4,159 research outputs found
A knowledge based system for valuing variations in civil engineering works: a user centred approach
There has been much evidence that valuing variations in construction projects can lead to conflicts and disputes leading to loss of time, efficiency, and productivity. One of the reasons for these conflicts and disputes concerns the subjectivity of the project stakeholders involved in the process. One way to minimise this is to capture and collate the knowledge and perceptions of the different parties involved in order to develop a robust mechanism for valuing variations. Focusing on the development of such a mechanism, the development of a Knowledge Based System (KBS) for valuing variations in civil engineering work is described. Evaluation of the KBS involved demonstration to practitioners in the construction industry to support the contents of the knowledge base and perceived usability and acceptance of the system. Results support the novelty, contents, usability, and acceptance of the system, and also identify further potential developments of the KBS
Surprisingly uneven distribution of the T cell receptor VÎČ repertoire in wild mice
Journal ArticleHeterodimeric TCRa/Bs are made up of combinations of V D, J, and C elements. The majority of laboratory inbred mouse strains are of the VBh haplotype and have at least 20 VB genes from which to construct TCRs (1, 2); however, a number of strains have been reported to have deletions of large portions of the VB locus on chromosome 6 (3-5), and these mice must survive with a considerably reduced potential TCR repertoire
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Mapping solar irradiance within Schrödinger Basin for future robotic sample return missions
The US National Research Council (NRC) identified eight scientific concepts and thirty-five prioritized investigations to be addressed with continued lunar exploration. These objectives are broadly consistent with those identified throughout the international community. the majority of these objectives require sample return from the Moon. Schrödinger basin has been highlighted as a particularly attractive location to find suitable samples
The coral reefs of Tobago: status and management; Los arrecifes de Tobago: condiciones y manejo
Application of exchange Monte Carlo method to ordering dynamics
We apply the exchange Monte Carlo method to the ordering dynamics of the
three-state Potts model with the conserved order parameter. Even for the deeply
quenched case to low temperatures, we have observed a rapid domain growth; we
have proved the efficiency of the exchange Monte Carlo method for the ordering
process. The late-stage growth law has been found to be for
the case of conserved order parameter of three-component system.Comment: 7 pages including 5 eps figures, to appear in New J. Phys.
http://www.njp.or
The Cooperative Participatory Evaluation of Renewable Technologies on Ecosystem Services (CORPORATES)
Publisher PD
Potts-Percolation-Gauss Model of a Solid
We study a statistical mechanics model of a solid. Neighboring atoms are
connected by Hookian springs. If the energy is larger than a threshold the
"spring" is more likely to fail, while if the energy is lower than the
threshold the spring is more likely to be alive. The phase diagram and
thermodynamic quantities, such as free energy, numbers of bonds and clusters,
and their fluctuations, are determined using renormalization-group and
Monte-Carlo techniques.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure
Mean Field Renormalization Group for the Boundary Magnetization of Strip Clusters
We analyze in some detail a recently proposed transfer matrix mean field
approximation which yields the exact critical point for several two dimensional
nearest neighbor Ising models. For the square lattice model we show explicitly
that this approximation yields not only the exact critical point, but also the
exact boundary magnetization of a semi--infinite Ising model, independent of
the size of the strips used. Then we develop a new mean field renormalization
group strategy based on this approximation and make connections with finite
size scaling. Applying our strategy to the quadratic Ising and three--state
Potts models we obtain results for the critical exponents which are in
excellent agreement with the exact ones. In this way we also clarify some
advantages and limitations of the mean field renormalization group approach.Comment: 16 pages (plain TeX) + 8 figures (PostScript, appended),
POLFIS-TH.XX/9
The importance of soil and vegetation characteristics for establishing ground nesting bee aggregations
Most bee species are ground-nesters, yet knowledge on the nesting behaviour of this diverse group remains sparse. Evidence on the effectiveness of ground-nesting bee species as crop pollinators is growing, but there is limited information on their nesting habits and preferences and how to manage habitats to enhance populations on farms. In this study, artificially prepared plots of bare soil were constructed with the aim to attract ground-nesting bees to nest in a commercial orchard in Kent, UK. Nine soil parameters were measured to determine their preferred soil properties: hydraulic conductivity, soil compaction, soil moisture, soil temperature, soil stoniness, soil organic matter, soil root biomass, soil texture and vegetation cover. Eighteen non-parasitic ground-nesting bee species (7 Andrena, 9 Lasioglossum, 1 Halictus and 1 Colletes spp.) were recorded in the study plots. Soil stoniness and soil temperature at 10cm depth were positively correlated, and vegetation cover and hydraulic conductivity were negatively correlated with the number of ground-nesting bees on the plots. We show that artificially created habitats can be exploited for nesting by several ground-nesting bee species. This studyâs findings can inform management practices to enhance ground-nesting bee populations in agricultural and urban areas
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