Demographic composition and projections of car use in Austria

Understanding the factors driving demand for transportation in industrialised countries is important in addressing a range of environmental issues. Previous work has identified demographic factors as important influences on demand, in addition to economic factors. While some studies applied a detailed demographic composition to analyse past developments of transportation demand, or estimated parameters based on models that include demographic variables, projections for the future have never accounted for future compositional changes in the population. In this paper, we combine cross-sectional analysis of car use in Austria with detailed household projections to explore the sensitivity of projections of car use to the specific type of demographic disaggregation employed. We find that particular demographic characteristics of households can have important effects on aggregate demand through the combined effect of differences in demand across different types of households, and changes in the future composition of the population by household type. For example, the highest projected car use--an increase of about 20 per cent between 1996 and 2046--is obtained if we apply the value of car use per household to the projected numbers of households. However, if we apply a composition that differentiates households by size, age and sex of the household head, car use is projected to increase by less than 3 per cent during the same time period. These findings suggest that the inclusion of demographic factors in transportation demand modelling should extend beyond their use in historical decompositions and as controls in model parameter estimation to explicit consideration of future demographic changes.

The bb quark fragmentation fractions at LHCb and meson decays with heavy quark spectators

We study the current estimates of $B_c\to B_s \pi$ to extract the fragmentation fraction $f_c/f_s$ at the LHCb. A rather robust estimate of $Br(B_c\to B_s \pi)$ based on factorization and lattice results for the form factor gives $f_c/f_s \sim 0.056$ with a $16\%$ error. We also revisit the extraction of $f_s/f_d$ using $B\to D\pi$ instead of the theoretical cleaner but more suppressed channel $B\to DK$. We also find a tension on the predictions of $Br(B_c\to J/\psi \pi)$ and $Br(B_c\to B_s\pi)$ considering the measurements of these modes at LHCb, and find that, within a $23\%$ uncertainty, only the lower end of the current prediction range $Br(B_c\to J/\psi)\sim 0.4\% - 1.7\%$ would be consistent with the LHCb measurements.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

Jet Formation in the magnetospheres of supermassive black holes: analytic solutions describing energy loss through Blandford-Znajek processes

In this paper, we provide exact solutions for the extraction of energy from a rotating black hole via both the electromagnetic Poynting flux and matter currents. By appropriate choice of a radially independent poloidal function $\Lambda(\theta)$, we find solutions where the dominant outward energy flux is along the polar axis, consistent with a jet-like collimated outflow, but also with a weaker flux of energy along the equatorial plane. Unlike all the previously obtained solutions (Blandford & Znajek (1977), Menon & Dermer (2005)), the magnetosphere is free of magnetic monopoles everywhere

Feedback from activity trackers improves daily step count after knee and hip arthroplasty: A randomized controlled trial

Background: Commercial wrist-worn activity monitors have the potential to accurately assess activity levels and are being increasingly adopted in the general population. The aim of this study was to determine if feedback from a commercial activity monitor improves activity levels over the first 6 weeks after total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods: One hundred sixty-three consecutive subjects undergoing primary TKA or THAwere randomized into 2 groups. Subjects received an activity tracker with the step display obscured 2 weeks before surgery and completed patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). On day 1 after surgery, participants were randomized to either the “feedback (FB) group” or the “no feedback (NFB) group.” The FB group was able to view their daily step count and was given a daily step goal. Participants in the NFB group wore the device with the display obscured for 2 weeks after surgery, after which time they were also able to see their daily step count but did not receive a formal step goal. The mean daily steps at 1, 2, 6 weeks, and 6 months were monitored. At 6 months after surgery, subjects repeated PROMs and daily step count collection. Results: Of the 163 subjects, 95 underwent THA and 68 underwent TKA. FB subjects had a significantly higher (P \u3c .03) mean daily step count by 43% in week 1, 33% in week 2, 21% in week 6, and 17% at 6 months, compared with NFB. The FB subjects were 1.7 times more likely to achieve a mean 7000 steps per day than the NFB subjects at 6 weeks after surgery (P ¼ .02). There was no significant difference between the groups in PROMs at 6 months. Ninety percent of FB and 83% of NFB participants reported that they were satisfied with the results of the surgery (P ¼ .08). At 6 months after surgery, 70% of subjects had a greater mean daily step count compared with their preoperative level. Conclusion: Subjects who received feedback from a commercial activity tracker with a daily step goal had significantly higher activity levels after hip and knee arthroplasty over 6 weeks and 6 months, compared with subjects who did not receive feedback in a randomized controlled trial. Commercial activity trackers may be a useful and effective adjunct after arthroplasty

Search for sterile neutrinos decaying into pions at the LHC

We study the possibility to observe sterile neutrinos with masses in the range between 5 GeV and 20 GeV at the LHC, using the exclusive semileptonic modes involving pions, namely W to lepton + N to n pions + lepton+lepton (n = 1, 2, 3). The two pion and three pion modes require extrapolations of form factors to large time-like $q^2$, which we do using vector dominance models as well as light front holographic QCD, with remarkable agreement. This mass region is difficult to explore with inclusive dilepton+dijet modes or trilepton modes and impossible to explore in rare meson decays. While particle identification is a real challenge in these modes, vertex displacement due to the long living neutrino in the above mass range can greatly help reduce backgrounds. Assuming a sample of $10^9$ W bosons at the end of the LHC Run 2, these modes could discover a sterile neutrino in the above mass range or improve the current bounds on the heavy-to-light lepton mixings by an order of magnitude, $U_{l N}^2 \sim 2 \times 10^{-6}$. Moreover, by studying the equal sign and opposite sign dileptons, the Majorana or Dirac character of the sterile neutrino may be revealed.Comment: 18 pages, 4 double figure

Objective indicators of pasture degradation from spectral mixed model analysis of landsat imagery.

Abstract ID: 68

The 110 GHz ECH Installation on DII-D: Status and Initial Experimental Results

Two 110 GHz gyrotrons with nominal output power of 1 MW each have been installed on the DIII-D tokamak. The gyrotrons, produced by Gycom and Communications and Power Industries, are connected to the tokamak by windowless evacuated transmission lines using circular corrugated waveguide carrying the HE{sub 11} mode. Initial experiments with the Gycom gyrotron showed good central heating efficiency at the second harmonic resonance with record central electron temperatures for DIII-D in excess of 10 keV achieved. The beam spot in the DIII-D vacuum vessel was well focused, with a diameter of approximately 8 cm, and it could be steered poloidally by a remotely adjustable mirror. The injection was at 19 deg off-perpendicular for current drive and the beams could be modulated for studies of energy transport and power deposition. The system will be described and the initial physics results will be presented. A third gyrotron, also at 110 GHz, will be installed later this year. Progress with this CPI tube will be discussed and future plans for the ECH installation and physics experiments using it will be presented

Upgrade of the DIII-D RF systems

The DIII-D Advanced Tokamak Program requires the ability to modify the current density profile for extended time periods in order to achieve the improved plasma conditions now achieved with transient means. To support this requirement DIII-D has just completed a major addition to its ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) systems. This upgrade project added two new fast wave current drive (FWCD) systems, with each system consisting of a 2 MW, 30 to 120 MHz transmitter, an all ceramic insulated transmission line, and water-cooled four-strap antenna. With this addition of 4 MW of FWCD power to the original 2 MW, 30 to 60 MHz capability, experiments can be performed with centrally localized current drive enhancement. For off-axis current modification, plans are in place to add 110 GHz electron cyclotron heating (ECH) power to DIII-D. Initially, 3 MW of power will be available with plans to increase the power to 6 MW and to 10 MW

Identifying runoff sources across scales in Amazon watersheds: an LBA synthesis effort.

Abstract ID: 54