Precritical calculations for the 2.9 in. pitch, twmr critical assembly

Critical loadings and precritical calculations for 2.9 inch pitch core in determining feasibility of isotopically enriched tungsten water moderated reactor for use as nuclear rocke

Precritical calculations for the 3.0 in. pitch, beryllium reflected, TWMR critical assembly

Feasibility of isotopically enriched tungsten, water moderated reactor for nuclear rocke

Investigating non-uniform scaling behaviour in temporal fluctuations of seismicity

Scaling behaviour in nonstationary time series can be successfully detected using the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). Observational time series often do not show a stable and uniform scaling behaviour, given by the presence of a unique clear scaling region. The deviations from uniform power-law scaling, which suggest the presence of changing dynamics in the system under study, can be identified and quantified using an appropriate instability index. In this framework, the scaling behaviour of the 1981–2007 seismicity in Umbria-Marche (central Italy), which is one of the most seismically active areas in Italy, was investigated. Significant deviations from uniform power-law scaling in the seismic temporal fluctuations were revealed mostly linked with the occurrence of rather large earthquakes or seismic clusters

Fisher Information Analysis of earthquake-related geoelectrical signals

International audienceWe studied the time fluctuations in the dynamics of geoelectrical data, recorded in Tito site, which is located in a seismic area of southern Italy. We used the Fisher Information Measure, which is a powerful tool to investigate complex and nonstationary signals. The time evolution of the Fisher Information Measure calculated for our signal reveals links with the earthquakes occurring in the investigated area

More Options, Fewer Students: Joint Physics and Chemistry Courses at Mount Royal University

Mount Royal University is a new University with only a few majors in the sciences. This limits the number of students interested in chemistry and physics courses and makes it difficult to run advanced courses in these areas. We have responded to this problem by designing joint courses in Thermodynamics, Quantum Mechanics, and Solid State that count for credit as either a chemistry course or a physics course. Students in the courses were interviewed in order to determine whether the difficulty level and balance of topics in the courses was appropriate. This short and tweet will discuss the design decisions and problems with a higher-level multidisciplinary course, as well as some feedback gleaned from student interviews. A newer joint course involving both nuclear science and policy studies will also be described briefly

Wildlife Damage to Agricultural Crops in Pennsylvania: The Farmers\u27 Perspective

Agricultural damage by wildlife is a major concern for both agricultural and wildlife agencies at the state and federal level. Our objective was to estimate wildlife damage to agricultural crops on a statewide basis. We sent questionnaires to 4,958 farmers and 1,003 were returned after 2 mailings. Twenty-five percent of farmers responding to our survey rated the level of wildlife damage to their crops as severe or very severe, 46% as moderate, and 29% had none or very little. Mean levels of crop loss to wildlife ranged from 6% for wheat to 10% for corn grain, and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were the most commonly reported cause of damage for all crops except soybeans. Farmers estimated the economic value of damage caused by wildlife to 6 crops (corn grain, silage, alfalfa, soybeans, oats, and wheat) as \u3e $70 million. Ninety-one percent of Pennsylvania farmers allowed deer hunting on their farms, but 62% of the farms were bordered at least partially by land that was posted (no hunting or limited hunting). Fifty-six percent of farmers whose land was bordered by posted land believed adjacent posted land made it difficult for them to control deer numbers and damage on the land they farmed. Thirty-one percent of farmers responding to the questionnaire reported that they had changed farming practices (i.e., no longer farmed a particular field or raised a particular crop) as a consequence of deer damage. Additional methods used to control deer damage included shooting (28%), chasing (13%), fencing (9.3%), repellents (7%), and noise devices (5%). Fencing and shooting were the only methods rated as being at least moderately effective

Looking back to see the future: building nuclear power plants in Europe

The so-called ‘nuclear renaissance’ in Europe is promulgated by the execution of two large engineering projects involving the construction of two European Pressurized Reactors (EPRs) in Flamanville, France and Olkiluoto in Finland. As both projects have faced budget overruns and delays, this paper analyses their governance and history to derive lessons useful for the construction of future projects. Analysis indicates that the reasons for these poor outcomes are: overoptimistic estimations, first-of-a-kind (FOAK) issues and undervaluation of regulation requirements. These pitfalls have the potential to impact on many other engineering construction projects and highlight fruitful areas of further research into project performance

Welfare Performance of Three Foothold Traps for Capturing North American River Otters \u3ci\u3eLontra canadensis\u3c/i\u3e

Foothold traps are effective tools for the live capture and restraint of wildlife for management and research. Successful river otter Lontra canadensis restoration programs throughout North America used them extensively. Restoration programs used a variety of methods and models of foothold traps, but comprehensive efforts to describe and quantify injuries associated with river otter captures have been limited. We evaluated injuries of river otters caught in three commercially available models of foothold traps including the number 11 double long-spring with standard jaws, the number 11 double long-spring with double jaws, and the number 2 coil-spring trap. Based on examinations of 70 captured river otters, we classified 78% of the total inj uries detected as ‘‘mild’’ (n=174 injuries) and 17% were classified as ‘‘moderate’’ (n= 37 injuries). We classified less than 3% of the injuries observed as ‘‘moderately severe’’ or ‘‘severe.’’ We focused only on the animal welfare performance of traps; the three trap types we tested met the animal welfare criteria required for inclusion in the best management practices for trapping river otter. The criteria based on International Standards Organization guidelines used in this assessment of trap performance provides a scientific basis for future evaluations of river otter welfare when foothold traps are used for restoration, research, and population management

A systematic review of physiological reactivity to stimuli in autism

Objective: The prevalence of abnormal behavioural responses to a variety of stimuli among individuals with autism has led researchers to examine whether physiological reactivity is typical in this population. The current paper reviewed studies assessing physiological reactivity to sensory, social and emotional, and stressor stimuli in individuals with autism. Methods: Systematic searches of electronic databases identified 57 studies that met our inclusion criteria. A novel measure of methodological quality suitable for use with non-randomised, non-interventional, psychophysiological studies was also developed and applied. Results: Individuals with autism were found to respond differently than typically developing controls in 78.6%, 66.7%, and 71.4% of sensory, social and emotional, and stressor stimulus classes, respectively. Conclusions: Individual differences in physiological reactivity are clearly present in autism, suggesting additional research is needed to determine the variables relating to physiological reactivity among those with ASD and to examine the possibility of physiological subtype responders in this population

Bridging psychology and biology - the analysis of individuals in groups

Biological systems are particularly prone to variation, and the authors argue that such variation must be regarded as important data in its own right. The authors describe a method in which individual differences are studied within the framework of a general theory of the population as a whole and illustrate how this method can be used to address three types of issues: the nature of the mechanisms that give rise to a specific ability, such as mental imagery; the role of psychological or biological mediators of environmental challenges, such as the biological bases for differences in dispositional mood; and the existence of processes that have nonadditive effects with behavioral and physiological variables, such as factors that modulate the response to stress and its effects on the immune response. Variation occurs around every central tendency, bu