Site investigation for the effects of vegetation on ground stability

The procedure for geotechnical site investigation is well established but little attention is currently given to investigating the potential of vegetation to assist with ground stability. This paper describes how routine investigation procedures may be adapted to consider the effects of the vegetation. It is recommended that the major part of the vegetation investigation is carried out, at relatively low cost, during the preliminary (desk) study phase of the investigation when there is maximum flexibility to take account of findings in the proposed design and construction. The techniques available for investigation of the effects of vegetation are reviewed and references provided for further consideration. As for general geotechnical investigation work, it is important that a balance of effort is maintained in the vegetation investigation between (a) site characterisation (defining and identifying the existing and proposed vegetation to suit the site and ground conditions), (b) testing (in-situ and laboratory testing of the vegetation and root systems to provide design parameters) and (c) modelling (to analyse the vegetation effects)

Operator-free HPLC automated method development guided by Bayesian optimization

The need to efficiently develop high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods, whilst adhering to quality by design principles is of paramount importance when it comes to impurity detection in the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients. This study highlights a novel approach that fully automates HPLC method development using black-box single and multi-objective Bayesian optimization algorithms. Three continuous variables including the initial isocratic hold time, initial organic modifier concentration and the gradient time were adjusted to simultaneously optimize the number of peaks detected, the resolution between peaks and the method length. Two mixtures of analytes, one with seven compounds and one with eleven compounds, were investigated. The system explored the design space to find a global optimum in chromatogram quality without human assistance, and methods that gave baseline resolution were identified. Optimal operating conditions were typically reached within just 13 experiments. The single and multi-objective Bayesian optimization algorithms were compared to show that multi-objective optimization was more suitable for HPLC method development. This allowed for multiple chromatogram acceptance criteria to be selected without having to repeat the entire optimization, making it a useful tool for robustness testing. Work in this paper presents a fully “operator-free” and closed loop HPLC method optimization process that can find optimal methods quickly when compared to other modern HPLC optimization techniques such as design of experiments, linear solvent strength models or quantitative structure retention relationships

Automatic regularization by quantization in reducible representations of CCR: Point-form quantum optics with classical sources

Electromagnetic fields are quantized in manifestly covariant way by means of a class of reducible representations of CCR. $A_a(x)$ transforms as a Hermitian four-vector field in Minkowski four-position space (no change of gauge), but in momentum space it splits into spin-1 massless photons (optics) and two massless scalars (similar to dark matter). Unitary dynamics is given by point-form interaction picture, with minimal-coupling Hamiltonian constructed from fields that are free on the null-cone boundary of the Milne universe. SL(2,C) transformations and dynamics are represented unitarily in positive-norm Hilbert space describing $N$ four-dimensional oscillators. Vacuum is a Bose-Einstein condensate of the $N$-oscillator gas. Both the form of $A_a(x)$ and its transformation properties are determined by an analogue of the twistor equation. The same equation guarantees that the subspace of vacuum states is, as a whole, Poincar\'e invariant. The formalism is tested on quantum fields produced by pointlike classical sources. Photon statistics is well defined even for pointlike charges, with UV/IR regularizations occurring automatically as a consequence of the formalism. The probabilities are not Poissonian but of a R\'enyi type with $\alpha=1-1/N$. The average number of photons occurring in Bremsstrahlung splits into two parts: The one due to acceleration, and the one that remains nonzero even if motion is inertial. Classical Maxwell electrodynamics is reconstructed from coherent-state averaged solutions of Heisenberg equations. Static pointlike charges polarize vacuum and produce effective charge densities and fields whose form is sensitive to both the choice of representation of CCR and the corresponding vacuum state.Comment: 2 eps figures; in v2 notation in Eq. (39) and above Eq. (38) is correcte

Superconducting fluctuation corrections to ultrasound attenuation in layered superconductors

We consider the temperature dependence of the sound attenuation and sound velocity in layered impure metals due to superconducting fluctuations of the order parameter above the critical temperature. We obtain the dependence on material properties of these fluctuation corrections in the hydrodynamic limit, where the electron mean free path is much smaller than the wavelength of sound and where the electron collision rate is much larger than the sound frequency. For longitudinal sound propagating perpendicular to the layers, the open Fermi surface condition leads to a suppression of the divergent contributions to leading order, in contrast with the case of paraconductivity. The leading temperature dependent corrections, given by the Aslamazov-Larkin, Maki-Thompson and density of states terms, remain finite as T->Tc. Nevertheless, the sensitivity of new ultrasonic experiments on layered organic conductors should make these fluctuations effects measurable.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for PRB. Added discussion on incoherent interlayer tunneling and other small modifications suggested by referee

The composition of the protosolar disk and the formation conditions for comets

Conditions in the protosolar nebula have left their mark in the composition of cometary volatiles, thought to be some of the most pristine material in the solar system. Cometary compositions represent the end point of processing that began in the parent molecular cloud core and continued through the collapse of that core to form the protosun and the solar nebula, and finally during the evolution of the solar nebula itself as the cometary bodies were accreting. Disentangling the effects of the various epochs on the final composition of a comet is complicated. But comets are not the only source of information about the solar nebula. Protostellar disks around young stars similar to the protosun provide a way of investigating the evolution of disks similar to the solar nebula while they are in the process of evolving to form their own solar systems. In this way we can learn about the physical and chemical conditions under which comets formed, and about the types of dynamical processing that shaped the solar system we see today. This paper summarizes some recent contributions to our understanding of both cometary volatiles and the composition, structure and evolution of protostellar disks.Comment: To appear in Space Science Reviews. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11214-015-0167-

Recent Advances in Modeling Stellar Interiors

Advances in stellar interior modeling are being driven by new data from large-scale surveys and high-precision photometric and spectroscopic observations. Here we focus on single stars in normal evolutionary phases; we will not discuss the many advances in modeling star formation, interacting binaries, supernovae, or neutron stars. We review briefly: 1) updates to input physics of stellar models; 2) progress in two and three-dimensional evolution and hydrodynamic models; 3) insights from oscillation data used to infer stellar interior structure and validate model predictions (asteroseismology). We close by highlighting a few outstanding problems, e.g., the driving mechanisms for hybrid gamma Dor/delta Sct star pulsations, the cause of giant eruptions seen in luminous blue variables such as eta Car and P Cyg, and the solar abundance problem.Comment: Proceedings for invited talk at conference High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics 2010, Caltech, March 2010, submitted for special issue of Astrophysics and Space Science; 7 pages; 5 figure

Clinical spectrum of SIX3-associated mutations in holoprosencephaly: correlation between genotype, phenotype and function

BACKGROUND: Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is the most common structural malformation of the human forebrain. There are several important HPE mutational target genes, including the transcription factor SIX3, which encodes an early regulator of Shh, Wnt, Bmp and Nodal signalling expressed in the developing forebrain and eyes of all vertebrates. OBJECTIVE: To characterise genetic and clinical findings in patients with SIX3 mutations. METHODS: Patients with HPE and their family members were tested for mutations in HPE-associated genes and the genetic and clinical findings, including those for additional cases found in the literature, were analysed. The results were correlated with a mutation-specific functional assay in zebrafish. RESULTS: In a cohort of patients (n = 800) with HPE, SIX3 mutations were found in 4.7% of probands and additional cases were found through testing of relatives. In total, 138 cases of HPE were identified, 59 of whom had not previously been clinically presented. Mutations in SIX3 result in more severe HPE than in other cases of non-chromosomal, non-syndromic HPE. An over-representation of severe HPE was found in patients whose mutations confer greater loss of function, as measured by the functional zebrafish assay. The gender ratio in this combined set of patients was 1.5:1 (F:M) and maternal inheritance was almost twice as common as paternal. About 14% of SIX3 mutations in probands occur de novo. There is a wide intrafamilial clinical range of features and classical penetrance is estimated to be at least 62%. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that SIX3 mutations result in relatively severe HPE and that there is a genotype-phenotype correlation, as shown by functional studies using animal models

Dust in Supernovae and Supernova Remnants I : Formation Scenarios

Supernovae are considered as prime sources of dust in space. Observations of local supernovae over the past couple of decades have detected the presence of dust in supernova ejecta. The reddening of the high redshift quasars also indicate the presence of large masses of dust in early galaxies. Considering the top heavy IMF in the early galaxies, supernovae are assumed to be the major contributor to these large amounts of dust. However, the composition and morphology of dust grains formed in a supernova ejecta is yet to be understood with clarity. Moreover, the dust masses inferred from observations in mid-infrared and submillimeter wavelength regimes differ by two orders of magnitude or more. Therefore, the mechanism responsible for the synthesis of molecules and dust in such environments plays a crucial role in studying the evolution of cosmic dust in galaxies. This review summarises our current knowledge of dust formation in supernova ejecta and tries to quantify the role of supernovae as dust producers in a galaxy.Peer reviewe