3,104 research outputs found
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An optimal inverse method using Doppler lidar measurements to estimate the surface sensible heat flux
Inverse methods are widely used in various fields of atmospheric science. However, such methods are not commonly used within the boundary-layer community, where robust observations of surface fluxes are a particular concern. We present a new technique for deriving surface sensible heat fluxes from boundary-layer turbulence observations using an inverse method. Doppler lidar observations of vertical velocity variance are combined with two well-known mixed-layer scaling forward models for a convective boundary layer (CBL). The inverse method is validated using large-eddy simulations of a CBL with increasing wind speed. The majority of the estimated heat fluxes agree within error with the proscribed heat flux, across all wind speeds tested. The method is then applied to Doppler lidar data from the Chilbolton Observatory, UK. Heat fluxes are compared with those from a mast-mounted sonic anemometer. Errors in estimated heat fluxes are on average 18 %, an improvement on previous techniques. However, a significant negative bias is observed (on average â63%) that is more pronounced in the morning. Results are improved for the fully-developed CBL later in the day, which suggests that the bias is largely related to the choice of forward model, which is kept deliberately simple for this study. Overall, the inverse method provided reasonable flux estimates for the simple case of a CBL. Results shown here demonstrate that this method has promise in utilizing ground-based remote sensing to derive surface fluxes. Extension of the method is relatively straight-forward, and could include more complex forward models, or other measurements
Infrared behavior of graviton-graviton scattering
The quantum effective theory of general relativity, independent of the
eventual full theory at high energy, expresses graviton-graviton scattering at
one loop order O(E^4) with only one parameter, Newton's constant. Dunbar and
Norridge have calculated the one loop amplitude using string based techniques.
We complete the calculation by showing that the 1/(d-4) divergence which
remains in their result comes from the infrared sector and that the cross
section is finite and model independent when the usual bremsstrahlung diagrams
are included.Comment: 12 pages, uses axodra
Inherited Twistor-Space Structure of Gravity Loop Amplitudes
At tree-level, gravity amplitudes are obtainable directly from gauge theory
amplitudes via the Kawai, Lewellen and Tye closed-open string relations. We
explain how the unitarity method allows us to use these relations to obtain
coefficients of box integrals appearing in one-loop N=8 supergravity amplitudes
from the recent computation of the coefficients for N=4 super-Yang-Mills
non-maximally-helicity-violating amplitudes. We argue from factorisation that
these box coefficients determine the one-loop N=8 supergravity amplitudes,
although this remains to be proven. We also show that twistor-space properties
of the N=8 supergravity amplitudes are inherited from the corresponding
properties of N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory. We give a number of examples
illustrating these ideas.Comment: 32 pages, minor typos correcte
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Remarkable dynamics of nanoparticles in the urban atmosphere
Nanoparticles emitted from road traffic are the largest source of respiratory exposure for the general public living in urban areas. It has been suggested that the adverse health effects of airborne particles may scale with the airborne particle number, which if correct, focuses attention on the nanoparticle (less than 100 nm) size range which dominates the number count in urban areas. Urban measurements of particle size distributions have tended to show a broadly similar pattern dominated by a mode centred on 20â30 nm diameter particles emitted by diesel engine exhaust. In this paper we report the results of measurements of particle number concentration and size distribution made in a major London park as well as on the BT Tower, 160 m high. These measurements taken during the REPARTEE project (Regents Park and BT Tower experiment) show a remarkable shift in particle size distributions with major losses of the smallest particle class as particles are advected away from the traffic source. In the Park, the traffic related mode at 20â30 nm diameter is much reduced with a new mode at <10 nm. Size distribution measurements also revealed higher number concentrations of sub-50 nm particles at the BT Tower during days affected by higher turbulence as determined by Doppler Lidar measurements and indicate a loss of nanoparticles from air aged during less turbulent conditions. These results suggest that nanoparticles are lost by evaporation, rather than coagulation processes. The results have major implications for understanding the impacts of traffic-generated particulate matter on human health
MHV-Vertices for Gravity Amplitudes
We obtain a CSW-style formalism for calculating graviton scattering
amplitudes and prove its validity through the use of a special type of
BCFW-like parameter shift. The procedure is illustrated with explicit examples.Comment: 21 pages, minor typos corrected, proof added in section
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Tracer concentration profiles measured in central London as part of the REPARTEE campaign
There have been relatively few tracer experiments carried out that have looked at vertical plume spread in urban areas. In this paper we present results from two tracer (cyclic perfluorocarbon) experiments carried out in 2006 and 2007 in central London centred on the BT Tower as part of the REPARTEE (Regentâs Park and Tower Environmental Experiment) campaign. The height of the tower gives a unique opportunity to study vertical dispersion profiles and transport times in central London. Vertical gradients are contrasted with the relevant Pasquill stability classes. Estimation of lateral advection and vertical mixing times are made and compared with previous measurements. Data are then compared with a simple operational dispersion model and contrasted with data taken in central London as part of the DAPPLE campaign. This correlates dosage with non-dimensionalised distance from source. Such analyses illustrate the feasibility of the use of these empirical correlations over these prescribed distances in central London
Cochlear SGN neurons elevate pain thresholds in response to music.
The C-tactile (CLTM) peripheral nervous system is involved in social bonding in primates and humans through its capacity to trigger the brainâs endorphin system. Since the mammalian cochlea has an unusually high density of similar neurons (type-II spiral ganglion neurons, SGNs), we hypothesise that their function may have been exploited for social bonding by co-opting head movements in response to music and other rhythmic movements of the head in social contexts. Music provides one of many cultural behavioural mechanisms for âvirtual groomingâ in that it is used to trigger the endorphin system with many people simultaneously so as to bond both dyadic relationships and large groups. Changes in pain threshold across an activity are a convenient proxy assay for endorphin uptake in the brain, and we use this, in two experiments, to show that pain thresholds are higher when nodding the head than when sitting still
Recursive Calculation of One-Loop QCD Integral Coefficients
We present a new procedure using on-shell recursion to determine coefficients
of integral functions appearing in one-loop scattering amplitudes of gauge
theories, including QCD. With this procedure, coefficients of integrals,
including bubbles and triangles, can be determined without resorting to
integration. We give criteria for avoiding spurious singularities and boundary
terms that would invalidate the recursion. As an example where the criteria are
satisfied, we obtain all cut-constructible contributions to the one-loop
n-gluon scattering amplitude, A_n^{oneloop}(...--+++...), with split-helicity
from an N=1 chiral multiplet and from a complex scalar. Using the
supersymmetric decomposition, these are ingredients in the construction of QCD
amplitudes with the same helicities. This method requires prior knowledge of
amplitudes with sufficiently large numbers of legs as input. In many cases,
these are already known in compact forms from the unitarity method.Comment: 36 pages; v2 clarification added and typos fixed, v3 typos fixe
Integrating Emerging Areas of Nursing Science into PhD Programs
The Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science aims to âfacilitate and recognize life-long nursing science career developmentâ as an important part of its mission. In light of fast-paced advances in science and technology that are inspiring new questions and methods of investigation in the health sciences, the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science convened the Idea Festival for Nursing Science Education and appointed the Idea Festival Advisory Committee to stimulate dialogue about linking PhD education with a renewed vision for preparation of the next generation of nursing scientists. Building on the 2010 American Association of Colleges of Nursing Position Statement âThe Research-Focused Doctoral Program in Nursing: Pathways to Excellence,â Idea Festival Advisory Committee members focused on emerging areas of science and technology that impact the ability of research-focused doctoral programs to prepare graduates for competitive and sustained programs of nursing research using scientific advances in emerging areas of science and technology. The purpose of this article is to describe the educational and scientific contexts for the Idea Festival, which will serve as the foundation for recommendations for incorporating emerging areas of science and technology into research-focused doctoral programs in nursing
WISER Deliverable D3.3-2: The importance of invertebrate spatial and temporal variation for ecological status classification for European lakes
European lakes are affected by many human induced disturbances. In principle, ecological
theories predict that the structure and functioning of benthic invertebrate assemblage (one of
the Biological Quality Elements following the Water Framework Directive, WFD
terminology) change in response to the level of disturbances, making this biological element
suitable for assessing the status and management of lake ecosystems. In practice, to set up
assessment systems based on invertebrates, we need to distiguish community changes that are
related to human pressures from those that are inherent natural variability. This task is
complicated by the fact that invertebrate communities inhabiting the littoral and the profundal
zones of lakes are constrained by different factors and respond unevenly to distinct human
disturbances. For example it is not clear yet how the invertebrates assemblages respond to
watershed and shoreline alterations, nor the relative importance of spatial and temporal
factors on assemblage dynamics and relative bioindicator values of taxa, the habitat
constraints on species traits and other taxonomic and methodological limitations.
The current lack of knowledge of basic features of invertebrate temporal and spatial variations
is limiting the fulfillment of the EU-wide intercalibration of lake ecological quality
assessment systems in Europe, and thus compromising the basis for setting the environmental
objectives as required by the WFD. The aim of this deliverable is to provide a contribution
towards the understanding of basic sources of spatial and temporal variation of lake
invertebrate assemblages. The report is structured around selected case studies, manly
involving the analysis of existing datasets collated within WISER. The case studies come
from different European lake types in the Northern, Central, Alpine and Mediterranean
regions. All chapters have an obvious applied objective and our aim is to provide to those
dealing with WFD implementation at various levels useful information to consider when
designing monitoring programs and / or invertebrate-based classification systems
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