26,460 research outputs found
Green's Function Monte Carlo Calculations with Two- and Three-Nucleon Interactions from Chiral Effective Field Theory
I discuss our recent work on Green's function Monte Carlo (GFMC) calculations
of light nuclei using local nucleon-nucleon interactions derived from chiral
effective field theory (EFT) up to next-to-next-to-leading order (NLO). I
present the natural extension of this work to include the consistent
three-nucleon (3N) forces at the same order in the chiral expansion. I discuss
our choice of observables to fit the two low-energy constants which enter in
the 3N sector at NLO and present some results for light nuclei.Comment: Contribution to the Proceedings of the 21st International Conference
on Few-Body Problems in Physics. May 18-22, 2015. Chicago, Illinois, US
Synthetic Biology off Planet for Game-Changing Solutions for a Greener Earth
Synthetic biology creating new capabilities with life promises to create a greener future for planet Earth, from fields as diverse as pharmaceuticals to manufacturing, agriculture and nanotechnology. Progress can be stymied by such considerations as economics, politics, legal and philosophical issues surrounding GMOs. Often solutions to these problems already exist, so it is difficult for a new, superior method to displace the old. As we move humans beyond Earth, to long duration stays in the International Space Station, and then onward to the Moon and Mars, the challenges of supporting human life will need radical new solutions. While there are new constraints, such as worrying about the mass of a solution, constraints offer opportunities for game-changing solutions that will then allow revolutions back on our home planet
The Role of Synthetic Biology in NASA's Missions
The time has come to for NASA to exploit the nascent field of synthetic biology in pursuit of its mission, including aeronautics, earth science, astrobiology and notably, human exploration. Conversely, NASA advances the fundamental technology of synthetic biology as no one else can because of its unique expertise in the origin of life and life in extreme environments, including the potential for alternate life forms. This enables unique, creative "game changing" advances. NASA's requirement for minimizing upmass in flight will also drive the field toward miniaturization and automation. These drivers will greatly increase the utility of synthetic biology solutions for military, health in remote areas and commercial purposes. To this end, we have begun a program at NASA to explore the use of synthetic biology in NASA's missions, particularly space exploration. As part of this program, we began hosting an iGEM team of undergraduates drawn from Brown and Stanford Universities to conduct synthetic biology research at NASA Ames Research Center. The 2011 team (http://2011.igem.org/Team:Brown-Stanford) produced an award-winning project on using synthetic biology as a basis for a human Mars settlement and the 2012 team has expanded the use of synthetic biology to estimate the potential for life in the clouds of other planets (http://2012.igem.org/Team:Stanford-Brown; http://www.calacademy.org/sciencetoday/igem-competition/). More recent projects from the Stanford-Brown team have expanded our ideas of how synthetic biology can aid NASA's missions from "Synthetic BioCommunication" (http://2013.igem.org/Team:Stanford-Brown) to a "Biodegradable UAS (drone)" in collaboration with Spelman College (http://2014.igem.org/Team:StanfordBrownSpelman#SBS%20iGEM) and most recently, "Self-Folding Origami" (http://2015.igem.org/Team:Stanford-Brown), the winner of the 2015 award for Manufacturing
The Effect of Interviewer Experience, Attitudes, Personality and Skills on Respondent Co-operation with Face-to-Face Surveys
This paper examines the role of interviewers' experience, attitudes, personality traits and inter-personal skills in determining survey co-operation, conditional on contact. We take the perspective that these characteristics influence interviewers' behaviour and hence influence the doorstep interaction between interviewer and sample member. Previous studies of the association between doorstep behaviour and co-operation have not directly addressed the role of personality traits and inter-personal skills and most have been based on small samples of interviewers. We use a large sample of 842 face-to-face interviewers working for a major survey institute and analyse co-operation outcomes for over 100,000 cases contacted by those interviewers over a 13-month period. We find evidence of effects of experience, attitudes, personality traits and inter-personal skills on co-operation rates. Several of the effects of attitudes and inter-personal skills are explained by differences in experience, though some independent effects remain. The role of attitudes, personality and skills seems to be greatest for the least experienced interviewers
A VIEW FROM THE GROUND: A REFORM GROUPâS PERSPECTIVE ON THE ONGOING EFFORT TO ACHIEVE MERIT SELECTION OF JUDGES
This article describes the history of judicial selection in the state of Pennsylvania. It describes the judicial selection reform movement and the growth of the organization Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts ( PMC ) which devises solutions to meet the various challenges to judicial integrity in Pennsylvania. It focuses on the merit system that PMC has been trying to achieve for Pennsylvania\u27s appellate courts
Responding to the Revised Code on corporate governance: UK audit committees
Purpose: The audit committee is one of the most prominent sub-committees of the board of directors, having a potentially important role to play in ensuring sound corporate governance. The purpose of this paper is to examine and discuss the behaviour of companies following the most recent revisions to the UKâs Revised Code.
Research design/methodology/approach: A variety of annual report data from a sample of 50 UK companies, stratified according to size, is collected and analyzed.
Findings: General compliance with many provisions of the Code was found. All but one company had an audit committee, comprising solely non-executive directors. However, in about a quarter of cases the chairman was a member, and in some case directors were not âindependentâ according to the definition of the Code. Many companies exceeded the minimum stipulated requirements, for example the number of non-executive directors on the audit committee or the number of meetings held. Nevertheless, some companies did not follow recommended practice, particularly regarding the disclosure of information, and some explanations for non-compliance seemed weak.
Implications: Compliance with disclosure demands regarding audit committees could be improved, as could the quality of explanations when the recommendations of the Code are not followed. Given the resistance of many companies to corporate governance regulation and accusations of âbox tickingâ, future research should probe why many companies do more than is required or recommended. The research should be repeated when further revisions to the Code are made in respect of audit committees, and practice in countries other than the UK should be researched to provide comparative insights
Electro-optical rendezvous and docking sensors
Electro-optical sensors provide unique and critical functionality for space missions requiring rendezvous, docking, and berthing. McDonnell Douglas is developing a complete rendezvous and docking system for both manned and unmanned missions. This paper examines our sensor development and the systems and missions which benefit from rendezvous and docking sensors. Simulation results quantifying system performance improvements in key areas are given, with associated sensor performance requirements. A brief review of NASA-funded development activities and the current performance of electro-optical sensors for space applications is given. We will also describe current activities at McDonnell Douglas for a fully functional demonstration to address specific NASA mission needs
Antiferromagnetic Order of the Ru and Gd in Superconducting RuSr2GdCu2O8
Neutron diffraction has been used to study the magnetic order in
RuSr{2}GdCu2O8. The Ru moments order antiferromagnetically at T{N}=136(2)K,
coincident with the previously reported onset of ferromagnetism. Neighboring
spins are antiparallel in all three directions, with a low T moment of 1.18(6)
mu {B} along the c-axis. Our measurements put an upper limit of ~0.1 mu{B} to
any net zero-field moment, with fields exceeding ~0.4T needed to induce a
measurable magnetization. The Gd ions order independently at T{N}=2.50(2)K with
the same spin configuration. PACS numbers: 74.72.Jt, 75.25.+z, 74.25.Ha,
75.30.KzComment: Four pages, Latex, 5 eps figure
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