Modelling the engineering behaviour of fibrous peat formed due to rapid anthropogenic terrestrialization in Hangzhou, China

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in Engineering Geology on 21/10/2016, available online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2016.10.009 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Peat is a very variable but normally weak material. While engineering failures involving peat are common, the full diversity of engineering behaviours exhibited by peat has not been well classified due to its large range of possible compositions. This paper presents the behaviour of a fibrous peat which is a fill (made ground) originating from the most recent dredging of the West Lake, a site of cultural and historic importance in China. Given its relatively unique mechanism of deposition, the distinctive characteristics of this peat are presented in comparison to other peats reported in the literature highlighting its unique engineering behaviour. A laboratory study carried out on the peat at Jiangyangfan Eco-park, located in Hangzhou, China identifies that it has its special aspects when compared to other peats. The shearing behaviour of peat can be described using the framework of critical state theory. The most prominent characteristic of the West Lake Peat is that its undrained stress path bends towards the left at the very beginning of shearing which indicates that plastic deformation occurs at very small stress ratios. A constitutive model based on critical state theory for predicting the undrained shear behaviour of this type of peat from low stress to critical state levels is presented. This model also includes several elements of peat behaviour previously reported and it may therefore be applied to a wider range of peat soils

Effect of Chinese herbal medicines on rumen fermentation, methanogenesis and microbial flora in vitro

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of three Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) on rumen fermentation, methane emission and population of ruminal microbes using an in vitro gas production technique. Three healthy wethers of Dazu Black goats with similar bodyweights and permanent rumen fistulae were utilized as donors of ruminal fluid. The three botanical medicines were cablin patchouli herb (CPH), atractylodes rhizome (AR) and Amur cork tree (AC). Each CHM was added at a level of 25 g/kg to the substrate dry matter. In vitro gas production was recorded, and methane concentration was determined at 12 and 24 hours of incubation. After 24 hours, the incubation was stopped, and the inoculants were measured for pH, ammonia nitrogen and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentrations. Total deoxyribonucleic acid of ruminal microbes was extracted from the inocula, and populations were determined by a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Populations of total rumen methanogens, protozoa, total fungi, Ruminococcus albus, Fibrobacter succinogenes and Ruminococcus flavefaciens were expressed as a proportion of total rumen bacterial 16S ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid. Compared to the control, CPH decreased gas production and methane production at 12 and 24 hours of incubation, and inhibited methanogens and total fungi growth. AR decreased acetate to propionate ratio, and methanogens and total fungi populations, but increased propionate molar proportion. AC decreased total VFA concentration, acetate to propionate ratio, gas production at 12 and 24 hours of incubation, methane production at 12 and 24 hours of incubation, and methanogens and total fungi growth, but increased the propionate molar proportion. In conclusion, CPH and AC both suppressed methanogenesis significantly, and the suppression was mediated primarily via the direct action against the rumen microbes involved in methane formation. AC also indirectly abates methane release by occupying the hydrogen (H2) normally utilized for methanogenesis.Keywords: In vitro gas production, methane, rumen fermentation parameter, rumen microbe

Responses of chemical composition, amino acid and fatty acid profiles of breast muscle to dietary crude fibre levels in China Micro-Ducks

The effects of dietary crude fibre (CF) levels on the chemical composition, amino acid (AA) and fatty acid (FA) profiles of breast muscle in male China Micro-ducks (21 - 56 d) were investigated in this study. The birds were randomly allocated to four treatments, of which dietary CF levels were 16.7, 42.6, 77.9 and 101.6 g/kg of dry matter (DM), respectively. No influences on the proportions of crude ash, crude protein, lysine, methionine, threonine, phenylalanine, histidine, arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, alanine, serine, cysteine, tyrosine, proline, C12:0, C18:0, C18:1n9, C20:0 and C22:1n9 in muscle were observed across the treatments. Consequently, the concentrations of semi-essential AA, non-essential AA, total AA, aromatic AA and delicious AA in muscle, along with the Δ-9-desaturase (18) index, were not affected by the treatments. Significant lower concentrations of valine, leucine, isoleucine, essential AA, branched-chain AA, C16:1n7 and monounsaturated FA in muscle, along with a lower ratio of branched-chain to aromatic AA, were noted in a dietary treatment with a CF level of 16.7 g/kg DM compared to other dietary treatments. The rise of the dietary CF level significantly increased the proportions of DM, ether extract, gross energy, C18:2n6, C18:3n3, C20:4n6, unsaturated FA, total FA, polyunsaturated FA, n-3 polyunsaturated FA, n-6 polyunsaturated FA, essential FA, and the Δ-9-desaturase (16) index. Furthermore, the rise of the dietary CF level increased the ratios of unsaturated to saturated FA, polyunsaturated to saturated FA, and n-6 to n-3 polyunsaturated FA in muscle. However, it decreased the atherogenic index and the proportions of C14:0, C16:0, and saturated FA significantly. In conclusion, depending largely on dietary levels, CF profoundly and positively influenced the nutritional quality of breast muscle, especially the FA profile.Keywords: China Micro-duck, dietary fibre, fatty acid, nutritional quality of meat, fatty aci

A Measurement of Psi(2S) Resonance Parameters

Cross sections for e+e- to hadons, pi+pi- J/Psi, and mu+mu- have been measured in the vicinity of the Psi(2S) resonance using the BESII detector operated at the BEPC. The Psi(2S) total width; partial widths to hadrons, pi+pi- J/Psi, muons; and corresponding branching fractions have been determined to be Gamma(total)= (264+-27) keV; Gamma(hadron)= (258+-26) keV, Gamma(mu)= (2.44+-0.21) keV, and Gamma(pi+pi- J/Psi)= (85+-8.7) keV; and Br(hadron)= (97.79+-0.15)%, Br(pi+pi- J/Psi)= (32+-1.4)%, Br(mu)= (0.93+-0.08)%, respectively.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Measurements of the Mass and Full-Width of the ηc\eta_c Meson

In a sample of 58 million $J/\psi$ events collected with the BES II detector, the process J/$\psi\to\gamma\eta_c$ is observed in five different decay channels: $\gamma K^+K^-\pi^+\pi^-$, $\gamma\pi^+\pi^-\pi^+\pi^-$, $\gamma K^\pm K^0_S \pi^\mp$ (with $K^0_S\to\pi^+\pi^-$), $\gamma \phi\phi$ (with $\phi\to K^+K^-$) and $\gamma p\bar{p}$. From a combined fit of all five channels, we determine the mass and full-width of $\eta_c$ to be $m_{\eta_c}=2977.5\pm1.0 ({stat.})\pm1.2 ({syst.})$ MeV/$c^2$ and $\Gamma_{\eta_c} = 17.0\pm3.7 ({stat.})\pm7.4 ({syst.})$ MeV/$c^2$.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures and 4 table. Submitted to Phys. Lett.

Virtual Compton Scattering and Neutral Pion Electroproduction in the Resonance Region up to the Deep Inelastic Region at Backward Angles

We have made the first measurements of the virtual Compton scattering (VCS) process via the H$(e,e'p)\gamma$ exclusive reaction in the nucleon resonance region, at backward angles. Results are presented for the $W$-dependence at fixed $Q^2=1$ GeV$^2$, and for the $Q^2$-dependence at fixed $W$ near 1.5 GeV. The VCS data show resonant structures in the first and second resonance regions. The observed $Q^2$-dependence is smooth. The measured ratio of H$(e,e'p)\gamma$ to H$(e,e'p)\pi^0$ cross sections emphasizes the different sensitivity of these two reactions to the various nucleon resonances. Finally, when compared to Real Compton Scattering (RCS) at high energy and large angles, our VCS data at the highest $W$ (1.8-1.9 GeV) show a striking $Q^2$- independence, which may suggest a transition to a perturbative scattering mechanism at the quark level.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures. To appear in Phys.Rev.

Plasma Wakefield Acceleration with a Modulated Proton Bunch

The plasma wakefield amplitudes which could be achieved via the modulation of a long proton bunch are investigated. We find that in the limit of long bunches compared to the plasma wavelength, the strength of the accelerating fields is directly proportional to the number of particles in the drive bunch and inversely proportional to the square of the transverse bunch size. The scaling laws were tested and verified in detailed simulations using parameters of existing proton accelerators, and large electric fields were achieved, reaching 1 GV/m for LHC bunches. Energy gains for test electrons beyond 6 TeV were found in this case.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

The energy dependence of ptp_t angular correlations inferred from mean-ptp_{t} fluctuation scale dependence in heavy ion collisions at the SPS and RHIC

We present the first study of the energy dependence of $p_t$ angular correlations inferred from event-wise mean transverse momentum fluctuations in heavy ion collisions. We compare our large-acceptance measurements at CM energies $\sqrt{s_{NN}} =$ 19.6, 62.4, 130 and 200 GeV to SPS measurements at 12.3 and 17.3 GeV. $p_t$ angular correlation structure suggests that the principal source of $p_t$ correlations and fluctuations is minijets (minimum-bias parton fragments). We observe a dramatic increase in correlations and fluctuations from SPS to RHIC energies, increasing linearly with $\ln \sqrt{s_{NN}}$ from the onset of observable jet-related fluctuations near 10 GeV.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Measurement of the p-pbar -> Wgamma + X cross section at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV and WWgamma anomalous coupling limits

The WWgamma triple gauge boson coupling parameters are studied using p-pbar -> l nu gamma + X (l = e,mu) events at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV. The data were collected with the DO detector from an integrated luminosity of 162 pb^{-1} delivered by the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The cross section times branching fraction for p-pbar -> W(gamma) + X -> l nu gamma + X with E_T^{gamma} > 8 GeV and Delta R_{l gamma} > 0.7 is 14.8 +/- 1.6 (stat) +/- 1.0 (syst) +/- 1.0 (lum) pb. The one-dimensional 95% confidence level limits on anomalous couplings are -0.88 < Delta kappa_{gamma} < 0.96 and -0.20 < lambda_{gamma} < 0.20.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. D Rapid Communication

Measurement of the ttbar Production Cross Section in ppbar Collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV using Kinematic Characteristics of Lepton + Jets Events

We present a measurement of the top quark pair ttbar production cross section in ppbar collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV using 230 pb**{-1} of data collected by the DO detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We select events with one charged lepton (electron or muon), large missing transverse energy, and at least four jets, and extract the ttbar content of the sample based on the kinematic characteristics of the events. For a top quark mass of 175 GeV, we measure sigma(ttbar) = 6.7 {+1.4-1.3} (stat) {+1.6- 1.1} (syst) +/-0.4 (lumi) pb, in good agreement with the standard model prediction.Comment: submitted to Phys.Rev.Let