Interacting photon-baryon fluid, warm dark matter and the first acoustic peak

The Reduced Relativistic Gas (RRG) model was introduced by A. Sakharov in 1965 for deriving the cosmic microwave background (CMB) spectrum. It was recently reinvented by some of us to achieve an interpolation between the radiation and dust epochs in the evolution of the Universe. This model circumvents the complicated structure of the Boltzmann-Einstein system of equations and admits a transparent description of warm-dark-matter effects. It is extended here to include, on a phenomenological basis, an out-of-equilibrium interaction between radiation and baryons which is supposed to account for relevant aspects of pre-recombination physics in a simplified manner. Furthermore, we use the tight-coupling approximation to explore the influence of both this interaction and of the RRG warmness parameter on the anisotropy spectrum of the CMB. The predictions of the model are very similar to those of the {\Lambda}CDM model if both the interaction and the dark-matter warmness parameters are of the order of $10^{-4}$ or smaller. As far as the warmness parameter is concerned, this is in good agreement with previous estimations on the basis of results from structure formation.Comment: 10 pages and 4 figure

The impact of technology on organizational change in public libraries : a qualitative study

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 3, 2008)Vita.Thesis (Ph. D.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2007.technologies.This dissertation investigated the impact of technology on organization change in public libraries. Over the past 12 to 15 years, public access computers have been introduced into public libraries of all sizes. Once these public access computers were connected to the Internet, the computers attracted patrons who had not previously used the public library services. The main themes were technology with facilities and services, city government, and people. The main research questions were 1) How has public library culture changed since the introduction of computers for patron use? 2) What adjustments were necessary to deal with the influx of computers and other technology in public libraries? 3) Have public access computers changed the way the libraries are organized and how they are staffed.Includes bibliographical reference

Therapeutic Strategies Based on Polymeric Microparticles

The development of the field of materials science, the ability to perform multidisciplinary scientific work, and the need for novel administration technologies that maximize therapeutic effects and minimize adverse reactions to readily available drugs have led to the development of delivery systems based on microencapsulation, which has taken one step closer to the target of personalized medicine. Drug delivery systems based on polymeric microparticles are generating a strong impact on preclinical and clinical drug development and have reached a broad development in different fields supporting a critical role in the near future of medical practice. This paper presents the foundations of polymeric microparticles based on their formulation, mechanisms of drug release and some of their innovative therapeutic strategies to board multiple diseases

Radiative non-isothermal Bondi accretion onto a massive black hole

In this paper, we present the classical Bondi accretion theory for the case of non-isothermal accretion processes onto a supermassive black hole (SMBH), including the effects of X-ray heating and the radiation force due to electron scattering and spectral lines. The radiation field is calculated by considering an optically thick, geometrically thin, standard accretion disk as the emitter of UV photons and a spherical central object as a source of X-ray emission. In the present analysis, the UV emission from the accretion disk is assumed to have an angular dependence, while the X-ray/central object radiation is assumed to be isotropic. This allows us to build streamlines in any angular direction we need to. The influence of both types of radiation is evaluated for different flux fractions of the X-ray and UV emissions with and without the effects of spectral line driving. We find that the radiation emitted near the SMBH interacts with the infalling matter and modifies the accretion dynamics. In the presence of line driving, a transition resembles from pure type 1 & 2 to type 5 solutions (see Fig2.1 of Frank etal. 2002), which takes place regardless of whether or not the UV emission dominates over the X-ray emission. We compute the radiative factors at which this transition occurs, and discard type 5 solution from all our models. Estimated values of the accretion radius and accretion rate in terms of the classical Bondi values are also given. The results are useful for the construction of proper initial conditions for time-dependent hydrodynamical simulations of accretion flows onto SMBH at the centre of galaxies.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, Accepted to be published in A&

Romance novels in American public libraries : A study of collection development practices.

In library literature, the collection of romance novels has produced a fairly vociferous debate that has not surrounded other genres. However, there is relatively little in the literature that examines current practices. The authors conducted a national survey, asking libraries how they acquired romance novels for their libraries, what their proportional expenditures were for romance, and the extent of their romance collections. Responses suggested that libraries in general have sizeable romance collections. Some libraries do indeed have smaller collections and spend little or no money on the romance genre. Little is known about public libraries’ collection development practices for any genre, and these results help fill that gap in the library literature. Results also suggest that library and information science education, beyond supporting leisure reading, ought to emphasize the roles that leisure reading serves for readers.Post-printIncludes bibliographical references

Romance promotion in American public libraries

Almost all libraries collect romance novels, but not all libraries engage in promotion or programming geared toward romance novels. Reader advisory services specific to romance tend to be secondary to general reader advisory services. With the increase in Web 2.0 book promotion, though, the time could be right for promoting the romance genre.Post-printIncludes bibliographical references

Relations between librarians and romance readers: A Missouri survey.

Romance novels have traditionally been derided in academic literature and while recent LIS literature has been supportive of romance, previous articles indicated considerable disdain for the genre. Criticism raised in the literature suggests that romance readers are less educated than other women and that romance novels portray women as passive recipients of men's actions. Do public librarians subscribe to these attitudes? In order to find out, we surveyed public librarians in the State of Missouri to gauge their attitudes and beliefs about romance novels and romance readers.Post-printIncludes bibliographical references