5,330 research outputs found
Implications for New Physics from Fine-Tuning Arguments: II. Little Higgs Models
We examine the fine-tuning associated to electroweak breaking in Little Higgs
scenarios and find it to be always substantial and, generically, much higher
than suggested by the rough estimates usually made. This is due to implicit
tunings between parameters that can be overlooked at first glance but show up
in a more systematic analysis. Focusing on four popular and representative
Little Higgs scenarios, we find that the fine-tuning is essentially comparable
to that of the Little Hierarchy problem of the Standard Model (which these
scenarios attempt to solve) and higher than in supersymmetric models. This does
not demonstrate that all Little Higgs models are fine-tuned, but stresses the
need of a careful analysis of this issue in model-building before claiming that
a particular model is not fine-tuned. In this respect we identify the main
sources of potential fine-tuning that should be watched out for, in order to
construct a successful Little Higgs model, which seems to be a non-trivial
goal.Comment: 39 pages, 26 ps figures, JHEP forma
Universality class of fiber bundles with strong heterogeneities
We study the effect of strong heterogeneities on the fracture of disordered
materials using a fiber bundle model. The bundle is composed of two subsets of
fibers, i.e. a fraction 0<\alpha<1 of fibers is unbreakable, while the
remaining 1-\alpha fraction is characterized by a distribution of breaking
thresholds. Assuming global load sharing, we show analytically that there
exists a critical fraction of the components \alpha_c which separates two
qualitatively different regimes of the system: below \alpha_c the burst size
distribution is a power law with the usual exponent \tau=5/2, while above
\alpha_c the exponent switches to a lower value \tau=9/4 and a cutoff function
occurs with a diverging characteristic size. Analyzing the macroscopic response
of the system we demonstrate that the transition is conditioned to disorder
distributions where the constitutive curve has a single maximum and an
inflexion point defining a novel universality class of breakdown phenomena
Toward optimal operation of multienergy home-microgrids for power balancing in distribution networks: a model predictive control approach
The energy policy objectives of the German government regarding renewable energy sources and energy efficiency will lead to a significantly increase in the share of photovoltaics, storage systems, CHP plants, and heat pumps, especially at the distribution grid level. In the future, inside a household, such systems must be coordinated in such a way that they can respond to variable network conditions as a single flexible unit. This dissertation defines home-microgrid as a residential building with integrated distributed energy resources, and follows a bottom-up approach, based on the cellular approach, which aims at improving local balancing in low-voltage grids by using the flexibilities of home-microgrids. For this purpose, the dissertation develops optimization-based strategies for the coordination of multienergy home-microgrids, focusing on the use of model predictive control. The main core of the work is the formulation of the underlying optimization problems and the investigation of coordination strategies for interconnected home-microgrids. In this context, the work presents the use of the dual decomposition and the alternating direction method of multipliers for hierarchical-distributed coordination strategies. Finally, this dissertation introduces a framework for the co-simulation of electrical networks with penetration of multienergy home-microgrids
Landslide Risk: Economic Valuation in the North-Eastern Zone of Medellin City
Natural disasters of a geodynamic nature can cause enormous economic and human losses. The economic costs of a landslide disaster include relocation of communities and physical repair of urban infrastructure. However, when performing a quantitative risk analysis, generally, the indirect economic consequences of such an event are not taken into account. A probabilistic approach methodology that considers several scenarios of hazard and vulnerability to measure the magnitude of the landslide and to quantify the economic costs is proposed. With this approach, it is possible to carry out a quantitative evaluation of the risk by landslides, allowing the calculation of the economic losses before a potential disaster in an objective, standardized and reproducible way, taking into account the uncertainty of the building costs in the study zone. The possibility of comparing different scenarios facilitates the urban planning process, the optimization of interventions to reduce risk to acceptable levels and an assessment of economic losses according to the magnitude of the damage. For the development and explanation of the proposed methodology, a simple case study is presented, located in north-eastern zone of the city of MedellĂn. This area has particular geomorphological characteristics, and it is also characterized by the presence of several buildings in bad structural conditions. The proposed methodology permits to obtain an estimative of the probable economic losses by earthquake-induced landslides, taking into account the uncertainty of the building costs in the study zone. The obtained estimative shows that the structural intervention of the buildings produces a reduction the order of 21 % in the total landslide risk. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd
Human myiasis in Ecuador.
We review epidemiological and clinical data on human myiasis from Ecuador, based on data from the Ministry of Public Health (MPH) and a review of the available literature for clinical cases. The larvae of four flies, Dermatobia hominis, Cochliomyia hominivorax, Sarcophaga haemorrhoidalis, and Lucilia eximia, were identified as the causative agents in 39 reported clinical cases. The obligate D. hominis, causing furuncular lesions, caused 17 (43.5%) cases distributed along the tropical Pacific coast and the Amazon regions. The facultative C. hominivorax was identified in 15 (38%) clinical cases, infesting wound and cavitary lesions including orbital, nasal, aural and vaginal, and occurred in both subtropical and Andean regions. C. hominivorax was also identified in a nosocomial hospital-acquired wound. Single infestations were reported for S. haemorrhoidalis and L. eximia. Of the 39 clinical cases, 8 (21%) occurred in tourists. Ivermectin, when it became available, was used to treat furuncular, wound, and cavitary lesions successfully. MPH data for 2013–2015 registered 2,187 cases of which 54% were reported in men; 46% occurred in the tropical Pacific coast, 30% in the temperate Andes, 24% in the tropical Amazon, and 0.2% in the Galapagos Islands. The highest annual incidence was reported in the Amazon (23 cases/100,000 population), followed by Coast (5.1/100,000) and Andes (4.7/100,000). Human myiasis is a neglected and understudied ectoparasitic infestation, being endemic in both temperate and tropical regions of Ecuador. Improved education and awareness among populations living in, visitors to, and health personnel working in high-risk regions, is required for improved epidemiological surveillance, prevention, and correct diagnosis and treatment
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