consistent with the
conjectured equivalence between the LW model associated with a quantum group
and the doubled Chern-Simons theory.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures. v2: reference added; v3: two appendices adde
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