Effect of Nucleon Structure Variation in Super-allowed Fermi Beta-decay

There is a well known anomaly between the value of the Fermi decay constant extracted from super-allowed Fermi beta-decay of nuclear isotriplets and that required by unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix. This discrepancy remains at the level of a few tenths of a percent after the most rigorous investigation of conventional nuclear and radiative corrections. Within the framework of the quark-meson coupling model of nuclear matter, which has been previously applied successfully to phenomena such as nuclear saturation and nuclear charge symmetry violation, we show that it is possible to understand a significant fraction of the observed anomaly.Comment: 11 pages with 1 figure and 1 tabl

Health and Quality of Life among People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Direct Support Professionals during the early United States COVID-19 Pandemic

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and the direct support professionals (DSPs) who support them have faced unique risks to their health and quality of life (QoL) throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to understand how COVID-19 has influenced QoL and overall well-being among these populations. We conducted a Rapid Qualitative Inquiry study with a sample of people with IDD and DSPs (n = 18) to gain deeper perspectives about QoL and well-being during the pandemic. Participants described that changes in QoL were typically negative and influenced primarily by reduced socialization and impacts on health and independence; however, participants also described the ways their interactions and mutual support for each other helped to preserve some aspects of QoL. Participants described how racism and publicized acts of racial violence contributed to their COVID-19 experiences, and offered descriptions of resources they benefited from, and those they lacked, during this time. Study findings have the potential to inform the development of policies and best practices that support people with IDD and DSPs during and following similar infectious disease emergencies

Identification and implementation of potential energy efficiency programs in Indian Country: Working paper series--04-03

The strongest recommendation stemming from the Air Pollution Prevention forum of the Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) was for tribes to develop and implement energy plans. This paper provides a discussion of the benefits of any such plan and itemized a variety of components of any said plan. A brief discussion of the WRAP is presented is the framework of improving air quality. Based on the background of Jacobs (2000) and Smith (2000), the primary and secondary benefits of energy efficiency plans are then discussed. Then a series of specific recommendations are itemized. These include tribally sponsored programs, collaborative opportunities, and tribal leadership programs

Recommendations for reducing energy consumption and improving air quality through energy efficiency in Indian Country: Working paper series--04-04

The strongest recommendation stemming from the Air Pollution Prevention forum of the Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) was for tribes to develop and implement energy plans. This paper provides a discussion of the benefits of any such plan and itemized a variety of components of any said plan. A brief discussion of the WRAP is presented is the framework of improving air quality. Based on the background of Jacobs (2000) and Smith (2000), the primary and secondary benefits of energy efficiency plans are then discussed. Then a series of specific recommendations are itemized. These include tribally sponsored programs, collaborative opportunities, and tribal leadership programs

Economic analysis of energy efficiency measures: Tribal case studies with The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of The Flathead Reservation, The Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and The Yurok Tribe: Working paper series--04-02

The best way to reduce air pollution from the production of electricity is not to produce it in the first place. This paper presents three cases studies explaining how energy efficiency programs can be beneficial to tribes from a purely cost-saving basis, The Yurok, Flathead and Pascua Yaqui Reservations graciously provided an opportunity to investigate energy efficiency for their tribes. In each case the consumption of electricity was reduced such that a positive net present value was present following an initial capital investment. In the case of the irrigation systems on the Flathead Reservation, the savings were substantial even though no explicit savings of water was accounted for. It is estimated that tribes can reduce electricity costs by 10-50% by following energy efficiency programs. Many programs can be very simple involving small upfront capital outlays, such as changing light bulbs or installing motion sensors. The Yurok case showed a return of 7.5% after simply changing bulbs and the Pasqua Yaqui case showed a possible return of 10-80%. Other tribes could make similar investments and realize similar benefits in addition to improved air quality. The strongest recommendation from the Air Pollution Prevention Forum to tribes was to develop an energy plan. These cases show that some fairly simple analysis can make a plan very beneficial

A fungal pathogen in time and space: the population dynamics of Beauveria bassiana in a conifer forest

The fungal entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana is ubiquitous in below-ground systems; however, there is a dearth of information on the above-ground diversity, temporal and spatial distribution of this fungus. Therefore, we assessed its occurrence in a conifer forest (Pseudotsuga monziesii and Pinus nigra var. maritima) using selective media to isolate B. bassiana from soil, branch and bark samples collected in October 2005, March and June 2006. Fungal density was the highest at all locations in October, declining in March and June, and absent from conifer branches in June. This above-ground decline most likely resulted from more extreme environmental conditions compared with those below ground. Molecular analyses (ISSR-PCR) indicated that B. bassiana is genetically diverse, comprising both distinct microhabitat-specific and seasonal isolates. The occurrence of dissimilar above- and below-ground isolates suggests that B. bassiana occupies various overlapping niches in these systems