1,542 research outputs found
Control and regulation of indoor air: An Australian perspective
There are few standards and guidelines on indoor air in Australia, and little information is available on indoor air quality in Australian buildings. The development of existing controls has relied heavily on overseas data and often lags behind the implementation of controls elsewhere. Indoor air standards have been developed for ventilation in public buildings commensurate with U.S. standards. A recommended goal for formaldehyde exposure levels has been set at 0.1 ppm and a remedial action level for radon at 200 Bq/m3. Nitro gen dioxide, particulates and volatile organic compounds are currently under review. Other indoor issues are not yet being considered at a formal level. This paper discusses the current status of the control and regulation of indoor air quality and provides an overview of indoor air research in Australia
Laudatores Temporis Acti, or Why Cosmology is Alive and Well - A Reply to Disney
A recent criticism of cosmological methodology and achievements by Disney
(2000) is assessed. Some historical and epistemological fallacies in the said
article have been highlighted. It is shown that---both empirically and
epistemologically---modern cosmology lies on sounder foundations than it is
portrayed. A brief historical account demonstrates that this form of
unsatisfaction with cosmology has had a long tradition, and rather meagre
results in the course of the XX century.Comment: 11 pages, no figures; a criticism of astro-ph/0009020; Gen. Rel.
Grav., accepted for publicatio
Response Time Densities in Generalised Stochastic Petri Net Models.
Generalised Stochastic Petri nets (GSPNs) have been widely used to analyse the performance of hardware and software systems. This paper presents a novel technique for the numerical determination of response time densities in GSPN models. The technique places no structural restrictions on the models that can be analysed, and allows for the high-level specification of multiple source and destination markings, including any combination of tangible and vanishing markings. The technique is implemented using a scalable parallel Laplace transform inverter that employs a modified Laguerre inversion technique. We present numerical results, including a study of the full distribution of end-to-end response time in a GSPN model of the Courier communication protocol software. The numerical results are validated against simulation. 1
Distributed Computation of Passage Time Quantiles and Transient State Distributions in Large Semi-Markov Models
Published versio
Inhibition of Tendon Cell Proliferation and Matrix Glycosaminoglycan Synthesis by Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in vitro
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of some commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on human tendon. Explants of human digital flexor and patella tendons were cultured in medium containing pharmacological concentrations of NSAIDs. Cell proliferation was measured by incorporation of 3H-thymidine and glycosaminoglycan synthesis was measured by incorporation of 35S-Sulphate. Diclofenac and aceclofenac had no significant effect either on tendon cell proliferation or glycosaminoglycan synthesis. Indomethacin and naproxen inhibited cell proliferation in patella tendons and inhibited glycosaminoglycan synthesis in both digital flexor and patella tendons. If applicable to the in vivo situation, these NSAIDs should be used with caution in the treatment of pain after tendon injury and surgery
Paramagnetic-diamagnetic interplay in quantum dots for non-zero temperatures
In the usual Fock-and Darwin-formalism with parabolic potential characterized
by the confining energy \eps_o := \hbar\omega_o= 3.37 meV, but including
explicitly also the Zeeman coupling between spin and magnetic field, we study
the combined orbital and spin magnetic properties of quantum dots in a
two-dimensional electron gas with parameters for GaAs, for N =1 and N >> 1
electrons on the dot.
For N=1 the magnetization M(T,B) consists of a paramagnetic spin contribution
and a diamagnetic orbital contribution, which dominate in a non-trivial way at
low temperature and fields rsp. high temperature and fields.
For N >> 1, where orbital and spin effects are intrinsically coupled in a
subtle way and cannot be separated, we find in a simplified Hartree
approximation that at N=m^2, i.e. at a half-filled last shell, M(T,B,N) is
parallel (antiparallel) to the magnetic field, if temperatures and fields are
low enough (high enough), whereas for N\ne m^2 the magnetization oscillates
with B and N as a T-dependent periodic function of the variable
x:=\sqrt{N}eB/(2m^*c\omega_o), with T-independent period \Delta x =1 (where m^*
:= 0.067 m_o is the small effective mass of GaAs, while m_o is the electron
mass). Correspondingly, by an adiabatic demagnetization process, which should
only be fast enough with respect to the slow transient time of the magnetic
properties of the dot, the temperature of the dot diminishes rsp. increases
with decreasing magnetic field, and in some cases we obtain quite pronounced
effects.Comment: LaTeX, 28 pages; including three .eps-figures; final version accepted
by J. Phys. CM, with minimal changes w.r.to v
Dynamical diffraction in sinusoidal potentials: uniform approximations for Mathieu functions
Eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of Mathieu's equation are found in the short
wavelength limit using a uniform approximation (method of comparison with a
`known' equation having the same classical turning point structure) applied in
Fourier space. The uniform approximation used here relies upon the fact that by
passing into Fourier space the Mathieu equation can be mapped onto the simpler
problem of a double well potential. The resulting eigenfunctions (Bloch waves),
which are uniformly valid for all angles, are then used to describe the
semiclassical scattering of waves by potentials varying sinusoidally in one
direction. In such situations, for instance in the diffraction of atoms by
gratings made of light, it is common to make the Raman-Nath approximation which
ignores the motion of the atoms inside the grating. When using the
eigenfunctions no such approximation is made so that the dynamical diffraction
regime (long interaction time) can be explored.Comment: 36 pages, 16 figures. This updated version includes important
references to existing work on uniform approximations, such as Olver's method
applied to the modified Mathieu equation. It is emphasised that the paper
presented here pertains to Fourier space uniform approximation
Aeolianite and barrier dune construction spanning the last two glacial-interglacial cycles from the southern Cape coast, South Africa
The southern Cape region of South Africa has extensive coastal aeolianites and barrier dunes. Whilst previously reported, limited knowledge of their age has precluded an understanding of their relationship with the climatic and sea-level fluctuations that have taken place during the Late Quaternary. Sedimentological and geomorphological studies combined with an optical dating programme reveal aeolianite development and barrier dune construction spanning at least the last two glacial–interglacial cycles. Aeolianite deposition has occurred on the southern Cape coast at ca 67–80, 88–90, 104–128, 160–189 and >200 ka before the present. Using this and other published data coupled with a better understanding of Late Quaternary sea-level fluctuations and palaeocoastline configurations, it is concluded that these depositional phases appear to be controlled by interglacial and subsequent interstadial sea-level high stands. These marine transgressions and regressions allowed onshore carbonate-rich sediment movement and subsequent aeolian reworking to occur at similar points in the landscape on a number of occasions. The lack of carbonates in more recent dunes (Oxygen Isotope Stages 1/2 and 4/5) is attributed not to leaching but to changes to carbonate production in the sediment source area caused by increased terrigenous material and/or changes in the balance between the warm Agulhas and nutrient-rich Benguela ocean current
Unmixing in Random Flows
We consider particles suspended in a randomly stirred or turbulent fluid.
When effects of the inertia of the particles are significant, an initially
uniform scatter of particles can cluster together. We analyse this 'unmixing'
effect by calculating the Lyapunov exponents for dense particles suspended in
such a random three-dimensional flow, concentrating on the limit where the
viscous damping rate is small compared to the inverse correlation time of the
random flow (that is, the regime of large Stokes number). In this limit
Lyapunov exponents are obtained as a power series in a parameter which is a
dimensionless measure of the inertia. We report results for the first seven
orders. The perturbation series is divergent, but we obtain accurate results
from a Pade-Borel summation. We deduce that particles can cluster onto a
fractal set and show that its dimension is in satisfactory agreement with
previously reported in simulations of turbulent Navier-Stokes flows. We also
investigate the rate of formation of caustics in the particle flow.Comment: 39 pages, 8 figure
Reflectionless Potentials and PT Symmetry
Large families of Hamiltonians that are non-Hermitian in the conventional
sense have been found to have all eigenvalues real, a fact attributed to an
unbroken PT symmetry. The corresponding quantum theories possess an
unconventional scalar product. The eigenvalues are determined by differential
equations with boundary conditions imposed in wedges in the complex plane. For
a special class of such systems, it is possible to impose the PT-symmetric
boundary conditions on the real axis, which lies on the edges of the wedges.
The PT-symmetric spectrum can then be obtained by imposing the more transparent
requirement that the potential be reflectionless.Comment: 4 Page
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