Invariance in adelic quantum mechanics

Adelic quantum mechanics is form invariant under an interchange of real and p-adic number fields as well as rings of p-adic integers. We also show that in adelic quantum mechanics Feynman's path integrals for quadratic actions with rational coefficients are invariant under changes of their entries within nonzero rational numbers.Comment: 6 page

Ekstrakt ploda morača kao potencijalni prirodni aditiv u prehrambenoj industriji

In this study, the polyphenol profile and antioxidant activity of the hydro-ethanolic extract of the fennel fruit were examined in order to investigate the possibility of its application as a potential functional food additive. Total phenols were analyzed by the method of Folin-Ciocalteu, while total flavonoids were determined by the aluminum chloride colorimetric method. The separation and quantification of phenolic compounds were performed by LC-MS/MS analysis, using a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The antioxidant capacity was determined by FRAP and DPPH assays. The high values of total phenolics and flavonoids were found, as well as high antioxidant activity which amounted to 9023.33 ± 38.19 µmol Fe(II)/l and 3.73 ± 0.04 mmol TE/l, tested by FRAP and DPPH assays, respectively. Among the identified phenolic compounds, p-hydroxybenzoic and chlorogenic acids were detected as predominant. The obtained results indicated that the hydro-ethanolic extract of the fennel fruit can be used in food industry as a potential natural antioxidant.U ovom radu određivan je sadržaj polifenola i antioksidativna aktivnost vodeno-etanolnog ekstrakta morača, sa ciljem ispitivanja mogućnosti njegove primene kao potencijalnog funkcionalnog aditiva. Ukupni fenoli su analizirani metodom po Folin-Ciocalteu, dok je ukupan sadržaj flavonoida određen kolorimetrijskom metodom primenom aluminijum hlorida. Razdvajanje i kvantifikacija fenolnih jedinjenja postignuti su upotrebom LC-MS/MS metode u režimu koji omogućava istovremeno praćenje više jonskih prelaza. Antioksidativni kapacitet je određivan primenom testova FRAP i DPPH. U testiranom ekstraktu dobijene su visoke vrednosti za ukupne fenole i flavonoide, a dobijena je i visoka vrednost antioksidativne aktivnosti, koja je iznosila 9023.33 ± 38,19 mmol Fe(II)/l i 3,73 ± 0,04 mmol TE/l, računato primenom testa FRAP odnosno testa DPPH. Među fenolnim jedinjenjima, phidroksibenzoeva i hlorogena kiselina su pronađene kao dominantne. Dobijeni rezultati ukazuju na to da se ekstrakt morača može primenjivati u prehrambenoj industriji kao potencijalni prirodni antioksidans

Targeting property flood resilience in flood risk management

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordData availability statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.In this article, we evaluate property flood resilience (PFR) to manage pluvial and combined tidal/ fluvial flood risks. We achieve this by evaluating flood risk and intervention targeting strategies across a case study in Bristol (UK) using data types generally available for preliminary option assessment. We investigate opportunities for mitigating flood damages within catchments using PFR and evaluate two targeting strategies: Installing PFR across strategic areas of a catchment and targeting interventions at specific high‐risk properties. We find that individually targeting PFR is more effective than focusing resources on specific high‐risk areas. Targeting pluvial flood measures at individual properties across our case study provides an average annual benefit per property of approximately £750 more than applying zonal targeting, supporting use of high‐resolution modelling in surface water management, and highlighting the applicability of PFR to manage damages at specific high‐risk properties which may not fall under the protection of community level defences. A similar approach provides the best outcomes for fluvial targeting; however, the hazard is more concentrated and so a zonal targeting approach may be more acceptable. Overall, we find resistance based PFR an effective intervention to mitigate damages, however complementary strategies are required when managing extreme flooding.European CommissionEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)Natural Environment Research Council (NERC

A combined stability function to quantify flood risks to pedestrians and vehicle occupants

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordData availability statement: The NIMROD radar rainfall, LiDAR, and Topography data used in the study were under the licenses by British Atmospheric Data Centre, Environment Agency, and the Ordnance Survey, respectively. All other data which are not subjected to non-disclosure agreements with stakeholders, or third parties are available upon request; data sources are clearly specified throughout the paper.With the increase of the frequency and severity of flooding events, coupled with population growth, the risks posed to people from flooding is ever more apparent. This paper proposes a methodology to examine the risks posed to vehicles' occupants and pedestrians simultaneously in an urban context. Through considering stability functions of a range of vehicle types and pedestrian, a risk assessment profile for a vehicle occupant was derived. Using a historical 1-in-20-year rainfall flood event that took place in the city of Exeter (UK) in 2014, and a synthetic 1 in 100-year rainfall flood event, the potential risks posed to vehicle occupants were analysed. The results showed that for these events the potential risks posed to people travelling by car and caught in flood waters were likely to be more severe if they were to remain within their vehicles than if they were to exit said vehicles. Analysis of the changes in risk over time further revealed that if a vehicle was to become immobilised in flood water, they would only have a short timeframe (~10 min) before the level of risk increases. This is a critical finding, highlighting that remaining inside an immobilised vehicle during flood event and waiting for assistance may increase the level the risk the individual is exposed to, with the results showing the significance of such studies in reducing the risk of flooding to people.European Union Horizon 2020Natural Environment Research Council (NERC

Structural, electronic, and dynamical properties of amorphous gallium arsenide: a comparison between two topological models

We present a detailed study of the effect of local chemical ordering on the structural, electronic, and dynamical properties of amorphous gallium arsenide. Using the recently-proposed ``activation-relaxation technique'' and empirical potentials, we have constructed two 216-atom tetrahedral continuous random networks with different topological properties, which were further relaxed using tight-binding molecular dynamics. The first network corresponds to the traditional, amorphous, Polk-type, network, randomly decorated with Ga and As atoms. The second is an amorphous structure with a minimum of wrong (homopolar) bonds, and therefore a minimum of odd-membered atomic rings, and thus corresponds to the Connell-Temkin model. By comparing the structural, electronic, and dynamical properties of these two models, we show that the Connell-Temkin network is energetically favored over Polk, but that most properties are little affected by the differences in topology. We conclude that most indirect experimental evidence for the presence (or absence) of wrong bonds is much weaker than previously believed and that only direct structural measurements, i.e., of such quantities as partial radial distribution functions, can provide quantitative information on these defects in a-GaAs.Comment: 10 pages, 7 ps figures with eps

Interlinking Bristol Based Models to Build Resilience to Climate Change

This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordExpanding populations and increased urbanisation are causing a strain on cities worldwide as they become more frequently and more severely affected by extreme weather conditions. Critical services and infrastructure are feeling increasing pressure to be maintained in a sustainable way under these combined stresses. Methods to better cope with these demanding factors are greatly needed now, and with the predicted impacts of climate change, further adaptation will become essential for the future. All cities comprise a complex of interdependent systems representing critical operations that cannot function properly independently, or be fully understood in isolation of one another. The consequences of localised flooding can become much more widespread due to the inter-relation of these connected systems. Due to reliance upon one another and this connectedness, an all-encompassing assessment is appropriate. Different model representations are available for different services and integrating these enables consideration of these cascading effects. In the case study city of Bristol, 1D and 2D hydraulic modelling predicting the location and severity of flooding has been used in conjunction with modelling of road traffic and energy supply by linking models established for these respective sectors. This enables identification of key vulnerabilities to prioritise resources and enhance city resilience against future sea-level rise and the more intense rainfall conditions anticipated.European Union Horizon 202

p-Adic Mathematical Physics

A brief review of some selected topics in p-adic mathematical physics is presented.Comment: 36 page

Flood Impacts on Road Transportation Using Microscopic Traffic Modelling Techniques

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via the DOI in this recordThis paper proposes a novel methodology for modelling the impacts of floods on traffic. Often, flooding is a complex combination of various causes (coastal, fluvial and pluvial). Further, transportation systems are very sensitive to external disturbances. The interactions between these two complex and dynamic systems have not been studied in detail so far. To address this issue, this paper proposes a methodology for a dynamic integration of a flood model (MIKE FLOOD) and a microscopic traffic simulation model (SUMO). The flood modelling results indicate which roads are inundated for a period of time. The traffic on these links will be halted or delayed according to the flood characteristics—extent, propagation and depth. As a consequence, some of the trips need to be cancelled; some need to be rerouted to unfavourable routes; and some are indirectly affected. A comparison between the baseline and a flood scenario yields the impacts of that flood on traffic, estimated in terms of lost business hours, additional fuel consumption and additional CO2 emissions. The proposed methodology will be further developed as a workable tool to evaluate the flooding impact on transportation network at city scale automatically.Research on the PEARL (Preparing for Extreme And Rare events in coastaL regions) project is funded by the European Commission through Framework Programme 7, Grant Number 603663

Assessing urban system vulnerabilities to flooding to improve resilience and adaptation in spatial planning

Fluvial, pluvial and coastal flooding are the most frequent and costly natural hazard. Cities are social hubs and life in cities is reliant on a number of services and functions such as housing, healthcare, education and other key daily facilities. Urban flooding can cause significant disruption to these services and wider impacts on the population. These impacts may be short or long with a variably spatial scale: urban systems are spatially distributed and the nature of this can have significant effects on flood impacts. From an urban-planning perspective, measuring this disruption and its consequences is fundamental in order to develop more resilient cities. Whereas the assessment of physical vulnerabilities and direct damages is commonly addressed, new methodologies for assessing the systemic vulnerability and indirect damages at the urban scale are required. The proposed systemic approach recognizes the city as a collection of sub-systems or functional units (such as neighborhoods and suburbs), interconnected through the road network, providing key daily services to inhabitants (e.g., healthcare facilities, schools, food shops, leisure and cultural services). Each city is part of broader systems—which may or may not match administrative boundaries—and, as such, needs to be connected to its wider surroundings in a multi-scalar perspective. The systemic analysis, herein limited to residential households, is based on network-accessibility measures and evaluates the presence, the distribution among urban units and the redundancy of key daily services. Trying to spatially sketch the existence of systemic interdependences between neighborhoods, suburbs and municipalities, the proposed method highlights how urban systemic vulnerability spreads beyond the flooded areas. The aim is to understand which planning patterns and existing mixed-use developments are more flood resilient, thereby informing future urban development and regeneration projects. The methodology has been developed based on GIS and applied to an Italian municipality (Noale) in the metropolitan area of Venice, NE Italy

Drought Impact Is Alleviated in Sugar Beets (Beta vulgaris L.) by Foliar Application of Fullerenol Nanoparticles

Over the past few years, significant efforts have been made to decrease the effects of drought stress on plant productivity and quality. We propose that fullerenol nanoparticles (FNPs, molecular formula C-60(OH)(24)) may help alleviate drought stress by serving as an additional intercellular water supply. Specifically, FNPs are able to penetrate plant leaf and root tissues, where they bind water in various cell compartments. This hydroscopic activity suggests that FNPs could be beneficial in plants. The aim of the present study was to analyse the influence of FNPs on sugar beet plants exposed to drought stress. Our results indicate that intracellular water metabolism can be modified by foliar application of FNPs in drought exposed plants. Drought stress induced a significant increase in the compatible osmolyte proline in both the leaves and roots of control plants, but not in FNP treated plants. These results indicate that FNPs could act as intracellular binders of water, creating an additional water reserve, and enabling adaptation to drought stress. Moreover, analysis of plant antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT, APx and GPx), MDA and GSH content indicate that fullerenol foliar application could have some beneficial effect on alleviating oxidative effects of drought stress, depending on the concentration of nanoparticles applied. Although further studies are necessary to elucidate the biochemical impact of FNPs on plants; the present results could directly impact agricultural practice, where available water supplies are often a limiting factor in plant bioproductivity