95 research outputs found
Challenges in monitoring and managing engineered slopes in a changing climate
Geotechnical asset owners need to know which parts of their asset network are vulnerable to climate change induced failure in order to optimise future investment. Protecting these vulnerable slopes requires monitoring systems capable of identifying and alerting to asset operators changes in the internal conditions that precede failure. Current monitoring systems are heavily reliant on point sensors which can be difficult to interpret across slope scale. This paper presents challenges to producing such a system and research being carried out to address some of these using electrical resistance tomography (ERT). Experimental results show that whilst it is possible to measure soil water content indirectly via resistivity the relationship between resistivity and water content will change over time for a given slope. If geotechnical parameters such as pore water pressure are to be estimated using this method then ERT systems will require integrating with more conventional geotechnical instrumentation to ensure correct representative information is provided. The paper also presents examples of how such data can be processed and communicated to asset owners for the purposes of asset management
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis with Gaussian Inhomogeneous Neutrino Degeneracy
We consider the effect of inhomogeneous neutrino degeneracy on Big Bang
nucleosynthesis for the case where the distribution of neutrino chemical
potentials is given by a Gaussian. The chemical potential fluctuations are
taken to be isocurvature, so that only inhomogeneities in the electron chemical
potential are relevant. Then the final element abundances are a function only
of the baryon-photon ratio , the effective number of additional neutrinos
, the mean electron neutrino degeneracy parameter , and
the rms fluctuation of the degeneracy parameter, . We find that for
fixed , , and , the abundances of helium-4,
deuterium, and lithium-7 are, in general, increasing functions of .
Hence, the effect of adding a Gaussian distribution for the electron neutrino
degeneracy parameter is to decrease the allowed range for . We show that
this result can be generalized to a wide variety of distributions for .Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, added discussion of neutrino oscillations,
altered presentation of figure
Research-informed design, management and maintenance of infrastructure slopes: development of a multi-scalar approach
The UKâs transport infrastructure is one of the most heavily used in the world. The performance of these networks is critically dependent on the performance of cutting and embankment slopes which make up ÂŁ20B of the ÂŁ60B asset value of major highway infrastructure alone. The rail network in particular is also one of the oldest in the world: many of these slopes are suffering high incidents of instability (increasing with time). This paper describes the development of a fundamental understanding of earthwork material and system behaviour, through the systematic integration of research across a range of spatial and temporal scales. Spatially these range from microscopic studies of soil fabric, through elemental materials behaviour to whole slope modelling and monitoring and scaling up to transport networks. Temporally, historical and current weather event sequences are being used to understand and model soil deterioration processes, and climate change scenarios to examine their potential effects on slope performance in futures up to and including the 2080s. The outputs of this research are being mapped onto the different spatial and temporal scales of infrastructure slope asset management to inform the design of new slopes through to changing the way in which investment is made into aging assets. The aim ultimately is to help create a more reliable, cost effective, safer and more resilient transport system
Hadronization effects in event shape moments
We study the moments of hadronic event shapes in annihilation within
the context of next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) perturbative QCD
predictions combined with non-perturbative power corrections in the dispersive
model. This model is extended to match upon the NNLO perturbative prediction.
The resulting theoretical expression has been compared to experimental data
from JADE and OPAL, and a new value for has been determined, as
well as of the average coupling in the non-perturbative region below
GeV within the dispersive model:
\alpha_s(M_Z)&=0.1153\pm0.0017(\mathrm{exp})\pm0.0023(\mathrm{th}),\alpha_0&=0.5132\pm0.0115(\mathrm{exp})\pm0.0381(\mathrm{th}),
The precision of the value has been improved in comparison to
the previously available next-to-leading order analysis. We observe that the
resulting power corrections are considerably larger than those estimated from
hadronization models in multi-purpose event generator programs.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures, 15 tables. Few minor changes. Version accepted
for publication in European Physical Journal C
Measurement of the W+W-gamma Cross Section and Direct Limits on Anomalous Quartic Gauge Boson Couplings at LEP
The process e+e- -> W+W-gamma is analysed using the data collected with the
L3 detector at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6GeV, corresponding to an
integrated luminosity of 176.8pb^-1. Based on a sample of 42 selected W+W-
candidates containing an isolated hard photon, the W+W-gamma cross section,
defined within phase-space cuts, is measured to be: sigma_WWgamma = 290 +/- 80
+/- 16 fb, consistent with the Standard Model expectation. Including the
process e+e- -> nu nu gamma gamma, limits are derived on anomalous
contributions to the Standard Model quartic vertices W+W- gamma gamma and W+W-Z
gamma at 95% CL: -0.043 GeV^-2 < a_0/Lambda^2 < 0.043 GeV^-2 0.08 GeV^-2 <
a_c/Lambda^2 < 0.13 GeV^-2 0.41 GeV^-2 < a_n/Lambda^2 < 0.37 GeV^-2
Study of the e+e- -> Z gamma gamma -> q q~ gamma gamma Process at LEP
The process e^+e^- -> Z gamma gamma -> q q~ gamma gamma is studied in 0.5
fb-1 of data collected with the L3 detector at centre-of-mass energies between
130.1 GeV and 201.7 GeV. Cross sections are measured and found to be consistent
with the Standard Model expectations. The study of the least energetic photon
constrains the quartic gauge boson couplings to -0.008 GeV-2 < a_0/\Lambda^2 <
0.005 GeV-2 and -0.007 GeV-2 < a_c/\Lambda^2 < 0.011 GeV-2, at 95% confidence
level
Rootâlesion nematodes of potato: current status of diagnostics, pathogenicity and management
Rootâlesion nematodes of the genus Pratylenchus are migratory endoparasites with worldwide economic impact on several important crops including potato, where certain species like P. penetrans, P. neglectus and P. scribneri reduce the yield and quality of potato tubers. Morphological identification of Pratylenchus spp. is challenging, and recent advancements in molecular techniques provide robust and rapid diagnostics to differentiate species without need of specialist skills. However, the fact that molecular diagnostics are not available for all Pratylenchus species means that there are limitations in worldwide application. In general, rootâlesion nematodes are difficult to manage once introduced into agricultural land and damage can be related to pathogenicity and population densities. In addition, rootâlesion nematodes interact with fungi such as V. dahliae, resulting in disease complexes that enhance the damage inflicted on the potato crop. Management interventions are often focused on limiting nematode reproduction before planting crops and include the application of nematicides, and cultural practices such as crop rotation, cover crops, biofumigation, and biological control. Understanding the limitations of the available crop protection strategies is important and there are many gaps for further study. This review discusses the status of the diagnosis, distribution, pathogenicity and management of the main species of rootâlesion nematodes, reported to infect potatoes worldwide, and highlights areas for potential future research
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