Parity-violating elastic electron scattering and nuclear structure

We discuss parity-violating elastic electron scattering as a complementary tool in the race for more precise determinations of neutron densities in nuclei. Isovector and isoscalar densities and form factors in N > Z and N = Z stable nuclei are discussed taking Pb-208 and Si-28 as examples. Distorted wave calculations of parity-violating asymmetries are shown and are compared to the plane wave impulse approximation. The extraction of the ratio between neutron and proton monopole form factors is discussed. The isospin mixing produced by Coulomb interaction in the ground state of N = Z nuclei with Skyrme selfconsistent mean fields is also discussed.This work was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain) under Contract FIS2008-01301. J.M.U. acknowledges support from INTAS Open Call grant No 05- 1000008-8272, and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain) under grants FPA-2007- 62616 and FPA-2006-07393, and UCM and Comunidad de Madrid under grant Grupo de Física Nuclear (910059).Peer reviewe

A Conceptual Design of an Integrated Façade System to Reduce Embodied Energy in Residential Buildings

(1) The overall energy requirement of a building may be impacted by the building design, the selection of materials, the construction methods, and lifecycle management. To achieve an optimum energy-efficiency level when dealing with a new building or renovation project, it is important to improve the entire construction process as it is not enough to merely focus on the operational phase. If conventional construction practices do not evolve, compromise, or adapt to necessary changes, then it becomes challenging to deliver an ultimate low energy building. (2) This paper demonstrates the trend of off-site prefabrication and its production principles and the notions of open-building design and Design for X, as well as offering an overview of the development of automation in construction, which provides both insights and evaluations based on the context of the research. (3) Three European Union Horizon 2020 research projects were evaluated, and the outcome of the projects served as the backbone for the research and inspired the design of the proposed integrated façade system. Two design scenarios were proposed to demonstrate the potential improvements that could be achieved in a new build as well as in renovation projects. (4) The research lays a foundation for establishing a larger cross-disciplinary collaboration in the future.This research was funded by ZERO-PLUS, from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 678407. The authors would like to thank to following research projects: BERTIM received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 636984. HEPHAESTUS received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 732513

Masking behaviour and related biology of Notomithrax ursus (Oxyrhyncha: Majidae).

Notomithrax ursus actively cuts and attaches adventitious materials to the hooked hairs on its dorsal exoskeleton. Investigation of the general biology, ecology, and behaviour of N. ursus (Section I) showed that these crabs invest considerable amounts of time and energy, at all stages of their life history, in forming and maintaining the mask. This is consistent with masking being an important adaptation. Data from the field and laboratory were consistent with the hypothesis that the mask functions to render the crabs eucryptic. N. ursus were anachoretic most of the time, remaining closely associated with algal clumps. These crabs were nocturnal and spaced out when active. They exhibited large scale dispersal but movement occurred under cover concealment. In addition, N. ursus emphasised behaviours conducive to concealment. When possible, they remained immobile. When active, movement was slow and inconspicuous. Motion was sometimes accompanied by rocking movements. The data indicated that the mask made the crab procryptic not anti cryptic. Preliminary experiments suggested that octopuses were important natural predators of N. ursus. Systematic laboratory observations of the interaction between free-ranging N. ursus and octopuses demonstrated that the algal mask impaired the triggering of attack by the octopuses in response to distal cues. Experiments with differing backgrounds confirmed that the mask most likely functions as eucrypsis rather than special protective resemblance. In addition, a match between the mask and the background, spacing out between individuals, and immobility of the crabs all enhanced the protection of N. ursus. In an experiment in which Octopus maorum was constrained to hunt by visual cues, significantly more unmasked than masked N. ursus were attacked in paired presentations against a matching background. Selection indices ranging from 0.63 - 0.76 were calculated. The eucryptic effect of the mask was dependent on ambient light intensity. It is argued that this is a phenomenon of general significance in the evolution of eucrypsis in animals