309 research outputs found
Synchronicity of historical dry spells in the Southern Hemisphere
A shift in climate occurred during the mid-1970s that affected the
hydroclimate of the Southern Hemisphere resulting in drying trends across
continental regions including Australia, New Zealand and southern and western
Africa. There is also anecdotal evidence of other periods of climatic
synchronicity in the Southern Hemisphere (e.g., the 1920s and 1940s),
indicating that the mid-1970s event may not be anomalous. This paper
identifies periods within the last ~120 years using statistical
analysis where dry spells (in terms of annual to multi-decadal rainfall
deficiencies) have coincided across the continental Southern Hemisphere in
order to characterize temporal consistency. It is shown that synchronicity of
dry spells is (a) most likely common over the last 120 years and (b)
associated with changes in the large-scale climate modes of the Pacific,
Indian and Southern Oceans. Importantly, the findings presented in this paper
have marked implications for drought management and drought forecasting
studies in the Southern Hemisphere
Infinite Lorentz boost along the M-theory circle and non-asymptotically flat solutions in supergravities
Certain non-asymptotically flat but supersymmetric classical solution of the
type IIA supergravity can be interpreted as the infinitely-boosted version of
the D-particle solution along the M-theory circle. By a chain of T-dual
transformations, this analysis also applies to yield non-asymptotically flat
solutions from the asymptotically flat and (non)-extremal solutions with
intersecting D-strings and D five-branes of the type IIB supergravity
compactified on a five-torus. Under S-duality, the non-asymptotically flat
solutions in this context can in particular be used to describe the
(1+1)-dimensional CGHS type black holes via spontaneous compactifications.Comment: 14 pages, Revte
Links between the Big Dry in Australia and hemispheric multi-decadal climate variability – implications for water resource management
Southeast Australia (SEA) experienced a protracted drought during the
mid-1990s until early 2010 (known as the Big Dry or Millennium Drought) that
resulted in serious environmental, social and economic effects. This paper
analyses a range of historical climate data sets to place the recent drought
into context in terms of Southern Hemisphere inter-annual to multi-decadal
hydroclimatic variability. The findings indicate that the recent Big Dry in
SEA is in fact linked to the widespread Southern Hemisphere climate shift
towards drier conditions that began in the mid-1970s. However, it is shown
that this link is masked because the large-scale climate drivers responsible
for drying in other regions of the mid-latitudes since the mid-1970s did not
have the same effect on SEA during the mid- to late 1980s and early 1990s.
More specifically, smaller-scale synoptic processes resulted in elevated
autumn and winter rainfall (a crucial period for SEA hydrology) during the
mid- to late 1980s and early 1990s, which punctuated the longer-term drying.
From the mid-1990s to 2010 the frequency of the synoptic processes associated
with elevated autumn/winter rainfall decreased, resulting in a return to
drier than average conditions and the onset of the Big Dry. The findings
presented in this paper have marked implications for water management and
climate attribution studies in SEA, in particular for understanding and
dealing with "baseline" (i.e. current) hydroclimatic risks
Graviton-Scalar Interaction in the PP-Wave Background
We compute the graviton two scalar off-shell interaction vertex at tree level
in Type IIB superstring theory on the pp-wave background using the light-cone
string field theory formalism. We then show that the tree level vertex vanishes
when all particles are on-shell and conservation of p_{+} and p_{-} are
imposed. We reinforce our claim by calculating the same vertex starting from
the corresponding SUGRA action expanded around the pp-wave background in the
light-cone gauge.Comment: 26 pages, harvmac One reference added. A few comments changed in the
introduction. The "cyclic perms." term removed from some equations as
unnecessary and equations (2.38) and (3.19) are corrected accordingl
Tropical cyclone perceptions, impacts and adaptation in the Southwest Pacific: an urban perspective from Fiji, Vanuatu and Tonga
The destruction caused by tropical cyclone (TC) Pam in March 2015 is considered one of the worst natural disasters in the history of Vanuatu. It has highlighted the need for a better understanding of TC impacts and adaptation in the Southwest Pacific (SWP) region. Therefore, the key aims of this study are to (i) understand local perceptions of TC activity, (ii) investigate impacts of TC activity and (iii) uncover adaptation strategies used to offset the impacts of TCs. To address these aims, a survey (with 130 participants from urban areas) was conducted across three SWP small island states (SISs): Fiji, Vanuatu and Tonga (FVT). It was found that respondents generally had a high level of risk perception and awareness of TCs and the associated physical impacts, but lacked an understanding of the underlying weather conditions. Responses highlighted that current methods of adaptation generally occur at the local level, immediately prior to a TC event (preparation of property, gathering of food, finding a safe place to shelter). However higher level adaptation measures (such as the modification to building structures) may reduce vulnerability further. Finally, we discuss the potential of utilising weather-related traditional knowledge and non-traditional knowledge of empirical and climate-model-based weather forecasts to improve TC outlooks, which would ultimately reduce vulnerability and increase adaptive capacity. Importantly, lessons learned from this study may result in the modification and/or development of existing adaptation strategies
A Calculation of the plane wave string Hamiltonian from N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory
Berenstein, Maldacena, and Nastase have proposed, as a limit of the strong
form of the AdS/CFT correspondence, that string theory in a particular plane
wave background is dual to a certain subset of operators in the N=4
super-Yang-Mills theory. Even though this is a priori a strong/weak coupling
duality, the matrix elements of the string theory Hamiltonian, when expressed
in gauge theory variables, are analytic in the 't Hooft coupling constant. This
allows one to conjecture that, like the masses of excited string states, these
can be recovered using perturbation theory in Yang-Mills theory.
In this paper we identify the difference between the generator of scale
transformations and a particular U(1) R-symmetry generator as the operator dual
to the string theory Hamiltonian for nonvanishing string coupling. We compute
its matrix elements and find that they agree with the string theory prediction
provided that the state-operator map is modified for nonvanishing string
coupling. We construct this map explicitly and calculate the anomalous
dimensions of the new operators. We identify the component arising from the
modification of the state-operator map with the contribution of the string
theory contact terms to the masses of string states.Comment: 38 pages, Latex; v2: Comparison with string theory changed in light
of corrections to string theory results in hep-th/0206073 v3; state-operator
map modified; Physical interpretation and conclusions unchange
Developing a Data Dashboard Framework for Population Health Surveillance: Widening Access to Clinical Trial Findings
Background: Population surveillance sites generate many datasets relevant to disease surveillance. However, there is a risk that these data are underutilized because of the volumes of data gathered and the lack of means to quickly disseminate analysis. Data visualization offers a means to quickly disseminate, understand, and interpret datasets, facilitating evidence-driven decision making through increased access to information.
Objectives: This paper describes the development and evaluation of a framework for data dashboard design, to visualize datasets produced at a demographic health surveillance site. The aim of this research was to produce a comprehensive, reusable, and scalable dashboard design framework to fit the unique requirements of the context.
Methods: The framework was developed and implemented at a demographic surveillance platform at the Africa Health Research Institute, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This context represents an exemplar implementation for the use of data dashboards within a population health-monitoring setting. Before the full launch, an evaluation study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of the dashboard framework as a data communication and decision-making tool. The evaluation included a quantitative task evaluation to assess usability and a qualitative questionnaire exploring the attitudes to the use of dashboards.
Results: The evaluation participants were drawn from a diverse group of users working at the site (n=20), comprising of community members, nurses, scientific and operational staff. Evaluation demonstrated high usability for the dashboard across user groups, with scientific and operational staff having minimal issues in completing tasks. There were notable differences in the efficiency of task completion among user groups, indicating varying familiarity with data visualization. The majority of users felt that the dashboards provided a clear understanding of the datasets presented and had a positive attitude to their increased use.
Conclusions: Overall, this exploratory study indicates the viability of the data dashboard framework in communicating data trends within population surveillance setting. The usability differences among the user groups discovered during the evaluation demonstrate the need for the user-led design of dashboards in this context, addressing heterogeneous computer and visualization literacy present among the diverse potential users present in such settings. The questionnaire highlighted the enthusiasm for increased access to datasets from all stakeholders highlighting the potential of dashboards in this context
Model of black hole evolution
From the postulate that a black hole can be replaced by a boundary on the
apparent horizon with suitable boundary conditions, an unconventional scenario
for the evolution emerges. Only an insignificant fraction of energy of order
is radiated out. The outgoing wave carries a very small part of the
quantum mechanical information of the collapsed body, the bulk of the
information remaining in the final stable black hole geometry.Comment: 9 pages, harvmac, 3 figures, minor addition
Model of black hole evolution
From the postulate that a black hole can be replaced by a boundary on the
apparent horizon with suitable boundary conditions, an unconventional scenario
for the evolution emerges. Only an insignificant fraction of energy of order
is radiated out. The outgoing wave carries a very small part of the
quantum mechanical information of the collapsed body, the bulk of the
information remaining in the final stable black hole geometry.Comment: 9 pages, harvmac, 3 figures, minor addition
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