Beyond-the-Standard-Model matrix elements with the gradient flow

At the Forschungszentrum Juelich (FZJ) we have started a long-term program that aims to determine beyond-the-Standard-Model (BSM) matrix elements using the gradient flow, and to understand the impact of BSM physics in nucleon and nuclear observables. Using the gradient flow, we propose to calculate the QCD component of key beyond the Standard Model (BSM) matrix elements related to quark and strong theta CP violation and the strange content within the nucleon. The former set of matrix elements impacts our understanding of Electric Dipole Moments (EDMs) of nucleons and nuclei (a key signature of BSM physics), while the latter contributes to elastic recoil of Dark Matter particles off nucleons and nuclei. If successful, these results will lay the foundation for extraction of BSM observables from future low-energy, high-intensity and high-accuracy experimental measurements.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, presented at the 32nd International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2014). Correct version of proceedings. Different wording of few paragraphs and different notation on few formulas. Added 1 referenc

Three computer programs for n-body trajector- ies and interplanetary trajectories

Input and operating instructions, and sample problems for IBM 7094 computer programs - interplanetary trajectory program, n-body trajectory program, and sensitivity coefficient

Employment status, job characteristics and work-related health experience of people with a lower limb amputation in the Netherlands

Objectives: To describe the occupational situation of people with lower limb amputations in The Netherlands and to compare the health experience of workings and nonworking amputee patients with a nonimpaired reference population. Design: Cross-sectional study in which patients completed a questionnaire about their job participation. type of job, workplace adjustments to their limb loss, their position in the company, and a general health questionnaire. Setting: Orthopsdic workshops in The Netherlands with a population of lower limb amputees. Patients: Subjects were recruited from orthopedic workshops in the Netherlands. They ranged in age from Is to 60 years (mean, 44.5yr) and had a lower limb amputated at least 2 years (mean, 19.6yr) before this study. Main Outcome measures: A self-report questionnaire, with 1 part concerning patient characteristics and amputation-related factors, and the other concerning job characteristics, vocational handicaps, work adjustments, and working conditions; and a general health questionnaire (RAND-36) to measure health status. Results: Responses were received from 652 of the 687 patients (response: rate, 95%) who were sent the questionnaire. Sixty-foul percent of the respondents were working at the rime of the study (comparable with the employment rate of the general Dutch population), 31 % had work experience but were not presently working, and 5% had no work experience. After their amputations, people shifted to less physically demanding work. The mean delay between the amputation and the return to work was 2.3 years. Many people wished their work was better adjusted to the limitations presented by their disability and they mentioned having problems concerning possibilities fur promotion. Seventy-eight percent of those who stopped working within 2 years after the amputation said that amputation-related factors played a role in their decision. Thirty-four percent said that they might have worked longer if certain adjustments had been made. The health experience of people who were no longer working was significantly worse than that of the working people with amputations. Conclusions: Although amputee patients had a relatively good rate of job participation, they reported problems concerning the long delay between amputation and return to work, problems in finding suitable jobs, fewer possibilities for promotion, and problems in obtaining needed workplace modifications. People who had to stop working because of the amputation showed a worse health experience than working people

Misreporting of energy and micronutrient intake estimated by food records and 24 hour recalls, control and adjustment methods in practice

In order to assess nutritional adequacy, valid estimates of nutrient intake are required. One of the main errors in dietary assessment is misreporting. The objective was to review the extent, nature and determinants of misreporting in dietary assessment, how this affects reported intakes of micronutrients and how this is identified and measured, and to identify the best ways of dealing with misreporting when interpreting results. A systematic literature search was conducted for studies of misreporting of dietary intake in adults by 24 hour recalls or by estimated or weighed food records, published up to March 2008. Thirty-seven relevant studies were identified. Possible causes of misreporting were identified. Methods most used to identify misreporting were the Goldberg cut-off (46 % studies) and the doubly labelled water technique (24 % studies). The magnitude of misreporting of energy intake was similar in all three dietary assessment methods. The percentage of under-reporters was about 30 % and energy intake was underestimated by approximately 15 %. Seven papers presented usable data for micronutrient intake. Absolute intakes of Fe, Ca and vitamin C (the three micronutrients addressed in all papers) were on average 30 % lower in low-energy reporters (LER) than that in non-LER and, although results were not consistent, there was a tendency for micronutrient density to be higher in LER. Excluding underreporters or using energy adjustment methods for micronutrient intakes is discussed. Residual method of energy adjustment seems to be a good tool for practice to decrease an influence of misreporting when interpreting results of studies based on food records and 24 hour recall

Intensifying agricultural sustainability: an analysis of impacts and drivers in the development of ‘bright spots’

Food security / Farming systems / Sustainable agriculture / Productivity / Investment / Thailand / Palestine / Latin America / Africa

UV Aerosol Indices from SCIAMACHY: introducing the SCattering Index (SCI)

The Absorbing Aerosol Index (AAI) is a useful tool for detecting aerosols that absorb UV radiation – especially in cases where other aerosol retrievals fail, such as over bright surfaces (e.g. desert) and in the presence of clouds. The AAI does not, however, consider contributions from scattering (hardly absorbing) aerosols and clouds: they cause negative AAI values and are usually disregarded. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of the AAI's negative counterpart, the SCattering Index (SCI) to detect scattering aerosols. Consideration of the full UV Aerosol Index scale is of importance if the Aerosol Index is to be used for the quantification of aerosol absorption in the future. <br><br> Maps of seasonally averaged SCI show significantly enhanced values in summer in Southeast USA and Southeast Asia, pointing to a high production of scattering aerosols (presumably mainly sulphate aerosols and secondary organic aerosols) in this season. The application of a cloud filter makes the presence of scattering aerosols even more clear. Radiative transfer calculations were performed to investigate the sensitivity of AAI and SCI to cloud parameters, and it is demonstrated that clouds cause significant SCI, in some special cases even small AAI values. The results from cloud modelling imply that cloud effects need to be taken into account when AAI and SCI are used in a quantitative manner. <br><br> The paper concludes with a comparison of aerosol parameters from AERONET and our Aerosol Indices (AAI and SCI) from SCIAMACHY, where reasonable agreement was found for six AERONET stations in Southeast USA, Southeast Asia, and Africa. These findings corroborate the suitability of SCI as a tool to detect scattering aerosols

A Comprehensive X-ray Absorption Model for Atomic Oxygen

An analytical formula is developed to represent accurately the photoabsorption cross section of O I for all energies of interest in X-ray spectral modeling. In the vicinity of the Kedge, a Rydberg series expression is used to fit R-matrix results, including important orbital relaxation effects, that accurately predict the absorption oscillator strengths below threshold and merge consistently and continuously to the above-threshold cross section. Further minor adjustments are made to the threshold energies in order to reliably align the atomic Rydberg resonances after consideration of both experimental and observed line positions. At energies far below or above the K-edge region, the formulation is based on both outer- and inner-shell direct photoionization, including significant shake-up and shake-off processes that result in photoionization-excitation and double photoionization contributions to the total cross section. The ultimate purpose for developing a definitive model for oxygen absorption is to resolve standing discrepancies between the astronomically observed and laboratory measured line positions, and between the inferred atomic and molecular oxygen abundances in the interstellar medium from XSTAR and SPEX spectral models

Integrated land and water management for food and environmental security

Water resource management / Food security / Environmental effects / Soil degradation / Water pollution / Watersheds / Urbanization / Public policy / Water quality / Ecosystems / Land resources / Water scarcity / Developing countries / Poverty / Households / Food supply / Economic aspects / Social aspects / Groundwater depletion / Salinity / Wetlands / Investment / Land use / Water use / Training needs assessment / Research priorities