Standardization and qualification of computer programs for circuit design

Study presents methods and initial procedures which may be obtained for development of more efficient uniform network analysis input language and theoretical tools to prove equivalence of data representations

Large NcN_c Universality of The Baryon Isgur--Wise Form Factor: The Group Theoretical Approach

In a previous article, it has been proved under the framework of chiral soliton model that the same Isgur--Wise form factor describes the semileptonic $\Lambda_b\to\Lambda_c$ and $\Sigma^{(*)}_b\to\Sigma^{(*)}_c$ decays in the large $N_c$ limit. It is shown here that this result is in fact independent of the chiral soliton model and is solely the consequence of the spin-flavor SU(4) symmetry which arises in the baryon sector in the large $N_c$ limit.Comment: 10 pages in REVTeX, no figure

Exposure and Exposure Modeling

Exposure to contaminants in the environment is quantified through the ecological risk assessment (ERA) process which provides a framework for the development and implementation of environmental management decisions. The ERA uses available toxicological and ecological information to estimate the probability of occurrence for a specified undesired ecological event or endpoint. The level for these endpoints depends on the objectives and the constraints imposed upon the risk assessment process; therefore, multiple endpoints at different scales may be necessary. ERAs Ecotoxicology | Exposure and Exposure Assessment 1527Author\u27s personal copy often rely on the link between these undesired endpoints to a threshold of exposure to specific toxicants and toxicant mixtures. Oral reference doses (RfD), inhalation reference concentrations (RfC), and carcinogenicity assessments are the usual way these links are expressed in the ERA, and unfortunately most of these thresholds have been developed for human health assessments and not ecosystem integrity. However, since these studies often use animal models, in many cases the original empirical data can be used when trying to apply these findings to ecological consequences or to establish ecological screening values (ESVs). The ecological exposure assessment often begins by comparing constituent concentrations in media (surface water, sediment, soil) to ESVs. The ESVs are derived from ecologically relevant criteria and standards. For example, in the United States the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Screening Values and National Ambient Water Quality Criteria (NAWQC) are often used based on ‘no observed adverse effect levels’ (NOAELs) or ‘lowest observed adverse effect levels’ (LOAELs) derived from literature to assess exposure. Radionuclide comparisons for ecological screening are typically dose-based for population level effects. In addition to the ecological threshold comparison, constituents that may bioaccumulate/bioconcentrate are identified during initial screening processes. This is done to account for toxicants that may not be present at levels exceeding ESVs, but must be considered due to trophic transfer of toxicants that may concentrate in higher-trophic-level organisms. Constituents that exceed ESV comparisons (present with means, maximums, or 95% upper confidence levels (UCLs)) are evaluated using a lines-of-evidence approach based on (1) a background evaluation, (2) a bioaccumulation/ bioconcentration potential and ecotoxicity evaluation, (3) a frequency and pattern-of-exceedances evaluation based on review of exceedances to the ESVs, and (4) an evaluation of existing biological data. From this information, ecosystems can be prioritized in terms of risk and focused for proper exposure assessments. This article presents a scientific overview and review of how toxicant exposure is estimated and applied to assess ecosystem integrity

Exploring a rheonomic system

A simple and illustrative rheonomic system is explored in the Lagrangian formalism. The difference between Jacobi's integral and energy is highlighted. A sharp contrast with remarks found in the literature is pointed out. The non-conservative system possess a Lagrangian not explicitly dependent on time and consequently there is a Jacobi's integral. The Lagrange undetermined multiplier method is used as a complement to obtain a few interesting conclusion

Context Mining of Sedentary Behavior for Promoting Self-Awareness Using Smartphone

Sedentary behaviour is increasing due to societal changes and is related to prolonged periods of sitting. There is sufficient evidence proving that sedentary behaviour has a negative impact on people’s health and wellness. This paper presents our research findings on how to mine the temporal contexts of sedentary behaviour by utilizing the on-board sensors of a smartphone. We use the accelerometer sensor of the smartphone to recognize user situations (i.e., still or active). If our model confirms that the user context is still, then there is a high probability of being sedentary. Then, we process the environmental sound to recognize the micro-context, such as working on a computer or watching television during leisure time. Our goal is to reduce sedentary behaviour by suggesting preventive interventions to take short breaks during prolonged sitting to be more active. We achieve this goal by providing the visualization to the user, who wants to monitor his/her sedentary behaviour to reduce unhealthy routines for self-management purposes. The main contribution of this paper is two-fold: (i) an initial implementation of the proposed framework supporting real-time context identification; (ii) testing and evaluation of the framework, which suggest that our application is capable of substantially reducing sedentary behaviour and assisting users to be active

Habitat and exposure modelling for ecological risk assessment: A

Contamination has a dramatic impact on the health of ecosystem and habitat suitability for the inhabited flora and fauna. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandates an ecological risk assessment (ERA) that evaluates the potential adverse impact of any anthropogenic activities on the ecosystem (US Environmental Protection Agency, 1997. Ecological Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund: Process for Designing and Conducting Ecological Risk Assessment. EPA/630/R-021011, Washington, DC). This study provides a general framework and specific procedures to predict the contaminant exposure of midsized mammals using a geographical information system (GIS)-based Monte Carlo simulation model. The model was applied to the raccoons (Procyon lotor) on the Savannah River Site (SRS), a former nuclear production and current research facility. Habitat behavioral data of 13 radiocollared male raccoons were used to determine home range and core areas. Combined with other geographic data layers, such as distance to water, number of wetlands, and class landscape metrics, a logistic regression model was used to inductively derive the resource selection functions that define the occurrence of raccoon. The cross validation consistently revealed a high accuracy. A Monte Carlo simulation was then performed to estimate the likelihood of exposure and contaminant uptake of the species weighted by the resource selection probability. This model adopted conservative assumptions and spatial parameters. The proposed model served the purpose of assessing ecological risk and supporting decision-making. Implementation issues for a GIS-based ecological risk assessment model are discussed

Habitat and exposure modelling for ecological risk assessment: A

Contamination has a dramatic impact on the health of ecosystem and habitat suitability for the inhabited flora and fauna. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandates an ecological risk assessment (ERA) that evaluates the potential adverse impact of any anthropogenic activities on the ecosystem (US Environmental Protection Agency, 1997. Ecological Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund: Process for Designing and Conducting Ecological Risk Assessment. EPA/630/R-021011, Washington, DC). This study provides a general framework and specific procedures to predict the contaminant exposure of midsized mammals using a geographical information system (GIS)-based Monte Carlo simulation model. The model was applied to the raccoons (Procyon lotor) on the Savannah River Site (SRS), a former nuclear production and current research facility. Habitat behavioral data of 13 radiocollared male raccoons were used to determine home range and core areas. Combined with other geographic data layers, such as distance to water, number of wetlands, and class landscape metrics, a logistic regression model was used to inductively derive the resource selection functions that define the occurrence of raccoon. The cross validation consistently revealed a high accuracy. A Monte Carlo simulation was then performed to estimate the likelihood of exposure and contaminant uptake of the species weighted by the resource selection probability. This model adopted conservative assumptions and spatial parameters. The proposed model served the purpose of assessing ecological risk and supporting decision-making. Implementation issues for a GIS-based ecological risk assessment model are discussed

Calculation of pure dephasing for excitons in quantum dots

Pure dephasing of an exciton in a small quantum dot by optical and acoustic phonons is calculated using the ``independent boson model''. Considering the case of zero temperature the dephasing is shown to be only partial which manifests itself in the polarization decaying to a finite value. Typical dephasing times can be assigned even though the spectra exhibits strongly non-Lorentzian line shapes. We show that the dephasing from LO phonon scattering, occurs on a much larger time scale than that of dephasing due to acoustic phonons which for low temperatures are also a more efficient dephasing mechanism. The typical dephasing time is shown to strongly depend on the quantum dot size whereas the electron phonon ``coupling strength'' and external electric fields tend mostly to effect the residual coherence. The relevance of the dephasing times for current quantum information processing implementation schemes in quantum dots is discussed

Near Horizon of 5D Rotating Black Holes from 2D Perspective

We study the CFT dual to five dimensional extremal rotating black holes, by investigating the two dimensional perspective of their near horizon geometry. From two dimensional point of view, we show that both gauge fields, related to the two rotations, appear in the same manner in the asymptotic symmetry and in the associated central charge. We find that, our results are in perfect agreement with the generalization of Kerr/CFT approach to five dimensional extremal rotating black holes.Comment: The last version to appear in the European Physical Journal

Threshold effects in excited charmed baryon decays

Motivated by recent results on charmed baryons from CLEO and FOCUS, we reexamine the couplings of the orbitally excited charmed baryons. Due to its proximity to the [Sigma_c pi] threshold, the strong decays of the Lambda_c(2593) are sensitive to finite width effects. This distorts the shape of the invariant mass spectrum in Lambda_{c1}-> Lambda_c pi^+pi^- from a simple Breit-Wigner resonance, which has implications for the experimental extraction of the Lambda_c(2593) mass and couplings. We perform a fit to unpublished CLEO data which gives M(Lambda_c(2593)) - M(Lambda_c) = 305.6 +- 0.3 MeV and h2^2 = 0.24^{+0.23}_{-0.11}, with h2 the Lambda_{c1}-> Sigma_c pi strong coupling in the chiral Lagrangian. We also comment on the new orbitally excited states recently observed by CLEO.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure