722 research outputs found
Energy potential of a tidal fence deployed near a coastal headland
Enhanced tidal streams close to coastal headlands appear to present ideal locations for the deployment of tidal energy devices. In this paper, the power potential of tidal streams near an idealized coastal headland with a sloping seabed is investigated using a near-field approximation to represent a tidal fence, i.e. a row of tidal devices, in a two-dimensional depth-averaged numerical model. Simulations indicate that the power extracted by the tidal fence is limited because the flow will bypass the fence, predominantly on the ocean side, as the thrust applied by the devices increases. For the dynamic conditions, fence placements and headland aspect ratios considered, the maximum power extracted at the fence is not related in any obvious way to the local undisturbed kinetic flux or the natural rate of energy dissipation due to bed friction (although both of these have been used in the past to predict the amount of power that may be extracted). The available power (equal to the extracted power net of vertical mixing losses in the immediate wake of devices) is optimized for devices with large area and small centre-to-centre spacing within the fence. The influence of energy extraction on the natural flow field is assessed relative to changes in the M2 component of elevation and velocity, and residual bed shear stress and tidal dispersion
Modelling tidal energy extraction in a depth-averaged coastal domain
An extension of actuator disc theory is used to describe the properties of a tidal energy device, or row of tidal energy devices, within a depth-averaged numerical model. This approach allows a direct link to be made between an actual tidal device and its equivalent momentum sink in a depth-averaged domain. Extended actuator disc theory also leads to a measure of efficiency for an energy device in a tidal stream of finite Froude number, where efficiency is defined as the ratio of power extracted by one or more tidal devices to the total power removed from the tidal stream. To demonstrate the use of actuator disc theory in a depth-averaged model, tidal flow in a simple channel is approximated using the shallow water equations and the results are compared with the published analytical solutions. © 2010 © The Institution of Engineering and Technology
On the Applicability of Temperature and Precipitation Data from CMIP3 for China
Global Circulation Models (GCMs) contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) and are widely used in global change research. This paper assesses the performance of the AR4 GCMs in simulating precipitation and temperature in China from 1960 to 1999 by comparison with observed data, using system bias (B), root-mean-square error (RMSE), Pearson correlation coefficient (R) and Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency (E) metrics. Probability density functions (PDFs) are also fitted to the outputs of each model. It is shown that the performance of each GCM varies to different degrees across China. Based on the skill score derived from the four metrics, it is suggested that GCM 15 (ipsl_cm4) and GCM 3 (cccma_cgcm_t63) provide the best representations of temperature and precipitation, respectively, in terms of spatial distribution and trend over 10 years. The results also indicate that users should apply carefully the results of annual precipitation and annual temperature generated by AR4 GCMs in China due to poor performance. At a finer scale, the four metrics are also used to obtain best fit scores for ten river basins covering mainland China. Further research is proposed to improve the simulation accuracy of the AR4 GCMs regarding China
Evolution of particle-scale dynamics in an aging clay suspension
Multispeckle x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy was employed to
characterize the slow dynamics of a colloidal suspension formed by
highly-charged, nanometer-sized disks. At scattering wave vectors
corresponding to interparticle length scales, the dynamic structure factor
follows a form ], where
1.5. The characteristic relaxation time increases with the sample age
approximately as and decreases with
approximately as . Such a compressed exponential decay with
relaxation time that varies inversely with is consistent with recent models
that describe the dynamics in disordered elastic media in terms of strain from
random, local structural rearrangements. The amplitude of the measured decay in
varies with in a manner that implies caged particle motion at
short times. The decrease in the range of this motion and an increase in
suspension conductivity with increasing indicate a growth in the
interparticle repulsion as the mechanism for internal stress development
implied by the models.Comment: 4 pages, includes 4 postscript figures; accepted for publication in
Phys Rev Let
Legendrian Distributions with Applications to Poincar\'e Series
Let be a compact Kahler manifold and a quantizing holomorphic
Hermitian line bundle. To immersed Lagrangian submanifolds of
satisfying a Bohr-Sommerfeld condition we associate sequences , where is a
holomorphic section of . The terms in each sequence concentrate
on , and a sequence itself has a symbol which is a half-form,
, on . We prove estimates, as , of the norm
squares in terms of . More generally, we show that if and
are two Bohr-Sommerfeld Lagrangian submanifolds intersecting
cleanly, the inner products have an
asymptotic expansion as , the leading coefficient being an integral
over the intersection . Our construction is a
quantization scheme of Bohr-Sommerfeld Lagrangian submanifolds of . We prove
that the Poincar\'e series on hyperbolic surfaces are a particular case, and
therefore obtain estimates of their norms and inner products.Comment: 41 pages, LaTe
Semiclassical almost isometry
Let M be a complex projective manifold, and L an Hermitian ample line bundle
on it. A fundamental theorem of Gang Tian, reproved and strengthened by
Zelditch, implies that the Khaeler form of L can be recovered from the
asymptotics of the projective embeddings associated to large tensor powers of
L. More precisely, with the natural choice of metrics the projective embeddings
associated to the full linear series |kL| are asymptotically symplectic, in the
appropriate rescaled sense. In this article, we ask whether and how this result
extends to the semiclassical setting. Specifically, we relate the Weinstein
symplectic structure on a given isodrastic leaf of half-weighted
Bohr-Sommerfeld Lagrangian submanifolds of M to the asymptotics of the the
pull-back of the Fubini-Study form under the semiclassical projective maps
constructed by Borthwick, Paul and Uribe.Comment: exposition improve
Tracer Advection in an Idealised River Bend with Groynes
This paper presents numerical simulations of particle advection in the bend of an open channel containing groynes, which is an idealised form of a shallow river bend in a wide river. The flow field is computed using a boundary-fitted solver of the non-orthogonal, curvilinear shallow water equations. The computational grid is generated by solving Poisson-type elliptic partial differential equations using an iterative multi-grid scheme for prescribed boundary coordinates. The shallow water equations are discretised with finite differences in space, and 4th order Runge-Kutta integration in time. Tracers introduced at specific initial locations have their trajectories computed using Lagrangian particle tracking. The numerical shallow flow model is verified by comparison to the analytical solution of fully developed flow in an open channel. The combined shallow flow and Lagrangian particle-tracking model is then used to simulate the advection of tracer particles in a rectangular channel containing a pair of parallel groynes, and tracer particles in a curved open channel containing groynes, of dimensions roughly equivalent to a Danube River bend
Immunogenicity of a universal HIV-1 vaccine vectored by DNA, MVA and CHADV-63 in a Phase I/IIA clinical trial
Background
The major challenge facing both antibody and T cell-eliciting vaccines against HIV-1 is the extreme variability of the HIV-1 genome: a successful vaccine has to effectively target diverse HIV-1 strains circulating in the population and then must deal with ongoing virus escape in infected individuals. To address these issues, we assembled a vaccine immunogen HIVconsv from the functionally most conserved regions (not epitopes) of the HIV-1 proteome.
Methods
A gene coding for the HIVconsv immunogen was inserted into plasmid DNA (D), modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA; M) and non-replicating adenovirus of a chimpanzee origin ChAdV-63 (C). Currently, combined heterologous prime-boost regimens of these vaccines, namely CM, DDDCM and DDDMC, are being evaluated in a phase I/IIa trial HIV-CORE002 in healthy HIV-1/2-negative volunteers in Oxford.
Results
Preliminary data indicate that the vaccines are well tolerated and show high immunogenicity. Following the CM regimen, vaccine-induced T cell frequencies reached a median of 5150 (range 1475 to 16495) SFU/106 PMBC ex vivo one week post MVA vaccination. DNA priming increased subsequent T cell responses to ChAdV-63 vaccination (median: C 577 and DDDC 1328 SFU/106 PBMC) and ELISpot responses again peaked 1 week following MVA (median 4500; range 2260-7960 SFU/106 PBMC). Matrix analyses of the participants following CM vaccination showed that T cells responded to a range of peptides across the length of HIVconsv. The CM regimen elicited IFN-γ in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets and polyfunctional (IFN-γ & TNF-α) responses to HIVconsv peptides.
Conclusion
Presented data will be very much work in progress. Nevetheless, the HIVconsv vaccines have so far induced T cell responses superior to other HIV-1 vaccine candidates tested to date. ChAdV-63 is the first adenovirus of chimp origin delivering an HIV-1-derived immunogen that has reached the clinic.
The work is supported by Medical Research Council UK
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