4,665 research outputs found
Segregation in a fluidized binary granular mixture: Competition between buoyancy and geometric forces
Starting from the hydrodynamic equations of binary granular mixtures, we
derive an evolution equation for the relative velocity of the intruders, which
is shown to be coupled to the inertia of the smaller particles. The onset of
Brazil-nut segregation is explained as a competition between the buoyancy and
geometric forces: the Archimedean buoyancy force, a buoyancy force due to the
difference between the energies of two granular species, and two geometric
forces, one compressive and the other-one tensile in nature, due to the
size-difference. We show that inelastic dissipation strongly affects the phase
diagram of the Brazil nut phenomenon and our model is able to explain the
experimental results of Breu et al. (PRL, 2003, vol. 90, p. 01402).Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Health inequalities and development plans in Iran: An analysis of the past three decades (1984â2010)
Introduction: Reducing inequalities in health care is one of the main challenges in all countries. In Iran as in other oil-exporting upper middle income countries, we expected to witness fewer inequalities especially in the health sector with the increase in governmental revenues.
Methods: This study presents an inequalities assessment of health care expenditures in Iran. We used data from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) in Iran from 1984â2010. The analysis included 308,735 urban and 342,532 rural households.
Results: The results suggest heightened inequality in health care expenditures in Iran over the past three decades, including an increase in the gap between urban and rural areas. Furthermore, inflation has affected the poor more than the rich. The Kakwani progressivity index in all years is positive, averaging 0.436 in rural and 0.470 in urban areas during the time period of analysis. Compared to inequality in income distribution over the last 30 years, health expenditures continuously show more inequality and progressivity over the same period of time.
Conclusions: According to the result of our study, during this period Iran introduced four National Development Plans (NDPs); however, the NDPs failed to provide sustainable strategies for reducing inequalities in health care expenditures. Policies that protect vulnerable groups should be prioritized
Discovery of Temperate Latitude Clouds on Titan
Until now, all the clouds imaged in Titan's troposphere have been found at far southern latitudes (60°-90° south). The occurrence and location of these clouds is thought to be the result of convection driven by the maximum annual solar heating of Titan's surface, which occurs at summer solstice (2002 October) in this south polar region. We report the first observations of a new recurring type of tropospheric cloud feature, confined narrowly to ~40° south latitude, which cannot be explained by this simple insolation hypothesis. We propose two classes of formation scenario, one linked to surface geography and the other to seasonally evolving circulation, which will be easily distinguished with continued observations over the next few years
Wind erosion in semiarid landscapes: Predictive models and remote sensing methods for the influence of vegetation
Wind erosion in semi-arid regions is a significant problem for which the sheltering effect of rangeland vegetation is poorly understood. Individual plants may be considered as porous roughness elements which absorb or redistribute the wind's momentum. The saltation threshold is the minimum wind velocity at which soil movement begins. The dependence of the saltation threshold on geometrical parameters of a uniform roughness array was studied in a wind tunnel. Both solid and porous elements were used to determine relationships between canopy structure and the threshold velocity for soil transport. The development of a predictive relation for the influence of vegetation canopy structure on wind erosion of soil is discussed
Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Mycosphaerella fijiensis, the devastating Black Sigatoka pathogen of bananas
Mycosphaerella fijiensis, M. musicola en M. eumusae veroorzaken de Sigatoka-ziekte in banaan. Op dit moment is de toepassing van fungiciden de enige optie om deze ziekte te bestrijden. Het PRPB (Pesticide Reduction Program for Banana) investeert in de ontwikkeling van technieken voor de genotype- en fenotypebepaling van M. fijiensis. Hierbij wordt gebruikt gemaakt van ATMT (Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation)
Recent Advances in Chromospheric and Coronal Polarization Diagnostics
I review some recent advances in methods to diagnose polarized radiation with
which we may hope to explore the magnetism of the solar chromosphere and
corona. These methods are based on the remarkable signatures that the
radiatively induced quantum coherences produce in the emergent spectral line
polarization and on the joint action of the Hanle and Zeeman effects. Some
applications to spicules, prominences, active region filaments, emerging flux
regions and the quiet chromosphere are discussed.Comment: Review paper to appear in "Magnetic Coupling between the Interior and
the Atmosphere of the Sun", eds. S. S. Hasan and R. J. Rutten, Astrophysics
and Space Science Proceedings, Springer-Verlag, 200
Polynomial Approximants for the Calculation of Polarization Profiles in the \ion{He}{1} 10830 \AA Multiplet
The \ion{He}{1} multiplet at 10830 \AA is formed in the incomplete
Paschen-Back regime for typical conditions found in solar and stellar
atmospheres. The positions and strengths of the various components that form
the Zeeman structure of this multiplet in the Paschen-Back regime are
approximated here by polynomials. The fitting errors are smaller than
m\AA in the component positions and in the relative
strengths. The approximant polynomials allow for a very fast implementation of
the incomplete Paschen-Back regime in numerical codes for the synthesis and
inversion of polarization profiles in this important multiplet.Comment: ApJ Supplements (in press
Signatures of Incomplete Paschen-Back Splitting in the Polarization Profiles of the He I 10830 multiplet
We investigate the formation of polarization profiles induced by a magnetic
field in the He I multiplet at 1083,0 nm . Our analysis considers the Zeeman
splitting in the incomplete Paschen-Back regime. The effects turn out to be
important and produce measurable signatures on the profiles, even for fields
significantly weaker than the level-crossing field (400 G). When compared
to profiles calculated with the usual linear Zeeman effect, the incomplete
Paschen-Back profiles exhibit the following conspicuous differences: a) a
non-Doppler blueshift of the Stokes V zero-crossing wavelength of the blue
component; b) area and peak asymmetries, even in the absence of velocity and
magnetic gradients; c) a 25% reduction in the amplitude of the red
component. These features do not vanish in the weak field limit. The spectral
signatures that we analyze in this paper may be found in previous observations
published in the literature.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
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