Numerical predictions of the atmospheric circulations and dispersion of toxic releases in complex terrain

The South Area of Tooele Army Depot is one of the US Army`s storage facilities for its stockpile of chemical weapon agents. The Department of Defense is preparing to destroy the aging stockpiles of lethal chemical munitions, which have existed since the end of World War II. Although the danger slight, accurate predictions of the wind fields in the valley and accurate dispersion calculations are important in the event of an accident involving toxic chemicals at the depot. In order to prepare for an emergency which might involve a release of toxic agents to the atmosphere, the Higher Order Turbulence Model for Atmospheric circulations (HOTMAC) and its companion code RAndom Particle and Diffusion (RAPTAD) have been adapted for use in predicting where dangerous amounts of these chemicals may travel. Both codes have been applied to a number of air quality studies in the past, including previous dispersion studies at Tooele

Application of a mesoscale model with 4DDA to the complex terrain near Tooele, Utah

The Tooele Army Depot South Area is located in the high, broad Rush Valley of North-Central Utah. The valley is approximately 1560 m above sea level and roughly 20 Ion across from East to West and 45 km long from North to South. It is surrounded on three sides by mountain ranges with the Oquirrh Mountains to the East, the Stansbury and Onaqui Mountains to the West, and the Sheep Rock and East Tintic Mountains to the South. These mountain ranges include peaks from about 2400 m to 3350 m MSL. A somewhat shorter barrier (2000 m South Mountain) exists on the North end of the valley and the lowest passes are on the north and east sides. Further to the North lies Tooele Valley and the Great Salt Lake. Another significant lake is in the adjacent valley to the east of Rush Valley and the small Rush Lake is at the North end of Rush Valley. The combination of the topography and the lakes leads to interesting local meteorology affected by slope and valley flows and lake breezes for Atmospheric Circulations) for operational use in this area. The nudging scheme takes advantage of an extensive network of local observations in the valley. At the depot there are seven surface observing stations and a 30 m tower, which collect wind, temperature, and humidity data, and Tooele County has recently installed a network of about 25 additional surface stations throughout Rush and Tooele Valleys and on some of the surrounding higher terrain

High fidelity equation of state for xenon

The noble gas xenon is a particularly interesting element. At standard pressure xenon is an fcc solid which melts at 161 K and then boils at 165 K, thus displaying a rather narrow liquid range on the phase diagram. On the other hand, under pressure the melting point is significantly higher: 3000 K at 30 GPa [1]. Under shock compression, electronic excitations become important at 40 GPa [2]. Finally, xenon forms stable molecules with fluorine (XeF2) suggesting that the electronic structure is significantly more complex than expected for a noble gas. With these reasons in mind, we studied the xenon Hugoniot using DFT/QMD [3] and validated the simulations with multi-Mbar shock compression experiments. The results show that existing equation of state models lack fidelity and so we developed a wide-range free-energy based equation of state using experimental data and results from first-principles simulations

High fidelity equation of state for xenon

The noble gas xenon is a particularly interesting element. At standard pressure xenon is an fcc solid which melts at 161 K and then boils at 165 K, thus displaying a rather narrow liquid range on the phase diagram. On the other hand, under pressure the melting point is significantly higher: 3000 K at 30 GPa [1]. Under shock compression, electronic excitations become important at 40 GPa [2]. Finally, xenon forms stable molecules with fluorine (XeF2) suggesting that the electronic structure is significantly more complex than expected for a noble gas. With these reasons in mind, we studied the xenon Hugoniot using DFT/QMD [3] and validated the simulations with multi-Mbar shock compression experiments. The results show that existing equation of state models lack fidelity and so we developed a wide-range free-energy based equation of state using experimental data and results from first-principles simulations

Management development: a literature review and implications for future research - Part II: Profiles and Contexts

In this second and concluding part of an extensive review of the management development literature, attention is directed to studies which have sought to describe and explain how managers are in fact made and to studies which have emphasised the contextual aspects of the process. The review is concluded with an overall assessment of the management development literature – its strengths and weaknesses – and with an analysis of the implications which this assessment carries for the conduct of future research. Crucial gaps are identified, not least of which is a general failure to locate descriptions of particular management development initiatives within the context of other ways in which the management stock is enhanced, replenished and managed. Another major shortcoming which is singled out as requiring urgent attention is the failure to place management development accounts and prescriptions within the wider context of organisational characteristics

Carla Task Force on Sarcopenia: Propositions for clinical trials

In the presence of an aging population, public health priorities need to evolve. As the populations gets older, the already existing pathologies have become commonplace with specific geriatric clinical syndromes like frailty, mobility disability, or cognitive impairment, among others. Sarcopenia is a good example for which geriatricians, neurologists, physiologists, nutritionists and epidemiologists need to find a consensual definition and diagnostic tool as well as guidelines for the management of clinical trials and possible treatments. The Carla Sarcopenia Task Force, which met in the south of France (Toulouse) for an expert consensus meeting called “Les Entretiens du Carla“, have addressed a series of existing issues to place Sarcopenia into a nosological context: a definition which should be a composite of a change in muscle mass and a change in strength/function depending on either a progressive and chronic wasting process or an acute onset of loss of muscle mass; a recommendation for DXA and the Short Physical Performance Battery as a clinical pragmatic approach of Sarcopenia; a differentiated approach for clinical studies according to prevention or treatment objectives and depending on the sub-groups and target populations; and finally, a summary of therapeutic strategies currently recommended. The aim of “Les Entretiens du Carla”, based on an expert meeting panel, was to address a series of unsolved issues in the field of Sarcopenia by combining the expert opinion with a revision of the existing literature on the topic. Through this report, the reader will appreciate the determination to find conclusions on the various issues and further studies to be developed to determine the best multidisciplinary approach needed