42,990 research outputs found
Nutritional and cultural aspects of plant species selection for a controlled ecological life support system
The feasibility of using higher plants in a controlled ecological life support system is discussed. Aspects of this system considered important in the use of higher plants include: limited energy, space, and mass, and problems relating to cultivation and management of plants, food processing, the psychological impact of vegetarian diets, and plant propagation. A total of 115 higher plant species are compared based on 21 selection criteria
Two-channel Kondo physics in two-impurity Kondo models
We consider the non-Fermi liquid quantum critical state of the spin-S
two-impurity Kondo model, and its potential realization in a quantum dot
device. Using conformal field theory (CFT) and the numerical renormalization
group (NRG), we show the critical point to be identical to that of the
two-channel Kondo model with additional potential scattering, for any spin-S.
Distinct conductance signatures are shown to arise as a function of device
asymmetry; with the `smoking gun' square-root behavior, commonly believed to
arise at low-energies, dominant only in certain regimes.Comment: 4.5 pages (with 3 figures) + 9 pages (with 4 figures) supplementary
materia
Human factors aspects of control room design: Guidelines and annotated bibliography
A human factors analysis of the workstation design for the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite mission operation room is discussed. The relevance of anthropometry, design rules, environmental design goals, and the social-psychological environment are discussed
The 67 Hz Feature in the Black Hole Candidate GRS 1915+105 as a Possible ``Diskoseismic'' Mode
The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) has made feasible for the first time
the search for high-frequency (~ 100 Hz) periodic features in black hole
candidate (BHC) systems. Such a feature, with a 67 Hz frequency, recently has
been discovered in the BHC GRS 1915+105 (Morgan, Remillard, & Greiner). This
feature is weak (rms variability ~0.3%-1.6%), stable in frequency (to within ~2
Hz) despite appreciable luminosity fluctuations, and narrow (quality factor Q ~
20). Several of these properties are what one expects for a ``diskoseismic''
g-mode in an accretion disk about a 10.6 M_sun (nonrotating) - 36.3 M_sun
(maximally rotating) black hole (if we are observing the fundamental mode
frequency). We explore this possibility by considering the expected luminosity
modulation, as well as possible excitation and growth mechanisms---including
turbulent excitation, damping, and ``negative'' radiation damping. We conclude
that a diskoseismic interpretation of the observations is viable.Comment: 4 Pages, Latex (emulateapj.sty included), to Appear in ApJ Letters,
Vol. 477, Final Version with Updated Reference
How effective is the Forestry Commission Scotland's woodland improvement programme--'Woods In and Around Towns' (WIAT)--at improving psychological well-being in deprived urban communities? A quasi-experimental study
Introduction: There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that green spaces may positively influence psychological well-being. This project is designed to take advantage of a natural experiment where planned physical and social interventions to enhance access to natural environments in deprived communities provide an opportunity to prospectively assess impacts on perceived stress and mental well-being.<p></p>
Study design and methods: A controlled, prospective study comprising a repeat cross-sectional survey of residents living within 1.5 km of intervention and comparison sites. Three waves of data will be collected: prephysical environment intervention (2013); postphysical environment intervention (2014) and postwoodland promotion social intervention (2015). The primary outcome will be a measure of perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale) preintervention and postintervention. Secondary, self-report outcomes include: mental well-being (Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale), changes in physical activity (IPAQ-short form), health (EuroQoL EQ-5D), perception and use of the woodlands, connectedness to nature (Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale), social cohesion and social capital. An environmental audit will complement the study by evaluating the physical changes in the environment over time and recording any other contextual changes over time. A process evaluation will assess the implementation of the programme. A health economics analysis will assess the cost consequences of each stage of the intervention in relation to the primary and secondary outcomes of the study.<p></p>
Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval has been given by the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art Research, Ethics and Knowledge Exchange Committee (ref. 19/06/2012). Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, national and international conferences and, at the final stage of the project, through a workshop for those interested in implementing environmental interventions.<p></p>
Hawkes process as a model of social interactions: a view on video dynamics
We study by computer simulation the "Hawkes process" that was proposed in a
recent paper by Crane and Sornette (Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 105, 15649
(2008)) as a plausible model for the dynamics of YouTube video viewing numbers.
We test the claims made there that robust identification is possible for
classes of dynamic response following activity bursts. Our simulated timeseries
for the Hawkes process indeed fall into the different categories predicted by
Crane and Sornette. However the Hawkes process gives a much narrower spread of
decay exponents than the YouTube data, suggesting limits to the universality of
the Hawkes-based analysis.Comment: Added errors to parameter estimates and further description. IOP
style, 13 pages, 5 figure
ON THE GEOMETRY OF THE X-RAY EMITTING REGION IN SEYFERT GALAXIES
For the first time, detailed radiative transfer calculations of Comptonized
X-ray and gamma-ray radiation in a hot pair plasma above a cold accretion disk
are performed using two independent codes and methods. The simulations include
both energy and pair balance as well as reprocessing of the X- and gamma-rays
by the cold disk. We study both plane-parallel coronae as well as active
dissipation regions having shapes of hemispheres and pill boxes located on the
disk surface. It is shown, contrary to earlier claims, that plane-parallel
coronae in pair balance have difficulties in selfconsistently reproducing the
ranges of 2-20 keV spectral slopes, high energy cutoffs, and compactnesses
inferred from observations of type 1 Seyfert galaxies. Instead, the
observations are consistent with the X-rays coming from a number of individual
active regions located on the surface of the disk.
A number of effects such as anisotropic Compton scattering, the reflection
hump, feedback to the soft photon source by reprocessing, and an active region
in pair equilibrium all conspire to produce the observed ranges of X-ray
slopes, high energy cutoffs, and compactnesses. The spread in spectral X-ray
slopes can be due to a spread in the properties of the active regions such as
their compactnesses and their elevations above the disk surface. Simplified
models invoking isotropic Comptonization in spherical clouds are no longer
sufficient when interpreting the data.Comment: 9 pages, 3 postscript figures, figures can be obtained from the
authors via e-mail: [email protected]
Material studies related to lunar surface exploration, volume 3 Final report, 6 Mar. 1967 - 30 Jun. 1968
Mechanical properties of lunar soils related to lunar exploratio
Semiclassical Decay of Excited String States on Leading Regge Trajectories
We study the decay of hadrons based on a semiclassical string model. By
including quark mass effects we find that the width to mass ratio \G/m is an
increasing function of , which increases most rapidly for massive quarks.
This is consistent with the available data. The decay probability of hadrons on
the leading Regge trajectories is computed taking the effect of the string
rotation into account. The resulting decay probability is no longer uniform
along the length of the string but varies in a manner that is in qualitative
agreement with the available data. We argue in favour of possible experiments
that would test our predictions more accurately and help open a window to the
nonperturbative aspects of QCD.Comment: 15 PAGES, UR-1326, ER-40685-776, SU-4240-55
The Galam Model of Minority Opinion Spreading and the Marriage Gap
In 2002, Serge Galam designed a model of a minority opinion spreading. The
effect is expected to lead a conservative minority to prevail if the issue is
discussed long enough. Here we analyze the marriage gap, i.e. the difference in
voting for Bush and Kerry in 2004 between married and unmarried people. It
seems possible to interpret this marriage gap in terms of the Galam model.Comment: 6 page
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