442 research outputs found
Use of hydraulic rating to set environmental flows in the Zhangxi River, China
Ningbo city, China, is a rapidly growing residential and industrial centre, with a current population of 4 million. Its development has required a major water supply expansion programme providing 400,000 m3 of water per day from the upper reaches of the Zhangxi River by means of a cascade of reservoirs. Water resources management is achieved through operation of two major reservoirs, Jiaokou (75 million m3) and Zhougongzhai (93 million m3). Water is released from the reservoirs, via turbines (generating hydropower), for local industry, irrigated agriculture and public supply along the lower reaches of the River and to maintain the river ecosystem. Surveys of local residents along the Zhangxi River showed its important role in aspects of life, social activity, culture and leisure. Analysis of ecological monitoring data demonstrated the diverse nature of fish, plants and invertebrates within the river. Some elements of the ecosystem have a high local economic value to local people. This paper reports an assessment of the environmental flow needed to support key species in the river ecosystem. It employs hydraulic ratings to define sections of the river where flow velocity reaches 0.5 ms-1, required to stimulate spawning of the moonlight fish, an economically important and indicator species in the river. In two out of 6 cross-sections studied, flow releases from the reservoirs meet the needs of fish. The reservoirs reduce flood flows, which may lead to a loss of deep pools that are essential for the fish to survive during winter month
Thermodynamics of Chaplygin gas
We clarify thermodynamics of the Chaplygin gas by introducing the
integrability condition. All thermal quantities are derived as functions of
either volume or temperature. Importantly, we find a new general equation of
state, describing the Chaplygin gas completely. We confirm that the Chaplygin
gas could show a unified picture of dark matter and energy which cools down
through the universe expansion without any critical point (phase transition).Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, version "Accepted for publication in Astrophysics
& Space Science
Holographic Dark Energy Scenario and Variable Modified Chaplygin Gas
In this letter, we have considered that the universe is filled with normal
matter and variable modified Chaplygin gas. Also we have considered the
interaction between normal matter and variable modified Chaplygin gas in FRW
universe. Then we have considered a correspondence between the holographic dark
energy density and interacting variable modified Chaplygin gas energy density.
Then we have reconstructed the potential of the scalar field which describes
the variable modified Chaplygin cosmology.Comment: 4 latex pages, no figures, RevTeX styl
The generalized second law for the interacting generalized Chaplygin gas model
We investigate the validity of the generalized second law (GSL) of
gravitational thermodynamics in a non-flat FRW universe containing the
interacting generalized Chaplygin gas with the baryonic matter. The dynamical
apparent horizon is assumed to be the boundary of the universe. We show that
for the interacting generalized Chaplygin gas as a unified candidate for dark
matter (DM) and dark energy (DE), the equation of state parameter can cross the
phantom divide. We also present that for the selected model under thermal
equilibrium with the Hawking radiation, the GSL is always satisfied throughout
the history of the universe for any spatial curvature, independently of the
equation of state of the interacting generalized Chaplygin gas model.Comment: 8 page
Cosmic coincidence problem and variable constants of physics
The standard model of cosmology is investigated using time dependent
cosmological constant and Newton's gravitational constant . The
total energy content is described by the modified Chaplygin gas equation of
state. It is found that the time dependent constants coupled with the modified
Chaplygin gas interpolate between the earlier matter to the later dark energy
dominated phase of the universe. We also achieve a convergence of parameter
, with minute fluctuations, showing an evolving . Thus our
model fairly alleviates the cosmic coincidence problem which demands
at present time.Comment: 27 pages, 15 figure
Density pertubation of unparticle dark matter in the flat Universe
The unparticle has been suggested as a candidate of dark matter. We
investigated the growth rate of the density perturbation for the unparticle
dark matter in the flat Universe. First, we consider the model in which
unparticle is the sole dark matter and find that the growth factor can be
approximated well by , where is
the equation of state of unparticle. Our results show that the presence of
modifies the behavior of the growth factor . For the second model
where unparticle co-exists with cold dark matter, the growth factor has a new
approximation and
is a function of . Thus the growth factor of unparticle is quite
different from that of usual dark matter. These information can help us know
more about unparticle and the early evolution of the Universe.Comment: 6pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Eur. Phys. J.
Haloperidol and Ziprasidone for Treatment of Delirium in Critical Illness
BACKGROUND:
There are conflicting data on the effects of antipsychotic medications on delirium in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).
METHODS:
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we assigned patients with acute respiratory failure or shock and hypoactive or hyperactive delirium to receive intravenous boluses of haloperidol (maximum dose, 20 mg daily), ziprasidone (maximum dose, 40 mg daily), or placebo. The volume and dose of a trial drug or placebo was halved or doubled at 12-hour intervals on the basis of the presence or absence of delirium, as detected with the use of the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU, and of side effects of the intervention. The primary end point was the number of days alive without delirium or coma during the 14-day intervention period. Secondary end points included 30-day and 90-day survival, time to freedom from mechanical ventilation, and time to ICU and hospital discharge. Safety end points included extrapyramidal symptoms and excessive sedation.
RESULTS:
Written informed consent was obtained from 1183 patients or their authorized representatives. Delirium developed in 566 patients (48%), of whom 89% had hypoactive delirium and 11% had hyperactive delirium. Of the 566 patients, 184 were randomly assigned to receive placebo, 192 to receive haloperidol, and 190 to receive ziprasidone. The median duration of exposure to a trial drug or placebo was 4 days (interquartile range, 3 to 7). The median number of days alive without delirium or coma was 8.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.6 to 9.9) in the placebo group, 7.9 (95% CI, 4.4 to 9.6) in the haloperidol group, and 8.7 (95% CI, 5.9 to 10.0) in the ziprasidone group (P=0.26 for overall effect across trial groups). The use of haloperidol or ziprasidone, as compared with placebo, had no significant effect on the primary end point (odds ratios, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.64 to 1.21] and 1.04 [95% CI, 0.73 to 1.48], respectively). There were no significant between-group differences with respect to the secondary end points or the frequency of extrapyramidal symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS:
The use of haloperidol or ziprasidone, as compared with placebo, in patients with acute respiratory failure or shock and hypoactive or hyperactive delirium in the ICU did not significantly alter the duration of delirium. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the VA Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center; MIND-USA ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01211522 .)
The accelerated scaling attractor solution of the interacting agegraphic dark energy in Brans-Dicke theory
We investigate the interacting agegraphic dark energy in Brans-Dicke theory
and introduce a new series general forms of dark sector coupling. As examples,
we select three cases involving a linear interaction form (Model I) and two
nonlinear interaction form (Model II and Model III). Our conclusions show that
the accelerated scaling attractor solutions do exist in these models. We also
find that these interacting agegraphic dark energy modes are consistent with
the observational data. The difference in these models is that nonlinear
interaction forms give more approached evolution to the standard CDM
model than the linear one. Our work implies that the nonlinear interaction
forms should be payed more attention.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, accepted in Eur. Phys. J.
Combined constraints on modified Chaplygin gas model from cosmological observed data: Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach
We use the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to investigate a global
constraints on the modified Chaplygin gas (MCG) model as the unification of
dark matter and dark energy from the latest observational data: the Union2
dataset of type supernovae Ia (SNIa), the observational Hubble data (OHD), the
cluster X-ray gas mass fraction, the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO), and the
cosmic microwave background (CMB) data. In a flat universe, the constraint
results for MCG model are,
()
,
()
,
()
,
()
, and ()
.Comment: 12 pages, 1figur
Alteration layer formation of Ca- and Zn-oxide bearing alkali borosilicate glasses for immobilisation of UK high level waste: A vapour hydration study
The UK high level nuclear waste glass modified with CaO/ZnO was investigated using the vapour phase hydration test, performed at 200 °C, with the aim of understanding the impact of the modification on the chemical composition and microstructure of the alteration layer. Experiments were undertaken on non-modified and CaO/ZnO-modified base glass, with or without 25 wt% of simulant Magnox waste calcine. The modification resulted in a dramatic reduction in gel layer thickness and also a reduction in the reaction rate, from 3.4 ± 0.3 g m−2 d−1 without CaO/ZnO modification to 0.9 ± 0.1 g m−2 d−1 with CaO/ZnO. The precipitated phase assemblage for the CaO/ZnO-modified compositions was identified as hydrated Ca- and Zn-bearing silicate phases, which were absent from the non-modified counterpart. These results are in agreement with other recent studies showing the beneficial effects of ZnO additions on glass durability
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