Estimation of losses for adobe buildings in Pakistan

Adobe buildings are vulnerable to seismic forces. Large scale destructions and casualties have been caused due to the collapse of adobe buildings during the past earthquakes. A significant number of adobe structures exist in different parts of Pakistan, similar to other parts of the world. Since Pakistan lies in a seismic active region, it is necessary to assess the level of vulnerability of these buildings in order to estimate associated losses during a seismic event. This paper presents the results of a study which was conducted to quantify damages to adobe buildings based on their fragility curves. The adobe buildings were found to be highly vulnerable to low intensity earthquakes. The vulnerability of these buildings has been compared with the European adobe buildings. It was noted that Pakistani adobe buildings were slightly less resistant to earthquakes as compared to similar buildings in Europe. Retrofitting solutions were suggested in order to increase the seismic capacity of adobe buildings in Pakistan

Empirical analysis of vegetation dynamics and the possibility of a catastrophic desertification transition

The process of desertification in the semi-arid climatic zone is considered by many as a catastrophic regime shift, since the positive feedback of vegetation density on growth rates yields a system that admits alternative steady states. Some support to this idea comes from the analysis of static patterns, where peaks of the vegetation density histogram were associated with these alternative states. Here we present a large-scale empirical study of vegetation dynamics, aimed at identifying and quantifying directly the effects of positive feedback. To do that, we have analyzed vegetation density across $~2.5 \times 10^6 \ \rm{km}^2$ of the African Sahel region, with spatial resolution of $30 \times 30$ meters, using three consecutive snapshots. The results are mixed. The local vegetation density (measured at a single pixel) moves towards the average of the corresponding rainfall line, indicating a purely negative feedback. On the other hand, the chance of spatial clusters (of many "green" pixels) to expand in the next census is growing with their size, suggesting some positive feedback. We show that these apparently contradicting results emerge naturally in a model with positive feedback and strong demographic stochasticity, a model that allows for a catastrophic shift only in a certain range of parameters. Static patterns, like the double peak in the histogram of vegetation density, are shown to vary between censuses, with no apparent correlation with the actual dynamical features

Assessment of seismic performance of adobe structures in Pakistan and Portugal

Adobe buildings exist in different parts of the world. The construction of these buildings can be carried out economically, using locally available materials and skills that do not require use of modern machinery. Therefore, adobe buildings provide an economic housing option. The construction of adobe structures is carried out based on traditional construction practices which vary from region to region. This paper presents the results of a study which was conducted to study the construction practices of adobe buildings in Pakistan and Portugal in the context of their seismic vulnerability. The adobe buildings in both these countries were found to be subjected to seismic hazard levels which, although is low in some regions, may cause significant damages. Lack of essential elements or details for the adequate seismic performance was found in the adobe buildings in both regions

Weak Kaon Production off the Nucleon

The weak kaon production off the nucleon induced by neutrinos is studied at the low and intermediate energies of interest for some ongoing and future neutrino oscillation experiments. This process is also potentially important for the analysis of proton decay experiments. We develop a microscopical model based on the SU(3) chiral Lagrangians. The basic parameters of the model are fpi, the pion decay constant, Cabibbo's angle, the proton and neutron magnetic moments and the axial vector coupling constants for the baryons octet, D and F, that are obtained from the analysis of the semileptonic decays of neutron and hyperons. The studied mechanisms are the main source of kaon production for neutrino energies up to 1.2 to 1.5 GeV for the various channels and the cross sections are large enough to be amenable to be measured by experiments such as Minerva and T2K

Antineutrino induced antikaon production off the nucleon

The charged current antikaon production off nucleons induced by antineutrinos is studied at low and intermediate energies. We extend here our previous calculation on kaon production induced by neutrinos. We have developed a microscopic model that starts from the SU(3) chiral Lagrangians and includes background terms and the resonant mechanisms associated to the lowest lying resonance in the channel, namely, the Sigma*(1385). Our results could be of interest for the background estimation of various neutrino oscillation experiments like MiniBooNE and SuperK. They can also be helpful for the planned antineutrino experiments like MINERvA, NOvA and T2K phase II and for beta-beam experiments with antineutrino energies around 1 GeV.Comment: 15 pages and 6 figures. This version matches accepted version for publication in Physical Review

Weak Production of Strange Particles and η\eta Mesons off the Nucleon

The strange particle production induced by (anti)neutrino off nucleon has been studied for $|\Delta S|=0$ and $|\Delta S|=1$ channels. The reactions those we have considered are for the production of single kaon/antikaon, eta and associated particle production processes. We have developed a microscopical model based on the SU(3) chiral Lagrangian. The basic parameters of the model are $f_\pi$, the pion decay constant, Cabibbo angle, the proton and neutron magnetic moments and the axial vector coupling constants for the baryons octet. For antikaon production we have also included $\Sigma^*$(1385) resonance and for eta production $S_{11}$(1535) and $S_{11}$(1650) resonances are included.Comment: To appear in AIP Conf. Proc. of the Workshop CETUP*14, 12 Pages, 13 Figure