1,266 research outputs found
Spectrophotometric properties of dwarf planet Ceres from the VIR spectrometer on board the Dawn mission
We study the spectrophotometric properties of dwarf planet Ceres in the
VIS-IR spectral range by means of hyper-spectral images acquired by the VIR
imaging spectrometer on board the NASA Dawn mission. Disk-resolved observations
with a phase angle within the interval were used
to characterize Ceres' phase curve in the 0.465-4.05 m spectral range.
Hapke's model was applied to perform the photometric correction of the dataset,
allowing us to produce albedo and color maps of the surface. The -band
magnitude phase function of Ceres was fitted with both the classical linear
model and H-G formalism. The single-scattering albedo and the asymmetry
parameter at 0.55m are and ,
respectively (two-lobe Henyey-Greenstein phase function); the modeled geometric
albedo is ; the roughness parameter is
. Albedo maps indicate small variability
on a global scale with an average reflectance of . Isolated
areas such as the Occator bright spots, Haulani, and Oxo show an albedo much
higher than average. We measure a significant spectral phase reddening, and the
average spectral slope of Ceres' surface after photometric correction is
and at VIS and IR wavelengths, respectively.
Broadband color indices are and . H-G
modeling of the -band magnitude phase curve for gives
and , while the classical linear model provides
and . The comparison with
spectrophotometric properties of other minor bodies indicates that Ceres has a
less back-scattering phase function and a slightly higher albedo than comets
and C-type objects. However, the latter represents the closest match in the
usual asteroid taxonomy.Comment: 14 pages, 20 figures, published online on Astronomy and Astrophysics
on 13 February 2017. Revised to reflect minor changes in text and figures
made in proofs, updated value of V-R and R-
Performance indicators for roadway bridges
Publicado em "Maintenance, monitoring, safety, risk and resilience of bridges and bridge networks". ISBN 978-1-138-02851-7The performance indicators should, by its definition, allow capturing the life-cycle degradation
processes affecting maintenance plans or the remaining lifetime. The qualitative or quantitative performance
indicators are obtained through visual inspections, non-destructive tests or monitoring systems. After their
quantification and the comparison with the respective performance goals and thresholds, a Quality Control
plan should be accomplished. The COST TU1406 Action aims to uniform the European performance indicators, systemize the knowledge on the Quality Control plans for bridges, establish quality specifications and finally to develop the guideline and recommendations for the assessment of performance indicators. This contribution focuses on the current work of the first Working Group, WG1, where the first step is a collection of the key performance indicators at a European level. First those key performance indicators which capture mechanical and technical properties and its degradation behavior are assessed, while the further consideration reflect on the natural aging, quality of the material, service life design methods, and sustainable, environmental, economic and social based indicators.COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology)Project “LeCIE – Life-cycle assessment for railway construction – strategies and methods
Discharge quality from municipal wastewater treatment plants and the Sludge Biotic Index for activated sludge: integrative assessment
Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are scrutinized by Environmental Authorities particularly regarding the compliance to discharge limit values fixed by national and local regulations. An integrated approach is necessary to achieve the objectives established with Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD) considering the ecological status of the receiving water body and the quality of the discharge. Specifically, documentary, technical, management and analytical controls should be developed. Moreover, integrative information on the behaviour of the activated sludge in the aeration tank can be useful for plant managers as well as for the regulating Authorities. The study presents the experience concerning WWTP regulation considering the analytic assessment of the discharge as well the monitoring of the Sludge Biotic Index (SBI) for activated sludge. Data from monitoring during the period 2008–14 on SBI values and chemical and microbiological data on the discharges of a sample of 35 WWTPs in the province of Venice (north-east Italy, Veneto region) are presented and discussed. Together with chemical and microbiological analysis, the SBI appears to be a highly useful index for the integrative assessment of plant functionality, in particular when monitoring and identifying critical situations that can determine the exceedance of discharge limit values. The SBI method, in an integrated control approach, can be used for small and medium sized WWTPs that only treat domestic wastewaters. In a case by case assessment this may even substitute part of the analytical monitoring carried out in the WWTPs' control process
Mesosiderites on Vesta: A Hyperspectral VIS-NIR Investigation
The discussion about the mesosiderite origin is an open issue since several years. Mesosiderites are mixtures of silicate mineral fragments or clasts, embedded in a FeNi metal matrix. Silicates are very similar in mineralogy and texture to howardites [1]. This led some scientists to conclude that mesosiderites could come from the same parent parent asteroid of the howardite, eucrite and diogenite (HED) meteorites [2, 3]. Other studies found a number of differences between HEDs and mesosiderite silicates that could be explained only by separate parent asteroids [4]. Recently, high precision oxygen isotope measurements of m esosiderites silicate fraction were found to be isotopically identical to the HEDs, requiring common parent body, i.e. 4 Vesta [5]. Another important element in favor of a common origin was given by the identification of a centimeter-sized mesosiderite clast in a howardite (Dar al Gani 779): a metal-rich inclusion with fragments of olivine, anorthite, and orthopyroxene plus minor amounts of chromite, tridymite, and troilite [6]. The Dawn mission with its instruments, the Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIR) [7], the Framing Camera [8] and the Gamma-Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND) [9] confirmed that Vesta has a composition fully compatible with HED meteorites [10]. We investigate here the possibility to discern mesosiderite rich locations on the surface of Vesta by means of hyperspectral IR images
Cigarette tar yield and risk of upper digestive tract cancers: case-control studies from Italy and Switzerland
Background: Tobacco smoking is one of the main risk factors for oral, pharyngeal and oesophageal cancers in developed countries. Information on the role of the tar yield of cigarettes in upper digestive tract carcinogenesis is sparse and needs to be updated because the tar yield of cigarettes has steadily decreased over the last few decades. Patients and methods: We analysed two case-control studies, from Italy and Switzerland, conducted between 1992 and 1999, involving 749 cases of oral and pharyngeal cancer and 1770 controls, and 395 cases of squamous-cell oesophageal carcinoma and 1066 matched controls. Odds ratios (ORs) were estimated by unconditional multiple logistic regression models, including terms for age, sex, study centre, education and alcohol consumption. Results: Based on the brand of cigarettes smoked for the longest time, the multivariate ORs for current smokers compared with never smokers were 6.1 for <20 mg and 9.8 for ≥20 mg tar for oral and pharyngeal neoplasms, and 4.8 and 5.4 for oesophageal cancer, respectively. For the cigarette brand smoked in the previous six months, the ORs for ≥10 mg compared with <10 mg were 1.9 for cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx and 1.8 for oesophageal cancer, after allowance for number of cigarettes and duration of smoking. Conclusions: The present study confirms the direct relationship between the tar yield of cigarettes and upper digestive tract neoplasms, and provides innovative information on lower tar cigarettes, which imply reduced risks compared with higher tar ones. However, significant excess risks were observed even in the lower tar category, thus giving unequivocal indications for stopping smoking as a priority for prevention of upper digestive tract neoplasm
The quantum non-linear Schrodinger model with point-like defect
We establish a family of point-like impurities which preserve the quantum
integrability of the non-linear Schrodinger model in 1+1 space-time dimensions.
We briefly describe the construction of the exact second quantized solution of
this model in terms of an appropriate reflection-transmission algebra. The
basic physical properties of the solution, including the space-time symmetry of
the bulk scattering matrix, are also discussed.Comment: Comments on the integrability and the impurity free limit adde
Dietary folates and cancer risk in a network of case-control studies
Background Folate deficiency leads to DNA damage and inadequate repair, caused by a decreased synthesis of thymidylate and purines. We analyzed the relationship between dietary folate intake and the risk of several cancers. Patients and methods The study is based on a network of case-control studies conducted in Italy and Switzerland in 1991-2009. The odds ratios (ORs) for dietary folate intake were estimated by multiple logistic regression models, adjusted for major identified confounding factors. Results For a few cancer sites, we found a significant inverse relation, with ORs for an increment of 100μg/day of dietary folate of 0.65 for oropharyngeal (1467 cases), 0.58 for esophageal (505 cases), 0.83 for colorectal (2390 cases), 0.72 for pancreatic (326 cases), 0.67 for laryngeal (851 cases) and 0.87 for breast (3034 cases) cancers. The risk estimates were below unity, although not significantly, for cancers of the endometrium (OR=0.87, 454 cases), ovary (OR=0.86, 1031 cases), prostate (OR=0.91, 1468 cases) and kidney (OR=0.88, 767 cases), and was 1.00 for stomach cancer (230 cases). No material heterogeneity was found in strata of sex, age, smoking and alcohol drinking. Conclusions Our data support a real inverse association of dietary folate intake with the risk of several common cancer
A supergeometric approach to Poisson reduction
This work introduces a unified approach to the reduction of Poisson manifolds
using their description by graded symplectic manifolds. This yields a
generalization of the classical Poisson reduction by distributions
(Marsden-Ratiu reduction). Further it allows one to construct actions of strict
Lie 2-groups and to describe the corresponding reductions.Comment: 40 pages. Final version accepted for publicatio
Pengaruh Fraksi Penipisan (P) Air Tanah Tersedia Pada Berbagai Fase Tumbuh Terhadap Pertumbuhan, Hasil Dan Efisiensi Penggunaan Air Tanaman Kedelai (Glycine Max [L] Merr.)
Penelitian bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh fraksi penipisan (p) air tanah tersedia pada berbagai fase tumbuh terhadap pertumbuhan dan efisiensi penggunaan air tanaman kedelai. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di dalam rumah plastik, laboratorium lapang terpadu, Universitas Lampung pada bulan Oktober 2015 sampai dengan Januari 2016. Penelitian ini menggunakan rancangan Faktorial dalam Acak Lengkap (RAL) dengan 2 faktor perlakuan, yaitu faktor I (Fraksi penipisan air tanah tersedia, p) dan faktor II (fase tumbuh, F). Masing-masing perlakuan terdiri dari 3 taraf, yaitu faktor I terdiri dari P1(0,2), P2(0,4) dan P3(0,6) dari penipisan air tanah tersedia, dan faktor II terdiri dari fase vegetatif aktif (F1), fase pembungaan (F2), dan fase pembentukan polong (F3), dengan ulangan sebanyak 3 kali. Pengukuran evapotranspirasi tanaman acuan dilakukan pada fraksi penipisan 0,2 dari air tanah tersedia dengan menggunakan tanaman rumput. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa, perlakuan fraksi penipisan (p) air tanah tersedia pada berbagai fase tumbuhtidak berpengaruh terhadap pertumbuhan dan efisiensi penggunaan air tanaman kedelai.Tanaman kedelai pada perlakuan fraksi penipisan (p) air tanah tersedia tidak mengalami cekaman air pada semua perlakuan, karena tanaman sebelum mendekati batas bawah perlakuan segera diberi irigasi dan dikembalikan ke kondisi kapasitas lapang. Produksi tertinggi dengan nilai efisiensi penggunaan air tertinggi dicapai oleh perlakuan fraksi penipisan (0-0,2) air tanah tersedia pada perlakuan fase pembungaan (F2). Tanaman kedelai menghasilkan produksi yang tinggi pada fraksi penipisan 0,4 untuk perlakuan fase pertumbuhan aktif dan fraksi penipisan 0,2 untuk perlakuan fase pembungaan dan fase pengisian polong
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