213 research outputs found
A small universe after all?
The cosmic microwave background radiation allows us to measure both the
geometry and topology of the universe. It has been argued that the COBE-DMR
data already rule out models that are multiply connected on scales smaller than
the particle horizon. Here we show the opposite is true: compact (small)
hyperbolic universes are favoured over their infinite counterparts. For a
density parameter of Omega_o=0.3, the compact models are a better fit to
COBE-DMR (relative likelihood ~20) and the large-scale structure data (sigma_8
increases by ~25%).Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, 7 Figure
Simulating Cosmic Microwave Background maps in multi-connected spaces
This article describes the computation of cosmic microwave background
anisotropies in a universe with multi-connected spatial sections and focuses on
the implementation of the topology in standard CMB computer codes. The key
ingredient is the computation of the eigenmodes of the Laplacian with boundary
conditions compatible with multi-connected space topology. The correlators of
the coefficients of the decomposition of the temperature fluctuation in
spherical harmonics are computed and examples are given for spatially flat
spaces and one family of spherical spaces, namely the lens spaces. Under the
hypothesis of Gaussian initial conditions, these correlators encode all the
topological information of the CMB and suffice to simulate CMB maps.Comment: 33 pages, 55 figures, submitted to PRD. Higher resolution figures
available on deman
Cosmic microwave background anisotropies in multi-connected flat spaces
This article investigates the signature of the seventeen multi-connected flat
spaces in cosmic microwave background (CMB) maps. For each such space it
recalls a fundamental domain and a set of generating matrices, and then goes on
to find an orthonormal basis for the set of eigenmodes of the Laplace operator
on that space. The basis eigenmodes are expressed as linear combinations of
eigenmodes of the simply connected Euclidean space. A preceding work, which
provides a general method for implementing multi-connected topologies in
standard CMB codes, is then applied to simulate CMB maps and angular power
spectra for each space. Unlike in the 3-torus, the results in most
multi-connected flat spaces depend on the location of the observer. This effect
is discussed in detail. In particular, it is shown that the correlated circles
on a CMB map are generically not back-to-back, so that negative search of
back-to-back circles in the WMAP data does not exclude a vast majority of flat
or nearly flat topologies.Comment: 33 pages, 19 figures, 1 table. Submitted to PR
CFRP flexural and shear strengthening technique for RC beams : experimental and numerical research
Near surface mounted (NSM) technique has proved to be a very effective
technique for the flexural strengthening of RC beams. Due to the relatively small
thickness of the concrete cover that several beams present, cutting the bottom arm of
steel stirrups for the installation of NSM laminates might be a possible strategy, whose
implications on the beam’s load carrying capacity need to be assessed. When steel
stirrups are cut, however, the shear resistance can be a concern. This also happens
when a strengthening intervention is carried out to increase the flexural resistance of a
beam, since in certain cases it is also necessary to increase the shear resistance in order
to avoid the occurrence of brittle shear failure. The present work assesses the
effectiveness of a technique that aims to increase both the flexural and shear resistance
of RC beams that have the bottom arm of the steel stirrups cut for the application of
NSM laminates. This assessment is performed by experimental and numerical
research. The main results of the experimental program are presented and analyzed,
and the innovative aspects of a constitutive model implemented in a computer program
are described, being their virtues and deficiencies discussed.The study reported in this paper forms a part of the research program "CUTINEMO - Carbon fiber laminates applied according to the near surface mounted technique to increase the flexural resistance to negative moments of continuous reinforced concrete structures" supported by FCT, PTDC/ECM/73099/2006. The authors wish to acknowledge the support also provided by the S&P, Casais and Artecanter Companies. The second Author acknowledges the grant under the aforementioned research project. The third author acknowledges the financial support of FCT, PhD Grant number SFRH/BD/23326/2005
Sociology, environment and health: a materialist approach
Objectives: This paper reviews the sociology of environment and health and makes the case
for a postanthropocentric approach based on new materialist theory. This perspective fully
incorporates humans and their health into ‘the environment’, and in place of humancentred
concerns considers the forces that constrain or enhance environmental capacities.
Study design: This is not an empirical study. The paper uses a hypothetical vignette concerning
child health and air pollution to explore the new materialist model advocated in
the paper.
Methods: This paper used sociological analysis.
Results: A new materialist and postanthropocentric sociology of environment and health
are possible. This radically reconfigures both sociological theory and its application to
research and associated policies on health and the environment. Theoretically, human
health is rethought as one among a number of capacities emerging from humans interactions
with the social and natural world. Practically, the focus of intervention and
policy shifts towards fostering social and natural interactions that enhance environmental
(and in the process, human) potentiality.
Conclusions: This approach to research and policy development has relevance for public
health practice and polic
The Stroop revisited: a meta-analysis of interference control in AD/HD
Background: An inhibition deficit, including poor interference control, has been implicated as one of the core deficits in AD/HD. Interference control is clinically measured by the Stroop Colour-Word Task. The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate the strength of an interference deficit in AD/HD as measured by the Stroop Colour-Word Task and to assess the role of moderating variables that could explain the results. These moderating variables included: methods of calculating the interference score, comorbid reading and psychiatric disorders, AD/HD-subtypes, gender, age, intellectual functioning, medication, and sample size. Methods: Seventeen independent studies were located including 1395 children, adolescents, and young adults, in the age range of 6-27 years. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effect sizes for the scores on the word and the colour card as well as the interference score. Results: Children with AD/HD performed more poorly on all three dependent variables. The effect sizes for word reading (d = .49) and colour naming (d = .58) were larger and more homogeneous than the effect size for the interference score (d = .35). The method used to calculate the interference score strongly influenced the findings for this measure. When interference control was calculated as the difference between the score on the colour card minus the score on the colour-word card, no differences were found between AD/HD groups and normal control groups. Discussion: The Stroop Colour-Word Task, in standard form, does not provide strong evidence for a deficit in interference control in AD/HD. However, the Stroop Colour-Word Task may not be a valid measure of interference control in AD/HD and alternative methodologies may be needed to test this aspect of the inhibitory deficit model in AD/HD. © Association for Child Psychology Psychiatry, 2004
Flexural strengthening of RC continuous slab strips using NSM CFRP laminates
To assess the effectiveness of the near surface mounted (NSM) technique, in terms of load carrying and moment
redistribution capacities, for the flexural strengthening of continuous reinforced concrete (RC) slabs, an
experimental program was carried out. The experimental program is composed of three series of three slab strips of
two equal span length, in order to verify the possibility of increasing the negative (at the intermediate support
region) resisting bending moment in 25% and 50% and maintaining moment redistribution levels of 15%, 30% and
45%. Though the flexural resistance of the NSM strengthened sections has exceeded the target values, the moment
redistribution was relatively low, and the increase of the load carrying capacity of the strengthened slabs did not
exceed 25%. This experimental program is analyzed to highlight the possibilities of NSM technique for statically
indeterminate RC slabs in terms of flexural strengthening effectiveness, moment redistribution and ductility
performance. Using a FEM-based computer program, which predictive performance was appraised using the
obtained experimental results, a high effective NSM flexural strengthening strategy is proposed, capable of
enhancing the slab’s load carrying capacity and maintaining high levels of ductility.The study reported in this paper forms a part of the research program "CUTINEMO - Carbon fiber laminates applied according to the near surface mounted technique to increase the flexural resistance to negative moments of continuous reinforced concrete structures" supported by FCT, PTDC/ECM/73099/2006. The authors wish to acknowledge the support also provided by the S&P, Casais and Artecanter Companies. The first Author acknowledges the financial support of National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) - Brazil, Ph.D. Grant no. 200953/2007-9. The second Author wishes to acknowledge the support provided by FCT, by means of the SFRH/BSAB/818/2008 and SFRH/BSAB/913/2009 sabbatical grants
Origins of the Ambient Solar Wind: Implications for Space Weather
The Sun's outer atmosphere is heated to temperatures of millions of degrees,
and solar plasma flows out into interplanetary space at supersonic speeds. This
paper reviews our current understanding of these interrelated problems: coronal
heating and the acceleration of the ambient solar wind. We also discuss where
the community stands in its ability to forecast how variations in the solar
wind (i.e., fast and slow wind streams) impact the Earth. Although the last few
decades have seen significant progress in observations and modeling, we still
do not have a complete understanding of the relevant physical processes, nor do
we have a quantitatively precise census of which coronal structures contribute
to specific types of solar wind. Fast streams are known to be connected to the
central regions of large coronal holes. Slow streams, however, appear to come
from a wide range of sources, including streamers, pseudostreamers, coronal
loops, active regions, and coronal hole boundaries. Complicating our
understanding even more is the fact that processes such as turbulence,
stream-stream interactions, and Coulomb collisions can make it difficult to
unambiguously map a parcel measured at 1 AU back down to its coronal source. We
also review recent progress -- in theoretical modeling, observational data
analysis, and forecasting techniques that sit at the interface between data and
theory -- that gives us hope that the above problems are indeed solvable.Comment: Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Special issue
connected with a 2016 ISSI workshop on "The Scientific Foundations of Space
Weather." 44 pages, 9 figure
Modification of forests by people means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity
Many global environmental agendas, including halting biodiversity loss, reversing land degradation, and limiting climate change, depend upon retaining forests with high ecological integrity, yet the scale and degree of forest modification remain poorly quantified and mapped. By integrating data on observed and inferred human pressures and an index of lost connectivity, we generate a globally consistent, continuous index of forest condition as determined by the degree of anthropogenic modification. Globally, only 17.4 million km2 of forest (40.5%) has high landscape-level integrity (mostly found in Canada, Russia, the Amazon, Central Africa, and New Guinea) and only 27% of this area is found in nationally designated protected areas. Of the forest inside protected areas, only 56% has high landscape-level integrity. Ambitious policies that prioritize the retention of forest integrity, especially in the most intact areas, are now urgently needed alongside current efforts aimed at halting deforestation and restoring the integrity of forests globally
Marker assisted identification of tospovirus resistant tomato genotypes in segregating progenies
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