Estimating Total Program Cost of a Long-Term, High-Technology, High-Risk Project with Task Durations and Costs That May Increase Over Time

Military Operations Research, 11, 2006, pp. 41-62.We plan a long-term project schedule for which the total budget depends upon the year the project finishes. Each task in the project can begin only when all its predecessor tasks have been completed, and each task has a range of feasible durations with a month-by-month cost profile for each duration. A task start can be delayed, but once started for some chosen duration, a task cannot be interrupted. Each task suffers some risk of delay and changed cost. Ignoring budget constraints, we use Monte Carlo simulation of the duration of each task in the project to infer the probability distribution of the project completion time. We then optimize a deterministic project schedule following budget guidance. Finally, we successively reschedule as the project progresses, simulating annual review of the active tasks, and possibly delaying each active task's duration and changing its monthly costs for its forecast duration. We do not require an independence assumption, so we can accommodate learning effects from completed tasks. U.S. Army Future Combat Systems (FCS) is our motivating application. FCS is a complex of information technologies, sensors, and command systems expected to require more than a decade and $16 billion to develop. The U.S. General Accounting Office finds FCS at significant risk of cost and schedule growth, and suggests two alternatives to a baseline Army plan. We analyze these three alternate project plans for FCS to discover which one can most likely be completed soonest and cheapest

Using your soil test results

"To use your soil test report to the best advantage, you need to understand the information it provides. With the proper soil test interpretations and suggested fertilizer treatments, you will have a fertilizer program for maximum profitable crop production."--First page.Daryl D. Buchholz, James R. Brown, and Roger G. Hanson (Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture)Revised 12/86/10

Using your soil test results

"To use your soil test re,port to the best advantage, you need to understand the information it provides. With the proper soil test interpretations and suggested fertilizer treatments, you will have a fertilizer program for maximum profitable crop production."--First page.Daryl D. Buchholz, James R. Brown, and Roger G. Hanson (Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture)Revised 7/89/7

Solid State NMR of Hydrogen in Thin Film Synthetic Diamond

Thin film synthetic diamond promises to be the next semiconductor material, if the manufacturing processes which produce it can be controlled. Solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) using magic angle spinning (MAS) is used to measure the content of hydrogen in diamond which controls the resistivity of the diamond thin films. Spectral results are presented for proton NMR of thin film synthetic diamond. Experimental calibration techniques using BaF2 as the hydrogen standard will be discussed, as well as acquisition times, pulsing sequences, spinning rates, and rotor composition

Enhancing the Psychology Curriculum Through Service Learning

Educators in psychology should aspire to encourage students’ holistic growth in academic, personal, and civic domains. We propose that service learning is the most potent pedagogy for developing well-rounded, psychologically literate citizens capable of meeting the goals for the undergraduate psychology major. This article defines service learning, delineates the rationales for service learning, and summarizes research demonstrating the efficacy of this pedagogical approach. The article also describes the learning objectives derived from the American Psychological Association Guidelines for the Undergraduate Major (Version 2.0, 2013), with an emphasis on the ways in which service learning contributes to academic learning, civic learning, and personal growth. Finally, the article illustrates the four types of service learning, and it provides a concrete example for structuring reflection in order to connect community experiences with course content in a service learning psychology course

Radiative Tau Decays with One Pseudoscalar Meson

We have calculated the decay $\tau \rightarrow \nu \pi(K) \gamma$. We present the photon energy spectrum, the meson-photon invariant mass spectrum and the integrated rate as a function of a photon energy cut or an invariant mass cut. Both the internal bremsstrahlung and the structure dependent radiation have been taken into account. To this aim we have parametrized the form factors $F_V$ and $F_A$, which determine the structure dependent radiation. Observables especially suited for the measurement of the structure dependent form factors are found and implications on the width of the $a_1$ discussed.Comment: p.20, TTP93-1, LaTe

Centaurus A at Ultra-High Energies

We review the importance of Centaurus A in high energy astrophysics as a nearby object with many of the properties expected of a major source of very high energy cosmic rays and gamma-rays. We examine observational techniques and the results so far obtained in the energy range from 200 GeV to above 100 EeV and attempt to fit those data with expectations of Centaurus A as an astrophysical source from VHE to UHE energies.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

Anticancer effects of n-3 EPA and DHA and their endocannabinoid derivatives on breast cancer cell growth and invasion

Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge NHS Grampian Endowment funds and TENOVUS Scotland for funding. JL was funded by a scholarship from Fraserburgh Moonlight Prowl and AAS was funded by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS). We also thank Dr Raphael Mechoulam, University of Jerusalem, for the gift of the endocannabinoids.Peer reviewedPostprin