Incidental nutrient transfers: Assessing critical times in agricultural catchments using high-resolution data

AbstractManaging incidental losses associated with liquid slurry applications during closed periods has significant cost and policy implications and the environmental data required to review such a measure are difficult to capture due to storm dependencies. Over four years (2010–2014) in five intensive agricultural catchments, this study used high-resolution total and total reactive phosphorus (TP and TRP), total oxidised nitrogen (TON) and suspended sediment (SS) concentrations with river discharge data to investigate the magnitude and timing of nutrient losses. A large dataset of storm events (defined as 90th percentile discharges), and associated flow-weighted mean (FWM) nutrient concentrations and TP/SS ratios, was used to indicate when losses were indicative of residual or incidental nutrient transfers. The beginning of the slurry closed period was reflective of incidental and residual transfers with high storm FWM P (TP and TRP) concentrations, with some catchments also showing elevated storm TP:SS ratios. This pattern diminished at the end of the closed period in all catchments. Total oxidised N behaved similarly to P during storms in the poorly drained catchments and revealed a long lag time in other catchments. Low storm FWM P concentrations and TP:SS ratios during the weeks following the closed period suggests that nutrients either weren't applied during this time (best times chosen) or that they were applied to less risky areas (best places chosen). For other periods such as late autumn and during wet summers, where storm FWM P concentrations and TP:SS ratios were high, it is recommended that an augmentation of farmer knowledge of soil drainage characteristics with local and detailed current and forecast soil moisture conditions will help to strengthen existing regulatory frameworks to avoid storm driven incidental nutrient transfers

Influence of the relative composition of trace elements and vitamins in physicochemical stability of total parenteral nutrition formulations for neonatal use

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of the relative composition of trace elements and vitamins in physicochemical stability of neonatal parenteral nutrition.</p> <p>Material and methods</p> <p>Three formulations for neonatal administration were selected; the main variable was the presence of trace elements and vitamins. The analyses where carried out immediately after preparation and at 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 7 days after preparation. Three methods were selected to determine globule size: light obscuration, dynamic light scattering and optical microscopy. Complementary evaluation including visual inspection, determination of pH and osmolarity, peroxide levels and measurements of zeta potential were also performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was an observable alteration in color and phase separation in the PN stored at 25°C and 40°C. Neither globule size pattern, nor any other physicochemical characteristic evaluated appeared to be considerably altered in any of the analyzed formulations even after 7 days of storage at 5°C. Globule size in all the PN studied was consistent with the established limit, below 500 nm by DLS measurement, and PFAT₅ was below 0.05% under all storage temperatures.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Concomitant presence of trace elements and vitamins in the same neonatal formulation did not alter the evaluated aspects of stability.</p

Searches for supersymmetry based on events with b jets and four W bosons in pp collisions at 8 TeV

Five mutually exclusive searches for supersymmetry are presented based on events in which b jets and four W bosons are produced in proton-proton collisions at root s = 8TeV. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 fb(-1), were collected with the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in 2012. The five studies differ in the leptonic signature from the W boson decays, and correspond to all-hadronic, single-lepton, opposite-sign dilepton, same-sign dilepton, and >= 3 lepton final states. The results of the five studies are combined to yield 95% confidence level limits for the gluino and bottom-squark masses in the context of gluino and bottom-squark pair production, respectively. In the limit when the lightest supersymmetric particle is light, gluino and bottom squark masses are excluded below 1280 and 570 GeV, respectively

Search for supersymmetry in pp collisions at in events with a single lepton, large jet multiplicity, and multiple b jets

Results are reported from a search for supersymmetry in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, based on events with a single isolated lepton (electron or muon) and multiple jets, at least two of which are identified as b jets. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 19.3 fb(-1) recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2012. The search is motivated by supersymmetric models that involve strong-production processes and cascade decays of new particles. The resulting final states contain multiple jets as well as missing transverse momentum from weakly interacting particles. The event yields, observed across several kinematic regions, are consistent with the expectations from standard model processes. The results are interpreted in the context of simplified supersymmetric scenarios with pair production of gluinos, where each gluino decays to a top quark-antiquark pair and the lightest neutralino. For the case of decays via virtual top squarks, gluinos with a mass smaller than 1.26 TeV are excluded for low neutralino masses

Description and performance of track and primary-vertex reconstruction with the CMS tracker

A description is provided of the software algorithms developed for the CMS tracker both for reconstructing charged-particle trajectories in proton-proton interactions and for using the resulting tracks to estimate the positions of the LHC luminous region and individual primary-interaction vertices. Despite the very hostile environment at the LHC, the performance obtained with these algorithms is found to be excellent. For t (t) over bar events under typical 2011 pileup conditions, the average track-reconstruction efficiency for promptly-produced charged particles with transverse momenta of p(T) > 0.9GeV is 94% for pseudorapidities of vertical bar eta vertical bar < 0.9 and 85% for 0.9 < vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.5. The inefficiency is caused mainly by hadrons that undergo nuclear interactions in the tracker material. For isolated muons, the corresponding efficiencies are essentially 100%. For isolated muons of p(T) = 100GeV emitted at vertical bar eta vertical bar < 1.4, the resolutions are approximately 2.8% in p(T), and respectively, 10 m m and 30 mu m in the transverse and longitudinal impact parameters. The position resolution achieved for reconstructed primary vertices that correspond to interesting pp collisions is 10-12 mu m in each of the three spatial dimensions. The tracking and vertexing software is fast and flexible, and easily adaptable to other functions, such as fast tracking for the trigger, or dedicated tracking for electrons that takes into account bremsstrahlung

Search for excited quarks in the gamma plus jet final state in proton-proton collisions at root s=8 TeV

A search for excited quarks decaying into the gamma + jet final state is presented. The analysis is based on data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1) collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at root s = 8 TeV at the LHC. Events with photons and jets with high transverse momenta are selected and the gamma + jet invariant mass distribution is studied to search for a resonance peak. The 95% confidence level upper limits on the product of cross section and branching fraction are evaluated as a function of the excited quark mass. Limits on excited quarks are presented as a function of their mass and coupling strength; masses below 3.5 TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level for unit couplings to their standard model partners

Measurement of the ratio B(t -> Wb)/B(t -> Wq) in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

The ratio of the top-quark branching fractions R = B(t --> Wb)/B(t --> Wq), where the denominator includes the sum over all down-type quarks (q = b, s, d), is measured in the t (t) over bar dilepton final state with proton-proton collision data at root s = 8 TeV from an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1), collected with the CMS detector. In order to quantify the purity of the signal sample, the cross section is measured by fitting the observed jet multiplicity, thereby constraining the signal and background contributions. By counting the number of b jets per event, an unconstrained value of R = 1.014 +/- 0.003 (stat.) +/- 0.032 (syst.) is measured, in a good agreement with current precision measurements in electroweak and flavour sectors. A lower limit R > 0.955 at the 95% confidence level is obtained after requiring R 0.975 is set at 95% confidence level. The result is combined with a previous CMS measurement of the t-channel single-top-quark cross section to determine the top-quark total decay width, Gamma(t) = 1.36 +/- 0.02 (stat.)(-0.11)(+0.14) (syst.) GeV

Measurement of the production cross section for a W boson and two b jets in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV

The production cross section for a Wboson and two b jets is measured using proton-proton collisions at v root s = 7 TeV in a data sample collected with the CMS experiment at the LHC corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb(-1). The W + bbevents are selected in the W..decay mode by requiring a muon with transverse momentum pT> 25GeVand pseudorapidity |eta| 25GeVand |eta| < 2.4. The measured W + bbproduction cross section in the fiducial region, calculated at the level of final-state particles, is s(pp. W + bb) xB(W..) = 0.53 +/- 0.05 (stat.) +/- 0.09 (syst.) +/- 0.06 (theo.) 0.01 (lum.) pb, in agreement with the standard model prediction. In addition, kinematic distributions of the W + bbsystem are in agreement with the predictions of a simulation usingMadGraphandpythia

Alignment of the CMS tracker with LHC and cosmic ray data

The central component of the CMS detector is the largest silicon tracker ever built. The precise alignment of this complex device is a formidable challenge, and only achievable with a significant extension of the technologies routinely used for tracking detectors in the past. This article describes the full-scale alignment procedure as it is used during LHC operations. Among the specific features of the method are the simultaneous determination of up to 200 000 alignment parameters with tracks, the measurement of individual sensor curvature parameters, the control of systematic misalignment effects, and the implementation of the whole procedure in a multiprocessor environment for high execution speed. Overall, the achieved statistical accuracy on the module alignment is found to be significantly better than 10 mu m