Developing hydro-climatic services for water security: opportunities for collaboration between UK and Indian hydrologists, climatologists and stakeholders

The India-UK Water Centre (IUKWC) promotes cooperation and collaboration between the complementary priorities of NERC-MoES water security research. This State of the Science Water Brief was produced as an output of the IUKWC workshop on “Developing hydro–climatic services for water security” held in Pune, India in Nov/Dec 201

Torsion-induced spin precession

We investigate the motion of a spinning test particle in a spatially-flat FRW-type space-time in the framework of the Einstein-Cartan theory. The space-time has a torsion arising from a spinning fluid filling the space-time. We show that for spinning particles with nonzero transverse spin components, the torsion induces a precession of particle spin around the direction of the fluid spin. We also show that a charged spinning particle moving in a torsion-less spatially-flat FRW space-time in the presence of a uniform magnetic field undergoes a precession of a different character.Comment: latex, 4 eps figure

Multivalued Fields on the Complex Plane and Conformal Field Theories

In this paper a class of conformal field theories with nonabelian and discrete group of symmetry is investigated. These theories are realized in terms of free scalar fields starting from the simple $b-c$ systems and scalar fields on algebraic curves. The Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations for the conformal blocks can be explicitly solved. Besides of the fact that one obtains in this way an entire class of theories in which the operators obey a nonstandard statistics, these systems are interesting in exploring the connection between statistics and curved space-times, at least in the two dimensional case.Comment: (revised version), 30 pages + one figure (not included), (requires harvmac.tex), LMU-TPW 92-1

On Perturbative Gravity and Gauge Theory

We review some applications of tree-level (classical) relations between gravity and gauge theory that follow from string theory. Together with $D$-dimensional unitarity, these relations can be used to perturbatively quantize gravity theories, i.e. they contain the necessary information for obtaining loop contributions. We also review recent applications of these ideas showing that N=1 D=11 supergravity diverges, and review arguments that N=8 D=4 supergravity is less divergent than previously thought, though it does appear to diverge at five loops. Finally, we describe field variables for the Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian that help clarify the perturbative relationship between gravity and gauge theory.Comment: Talk presented at Third Meeting on Constrained Dynamics and Quantum Gravity, Villasimius (Sardinia, Italy) September 13-17, 1999 and at the Workshop on Light-Cone QCD and Nonperturbative Hadron Physics, University of Adelaide (Australia) December 13-22, 1999. Latex, 9 page

Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy

We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude, with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Adopción y difusión de prácticas de no laboreo en el olivar de la provincia de Granada

[EN] This paper analyses the process of adoption of no-tillage in the olive groves of the Southern Spanish province of Granada. The data used comes from a survey carried out in 2005-2006 to 215 olive farmers. We first analyse the diffusion process of no-tillage practices over time by estimating several diffusion models. Then we identify some factors that determine their adoption by estimating two binomial probit models. Our results show that no-tillage is practiced by 90% of surveyed farmers. The diffusion process of no-tillage practices has been intense since the middle nineties, and has been based on the interactions among farmers in the area of study rather than influenced by other external factors. Some relevant factors that influence the adoption of no-tillage practices are irrigation, the continuity of the farming activity by some relative or farmer’s perception of the soil erosion problem.[ES] En este trabajo se analiza el proceso de adopción del no laboreo en el olivar de la provincia de Granada utilizando información procedente de un sondeo realizado en 2005-2006 a 215 olivicultores. Se analiza en primer lugar el proceso de difusión agregada de las prácticas de no laboreo realizadas en la zona mediante la estimación de varios modelos de difusión temporal. A continuación se identifican, mediante la estimación de dos modelos probit, algunos factores que influyen en la adopción de dichas prácticas. Los resultados obtenidos muestran cómo las prácticas de no laboreo son realizadas por el 90% de los agricultores. Su difusión ha sido intensa desde mediados de los noventa, predominando el efecto imitación, basado en la interacción entre los agricultores de la zona, sobre otros factores externos. Algunos factores que influyen en la adopción de las diferentes prácticas de no laboreo son el regadío, la continuidad familiar de la explotación o la percepción que tiene el agricultor del problema de la erosión.Los autores agradecen sus valiosos comentarios a dos revisores anónimos. Juan Agustín Franco agradece al INIA su financiación a través de una beca pre-doctoral. Javier Calatrava Leyva agradece al MEC su financiación a través del Proyecto AGL2006-12293-C02-02/AGRFranco, JA.; Calatrava, J. (2010). Adoption and diffusion of no-tillage in the olive groves of the Granada province (Spain). Economía Agraria y Recursos Naturales - Agricultural and Resource Economics. 10(1):135-154. https://doi.org/10.7201/earn.2010.01.08SWORD13515410

Measurement of the B0-anti-B0-Oscillation Frequency with Inclusive Dilepton Events

The $B^0$-$\bar B^0$ oscillation frequency has been measured with a sample of 23 million \B\bar B pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric B Factory at SLAC. In this sample, we select events in which both B mesons decay semileptonically and use the charge of the leptons to identify the flavor of each B meson. A simultaneous fit to the decay time difference distributions for opposite- and same-sign dilepton events gives $\Delta m_d = 0.493 \pm 0.012{(stat)}\pm 0.009{(syst)}$ ps$^{-1}$.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Unlocking the transcriptomic potential of formalin-fixed paraffin embedded clinical tissues: Comparison of gene expression profiling approaches

Background: High-throughput transcriptomics has matured into a very well established and widely utilised research tool over the last two decades. Clinical datasets generated on a range of different platforms continue to be deposited in public repositories provide an ever-growing, valuable resource for reanalysis. Cost and tissue availability normally preclude processing samples across multiple technologies, making it challenging to directly evaluate performance and whether data from different platforms can be reliably compared or integrated. Methods: This study describes our experiences of nine new and established mRNA profiling techniques including Lexogen QuantSeq, Qiagen QiaSeq, BioSpyder TempO-Seq, Ion AmpliSeq, Nanostring, Affymetrix Clariom S or U133A, Illumina BeadChip and RNA-seq of formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) and fresh frozen (FF) sequential patient-matched breast tumour samples. Results: The number of genes represented and reliability varied between the platforms, but overall all methods provided data which were largely comparable. Crucially we found that it is possible to integrate data for combined analyses across FFPE/FF and platforms using established batch correction methods as required to increase cohort sizes. However, some platforms appear to be better suited to FFPE samples, particularly archival material. Conclusions: Overall, we illustrate that technology selection is a balance between required resolution, sample quality, availability and cost

Effect of age, sex and gender on pain sensitivity: A narrative review

© 2017 Eltumi And Tashani. Introduction: An increasing body of literature on sex and gender differences in pain sensitivity has been accumulated in recent years. There is also evidence from epidemiological research that painful conditions are more prevalent in older people. The aim of this narrative review is to critically appraise the relevant literature investigating the presence of age and sex differences in clinical and experimental pain conditions. Methods: A scoping search of the literature identifying relevant peer reviewed articles was conducted on May 2016. Information and evidence from the key articles were narratively described and data was quantitatively synthesised to identify gaps of knowledge in the research literature concerning age and sex differences in pain responses. Results: This critical appraisal of the literature suggests that the results of the experimental and clinical studies regarding age and sex differences in pain contain some contradictions as far as age differences in pain are concerned. While data from the clinical studies are more consistent and seem to point towards the fact that chronic pain prevalence increases in the elderly findings from the experimental studies on the other hand were inconsistent, with pain threshold increasing with age in some studies and decreasing with age in others. Conclusion: There is a need for further research using the latest advanced quantitative sensory testing protocols to measure the function of small nerve fibres that are involved in nociception and pain sensitivity across the human life span. Implications: Findings from these studies should feed into and inform evidence emerging from other types of studies (e.g. brain imaging technique and psychometrics) suggesting that pain in the older humans may have unique characteristics that affect how old patients respond to intervention

Measurement of the CP-Violating Asymmetry Amplitude sin2β\beta

We present results on time-dependent CP-violating asymmetries in neutral B decays to several CP eigenstates. The measurements use a data sample of about 88 million Y(4S) --> B Bbar decays collected between 1999 and 2002 with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B Factory at SLAC. We study events in which one neutral B meson is fully reconstructed in a final state containing a charmonium meson and the other B meson is determined to be either a B0 or B0bar from its decay products. The amplitude of the CP-violating asymmetry, which in the Standard Model is proportional to sin2beta, is derived from the decay-time distributions in such events. We measure sin2beta = 0.741 +/- 0.067 (stat) +/- 0.033 (syst) and |lambda| = 0.948 +/- 0.051 (stat) +/- 0.017 (syst). The magnitude of lambda is consistent with unity, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation of no direct CP violation in these modes