6,098 research outputs found
HZETRN: A heavy ion/nucleon transport code for space radiations
The galactic heavy ion transport code (GCRTRN) and the nucleon transport code (BRYNTRN) are integrated into a code package (HZETRN). The code package is computer efficient and capable of operating in an engineering design environment for manned deep space mission studies. The nuclear data set used by the code is discussed including current limitations. Although the heavy ion nuclear cross sections are assumed constant, the nucleon-nuclear cross sections of BRYNTRN with full energy dependence are used. The relation of the final code to the Boltzmann equation is discussed in the context of simplifying assumptions. Error generation and propagation is discussed, and comparison is made with simplified analytic solutions to test numerical accuracy of the final results. A brief discussion of biological issues and their impact on fundamental developments in shielding technology is given
Effect of hydrofracking fluid on colloid transport in the unsaturated zone
Hydraulic fracturing is expanding rapidly in the US to meet increasing energy demand and requires high volumes of hydrofracking fluid to displace natural gas from shale. Accidental spills and deliberate land application of hydrofracking fluids, which return to the surface during hydrofracking, are common causes of environmental contamination. Since the chemistry of hydrofracking fluids favors transport of colloids and mineral particles through rock cracks, it may also facilitate transport of in situ colloids and associated pollutants in unsaturated soils. We investigated this by subsequently injecting deionized water and flowback fluid at increasing flow rates into unsaturated sand columns containing colloids. Colloid retention and mobilization was measured in the column effluent and visualized in situ with bright field microscopy. While <5% of initial colloids were released by flushing with deionized water, 32–36% were released by flushing with flowback fluid in two distinct breakthrough peaks. These peaks resulted from 1) surface tension reduction and steric repulsion and 2) slow kinetic disaggregation of colloid flocs. Increasing the flow rate of the flowback fluid mobilized an additional 36% of colloids, due to the expansion of water filled pore space. This study suggests that hydrofracking fluid may also indirectly contaminate groundwater by remobilizing existing colloidal pollutants
Testing mechanisms of compensatory fitness of dioecy in a cosexual world
Questions: All else being equal, populations of dioecious species with a 50:50 sex ratio have only half the effective reproductive population size of bisexual species of equal abundance. Consequently, there is a need to explain how dioecious and bisexual species coexist. Increased mean individual seed mass, fecundity, and population density have all been proposed as attributes of unisexual individuals or populations that may contribute to the persistence or resilience of dioecious species. To date, no studies have compared sympatric dioecious and cosexual species with respect to all three components of fitness. In this study, we sought evidence for these compensatory advantages (higher seed mass, greater seed production per unit basal area, and higher population density) in dioecious species. Location: Five 20–25 ha forest dynamic plots spanning a latitudinal gradient in China, including two temperate, two subtropical, and one tropical forest. Methods: We used a phylogenetically corrected generalized linear modelling approach to assess the phylogenetic dependence and joint evolution of sexual system, seed mass and production, and ecological abundances among 48–333 species and 32,568–136,237 individuals per forest. Results: Across all five forests, we detected no consistent advantage for dioecious relative to sympatric cosexual species with respect to mean individual seed mass, seed production or the density of stems in any size class. Conclusions: Our study suggests that seed traits may provide compensatory mechanisms in some forests, but most often the coexistence of sexual systems cannot be explained by advantages of dioecy related to seed quality and demographic parameters. Future investigations of the factors that promote coexistence may increase our understanding by expanding the search to include attributes such as lifespan and tolerance or resistance to herbivores
A new approximation scheme in quantum mechanics
An approximation method which combines the perturbation theory with the
variational calculation is constructed for quantum mechanical problems. Using
the anharmonic oscillator and the He atom as examples, we show that the present
method provides an efficient scheme in estimating both the ground and the
excited states. We also discuss the limitations of the present method.Comment: 14pages, to be published in Eur. J. Phy
BRYNTRN: A baryon transport model
The development of an interaction data base and a numerical solution to the transport of baryons through an arbitrary shield material based on a straight ahead approximation of the Boltzmann equation are described. The code is most accurate for continuous energy boundary values, but gives reasonable results for discrete spectra at the boundary using even a relatively coarse energy grid (30 points) and large spatial increments (1 cm in H2O). The resulting computer code is self-contained, efficient and ready to use. The code requires only a very small fraction of the computer resources required for Monte Carlo codes
Sustainability Dynamics of Traditional Villages: A Case Study in Qiannan Prefecture, Guizhou, China
Rapid urbanization has greatly changed traditional villages in rural areas of China. This paper aims to assess sustainability and obtain its spatio–temporal dynamics, analyze the cause of sustainability changing conditions, and offer suggestions on the sustainable development of traditional villages. We integrated human disturbances into a minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model based on land use, landscape patterns, and ecosystem service (ES) provision in order to evaluate the sustainability dynamics of traditional villages between 1995 and 2015 in the Qiannan Prefecture, China. The results showed that pronounced declines in sustainability were limited to the northern and eastern regions, where the degradation of forest ecosystems and the rapid increase in construction land have resulted in landscape fragmentation and ES decline. We suggest that scientific land use development plans and ecological restoration should be implemented to protect the ecosystem and improve the sustainability of traditional villages in Qiannan Prefecture
Tumour-associated macrophages and oncolytic virotherapies:a mathematical investigation into a complex dynamics
Anti-cancer therapies based on oncolytic viruses are emerging as important approaches in cancer treatment. However, the effectiveness of these therapies depends significantly on the interactions between the oncolytic viruses and the host immune response. Macrophages are one of the most important cell types in the anti-viral immune responses, by acting as a first line of defence against infections. Here, we consider a mathematical approach to investigate the possible outcomes of the interactions between two extreme phenotypes of macrophages (M1 and M2 cells) and an oncolytic virus (VSV), in the context of B16F10 melanoma. We show that polarization towards either an M1 or M2 phenotype can enhance oncolytic virus therapy through either (i) anti-tumour immune activation, or (ii) enhanced oncolysis. Moreover, we show that tumour reduction and elimination does not depend only on the ratio of M1:M2 cells, but also on the number of tumour-infiltrating macrophages
Remarks on Renormalization of Black Hole Entropy
We elaborate the renormalization process of entropy of a nonextremal and an
extremal Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m black hole by using the Pauli-Villars
regularization method, in which the regulator fields obey either the
Bose-Einstein or Fermi-Dirac distribution depending on their spin-statistics.
The black hole entropy involves only two renormalization constants. We also
discuss the entropy and temperature of the extremal black hole.Comment: 14 pages, revtex, no figure
Time-Resolved Intraband Relaxation of Strongly-Confined Electrons and Holes in Colloidal PbSe Nanocrystals
The relaxation of strongly-confined electrons and holes between 1P and 1S
levels in colloidal PbSe nanocrystals has been time-resolved using femtosecond
transient absorption spectroscopy. In contrast to II-VI and III-V semiconductor
nanocrystals, both electrons and holes are strongly confined in PbSe
nanocrystals. Despite the large electron and hole energy level spacings (at
least 12 times the optical phonon energy), we consistently observe picosecond
time-scale relaxation. Existing theories of carrier relaxation cannot account
for these experimental results. Mechanisms that could possibly circumvent the
phonon bottleneck in IV-VI quantum dots are discussed
Existence of a critical point in the phase diagram of the ideal relativistic neutral Bose gas
We explore the phase transitions of the ideal relativistic neutral Bose gas
confined in a cubic box, without assuming the thermodynamic limit nor
continuous approximation. While the corresponding non-relativistic canonical
partition function is essentially a one-variable function depending on a
particular combination of temperature and volume, the relativistic canonical
partition function is genuinely a two-variable function of them. Based on an
exact expression of the canonical partition function, we performed numerical
computations for up to hundred thousand particles. We report that if the number
of particles is equal to or greater than a critical value, which amounts to
7616, the ideal relativistic neutral Bose gas features a spinodal curve with a
critical point. This enables us to depict the phase diagram of the ideal Bose
gas. The consequent phase transition is first-order below the critical pressure
or second-order at the critical pressure. The exponents corresponding to the
singularities are 1/2 and 2/3 respectively. We also verify the recently
observed `Widom line' in the supercritical region.Comment: 1+25 pages, 6 B/W figures: Comment on the Widom line added. Minor
improvement. Version to appear in `New Journal of Physics
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