Using the SWAT model to improve process descriptions and define hydrologic partitioning in South Korea

Watershed-scale modeling can be a valuable tool to aid in quantification of water quality and yield; however, several challenges remain. In many watersheds, it is difficult to adequately quantify hydrologic partitioning. Data scarcity is prevalent, accuracy of spatially distributed meteorology is difficult to quantify, forest encroachment and land use issues are common, and surface water and groundwater abstractions substantially modify watershed-based processes. Our objective is to assess the capability of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to capture event-based and long-term monsoonal rainfall–runoff processes in complex mountainous terrain. To accomplish this, we developed a unique quality-control, gap-filling algorithm for interpolation of high-frequency meteorological data. We used a novel multi-location, multi-optimization calibration technique to improve estimations of catchment-wide hydrologic partitioning. The interdisciplinary model was calibrated to a unique combination of statistical, hydrologic, and plant growth metrics. Our results indicate scale-dependent sensitivity of hydrologic partitioning and substantial influence of engineered features. The addition of hydrologic and plant growth objective functions identified the importance of culverts in catchment-wide flow distribution. While this study shows the challenges of applying the SWAT model to complex terrain and extreme environments; by incorporating anthropogenic features into modeling scenarios, we can enhance our understanding of the hydroecological impact

Epidemic space

The aim of this article is to highlight the importance of 'spatiality' in understanding the materialization of risk society and cultivation of risk sensibilities. More specifically it provides a cultural analysis of pathogen virulence (as a social phenomenon) by means of tracing and mapping the spatial flows that operate in the uncharted zones between the microphysics of infection and the macrophysics of epidemics. It will be argued that epidemic space consists of three types of forces: the vector, the index and the vortex. It will draw on Latour's Actor Network Theory to argue that epidemic space is geared towards instability when the vortex (of expanding associations and concerns) displaces the index (of finding a single cause)

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13  TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Identifying the transcriptional response of cancer and inflammation-related genes in lung cells in relation to ambient air chemical mixtures in Houston, Texas

Atmospheric pollution represents a complex mixture of air chemicals that continually interact and transform, making it difficult to accurately evaluate associated toxicity responses representative of real-world exposure. This study leveraged data from a previously published article and reevaluated lung cell transcriptional response induced by outdoor atmospheric pollution mixtures using field-based exposure conditions in the industrialized Houston Ship Channel. The tested hypothesis was that individual and co-occurring chemicals in the atmosphere relate to altered expression of critical genes involved in inflammation and cancer-related processes in lung cells. Human lung cells were exposed at an air−liquid interface to ambient air mixtures for 4 h, with experiments replicated across 5 days. Real-time monitoring of primary and secondary gas-phase pollutants, as well as other atmospheric conditions, was simultaneously conducted. Transcriptional analysis of exposed cells identified critical genes showing differential expression associated with both individual and chemical mixtures. The individual pollutant identified with the largest amount of associated transcriptional response was benzene. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRFN1) were identified as key upstream transcription factor regulators of the cellular response to benzene. This study is among the first to measure lung cell transcriptional responses in relation to real-world, gas-phase air mixtures

Plastic Laminate Pulsed Power Development

The desire to move high-energy Pulsed Power systems from the laboratory to practical field systems requires the development of compact lightweight drivers. This paper concerns an effort to develop such a system based on a plastic laminate strip Blumlein as the final pulseshaping stage for a 600 kV, 50ns, 5-ohm driver. A lifetime and breakdown study conducted with small-area samples identified Kapton sheet impregnated with Propylene Carbonate as the best material combination of those evaluated. The program has successfully demonstrated techniques for folding large area systems into compact geometry's and vacuum impregnating the laminate in the folded systems. The major operational challenges encountered revolve around edge grading and low inductance, low impedance switching. The design iterations and lessons learned are discussed. A multistage prototype testing program has demonstrated 600kV operation on a short 6ns line. Full-scale prototypes are currently undergoing development and testing