2,575 research outputs found
Elaborated Odor Test for Extended Exposure
Concerns were raised when incidental exposure to a proprietary bonding material revealed the material had an irritating odor. The NASA-STD-6001B document describes a supplemental test method option for programs to evaluate materials with odor concerns (Test 6, Odor Assessment). In addition to the supplemental standard odor assessment with less than 10 seconds of exposure, the NASA White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) Materials Flight Acceptance Testing section was requested to perform an odor test with an extended duration to evaluate effects of an extended exposure and to more closely simulate realistic exposure scenarios. With approval from the NASA Johnson Space Center Industrial Hygienist, WSTF developed a 15-minute odor test method. WSTF performed this extended-duration odor test to evaluate the odor and physical effects of the bonding material configured between two aluminum plates, after the safety of the gas was verified via toxicity analysis per NASA-STD-6001B Test 7, Determination of Offgassed Products. During extended-duration testing, odor panel members were arranged near the test material in a small room with the air handlers and doors closed to minimize dilution. The odor panel members wafted gas toward themselves and recorded their individual assessments of odor and physical effects at various intervals during the 15-minute exposure and posttest. A posttest interview was conducted to obtain further information. Testing was effective in providing data for comparison and selection of an optimal offgassing and odor containment configuration. The developed test method for extended exposure is proposed as a useful tool for further evaluating materials with identified odors of concern if continued use of the material is anticipated
Science and Ideology in Economic, Political, and Social Thought
This paper has two sources: One is my own research in three broad areas: business cycles, economic measurement and social choice. In all of these fields I attempted to apply the basic precepts of the scientific method as it is understood in the natural sciences. I found that my effort at using natural science methods in economics was met with little understanding and often considerable hostility. I found economics to be driven less by common sense and empirical evidence, then by various ideologies that exhibited either a political or a methodological bias, or both. This brings me to the second source: Several books have appeared recently that describe in historical terms the ideological forces that have shaped either the direct areas in which I worked, or a broader background. These books taught me that the ideological forces in the social sciences are even stronger than I imagined on the basis of my own experiences.
The scientific method is the antipode to ideology. I feel that the scientific work that I have done on specific, long standing and fundamental problems in economics and political science have given me additional insights into the destructive role of ideology beyond the history of thought orientation of the works I will be discussing
Observation of an Excited Bc+ State
Using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.5 fb-1 recorded by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of s=7, 8, and 13 TeV, the observation of an excited Bc+ state in the Bc+Ï+Ï- invariant-mass spectrum is reported. The observed peak has a mass of 6841.2±0.6(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, where the last uncertainty is due to the limited knowledge of the Bc+ mass. It is consistent with expectations of the Bcâ(2S31)+ state reconstructed without the low-energy photon from the Bcâ(1S31)+âBc+Îł decay following Bcâ(2S31)+âBcâ(1S31)+Ï+Ï-. A second state is seen with a global (local) statistical significance of 2.2Ï (3.2Ï) and a mass of 6872.1±1.3(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, and is consistent with the Bc(2S10)+ state. These mass measurements are the most precise to date
Measurement of the mass and lifetime of the baryon
A proton-proton collision data sample, corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of 3 fb collected by LHCb at and 8 TeV, is used
to reconstruct , decays. Using the , decay mode for calibration, the lifetime ratio and absolute
lifetime of the baryon are measured to be \begin{align*}
\frac{\tau_{\Omega_b^-}}{\tau_{\Xi_b^-}} &= 1.11\pm0.16\pm0.03, \\
\tau_{\Omega_b^-} &= 1.78\pm0.26\pm0.05\pm0.06~{\rm ps}, \end{align*} where the
uncertainties are statistical, systematic and from the calibration mode (for
only). A measurement is also made of the mass difference,
, and the corresponding mass, which
yields \begin{align*} m_{\Omega_b^-}-m_{\Xi_b^-} &= 247.4\pm3.2\pm0.5~{\rm
MeV}/c^2, \\ m_{\Omega_b^-} &= 6045.1\pm3.2\pm 0.5\pm0.6~{\rm MeV}/c^2.
\end{align*} These results are consistent with previous measurements.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, All figures and tables, along with any
supplementary material and additional information, are available at
https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-008.htm
Measurement of the lifetime
Using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of ,
collected by the LHCb experiment in collisions at centre-of-mass energies
of 7 and 8 TeV, the effective lifetime in the
decay mode, , is measured to be ps. Assuming
conservation, corresponds to the lifetime of the light
mass eigenstate. This is the first measurement of the effective
lifetime in this decay mode.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and
additional information, are available at
https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-017.htm
Study of charmonium production in b -hadron decays and first evidence for the decay Bs0
Using decays to Ï-meson pairs, the inclusive production of charmonium states in b-hadron decays is studied with pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fbâ1, collected by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. Denoting byBC ⥠B(b â C X) Ă B(C â ÏÏ) the inclusive branching fraction of a b hadron to a charmonium state C that decays into a pair of Ï mesons, ratios RC1C2 ⥠BC1 /BC2 are determined as RÏc0ηc(1S) = 0.147 ± 0.023 ± 0.011, RÏc1ηc(1S) =0.073 ± 0.016 ± 0.006, RÏc2ηc(1S) = 0.081 ± 0.013 ± 0.005,RÏc1 Ïc0 = 0.50 ± 0.11 ± 0.01, RÏc2 Ïc0 = 0.56 ± 0.10 ± 0.01and Rηc(2S)ηc(1S) = 0.040 ± 0.011 ± 0.004. Here and below the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic.Upper limits at 90% confidence level for the inclusive production of X(3872), X(3915) and Ïc2(2P) states are obtained as RX(3872)Ïc1 < 0.34, RX(3915)Ïc0 < 0.12 andRÏc2(2P)Ïc2 < 0.16. Differential cross-sections as a function of transverse momentum are measured for the ηc(1S) andÏc states. The branching fraction of the decay B0s â ÏÏÏ is measured for the first time, B(B0s â ÏÏÏ) = (2.15±0.54±0.28±0.21B)Ă10â6. Here the third uncertainty is due to the branching fraction of the decay B0s â ÏÏ, which is used for normalization. No evidence for intermediate resonances is seen. A preferentially transverse Ï polarization is observed.The measurements allow the determination of the ratio of the branching fractions for the ηc(1S) decays to ÏÏ and p p asB(ηc(1S)â ÏÏ)/B(ηc(1S)â p p) = 1.79 ± 0.14 ± 0.32
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