646 research outputs found
The Catchment Runoff Attenuation Flux Tool, a minimum information requirement nutrient pollution model
A model for simulating runoff pathways and water
quality fluxes has been developed using the minimum information requirement (MIR) approach. The model, the Catchment Runoff Attenuation Flux Tool (CRAFT), is applicable to mesoscale catchments and focusses primarily on hydrological pathways that mobilise nutrients. Hence CRAFT can be used to investigate the impact of flow pathway management intervention strategies designed to reduce the loads of nutrients into receiving watercourses. The model can help policy makers meet water quality targets and consider methods to obtain “good” ecological status.
A case study of the 414 km2 Frome catchment, Dorset,
UK, has been described here as an application of CRAFT
in order to highlight the above issues at the mesoscale. The
model was primarily calibrated on 10-year records of weekly
data to reproduce the observed flows and nutrient (nitrate nitrogen – N; phosphorus – P) concentrations. Data from 2
years with sub-daily monitoring at the same site were also
analysed. These data highlighted some additional signals in
the nutrient flux, particularly of soluble reactive phosphorus, which were not observable in the weekly data. This analysis has prompted the choice of using a daily time step as the minimum information requirement to simulate the processes observed at the mesoscale, including the impact of uncertainty. A management intervention scenario was also run to demonstrate how the model can support catchment managers investigating how reducing the concentrations of N and P in the various flow pathways. This mesoscale modelling tool can help policy makers consider a range of strategies to meet the European Union (EU) water quality targets for this type of catchment
Anisotropic Flow from RHIC to the LHC
Anisotropic flow is recognized as one of the main observables providing
information on the early stage of a heavy-ion collision. At RHIC the large
observed anisotropic flow and its successful description by ideal hydrodynamics
is considered evidence for an early onset of thermalization and almost ideal
fluid properties of the produced strongly coupled Quark Gluon Plasma. This
write-up discusses some key RHIC anisotropic flow measurements and for
anisotropic flow at the LHC some predictions.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, hotquarks 200
Chemical freeze-out temperature in hydrodynamical description of Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV
We study the effect of separate chemical and kinetic freeze-outs to the ideal
hydrodynamical flow in Au+Au collisions at RHIC (sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV energy).
Unlike in earlier studies we explore how these effects can be counteracted by
changes in the initial state of the hydrodynamical evolution. We conclude that
the reproduction of pion, proton and antiproton yields necessitates a chemical
freeze-out temperature of T = 150 MeV instead of T = 160 - 170 MeV motivated by
thermal models. Unlike previously reported, this lower temperature makes it
possible to reproduce the p_T-spectra of hadrons if one assumes very small
initial time, tau_0 = 0.2 fm/c. However, the p_T-differential elliptic flow,
v_2(p_T) remains badly reproduced. This points to the need to include
dissipative effects (viscosity) or some other refinement to the model.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures; Accepted for publication in European Physical
Journal A; Added discussion about the effect of weak decays to chemical
freeze-out temperature and a figure showing isentropic curves in T-mu plan
Particlization in hybrid models
In hybrid models, which combine hydrodynamical and transport approaches to
describe different stages of heavy-ion collisions, conversion of fluid to
individual particles, particlization, is a non-trivial technical problem. We
describe in detail how to find the particlization hypersurface in a 3+1
dimensional model, and how to sample the particle distributions evaluated using
the Cooper-Frye procedure to create an ensemble of particles as an initial
state for the transport stage. We also discuss the role and magnitude of the
negative contributions in the Cooper-Frye procedure.Comment: 18 pages, 28 figures, EPJA: Topical issue on "Relativistic Hydro- and
Thermodynamics"; version accepted for publication, typos and error in Eq.(1)
corrected, the purpose of sampling and change from UrQMD to fluid clarified,
added discussion why attempts to cancel negative contributions of Cooper-Frye
are not applicable her
Selecting regions of interest on intraoral radiographs for the prediction of bone mineral density
Factors related to tinnitus and hyperacusis handicap in older people.
OBJECTIVE: The aim was to assess factors related to tinnitus and hyperacusis handicap in older people. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional. STUDY SAMPLE: Data were gathered for 184 patients with an average age of 69 years. RESULTS: Tinnitus handicap as measured via the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) was significantly predicted by tinnitus annoyance as measured via the visual analogue scale (VAS) (regression coefficient, b = 2.9, p < 0.001) and the effect of tinnitus on the patient's life as measured via the VAS (b = 3.9, p < 0.001). Hyperacusis handicap as measured via the Hyperacusis Questionnaire (HQ) was significantly predicted by the score on the depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (b = 0.8, p < 0.001) and to a small extent by the THI score (b = 0.07, p = 0.048). Insomnia scores as measured via the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) were significantly predicted by scores on the depression subscale of the HADS (b = 0.46, p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Since tinnitus annoyance significantly predicts tinnitus handicap, it is important to explore factors associated with annoyance that may be useful in designing appropriate rehabilitative interventions aimed at reducing tinnitus handicap in older people. Future studies should explore whether hyperacusis and insomnia in older people with tinnitus need to be managed in conjunction with treatment for depression
Selecting regions of interest on intraoral radiographs for the prediction of bone mineral density
Neutrino Emission from Goldstone Modes in Dense Quark Matter
We calculate neutrino emissivities from the decay and scattering of Goldstone
bosons in the color-flavor-locked (CFL) phase of quarks at high baryon density.
Interactions in the CFL phase are described by an effective low-energy theory.
For temperatures in the tens of keV range, relevant to the long-term cooling of
neutron stars, the emissivities involving Goldstone bosons dominate over those
involving quarks, because gaps in the CFL phase are MeV while the
masses of Goldstone modes are on the order of 10 MeV. For the same reason, the
specific heat of the CFL phase is also dominated by the Goldstone modes.
Notwithstanding this, both the emissivity and the specific heat from the
massive modes remain rather small, because of their extremely small number
densities. The values of the emissivity and the specific heat imply that the
timescale for the cooling of the CFL core in isolation is y,
which makes the CFL phase invisible as the exterior layers of normal matter
surrounding the core will continue to cool through significantly more rapid
processes. If the CFL phase appears during the evolution of a proto-neutron
star, neutrino interactions with Goldstone bosons are expected to be
significantly more important since temperatures are high enough (
MeV) to admit large number densities of Goldstone modes.Comment: 29 pages, no figures. slightly modified text, one new eqn. and new
refs. adde
Estimates of hadron azimuthal anisotropy from multiparton interactions in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 14 TeV
We estimate the amount of collective "elliptic flow" expected at mid-rapidity
in proton-proton (p-p) collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC),
assuming that any possible azimuthal anisotropy of the produced hadrons with
respect to the plane of the reaction follows the same overlap-eccentricity and
particle-density scalings as found in high-energy heavy ion collisions. Using a
Glauber eikonal model, we compute the p-p eccentricities, transverse areas and
particle-multiplicities for various phenomenological parametrisations of the
proton spatial density. For realistic proton transverse profiles, we find
integrated elliptic flow v2 parameters below 3% in p-p collisions at sqrt(s) =
14 TeV.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures. Very minor mods. Version to appear in EPJ-
Gravitational Coupling and Dynamical Reduction of The Cosmological Constant
We introduce a dynamical model to reduce a large cosmological constant to a
sufficiently small value. The basic ingredient in this model is a distinction
which has been made between the two unit systems used in cosmology and particle
physics. We have used a conformal invariant gravitational model to define a
particular conformal frame in terms of large scale properties of the universe.
It is then argued that the contributions of mass scales in particle physics to
the vacuum energy density should be considered in a different conformal frame.
In this manner, a decaying mechanism is presented in which the conformal factor
appears as a dynamical field and plays a key role to relax a large effective
cosmological constant. Moreover, we argue that this model also provides a
possible explanation for the coincidence problem.Comment: To appear in GR
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