Featured Piece

This year the General Editors decided to create a feature piece to show our appreciation for the History Department. We selected four professors from the faculty to answer a question about history: what figure/event/idea inspires your interest in history? Reading their responses helped give us insight into the thoughts of these brilliant minds and further help us understand their passion for the subject we all share a common love and interest in. We hope that you enjoy reading their responses as much as we did. The four members of the faculty we spoke with are Dr. Timothy Shannon, Dr. Ian Isherwood, Dr. Jill Titus, and Dr. Scott Hancock

Energy dependence of non-local potentials

Recently a variety of studies have shown the importance of including non-locality in the description of reactions. The goal of this work is to revisit the phenomenological approach to determining non-local optical potentials from elastic scattering. We perform a $\chi^2$ analysis of neutron elastic scattering data off $^{40}$Ca, $^{90}$Zr and $^{208}$Pb at energies $E \approx 5-40$ MeV, assuming a Perey and Buck or Tian, Pang, and Ma non-local form for the optical potential. We introduce energy and asymmetry dependencies in the imaginary part of the potential and refit the data to obtain a global parameterization. Independently of the starting point in the minimization procedure, an energy dependence in the imaginary depth is required for a good description of the data across the included energy range. We present two parameterizations, both of which represent an improvement over the original potentials for the fitted nuclei as well as for other nuclei not included in our fit. Our results show that, even when including the standard Gaussian non-locality in optical potentials, a significant energy dependence is required to describe elastic-scattering data.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev. C Rapid Communicatio

One-nucleon transfer reactions and the optical potential

We provide a summary of new developments in the area of direct reaction theory with a particular focus on one-nucleon transfer reactions. We provide a status of the methods available for describing (d,p) reactions. We discuss the effects of nonlocality in the optical potential in transfer reactions. The results of a purely phenomenological potential and the optical potential obtained from the dispersive optical model are compared; both point toward the importance of including nonlocality in transfer reactions explicitly. Given the large ambiguities associated with optical potentials, we discuss some new developments toward the quantification of this uncertainty. We conclude with some general comments and a brief account of new advances that are in the pipeline.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, proceedings for the 14th International Conference on Nuclear Reaction Mechanisms, Varenna, June 201

Analysis on the Effectiveness of AXIS Mobile Internet Strategy and Identification of Areas for Future Improvements

The market penetration for voice and SMS hasreached 100% and style of communication has change using data(mobile internet). Mobile internet has be new source that isexpected to increase operator revenues. The development ofmobile internet technology from 2G (EDGE) to 3G (HSDPA) andsmart phone supports the development of mobile internet usersin Indonesia. For three years Axis quite successfully apply CostLeadership strategy to compete with the other operators,especially with medium-class operator. In 2011, Axis revenuegrowth target didn\u27t fit with target which grew only 90% of thetarget of 100%. Axis has a target to 3 major operators inIndonesia within the next two years to reach this target, the Axishave to compete with the current three major operators. Basedon existing problems, AXIS should immediately makeimprovements in all business lines including mobile internet. Thisthesis has focused on analyzing the right strategy for mobileinternet using qualitative data and using Axis Five ForcesFramework and SWOT analysis. The result from Five ForcesFramework is industry of mobile internet have good prospectand using SWOT analysis to find the strength and weakness ofAXIS. From 5 Business level strategies, find the best strategy isdifferentiation strategy. Differentiation strategy start fromdevelop customer loyalty program, maintain quality coveragearea of mobile internet, aiming for premium users and bundlingprograms on high-end gadgets are feature or system need toapply in Axis for this strategy

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Improve Recovery, whereas Omega-6 Fatty Acids Worsen Outcome, after Spinal Cord Injury in the Adult Rat

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a cause of major neurological disability, and no satisfactory treatment is currently available. Evidence suggests that polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) could target some of the pathological mechanisms that underlie damage after SCI. We examined the effects of treatment with PUFAs after lateral spinal cord hemisection in the rat. The ω-3 PUFAs α-linolenic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) injected 30 min after injury induced significantly improved locomotor performance and neuroprotection, including decreased lesion size and apoptosis and increased neuronal and oligodendrocyte survival. Evidence showing a decrease in RNA/DNA oxidation suggests that the neuroprotective effect of ω-3 PUFAs involved a significant antioxidant function. In contrast, animals treated with arachidonic acid, an ω-6 PUFA, had a significantly worse outcome than controls. We confirmed the neuroprotective effect of ω-3 PUFAs by examining the effects of DHA treatment after spinal cord compression injury. Results indicated that DHA administered 30 min after spinal cord compression not only greatly increased survival of neurons but also resulted in significantly better locomotor performance for up to 6 weeks after injury. This report shows a striking difference in efficacy between the effects of treatment with ω-3 and ω-6 PUFAs on the outcome of SCI, with ω-3 PUFAs being neuroprotective and ω-6 PUFAs having a damaging effect. Given the proven clinical safety of ω-3 PUFAs, our observations show that these PUFAs have significant therapeutic potential in SCI. In contrast, the use of preparations enriched in ω-6 PUFAs after injury could worsen outcome after SCI

Evaluating Fire Temperatures During a Prescribed Burn of a Restored Tallgrass Prairie

Wildfire is recognized to have shaped the great prairies of the central US. While the vast majority of these grasslands have been lost there remain significant remnants as well as sites under active restoration. Prescribed fire is often used in these systems in order to maximize the success of the native grasses. Beginning in 1999 Cedarville University established a prairie restoration site and have used disturbances, such as fire, to maintain the system. Without this regular burn, the prairie would likely show decreased grass growth and increased growth of forb species. The Cedarville Prairie Restoration site has a variable topography, with several small hills and valleys. Such variations can affect the way that fire travels and burns. Therefore, our objective is to evaluate the relationships between prairie topography and fire temperature. We will use a 25 x 25 meter grid within the prairie, placing stakes attached to tags painted with thermo-sensitive paint at regular intervals along the grid. Following the prescribed fire in early April we will we analyze the tags to determine the temperature of the fire at each location on the grid. From this we will generate a heat intensity map in order to investigate patterns. In particular, we anticipate that the fire will burn at higher temperatures on slopes upward from its point of origin. We also anticipate that the fire will burn at lower temperatures in valley areas, due to moisture accumulation