Aggregates : is there a need for indigenous production in England?

Quality of life in a modern society depends on having the right infrastructure, of the right quality, in the right places – housing, schools, hospitals, transport links, workplaces and recreation facilities. All these elements of the built environment require aggregates in their construction. However many people today fail to make the connection between their standard of living and the quarries that are required to provide that standard. With the opposition to mineral extraction becoming more vociferous and with increasing competition for land uses, this research project, funded through the Aggregates Levy, examined England’s true ‘need’ for aggregates together with the costs and benefits to society and the economy of indigenous supply. It also considered whether it is physically possible to import large quantities of aggregates and assessed the likely implications of doing so. The research found that the demand for aggregates is created by society’s desire for a high standard of living and that the true ‘need’ is to meet that demand. It determined that aggregates extraction directly contributes £810 million to the English economy and this outweighs the estimated environmental cost of indigenous extraction of approximately £445 million. England’s current aggregates requirement is more than double the existing port capacity for dry bulk cargoes and importing large quantities of aggregates would likely double the cost of this material, with serious consequences for downstream industries. There will continue to be a need to meet demand for aggregates and this will have to be provided mainly from indigenous sources for the foreseeable future

The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey

We present a number of notable results from the VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey (VFTS), an ESO Large Program during which we obtained multi-epoch medium-resolution optical spectroscopy of a very large sample of over 800 massive stars in the 30 Doradus region of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This unprecedented data-set has enabled us to address some key questions regarding atmospheres and winds, as well as the evolution of (very) massive stars. Here we focus on O-type runaways, the width of the main sequence, and the mass-loss rates for (very) massive stars. We also provide indications for the presence of a top-heavy initial mass function (IMF) in 30 Dor.Comment: 7 Figures, 8 pages. Invited talk: IAUS 329: "The Lives and Death-Throes of Massive Stars

Interpreting the seasonal cycles of atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations at American Samoa Observatory

We present seven years of atmospheric O2/N2 ratio and CO2 concentration data measured from flask samples collected at American Samoa. These data are unusual, exhibiting higher short-term variability, and seasonal cycles not in phase with other sampling stations. The unique nature of atmospheric data from Samoa has been noted previously from measurements of CO2, methyl chloroform, and ozone. With our O2 data, we observe greater magnitude in the short-term variability, but, in contrast, no clear seasonal pattern to this variability. This we attribute to significant regional sources and sinks existing for O2 in both hemispheres, and a dependence on both the latitudinal and altitudinal origins of air masses. We also hypothesize that some samples exhibit a component of "older" air, demonstrating recirculation of air within the tropics. Our findings could be used to help constrain atmospheric transport models which are not well characterized in tropical regions

Spectral transitions in networks

We study the level spacing distribution p(s) in the spectrum of random networks. According to our numerical results, the shape of p(s) in the Erdos-Renyi (E-R) random graph is determined by the average degree , and p(s) undergoes a dramatic change when is varied around the critical point of the percolation transition, =1. When > 1, the p(s) is described by the statistics of the Gaussian Orthogonal Ensemble (GOE), one of the major statistical ensembles in Random Matrix Theory, whereas at =1 it follows the Poisson level spacing distribution. Closely above the critical point, p(s) can be described in terms of an intermediate distribution between Poisson and the GOE, the Brody-distribution. Furthermore, below the critical point p(s) can be given with the help of the regularised Gamma-function. Motivated by these results, we analyse the behaviour of p(s) in real networks such as the Internet, a word association network and a protein protein interaction network as well. When the giant component of these networks is destroyed in a node deletion process simulating the networks subjected to intentional attack, their level spacing distribution undergoes a similar transition to that of the E-R graph.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey XIX. B-type Supergiants - Atmospheric parameters and nitrogen abundances to investigate the role of binarity and the width of the main sequence

TLUSTY non-LTE model atmosphere calculations have been used to determine atmospheric parameters and nitrogen (N) abundances for 34 single and 18 binary B-type supergiants (BSGs). The effects of flux contribution from an unseen secondary were considered for the binary sample. We present the first systematic study of the incidence of binarity for a sample of BSGs across the theoretical terminal age main sequence (TAMS). To account for the distribution of effective temperatures of the BSGs it may be necessary to extend the TAMS to lower temperatures. This is consistent with the derived distribution of mass discrepancies, projected rotational velocities (vsini) and N abundances, provided that stars cooler than this temperature are post RSG objects. For the BSGs in the Tarantula and previous FLAMES surveys, most have small vsini. About 10% have larger vsini (>100 km/s) but surprisingly these show little or no N enhancement. All the cooler BSGs have low vsini of <70km/s and high N abundance estimates, implying that either bi-stability braking or evolution on a blue loop may be important. A lack of cool binaries, possibly reflects the small sample size. Single star evolutionary models, which include rotation, can account for the N enhancement in both the single and binary samples. The detailed distribution of N abundances in the single and binary samples may be different, possibly reflecting differences in their evolutionary history. The first comparative study of single and binary BSGs has revealed that the main sequence may be significantly wider than previously assumed, extending to Teff=20000K. Some marginal differences in single and binary atmospheric parameters and abundances have been identified, possibly implying non-standard evolution for some of the sample. This sample as a whole has implications for several aspects of our understanding of the evolution of BSGs. Full abstract in paperComment: 21 pages, 15 figures, 11 table

Functional morphology of the forelimb of Early Miocene caviomorph rodents from Patagonia

Caviomorph rodents (New World Hystricognathi) are represented in the Santa Cruz Formation of Patagonia (Early Miocene, Santacrucian) by four superfamilies. From this unit, excellent cranial and associated postcranial remains of Neoreomys, Eocardia, Schistomys (Cavioidea), Perimys (Chinchilloidea) and Steiromys (Erethizontoidea) are known. To interpret their use of substrate, a comparative description of limb bones (scapula, humerus, radius and ulna) of the five genera was performed within a taxonomic and ecologically diverse sample of extant rodents. Using palaeobiological inferences based on the habits and functional morphology of members of the extant sample, hypotheses were generated for the use of substrate by the Santacrucian taxa. Neoreomys would have had a marked flexo-extension capacity of the humerus and a moderate flexion of the manus. This genus and Eocardia would have had a complete and stabilized forearm extension, with wide stride and moderate extension of the forearm for the latter. Schistomys presents features similar to Eocardia. Perimys would have had strong external rotation of the humerus, moderate flexion of the manus and moderate, complete and stabilized extension of the forearm. Steiromys would have had good pronation/supination capacity, strong internal rotation of the humerus and flexion of the forearm and manus. Neoreomys would have been ambulatory and an occasional runner. Eocardia and Schistomys would have been good runners. Perimys would have been a digger and Steiromys a climber. This morphological disparity reflects a high ecological diversity, compatible with differential use of space during the Santacrucian.Fil: Muñoz, Nahuel Antu. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Paleontología Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Toledo, Néstor. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Paleontología Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Candela, Adriana Magdalena. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Paleontología Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Vizcaíno, Sergio Fabián. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Paleontología Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentin

Ultra-Wide Band Radar Empowered Driver Drowsiness Detection with Convolutional Spatial Feature Engineering and Artificial Intelligence

Driving while drowsy poses significant risks, including reduced cognitive function and the potential for accidents, which can lead to severe consequences such as trauma, economic losses, injuries, or death. The use of artificial intelligence can enable effective detection of driver drowsiness, helping to prevent accidents and enhance driver performance. This research aims to address the crucial need for real-time and accurate drowsiness detection to mitigate the impact of fatigue-related accidents. Leveraging ultra-wideband radar data collected over five minutes, the dataset was segmented into one-minute chunks and transformed into grayscale images. Spatial features are retrieved from the images using a two-dimensional Convolutional Neural Network. Following that, these features were used to train and test multiple machine learning classifiers. The ensemble classifier RF-XGB-SVM, which combines Random Forest, XGBoost, and Support Vector Machine using a hard voting criterion, performed admirably with an accuracy of 96.6%. Additionally, the proposed approach was validated with a robust k-fold score of 97% and a standard deviation of 0.018, demonstrating significant results. The dataset is augmented using Generative Adversarial Networks, resulting in improved accuracies for all models. Among them, the RF-XGB-SVM model outperformed the rest with an accuracy score of 99.58%