547 research outputs found
Respiratory hospital admission risk near large composting facilities
AbstractBackgroundLarge-scale composting can release bioaerosols in elevated quantities, but there are few studies of health effects on nearby communities.MethodsA cross-sectional ecological small area design was used to examine risk of respiratory hospital admissions within 2500m of all 148 English large-scale composting facilities in 2008–10. Statistical analyses used a random intercept Poisson regression model at Census Output Area (COA) level (mean population 310). Models were adjusted for age, sex, deprivation and tobacco sales.ResultsAnalysing 34,963 respiratory hospital admissions in 4656 COAs within 250–2500m of a site, there were no significant trends using pre-defined distance bands of >250–750m, >750–1500m and >1500–2500m. Using a continuous measure of distance, there was a small non-statistically significant (p=0.054) association with total respiratory admissions corresponding to a 1.5% (95% CI: 0.0–2.9%) decrease in risk if moving from 251m to 501m. There were no significant associations for subgroups of respiratory infections, asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.ConclusionThis national study does not provide evidence for increased risks of respiratory hospital admissions in those living beyond 250m of an outdoor composting area perimeter. Further work using better measures of exposure and exploring associations with symptoms and disease prevalence, especially in vulnerable groups, is recommended to support regulatory approaches
Stability of Cross-Feeding Polymorphisms in Microbial Communities
This is the final version of the article. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record.Cross-feeding, a relationship wherein one organism consumes metabolites excreted by another, is a ubiquitous feature of natural and clinically-relevant microbial communities and could be a key factor promoting diversity in extreme and/or nutrient-poor environments. However, it remains unclear how readily cross-feeding interactions form, and therefore our ability to predict their emergence is limited. In this paper we developed a mathematical model parameterized using data from the biochemistry and ecology of an E. coli cross-feeding laboratory system. The model accurately captures short-term dynamics of the two competitors that have been observed empirically and we use it to systematically explore the stability of cross-feeding interactions for a range of environmental conditions. We find that our simple system can display complex dynamics including multi-stable behavior separated by a critical point. Therefore whether cross-feeding interactions form depends on the complex interplay between density and frequency of the competitors as well as on the concentration of resources in the environment. Moreover, we find that subtly different environmental conditions can lead to dramatically different results regarding the establishment of cross-feeding, which could explain the apparently unpredictable between-population differences in experimental outcomes. We argue that mathematical models are essential tools for disentangling the complexities of cross-feeding interactions.IG was supported by a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Advanced Fellowship NE/E013007/3 and a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator grant MathModExp 647292, MK was funded by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) NPP Fellowship and NASA NNX12AD87G, IG and PR were funded by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) grant BB/J010340/1, KS was supported by National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) 2R01HG003328 - 07A1 and FR was supported by NASA NNX12AD87G. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
Head-on collision of ultrarelativistic charges
We consider the head-on collision of two opposite-charged point particles
moving at the speed of light. Starting from the field of a single charge we
derive in a first step the field generated by uniformly accelerated charge in
the limit of infinite acceleration. From this we then calculate explicitly the
burst of radiation emitted from the head-on collision of two charges and
discuss its distributional structure. The motivation for our investigation
comes from the corresponding gravitational situation where the head-on
collision of two ultrarelativistic particles (black holes) has recently aroused
renewed interest.Comment: 4 figures, uses the AMSmat
A Radiation Scalar for Numerical Relativity
This letter describes a scalar curvature invariant for general relativity
with a certain, distinctive feature. While many such invariants exist, this one
vanishes in regions of space-time which can be said unambiguously to contain no
gravitational radiation. In more general regions which incontrovertibly support
non-trivial radiation fields, it can be used to extract local,
coordinate-independent information partially characterizing that radiation.
While a clear, physical interpretation is possible only in such radiation
zones, a simple algorithm can be given to extend the definition smoothly to
generic regions of space-time.Comment: 4 pages, 1 EPS figur
Thorny Spheres and Black Holes with Strings
We consider thorny spheres, that is 2-dimensional compact surfaces which are
everywhere locally isometric to a round sphere except for a finite number
of isolated points where they have conical singularities. We use thorny spheres
to generate, from a spherically symmetric solution of the Einstein equations,
new solutions which describe spacetimes pierced by an arbitrary number of
infinitely thin cosmic strings radially directed. Each string produces an angle
deficit proportional to its tension, while the metric outside the strings is a
locally spherically symmetric solution. We prove that there can be arbitrary
configurations of strings provided that the directions of the strings obey a
certain equilibrium condition. In general this equilibrium condition can be
written as a force-balance equation for string forces defined in a flat 3-space
in which the thorny sphere is isometrically embedded, or as a constraint on the
product of holonomies around strings in an alternative 3-space that is flat
except for the strings. In the case of small string tensions, the constraint
equation has the form of a linear relation between unit vectors directed along
the string axes.Comment: 37 pages, 11 figure
Sensitivity of predicted bioaerosol exposure from open windrow composting facilities to ADMS dispersion model parameters
Bioaerosols are released in elevated quantities from composting facilities and are associated with negative health effects, although dose-response relationships are not well understood, and require improved exposure classification. Dispersion modelling has great potential to improve exposure classification, but has not yet been extensively used or validated in this context. We present a sensitivity analysis of the ADMS dispersion model specific to input parameter ranges relevant to bioaerosol emissions from open windrow composting. This analysis provides an aid for model calibration by prioritising parameter adjustment and targeting independent parameter estimation. Results showed that predicted exposure was most sensitive to the wet and dry deposition modules and the majority of parameters relating to emission source characteristics, including pollutant emission velocity, source geometry and source height. This research improves understanding of the accuracy of model input data required to provide more reliable exposure predictions
The Game Saturation Number of a Graph
Given a family F and a host graph H, a graph G ⊆ H is F-saturated relative to H if no subgraph of G lies in F but adding any edge from E(H) - E(G) to G creates such a subgraph. In the F-saturation game on H, players Max and Min alternately add edges of H to G, avoiding subgraphs in F, until G becomes F-saturated relative to H. They aim to maximize or minimize the length of the game, respectively; satg(F;H) denotes the length under optimal play (when Max starts).
Let O denote the family of odd cycles and the family of n-vertex trees, and write F for when F = {F}. Our results include satg(O; Kn) = [n/2] [n/2], satg(Tn; Kn) = (n-2/2) + 1 for n ≥ 6, satg(K1,3; Kn) = 2[Tn/2] for n ≥ 8, and satg(P4; Kn) ∈ {[4n/f] , [4n/5]} for n ≥ 5. We also determine satg(P4; Km;n); with m ≥ n, it is n when n is even, m when n is odd and m is even, and m + [n/2] when mn is odd. Finally, we prove the lower bound satg(C4; Kn,n) ≥ 1/21n13/12 – O(n35/36). The results are very similar when Min plays first, except for the P4-saturation game on Km,n.
Static axisymmetric spacetimes with non-generic world-line SUSY
The conditions for the existence of Killing-Yano tensors, which are closely
related to the appearance of non-generic world-line SUSY, are presented for
static axisymmetric spacetimes. Imposing the vacuum Einstein equation, the set
of solutions admitting Killing-Yano tensors is considered. In particular, it is
shown that static, axisymmetric and asymptotically flat vacuum solutions
admitting Killing-Yano tensors are only the Schwarzschild solution.Comment: 10 pages (RevTeX), TIT/HEP-253/COSMO-4
Behaviour of spin-1/2 particle around a charged black hole
Dirac equation is separable in curved space-time and its solution was found
for both spherically and axially symmetric geometry. But most of the works were
done without considering the charge of the black hole. Here we consider the
spherically symmetric charged black hole background namely Reissner-Nordstrom
black hole. Due to presence of the charge of black-hole charge-charge
interaction will be important for the cases of incoming charged particle (e.g.
electron, proton etc.). Therefore both gravitational and electromagnetic gauge
fields should be introduced. Naturally behaviour of the particle will be
changed from that in Schwarzschild geometry. We compare both the solutions. In
the case of Reissner-Nordstrom black hole there is a possibility of
super-radiance unlike Schwarzschild case. We also check this branch of the
solution.Comment: 8 Latex pages and 4 Figures; RevTex.style; Accepted for Publication
in Classical and Quantum Gravit
Hawking Radiation of Dirac Particles in a Variable-mass Kerr Space-time
Hawking effect of Dirac particles in a variable-mass Kerr space-time is
investigated by using a method called as the generalized tortoise coordinate
transformation. The location and the temperature of the event horizon of the
non-stationary Kerr black hole are derived. It is shown that the temperature
and the shape of the event horizon depend not only on the time but also on the
angle. However, the Fermi-Dirac spectrum displays a residual term which is
absent from that of Bose-Einstein distribution.Comment: 12 pages in 12pt Revtex, no figure, to appear in Gen. Rel. Grav.
Vol.33, No.7 (2001
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