Generalized Green'S Equivalences on the Subsemigroups of the Bicyclic Monoid

We study generalized Green's equivalences on all subsemigroups of the bicyclic monoid B and determine the abundant (and adequate) subsemigroups of B. © 2010 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Developing the Technique of Measurements of Magnetic Field in the CMS Steel Yoke Elements With Flux-Loops and Hall Probes

Compact muon solenoid (CMS) is a general-purpose detector designed to run at the highest luminosity at the CERN large hadron collider (LHC). Its distinctive features include a 4 T superconducting solenoid with 6 m diameter by 12.5 m long free bore, enclosed inside a 10000-ton return yoke made of construction steel. Accurate characterization of the magnetic field everywhere in theCMSdetector, including the large ferromagnetic parts of the yoke, is required. To measure the field in and around ferromagnetic parts, a set of flux-loops and Hall probe sensors will be installed on several of the steel pieces. Fast discharges of the solenoid during system commissioning tests will be used to induce voltages in the flux-loops that can be integrated to measure the flux in the steel at full excitation of the solenoid. The Hall sensors will give supplementary information on the axial magnetic field and permit estimation of the remanent field in the steel after the fast discharge. An experimental R&D program has been undertaken, using a test flux-loop, two Hall sensors, and sample disks made from the same construction steel used for the CMS magnet yoke. A sample disc, assembled with the test flux-loop and the Hall sensors, was inserted between the pole tips of a dipole electromagnet equipped with a computer-controlled power supply to measure the excitation of the steel from full saturation to zero field. The results of the measurements are presented and discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, 6 reference

Biopolymers impact on hygrothermal properties of rammed earth: from material to building scale

Three biopolymers were tested as rammed earth (RE) stabilizers, evaluating their impact on the hygrothermal behavior from material to building scale. Hygrothermal characterization included the determination of sorption isotherm, water vapor permeability, thermal conductivity at different moisture content, and specific heat capacity. The hygrothermal data were used as input for the simulation at whole-building scale considering combined heat and moisture transfer. The results were evaluated by comparing heating demand, thermal comfort during summer, and the contribution of walls for passively controlling indoor humidity. The results show that hygric properties were only slightly affected by the use of stabilizers, while the thermal conductivity was 33% higher for RE stabilized with lignin, consequently increasing the heating demand at whole-building scale. All RE walls were effective in reducing temperature oscillations in summer. In the particular case of a canicular event, the indoor temperature was reduced by up to 10° compared with the outdoor value. The indoor humidity also benefited from the passive regulation by RE walls, regardless of whether a stablizer was used

3D Magnetic Analysis of the CMS Magnet

The CMS magnetic system consists of a super-conducting solenoid coil, 12.5 m long and 6 m free bore diameter, and of an iron flux-return yoke, which includes the central barrel, two end-caps and the ferromagnetic parts of the hadronic forward calorimeter. The magnetic flux density in the center of the solenoid is 4 T. To carry out the magnetic analysis of the CMS magnetic system, several 3D models were developed to perform magnetic field and force calculations using the Vector Fields code TOSCA. The analysis includes a study of the general field behavior, the calculation of the forces on the coil generated by small axial, radial displacements and angular tilts, the calculation of the forces on the ferromagnetic parts, the calculation of the fringe field outside the magnetic system, and a study of the field level in the chimneys for the current leads and the cryogenic lines. A procedure to reconstruct the field inside a cylindrical volume starting from the values of the magnetic flux density on the cylinder surface is considered. Special TOSCA-GEANT interface tools have being developed to input the calculated magnetic field into the detector simulation package.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, 1 equation, 14 reference

"Outside, it is snowing": Experience and finitude in the nonrepresentational landscapes of Alain Robbe-Grillet

Copyright © 2008 PionRomanillos J L, 2008. The definitive, peer-reviewed and edited version of this article is published in Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 26(5) 795 – 822 DOI: 10.1068/d6207This paper presents and explicates the anonymous and impersonal spatialities tentatively mapped in the novels of Alain Robbe-Grillet. Emerging from the kinds of landscapes and visualities articulated, these spatialities are at odds with the kind of anthropocentrism characteristic of phenomenological narratives of spatial experience that would start from an apparently stable human-subject position. It is argued that his body of literature dismantles the anthropocentric narratives and biographies that would produce in both the space of the world and the ‘phenomenological subject’ an unwarranted depth and naturalism. Importantly, and reflecting the theoretical turn towards the being of language, Robbe-Grillet questions the legitimacy of linguistic subjects to capture the spaces of the visible. As such, it is argued that his literature reflects an experience of the critiques of phenomenology. Importantly, this ‘critique’ goes hand in hand with the kinds of spatialities and landscapes that are rendered in the novels—the indefinite perspectives they open up, the paradoxical visualities they sustain or deny, and the disorientation they inject into the heart of spatial experience. These literary effects produce a nonanthropocentric and nonpersonal spatiality which, although contributing to an erasure of the ‘subject’, at the same time expose and open up a sociospatiality based on singularities, intensities, and finitude

A precedence theorem for semigroups

In a finite semigroup, the least element under a precedence order is an idempotent in the kernel

Mechanical and Microstructural Characterization of Rammed Earth Stabilized with Five Biopolymers

This study aims to check the compatibility of a selection of waste and recycled biopolymers for rammed earth applications in order to replace the more common cement-based stabilization. Five formulations of stabilized rammed earth were prepared with different biopolymers: lignin sulfonate, tannin, sheep wool fibers, citrus pomace and grape-seed flour. The microstructure of the different formulations was characterized by investigating the interactions between earth and stabilizers through mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), nitrogen soprtion isotherm, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) was also evaluated for all stabilized specimens. Three out of five biopolymers were considered suitable as rammed earth stabilizers. The use of wool increased the UCS by 6%, probably thanks to the combined effect of the length of the fibers and the roughness of their surfaces, which gives a contribution in binding clay particles higher than citrus and grape-seed flour. Lignin sulfonate and tannin increased the UCS by 38% and 13%, respectively, suggesting the additives’ ability to fill pores, coat soil grains and form aggregates; this capability is confirmed by the reduction in the specific surface area and the pore volume in the nano-and micropore zones

A dose-dependent plasma signature of the safety and immunogenicity of the rVSV-Ebola vaccine in Europe and Africa.

The 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic affected several African countries, claiming more than 11,000 lives and leaving thousands with ongoing sequelae. Safe and effective vaccines could prevent or limit future outbreaks. The recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus-vectored Zaire Ebola (rVSV-ZEBOV) vaccine has shown marked immunogenicity and efficacy in humans but is reactogenic at higher doses. To understand its effects, we examined plasma samples from 115 healthy volunteers from Geneva who received low-dose (LD) or high-dose (HD) vaccine or placebo. Fifteen plasma chemokines/cytokines were assessed at baseline and on days 1, 2 to 3, and 7 after injection. Significant increases in monocyte-mediated MCP-1/CCL2, MIP-1β/CCL4, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1Ra, and IL-10 occurred on day 1. A signature explaining 68% of cytokine/chemokine vaccine-response variability was identified. Its score was higher in HD versus LD vaccinees and was associated positively with vaccine viremia and negatively with cytopenia. It was higher in vaccinees with injection-site pain, fever, myalgia, chills, and headache; higher scores reflected increasing severity. In contrast, HD vaccinees who subsequently developed arthritis had lower day 1 scores than other HD vaccinees. Vaccine dose did not influence the signature despite its influence on specific outcomes. The Geneva-derived signature associated strongly (ρ = 0.97) with that of a cohort of 75 vaccinees from a parallel trial in Lambaréné, Gabon. Its score in Geneva HD vaccinees with subsequent arthritis was significantly lower than that in Lambaréné HD vaccinees, none of whom experienced arthritis. This signature, which reveals monocytes' critical role in rVSV-ZEBOV immunogenicity and safety across doses and continents, should prove useful in assessments of other vaccines

Analysis of eddy current distributions in the CMS magnet yoke during the solenoid discharge

Flux loops have been installed on selected segments of the magnetic flux return yoke of the 4 T superconducting coil of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector under construction at CERN. Voltages induced in the loops during discharge of the solenoid will be sampled online during the entire discharge and integrated offline to provide a measurement of the initial magnetic flux density in steel at the maximum field to an accuracy of a few percent. Although the discharge of the solenoid is rather slow (190 s time constant), the influence of eddy currents induced in the yoke elements should be estimated. The calculation of eddy currents is performed with Vector Fields' program ELEKTRA. The results of the calculations are reported.Flux loops have been installed on selected segments of the magnetic flux return yoke of the 4 T superconducting coil of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector under construction at CERN. Voltages induced in the loops during discharge of the solenoid will be sampled online during the entire discharge and integrated offline to provide a measurement of the initial magnetic flux density in steel at the maximum field to an accuracy of a few percent. Although the discharge of the solenoid is rather slow (190 s time constant), the influence of eddy currents induced in the yoke elements should be estimated. The calculation of eddy currents is performed with Vector Fields' program ELEKTRA. The results of the calculations are reported