Potential for rainfed woody biomass production for energy conversion in drought and salinity affected areas of northern India

577-582This paper presents production of woody biomass using waste or saline water for irrigation and rain fed biomass production on land with low food crop potential. Woody biomass can be harvested sustainably from indigenous or naturalised vegetation,existing stands can be improved or tree plantations can be established, matching appropriate species to prevailing conditions.Rain fed productivity of woody species in dry areas is limited by soil salinity and water availability and assumptions on biomass productivity and land areas required for energy conversion should be based on yield estimates realistic for local soil and climate,which can be very low. Development of woody biomass production in rural communities needs to be cost effective, have good institutional support and governance, and comprise appropriate technologies and approaches. Woody biomass production potentially raises the issue of competition over land resources with other users and uses of wasteland. Some woody biomasss pecies may also have adverse impacts on biodiversity

Impact of calibration algorithms on hypoglycaemia detection in newborn infants using continuous glucose monitors

invited, 6-pagesNeonatal hypoglycaemia is a common condition that can cause seizures and serious brain injury in infants. It is diagnosed by blood glucose (BG) measurements, often taken several hours apart. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices can potentially improve hypoglycaemia detection, while reducing the number of BG measurements. Calibration algorithms convert the sensor signal into the CGM output. Thus, these algorithms can have a direct impact on measures used to quantify excursions from normal glycaemic levels. The aim of this study was to quantify the effects of calibration sensor error and non-linear filtering of CGM data on measures of hypoglycaemia (defined as BG < 2.6mmol/L) in neonates. CGM data was recalibrated using an algorithm that explicitly recognised the high accuracy of BG measurements available in this study. Median filtering was also implemented either before or after recalibration. Results for the entire cohort show an increase in the total number of hypoglycaemic events (161 to 193), duration of hypoglycaemia (2.2 to 2.6% of total data), and hypoglycaemic index (4.9 to 7.1µmol/L) after recalibration. With the addition of filtering, the number of hypoglycaemic events was reduced (193 to 131), with little or no change to the other metrics. These results show how reference sensor error and thus calibration algorithms play a significant role in quantifying hypoglycaemia. In particular, metrics such as counting the number of hypoglycaemic events were particularly sensitive to recalibration and filtering effects. While this conclusion might be expected, its potential impact is quantified here, in this case for at-risk neonates for whom hypoglycaemia carries potential long-term negative outcomes

Star and cluster formation in extreme environments

Current empirical evidence on the star-formation processes in the extreme, high-pressure environments induced by galaxy encounters (mostly based on high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope observations) strongly suggests that star CLUSTER formation is an important and perhaps even the dominant mode of star formation in such starburst events. The sizes, luminosities, and mass estimates of the young massive star clusters (YMCs) are entirely consistent with what is expected for young Milky Way-type globular clusters (GCs). Recent evidence lends support to the scenario that GCs, which were once thought to be the oldest building blocks of galaxies, are still forming today. Here, I present a novel empirical approach to assess the shape of the initial-to-current YMC mass functions, and hence their possible survival chances for a Hubble time.Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX with Kluwer style files included; to appear in: "Starbursts - from 30 Doradus to Lyman break galaxies" (Cambridge UK, September 2004; talk summary), Astrophysics & Space Science Library, eds. de Grijs R., Gonzalez Delgado R.M., Kluwer: Dordrech

Anisotropy on the Fermi Surface of the Two-Dimensional Hubbard Model

We investigate anisotropic charge fluctuations in the two-dimensional Hubbard model at half filling. By the quantum Monte Carlo method, we calculate a momentum-resolved charge compressibility $\kappa (\bm{k}) = {d < n(\bm{k}) >}/{d \mu}$, which shows effects of an infinitesimal doping. At the temperature $T \sim {t^2}/{U}$, $\kappa (\bm{k})$ shows peak structure at the $(\pm \pi/2,\pm \pi/2)$ points along the $|k_x| + |k_y| = \pi$ line. A similar peak structure is reproduced in the mean-filed calculation for the d-wave pairing state or the staggered flux state.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, figures and presentation are modifie

Simvastatin Prevents and Reverses Depigmentation in a Mouse Model of Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a common autoimmune disease of the skin that results in disfiguring white spots. There are no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatments, and current treatments are time-consuming, expensive, and of low efficacy. We sought to identify new treatments for vitiligo, and first considered repurposed medications because of the availability of safety data and expedited regulatory approval. We previously reported that the IFN-γ-induced chemokine CXCL10 is expressed in lesional skin from vitiligo patients, and that it is critical for the progression and maintenance of depigmentation in our mouse model of vitiligo. We hypothesized that targeting IFN-γ signaling might be an effective new treatment strategy. Activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) is required for IFN-γ signaling and recent studies revealed that simvastatin, an FDA-approved cholesterol-lowering medication, inhibited STAT1 activation in vitro. Therefore, we hypothesized that simvastatin may be an effective treatment for vitiligo. We found that simvastatin both prevented and reversed depigmentation in our mouse model of vitiligo, and reduced the number of infiltrating autoreactive CD8+ T cells in the skin. Treatment of melanocyte-specific, CD8+ T cells in vitro decreased proliferation and IFN-γ production, suggesting additional effects of simvastatin directly on T cells. Based on these data, simvastatin may be a safe, targeted treatment option for patients with vitiligo. © 2015 The Society for Investigative Dermatology

Water intake, faecal output and intestinal motility in horses moved from pasture to a stabled management regime with controlled exercise

Reasons for performing study: A change in management from pasture to stabling is a risk factor for equine colic. Objectives: To investigate the effect of a management change from pasture with no controlled exercise to stabling with light exercise on aspects of gastrointestinal function related to large colon impaction. The hypothesis was that drinking water intake, faecal output, faecal water content and large intestinal motility would be altered by a transition from a pastured to a stabled regime. Study design: Within-subject management intervention trial involving changes in feeding and exercise using noninvasive techniques. Methods: Seven normal horses were evaluated in a within-subjects study design. Horses were monitored while at pasture 24 h/day, and for 14 days following a transition to a stabling regime with light controlled exercise. Drinking water intake, faecal output and faecal dry matter were measured. Motility of the caecum, sternal flexure and left colon (contractions/min) were measured twice daily by transcutaneous ultrasound. Mean values were pooled for the pastured regime and used as a reference for comparison with stabled data (Days 1–14 post stabling) for multilevel statistical analysis. Results: Drinking water intake was significantly increased (mean ± s.d. pasture 2.4 ± 1.8 vs. stabled 6.4 ± 0.6 l/100 kg bwt/day), total faecal output was significantly decreased (pasture 4.62 ± 1.69 vs. stabled 1.81 ± 0.5 kg/100 kg bwt/day) and faecal dry matter content was significantly increased (pasture 18.7 ± 2.28 vs. stabled 27.2 ± 1.93% DM/day) on all days post stabling compared with measurements taken at pasture (P<0.05). Motility was significantly decreased in all regions of the large colon collectively on Day 2 post stabling (-0.76 contractions/min), and in the left colon only on Day 4 (-0.62 contractions/min; P<0.05). Conclusions: There were significant changes in large intestinal motility patterns and parameters relating to gastrointestinal water balance during a transition from pasture to stabled management, particularly during the first 5 days

Warped Phenomenology of Higher-Derivative Gravity

We examine the phenomenological implications at colliders for the existence of higher-derivative gravity terms as extensions to the Randall-Sundrum model. Such terms are expected to arise on rather general grounds, e.g., from string theory. In 5-d, if we demand that the theory be unitary and ghost free, these new contributions to the bulk action are uniquely of the Gauss-Bonnet form. We demonstrate that the usual expectations for the production cross section and detailed properties of graviton Kaluza-Klein resonances and TeV-scale black holes can be substantially altered by existence of these additional contributions. It is shown that measurements at future colliders will be highly sensitive to the presence of such terms.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figure

Aharonov-Bohm effect in a singly connected point contact

We report the discovery of an oscillation in the low-temperature magnetoresistance of a point contact in the two-dimensional electron gas of a GaAs-AlxGa1–xAs heterostructure. The oscillation is periodic in the magnetic field and is reminiscent of the Aharonov-Bohm effect in rings, although the geometry is singly connected. A possible mechanism for this quantum interference effect is tunneling between edge states across the point contact at the potential step at the entrance and the exit of the constriction

Empirical Evidence on the Use of Credit Scoring for Predicting Insurance Losses with Psycho-social and Biochemical Explanations

An important development in personal lines of insurance in the United States is the use of credit history data for insurance risk classification to predict losses. This research presents the results of collaboration with industry conducted by a university at the request of its state legislature. The purpose was to see the viability and validity of the use of credit scoring to predict insurance losses given its controversial nature and criticism as redundant of other predictive variables currently used. Working with industry and government, this study analyzed more than 175,000 policyholders’ information for the relationship between credit score and claims. Credit scores were significantly related to incurred losses, evidencing both statistical and practical significance. We investigate whether the revealed relationship between credit score and incurred losses was explainable by overlap with existing underwriting variables or whether the credit score adds new information about losses not contained in existing underwriting variables. The results show that credit scores contain significant information not already incorporated into other traditional rating variables (e.g., age, sex, driving history). We discuss how sensation seeking and self-control theory provide a partial explanation of why credit scoring works (the psycho-social perspective). This article also presents an overview of biological and chemical correlates of risk taking that helps explain why knowing risk-taking behavior in one realm (e.g., risky financial behavior and poor credit history) transits to predicting risk-taking behavior in other realms (e.g., automobile insurance incurred losses). Additional research is needed to advance new nontraditional loss prediction variables from social media consumer information to using information provided by technological advances. The evolving and dynamic nature of the insurance marketplace makes it imperative that professionals continue to evolve predictive variables and for academics to assist with understanding the whys of the relationships through theory development.IC2 Institut

Controlling laser spectra in a phaseonium photonic crystal using maser

We study the control of quantum resonances in photonic crystals with electromagnetically induced transparency driven by microwave field. In addition to the control laser, the intensity and phase of the maser can alter the transmission and reflection spectra in interesting ways, producing hyperfine resonances through the combined effects of multiple scattering in the superstructure.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure