6,008 research outputs found

    The changing face of irrigation in Kenya: opportunities for anticipating changes in Eastern and Southern Africa

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    Small scale systems / Environmental effects / Government managed irrigation systems / Farmer managed irrigation systems / Health / Waterborne diseases / River basins / Pest control / Social impact / Water policy / Water law / Institutional development / Water allocation / Drip irrigation / Pumps / Technology / GIS / Databases / Irrigation programs / Drainage / Water resource management / Economic aspects / Social aspects / Water scarcity / Conflict / Case studies / Land management / Sedimentation / Flood control / Wetlands / Water quality / Erosion / Grassland management / Livestock / Rain / Drought / Participatory management / Design / Credit / Horticulture / Farmers’ associations / Farmers’ attitudes / Gender / Rice / Legislation / Land tenure / Cooperatives / Income / Southern Africa / Eastern Africa / Kenya / Upper Ewaso Ng’iro North Basin / Lake Victoria Basin / Tana River Basin / Mwea Irrigation Scheme

    Hysteresis phenomenon in deterministic traffic flows

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    We study phase transitions of a system of particles on the one-dimensional integer lattice moving with constant acceleration, with a collision law respecting slower particles. This simple deterministic ``particle-hopping'' traffic flow model being a straightforward generalization to the well known Nagel-Schreckenberg model covers also a more recent slow-to-start model as a special case. The model has two distinct ergodic (unmixed) phases with two critical values. When traffic density is below the lowest critical value, the steady state of the model corresponds to the ``free-flowing'' (or ``gaseous'') phase. When the density exceeds the second critical value the model produces large, persistent, well-defined traffic jams, which correspond to the ``jammed'' (or ``liquid'') phase. Between the two critical values each of these phases may take place, which can be interpreted as an ``overcooled gas'' phase when a small perturbation can change drastically gas into liquid. Mathematical analysis is accomplished in part by the exact derivation of the life-time of individual traffic jams for a given configuration of particles.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures, corrected and improved version, to appear in the Journal of Statistical Physic

    Preparation and properties of amorphous MgB2_2/MgO superstructures: A new model disordered superconductor

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    In this paper we introduce a novel method for fabricating MgB2_2/MgO multilayers and demonstrate the potential for using them as a new model for disordered superconductors. In this approach we control the annealing of the MgB2_2 to yield an interesting new class of disordered (amorphous) superconductors with relatively high transition temperatures. The multilayers appear to exhibit quasi-two-dimensional superconductivity with controlled anisotropy. We discuss the properties of the multilayers as the thickness of the components of the bilayers vary.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

    Critical thickness and orbital ordering in ultrathin La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 films

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    Detailed analysis of transport, magnetism and x-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements on ultrathin La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 films with thicknesses from 3 to 70 unit cells resulted in the identification of a lower critical thickness for a non-metallic, non-ferromagnetic layer at the interface with the SrTiO3 (001) substrate of only 3 unit cells (~12 Angstrom). Furthermore, linear dichroism measurements demonstrate the presence of a preferred (x2-y2) in-plane orbital ordering for all layer thicknesses without any orbital reconstruction at the interface. A crucial requirement for the accurate study of these ultrathin films is a controlled growth process, offering the coexistence of layer-by-layer growth and bulk-like magnetic/transport properties.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review

    Admixtures to d-wave gap symmetry in untwinned YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting films measured by angle-resolved electron tunneling

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    We report on an \textit{ab}-anisotropy of Jc∥b/Jc∥aJ_{c \parallel b}/J_{c \parallel a}% \cong 1.8 and IcRn∥b/IcRn∥a≅1.2I_{c}R_{n \parallel b}/I_{c}R_{n \parallel a}\cong 1.2 in ramp-edge junctions between untwinned YBa2_{2}Cu3_{3}O7_{7} and ss% -wave Nb. For these junctions, the angle θ\theta with the YBa2_{2}Cu3_{3}O7_{7} crystal b-axis is varied as a single parameter. The RnR_{n}A(θ\theta)-dependence presents 2-fold symmetry. The minima in IcRnI_{c}R_{n} at θ≅50∘\theta \cong 50^{\circ} suggest a real s-wave subdominant component and negligible dxyd_{xy}-wave or imaginary s-wave admixtures. The IcRnI_{c}R_{n}(θ\theta)-dependence is well-fitted by 83% dx2−y2d_{x^{2}-y^{2}}-, 15% isotropic ss- and 2% anisotropic s-wave order parameter symmetry, consistent with Δb/Δa≅1.5\Delta_{b}/\Delta_{a} \cong 1.5.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Physical Review Letter

    How much does teenage parenthood affect long term outcomes? A systematic review.

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    Background: The rates of teenage pregnancy in the UK are relatively high. Although early entry to parenthood can be a positive experience, most studies find large adverse effects on long term outcomes for the mother, child and father, in addition to being costly for the NHS. This is why the government launched its Teenage Pregnancy Strategy in 1999. However, there is growing evidence that teenage pregnancy might be mainly an indicator of disadvantage which is the underlying cause of the negative outcomes. Methods: A systematic literature review was undertaken of studies which used a UK dataset to quantify any long term outcomes of a teenage birth upon the mother, father or child. Studies were included if they used appropriate methods to isolate the causal effect of early parenthood. The databases searched included Medline, Cochrane, EconLit and Web of Science. Results: Six studies were identified by the review; five studies considered the mother’s socioeconomic outcomes, one study reported the child’s outcomes, and no studies met the inclusion criteria for the father’s outcomes. The studies suggested that early motherhood accounts for relatively few of the negative long term socioeconomic outcomes and it is predominantly an indicator of a disadvantaged family background. Conclusion: Limited evidence is available to understand the long term outcomes associated with teenage birth within the UK for the mother, father and child. Current econometric studies suggest that effective interventions to prevent teenage pregnancies will not eradicate the poorer long term socioeconomic outcomes often associated with early motherhood. Thus policy should focus on reducing initial disadvantage in addition to preventing teenage pregnancy. Additional econometric analyses around the mothers’, fathers’ and children’s long term socioeconomic and health-related outcomes would be valuable

    Sharp interface limit for a phase field model in structural optimization

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    We formulate a general shape and topology optimization problem in structural optimization by using a phase field approach. This problem is considered in view of well-posedness and we derive optimality conditions. We relate the diffuse interface problem to a perimeter penalized sharp interface shape optimization problem in the sense of Γ\Gamma-convergence of the reduced objective functional. Additionally, convergence of the equations of the first variation can be shown. The limit equations can also be derived directly from the problem in the sharp interface setting. Numerical computations demonstrate that the approach can be applied for complex structural optimization problems
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