Pressure and non-linear susceptibilities in QCD at finite chemical potentials

When the free energy density of QCD is expanded in a series in the chemical potential, mu, the Taylor coefficients are the non-linear quark number susceptibilities. We show that these depend on the prescription for putting chemical potential on the lattice, making all extrapolations in chemical potential prescription dependent at finite lattice spacing. To put bounds on the prescription dependence, we investigate the magnitude of the non-linear susceptibilities over a range of temperature, T, in QCD with two degenerate flavours of light dynamical quarks at lattice spacing 1/4T. The prescription dependence is removed in quenched QCD through a continuum extrapolation, and the dependence of the pressure, P, on mu is obtained.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures. Data on chi_uuuu added, discussion enhance

Towards a Soil Information System with quantified accuracy : a prototype for mapping continuous soil properties

This report describes the potential and functionality of software for spatial analysis, prediction and stochastic simulation of continuous soil properties using data from the Dutch Soil Information System (BIS). A geostatistical framework and R codes were developed. The geostatistical model of a soil property has a deterministic component representing the mean value within a soil category, and a stochastic component of standardized residuals. The standardized residuals are interpolated or simulated based on the simple kriging system. The software was tested in four case studies: exchangeable soil pH, clay content, organic matter content and Mean Spring Water table depth (MSW). It is concluded that the geostatistical framework and R codes developed in this study enable to predict values of continuous soil properties spatially, and to quantify the inaccuracy of these predictions. The inaccuracy of a spatial prediction at a certain location is quantified by the kriging variance, which can be interpreted as an indication of the uncertainty about the true value

The Privatisation of Safety seen from an Interdisciplinary Perspective

The discussion concerning the privatisation of safety, but also the privatisation of other tasks that have been traditionally carried out by the state authorities, has been marked by irrational arguments. A number of these arguments are set out here. After that, a more rational approach to the privatisation of social safety is proposed. In the final part of this paper an analysis is made of the academic disciplines that are involved with safety and a number of suggestions as to which disciplines would appear to be the most adequate ones to deal with this area are put forward

Concepts in Computer Aided Essay Assessment: Improving Consistency by Monitoring the Assessors

This paper focuses on a traditional educational skill, namely the assessment of student work. Whereas ICT has left a considerable mark on, for instance, the administrative support of educational activities and on the use of legal sources, other parts of legal training have seen almost no alterations in the past few decades. One such area is the grading of essay or open question student assignments. The CODAS Text Grader tool, described here, can be used to alleviate the task of marking this type of student work. Teachers still have an essential role with this. What changes is the ‘level’ at which the assessment of the student work takes place: from individual to survey, from marking to ranking. The CODAS software can also be used for a related task: it can assess the assessors. It contains functions to assess – and if necessary correct – the marks for comparable essays awarded by one specific teacher or even by a team of several teachers. Bringing transparency to the process of grading can only be of benefit to the education system.This paper was originally published in the proceedings of the 2005 BILETA conference (Belfast, 6-9 April 2005)

De maatschappelijke urgentie van juridisch kennismanagement

Juristen verrichten hun werk in een samenleving die sterk aan veranderingen onderhevig is. Technologie, met name op het gebied van informatieverwerking, speelt bij die veranderingen een belangrijke rol. Er bestaat de laatste jaren veel aandacht voor het omgaan met informatie en kennis. De begrippen informatiemanagement en vooral kennismanagement spelen daarbij een telkens terugkerende rol. Kennis is in veel organisaties van strategisch belang voor de bedrijfsvoering geworden. Daarom kan kennismanagement evenmin als algemeen management decentraal worden uitgevoerd. Een en ander heeft ook voor juristen gevolgen. Zij dienen zich te verdiepen in de grondbeginselen en toepassingen van kennismanagement, maar ook in die van algemeen management. Deze bewering wordt in dit rapport nader onderbouwd aan de hand van een analyse van een aantal maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen. Telkens wordt daarbij het belang voor juristen die werkzaam zijn in verschillende functies aangegeven

Distinguishing scalar from pseudoscalar Higgs production at the LHC

In this letter we examine the production channels for the scalar or pseudoscalar Higgs plus two jets at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We identify possible signals for distinguishing between a scalar and a pseudoscalar Higgs boson.Comment: 7 pages, REVTeX4, 4 eps figures. Figure 1 and 4 replaced. Typos corrected, additional reference adde

Red Queen Coevolution on Fitness Landscapes

Species do not merely evolve, they also coevolve with other organisms. Coevolution is a major force driving interacting species to continuously evolve ex- ploring their fitness landscapes. Coevolution involves the coupling of species fit- ness landscapes, linking species genetic changes with their inter-specific ecological interactions. Here we first introduce the Red Queen hypothesis of evolution com- menting on some theoretical aspects and empirical evidences. As an introduction to the fitness landscape concept, we review key issues on evolution on simple and rugged fitness landscapes. Then we present key modeling examples of coevolution on different fitness landscapes at different scales, from RNA viruses to complex ecosystems and macroevolution.Comment: 40 pages, 12 figures. To appear in "Recent Advances in the Theory and Application of Fitness Landscapes" (H. Richter and A. Engelbrecht, eds.). Springer Series in Emergence, Complexity, and Computation, 201

Inter-seasonal population dynamics and pest status of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) biotype B in an Australian cropping system

Bemisia tabaci, biotype B, commonly known as the silverleaf whitefly (SLW) is an alien species that invaded Australia in the mid-90s. This paper reports on the invasion ecology of SLW and the factors that are likely to have contributed to the first outbreak of this major pest in an Australian cotton cropping system, population dynamics of SLW within whitefly-susceptible crop (cotton and cucurbit) and non-crop vegetation (sowthistle, Sonchus spp.) components of the cropping system were investigated over four consecutive growing seasons (September-June) 2001/02-2004/05 in the Emerald Irrigation Area (EIA) of Queensland, Australia. Based on fixed geo-referenced sampling sites, variation in spatial and temporal abundance of SLW within each system component was quantified to provide baseline data for the development of ecologically sustainable pest management strategies. Parasitism of large (3rd and 4th instars) SLW nymphs by native aphelinid wasps was quantified to determine the potential for natural control of SLW populations. Following the initial outbreak in 2001/02, SLW abundance declined and stabilised over the next three seasons. The population dynamics of SLW is characterised by inter-seasonal population cycling between the non-crop (weed) and cotton components of the EIA cropping system. Cotton was the largest sink for and source of SLW during the study period. Over-wintering populations dispersed from weed host plant sources to cotton in spring followed by a reverse dispersal in late summer and autumn to broad-leaved crops and weeds. A basic spatial source-sink analysis showed that SLW adult and nymph densities were higher in cotton fields that were closer to over-wintering weed sources throughout spring than in fields that were further away. Cucurbit fields were not significant sources of SLW and did not appear to contribute significantly to the regional population dynamics of the pest. Substantial parasitism of nymphal stages throughout the study period indicates that native parasitoid species and other natural enemies are important sources of SLW mortality in Australian cotton production systems. Weather conditions and use of broad-spectrum insecticides for pest control are implicated in the initial outbreak and on-going pest status of SLW in the region