2,405 research outputs found
Mixing efficiency in run-down gravity currents
This paper presents measurements of mixing efficiency of the two counter-flowing gravity currents created by symmetric lock exchange in a channel. The novel feature of this work is that the buoyancy Reynolds number of the currents is higher than in previous experiments, so that the mixing is not significantly affected by viscosity. We find that the mixing efficiency asymptotes to 0.08 at high Reynolds numbers. We present a model of the mixing based on the evolution of idealized mean profiles of velocity and density at the interface between the two currents, the results of which are in good agreement with the measurements of mixing efficiency.G.O.H. was hosted by DAMTP and supported by Australian Research Council Future Fellowship FT100100869 during part of this work. This work was supported, in part, by EPSRC Programme Grant EP/K034529/1 and by the Royal Societ
A caseâstudy of coldâair pool evolution in hilly terrain using field measurements from COLPEX
A caseâstudy investigation of coldâair pool (CAP) evolution in hilly terrain is conducted using field measurements made during IOP 16 of the COLdâair Pool EXperiment (COLPEX). COLPEX was designed to study coldâair pooling in smallâscale valleys typical of the UK (âŒ100â200âm deep, âŒ1âkm wide). The synoptic conditions during IOP 16 are typical of those required for CAPs to form during the night, with high pressure, clear skies and low ambient winds. Initially a CAP forms around sunset and grows uninterrupted for several hours. However, starting 4âhr after sunset, a number of interruptions to this steady cooling rate occur. Three episodes are highlighted from the observations and the cause of disruption attributed to (a) wave activity, in the form of gravity waves and/or KelvinâHelmholtz (KH) instability, (b) increases in the aboveâvalley winds resulting from the development of a nocturnal lowâlevel jet (NLLJ), (c) shearâinduced mixing resulting from instability of the NLLJ. A weakly stable residual layer provides the conditions for wave activity during Episode 1. This residual layer is eroded by a developing NLLJ from the top down during Episode 2. The sustained increase in winds at hillâtop levels â attributed to the NLLJ â continue to disrupt the CAP through Episode 3. Although cooling is interrupted, the CAP is never completely eroded during the night. Complete CAP breakâup occurs some 3.5âhr after local sunrise. This caseâstudy highlights a number of meteorological phenomena that can disrupt CAP evolution even in ideal CAP conditions. These processes are unlikely to be sufficiently represented by current operational weather forecast models and can be challenging even for highâresolution research models
Gonorrhoea: tackling the global epidemic in the era of rising antimicrobial resistance.
This Special Issue of Sexual Health aims to collate the latest evidence base focussed on understanding the current epidemic and transmission of gonorrhoea, choice of treatment, molecular epidemiology application, concerns about antimicrobial resistance and alternative prevention and control for gonorrhoea
Towards Logical Specification of Statistical Machine Learning
We introduce a logical approach to formalizing statistical properties of
machine learning. Specifically, we propose a formal model for statistical
classification based on a Kripke model, and formalize various notions of
classification performance, robustness, and fairness of classifiers by using
epistemic logic. Then we show some relationships among properties of
classifiers and those between classification performance and robustness, which
suggests robustness-related properties that have not been formalized in the
literature as far as we know. To formalize fairness properties, we define a
notion of counterfactual knowledge and show techniques to formalize conditional
indistinguishability by using counterfactual epistemic operators. As far as we
know, this is the first work that uses logical formulas to express statistical
properties of machine learning, and that provides epistemic (resp.
counterfactually epistemic) views on robustness (resp. fairness) of
classifiers.Comment: SEFM'19 conference paper (full version with errors corrected
A preliminary study on the induction of dioestrous ovulation in the mare â a possible method for inducing prolonged luteal phase
BACKGROUND: Strong oestrous symptoms in the mare can cause problems with racing, training and handling. Since long-acting progesterone treatment is not permitted in mares at competition (e.g. according to FEI rules), there is a need for methods to suppress unwanted cyclicity. Spontaneous dioestrous ovulations in the late luteal phase may cause a prolongation of the luteal phase in mares. METHODS: In this preliminary study, in an attempt to induce ovulation during the luteal phase, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) (3000 IU) was injected intramuscularly in four mares (experimental group) in the luteal phase when a dioestrous follicle â„ 30 mm was detected. A fifth mare included in this group was not treated due to no detectable dioestrous follicles â„ 30 mm. Four control mares were similarly injected with saline. The mares were followed with ultrasound for 72 hours post injection or until ovulation. Blood samples for progesterone analysis were obtained twice weekly for one month and thereafter once weekly for another two to four months. RESULTS: Three of the hCG-treated mares ovulated within 72 hours after treatment and developed prolonged luteal phases of 58, 68 and 82 days respectively. One treated mare never ovulated after the hCG injection and progesterone levels fell below 3 nmol/l nine days post treatment. Progesterone levels in the control mares were below 3 nmol/l within nine days after saline injection, except for one mare, which developed a spontaneously prolonged luteal phase of 72 days. CONCLUSION: HCG treatment may be a method to induce prolonged luteal phases in the mare provided there is a dioestrous follicle â„ 30 mm that ovulates post-treatment. However, the method needs to be tested on a larger number of mares to be able to draw conclusions regarding its effectiveness
Galactic and Extragalactic Samples of Supernova Remnants: How They Are Identified and What They Tell Us
Supernova remnants (SNRs) arise from the interaction between the ejecta of a
supernova (SN) explosion and the surrounding circumstellar and interstellar
medium. Some SNRs, mostly nearby SNRs, can be studied in great detail. However,
to understand SNRs as a whole, large samples of SNRs must be assembled and
studied. Here, we describe the radio, optical, and X-ray techniques which have
been used to identify and characterize almost 300 Galactic SNRs and more than
1200 extragalactic SNRs. We then discuss which types of SNRs are being found
and which are not. We examine the degree to which the luminosity functions,
surface-brightness distributions and multi-wavelength comparisons of the
samples can be interpreted to determine the class properties of SNRs and
describe efforts to establish the type of SN explosion associated with a SNR.
We conclude that in order to better understand the class properties of SNRs, it
is more important to study (and obtain additional data on) the SNRs in galaxies
with extant samples at multiple wavelength bands than it is to obtain samples
of SNRs in other galaxiesComment: Final 2016 draft of a chapter in "Handbook of Supernovae" edited by
Athem W. Alsabti and Paul Murdin. Final version available at
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20794-0_90-
Pathogenic variants in MT-ATP6: A UK-based Mitochondrial Disease Cohort Study
Distinct clinical syndromes have been associated with pathogenic MT-ATP6 variants. In this cohort study, we identified 125 individuals (60 families) including 88 clinically affected individuals and 37 asymptomatic carriers. Thirty-one individuals presented with Leigh syndrome and seven with Neuropathy Ataxia Retinitis Pigmentosa. The remaining 50 patients presented with variable non-syndromic features including ataxia, neuropathy and learning disability. We confirmed maternal inheritance in 39 families, and demonstrated tissue segregation patterns and phenotypic threshold are variant-dependent. Our findings suggest that MT-ATP6-related mitochondrial disease is best conceptualised as a spectrum disorder and should be routinely included in genetic ataxia and neuropathy gene panels. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Statistical Epistemic Logic
We introduce a modal logic for describing statistical knowledge, which we
call statistical epistemic logic. We propose a Kripke model dealing with
probability distributions and stochastic assignments, and show a stochastic
semantics for the logic. To our knowledge, this is the first semantics for
modal logic that can express the statistical knowledge dependent on
non-deterministic inputs and the statistical significance of observed results.
By using statistical epistemic logic, we express a notion of statistical
secrecy with a confidence level. We also show that this logic is useful to
formalize statistical hypothesis testing and differential privacy in a simple
and abstract manner
Formation of Supermassive Black Holes
Evidence shows that massive black holes reside in most local galaxies.
Studies have also established a number of relations between the MBH mass and
properties of the host galaxy such as bulge mass and velocity dispersion. These
results suggest that central MBHs, while much less massive than the host (~
0.1%), are linked to the evolution of galactic structure. In hierarchical
cosmologies, a single big galaxy today can be traced back to the stage when it
was split up in hundreds of smaller components. Did MBH seeds form with the
same efficiency in small proto-galaxies, or did their formation had to await
the buildup of substantial galaxies with deeper potential wells? I briefly
review here some of the physical processes that are conducive to the evolution
of the massive black hole population. I will discuss black hole formation
processes for `seed' black holes that are likely to place at early cosmic
epochs, and possible observational tests of these scenarios.Comment: To appear in The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review. The final
publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co
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