SiO Masers In Variable-Stars

NSF MPS 05070-76Astronom

A review of the mallet impact test for small scale explosive formulations

Presented at 19th Seminar on New Trends of Energetic Materials (NTREM 2016); 20-22/04/2016, Pardubice Czech RepublicDevelopment of new explosive formulations begins with the generation of only a few milligrams of material which is investigated using a number of small scale tests such as DSC, TGA, response to flame, mallet impact (mallet friction either glancing or direct blow) to determine whether the formulation is safe to scale up to 10 g. The latter of these tests, mallet impact, can be particularly subjective as the result is directly influenced by the operator carrying out the assessment. Not only can there be a change from one operator to another but there can also be a change in the force applied during each strike potentially leading to inconsistent results. This study highlights this encountered variation and assesses the load applied by a variety of operators with varying levels of explosive experience. This paper also proposes the use of a small scale laboratory based impact test which would provide improved confidence in the assessment of impact sensitiveness of explosive formulations and assist in justifying whether a formulation can be taken to the next scale. A small scale version of the BAM impact test (EMTAP Test 43) has been devised that allows the comparison of the sensitiveness of small scale formulations relative to RDX (8.7 J, EMTAP Test 43B) whilst also ensuring a reproducible result

Superconducting re-entrant cavity transducer for a resonant bar gravitational radiation antenna

Copyright @ American Institute of PhysicsA 10‐GHz superconducting niobium re‐entrant cavity parametric transducer was developed for use in a cryogenic 1.5‐tonne Nb resonant bar gravitational radiation antenna. The transducer has a very high electrical Q (6×105 at 4.2 K), and was operated at high cavity fields without degrading the Q. A very high electromechanical coupling between the antenna and the transducer was therefore achieved. The highest coupling attained, constrained by the available pump power, was 0.11. If the transducer were to be operated in conjunction with a wideband impedance matching element, an antenna bandwidth comparable to the frequency of the antenna would be attained. The temperature dependence of the Q of the transducer was in good agreement with theory. At temperatures above about 6 K the Q was degraded by the increase in the BCS surface resistance, while at lower temperatures the Q was limited by radiative losses

Bottom-Up Reconstruction Scenarios for (un)constrained MSSM Parameters at the LHC

We consider some specific inverse problem or "bottom-up" reconstruction strategies at the LHC for both general and constrained MSSM parameters, starting from a plausibly limited set of sparticle identification and mass measurements, using mainly gluino/squark cascade decays, plus eventually the lightest Higgs boson mass. For the three naturally separated sectors of: gaugino/Higgsino, squark/slepton, and Higgs parameters, we examine different step-by-step algorithms based on rather simple, entirely analytical, inverted relations between masses and basic MSSM parameters. This includes also reasonably good approximations of some of the relevant radiative correction calculations. We distinguish the constraints obtained for a general MSSM from those obtained with universality assumptions in the three different sectors. Our results are compared at different stages with the determination from more standard "top-down" fit of models to data, and finally combined into a global determination of all the relevant parameters. Our approach gives complementary information to more conventional analysis, and is not restricted to the specific LHC measurement specificities. In addition, the bottom-up renormalization group evolution of general MSSM parameters, being an important ingredient in this framework, is illustrated as a new publicly available option of the MSSM spectrum calculation code "SuSpect".Comment: 52 pages, 22 figures. Slight reorganization of sections, a few more results for the neutralino sector, one appendix added on neutralino sector calculation details. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.

DIRC DREAMS REDUX: RESEARCH DIRECTIONS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF INTERNALLY REFLECTED IMAGING COUNTERS *

Some general conceptual design features of total internally reflecting, imaging Cherenkov counters (DIRCs) are described. Limits of the DIRC approach to particle identification and a few features of alternative DIRC designs are briefly explored

Age- and sex- specific all-cause mortality risk greatest in metabolic syndrome combinations with elevated blood pressure from 7 U.S. cohorts

Background The association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and all-cause mortality is well established but it is unclear if there are differences in mortality risk among the 32 possible MetS combinations. Hence, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the associations between different MetS combinations and its individual components with all-cause mortality, and to examine differences in the association by age and sex. Methods A merged sample of 82,717 adults from 7 U.S. cohorts was used. Results In our sample, MetS was present in 32% of men, 34% of women, 28% of younger adults (18–65 years) and 62% of older adults (>65 years) with 14,989 deaths over 14.6 ± 7.4 years of follow-up. Risk of all-cause mortality was higher in younger individuals with a greater number of MetS factors present, but in older adults having all 5 MetS factors was the only combination significantly associated with mortality. Regardless of age or sex, elevated blood pressure was the MetS factor most consistently present in MetS combinations that were significantly and most strongly associated with mortality. In fact, elevated blood pressure in the absence of other risk factors was significantly associated with mortality in men (HR, 95% CI = 1.56, 1.33–1.84), women (HR = 1.62, 1.44–1.81) and younger adults (HR = 1.61, 1.45–1.79). Conversely, waist circumference, glucose and triglycerides in isolation were not associated with mortality (p>0.05). Conclusion In a large U.S. population, different combinations of MetS components vary substantially in their associations with all-cause mortality. Men, women and younger individuals with MetS combinations including elevated blood pressure had stronger associations with greater mortality risk, with minimal associations between MetS and mortality risk in older adults. Thus, we suggest that future algorithms may wish to consider differential weighting of these common metabolic risk factors, particularly in younger populations.York University Librarie