Optimizing the colour and fabric of targets for the control of the tsetse fly Glossina fuscipes fuscipes

Background: Most cases of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) start with a bite from one of the subspecies of Glossina fuscipes. Tsetse use a range of olfactory and visual stimuli to locate their hosts and this response can be exploited to lure tsetse to insecticide-treated targets thereby reducing transmission. To provide a rational basis for cost-effective designs of target, we undertook studies to identify the optimal target colour. Methodology/Principal Findings: On the Chamaunga islands of Lake Victoria , Kenya, studies were made of the numbers of G. fuscipes fuscipes attracted to targets consisting of a panel (25 cm square) of various coloured fabrics flanked by a panel (also 25 cm square) of fine black netting. Both panels were covered with an electrocuting grid to catch tsetse as they contacted the target. The reflectances of the 37 different-coloured cloth panels utilised in the study were measured spectrophotometrically. Catch was positively correlated with percentage reflectance at the blue (460 nm) wavelength and negatively correlated with reflectance at UV (360 nm) and green (520 nm) wavelengths. The best target was subjectively blue, with percentage reflectances of 3%, 29%, and 20% at 360 nm, 460 nm and 520 nm respectively. The worst target was also, subjectively, blue, but with high reflectances at UV (35% reflectance at 360 nm) wavelengths as well as blue (36% reflectance at 460 nm); the best low UV-reflecting blue caught 3× more tsetse than the high UV-reflecting blue. Conclusions/Significance: Insecticide-treated targets to control G. f. fuscipes should be blue with low reflectance in both the UV and green bands of the spectrum. Targets that are subjectively blue will perform poorly if they also reflect UV strongly. The selection of fabrics for targets should be guided by spectral analysis of the cloth across both the spectrum visible to humans and the UV region

Modelling convection in A star atmospheres. Bisectors and lineshapes of HD108642

We present a code, VeDyn, for modelling envelopes and atmospheres of A to F stars focusing on accurate treatment of convective processes. VeDyn implements the highly sophisticated convection model of Canuto and Dubovikov (1998) but is fast and handy enough to be used in practical astrophysical applications. We developed the HME envelope solver for this convection model furtheron to consistently model the envelope together with the stellar atmosphere. The synthesis code SynthV was extended to account for the resulting velocity structure. Finally, we tested our approach on atomic line bisectors. It is shown that our synthetic line bisectors of HD108642 bend towards the blue and are of a magnitude comparable to the observed ones. Even though this approach of modelling convection requires the solution of a coupled system of nonlinear differential equations, it is fast enough to be applicable to many of the investigation techniques relying on model atmospheres.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Understanding independent living customers at Trafford Housing Trust : an evaluation

This report provides the findings of the evaluation of TrustCare, an independent arm of Trafford Housing Trust which offers independent living services. The report offers the findings of the evaluation reporting on each stage of the process and drawing on both quantitative (descriptive statistics) and qualitative data (semi-structured interviews) collected during July and August 2017

M dwarf stars in the light of (future) exoplanet searches

We present a brief overview of a splinter session on M dwarf stars as planet hosts that was organized as part of the Cool Stars 17 conference. The session was devoted to reviewing our current knowledge of M dwarf stars and exoplanets in order to prepare for current and future exoplanet searches focusing in low mass stars. We review the observational and theoretical challenges to characterize M dwarf stars and the importance of accurate fundamental parameters for the proper characterization of their exoplanets and our understanding on planet formation.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. Summary of the splinter session "M dwarf stars in the light of (future) exoplanet searches" held at the 17th Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun, June 28th 2012, Barcelona, Spain. Submitted for publication in Astronomische Nachrichten - Astronomical Notes (AN) 334, Issue 1-2, Eds Klaus Strassmeier and Mercedes L\'opez-Morale

Spectrum of non-Hermitian heavy tailed random matrices

Let (X_{jk})_{j,k>=1} be i.i.d. complex random variables such that |X_{jk}| is in the domain of attraction of an alpha-stable law, with 0< alpha <2. Our main result is a heavy tailed counterpart of Girko's circular law. Namely, under some additional smoothness assumptions on the law of X_{jk}, we prove that there exists a deterministic sequence a_n ~ n^{1/alpha} and a probability measure mu_alpha on C depending only on alpha such that with probability one, the empirical distribution of the eigenvalues of the rescaled matrix a_n^{-1} (X_{jk})_{1<=j,k<=n} converges weakly to mu_alpha as n tends to infinity. Our approach combines Aldous & Steele's objective method with Girko's Hermitization using logarithmic potentials. The underlying limiting object is defined on a bipartized version of Aldous' Poisson Weighted Infinite Tree. Recursive relations on the tree provide some properties of mu_alpha. In contrast with the Hermitian case, we find that mu_alpha is not heavy tailed.Comment: Expanded version of a paper published in Communications in Mathematical Physics 307, 513-560 (2011

On Measuring Non-Recursive Trade-Offs

We investigate the phenomenon of non-recursive trade-offs between descriptional systems in an abstract fashion. We aim at categorizing non-recursive trade-offs by bounds on their growth rate, and show how to deduce such bounds in general. We also identify criteria which, in the spirit of abstract language theory, allow us to deduce non-recursive tradeoffs from effective closure properties of language families on the one hand, and differences in the decidability status of basic decision problems on the other. We develop a qualitative classification of non-recursive trade-offs in order to obtain a better understanding of this very fundamental behaviour of descriptional systems

Crack-Like Processes Governing the Onset of Frictional Slip

We perform real-time measurements of the net contact area between two blocks of like material at the onset of frictional slip. We show that the process of interface detachment, which immediately precedes the inception of frictional sliding, is governed by three different types of detachment fronts. These crack-like detachment fronts differ by both their propagation velocities and by the amount of net contact surface reduction caused by their passage. The most rapid fronts propagate at intersonic velocities but generate a negligible reduction in contact area across the interface. Sub-Rayleigh fronts are crack-like modes which propagate at velocities up to the Rayleigh wave speed, VR, and give rise to an approximate 10% reduction in net contact area. The most efficient contact area reduction (~20%) is precipitated by the passage of slow detachment fronts. These fronts propagate at anomalously slow velocities, which are over an order of magnitude lower than VR yet orders of magnitude higher than other characteristic velocity scales such as either slip or loading velocities. Slow fronts are generated, in conjunction with intersonic fronts, by the sudden arrest of sub-Rayleigh fronts. No overall sliding of the interface occurs until either of the slower two fronts traverses the entire interface, and motion at the leading edge of the interface is initiated. Slip at the trailing edge of the interface accompanies the motion of both the slow and sub-Rayleigh fronts. We might expect these modes to be important in both fault nucleation and earthquake dynamics.Comment: 19 page, 5 figures, to appear in International Journal of Fractur

Temperature and Frequency Dependence of Complex Conductance of Ultrathin YBa2Cu3O7-x Films: A Study of Vortex-Antivortex Pair Unbinding

We have studied the temperature dependencies of the complex sheet conductance of 1-3 unit cell (UC) thick YBa2Cu3O7-x films sandwiched between semiconducting Pr0.6Y0.4Ba2Cu3O7-x layers at high frequencies. Experiments have been carried out in a frequency range between: 2 - 30 MHz with one-spiral coil technique, 100 MHz - 1 GHz frequency range with a new technique using the spiral coil cavity and at 30 GHz by aid of a resonant cavity technique. The real and imaginary parts of the mutual-inductance between a coil and a film were measured and converted to complex conductivity by aid of the inversion procedure. We have found a quadratic temperature dependence of the kinetic inductance, L_k^-1(T), at low temperatures independent of frequency, with a break in slope at T^dc_BKT, the maximum of real part of conductance and a large shift of the break temperature and the maximum position to higher temperatures with increasing frequency. We obtain from these data the universal ratio T^dc_BKT/L_k^-1(T^dc_BKT) = 25, 25, and 17 nHK for 1-, 2- and 3UC films, respectively in close agreement with theoretical prediction of 12 nHK for vortex-antivortex unbinding transition. The activated temperature dependence of the vortex diffusion constant was observed and discussed in the framework of vortex-antivortex pair pinning. PACS numbers: 74.80.Dm, 74.25.Nf, 74.72.Bk, 74.76.BzComment: PDF file, 10 pages, 6 figures, to be published in J. Low Temp. Phys.; Proc. of NATO ARW: VORTEX 200

The politicisation of evaluation: constructing and contesting EU policy performance

Although systematic policy evaluation has been conducted for decades and has been growing strongly within the European Union (EU) institutions and in the member states, it remains largely underexplored in political science literatures. Extant work in political science and public policy typically focuses on elements such as agenda setting, policy shaping, decision making, or implementation rather than evaluation. Although individual pieces of research on evaluation in the EU have started to emerge, most often regarding policy “effectiveness” (one criterion among many in evaluation), a more structured approach is currently missing. This special issue aims to address this gap in political science by focusing on four key focal points: evaluation institutions (including rules and cultures), evaluation actors and interests (including competencies, power, roles and tasks), evaluation design (including research methods and theories, and their impact on policy design and legislation), and finally, evaluation purpose and use (including the relationships between discourse and scientific evidence, political attitudes and strategic use). The special issue considers how each of these elements contributes to an evolving governance system in the EU, where evaluation is playing an increasingly important role in decision making

Fluctuation-dissipation theorem and flux noise in overdamped Josephson junction arrays

The form of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem for a resistively shunted Josephson juction array is derived with the help of the method which explicitely takes into acoount screening effects. This result is used to express the flux noise power spectrum in terms of frequency dependent sheet impedance of the array. The relation between noise amplitude and parameters of the detection coil is analysed for the simplest case of a single-loop coil.Comment: ReVTeX, 8 page