100 research outputs found
A social and cultural history of the federal prohibition of psilocybin
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 December 17, 2007)Vita.Thesis (Ph. D.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2007.This dissertation focuses on the events leading to the 1968 federal prohibition of psilocybin. The goal is to show how the primary active compound in an ostensibly harmless fungus (the psilocybin mushroom) became controversial in less than a decade. The activities of Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (later Ram Dass) were major factors in this transformation. The dissertation uses previously unpublished materials to analyze Leary and Alpert's lives and careers through the early 1970's. Two major components are their involvement in the "Harvard drug scandal" as well as their transformation from Harvard Professors to countercultural icons. Indeed, psilocybin first gained notoriety during the "Harvard drug scandal" when a small team of researchers, most notably Leary and Alpert, began testing the substance on a variety of human subjects including Harvard graduate students. These activities piqued the interest of Harvard undergraduates who wanted to try psilocybin for themselves. This, among other aspects of the project, drew the condemnation of other faculty and Harvard administrators. This case is theoretically interesting because unlike most illegal drugs, psilocybin was not originally linked to a threatening minority group. Rather, psilocybin's notoriety grew out of the fact that it was being ingested by some of the nation's most privileged young men. By the late 1960s, however, the proselytizing of Leary and Ram Dass combined with the youth and anti-war movement to demonize the drug"s users.Includes bibliographical reference
A history of high-power laser research and development in the United Kingdom
The first demonstration of laser action in ruby was made in 1960 by T. H. Maiman of Hughes Research Laboratories, USA. Many laboratories worldwide began the search for lasers using different materials, operating at different wavelengths. In the UK, academia, industry and the central laboratories took up the challenge from the earliest days to develop these systems for a broad range of applications. This historical review looks at the contribution the UK has made to the advancement of the technology, the development of systems and components and their exploitation over the last 60 years
Les droits disciplinaires des fonctions publiques : « unification », « harmonisation » ou « distanciation ». A propos de la loi du 26 avril 2016 relative à la déontologie et aux droits et obligations des fonctionnaires
The production of tt‾ , W+bb‾ and W+cc‾ is studied in the forward region of proton–proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98±0.02 fb−1 . The W bosons are reconstructed in the decays W→ℓν , where ℓ denotes muon or electron, while the b and c quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions.The production of , and is studied in the forward region of proton-proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98 0.02 \mbox{fb}^{-1}. The bosons are reconstructed in the decays , where denotes muon or electron, while the and quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions
Measurement of the J/ψ pair production cross-section in pp collisions at TeV
The production cross-section of J/ψ pairs is measured using a data sample of pp collisions collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 279 ±11 pb. The measurement is performed for J/ψ mesons with a transverse momentum of less than 10 GeV/c in the rapidity range 2.0 < y < 4.5. The production cross-section is measured to be 15.2 ± 1.0 ± 0.9 nb. The first uncertainty is statistical, and the second is systematic. The differential cross-sections as functions of several kinematic variables of the J/ψ pair are measured and compared to theoretical predictions.The production cross-section of pairs is measured using a data sample of collisions collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of , corresponding to an integrated luminosity of . The measurement is performed for mesons with a transverse momentum of less than in the rapidity range . The production cross-section is measured to be . The first uncertainty is statistical, and the second is systematic. The differential cross-sections as functions of several kinematic variables of the pair are measured and compared to theoretical predictions
Measurement of forward production in collisions at TeV
A measurement of the cross-section for production in collisions is presented using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of fb collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of TeV. The electrons are required to have more than GeV of transverse momentum and to lie between 2.00 and 4.25 in pseudorapidity. The inclusive production cross-sections, where the decays to , are measured to be \begin{align*} \begin{split} \sigma_{W^{+} \to e^{+}\nu_{e}}&=1124.4\pm 2.1\pm 21.5\pm 11.2\pm 13.0\,\mathrm{pb},\\ \sigma_{W^{-} \to e^{-}\bar{\nu}_{e}}&=\,\,\,809.0\pm 1.9\pm 18.1\pm\,\,\,7.0\pm \phantom{0}9.4\,\mathrm{pb}, \end{split} \end{align*} where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second are systematic, the third are due to the knowledge of the LHC beam energy and the fourth are due to the luminosity determination. Differential cross-sections as a function of the electron pseudorapidity are measured. The cross-section ratio and production charge asymmetry are also reported. Results are compared with theoretical predictions at next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics. Finally, in a precise test of lepton universality, the ratio of boson branching fractions is determined to be \begin{align*} \begin{split} \mathcal{B}(W \to e\nu)/\mathcal{B}(W \to \mu\nu)=1.020\pm 0.002\pm 0.019, \end{split} \end{align*} where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.A measurement of the cross-section for production in collisions is presented using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of fb collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of TeV. The electrons are required to have more than GeV of transverse momentum and to lie between 2.00 and 4.25 in pseudorapidity. The inclusive production cross-sections, where the decays to , are measured to be \begin{equation*} \sigma_{W^{+} \to e^{+}\nu_{e}}=1124.4\pm 2.1\pm 21.5\pm 11.2\pm 13.0\,\mathrm{pb}, \end{equation*} \begin{equation*} \sigma_{W^{-} \to e^{-}\bar{\nu}_{e}}=\,\,\,809.0\pm 1.9\pm 18.1\pm\,\,\,7.0\pm \phantom{0}9.4\,\mathrm{pb}, \end{equation*} where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second are systematic, the third are due to the knowledge of the LHC beam energy and the fourth are due to the luminosity determination. Differential cross-sections as a function of the electron pseudorapidity are measured. The cross-section ratio and production charge asymmetry are also reported. Results are compared with theoretical predictions at next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics. Finally, in a precise test of lepton universality, the ratio of boson branching fractions is determined to be \begin{equation*} \mathcal{B}(W \to e\nu)/\mathcal{B}(W \to \mu\nu)=1.020\pm 0.002\pm 0.019, \end{equation*} where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.A measurement of the cross-section for W → eν production in pp collisions is presented using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2 fb collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of TeV. The electrons are required to have more than 20 GeV of transverse momentum and to lie between 2.00 and 4.25 in pseudorapidity. The inclusive W production cross-sections, where the W decays to eν, are measured to be where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second are systematic, the third are due to the knowledge of the LHC beam energy and the fourth are due to the luminosity determination
Measurement of the B0s→μ+μ− Branching Fraction and Effective Lifetime and Search for B0→μ+μ− Decays
A search for the rare decays Bs0→μ+μ- and B0→μ+μ- is performed at the LHCb experiment using data collected in pp collisions corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 4.4  fb-1. An excess of Bs0→μ+μ- decays is observed with a significance of 7.8 standard deviations, representing the first observation of this decay in a single experiment. The branching fraction is measured to be B(Bs0→μ+μ-)=(3.0±0.6-0.2+0.3)×10-9, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The first measurement of the Bs0→μ+μ- effective lifetime, τ(Bs0→μ+μ-)=2.04±0.44±0.05  ps, is reported. No significant excess of B0→μ+μ- decays is found, and a 95% confidence level upper limit, B(B0→μ+μ-)<3.4×10-10, is determined. All results are in agreement with the standard model expectations.A search for the rare decays and is performed at the LHCb experiment using data collected in collisions corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb. An excess of decays is observed with a significance of 7.8 standard deviations, representing the first observation of this decay in a single experiment. The branching fraction is measured to be , where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The first measurement of the effective lifetime, ps, is reported. No significant excess of decays is found and a 95 % confidence level upper limit, , is determined. All results are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations
Measurements of prompt charm production cross-sections in pp collisions at TeV
Production cross-sections of prompt charm mesons are measured using data from collisions at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of TeV. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of pb collected by the LHCb experiment. The production cross-sections of , , , and mesons are measured in bins of charm meson transverse momentum, , and rapidity, . They cover the rapidity range and transverse momentum ranges for and and for and mesons. The inclusive cross-sections for the four mesons, including charge-conjugate states, within the range of are determined to be \begin{equation*} \sigma(pp\rightarrow D^0 X) = 1190 \pm 3 \pm 64\,\mu\text{b} \end{equation*} \begin{equation*} \sigma(pp\rightarrow D^+ X) = 456 \pm 3 \pm 34\,\mu\text{b} \end{equation*} \begin{equation*} \sigma(pp\rightarrow D_s^+ X) = 195 \pm 4 \pm 19\,\mu\text{b} \end{equation*} \begin{equation*} \sigma(pp\rightarrow D^{*+} X)= 467 \pm 6 \pm 40\,\mu\text{b} \end{equation*} where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.Production cross-sections of prompt charm mesons are measured using data from pp collisions at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 5 TeV. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 8.60 ± 0.33 pb collected by the LHCb experiment. The production cross-sections of D, D, D , and D mesons are measured in bins of charm meson transverse momentum, p, and rapidity, y. They cover the rapidity range 2.0 < y < 4.5 and transverse momentum ranges 0 < p < 10 GeV/c for D and D and 1 < p < 10 GeV/c for D and D mesons. The inclusive cross-sections for the four mesons, including charge-conjugate states, within the range of 1 < p < 8 GeV/c are determined to be where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.Production cross-sections of prompt charm mesons are measured using data from collisions at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of TeV. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of pb collected by the LHCb experiment. The production cross-sections of , , , and mesons are measured in bins of charm meson transverse momentum, , and rapidity, . They cover the rapidity range and transverse momentum ranges for and and for and mesons. The inclusive cross-sections for the four mesons, including charge-conjugate states, within the range of are determined to be \sigma(pp\rightarrow D^0 X) = 1004 \pm 3 \pm 54\,\mu\text{b} \sigma(pp\rightarrow D^+ X) = 402 \pm 2 \pm 30\,\mu\text{b} \sigma(pp\rightarrow D_s^+ X) = 170 \pm 4 \pm 16\,\mu\text{b} \sigma(pp\rightarrow D^{*+} X)= 421 \pm 5 \pm 36\,\mu\text{b} where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively
Farming the Web of Things
Here, a Web of Things case study for agriculture focuses on an experimental smart farm that uses a range of environmental sensors and livestock monitoring technologies. An ontology-enabled architecture that permits personal alert specification was applied on the farm and the results analyzed; the observations are published as a linked data cube, which supports longer-term analysis and data sharing from a local to national scale. This case study highlights the business opportunities for such technology for agriculture in the context of a national broadband rollout
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