Motion of a test particle in a nonstationary spherically symmetric gravitational field in flat space-time theory of gravitation

The previously studied 2-post-Newtonian approximation of the gravitational field of a nonstationary spherically symmetric star in flat space-time theory of gravitation is applied to the motion of a test particle in the orbit of the star. The orbit is different from the one of Einstein's general theory of relativity. A general formula for the deviation of the orbit from a circle is given. In the special case of a radially oscillating star, being homogeneous to Newtonian accuracy, the orbit of the test particle also oscillates radially with small amplitude about a fixed orbit (circle).     

The dynamics of phytoplankton, bacteria and heterotrophic flagellates at two Banks near Magdeburg in the River Elbe (Germany)

The main objectives of this study were to describe the seasonal standing stock dynamics of phytoplankton, bacterioplankton and heterotrophic flagellates in the highly eutrophic River Elbe (Germany), and to compare the seasonal patterns observed with other streams. Emphasis was placed on examining and assessing abiotic and biotic controlling factors influencing the structure and dynamics of the riverine plankton. All the physico-chemical and biological parameters determined were within the range or somewhat higher (in the case of phytoplankton abundance and biomass) than reported for other large streams. The underwater light conditions resulting from atypically short phytoplankton growth periods of about 6 months per year and the low phytoplankton carbon to chl a ratio of 23 were identified as a major limiting factor for phytoplankton development in the River Elbe. The seasonal distribution pattern of bacterioplankton indicated probable tight trophodynamical coupling both with phytoplankton and with heterotrophic flagellates, whereas heterotrophic flagellates showed a more trophic link with bacterial densities. Although approximately constant DOC and DON levels throughout the year sustained bacterial growth rates, during the phytoplankton growing season an increase of bacterial standing stocks was observed. Although the left-bank sampling site of the Elbe is strongly influenced by the tributaries Mulde and Saale containing higher concentrations of chloride, nitrogen nutrients, heavy metals and organic pollutants, no clear differences were observed between the two sides of the river concerning the biological parameters measured. Possible reasons and the slightly higher phytoplankton abundance and diversity at the right bank are discussed.     

Influence of Particle Morphology on the Hydraulic Behavior of Coal Ash and Sand

Flexible-wall hydraulic conductivity tests were carried out on bottom ash, fly ash and compacted specimens of sand with additions of 0, 3, 6, 9 and 18% of bentonite. In order to study the effect of bentonite inclusion and particle morphology on the hydraulic conductivity of the admixtures, an investigation was undertaken based on thin section micrographs. It was found that, for both bottom and fly ash admixtures, bentonite addition reduced only one order of magnitude the hydraulic conductivity, from 1.78 × 10⁻⁶ m/s to 1.39 × 10⁻⁷ m/s. On the other hand, the sand hydraulic conductivity was reduced five orders of magnitude, from 3.17 × 10⁻⁵ m/s to 5.15 × 10⁻¹⁰ m/s. Among several factors that can be responsible for the difficulty in reducing hydraulic conductivity, such as ash grain size distribution and elevated cation concentration (leached from the ash) in pore water, it can also be recalled the high particle voids observed in the ash by means of microscopic analysis. The same is not true with the sand, which has solid particles, without inner voids.     

Nonsingular cosmological model with background field in flat space-time theory of gravitation

A previously studied theory of gravitation in flat space-time is applied to homogeneous, isotropic cosmological models. In addition to radiation a two-component fluid model consisting of dust and of a background field is studied. This universe starts from a nonsingular state and expands for ever. The energy of radiation, of dust and of the background are emerged from the gravitational energy. Entropy is produced. The age of the universe is infinite measured in units of absolute time whereas the proper-time of the universe is finite. The sum of the density parameters of dust, of radiation and of the background field is about one. There is no flatness and no monopole problem.     

Theory of linear cosmological perturbations in flat space-time theory of gravitation

Covariant linear cosmological perturbations are considered in flat space-time theory of gravitation. The background metric is not altered. The perturbed energy-momentum is given. The basic equations for the propagation of the perturbations are presented. The perturbed equations for a homogeneous, isotropic universe are stated.     

Metals in eggs and hatchlings of Dermochelys coriacea (testudines) in Espírito Santo,Brazil and their relation to hatching and emergence success

Certain concentration of metal may influence survival in embryonic stages, reducing the birthrate and hatching emergence. This study aimed to evaluate concentration of metal in eggs and hatchlings of Dermochelys coriacea and correlate metal concentrations in eggs with hatching and emergence success. The samples were collected at Biological Reserve Station, ES, Brazil. At the nests' opening, unhatched eggs and stillborn hatchlings were collected to survey the successful hatching and emergence of D. coriacea. The eggs shell, egg content, and dead hatchlings metal concentrations were compared to hatching and emergence success. A positive correlation was found between the concentration of copper (Cu) in the hatchlings and the success of the emergence (r² = .28, p < .05), and a moderate positive correlation between the concentrations of iron (Fe) and barium (Ba; r² = .44, p < .05) and success hatching. The concentrations of metals in eggs and hatchlings of D. coriacea in the Espírito Santo are below the levels that could be considered harmful to the species. In summary, there is a positive correlation between metals levels and hatching and emergence success.     

MARC: a robust method for multiple-aspect trajectory classification via space,time, and semantic embeddings

ABSTRACT

The increasing popularity of Location-Based Social Networks (LBSNs) and the semantic enrichment of mobility data in several contexts in the last years has led to the generation of large volumes of trajectory data. In contrast to GPS-based trajectories, LBSN and context-aware trajectories are more complex data, having several semantic textual dimensions besides space and time, which may reveal interesting mobility patterns. For instance, people may visit different places or perform different activities depending on the weather conditions. These new semantically rich data, known as multiple-aspect trajectories, pose new challenges in trajectory classification, which is the problem that we address in this paper. Existing methods for trajectory classification cannot deal with the complexity of heterogeneous data dimensions or the sequential aspect that characterizes movement. In this paper we propose MARC, an approach based on attribute embedding and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) for classifying multiple-aspect trajectories, that tackles all trajectory properties: space, time, semantics, and sequence. We highlight that MARC exhibits good performance especially when trajectories are described by several textual/categorical attributes. Experiments performed over four publicly available datasets considering the Trajectory-User Linking (TUL) problem show that MARC outperformed all competitors, with respect to accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score.     

Force–displacement response of in‐plane‐loaded URM walls with a dominating flexural mode

This article presents a new mechanical model for the non‐linear force–displacement response of unreinforced masonry (URM) walls developing a flexural rocking mode including their displacement capacity. The model is based on the plane‐section hypothesis and a constitutive law for the masonry with zero tensile strength and linear elastic behaviour in compression. It is assumed that only the compressed part of the wall contributes to the stiffness of the wall and therefore the model accounts for a softening of the response due the reduction of the effective area. Stress conditions for limit states are proposed that characterise the flexural failure. The new model allows therefore linking local performance levels to global displacement capacities. The limit states criteria describe the behaviour of modern URM walls with cement mortar of normal thickness and clay bricks. The model is validated through comparison of local and global engineering demand parameters with experimental results. It provides good prediction of the effective stiffness, the force capacity and the displacement capacity of URM walls at different limit states. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scaling unreinforced masonry for reduced-scale seismic testing

When testing multi-storey structures, most testing facilities require the testing of a reduced-scale model. A literature review on tests of scaled masonry structural components revealed that scaling of masonry was rather challenging and often significant differences in stiffness, strength and failure mechanisms between the different sized masonry were reported. This paper addresses the scaling of hollow clay brick masonry with fully mortared head and bed joints. We investigate different choices of scaling brick units and mortar joints. Based on the results of an extensive test programme including standard material tests and quasi-static cyclic tests on masonry walls subjected to horizontal and axial loads, we formulate recommendations for the production of a half-scale model of unreinforced masonry structures. The experimental results show a good match between full-scale and half-scale masonry. We discuss the differences in material properties that remained and compare the force-displacement hystereses obtained for the wall tests.