Geotechnical aspects of coastal reclamation projects

This paper discusses important geotechnical aspects of coastal reclamation projects, in particular it addresses the key considerations related to planning and specification of ground improvement in calcareous sands. Out of the many factors that govern the formulation of adequate and effective ground improvement specifications, the paper discusses two factors in more detail: the CPT-based Soil Behaviour Type charts and the importance of CPT testing locations. Both factors are directly related to the evaluation of the compaction level and the evaluation of the liquefaction potential of the reclamation fill

Association between disability measures and healthcare costs after initial treatment for acute stroke

<p><b>Background and Purpose:</b> The distribution of 3-month modified Rankin scale (mRS) scores has been used as an outcome measure in acute stroke trials. We hypothesized that hospitalization and institutional care home stays within the first 90 days after stroke should be closely related to 90-day mRS, that each higher mRS category will reflect incremental cost, and that resource use may be less clearly linked to the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) or Barthel index.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> We examined resource use data from the GAIN International trial comparing 90-day mRS with total length of stay in hospital or other institutions during the first 90 days. We repeated analyses using NIHSS and Barthel index scores. Relationships were examined by analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Bonferroni contrasts of adjacent score categories. Estimated costs were based on published Scottish figures.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> We had full data from 1717 patients. Length of stay was strongly associated with final mRS (P<0.0001). Each mRS increment from 0 to 1–2 to 3–4 was significant (mean length of stay: 17, 25, 44, 58, 79 days; P<0.0005). Ninety-five percent confidence limits for estimated costs (£) rose incrementally: 2493 to 3412, 3369 to 4479, 5784 to 7008, 7300 to 8512, 10 095 to 11 141, 11 772 to 13 560, and 2623 to 3321 for mRS 0 to 5 and dead, respectively. Weaker relationships existed with Barthel and NIHSS.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Each mRS category reflects different average length of hospital and institutional stay. Associated costs are meaningfully different across the full range of mRS outcomes. Analysis of the full distribution of mRS scores is appropriate for interpretation of treatment effects after acute stroke and more informative than Barthel or NIHSS end points.</p&gt

Effect of induced epilepsy on some biochemical parameters in female rats

The activity of cholinesterase and some biochemical parameters of blood such as glucose, cholesterol and phospholipids were estimated in 52 epilepsy induced females of Wister albino rats. Animals of this experiment were divided into two groups, group (I) regarded as control and group (II) administrated subcutaneously by pentylenetetrazole 100mg/kg and divided in to three sub-groups according to the time of samples collection 3 hrs, 24 hrs and 1 week. The results revealed that epilepsy induction caused a significant inhibition of serum cholinesterase activity 3 hrs after induction while in the brain, the activity of cholinesterase was significantly increased after 24 hrs Serum glucose level was significantly elevated after 3 hrs and 24 hrs of induction, total cholesterol and phospholipids were not changed. From the results obtained in this study, it can be concluded that epilepsy caused significant changes in cholinesterase activity in brain and serum in addition to the glucose level in the serum

Decoy States and Two Way Quantum Key Distribution Schemes

We study the possible application of the decoy state method on a basic two way quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme to extend its distance. Noting the obvious advantage of such a QKD scheme in allowing for single as well as double photon contributions, we derive relevant lower-bounds on the corresponding gains in a practical decoy state implementation using two intensities for decoy states. We work with two different approaches in this vein and compare these with an ideal infinite decoy state case as well as the simulation of the original.Comment: Much revised from original manuscript. Accepted for publication in Optics Communications (some variations may exist in some wordings in the text

Implications of the CP asymmetry in semileptonic B decay

Recent experimental searches for $A_{SL}$, the CP asymmetry in semileptonic B decay, have reached an accuracy of order one percent. Consequently, they give meaningful constraints on new physics. We find that cancellations between the Standard Model (SM) and new physics contributions to $B^0 - \bar B^0$ mixing cannot be as strong as was allowed prior to these measurements. The predictions for this asymmetry within the SM and within models of minimal flavor violation (MFV) are below the reach of present and near future measurements. Including order $m_c^2/m_b^2$ and $\Lambda_{QCD}/m_b$ corrections we obtain the SM prediction: $-1.3 \times 10^{-3} < A_{SL} < -0.5 \times 10^{-3}$. Future measurements can exclude not only the SM, but MFV as well, if the sign of the asymmetry is opposite to the SM or if it is same-sign but much enhanced. We also comment on the CP asymmetry in semileptonic $B_s$ decay, and update the range of the angle $\beta_s$ in the SM: $0.026 < \sin2\beta_s < 0.048$.Comment: 16 pages, a sign typo in eq.(11) fixed, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Towards a Model-Independent Analysis of Rare BB Decays

Motivated by the experimental accessibility of rare $B$ decays in the ongoing and planned experiments, we propose to undertake a model-independent analysis of the inclusive decay rates and distributions in the processes \bgamaxs~ and \Bsell ~($B=B^\pm$ or $B^0_d$). We show how measurements of the decay rates and distributions in these processes would allow us to extract the magnitude and sign of the dominant Wilson coefficients of the magnetic moment operator \mb \bar{s}_L \sigma_{\mu \nu} b_R F^{\mu \nu } and the four-fermion operators $(\bar{s}_L \gamma_\mu b_L)(\bar{\ell} \gamma^{\mu} \ell)$ and $(\bar{s}_L \gamma_\mu b_L)(\bar{\ell} \gamma^{\mu}\gamma^5 \ell)$. Non-standard-model effects could thus manifest themselves at low energy in rare $B$ decays through the Wilson coefficient having values distinctly different from their standard-model counterparts. We illustrate this possibility using the examples of the two-doublet Higgs models and the minimal supersymmetric models. The dilepton invariant mass spectrum and the forward-backward asymmetry of $\ell^+$ in the centre-of-mass system of the dilepton pair in the decay \Bsell ~are also worked out for the standard model and some representative solutions for the other two models.Comment: LaTeX, 36 pages, 11 figures appended after \end{document} as uu-encoded and compressed .eps files, uses epsf, CERN-TH.7346/9

Magnetic transition and spin dynamics in the triangular Heisenberg antiferromagnet α-KCrO2

We present the results of muon-spin relaxation measurements on the triangular lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet α -KCrO 2 . We observe sharp changes in behavior at an ordering temperature of T c =23 K, with an additional broad feature in the muon-spin relaxation rate evident at T=13 K, both of which correspond to features in the magnetic contribution to the heat capacity. This behavior is distinct from both the Li- and Na-containing members of the series. These data may be qualitatively described with the established theoretical predictions for the underlying spin system

A New Supersymmetric CP Violating Contribution to Neutral Meson Mixing

We study the contribution to flavor changing neutral current processes from box diagrams with light higgsinos and squarks. Starting with just the Cabbibo Kobayashi Maskawa (CKM) phase, we find contributions to the $K^0$ and $B^0$ meson mass matrices that are out of phase with the Standard Model contributions in the case of substantial mixing between the up-type squarks. This difference in phase could be large enough to be detected at the proposed $B$ factories, with interesting implications for the unitarity triangle of CKM matrix elements.Comment: 1 reference added, 1 reference clarified, 2 typos corrected (QCD corrections to K meson mixing in Tables 1 and 3). To be published in Phys. Rev. D. 15 pages (Latex), 2 figures and epsfig.sty submitte

On the Truncated Pareto Distribution with applications

The Pareto probability distribution is widely applied in different fields such us finance, physics, hydrology, geology and astronomy. This note deals with an application of the Pareto distribution to astrophysics and more precisely to the statistical analysis of mass of stars and of diameters of asteroids. In particular a comparison between the usual Pareto distribution and its truncated version is presented. Finally a possible physical mechanism that produces Pareto tails for the distribution of the masses of stars is suggested.Comment: 10 pages 6 figure

Entanglement of a Single Spin-1 Object: An Example of Ubiquitous Entanglement

Using a single spin-1 object as an example, we discuss a recent approach to quantum entanglement. The key idea of the approach consists in presetting of basic observables in the very definition of quantum system. Specification of basic observables defines the dynamic symmetry of the system. Entangled states of the system are then interpreted as states with maximal amount of uncertainty of all basic observables. The approach gives purely physical picture of entanglement. In particular, it separates principle physical properties of entanglement from inessential. Within the model example under consideration, we show relativity of entanglement with respect to dynamic symmetry and argue existence of single-particle entanglement. A number of physical examples are considered.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure : title has been changed, paper is re-organized, new section "Violation of Bell-type condition by single spin-1" is adde