Performance of PIV and PTV for granular flow measurements

As tools and techniques to measure experimental granular flows become increasingly sophisticated, there is a need to rigorously assess the validity of the approaches used. This paper critically assesses the performance of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV) for the measurement of granular flow properties. After a brief review of the PIV and PTV techniques, we describe the most common sources of error arising from the applications of these two methods. For PTV, a series of controlled experiments of a circular motion is used to illustrate the errors associated with the particle centroid uncertainties and the linear approximation of particle trajectories. The influence of these errors is then examined in experiments on dry monodisperse granular flows down an inclined chute geometry. The results are compared to those from PIV analysis in which errors are influenced by the size of the interrogation region. While velocity profiles estimated by the two techniques show strong agreement, second order statistics, e.g. the granular temperature, display very different profiles. We show how the choice of the sampling interval, or frame rate, affects both the magnitude of granular temperature and the profile shape determined in the case of PTV. In addition, the determined magnitudes of granular temperature from PIV tends to be considerably lower when directly measured or largely overestimated when theoretically scaled than those of PTV for the same tests, though the shape of the profiles is less sensitive to frame rate. We finally present solid concentration profiles obtained at the sidewalls and and examine their relationship to the determined shear rate and granular temperature profiles

Occupational choice, number of entrepreneurs and output: theory and empirical evidence with Spanish data

This paper extends the (Lucas, Bell J Econ 9:508–523,1978) model of occupational choices by individuals with different skills, beyond the simple options of self-employment or wage-employment, by including a second choice for the self-employed. That is, an option to hire employees and so become self-employed with employees (SEWEs), or to be self-employed without employees (SEWNEs). We solve for the market equilibrium and examine the sensitivity of relative sizes of occupational groups, and of the level of productivity, to changes in the exogenous parameters. The results show that the positive (negative) association between number of SEWEs (SEWNEs) and productivity, observed in the Spanish data, can be explained, under certain conditions, as the result of cross-region and time differences in average skills. These findings point to the importance of distinguishing between SEWEs and SEWNEs in drawing valid conclusions concerning any link between entrepreneurship and economic development

Bostonia: 1993-1994, no. 2-3

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

MAD water: integrating modular, adaptive, and decentralized approaches for water security in the climate change era

Centralized water infrastructure has, over the last century, brought safe and reliable drinking water to much of the world. But climate change, combined with aging and underfunded infrastructure, is increasingly testing the limits of—and reversing gains made by—this approach. To address these growing strains and gaps, we must assess and advance alternatives to centralized water provision and sanitation. The water literature is rife with examples of systems that are neither centralized nor networked, yet meet water needs of local communities in important ways, including: informal and hybrid water systems, decentralized water provision, community-based water management, small drinking water systems, point-of-use treatment, small-scale water vendors, and packaged water. Our work builds on these literatures by proposing a convergence approach that can integrate and explore the benefits and challenges of modular, adaptive, and decentralized (“MAD”) water provision and sanitation, often foregrounding important advances in engineering technology. We further provide frameworks to evaluate justice, economic feasibility, governance, human health, and environmental sustainability as key parameters of MAD water system performance

Measurement of the Phase Difference Between eta00 and eta+- to a Precision of 1^0

We propose to add an additional regenerator to the E731 spectrometer in the MC beamline to enable us to measure the phase difference between the CP violation parameters {eta}{sub 00} and {eta}{sub +-} to an accuracy of 1{sup o}. Very general considerations indicate that CPT conservation requires the phase difference, {Delta}{phi} = Arg({eta}{sub 00}) - Arg({eta}{sub +-}), to be smaller than one degree. The current experimental value is {Delta}{phi} = (9.4 {+-} 5.1){sup o}

Food and agricultural innovation pathways for prosperity

This introduction to the special issue deploys a framework, inspired by realist synthesis and introduced in Section 1, that aims to untangle the contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes associated with investments that link poverty reduction and rural prosperity within a broad agri-food systems perspective. Section 2 considers changes in contexts: Where are agricultural research investments most likely to be an engine of poverty reduction? Over the past 25 years, there have been profound changes in the development context of most countries, necessitating an update on strategic insights for research investment priorities relevant for the economic, political, social, environmental, and structural realities of the early 21st Century. Section 2 briefly surveys changes in these structural aspects of poverty and development processes in low-income countries, with particular attention to new drivers (e.g., urbanization, climate change) that will be of increasing salience in the coming decades. In Section 3, we turn to mechanisms: What are the plausible impact pathways and what evidence exists to test their plausibility? Poor farmers in the developing world are often the stated focus of public sector agricultural research. However, farmers are not the only potential beneficiaries of agricultural research; rural landless laborers, stakeholders along food value chains, and the urban poor can also be major beneficiaries of such research. Thus, there are multiple, interacting pathways through which agricultural research can contribute to reductions in poverty and associated livelihood vulnerabilities. This paper introduces an ex ante set of 18 plausible impact pathways from agricultural research to rural prosperity outcomes, employing bibliometric methods to assess the evidence underpinning causal links. In Section 4, we revisit the concept of desired impacts: When we seek poverty reduction, what does that mean and what measures are needed to demonstrate impact? The papers in this special issue are intended to yield insights to inform improvements in agricultural research that seeks to reduce poverty. History indicates that equity of distribution of gains matters hugely, and thus the questions of “who wins?” and “who loses?” must be addressed. Moreover, our understanding(s) of “poverty” and the intended outcomes of development investments have become much richer over the past 25 years, incorporating more nuance regarding gender, community differences, and fundamental reconsideration of the meaning of poverty and prosperity that are not captured by simple head count income or even living standard measures

Search for X(3872) in gamma gamma Fusion and ISR at CLEO

We report on a search for the recently reported X(3872) state using 15.1 fb^{-1} e+ e- data taken in the \sqrt{s} = 9.46-11.30 GeV region. Separate searches for the production of X(3872) in untagged gamma-gamma fusion and e+ e- annihilation following initial state radiation (ISR) are made by taking advantage of the unique correlation of J/psi -> l+ l- in X(3872) decay to pi+ pi- J/psi. No signals are observed in either case, and 90% confidence upper limits are established as (2J+1)\Gamma_{\gamma\gamma}B(X -> pi+ pi- J/psi) < 12.9 eV and \Gamma_{ee}B(X -> pi+ pi- J/psi) < 8.3 eV.Comment: 8 pages postscript,also available through http://www.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS/2004/, submitted to PR