The Social Importance and Continuity of Falaj Use in Northern Oman

Oman has an arid climate with an annual average rainfall less than 100 mm. Agriculture production in Oman is almost fully dependent on irrigation in which more than one third of irrigation water is supplied by aflāj. Prior to the 1970s, falaj (singular of aflāj) systems were the backbone of agriculture in the northern parts of Oman. There are three types of falaj in Oman: ghailī, da'ūdī and cainī. Among these three types, only the da'ūdī falaj is similar to the qanat irrigation systems of Iran. Aflāj are conduits dug in the ground to convey water by gravity from one place to another; there are more than 4,000 aflāj in the Sultanate of Oman, of which 3,017 are active. Many aflāj in Oman were built over 1,500 years ago and some of them may date back over 2,500 years. There was a major period of construction during the Yacāriba Dynasty, by Imam Sultan bin Saif Al Yarubi between 1,060 and 1,070 Hijri (1,650- 1,660 AD). However, several aflāj were constructed only 150 years ago. The falaj systems are still focal to agricultural communities in Oman as they represent 36% of the total water consumed in the agricultural sector and 38% of the total available fresh water. Because of their historical and cultural importance, five representative falaj systems, together with associated structures such as defensive towers, mosques sundials and buildings for water auctions, have recently been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Sustainability was the way of life of our ancestors: because falaj systems use gravity flow, water use never exceeded water supply. The Sultanate's traditional methods of water management provide important lessons for the future. Using water fairly in times of plenty and times of scarcity is one of these lessons. Matching water use to water availability, a fundamental characteristic of the falaj system, is an essential element in planning water management in Oman's climatic conditions.The Iranian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (IRNCID); The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID); The International Network on Participatory Irrigation Management (INPIM

Relative entropy in 2d Quantum Field Theory, finite-size corrections and irreversibility of the Renormalization Group

The relative entropy in two-dimensional Field Theory is studied for its application as an irreversible quantity under the Renormalization Group, relying on a general monotonicity theorem for that quantity previously established. In the cylinder geometry, interpreted as finite-temperature field theory, one can define from the relative entropy a monotonic quantity similar to Zamolodchikov's c function. On the other hand, the one-dimensional quantum thermodynamic entropy also leads to a monotonic quantity, with different properties. The relation of thermodynamic quantities with the complex components of the stress tensor is also established and hence the entropic c theorems are proposed as analogues of Zamolodchikov's c theorem for the cylinder geometry.Comment: 5 pages, Latex file, revtex, reorganized to best show the generality of the results, version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Enhancing structure relaxations for first-principles codes: an approximate Hessian approach

We present a method for improving the speed of geometry relaxation by using a harmonic approximation for the interaction potential between nearest neighbor atoms to construct an initial Hessian estimate. The model is quite robust, and yields approximately a 30% or better reduction in the number of calculations compared to an optimized diagonal initialization. Convergence with this initializer approaches the speed of a converged BFGS Hessian, therefore it is close to the best that can be achieved. Hessian preconditioning is discussed, and it is found that a compromise between an average condition number and a narrow distribution in eigenvalues produces the best optimization.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, added references, expanded optimization sectio

Point-of-care screening for a current Hepatitis C virus infection: influence on uptake of a concomitant offer of HIV screening

Eliminating hepatitis C as a public health threat requires an improved understanding of how to increase testing uptake. We piloted point-of-care testing (POCT) for a current HCV infection in an inner-city Emergency Department (ED) and assessed the influence on uptake of offering concomitant screening for HIV. Over four months, all adults attending ED with minor injuries were first invited to complete an anonymous questionnaire then invited to test in alternating cycles offering HCV POCT or HCV+HIV POCT. Viral RNA was detected in finger-prick blood by GeneXpert. 814/859 (94.8%) questionnaires were returned and 324/814 (39.8%) tests were accepted, comprising 211 HCV tests and 113 HCV+HIV tests. Offering concomitant HIV screening reduced uptake after adjusting for age and previous HCV testing (odds ratio 0.51; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.38–0.68; p < 0.001). HCV prevalence was 1/324 (0.31%; 95% CI 0.05–1.73); no participant tested positive for HIV. 167/297 (56.2%) POCT participants lived in the most deprived neighbourhoods in England. HCV RNA testing using finger-prick blood was technically feasible. Uptake was moderate and the offer of concomitant HIV screening showed a detrimental impact on acceptability in this low prevalence population. The findings should be confirmed in a variety of other community settings

Influences on gum feeding in primates

This chapter reviews the factors that may affect patterns of gum feeding by primates. These are then examined for mixed-species troops of saddleback (S. fuscicollis) and mustached (S. mystax) tamarins. An important distinction is made between gums produced by tree trunks and branches as a result of damage and those produced by seed pods as part of a dispersal strategy as these may be expected to differ in their biochemistry. Feeding on fruit and Parkia seed pod exudates was more prevalent in the morning whereas other exudates were eaten in the afternoon. This itinerary may represent a deliberate strategy to retain trunk gums in the gut overnight, thus maximising the potential for microbial fermentation of their β-linked oligosaccharides. Both types of exudates were eaten more in the dry than the wet season. Consumption was linked to seasonal changes in resource availability and not the tamarins’ reproductive status pro-viding no support for the suggestion that gums are eaten as a pri-mary calcium source in the later stages of gestation and lactation. The role of availability in determining patterns of consumption is further supported by the finding that dietary overlap for the trunk gums eaten was greater between species within mixed-species troops within years than it was within species between years. These data and those for pygmy marmosets (Cebuella pygmaea) suggest that patterns of primate gummivory may reflect the interaction of prefer-ence and availability for both those able to stimulate gum production and those not

Bone and heart health in menopause

Age at menopause has been shown to have an impact on bone and heart health, with younger menopause age consistently associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and fracture. These risks are particularly high increased among women who encountering menopause at an early age, including women with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) and early menopause, due to a prolonged period of oestrogen deprivation. Several interventions are suggested to optimise the bone and cardiovascular health of women with menopause including lifestyle modification, dietary supplements, hormonal, and non-hormonal therapies. Hormone therapy (HT) is indicated for women with POI. For women with early menopause, there is a paucity of evidence for the management of bone and cardiovascular health. For women beyond the average age of menopause, HT is not indicated solely for bone protection and cardiovascular health. In this group, screening for bone and heart disease, as well as primary and secondary prevention, should be undertaken in line with national and international guidelines

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns