2,101 research outputs found
A method for defining down-wind evacuation areas for transportation accidents involving toxic propellant spills
Evacuation areas for accidental spills of toxic propellants along rail and highway shipping routes are defined to help local authorities reduce risks to people from excessive vapor concentrations. These criteria along with other emergency information are shown in propellant spill cards. The evacuation areas are based on current best estimates of propellant evaporation rates from various areas of spill puddles. These rates are used together with a continuous point-source, bi-normal model of plume dispersion. The rate at which the toxic plume disperses is based on a neutral atmospheric condition. This condition, which results in slow plume dispersion, represents the widest range of weather parameters which could occur during the day and nighttime periods. Evacuation areas are defined by the ground level boundaries of the plume within which the concentrations exceed the toxic Threshold Limit Value (TLV) or in some cases the Emergency Exposure Limit (EEL)
Fine particulate capture device
To capture fine particulate matter in a gas such as air, a dielectric fluid is directed to the center of whichever face of a rotating disc is exposed to the air flow. The disc is comprised of two or more segments which bear opposite electrostatic potentials. As the dielectric fluid is centrifuged towards the periphery of the rotating disc, the fluid becomes charged to the same potential as the segment over which it is passing. Particulate matter is attracted to the charged segment and is captured by the fluid. The fluid then carries the captured particulate matter to a collection device such as a toroidal container disposed around the periphery of the disc. A grounded electrically-conductive ring may be disposed at the outer periphery of the disc to neutralize the captured particles and the fluid before they enter the container
Thermopower of a superconducting single-electron transistor
We present a linear-response theory for the thermopower of a single-electron
transistor consisting of a superconducting island weakly coupled to two
normal-conducting leads (NSN SET). The thermopower shows oscillations with the
same periodicity as the conductance and is rather sensitive to the size of the
superconducting gap. In particular, the previously studied sawtooth-like shape
of the thermopower for a normal-conducting single-electron device is
qualitatively changed even for small gap energies.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
Quantum information transport to multiple receivers
The importance of transporting quantum information and entanglement with high
fidelity cannot be overemphasized. We present a scheme based on adiabatic
passage that allows for transportation of a qubit, operator measurements and
entanglement, using a 1-D array of quantum sites with a single sender (Alice)
and multiple receivers (Bobs). Alice need not know which Bob is the receiver,
and if several Bobs try to receive the signal, they obtain a superposition
state which can be used to realize two-qubit operator measurements for the
generation of maximally entangled states.Comment: Modified in view of referee's comments, new author added, natural
scheme for operator measurements identified, hence W state preparation
replaced with GHZ state preparation via operator measurements. 4 pages, 3
figure
Comparative Studies of Low-Intensity Short-Length Arcs
We present results obtained by two non-equilibrium modelling approaches and experiments on low-intensity short-length arcs in argon at atmospheric pressure. The first one considers a quasi-neutral arc column combined with boundary conditions on the electrodes based on the energy balance in the space-charge sheaths. The second approach applies a unified description over the entire gap and solves the Poisson equation for the self-consistent electric field. The experiments provide the arc voltage
Adaptive immune defense prevents Bartonella persistence upon trans-placental transmission
Vertical transmission of Bartonella infection has been reported for several mammalian species including mice and humans. Accordingly, it is commonly held that acquired immunological tolerance contributes critically to the high prevalence of Bartonellae in wild-ranging rodent populations. Here we studied an experimental model of Bartonella infection in mice to assess the impact of maternal and newborn immune defense on vertical transmission and bacterial persistence in the offspring, respectively. Congenital infection was frequently observed in B cell-deficient mothers but not in immunocompetent dams, which correlated with a rapid onset of an antibacterial antibody response in infected WT animals. Intriguingly, B cell-deficient offspring with congenital infection exhibited long-term bacteremia whereas B cell-sufficient offspring cleared bacteremia within a few weeks after birth. Clearance of congenital Bartonella infection resulted in immunity against bacterial rechallenge, with the animals mounting Bartonella-neutralizing antibody responses of normal magnitude. These observations reveal a key role for humoral immune defense by the mother and offspring in preventing and eliminating vertical transmission. Moreover, congenital Bartonella infection does not induce humoral immune tolerance but results in anti-bacterial immunity, questioning the contribution of neonatal tolerance to Bartonella prevalence in wild-ranging rodents
Coherent oscillations in a Cooper-pair box
This paper is devoted to an analysis of the experiment by Nakamura {\it et
al.} (Nature {\bf 398}, 786 (1999)) on the quantum state control in Josephson
junctions devices. By considering the relevant processes involved in the
detection of the charge state of the box and a realistic description of the
gate pulse we are able to analyze some aspects of the experiment (like the
amplitude of the measurement current) in a quantitative way
Coherent tunneling by adiabatic passage in an optical waveguide system
We report on the first experimental demonstration of light transfer in an
engineered triple-well optical waveguide structure which provides a classic
analogue of Coherent Tunnelling by Adiabatic Passage (CTAP) recently proposed
for coherent transport in space of neutral atoms or electrons among
tunneling-coupled optical traps or quantum wells [A.D. Greentree et al., Phys.
Rev. B 70, 235317 (2004); K. Eckert et al., Phys. Rev. A 70, 023606 (2004)].
The direct visualization of CTAP wavepacket dynamics enabled by our simple
optical system clearly shows that in the counterintuitive passage scheme light
waves tunnel between the two outer wells without appreciable excitation of the
middle well.Comment: submitted for publicatio
Assessment of soil organic matter supply: Challenges and opportunities
Soil organic matter (SOM) is recognized as an important factor for sustainable land use. Several analyzing techniques were focused on fractionation of soil organic carbon (SOC), on carbon sequestration, soil functions, or other approaches.
We combined SOC fractionation with studies on carbon sequestration. Thermogravimetry (TG, recording of mass losses during heating up of soil samples) was selected as a supplemental method to standard analyzing techniques for soils. TG provides recording of thermal mass losses in dependency on temperature what facilitate fractionation together with SOM content determination via mass losses on ignition (MLI). Autocorrelation analyses of TG data enable to assess the carbon sequestration processes.
After a gentle sample preparation, more than 370 soil samples in eight sample sets were analyzed from different types of soils and regions of origin.
The results extend literature data by revealing quantifiable interrelations between content of SOM, SOC and clay with a coefficient of determination around 0.98. Deviations from the relationship become lower during incubation experiments, with increasing sampling depth, and with decreasing organic fertilization in plots of long term agriculture field experiments etc. We explained these results with changing quantities of extraneous (mostly fresh) organic residues not affected by soil carbon content regulation. These organic residues seems to be quantifiable via difference between measured MLI and the MLI calculated from content of SOC and clay both determined by standard methods.
The practical use of found interrelation implies an acceptance of traditional definition of soil and SOM as products of long term ecosystem succession with content regulation as a unifying over regions soil feature. In contrast, the more common and simplified understanding of soil as carbon containing mineral substrates supports public recognition of soils. However, it does not facilitate the comparison of results from different regions and studies about soils.
We conclude from these considerations about obligatory distinction between following types of organic carbon as an essential precondition for assessment of SOM supply: 1. SOC (or humus) as a product of long term carbon regulation processes, 2. fresh organic residues, and carbon of 3. geologic (turf, coal, graphite, diamond, …) or 4. anthropogenic origin (black carbon in ashes, cinder, soot, asphalt)
Quantum algorithms for Josephson networks
We analyze possible implementations of quantum algorithms in a system of
(macroscopic) Josephson charge qubits. System layout and parameters to realize
the Deutsch algorithm with up to three qubits are provided. Special attention
is paid to the necessity of entangled states in the various implementations.
Further, we demonstrate explicitely that the gates to implement the
Bernstein-Vazirani algorithm can be realized by using a system of uncoupled
qubits
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