433 research outputs found
Which probes are most useful when undertaking cognitive interviews?
This paper reports the use of verbal probes in cognitive interviews (CIs) undertaken to test the usefulness, validity and reliability of survey questions. Through examining the use of probes by three interviewers undertaking interviews as part the piloting of a cross-national crime survey, we examine which of the various types of probes used in CIs produce the most useful information. Other influences on interview quality are examined, including differences between interviewers and respondents themselves. The analyses rely on multi-level modelling and suggest that anticipated, emergent and conditional probes provide the most useful data. Furthermore, age, gender and educational levels appear to have no bearing on the quality of the data generated
Taikaolentoja, puhuvaa luontoa ja lapsisankareita maailmanpelastajina:Elena Madyn Ella Auran tuomiopäiväkirja ekokriittisenä lasten fantasiaromaanina
RHIC-tested predictions for low- and high- hadron spectra in nearly central Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC
We study the hadron spectra in nearly central + collisions at RHIC and
LHC in a broad transverse momentum range. We cover the low- spectra using
longitudinally boost-invariant hydrodynamics with initial energy and net-baryon
number densities from the perturbative QCD (pQCD)+saturation model. Build-up of
the transverse flow and sensitivity of the spectra to a single decoupling
temperature \Tdec are studied. Comparison with RHIC data at \ssNN=130 and
200 GeV suggests a rather high value \Tdec=150 MeV. The high- spectra
are computed using factorized pQCD cross sections, nuclear parton
distributions, fragmentation functions, and describing partonic energy loss in
the quark-gluon plasma by quenching weights. Overall normalization is fixed on
the basis of p+(p) data and the strength of energy loss is
determined from RHIC Au+Au data. Uncertainties are discussed. With constraints
from RHIC data, we predict the spectra of hadrons in 5 % most central
Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC energy \ssNN=5500 GeV. Due to the closed
framework for primary production, we can also predict the net-baryon number at
midrapidity, as well as the strength of partonic energy losses at the LHC. Both
at the LHC and RHIC, we recognize a rather narrow crossover region in the
spectra, where the hydrodynamic and pQCD fragmentation components become of
equal size. We argue that in this crossover region the two contributions are to
a good approximation mutually independent. In particular, our results suggest a
wider -region of applicability for hydrodynamical models at the LHC than
at RHIC.Comment: 45 pages, 16 eps-figure
Heavy Ion Physics at the LHC with the ATLAS Detector
The ATLAS detector at CERN will provide a high-resolution
longitudinally-segmented calorimeter and precision tracking for the upcoming
study of heavy ion collisions at the LHC (sqrt(s_NN)=5520 GeV). The calorimeter
covers |eta|<5 with both electromagnetic and hadronic sections, while the inner
detector spectrometer covers |eta|<2.5. ATLAS will study a full range of
observables necessary to characterize the hot and dense matter formed at the
LHC. Global measurements (particle multiplicities, collective flow) will
provide access into its thermodynamic and hydrodynamic properties. Measuring
complete jets out to 100's of GeV will allow detailed studies of energy loss
and its effect on jets. Quarkonia will provide a handle on deconfinement
mechanisms. ATLAS will also study the structure of the nucleon and nucleus
using forward physics probes and ultraperipheral collisions, both enabled by
segmented Zero Degree Calorimeters.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, submitted to the Proceedings of Quark Matter
2006, Shanghai, China, November 14-20, 200
PRODUCTION OF DRELL--YAN PAIRS IN HIGH ENERGY NUCLEON--NUCLEON COLLISIONS
We compute cross sections for the Drell-Yan process in N--N collisions at
next-to-leading order in . The mass, rapidity, transverse momentum,
and angular dependence of these cross sections are presented. An estimate of
higher order corrections is obtained from next-to-next-to-leading order
calculation of the mass distribution. We compare the results with some of the
existing data to show the quality of the agreement between calculations and
data. We present predictions for energies which will become available at the
RHIC and LHC colliders. Uncertainties in these predictions due to choices of
scale, scheme and parton distribution are discussed.Comment: 27 pages (latex) plus 28 postscript figure
Modelling spatial patterns in host-associated microbial communities
Microbial communities exhibit spatial structure at different scales, due to constant interactions with their environment and dispersal limitation. While this spatial structure is often considered in studies focusing on free-living environmental communities, it has received less attention in the context of host-associated microbial communities or microbiota. The wider adoption of methods accounting for spatial variation in these communities will help to address open questions in basic microbial ecology as well as realize the full potential of microbiome-aided medicine. Here, we first overview known factors affecting the composition of microbiota across diverse host types and at different scales, with a focus on the human gut as one of the most actively studied microbiota. We outline a number of topical open questions in the field related to spatial variation and patterns. We then review the existing methodology for the spatial modelling of microbiota. We suggest that methodology from related fields, such as systems biology and macro-organismal ecology, could be adapted to obtain more accurate models of spatial structure. We further posit that methodological developments in the spatial modelling and analysis of microbiota could in turn broadly benefit theoretical and applied ecology and contribute to the development of novel industrial and clinical applications.Peer reviewe
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