6,366 research outputs found
Hydrologic Properties of Subarctic Organic Soils
Completion Report
for
U. S. Forest Service
Institute of Northern Forestry
Cooperative Agreement No. 16 USC 581; 581a-581iThe need for understanding the natural system and how it responds
to various stresses is important; this is especially so in an environment
where the climate not only sustains permafrost, but develops
massive seasonal frost as well. Consequently, the role of the shallow
surface organic layer is also quite important. Since a slight change in
the soil thermal regime may bring about a phase change in the water or
ice, therefore, the system response to surface alterations such as
burning can be quite severe. The need for a better understanding of the
behavior and properties of the organic layer is, therefore, accentuated.
The central theme of this study was the examination of the hydrologic
and hydraulic properties of subarctic organic soils. Summarized
in this paper are the results of three aspects of subarctic organic soil
examinations conducted during the duration of the project. First, a
field site was set up in Washington Creek with the major emphasis on
measuring numerous variables of that soil system during the summer. The
greatest variations in moisture content occur in the thick organic soils
that exist at this site. Our major emphasis was to study the soil
moisture levels in these soils. This topic is covered in the first
major section, including associated laboratory studies. Those laboratory
studies include investigations of several hydraulic and hydrologic
properties of taiga organic and mineral soils. Second, some field data
on organic moisture levels was collected at the site of prescribed burns
in Washington Creek to ascertain the sustainability of fires as a function
of moisture levels. This portion of the study is described under the
second major heading. The last element of this study was a continued
application of the two-dimensional flow model that was developed in an
earlier study funded by the U. S. Forest Service, Institute of Northern
Forestry, and reported by Kane, Luthin, and Taylor (1975a).
Many of the results and concepts gathered in the field work were
integrated into the modeling effort, which is aimed at producing better
estimates of the hydrologic effects of surface disturbances in the black
spruce taiga subarctic ecosystem. This knowledge should also contribute
to better fire management decisions of the same system.The work upon which this report is based was made possible by a
cooperative aid agreement funded by the U. S. Forest Service, Institute
of Northern Forestry, Fairbanks, Alaska. Contribution to this study was
also made by Ohio State University
Effective temperatures of a heated Brownian particle
We investigate various possible definitions of an effective temperature for a
particularly simple nonequilibrium stationary system, namely a heated Brownian
particle suspended in a fluid. The effective temperature based on the
fluctuation dissipation ratio depends on the time scale under consideration, so
that a simple Langevin description of the heated particle is impossible. The
short and long time limits of this effective temperature are shown to be
consistent with the temperatures estimated from the kinetic energy and Einstein
relation, respectively. The fluctuation theorem provides still another
definition of the temperature, which is shown to coincide with the short time
value of the fluctuation dissipation ratio
Tubular structures of GaS
In this Brief Report we demonstrate, using density-functional tight-binding theory, that gallium sulfide (GaS) tubular nanostructures are stable and energetically viable. The GaS-based nanotubes have a semiconducting direct gap which grows towards the value of two-dimensional hexagonal GaS sheet and is in contrast to carbon nanotubes largely independent of chirality. We further report on the mechanical properties of the GaS-based nanotubes
First measurements of the flux integral with the NIST-4 watt balance
In early 2014, construction of a new watt balance, named NIST-4, has started
at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In a watt
balance, the gravitational force of an unknown mass is compensated by an
electromagnetic force produced by a coil in a magnet system. The
electromagnetic force depends on the current in the coil and the magnetic flux
integral. Most watt balances feature an additional calibration mode, referred
to as velocity mode, which allows one to measure the magnetic flux integral to
high precision. In this article we describe first measurements of the flux
integral in the new watt balance. We introduce measurement and data analysis
techniques to assess the quality of the measurements and the adverse effects of
vibrations on the instrument.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in IEEE Trans. Instrum.
Meas. This Journal can be found online at
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=1
Bilayer Membrane in Confined Geometry: Interlayer Slide and Steric Repulsion
We derived free energy functional of a bilayer lipid membrane from the first
principles of elasticity theory. The model explicitly includes
position-dependent mutual slide of monolayers and bending deformation. Our free
energy functional of liquid-crystalline membrane allows for incompressibility
of the membrane and vanishing of the in-plane shear modulus and obeys
reflectional and rotational symmetries of the flat bilayer. Interlayer slide at
the mid-plane of the membrane results in local difference of surface densities
of the monolayers. The slide amplitude directly enters free energy via the
strain tensor. For small bending deformations the ratio between bending modulus
and area compression coefficient, Kb/KA, is proportional to the square of
monolayer thickness, h. Using the functional we performed self-consistent
calculation of steric potential acting on bilayer between parallel confining
walls separated by distance 2d. We found that temperature-dependent curvature
at the minimum of confining potential is enhanced four times for a bilayer with
slide as compared with a unit bilayer. We also calculate viscous modes of
bilayer membrane between confining walls. Pure bending of the membrane is
investigated, which is decoupled from area dilation at small amplitudes. Three
sources of viscous dissipation are considered: water and membrane viscosities
and interlayer drag. Dispersion has two branches. Confinement between the walls
modifies the bending mode with respect to membrane in bulk solution.
Simultaneously, inter-layer slipping mode, damped by viscous drag, remains
unchanged by confinement.Comment: 23 pages,3 figures, pd
Stresses in lipid membranes
The stresses in a closed lipid membrane described by the Helfrich
hamiltonian, quadratic in the extrinsic curvature, are identified using
Noether's theorem. Three equations describe the conservation of the stress
tensor: the normal projection is identified as the shape equation describing
equilibrium configurations; the tangential projections are consistency
conditions on the stresses which capture the fluid character of such membranes.
The corresponding torque tensor is also identified. The use of the stress
tensor as a basis for perturbation theory is discussed. The conservation laws
are cast in terms of the forces and torques on closed curves. As an
application, the first integral of the shape equation for axially symmetric
configurations is derived by examining the forces which are balanced along
circles of constant latitude.Comment: 16 pages, introduction rewritten, other minor changes, new references
added, version to appear in Journal of Physics
GlobVolcano Project Overview
The GlobVolcano project is part of the ESA DUE
programme. The project aims at demonstrating EO-based
services to support the Volcanological Observatories and other
mandate users (e.g. Civil Protection authorities, scientific
communities of volcanoes) in their monitoring activities.
During the project a worldwide selection of user organizations
will cooperate with the GlobVolcano team in order to harmonize
user’s requirements and to evaluate the EO-based services . The
“Osservatorio Vesuviano” of Naples (INGV-Italy) coordinates
the communications between the project and the User
Community. IPGP of Paris is responsible for the scientific
coordination and the validation activities.
The project activities are split in two phases. During the first
phase (completed in June 2008) the service infrastructure and
interface to the users have been developed. Prototype EO-based
information products have been generated and validated. Service
provision on pre-operational basis will take place during the
second phase
Right hemihepatectomy for bile duct injury following laparoscopic cholecystectomy
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has become the treatment of choice for patients with symptomatic cholecystolithiasis. But with the introduction of this technique, the incidence of bile duct injuries has increased. We report the case of a 33-year-old man who was transferred from an affiliated hospital to our department for the treatment of a bile duct injury 2 weeks after LC. Prior to transfer, a laparotomy had been performed, with insertion of a T-tube and a Robinson drain on day 5 after LC. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) on admission day revealed an extensive defect of the right biliary system, which could not be treated endoscopically. An emergency laparotomy had to be performed at night for acute bleeding from the portal vein. Due to massive inflammation in the porta hepatis and intraparenchymal destruction of the right bile duct, liver resection was performed 2 days later, after the patient had stabilized in the intensive care unit (ICU). The patient had a prolonged postoperative course, but he finally recovered well from these operations. In conclusion, the management of bile duct injuries should include ultrasound to detect and drain fluid collections and ERC to classify the injury. Emergency laparotomy should never be performed without these examinations, since the majority of bile duct injuries can be treated endoscopically. Surgery for this serious complication should always be performed at specialized centers for hepatobiliary surger
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