Introduction to Astrophysics and Study of Cosmic-ray Collisions and Scanning

The discovery of tremendous amounts of energy from the Atomic Explosion (ex: first Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima) was not something new. For billions of years, atoms have been splitting with the release of such energy whenever stars are shining. We know that the atomic energy is being released from the sun and stars, and that this process has been going on for unthinkable years. However, the sun\u27s atomic energy has been under control constantly, and its release of radiation (dynamic force) has supplied the constant supply of light and heat best suited for the well-being of mankind. There are times, however, when apparently accidents can happen even in the solar laboratories; for explosions do occur on the sun that effects the earth out in a safety zone of space 19 million miles away from the sun. On such occasions, we can say that in a fairly true sense an atomic bomb has exploded on the sun. These solar explosions occur most frequently when the sun shows on its otherwise uniformly bright surface dark blotches familiarly known as sunspots

Leveling Up! A Scorecard Methodology for Game Development Pitches

The video games industry has grown significantly in the last decade. Meanwhile, the considerable upfront investment for large game development projects imposes substantial risks on publishers and game studios, as their consumer base—gamers—vary greatly in tastes, preferences, and willingness to pay. Further, the hits-driven nature of the video games business, coupled with its inherently unpredictable consumer behaviors, compounds the investment challenges in game development. To manage risk in such high-stakes investments, we draw on self-determination theory (SDT), identify six potential drivers of success in game launches, and propose a novel scorecard methodology to quantify these factors. In particular, we visualize the competitive position of proposed games within a game portfolio and across competitors. Our methodology facilitates game studios to evaluate game development pitches and informs investment opportunities in games with greater potential for long-term user engagement and financial success

The Impact of Fiscal Governance on Bond Markets: Evidence from Late Budgets and State Government Borrowing Costs

Does fiscal governance affect government borrowing costs? We operationalize fiscal governance as the ability of governments to pass a budget on time and, using a unique data set on budget enactment dates, analyze the effect of such late budgets on government bond yield spreads. Based on a sample of 36 US states in the period 1988-1997, we estimate that a budget delay of 30 days has a long run impact on the yield spread between 2 and 10 basis points. States with sufficient liquidity in the form of large reserves face small or no costs from late budgets.fiscal governance; political deadlock; late budgets; fiscal stalemate; Chubb relative value survey; debt cost; bond spreads

Fibre composites for high pressure pipeline repairs, in-air and subsea: an overview

In 2001 it was reported that in North America alone, corrosion to the Oil & Gas pipeline distribution network cost approximately $2-3.3 billion per annum with 10% of that cost being associated with actual failure of the pipeline. In addition pipelines are also susceptible to erosion and mechanical damage producing further losses in pipe structural integrity. This results in high maintenance costs, possibility of adverse environmental consequences and the costly interruption to product transportation and distribution. The cost and technical challenges of adequately addressing repair are significant and greatly increase for underwater applications particularly with increasing water depth. It therefore induces the need of searching for alternative repair techniques involving new advanced materials for ease of installation and application against adverse environmental effects in the long run. Fibre composite materials provide excellent advantages over conventional metals in engineering practices for many decades. These advantages make fibre composite suitable candidate for effective repair technology. This paper provides a comprehensive review on the recent development and future prospect of using these materials for in-air and underwater pipeline external repairs. Various aspects of technical knowhow; benefits and shortcomings of the repair considerations are also presented

An intercomparison of intraseasonal variability in general circulation models and observations

Low frequency oscillations appearing in three GCM seasonal cycle integrations are compared with the analyses of the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF). All three models have the same resolution: 4 deg latitude by 5 deg longitude, with 9 levels. The dominant phase speeds and the differential vertical structure of the heating profiles in the GCMs are in general agreement with current theory involving the positive feedback between latent heating and moist static stability. All three GCMs fail to capture the detailed evolution in the different stages of the development and decay of the oscillation. The results suggest that an improvement in the boundary layer moisture processes may be crucial for a better simulation of the oscillation

Measuring away an attentional confound?

A recent fMRI study by Webb et al. (Cortical networks involved in visual awareness independent of visual attention, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016;113:13923–28) proposes a new method for finding the neural correlates of awareness by matching atten- tion across awareness conditions. The experimental design, however, seems at odds with known features of attention. We highlight logical and methodological points that are critical when trying to disentangle attention and awareness

Establishing CRISPR/Cas9 in Lipomyces starkeyi

The goal of this project was to adapt the Yarrowia lipolytica plasmid based CRISPR/Cas9 system for usage in Lipomyces starkeyi. Lipomyces starkeyi is an oleaginous yeast, which synthesizes and stores high amounts of intracellular lipids. This specific yeast can store lipids at concentrations higher than 60% of its dry cell weight. Due to these high concentrations of lipids, L. starkeyi is a desired organism for the production of biofuels and other oleochemicals. However, there is a lack of knowledge and of genetic tools when trying to engineer the cells to produce these lipids for our use. The genome editing tool, CRISPR/Cas9 is efficient and simple, therefore desirable for the engineering of L. starkeyi. The goal was achieved by replacing the Y. lipolytica promoter with a L. starkeyi promoter, inserting guide RNA, as well as confirming cas9 protein expression

How negative ads from diverse right-wing media makes conservative voters dislike Democratic candidates even more

Recent years have seen growing hostility between those who support different political parties in America. But what is the media’s role in creating this increasing dislike? In new research, Richard Lau, David Andersen, Tessa Ditonto, Mona Kleinberg and David Redlawsk investigate this “affective polarization” by exposing participants to different news sources and positive and negative political advertising. They find that hostility towards the opposite party is at its highest when conservative subjects are exposed to negative ads and can customize their news environment