840 research outputs found
Characterising sand and gravel deposits using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) : case histories from England and Wales
Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) is a rapidly developing geophysical imaging technique that is now widely
used to visualise subsurface geological structure, groundwater and lithological variations. It is being increasingly used
in environmental and engineering site investigations, but despite its suitability and potential benefits, ERT has yet to
be routinely applied by the minerals industry to sand and gravel deposit assessment and quarry planning. The
principal advantages of ERT for this application are that it is a cost-effective non-invasive method, which can provide
2D or 3D spatial models of the subsurface throughout the full region of interest. This complements intrusive sampling
methods, which typically provide information only at discrete locations. Provided that suitable resistivity contrasts are
present, ERT has the potential to reveal mineral and overburden thickness and quality variations within the body of
the deposit.
Here we present a number of case studies from the UK illustrating the use of 2D and 3D ERT for sand and gravel
deposit investigation in a variety of geological settings. We use these case studies to evaluate the performance of ERT,
and to illustrate good practice in the application of ERT to deposit investigation. We propose an integrated approach
to site investigation and quarry planning incorporating both conventional intrusive methods and ERT
'Reclaiming the criminal' : the role and training of prison officers in England, 1877-1914
This article examines the role and training of prison officers in England, between 1877 and 1914. It is concerned with the changing penal philosophies and practices of this period and how these were implemented in local prisons, and the duties of the prison officer. More broadly, this article argues that the role of the prison officer and their training (from 1896) reflect wider ambiguities in prison policy and practice during this period
One size fits all? Mixed methods evaluation of the impact of 100% single room accommodation on staff and patient experience, safety and costs
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is little strong evidence relating to the impact of single-room accommodation on healthcare quality and safety. We explore the impact of all single rooms on staff and patient experience; safety outcomes; and costs.METHODS: Mixed methods pre/post 'move' comparison within four nested case study wards in a single acute hospital with 100% single rooms; quasi-experimental before-and-after study with two control hospitals; analysis of capital and operational costs associated with single rooms.RESULTS: Two-thirds of patients expressed a preference for single rooms with comfort and control outweighing any disadvantages (sense of isolation) felt by some. Patients appreciated privacy, confidentiality and flexibility for visitors afforded by single rooms. Staff perceived improvements (patient comfort and confidentiality), but single rooms were worse for visibility, surveillance, teamwork, monitoring and keeping patients safe. Staff walking distances increased significantly post move. A temporary increase of falls and medication errors in one ward was likely to be associated with the need to adjust work patterns rather than associated with single rooms per se. We found no evidence that single rooms reduced infection rates. Building an all single-room hospital can cost 5% more with higher housekeeping and cleaning costs but the difference is marginal over time.CONCLUSIONS: Staff needed to adapt their working practices significantly and felt unprepared for new ways of working with potentially significant implications for the nature of teamwork in the longer term. Staff preference remained for a mix of single rooms and bays. Patients preferred single rooms.<br/
Green Currents for Meromorphic Maps of Compact K\"ahler Manifolds
We consider the dynamics of meromorphic maps of compact K\"ahler manifolds.
In this work, our goal is to locate the non-nef locus of invariant classes and
provide necessary and sufficient conditions for existence of Green currents in
codimension one.Comment: Statement of Theorem 1.5 is slightly improved. Proposition 5.2 and
Theorem 5.3 are adde
Singularity, complexity, and quasi--integrability of rational mappings
We investigate global properties of the mappings entering the description of
symmetries of integrable spin and vertex models, by exploiting their nature of
birational transformations of projective spaces. We give an algorithmic
analysis of the structure of invariants of such mappings. We discuss some
characteristic conditions for their (quasi)--integrability, and in particular
its links with their singularities (in the 2--plane). Finally, we describe some
of their properties {\it qua\/} dynamical systems, making contact with
Arnol'd's notion of complexity, and exemplify remarkable behaviours.Comment: Latex file. 17 pages. To appear in CM
Impact Of The Energy Model On The Complexity Of RNA Folding With Pseudoknots
International audiencePredicting the folding of an RNA sequence, while allowing general pseudoknots (PK), consists in finding a minimal free-energy matching of its positions. Assuming independently contributing base-pairs, the problem can be solved in -time using a variant of the maximal weighted matching. By contrast, the problem was previously proven NP-Hard in the more realistic nearest-neighbor energy model. In this work, we consider an intermediate model, called the stacking-pairs energy model. We extend a result by Lyngs\o, showing that RNA folding with PK is NP-Hard within a large class of parametrization for the model. We also show the approximability of the problem, by giving a practical algorithm that achieves at least a -approximation for any parametrization of the stacking model. This contrasts nicely with the nearest-neighbor version of the problem, which we prove cannot be approximated within any positive ratio, unless .La prédiction du repliement, avec pseudonoeuds généraux, d'une séquence d'ARN de taille est équivalent à la recherche d'un couplage d'énergie libre minimale. Dans un modèle d'énergie simple, où chaque paire de base contribue indépendamment à l'énergie, ce problème peut être résolu en temps grâce à une variante d'un algorithme de couplage pondéré maximal. Cependant, le même problème a été démontré NP-difficile dans le modèle d'énergie dit des plus proches voisins. Dans ce travail, nous étudions les propriétés du problème sous un modèle d'empilements, constituant un modèle intermédiaire entre ceux d'appariement et des plus proches voisins. Nous démontrons tout d'abord que le repliement avec pseudo-noeuds de l'ARN reste NP-difficile dans de nombreuses valuations du modèle d'énergie. . Par ailleurs, nous montrons que ce problème est approximable, en proposant un algorithme polynomial garantissant une -approximation. Ce résultat illustre une différence essentielle entre ce modèle et celui des plus proches voisins, pour lequel nous montrons qu'il ne peut être approché à aucun ratio positif par un algorithme en temps polynomial sauf si
Equidistribution of zeros of holomorphic sections in the non compact setting
We consider N-tensor powers of a positive Hermitian line bundle L over a
non-compact complex manifold X. In the compact case, B. Shiffman and S.
Zelditch proved that the zeros of random sections become asymptotically
uniformly distributed with respect to the natural measure coming from the
curvature of L, as N tends to infinity. Under certain boundedness assumptions
on the curvature of the canonical line bundle of X and on the Chern form of L
we prove a non-compact version of this result. We give various applications,
including the limiting distribution of zeros of cusp forms with respect to the
principal congruence subgroups of SL2(Z) and to the hyperbolic measure, the
higher dimensional case of arithmetic quotients and the case of orthogonal
polynomials with weights at infinity. We also give estimates for the speed of
convergence of the currents of integration on the zero-divisors.Comment: 25 pages; v.2 is a final update to agree with the published pape
Realistic Equations of State for the Primeval Universe
Early universe equations of state including realistic interactions between
constituents are built up. Under certain reasonable assumptions, these
equations are able to generate an inflationary regime prior to the
nucleosynthesis period. The resulting accelerated expansion is intense enough
to solve the flatness and horizon problems. In the cases of curvature parameter
\kappa equal to 0 or +1, the model is able to avoid the initial singularity and
offers a natural explanation for why the universe is in expansion.Comment: 32 pages, 5 figures. Citations added in this version. Accepted EPJ
Model Analysis of Time Reversal Symmetry Test in the Caltech Fe-57 Gamma-Transition Experiment
The CALTECH gamma-transition experiment testing time reversal symmetry via
the E2/M1 mulipole mixing ratio of the 122 keV gamma-line in Fe-57 has already
been performed in 1977. Extending an earlier analysis in terms of an effective
one-body potential, this experiment is now analyzed in terms of effective one
boson exchange T-odd P-even nucleon nucleon potentials. Within the model space
considered for the Fe-57 nucleus no contribution from isovector rho-type
exchange is possible. The bound on the coupling strength phi_A from effective
short range axial-vector type exchange induced by the experimental bound on
sin(eta) leads to phi_A < 10^{-2}.Comment: 5 pages, RevTex 3.
A quantum Monte Carlo study of the one-dimensional ionic Hubbard model
Quantum Monte Carlo methods are used to study a quantum phase transition in a
1D Hubbard model with a staggered ionic potential (D). Using recently
formulated methods, the electronic polarization and localization are determined
directly from the correlated ground state wavefunction and compared to results
of previous work using exact diagonalization and Hartree-Fock. We find that the
model undergoes a thermodynamic transition from a band insulator (BI) to a
broken-symmetry bond ordered (BO) phase as the ratio of U/D is increased. Since
it is known that at D = 0 the usual Hubbard model is a Mott insulator (MI) with
no long-range order, we have searched for a second transition to this state by
(i) increasing U at fixed ionic potential (D) and (ii) decreasing D at fixed U.
We find no transition from the BO to MI state, and we propose that the MI state
in 1D is unstable to bond ordering under the addition of any finite ionic
potential. In real 1D systems the symmetric MI phase is never stable and the
transition is from a symmetric BI phase to a dimerized BO phase, with a
metallic point at the transition
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