2,053 research outputs found
ESTATE PLANNING IN NORTH DAKOTA: THE BASICS Part 4: Trusts
Formerly published under the HE seriesFE-554 (Revised
Training Educators and Community Collaborators Using a Satellite Videoconference Format
Financial security is the ability to meet future needs while keeping pace with day-to-day obligations. The Cooperative Extension National initiative Financial Security in Later Life seeks to a) help people improve personal finance behaviors leading to financial security in later life, b) enhance the capacity of local educators and their partners to deliver effective programs, and c) increase economic vitality and quality of life for families and communities. A satellite videoconference designed to increase the capacity of educators and community partners to deliver effective programs was held in December 2003. On-line evaluations indicate this capacity-building opportunity clearly met objectives
Prospects for intermediate mass black hole binary searches with advanced gravitational-wave detectors
We estimated the sensitivity of the upcoming advanced, ground-based
gravitational-wave observatories (the upgraded LIGO and Virgo and the KAGRA
interferometers) to coalescing intermediate mass black hole binaries (IMBHB).
We added waveforms modeling the gravitational radiation emitted by IMBHBs to
detectors' simulated data and searched for the injected signals with the
coherent WaveBurst algorithm. The tested binary's parameter space covers
non-spinning IMBHBs with source-frame total masses between 50 and 1050
and mass ratios between and 1. We found that
advanced detectors could be sensitive to these systems up to a range of a few
Gpc. A theoretical model was adopted to estimate the expected observation
rates, yielding up to a few tens of events per year. Thus, our results indicate
that advanced detectors will have a reasonable chance to collect the first
direct evidence for intermediate mass black holes and open a new, intriguing
channel for probing the Universe over cosmological scales.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, corrected the name of one author (previously
misspelled
Candy Flavorings in Tobacco
Professor James F. Pankow reveals striking similarities between the patterns in the flavoring chemicals used in flavored tobacco products and those in popular candy and Kool-Aid products. The authors analyzed 12 artificially flavored candy and fruit drink products and compared them to 15 widely-available flavored tobacco products. They found significant overlap in the chemical signatures of the flavor chemicals. Several of the tobacco products contained flavor chemicals at much higher concentrations than in the non-tobacco products
Detecting transient gravitational waves in non-Gaussian noise with partially redundant analysis methods
There is a broad class of astrophysical sources that produce detectable,
transient, gravitational waves. Some searches for transient gravitational waves
are tailored to known features of these sources. Other searches make few
assumptions about the sources. Typically events are observable with multiple
search techniques. This work describes how to combine the results of searches
that are not independent, treating each search as a classifier for a given
event. This will be shown to improve the overall sensitivity to
gravitational-wave events while directly addressing the problem of consistent
interpretation of multiple trials.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
A burst search for gravitational waves from binary black holes
Compact binary coalescence (CBC) is one of the most promising sources of
gravitational waves. These sources are usually searched for with matched
filters which require accurate calculation of the GW waveforms and generation
of large template banks. We present a complementary search technique based on
algorithms used in un-modeled searches. Initially designed for detection of
un-modeled bursts, which can span a very large set of waveform morphologies,
the search algorithm presented here is constrained for targeted detection of
the smaller subset of CBC signals. The constraint is based on the assumption of
elliptical polarisation for signals received at the detector. We expect that
the algorithm is sensitive to CBC signals in a wide range of masses, mass
ratios, and spin parameters. In preparation for the analysis of data from the
fifth LIGO-Virgo science run (S5), we performed preliminary studies of the
algorithm on test data. We present the sensitivity of the search to different
types of simulated CBC waveforms. Also, we discuss how to extend the results of
the test run into a search over all of the current LIGO-Virgo data set.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, submitted for publication in CQG in
the special issue for the conference proceedings of GWDAW13; corrected some
typos, addressed some minor reviewer comments one section restructured and
references updated and correcte
\u27Menthol-Plus’: a Major Category of Cigarette Found Among ‘Concept’ Descriptor Cigarettes from Mexico
Background Tobacco companies are offering cigarettes with ‘concept’ descriptor names that suggest sensation and/or flavour properties (eg, Marlboro ‘Velvet Fusion’). Little has been known about the identities and levels of flavour chemicals in such cigarettes. Methods Thirty-three filter cigarette variants from 27 packs (including two sampler packs with four variations each) from Canada and Mexico were analysed (rod + filter) for 177 flavour chemicals plus triacetin, a filter plasticiser and possible flavourant. Five brands of US mentholated filter cigarettes were also analysed. Results Twenty-seven of the 33 cigarettes (all were Mexican variants) were categorised as ‘menthol-plus’: significant menthol (3.0–11.9 mg/cigarette), plus varying amounts (0.32–3.4 mg/cigarette) of total other flavour chemicals (TOFCs) (excludes triacetin). For 10 of the 27, TOFCs \u3e1.0 mg/cigarette. For 7 of the 27, the TOFCs profile was categorised as containing total fruit flavour compounds (TFFCs) \u3e1.0 mg/cigarette. One Mexican variant was categorised as ‘menthol-only’ (TOFCs ≤0.15 mg/cigarette). All menthol-plus and menthol-only cigarettes contained one or two optional-crush capsules in their filters (crushed prior to analysis). All five Canadian brand variants were ‘non-flavoured’. All five US brand variants were ‘menthol-only’. Conclusions All but one of the ‘concept’ descriptor cigarettes from Mexico were ‘menthol-plus’. While the Canadian cigarettes complied with Canada’s flavour chemical ban, concept descriptors on the packs may increase appeal. Given the scale of the problem posed by menthol alone, health officials seeking to decrease the appeal of smoked tobacco should examine the extent to which ‘concept descriptor’ cigarettes using ‘menthol-plus’ flavour profiling together with artful descriptors are furthering the problem of smoked tobacco
Investigating treatment satisfaction and progress for offenders referred to community-based drug addiction treatment
Likelihood-ratio ranking of gravitational-wave candidates in a non-Gaussian background
We describe a general approach to detection of transient gravitational-wave
signals in the presence of non-Gaussian background noise. We prove that under
quite general conditions, the ratio of the likelihood of observed data to
contain a signal to the likelihood of it being a noise fluctuation provides
optimal ranking for the candidate events found in an experiment. The
likelihood-ratio ranking allows us to combine different kinds of data into a
single analysis. We apply the general framework to the problem of unifying the
results of independent experiments and the problem of accounting for
non-Gaussian artifacts in the searches for gravitational waves from compact
binary coalescence in LIGO data. We show analytically and confirm through
simulations that in both cases the likelihood ratio statistic results in an
improved analysis.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
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