Elliptic flow measurements from two-, four-, and six-particle correlations are used to investigate flow fluctuations in collisions of U+U at sqrts_{NN}=193 GeV, Cu+Au at sqrts_{NN}=200 GeV and ...Au+Au spanning the range sqrts_{NN}=11.5-200 GeV. The measurements show a strong dependence of the flow fluctuations on collision centrality, a modest dependence on system size, and very little if any, dependence on particle species and beam energy. The results, when compared to similar LHC measurements, viscous hydrodynamic calculations, and trento model eccentricities, indicate that initial-state-driven fluctuations predominate the flow fluctuations generated in the collisions studied.
Angular distributions of charged particles relative to jet axes are studied in $\sqrt{^SNN}$ = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions as a function of the jet orientation with respect to the event plane. This ...differential study tests the expected path-length dependence of energy loss experienced by a hard-scattered parton as it traverses the hot and dense medium formed in heavy-ion collisions. A second-order event plane is used in the analysis as an experimental estimate of the reaction plane formed by the collision impact parameter and the beam direction. Charged-particle jets with 15 < $p_{\text {T,jet}}$ < 20 and 20 < $p_{\text {T,jet}}$ < 40 GeV / $c$ were reconstructed with the anti-$k_{\text {T}}$ algorithm with radius parameter setting of R = 0.4 in the 20-50% centrality bin to maximize the initial-state eccentricity of the interaction region. The reaction plane fit method is implemented to remove the flow-modulated background with better precision than prior methods. Yields and widths of jet-associated charged-hadron distributions are extracted in three angular bins between the jet axis and the event plane. The event-plane (EP) dependence is further quantified by ratios of the associated yields in different EP bins. No dependence on orientation of the jet axis with respect to the event plane is seen within the uncertainties in the kinematic regime studied. Finally, this finding is consistent with a similar experimental observation by ALICE in $\sqrt{^SNN}$ = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collision data.
Genomic samples of non-model organisms are becoming increasingly important in a broad range of studies from developmental biology, biodiversity analyses, to conservation. Genomic sample definition, ...description, quality, voucher information and metadata all need to be digitized and disseminated across scientific communities. This information needs to be concise and consistent in today's ever-increasing bioinformatic era, for complementary data aggregators to easily map databases to one another. In order to facilitate exchange of information on genomic samples and their derived data, the Global Genome Biodiversity Network (GGBN) Data Standard is intended to provide a platform based on a documented agreement to promote the efficient sharing and usage of genomic sample material and associated specimen information in a consistent way. The new data standard presented here build upon existing standards commonly used within the community extending them with the capability to exchange data on tissue, environmental and DNA sample as well as sequences. The GGBN Data Standard will reveal and democratize the hidden contents of biodiversity biobanks, for the convenience of everyone in the wider biobanking community. Technical tools exist for data providers to easily map their databases to the standard.Database URL: http://terms.tdwg.org/wiki/GGBN_Data_Standard.
High-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) followed by autologous blood stem cell transplantation is considered the treatment of choice for patients with relapsed or resistant aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma ...(NHL) or Hodgkin's disease (HD). However, several authors report failure of standard mobilization regimens in 29% to 56% of these patients making the completion of HDCT impossible and as a result, negatively influencing long-term outcome. Thus, effective new regimens for patients failing initial mobilization are needed. Here we report the results of using etoposide as a mobilizing agent in 16 patients with primary resistant or relapsed malignant lymphoma who had failed prior mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) with cyclophosphamide (4 g/m2) followed by G-CSF. The use of etoposide 500 mg/m2 (days 1-4) + G-CSF resulted in the successful collection of adequate numbers of PBSC with a median harvest of 3.6 x 10(6)/kg (range 2.2-12.6) CD34+ cells in all 16 patients. In 7/16 (44%) patients, the target yield of at least 2.0 x 10(6) CD34+ cells was harvested by a single apheresis and the maximum number of separations for all patients was two. No excessive toxicities appeared, allowing all patients to proceed to myeloablative chemotherapy. In addition, median peak values of circulating CD34+ cells were significantly higher after etoposide as compared to cyclophosphamide (49.2/microl vs 4.7/microl; P = 0.0004). These results indicate that etoposide + G-CSF is a highly effective mobilization regimen in patients who have failed cyclophosphamide mobilization.
Traditionally, recreation demand studies have focused on single-day, single-activity trips, despite anecdotal and empirical evidence that many recreational trips involve overnight stays and multiple ...purposes. This paper develops a random utility model that explores how visitors choose alternative sites and trip durations for multiple-objective trips. We focus on a recreational activity, beach visits, that appear to have significant proportions of the population taking single and multiple-day trips, and many of the multiple day trips involve multiple objectives. Multiple-duration and multiple-objective issues are incorporated in pricing trip costs. The results of the research suggest that the accepted method for incorporating travel costs into random utility models can lead to biased estimates of the structural utility parameters and, consequently, biased measures of welfare in a multiple-objective trip setting for single- and multiple-day users. Copyright Springer 2006
This paper analyses Rio Grande do Sul state calamity on public security and criminal justice from the perspective of its prison system with especial focus on Porto Alegre's Public Jail--best known as ...Presidio Central. This particular detention center suffers from continuous overcrowding and it was designed only to receive pretrial detainees. From more than twenty years it has been provisionally managed by the Brigada Militar--the state Military Police--as a strategy to avoid rebellions. It was denounced before the IACHR for several human rights violations and it is always remembered as a negative reference of Brazilian Prison System. It has been also considered the worst Brazilian detention center by the Federal Congress commission that investigated the Prison System. Methodology consisted on documental, data and situational analysis, with special focus on inputs and outputs of prisoners. Keywords: Public Security, Criminal Justice, Prison System, Penitentiary System, Public Jail. O artigo trata dos (des)caminhos da seguranca publica e da justica criminal no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul fazendo uma analise a partir do sistema penitenciario e da Cadeia Publica de Porto Alegre, antigo Presidio Central de POA (PCPA), nome pelo qual e mais conhecida, uma vez que esta casa prisional, alem de lidar com superlotacao continua, ter como missao abrigar presos provisorios e de estar sendo gerenciada pela Politica Militar ha mais de vinte anos para evitar motins e rebelioes. Esta casa prisional tambem ja foi denunciada junto a Comissao Interamericana por violacao de direitos humanos, sendo sempre citada como referencia negativa quando se analisa o sistema penitenciario brasileiro chegando a ser considerado o pior presidio do pais ao ser investigado pela Comissao Parlamentar de Inquerito (CPI) do sistema carcerario. A metodologia do estudo consiste na analise documental, situacional e dos registros do numero de encarcerados, entradas e saidas nos ultimos dez anos. Palavras-chave: Seguranca Publica, Justica Criminal, Sistema Penitenciario, Cadeia Publica.
Forests and the forest sector are sensitive to climate change at greatly varying scales. The complexity of the interactions among the physical environment, forest growth, the management and ...utilisation of forest resources, and market responses has stimulated efforts to model the impact of global changes on the forest sector by linking impact models developed from different disciplines. This paper reviews existing experiences in integrated forest sector impact assessments. Different ways of integrating cross-disciplinary impact assessments are classified as
linking,
coupling and
integrated modelling. To date the most common method is a “one-way” linking, where results from one model are used as input to a different model. When different impact models are coupled, feedbacks can be analysed, e.g. between ecological and economic systems. Integrated modelling is described as a third step, where different sub-models are embedded into a common model framework. The concept of balance is introduced as a key to successful integration of different disciplines in integrated assessment (IA) studies. The review of existing experiences emphasises the problem of complexity and the need to simplify disciplinary approaches. It also illustrates how methodologies applied to forest sector IA studies have evolved over the last few years. Several scaling issues that are particularly important for IA modelling in forestry are discussed, including the consequences of heterogeneity in site conditions, the variable influence of extreme events on ecosystems and on the economic sector, and the differences in temporal and spatial scales over which key forest growth and renewal processes operate. Climate impact assessments include uncertainties. Some common sources of uncertainty in forest IA modelling are outlined, and methods that have been used to address this uncertainty are reviewed. We discuss the policy relevance of integrated impact assessments and stress the importance of stakeholder involvement in IA projects. The paper concludes with some recommendations for future developments in this relatively new field of research.
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